After Trump

Oddity

Well-known member
Why would conservatives be upset about people having jobs? I don't understand. So many out of work, so many businesses gone under is a big problem.


Have conservative people told you that they don't want to see more employment or that they want the economy to stay closed? Very weird.



But....another big problem is the economy itself, or what it's running on. Trump was pretty far left fiscally, though he didn't start it - it's been going on for a long time, though recent events have only exacerbated it. When the stock market isn't crashing because the Fed is printing trillions of digital dollars to keep it afloat (backed by precisely...nothing)....how long are they gonna be able to keep the plates spinning?


This is what really worries me, regardless of who's in office.
 

david starling

Well-known member
Why would conservatives be upset about people having jobs? I don't understand. So many out of work, so many businesses gone under is a big problem.


Have conservative people told you that they don't want to see more employment or that they want the economy to stay closed? Very weird.



But....another big problem is the economy itself, or what it's running on. Trump was pretty far left fiscally, though he didn't start it - it's been going on for a long time, though recent events have only exacerbated it. When the stock market isn't crashing because the Fed is printing trillions of digital dollars to keep it afloat (backed by precisely...nothing)....how long are they gonna be able to keep the plates spinning?


This is what really worries me, regardless of who's in office.

Because of all the dire predictions conservatives are making. Who likes to be proven wrong?

Also, it will make Biden look good, which goes against the conservative's low opinion of his mental abilities.
 

Oddity

Well-known member
I would dearly love to be proven wrong about this, so...no, can't agree with you there. But things are starting to look more than a little Weimar Republic-y on the currency front.
 

david starling

Well-known member
I would dearly love to be proven wrong about this, so...no, can't agree with you there. But things are starting to look more than a little Weimar Republic-y on the currency front.

I didn't mean you. That's the problem with generalizing. It doesn't account for the exceptions.

I should said "many" conservatives--sorry.
 
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Oddity

Well-known member
Good to hear :biggrin: So do me a favour and buy a bit of physical silver (gold if you can afford it) every month. Just in case. And hey - if it turns out you don't need it, you can leave it for the kids. Win all around.
 

david starling

Well-known member
Good to hear :biggrin: So do me a favour and buy a bit of physical silver (gold if you can afford it) every month. Just in case. And hey - if it turns out you don't need it, you can leave it for the kids. Win all around.

I'm hoping Dirius will join in. He's really into the economic situation.
 

Oddity

Well-known member
I hope so too. Inflation has been nuts in Argentina. It's about 12-15% here, as well, which is Not Good. Not officially, of course, but walk into any supermarket...oy.
 

Bunraku

Well-known member
What am I gonna do with it? It’s heavy and will probably get stolen if we reach an apocalyptic/crash scenario. I can see myself getting kidnapped by southern caravans and redneck country goons for hoarding this type of thing :lol:
 

conspiracy theorist

Well-known member
Good to hear :biggrin: So do me a favour and buy a bit of physical silver (gold if you can afford it) every month. Just in case. And hey - if it turns out you don't need it, you can leave it for the kids. Win all around.

People are positioning Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency equivalent of gold, and urging people to buy into it to hedge against the dollar devaluing/inflation. What do you think about Bitcoin and other Crypto in general as a way to preserve or grow wealth?
 

Bunraku

Well-known member
People are positioning Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency equivalent of gold, and urging people to buy into it to hedge against the dollar devaluing/inflation. What do you think about Bitcoin and other Crypto in general as a way to preserve or grow wealth?

Rednecks know EVERYTHING about cars. The best part of befriending one is that all you have to do is talk about your car and they know what's wrong with it asap...
 

Oddity

Well-known member
People are positioning Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency equivalent of gold, and urging people to buy into it to hedge against the dollar devaluing/inflation. What do you think about Bitcoin and other Crypto in general as a way to preserve or grow wealth?


Not an expert here by any means, so take this with a grain of salt. I think it can be good for wealth generation, though not for the faint of heart with the way it bounces up and down. High yield=high risk, so don't forget to take profits.



It does have some problems. Quite traceable by governments owing to know your customer laws, and it's not fungible. One bitcoin is not equal to another bitcoin, if one has been involved in a shady transaction and ends up in your account, you're probably not going to be able to use it. This bugs me.



