The most important financial question you must ask June 19, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in Money.Tags: bernanke, bls, cpi, deflation, depression, ecnomy, fed, free market, freedom, geithner, government, greenspan, inflation, meltdown, monetary, Money, obama, paulson, prices, recession
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What is inflation?
I believe this is the most important financial question a person can ask. I am constantly on a trek to better understand money and wealth. Here is some of what I’ve learned thus far:
Per its original meaning:
- Inflation is not a rise in prices
- Inflation is a rise in the money supply
I have a 1920 Webster’s dictionary that says inflation is a rise in the money supply. I have a 2006 Webster’s dictionary that says inflation is a rise in consumer prices. From this point forward, I will use “inflation” for its original definition (an increase in the money supply) and I will use “price inflation” to refer to a general increase in prices.
How did this “Newspeak” happen?
Inflation is harmful because it leads to a rise in prices. When everyone’s expenses are rising faster than their incomes as a result of the actions of the government and banking system, it is like a tax on the American people.
With the harm being a rise in prices, the focus on the topic of “inflation” shifted from the cause (inflation) to the effect (rising prices). And so, over a period of decades, everyone (news media included) shifted into speaking about inflation as a rise in prices.
Why don’t inflation and price increases correlate directly anymore?
You can take simple economic examples and draw a direct correlation from increasing the money supply to a rise in prices not complemented by a rise in incomes. These are usually fictional stories of a group of people being stranded on an island and creating their own economy. They will illustrate with great clarity that increasing the money supply takes from the regular person and gives to the banker or his friends (such as the government).
Now apply those concepts to our current economy and you will be so confused, it will be easy to surrender to saying, “Gosh this stuff is for super-geeks to figure out and I’ll just go with whatever is reported to me.” Of course, we’ve learned that following the crowd and getting your information from normal reporting sources is a sure way to (more…)
How to Cope with Your New $50k in Forced Debt This Year March 6, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in Money, Personal Enjoyment, Personal Productivity, Uncategorized.Tags: bailout, crisis, decicit, depression, economic, economics, economist, economy, government, meltdown, obama, recession, spending, stimulus
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There are about 100 million non-government, non-taxpayer-paid workers in the U.S.
$3 trillion normal government spending + $2 trillion additional emergency spending = $5 trillion government spending in 2009.
That amounts to $50,000 of government spending per non-government, non-taxpayer-paid U.S. worker in a single year.
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S&P Price-to-Earnings Ratio Says Market is Still 70% Overpriced March 3, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in Money, Self Directed IRA/401k.Tags: 401k, bail, bailout, buy, crash, dow, dow jones, government, invest, investing, investment, ira, market, obama, out, P/E, panic, price-to-earnings, ratio, S&P, s&p 500, self directed, sell, solo, Solo 401k, stimulus, stock market, timing, wall street, when
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If you are choosing to stay in the stock market right now because of any of the following reasons…
- It is poised to bounce back
- You don’t want to close out losing positions
- Stocks are cheap right now
…then the simplicity of the following information may shock you.
Last week (more…)
This January was worst for stock market in 113 years February 22, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in Money.Tags: deficit, government, history, medicaid, medicare, obama, performance, responsible, social security, spending, stimulus, stock market
1 comment so far
According to the article The Market Is Shorting Obama’s ‘Stimulus’, we’ve just had the worst January in over 113 years of the stock market. Professors of Finance, Ecomonics, and Law at the University of Kansas and George Mason University report that the stock market is not impressed by Obama’s stimulus. Read the whole story here.
While 99% of the stories out there that use logic and reason to argue (more…)
Could Obama’s Stimulus Really Work? February 20, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in Health, Money, Personal Enjoyment, Personal Productivity.Tags: bail out, bailout, balance sheet, consumer, debt, deficit, economics, economy, financial, financial freedom, financial statement, future, government, income statement, invest, investing, investment, literacy, Money, obama, prosper, spending, stimulus, thrive, unemployment, wealth
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Our economy is 70% consumerism. That means it is mostly based on individuals buying stuff. So the current setup of our economy holds two basic facts:
- Individuals buying more stuff than they can afford to buy (based on their income) has a net effect that is good for the economy.
