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The admirable Seth Lipsky of the New York Sun, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and the (English-language) Jewish Forward, seems to be the first American commentator since Walter Lippmann to recognize the prescience, in post–World War II matters, of Charles de Gaulle. He was referring especially to de Gaulle’s recommendation of a restored gold standard as de Gaulle and his chief economic adviser, Jacques Rueff, feared what would happen to the world’s currencies if they were valued only in relation to one another.
Their fear was not misplaced; the U.S. dollar, euro, and yen are all engaged in wholesale inflation, thinly disguised by phony calculations of domestic inflation and by relatively stable relationships between one another, because they are in almost free fall together, like three mountain climbers all sliding down the face of the peak and toward a hard landing.
As Ron Paul pointed out to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke a few weeks ago, in eight years the U.S. dollar has lost 85 percent of its value opposite an ounce of gold, and this is not the roseate picture revealed by official inflation figures.
I am not convinced that a return to the gold standard is the answer, as gold is an impractical metal and this would confer undue economic influence on speculators, prospectors, and mining engineers. My suggestion is for a composite standard: one-third gold, one-third oil, and one-third a basic consumer-price, essential-spending, basket. Any such yardstick will reveal the distressing crash of the value of units of currency and anything producing a fixed yield: It is a tale not only of scandalous official profligacy and failed stewardship of the value of savings and many categories of investment, but also of official dissembling, misinformation, and pusillanimity.
No, I am assuming it will be 9K...
HEY! We might cross that psychologically important 11K metric today!
We crossed it yesterday. Not much of an investor I take it?
By Associated Press,
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that long-term unemployment is a “national crisis” and suggested that Congress should take further action to combat it. He also said lawmakers should provide more help to the battered housing industry.
Bernanke noted that about 45 percent of the unemployed have been out of work for at least six months.
While total employment is expected to increase by 15.3 million, or 10 percent, from 2008 to 2018, the number of jobs in certain industries will decrease significantly, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“This is unheard of,” he said in a question-and-answer session after a speech in Cleveland. “This has never happened in the post-war period in the United States. They are losing the skills they had, they are losing their connections, their attachment to the labor force.”
He added: “The unemployment situation we have, the job situation, is really a national crisis.”
Bernanke said the government needs to provide support to help the long-term unemployed retrain for jobs and find work. And he suggested that Congress should take more responsibility.
Responding to a question, Bernanke said long-term unemployment, budgetary discipline and housing policy were the three most important areas where Congress could contribute to an economic recovery.
“There are certainly some areas where other policymakers could contribute,” he said
We crossed it yesterday. Not much of an investor I take it?
Labor retraining programs have been effective in Europe. We might have to go that route. Legions of unemployed people are sitting around waiting for their jobs to come back and they're not going to.
This ties into the housing crash as well. Heaps of people are living in homes that are worth much less than they paid for them. They can't easily move to another town for work without financially ruining themselves.
What towns have work?
MercMORON is an expert in everything. He gets his info straight from Soros. He is especially good at unplugging toilets.