Not to mention the IMF and World Economic Forum (You will have no privacy. You will own nothing. And you WILL be happy. Hmm....) are gunning for it. Because as we all know, bitcoin is mostly used by drug dealers and terrorists (hate to correct you IMF, but I think you meant US Dollars are mostly used by drug dealers and terrorists).


Wouldn't it be wonderful if the trustworthy IMF ran all the digital currency? Then your accounts and transactions would be truly private (aside from the spying for you know...drug dealers and terrorists), and no chance of hacking.



A-hem.



Also, Biden wants to pass an unrealised capital gains tax. I hope it won't go through. But have you noticed how governments tend to copy the really bad ideas other governments push through?


Bearing that in mind, I think it's good - for wealth generation, though, not preservation. Of course, none of the bad things may come to pass (who am I kidding?), just be aware of which way the wind is blowing.
 

conspiracy theorist

Well-known member
Yeah, I'm following the developments of that unrealised capital gains tax. It might be marketed as a way to tax rich hedge funds and WallStreet firms, but I suspect it would affect the retail investor more (who are usually in the middle class range). Making it more difficult for them to take advantage of compounding interest on their investment portfolios. Those who saw passive investing as a way to grow their best egg might have to think again... a survey of other wealth generation methods might be in order.

Jamaica doesn't have a capital gains tax, however we have a transfer tax and stamp duty payable on shares and property. So essentially the outcome is the same here. A couple years back I spoke to some establishment types about crypto and they skirted the issue like I was making the complicit in a crime. Wonder where they stand two years later.
 

wan

Well-known member
People are positioning Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency equivalent of gold, and urging people to buy into it to hedge against the dollar devaluing/inflation. What do you think about Bitcoin and other Crypto in general as a way to preserve or grow wealth?

My own take:

I am not knowledgeable on wealth generation or preservation, however I have an idea on how to "fight" inflation, as it were.

Spend all your money. Yep, I meant it. Spend all of your hard-earned money while it still has value. But don't spend it on useless cheap plastic goods, or things. Spend your money on the many children you will be having. Have many, many of them, then spend your money (while it still has value) giving them good college education. And after this is done, if you still have money left over, buy up land and start growing things. If the apocalypse thing that some people have been predicting really does happen, having precious metals will not do much to help. Yes they are better than fiat money, however what value does gold have when there is no food that you can trade it for? Having land upon which you can grow veggies and raise livestock ensures that you will have something that a lot of people are going to want. And even if you don't trade, you will be making sure you won't go starving. And your many children will take care of you when you are old.

So basically, what our ancestors had been doing for thousands of years.
 
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conspiracy theorist

Well-known member
All those things can take decades to complete, and in the meanwhile you want to ensure that what you have to spend has the necessary purchasing power to lead the kind of comfortable life that you've outlined. Hence the focus on growing your assets at a rate higher than the yearly inflation rate.

Of course in the event of an apocalypse then a lot of these things are thrown out the window, but then who is to say that your property rights will be protected when people are more concerned about surviving to the next day? Hell, praedial larceny is a major problem in countries with strong agricultural communities already.
 
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wan

Well-known member
People can buy firearms for the purpose of self-protection. They can also band together with like-minded individuals to protect their lands.

And yes, it's true that in an apocalypse type of situation, starving people might start looting. However that by itself is not an argument strong enough to give up land ownership. Would you rather have some food that could be robbed, or would you have no food and you might still be robbed?
 

conspiracy theorist

Well-known member
Wan, where I live people not only have firearms to deal with thieves, but are perfectly willing to cleave a perpetrator's head off if caught red-handed. It doesn't stop people from ransacking your place in an apocalypse situation -- even banding together to take over your plot of land if necessary.

I do think that land and property ownership is important, too. It's another way to diversify one's portfolio, so to speak. But if the rule of law collapses like what would occur in an apocalypse situation, then you would have no way to enforce your claim to the land save for force.

As to the question, I could do the third thing and rob the person, or the fourth thing and team up with other like minded people and rob the food, and steal the land. Banding together can go both ways.

I agree with the importance of land ownership, but I don't see it as a panacea.
 
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