Risks to savings? Stocks, dollars or provisions for living?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Arguements abound against forward shopping for provisions to secure living and in favour of being fully committed in stock markets to make the next killing or holding the dollar which is presently seen as king of the currency world.

There is growing evidence that these opinions and notions may be suicidal illusions.

Stocks:::::Never have so many entrusted so much to so few who know so little. The behavior of the Dow around 10,000 is eerily like that around 1,000 in 1966. It melted to just over 500 and did not recover to 1,000 for 16 years until 1982. We should be mindful that the Dow took 25 years to recover to its 1929 high in 1954. In 1929 it got up to 18 ounces of gold at it's peak. At 10,000 it traded at 35 ounces of gold; just about double the overvaluation extreme of 1929. Does this look like risk to you?

Dollars:::::Never has a fiat currency been revered by so many who know not what they hold. It's world wide popularity is declaring it as the king of currencies. In reality, all currencies are descending towards ground zero in terms of their puchasing power. However, in the process, some intermittently float higher and some float lower. Those at the top of a wave of sentiment convey the illusion that they are not drowning. How long will the world deliver goods and services in exchange for these digital nothings before the illusion vanishes?

Provisions for living:::::Never have our reserves for provisions been so slim while the facade of abundance appears to be so great on the face of shelves across the land. The great storehouses and warehouses of the past have been demolished as delicate just in time threads of delivery systems have taken their place. What might be the consequences of any rending of these threads?

Risks to savings:::::We all have our own unique levels of risk tolerence. Some like riding on rockets and others prefer walking on solid ground. Are we being blinded by a proliferation of deceptions and popular delusions? In times past it was said that one should never abdicate their own mind in making decisions. Where do you prefer to employ your own hard earned savings?

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 23, 1999

Answers

Excellent!

-- A (A@AisA.com), March 23, 1999.

Cash has value as a barter tool. Dollars are the most recognized cash nationally and worldwide. The "value" of a dollar comes from a collective fiction more than any "real" back-up. Whatever the infrastructure breakdown that Y2K brings, people's focus on dollars is not likely to vanish. Cash on hand might well increase in value with the severe cash shortages our banking system will face soon. That said, I plan to have plenty of food beyond what my family can eat. In addition to bulk foods, we'll have hundreds of quarts we've canned ourselves for eating and plenty of the junk you can buy to use as barter. I don't trust my reasoning about cash enough to rely on it. When it comes to Y2K all there seems to be is varying degrees of ignorance.

-- Steve Hartzler (s.hartzler@usa.net), March 23, 1999.

Steve,

Disruptions in banking is anticipated to make currency notes more desireable. Disruptions in central governments may make currency notes very suspect. Who will ultimately want currency notes of a potentially defunct government?

Thanks for your response.

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 23, 1999.


Hi Watchful!

I'm skeptical of the value of paper currency in a crisis, because that currency is the product of an organization which this time around will be seen to be a source of many lies by those who are suffering.

Some months ago, Gary North suggested strike-anywhere matches. This makes a lot of sense to me. I see matches and cigarettes to be the small change (the pennies, nickels and dimes) of a period of crisis.

-- GA Russell (garussell@russellga.com), March 24, 1999.


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