- When individuals lower their spending and save and invest money, the net effect is bad for the U.S. economy.
That said, should we even care about “the economy” in its current setup? If individuals were really doing what is good for themselves (saving and investing), it would be terrible for the economy.
So could Obama’s stimulus really work? Absolutely not. Not if you consider “it really working” to mean more than just temporarily. We don’t need a stimulus. We don’t need a boosted economy. We need a changed economy. There are only three ways out of (more…)
Tool for Battling Coming Inflation February 19, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in Money, Personal Enjoyment, Personal Productivity, real estate, Self Directed IRA/401k.Tags: alternative asset, alternative investment, bail, bailout, bernanke, building, congress, currency, debasement, economy, fed, federal reserve, fiat, fiscal, government, inflaiton, ira, ira llc, monetary, obama, out, paulson, policy, responsibility, rubino, schiff, self directed, solo, Solo 401k, stimulus, strategies, strategy, tax, tool, treasury, wealth
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If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I take great interest in understanding money. Why every single human who uses money on a regular basis doesn’t also share this interest is beyond me.
With trillions of dollars created by actions of Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department, the concern for coming inflation can only spread. This video explains why tax deferred investment vehicles are the best tool for battling inflation and can possibly even (more…)
Obama ashamed of Wall Street January 30, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in Money, Personal Enjoyment, real estate, Self Directed IRA/401k.Tags: bailout, CEO, congress, corruption, executives, fraud, government, greed, house, new york, obama, senate, stimulus, wall street
3 comments
$18,400,000,000.00
18.4 billion dollars. According the NY state comptroller, that’s what was paid out in bonuses on Wall Street last year as the American people lost nearly half of their investment portfolios… about the same amount in bonuses that were paid out in the supposed boom of 2004.
Obama is concerned because he thinks Wall Street’s greed may undermine the government’s plan to rally support for trillions more in “bailout” and “stimulus” packages. Read the whole story here.
I.O.U.S.A viewing this weekend on CNN January 9, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in Health, Money, Personal Enjoyment, Personal Productivity, real estate, Self Directed IRA/401k.Tags: austrian, bailout, bank, banking, banks, bernanke, buffett, chairman, cnn, corporate, currency, david walker, debt, dollar, economics, economist, economy, fed, federal reserve, fiat, fiscal, franctional reserve, government, greenspan, i.o.u.s.a., mises, Money, nation, national, obama, responsibility, school, social security, sovereign, sovereignty, stimulus, tax, wall street
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CNN to Broadcast I.O.U.S.A. | Obama Foresees Trillion-Dollar
Deficits |
A Bipartisan Plea for Fiscal Responsibility | The Government We
Deserve
CNN to Broadcast I.O.U.S.A.
The public has spoken, and we’ve listened. In response to demand
for information about our country’s financial challenges, CNN/U.S.
will air the broadcast premiere of the acclaimed documentary
I.O.U.S.A. on on Saturday, January 10 at 2:00 p.m. EST and on
Sunday, January 11 at 3:00 p.m. EST. Accompanying the documentary
will be an unscripted panel discussion with policy leaders about
various economic solutions currently under consideration.
This exclusive televised event will air only on CNN, and will be
hosted by Ali Velshi and Christine Romans, co-anchors of CNN’s
Your $$$$$, the network’s weekend business roundtable program.
Throughout I.O.U.S.A.’s broadcast premiere, Velshi and Romans will
engage a distinguished group of panelists, including Pete
Peterson, Chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former
U.S. Commerce Secretary; Dave Walker, President and CEO of the
Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former U.S. Comptroller General;
Alice Rivlin, noted economist and former Director of the Office of
Management and Budget; and Bill Bradley, a Managing Director of
Allen & Company and former U.S. Senator and Democratic
presidential candidate, in discussions about issues raised in the
film and their ties to current economic events.
Learn more about the film at www.IOUSAtheMovie.com. And be sure to
spread the word about the U.S. broadcast premiere!
Obama Foresees Trillion-Dollar Deficits
CNNMoney.com reported on Tuesday that when President-elect Barack
Obama takes office on January 20, he’ll inherit an economy deeper
in debt than ever.
Obama commented on the unprecedented deficit, saying, (more…)
