US, Global economic meltdown, dollar colapses, gold @ $5K per ounce coming?

[Eduard]

What do you guys think? Is US economy going to colapse? In 2 years? 5? 10? The USA corporation hasn't had a budget in 4 years. Economy growing at the rate of 1.3 percent. The real unemployment is at 21% according to Donald Trump (I tend to trust his stats more than the governmenr stats). 49 million people on food stamps. Our debt is out of control, the Fed is going to start printing $40 billion a month with no limitations set. It's got to devalue the dollar, no? Gold is at $1750, silver at $34.50, gas at $3.80 a gallon.
What's coming? How soon? How to prepair to weather the storm?
Thoughts, ideas are welcome.

[Belvis]

Ed,
The commom pattern is when you're worried that much it's not going to happen. But it will happen when you'll be confident in future prosperity.

As a russian man you know for sure how to be prepared to a collapse. Just buy a stock of salt, matches, laundry soap 

[GoodOlBoy]

Thoughts, ideas are welcome.

Guns and plenty of ammunition sir.
And out of respect for the nonbelievers of RWD, I won't mention a Bible. 
 
GOB

[Slumba]

A few thoughts:

1.  Hidden cause of Soviet destruction, was demographics.  Look at demographics of Soviet Union and how the large number of older people, with lesser numbers of younger people growing up, correlates with the fall of the SU.  Now, look at USA demographics.

2. Hold some wealth outside the banking system.  If your money is in the banking system, it can be stolen with the click of a keyboard by these thieves.  Read up on Jon Corzine, whose company MF Global stole 1.2 Billion dollars of what were supposed to be segregated client funds (similar to money on deposit in a bank) - he has not even been charged and is still a free man.

3. As to preparations, it is tough to know what to recommend.  Some say guns, some say gold, some say food prepared for long-term storage.  Do what you feel comfortable with - no one knows what will really happen.  Do you have space for a garden?

4. If you can, try to pick up some manual skills or have the ability to "do it yourself" / DIY.  There may be shortages of things in the future so knowing how to fix things or do something that others don't is a valuable skill to have.

5. The collapse will take longer than you think.  Myself, I am surprised it has lasted this long.  Consider that Communism was obviously dead in the 1960s, yet it did not really collapse until almost 30 years later.  Politicians are experts at "kicking the can down the road", delaying the time when the accounts are really settled.

6.  I suggest reading about the German hyperinflation, a good and free book on the subject, "When Money Dies"  http://www.goldonomic.com/When%20Money%20Dies.pdf

Yes, I would say putting some money into small gold pieces of 1 ounce or less in size, would be a good idea (don't pay much over the spot price, which you can see at http://www.kitco.com/market/ ).  Having some silver might also be a good idea.

[Eduard]

[size=78%]  Read up on Jon Corzine, whose company MF Global stole 1.2 Billion dollars of what were supposed to be segregated client funds (similar to money on deposit in a bank) - he has not even been charged and is still a free man.[/size]

[size=78%]yes I've been following this story. Simply unbelieavable that he gets "The Roof" from Obama administration and no one screams WTF???[/size]

[Misha]

Guns and plenty of ammunition sir.
And out of respect for the nonbelievers of RWD, I won't mention a Bible. 
 
GOB

I would go for 100 acres, a pile of seed potatoes, two goats (male and female) and a sow and a boar, a good supply of matches and an axe 

[Eduard]

I would go for 100 acres, a pile of seed potatoes, two goats (male and female) and a sow and a boar, a good supply of matches and an axe 

Misha, I'll just pick up my family and move to your place for a decade or so!

[Gator]

Folks,
Calm down.  The stock market is a leading indicator, and it is up!  It is up 0.7% just today in response to another leading indicator - a monthly survey of purchasing agents which says American manufacturing is growing.
 
Bernanke got started a little late, but his most recent QE program will make people feel better about the future and thus vote for Obama.  If you haven't guessed, Romney if elected would replace Bernanke.

[Eduard]

Folks,
Calm down.  The stock market is a leading indicator, and it is up!  It is up 0.7% just today in response to another leading indicator - a monthly survey of purchasing agents which says American manufacturing is growing.
 
Bernanke got started a little late, but his most recent QE program will make people feel better about the future and thus vote for Obama.  If you haven't guessed, Romney if elected would replace Bernanke.

I don't believe that the market reflects the economic reality any more. I think it's fixed and QE is a big part of it.

[BC]

Folks,
Calm down.  The stock market is a leading indicator, and it is up!  It is up 0.7% just today in response to another leading indicator - a monthly survey of purchasing agents which says American manufacturing is growing.
 
Bernanke got started a little late, but his most recent QE program will make people feel better about the future and thus vote for Obama.  If you haven't guessed, Romney if elected would replace Bernanke.

