Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

Doug, I don't see any attempt to censor on Stampboards so that only a single point of view is acceptable. Your proposal is the direct opposite of Stampboards, wouldn't you say?

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

I note not a single response (perhaps even an embarrased mea culpa or 'I made the mistake of believing a politician') from those of you that took the Senator's hyperbole and outright lies ($16 trillion to mostly foreigners and hardly any paid back) as fact? I suppose it doesn't fit the pre-conceived view that the Federal Reserve is the devil incarnate and that 'The Government' has been splurging trillions of foreigners and lying about it?

Why not write to your Congressman and/or Seanator, the US citizens amongst you anyway, and demand they begin to fix the mess they have allowed to happen (both sides of politics are at fault)?

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Glen. tied is not the same as pegged.

Mongolia and Australia were the two currencies which appreciated most last year. Why? Both are heavily involved with the Chinese economy; they were 'tied' to that economy...

Jack, there is a huge difference between being linked to an economy and a currency. You specifically referred to the A$ being tied to the Yuan (and, before that, other currencies). Yes, Australia is heavily dependent on the Chinese (and Indian and Japanese) economies, as a supplier of raw materials. However, there is absolutely no relationship as regards currencies.

The A$ has also been strong because of the very low sovereign debt (although the current government is doing it's best to change that!) by global standards. When the GFC hit, Australia had no sovereign debt at all.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

This is my final post in this thread; I'm sorry I brought the whole matter up, and I should have stuck to Dollar-Euro discussions.

Peter, I think you have misunderstood about the website; it is NOT a forum or chat room, it is one person writing what he believes; no one else posts. There is no censorship. He invites readers to email him, and may occasionally request permission to include part or all of their commentary, fully attributed, on the website, as part of his writings. He remains "firmly in charge," and does not suffer fools gladly.

And that? That is not censorship. And there are a great many persons doing exactly what I just described, I just haven't happened to have seen one about the future prospects of Australia based on what may happen to America. Now give it a rest.

Doug, there is very little similarity between the US and Australian economies any more and even less similarity between the political systems. Australians sit back and watch what is happening there with utter bemusement. Well, I do at any rate.

But I agree, I will leave this discussion now too.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Well, a collapse (of sorts) today.



Pick the time when the latest inflation figures (higher than expected) were released. No chance of a rate decrease now (never really was, in my opinion), but another increase (to 5%) is on the cards before years end.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Apologies for teh size of that image, I have been unsuccessful in making it larger!

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Are we witnessing democracies failure in US.

Egos and power are more important than doing what the nation needs.

Its all about Me and my group.

Democracy is the ideal system when the Nation is put first , but not when little unimportant groups think they are , and I mean more than just the Tea Party.

I said it before , but it still is so , China can make a decision in 24 hours , no fiddling while Rome burns .

Who will stand up tell it like it is and become Americas Winston Churchill in their hour of need , or are they all Media trained and groomed and processed pretty boys with one eye on twitter and the other eye on their popularity chart.

Any high School kid can tell you if you are spending more than you earn and you want to correct it , you need to earn more and spend less to correct it , how bloody hard was that , if you cant manage to get that through then make immigration enquiries to China , they may need someone to put the toys into cereal packets as thats all you are good for.

No good telling the sheeple the truth! They are all bent over, heads in sand, crossing fingers and hoping it will all just fade away, like a bad dream.

The list of fallen civilizations on this planet is immense, and the sheeple seem to think that this civilization is does not abide by the same laws and stresses of other civilizations and now as it crumbles they refuse to open their eyes, more in hope than faith.

Don't forget that our previous city-building civilizations built huge cities more than 9,000 years ago,( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1768109.stm )but walk into any school and they stick to our 5,000 year story.(which I then have to re-educate my children in)

My point is that we take so damn long to update our knowledge and stick so steadfastly to what we thought was right, that this profit/debt system will drag us down unless we let it do what the natural forces are pushing it to do...and that is collapse.

Throwing more and more fiat Dollars at a hole, that in turn reduces the value of all reserves and stock tied to that currency is fiscal madness, Tuesday could well be the most significant day for the States since the Declaration Of Independence, for IF they default...it will be a changed world for all of us.

And if they don't....then the debt will keep going up and the Dollar will keep dropping, the world CANNOT absorb anymore debt!

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Looking for South Korea up to 1884-1951,North Korea 1st issue 1946-1957,China 1898-1912 and P.R.C 1963- 1980,Thailand 1883- 1918, Commonwealth QV Issues.

