Its like an Auction at a mansion

[ThomWV]

This morning a caller into C-Span's Washington Journal program noted that in recent days as the value of the dollar has dropped the stock market (DOW and S&P) has continued to rise; how can that be? Apparently nobody knew, or at least nobody on stage was willing to suggest an answer. Let me suggest one: If dollars are cheap they will flood in from all over the world to buy up our assets at fire-sale prices, the additional demand has caused stock prices to rise a bit. How hard was that one to figure out?

The nation is being sold out from under us. You might have thought it was all already gone, but not so. We still produce and export, we are still a player. But there we are on the open market being sold off day by day by a cheap dollar no longer supported by the notion that the American working man and woman will be able to pay the nation's debts. The world can see we're in trouble now, the falling dollar tells you they think the decline will continue. But in the meantime plant, equipment, and management are cheap on our side of the pond.

Have you ever been to an auction from a wealthy estate? You look at all the millions of dollars in stuff and you wonder to yourself, 'how in hell did they ever go broke? They had so much.'

[Arctic Dave]

1. Naomi Klein comes to mind.

When I was young and traveled to other countries I could never quite figure out how some countries were so poor when they seemed to have just about every thing they needed to be prosperous. I don't wonder anymore, I have found that greed will destroy everything when given enough time.

[ThomWV]

2. 30 Years ago a magazine asked the oddest question

There used to be, in fact still is, a magazine called Mother Earth News that 30 years ago included a bit of an editorial in the beginning of each issue. It was a long time ago and my memory is shaky at best anyway but as I recall in one issue they made a comparison between West Virginia and Switzerland. Oh, I didn't live in West Virginia at the time so had no horse in the race when it came to the article. The question, as I recall it, was phrased something like this. West Virginia and Switzerland are quite similar. They are about the same size, have about the same population, participate in a large economic community, and in the case of West Virginia is blessed with vast natural resources which are easily recovered, processed, and transported. That said how does one account for the overwhelming poverty in West Virginia and wealth in Switzerland? Hell of a question, ain't it?

As I recall the same article said that if a $0.10 (ten cent) per ton tax had been changed on every ton of coal that ever left this state that it would be the richest state in the nation. Might be true, might not.

[Arctic Dave]

4. I am familiar with M/E News.

I would not only compare your story with WV but also with Louisiana and their oil fields. LA is a poor state which seems very strange considering the amount of natural resources that have been extracted from there. I have to give great respect for the founders of the State of Alaska, they made the right decision in the beginning to keep the natural resources in the hands of the state and not privatize them.

[Warpy]

3. How'd they go broke? They bought all that stuff!

If you've ever been to the home of someone with really old money, you'd know the furniture is antique and completely threadbare, handed down from previous owners, there are worn spots in the Orientals, and most of the people in the household drive Toyotas.

My mother said it best: the people who have the most money are usually the people who know how to hang onto it.

That's only changed while the executive class has been allowed to become the robber class. However, they don't know how to hang onto it, so they'll lose it, too.