Lets not forget that Ben Shalom Bernanke was appointed by GW Bush in 2006 and has pretty much weathered the following economic storm. Nominated by Obama in 2009 to retain his position of Chairman.

Sometimes , even often it's not whether one goes north, south, east or west but instead stability going in one direction for the long run that allows ample time for commerce to understand and follow.  I am confident though that he may be a bit smarter and has more data than I do to work with even though I disagree with much he has done.   I voted banks be damned, let them burn then rebuild.

If Romney would replace him, has he proposed with whom?  I think that is the crux of the Romney proposal.. repeal, replace... but not being able to answer the crucial questions as to how or whom.  How is that any different than 'Hope'?

[BC]

I don't believe that the market reflects the economic reality any more. I think it's fixed and QE is a big part of it.

Believe it or not I kinda agree.  The next crash will be a 'pure' stock market crash and not the stock markets reacting to other markets..  Right now it's sort of hanging out there at a high but with little in the way of foundation.  What goes up, comes down.

[Eduard]

Believe it or not I kinda agree.  The next crash will be a 'pure' stock market crash and not the stock markets reacting to other markets..  Right now it's sort of hanging out there at a high but with little in the way of foundation.  What goes up, comes down.

Glad we agree on something! 
It's funny to watch gold rise when the marked goes up and vise versa they should be going in the opposite direction from one another. This is one of the indications that it's all being manipulated.

[Gator]

If Romney would replace him, has he proposed with whom?  I think that is the crux of the Romney proposal.. repeal, replace... but not being able to answer the crucial questions as to how or whom.  How is that any different than 'Hope'?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/28/the-three-frontrunners-for-fed-chairman-in-a-romney-administration/
 
Years from now when the smoke clears and the top economists and historians have completed their analysis of the Great Recession, I believe Bernanke will get the second highest credit for avoiding a crash.  First will be TARP.  Near the bottom will be stimulus.

[Gator]

I don't believe that the market reflects the economic reality any more. I think it's fixed and QE is a big part of it.

There are still many obstacles to overcome.  The fiscal cliff after the election is just one.  The  global slowdown now starting in Europe is troublesome.  Although American business looks good, the previous two obstacles good derail it. 
 
Also, those describing to the Dow Theory predict a downturn because the Dow Transports have not gone up to confirm the movement in the Dow Industrials.
 
But these would be downturns, not a crash.

[GoodOlBoy]

First will be TARP.  Near the bottom will be stimulus.

How about "cash for clunkers" ? 
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Allowance_Rebate_System
 
Actually, I can't complain.
I traded in my clunker and got a loaded GMC pickup truck. 
I went down immediately and got mine.
IIRC, the program ran out of money in one month or less?
 
GOB

[LAman]

Jeez....this kinda reminds me of the animation clip of a character running back and forth and yelling...the sky is falling...the sky is falling....all panicked... 
Its a few billion years before the earth will collapase...until that time, things will go UP and things will go down, some people will panic some people will be calm...
If you have all the time in the world....you can just shoot the breeze and talk about what will/won't happen...
For those with tin foil on your antenna....the aliens are coming...the aliens are coming.....

[tfcrew]

It's funny to watch gold rise when the marked goes up and vise versa they should be going in the opposite direction from one another. This is one of the indications that it's all being manipulated.

It has, according to this British reporter...

The price of gold is traditionally a proxy for the value of money. A soaring bullion price is indicative of a lack of faith in fiat currency.
Our financial system is predicated on the notion that money stands as a proxy for the factors of production – capital, labour, land and enterprise.
In short, the abundance of money in the economy should be related to the abundance of those factors. The harder we work, for instance, the more we create. There is more labour in the economy, therefore a rise in the money supply is legitimate in order to mirror this. There is nothing wrong with printing money per se so long as the printing reflects an expansion in the real economy.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/thomaspascoe/100018574/the-price-of-gold-has-been-manipulated-this-is-more-scandalous-than-libor/

[Faux Pas]

How about "cash for clunkers" ? 
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Allowance_Rebate_System
 
Actually, I can't complain.
I traded in my clunker and got a loaded GMC pickup truck. 
I went down immediately and got mine.
IIRC, the program ran out of money in one month or less?
 
GOB

I refused to buy a Chevy or GMC

[tfcrew]

... that it's all being manipulated.

In fact, the US and other governments did try to suppress the Gold Price from 1961 to 1968 through what was known as the London Gold Pool. The US alone persisted in trying to do so until Nixon devalued the Dollar and closed the gold window in 1971.
But if it was ever doable, that was the time. Although nobody knows exactly how much gold there is above ground, a reasonable guess might be six billion ounces. There was a possibility of controlling the price, in the days of the London Gold Pool, when there were only three billion ounces in existence and when all the gold in the world was worth only $105 billion ($35 x 3 billion = $105 billion).

http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/gold-price-manipulation-051820127