Truer than many would care to think.

I travel far more than most and the more and wider you travel the more you see this.

While I agree with what you say, the reason for these beliefs is simply human progress: the impact of technology, the adoption of a comprehensive code of laws, and the pressures of overpopulation.

There's no reason to think we should consider "civilizations" of even 200 years ago in any way similar to ours of 2011.

The philosophers of ancient Greece and of the European Middle Ages were able to describe the characteristics of wonderful civilizations, but were not able to move towards them.

Anyone who travels the world can tell you that we have poverty on this planet that is as bad as anything before, there IS a decline.

Possible utopian societies of the future might also look back and lament that although WE had desires to reach that level, OUR system held us back from ever achieving it. We all know that civilizations are not progressive from one to the other, the Greeks and Romans wrote about classical society and debated social policies as much as we do, they might not have achieved all they set out to do, but whatever followed them WAS NOT necessarily more advanced civilizations.

We CAN go backwards and lose knowledge, it has happened before, many times. To distance ourselves from the fate of ALL previous civilizations on the basis of perceived progression would be careless. Overcrowding, food shortages, higher taxes, discontent and unemployment have cost most of them their status, why should our civilization follow different rules?

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Looking for South Korea up to 1884-1951,North Korea 1st issue 1946-1957,China 1898-1912 and P.R.C 1963- 1980,Thailand 1883- 1918, Commonwealth QV Issues.

After reading these last few posts and then recalling earlier posts about how Gold and Silver etc , is far better than Fiat Money no matter Whos face is on it , I am now starting to conclude what history has shown to be the only true investment in ones life.

It is a few acres of fertile land with permanent water access , then you have the ability to keep your Family alive , Chickens , Pigs , Crops of whatever will grow there , but will or can modern Western Man adapt or will he stay too proud to get his hands dirty and sink to the level he feels is below him , if that is the case then perish he will whilst fondling his gold.

The main problem with the Euro is that it is a triumph of political will over common sense.
To enforce a single currency on a number of countries with economies as diverse as, shall we, say Germany and Portugal in such a short time is foolish.
All economies have diferent cycles and being in the Euro means that Governments cannot act independantly to controll their own economies. This is why some Euro countries are in financial trouble.
Americas' problem is their debt. As long as the US dollar is accepted as the worlds reserve currency then all the U.S. has to do, to service her debt, is to print more dollars.
You may have noticed that China is buying whatever she can get hold of, mining, real estate etc. with US dollars. China does not want to hold any more dollars than she has to.
There is a move by some countries to form an alternative world reserve currency, perhaps made up of a basket of other currencys' together with gold. If this happens then the US is in deep trouble.
The US dollar is out of favour. The Lybian shambles kicked of because Ghaddafi wanted France to pay for Lybian oil in gold, not US dollars.
Tony

Gaddafi was planning to introduce a gold dinar - "a single African currency made from gold, a true sharing of the wealth."

The idea, according to Gaddafi, was that African and Muslim nations would join together to create this new currency and would use it to purchase oil and other resources in exclusion of the dollar and other currencies

RT News link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuqZfaj34nc

Saddam wanted to sell oil for Euros, pattern to policy?

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Looking for South Korea up to 1884-1951,North Korea 1st issue 1946-1957,China 1898-1912 and P.R.C 1963- 1980,Thailand 1883- 1918, Commonwealth QV Issues.

That is a new one for me. I had never heard of, or seen, this gold dinar business before today, thanks.

We don't get anything on the mainstream in the U.K Doug, I have RT on constantly in the office, and sometimes flick over to Chinese or Arabic networks for a fuller picture.

They feed us a usual drip of local news, never updates on Fukashima, revolts in the House of Reps, or anything with substance. I know that most would be more interested in seeing Senators furious with the Fed for destroying the system, but we get local news about a wrongly positioned bus shelter.

If you could send us Jon Stewart, we could use someone like him on this side of the pond!

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Looking for South Korea up to 1884-1951,North Korea 1st issue 1946-1957,China 1898-1912 and P.R.C 1963- 1980,Thailand 1883- 1918, Commonwealth QV Issues.

Mores the point: If I wasn't watching RT, I wouldn't have bought 28 Ounces of Silver this year. My close friend has bought over 225.

All bought at between 26 and 29 pounds a coin. Sellable at £40+ at the moment.
Thats better profit than any bank can offer and I won't be suprised by $100 silver in 5 years or less.

