www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I think we have to re-think our entire economic system which relies on continuous growth to function. Remember a recession just means that the economy is growing slower than it " should."
There is an upper limit to how many resoureces we can use, how much earth we can destroy and how many people can consume, consume, consume.
We have finite resources and space on this little blue ball in space so unless we reduce population or move to another planet we HAVE to change our system. Something other than socialism or free market capitalism. A third way of doing things or we are committing global suicide.
Its crunch time. Either we change or change will be forced upon us in a most unpleasant manner.

_________________
I believe in moderation in everything except excess.
I phuck 'em just to see the look on their face.
Klatu, berata, nicto.

My first trip in 1997 $1 bought c185. As of this morning $1 was trading for an average of c543.41.

Wow...543 is pretty good...last trip was under 500. Trip before that was about 520 I think. Oh well Panama over labor day, using the dollar anyway.

Buy gold and silver? About the GLD ETF? I can't be lugging gold around or stashing it in a safe deposit box, how bout the ETF?

Silver you know at say $20 an ounce, you can take the coin and have a meal, buy some gas etc. What am I going to do with a $1000 coin?, who is going to cash it? If I want a meal or gas, what do I do get a wheelbarrow of fed reserve notes back?

Course I bet the gals at the HDR will take that gold coin...and when the crash cums, there won't be any change back anyway. Caunto Cuesta? "Mil"

In 1992, first trip, it was 137.

When I moved here in 2003 was about 400.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

What did you get comparatively speaking in 1992 for 137c? Same as 540c gets ya today? More? Less?

How bout 400 in 2003?

For most goods the inflation rate and the colon devaluation rate basically equaled out. Chica asking fees increased substantially from 1992 but that was not related to the devaluation of the colon as they usually quoted in USD not colones. Their increase was more likely caused by Costa Rica becoming a more popular monger destination and the Ticas being replaced by Colombians.

The change in the past two years has been dramatic. Everything is caught up in the inflationary spiral and what you could buy for 450 colones in 2006 can not be purchased for 550 colones today.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Bingo. Fiat currencies logically can not go on forever. And as a side note, our current Fed chief has been nicknamed "Helicopter Ben." This is in regards to his theory that you can spend your way out of any economic problem. Thus causing inflation. It's just a vicious circle. Right now, my house needs to see inflation but every time I buy goods and services the unmerciful "inflation tax" kills me. It simply is designed to destroy the middle class. This is my opinion, of course. I will add that I believe it is intentional.

The next factor that no one ever talks about is growth. Exponential growth is one of the wonders of the world. How can you have economies growing at say..oh...even 3%/yr, every year? Do the math and the numbers could never be sustained. Haywood mentioned that we need to rely on continuous growth. That is true. But, what is more true is the we need to rely on continued growth in CREDIT!!!! Credit is debt, credit is money. Without debt there would be no money. It isn't a mystery that you get unsolicited credit card offers three times a week. Banks need to expand credit. The problem is that credit has been given to very high risk companies and individuals during times of unrealistically low interest rate environments. Initially, the big winners were the greedy banks. Unfortunately, those bad loans are comin' home to roost. To understand this you might want to research how money is actually created, the fractional reserve system (the funniest joke of them all) and the closed loop of the banking system. It is interesting to say the very least.

Now, how can I link this post to anything related to mongering in CR???

dapanz1

What is happening in the usa has been predicted as far back as 2001.
By whom you ask?
Jim Sinclair (jsmineset.com) the gold guru from the 80's (forbes 2002)
Jim predicted this economic turmoil because of over the counter derivatives. OCD's which consist of a shadow banking system with no over site or regulation or taxes and is really a game of musical chairs.
Right now there are over a quadrillion dollars in OCD's and they are all failing.
BTW warren buffet warned his shareholders about OCD's in 2003.
The OCD problem is world wide and the money lost will affect EVERYONE.
I sell Gold And Silver and let me tell you business is BOOMING.

Dapans1 wrote;


Here is the best explanation of how money is ceated.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doc ... al+reserve

Side note, Last year the federal reserve stopped reporting the M3
( How much new money they create and inject into the economy ) Thus debasing the dollar ( estimated at least at 12% per year) and realisticly closer to 18%.
When asked WHY the only bullshit reason they could come up with was that it cost them TOO much $ to figure it out ???????

THEY DON"T WANT YOU TO KNOW !!!!!

Tha Nuck

_________________
Throughout the history of mankind there has never been one shred of evidence that supports that life is serious..........
Don't believe everything you think ............

The federal reserve bank is a total scam. Its actually a private corporation. Our currency is not backed by anything since we went off the gold standard in the 70's. A dollar bill is actually an IOU. The collapse is coming.

_________________
I believe in moderation in everything except excess.
I phuck 'em just to see the look on their face.
Klatu, berata, nicto.

Doomsday!

I wonder what the British were saying when the pound in the early 80s was at an all time low, doomsday? The pound has historically been around 1.60 to 1.80. But, in the early 80s, when I was in England, I could buy a pound for $1.01. Isn't that amazing! Now the pound is near $2.00.

I wonder, if push comes to shove, if doomsday comes, where will all the nukes fit into the math? Would we privately or publicly threaten the world to stay on top?

People have been talking about doomsday for a long time. To be honest, one of the pleasures of getting older is that it better happen soon or I'm going to escape it. So glad I didn't bring any K*ds into this phucked up world.

I think the US could use a dose of bad economy.... Arrogance can bring down an empire!!

Well, the exchange rate has changed again, I'm not sure when it happened, but it's now like 565 Colones to the dollar. Looks like the Costa Rican government is even worse at managing finances than the Bush Administration. That's a pretty high (or low) bar, but they did it! Congrats, Don Oscar. This TLC thing is working great, right?

_________________
"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Oh my, the sky is falling!

Yes, the dollar is falling, and yes, there is rising demand for oil while the supply is increasing at a slower rate, and yes, the USA has a trade imbalance with China and other countries. But it's not going to crash. We might have to tighten our belts and work but it's not an unsolvable situation.

Amen.