Sprott forcasts it will go well beyond.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM-LrMimRys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu2wNlgDbUk

Buy Silver coins!!!

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Looking for South Korea up to 1884-1951,North Korea 1st issue 1946-1957,China 1898-1912 and P.R.C 1963- 1980,Thailand 1883- 1918, Commonwealth QV Issues.

Me neither, and I was on vacatiion in Libya in recent years.

What I do know is they have oil for about 10 years and water for about 10 years.

I am no economist but I do see that being an issue of sorts!

Gaddaffi spent BILLIONS on a giant underwater pipeline taking artesian water from the reserves that belonged not just to Libya but Algeria and Tunisia and piped it to Tripoli.

Rather than build de-sal plants -- as of course much of Libra fronts the Mediterranean.

We walked all day among the ruins of Leptis Magna on the sea. The best preserved Roman ruins on earth. We were the ONLY tourists there all day.

Seeing a vast deserted city like that really brings it home that maniacs running any country never survive long.

It depends sukhothai when you purchased your silver at the 29 pounds. Sterling had dropped a great deal over the years, and what dollars do you mean in five years?

Fijian? US? Australian?

huanga.

They are in U.S Dollars. Changing ANY fiat currency in your pocket for silver or gold is obviously a good idea.

At least the Austrailian Dollar at least has the backing of her vast natural resources, we don't have a lot to fall back on here in the U.K(Coal and Yorkshire Pasties mainly). Most of us here even doubt that by the time WE retire(was 65/now 70/later 75???) that there will be anything left for OUR pensions, I would rather put a little into physical Silver every month, that might help in the future.
I've included links to Sprott (above) for anyone interested in Silver, easy to listen to and tells the market as it is.

And the 5 year charts on Platinum, Palladium, and Rhodium in addition to Gold and Silver can be found here...

http://www.kitco.com/scripts/hist_chart ... graphs.plx

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Looking for South Korea up to 1884-1951,North Korea 1st issue 1946-1957,China 1898-1912 and P.R.C 1963- 1980,Thailand 1883- 1918, Commonwealth QV Issues.

Incidentally, in the vast majority of cases, you don't BUY gold or silver with plans to sell it down the road and get still more depreciating "fiat money" in payment; you buy them to hold as a store of wealth and purchasing power in the same sense as a savings account.

Selling your gold or silver, except in an emergency or a tax strategy of some kind, would be like "selling" your savings account. If you are a trader, that's different, obviously.

On the other hand, consider the following chart:




"...there is no homogeneity in housing. Unlike the fine content of a gold bar or coin, no two properties are ever quite an exact copy. So buying or selling the average home, especially in a nation of 313 million souls, can only ever be notional.

Since the housing bust began, the average U.S. home has lost better than 70% of its value in gold. It's dropped nearly 80% since the gold-market found its own floor back in the early spring of 2001..."

>>Courtesy of Adrian Ash, http://www.24hgold.com

However, real estate is still falling in value, and precious metals are still increasing, versus the dollar. For some folks, is it time to ditch the gold and acquire the home you've always wanted? A real dilemma.

sukhothai. I think it a very wise move in todays uncertain times to purchase gold and silver if you can afford to. Speaking for myself only, I'll wait until after Wednesday until I decide. Which makes me wonder, will Peter s need his sword?

As for the Australian resources. You could say they are the same as the Colonel's Oil, they cannot last forever. I believe there has been some report regarding the limitations on the resources of western Australia.

Coal in one form or another may have to make a comeback no matter what the greenies may think. If nuclear energy is unexceptable, and solar is too expensive. There does not seem to be any realistic alternative...One day!

I've never tried a Yorkshire pastie. I have had a few cornish ones, but was not all that impressed. My wife used to make the best pasties I have ever tasted, but then I'm biased.

ps..I was writing this doug when you posted, so missed it. I'm suprised the real estate market is still down in the US. I would have thought it would have begun its rise by now? Is there any indication it will rise soon?


Huanga.

Since December 2008, Gold has risen 74% in US Dollar terms. Sounds great? in Australian Dollar terms it is up 14% and seriously lags most other forms of investment. Silver has been a far better investment option to gold, in Australian Dollar terms, as I have pointed out elsewhere.

If the world has a major economic reverse, however, the price of gold will probably fall, or remain relatively stable, in US Dollar terms, as money pours into the safe haven of US Treasuries. In Australian Dollar terms the price of gold will soar as the A$ depreciates against the strengthening US Dollar.

Saddam is/was full of idiotic ideas. A gold Dinar would simply have meant a significantly reduced money supply and a hoarding of cash. The only reason the gold standard of the past (up till 1933 or so in most Western nations) worked was because the price of gold was officially (and artificially) pegged and ownership of bullion discouraged or (at least in Australia, don't know about elsewhere) illegal. It was, in fact, illegal for individuals to own gold in bullion form in Australia right up until the 1970s.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

If I am reading correctly the deal thrown together only dishes out Cuts.

There are no Tax increases for the big end of town , am I reading this right , we in Aussie may be not up to date.

If correct , how is it that only the poor will shoulder the burden.

You are correct, the "agreement" is a sham and a fraud. I can think of NO reason why a tax increase for those with incomes over $500K would stifle job creation. Even if the tax increase were merely symbolic (because it hardly makes a dent in the deficit), it should be part of the overall approach.

However, simplification of the tax code is just as important.

Ours runs 63 shelf-feet (~~20 metres) or some ridiculous-ness.

Has any group in Australia ever seriously proposed a flat tax, or a value-added tax, or a national sales tax, Euro-style, to replace the income tax? The intent, of course, is to secure better compliance, or so they claim.

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Update: you can see that the stock market doesn't like the deal -- the Dow's gone from +150 to -10 in the past few minutes.

Later update: the big drop was due to a poor manufacturing output report (ISM) but the Dow was well off its highs before that report hit the wires.

There have been proposals, in Australia in the past, for a flat income tax rate or for a replacement of Income Tax with some other form of direct taxation. They have never come to anything for the simple reason that they can never be shown to be actually work as envisaged.

Australia has a relatively high tax system, by global standards. Income tax is progressive and the rate increases in increments based on income. The current income tax brackets are;

As of 1 July 2011
$0 - $6,000 Nil
$6,001 - $37,000 15c for each $1 over $6,000
$37,001 - $80,000 $4,650 plus 30c for each $1 over $37,000
$80,001 - $180,000 $17,550 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000
Over $180,000 $62,700 plus 43c for each $1 over $180,000

Add to this the one off Flood Levy (2011/12 FY only) and 1.5% Medicare Levey (permanent).

The current Company Tax rate is 30%

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

There comes a time when the debt can never be repaid , that time comes when you earn each day less than what you owe each day.

You can then use Creative Accounting methods to cover this for a time .

But as Bankrupt bussinesses have shown this actually makes it worse in the end.

I suggest that several Countries are in this postion , Is US in this position or are they almost in this position ?, but Oh no , we can not Tax the wealthy , they wont like it , they have Political clout that they have paid big money for to avoid this , that says they are willing to spend big on themselves only.

Their ability to pay a bit more Tax may be the only way to save the country, But they love themselves more than they love their country perhaps, unfortunately these people are needed to step forward right now , if not their world will at a future time fall apart.

If you take a look at the Aussie Tax rates in the posting above , you can see our wealthy carry a good sized load , they end up paying less than shown due to creative accounting , but still a load that is fair and fair across all our people in my opinion.

The top Australian tax rate is slightly less than ours, but I would have to compare median family incomes of the two countries to know the relative tax burden. Certainly yours look fair. Am I correct in assuming that, like Canada (?), you cannot deduct mortgage interest on your tax return?

That is correct. You can only make deductions for expenses incurred in the course of earning income (but not including transport to and from work). Tools of trade etc are deductible. If you own an investment property then the interest paid is deductible, but any capital gain on sale is taxable at your marginal rate. Sale of your home, principal place of residence is free of tax.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Market DataLast Updated at 23:25 04/08/11

Market index Current value Trend Variation % variation
FTSE 100 5393.14 Down -191.37 -3.43%
Dax 6414.76 Down -225.83 -3.40%
Cac 40 3320.35 Down -134.59 -3.90%
Dow Jones 11383.68 Down -512.76 -4.31%
Nasdaq 2556.39 Down -136.68 -5.08%
BBC Global 30 5334.80 Down -162.82 -2.92%

Now what people are finally realize is that the stimulus DIDN'T work, and we will all be headed back to recession. Unless they print another 1.7 trillion Euros to grease the wheels(fiat money to pay the Kleptocrats bonuses),the system will grind to a halt. Then we will all wonder why the flooded Euro market depreciates? Madness!

Either, the system will collapse quickly, or we will keep on piling on more and more debt before the system collapses later. Collapse is a certainty because the system is broken, the Fed/Lehman/Sterns/J.P Morgan have set up the biggest ponzi scheme since Adam Smith put us on the road to modern finance. If you could set up ANY sort of system for society to PROSPER, we would never pick a system for profit/debt/slavery like we have now. (And if there was more debt that could be accumilated,MOST of us wouldn't care..we are the unlucky generation who have finally seen this paradigm reached and our hopes shattered)

The whole thing is a big joke, even leading economists have gone on record as saying 'Modern Money Mechanics' as published by the Fed does NOTHING to fully explain the murky workings of the system, it is as the layman can see..a pyramid scheme.

Like I said before: buy a little silver!! Gold is too high and Silvers pricing ratio to gold is wrong and will rectify itself in time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM-LrMimRys

Even gold went down today, the selling apparently a result of margin calls on everything else, a development that is frighteningly similar to late-2008.

The Euro is diseased, I wonder who will desert the rotting carcass first?

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Looking for South Korea up to 1884-1951,North Korea 1st issue 1946-1957,China 1898-1912 and P.R.C 1963- 1980,Thailand 1883- 1918, Commonwealth QV Issues.

Would that be the 'Royal We', or are you confining the use of the 'we' to the UK UE and US? There appears to be naught wrong with the currency of us ex-Colonials.

Huanga.

However I have just watched the news and I see what you mean. Still it all looks to be confined to you U's.

You can buy Gold ,Silver, Diamonds, Copper anything you like but in the end it will run out for you should the financial world collapse dragging the world in to what it was only 150 years ago , yes History shows it could happen, its not new.

There is only one thing that you can buy that will feed you and yours forever and that is a piece of fertile Land with permanent Water, but you will have to work for real and get your hands dirty , will modern man do it ?

We have all seen footage of that peasant on the land in many countries doing it tough, cant read or write but hes alive and so are his children as was his parents and Grandparents before him , all on that patch of dirt.

I said this before in these posts but maybe I need to say it again , I would hate you all to think that a lump or two of Gold will feed you forever , it will be gone in a few short years.

You are getting your Froot Loops mixed up - we were discussing Gaddaffi and the Gold Dinar!

Saddaam is not full of any ideas right now I suspect.

Doug gold has TREBLED in $US terms in the past few years. TREBLED.

$US1000 spent then on Gold is now $US3000.

That buys you THREE Chevvies, not one.

THREE large Pizzas, not one.

THREE cases of Budweiser, not one.

THREE Hilton Hawaii rooms, not one.

All these US made products have barely moved in retail price over the same period, despite your "wealth" being 3 times as much.

Sounds good to me.

dukeprince - Oh climb down. Thats just unnecessary doom and gloom. What you are suggesting could never happen in the Countries we are discussing. The infrastructure already in place is much too strong to allow such a scenerio to occur.

Huanga.

In the unlikely event of it ever happening. I would ask that you go fishing, and for ever six fish you catch. I will chip a piece of my golden lump and buy five of them. That way you can barter for a larger net and catch more. I will buy more!!

ps tell your friends.

Asian and Aussie markets are open!

Japan's main Nikkei 225 index down 3.4%, South Korea down 4.2%, while Australia has fallen 2.4%.

Going to be a long day, watch out for falling brokers!

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Looking for South Korea up to 1884-1951,North Korea 1st issue 1946-1957,China 1898-1912 and P.R.C 1963- 1980,Thailand 1883- 1918, Commonwealth QV Issues.

Risk appetite has lessened and, as a result, the A$ is down 6c against the US$ this week. Selling the global markets and buying US Treasuries.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Doug, Australian tax rates are amongst the highest in the world.

We are getting right royally screwed here as these 2010/2011 Australian tax rates show:

AUD$1 - 6,000 = Nil
AUD$6,001 - 37,000 = 15c for each AUD$1 over 6,000
AUD$37,001 - 80,000 = AUD$4,650 plus 30c for each AUD$1 over AUD$37,000
AUD$80,001 - 180,000 = AUD$17,550 plus 37c for each AUD$1 over AUD$80,000
AUD$180,001 and over AUD$54,550 plus 45c for each AUD$1 over AUD$180,000

And the US tax rates (in US$ are):

$0 - $50,000 = 15%
$50,000 - $75,000 = $7,500 + 25% of excess over $50,000
$75,000 - $100,000 = $13,750 + 34% of excess over $75,000
$100,000 - $335,000 = $22,250 + 39% of excess over $100,000
$335,000 - $10,000,000 = $113,900 + 34% of excess over $335,000
$10,000,000 - $15,000,000 = $3,400,000 + 35% of excess over $10,000,000
$15,000,000 - $18,333,333 = $5,150,000 + 38% of excess over $15,000,000
Over $18,333,333 = Flat 35%

Clearly from the above figures if you are rich in the US you are doing fine and if you are lower paid well your almost on poverty row

Is it any wonder that people in Washington want the rich to pay their fair share

Perhaps it's time for another revolution in the US, it's been a while

'Perhaps it's time for another revolution in the US, it's been a while' ?

In the US! No chance! Who would side with who? You would end up with a dozen ethnic war lords in each state. Mexico would be over the border by breakfast claiming back Texas and every thing along the pacific coast as far as Canada.

China beinging first morgagee would send in the recievers, closely followed by the Japanese. The Indians would be camped outside the UN, reminding that distinguished body that they actually own the land and most of the assets.

The British and French would be up the St Lawrence in rented boats urging the Canadians to stake their claim. No there would be too much news going on. Fox, CNN, and the BBC could not organize and control it all at the same time. Its a non starter.

Huanga.

Your numbers are a bit out of date, and remember that we have different percentages for single persons, married filing jointly, and married filing individually.

Here is the Table most of you would relate to, married filing jointly:

If taxable income is: Not over $36,900: the tax is 15% of taxable income.

Over $36,900 but not over $89,150: $5,535, plus 28% of the excess over $36,900.

Over $89,150 but not over $140,000: $20,165, plus 31% of the excess over $89,150.

Over $140,000 but not over $250,000: $35,928.50, plus 36% of the excess over $140,000.

Over $250,000: $75,528.50, plus 39.6% of the excess over $250,000.

I actually hope you are correct and I am not , but all are recommending a substance that cannot support life , how far we go back now is almost a toss of the coin at this time.

Egypt and Rome and the Incas all thought no way, we are far too advanced arent we.

I suspect that over 90% of Stampboarders are reasonably comfortable financially , their input here is based on that experience of living , this is not typically a poor persons forum at all.

I can assure you that perhaps up to 90% of all western People are living week to week with a months reserve in the Bank at best , that figure may be more scary in Asia and even China.

No wriggle room there at all , probably the same in the ancient world collapses , the wealthy are quickly bought back to the pack in hard times.

Correct me if I am wrong the I think the GFC was about Companies Banks and Business and even individuals going Broke .

This one is about Governments going broke , now that is a whole new ball game with different consequences I feel.

dukeprince. Goverments do not go broke. Companies can go broke, banks and people can go broke, but Goverments.....no matter what the situtation is. Do not go broke. They can change their system, their thinking, their politicial views, but they never go broke!

There is always someone, some organization, some group that wants something. So a Goverment no matter how little finance it has will never go broke. Who would want to be a politician if there was a risk of going broke?

Who would even lend anything if there was that risk? Rest easy. No matter how bad things become for you and everyone else. The fact that your Goverment is not broke means you can sleep on an empty belly, but with contentment.

Huanga.

True, governments cannot go broke, but they can get in such a mess they end up with hyper-inflation eg Germany in the 1920s or simply ignore their foreign debt like Russia in 1917.

I notice the list of countries all needing bailouts are getting longer not shorter - I heard that Swaziland got a bailout from South Africa.

Hopefully things don't go too pear shaped ... but who knows

robertlyon77.

I have no doubt the list will continue to grow, that has always been the case. No matter how wealthy any particular part of the World is, there has always been another part that has wanted funding. Usually somewhere on the Africian continent.

You make mention of Germany and Russia. Both came through their crisis at the expence of their monarchies and what diplomatically may be termed, their democracies. However it took a strong and ruthless politicial change to pull them out.

Perhaps the world is heading into a similiar crisis now? On the strengh of what I have read and seen over the past couple of weeks, and what little I know of history, I don't think so. But if I'm wrong, I'm not going to spend my time in worry.

As at this moment my assets are safe, my Country is stable, and my Goverment shows ever confidence that will continue. If I were to worry it would not alter anything except perhaps my health.

Huanga.

Will the Euro fall? The main markets are about to open!

The A$ is falling, so expect to see weakness in the EURO as well.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.