[roccman]

Hey Pops...

I think more than your nasty socks are unraveling today...

What say you?

Or is this all a non - event.

BTW today - 1 oz gold for your farm and equipment...yesterday was 2...tomorrow will be 1/2.

Bring on the pain!!!

[threadbear]

Roccman and I are just razzing you, Pops. By the sounds of it you can probably withstand just about anything life throws at you. The fact that you started making plans, long ago, and beat the rush is really great. I'm thinking about people who may have some extra money that they don't want to spend on shaky tangible assets, like real estate, at the present time. It would be silly for a first time buyer to buy any kind of real estate, as prices are going to continue to drop. It would actually be best to buy and hold gold for a while, then buy that bug-out place. Even CNBC had economists on advising gold today! Gotta love it.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('roccman', 'H')ey Pops...

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', 'R')occman and I are just razzing you, Pops. By the sounds of it you can probably withstand just about anything life throws at you.

[Revi]

I think that gasoline has turned into a "giffen good" and people have to keep buying it whatever the price is.

During the Irish potato famine the price of food kept going up, but there was no fall off in demand, no matter how high the price went.

So it is with gasoline. We'll keep using the stuff no matter how high the price goes. Even if it bankrupts us.

That's what's going on. It's unravelling because we can't change our ways and use less.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giffen_good

[MrBill]

Excellent link, Revi! This brings something new to the argument. Thanks. MrBill

[seahorse]

Yes Revi, as was also predicted in the documentary "The End of Suburbia."

[Revi]

I have a lot of colleagues who drive big vehicles. They are beginning to complain about the price of gas. It costs them a lot to fill up, and they feel that they can't trade their cars because they'll take a beating on the trade in. They are stuck in houses that are too big for them as well.

They'll be hurting this winter from gas prices and the price of heating oil. The cost of food has risen dramatically as well.

The squeeze is on for the middle class. We're caught in the vise.

[Bas]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Revi', 'I') think that gasoline has turned into a "giffen good" and people have to keep buying it whatever the price is.

During the Irish potato famine the price of food kept going up, but there was no fall off in demand, no matter how high the price went.

So it is with gasoline. We'll keep using the stuff no matter how high the price goes. Even if it bankrupts us.

That's what's going on. It's unravelling because we can't change our ways and use less.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giffen_good

[Gerontion]

I’m no economist and this is reaching back to high school lessons but petrol isn’t an inferior good so can’t be considered a giffen good. Rather, it’s a normal good with a highly inelastic demand curve.

[whereagles]

Geron, you're missing the point. A good doesn't need to be of inferior quality to be giffen. The idea is that if gasoline becomes more expensive, then you'll have less money to tune up your car and you'll end up consuming MORE gasoline after all.

Gasoline stops being giffen only if you stop having money to buy it.

[MrBill]

Just to clarify petroleum as a Giffen good it would be my understanding that we are talking about a percent of disposable income that goes to buying gasoline that increases as prices rise at the expense of other discretionary spending that has to fall.

This might preclude buying a new car that might be more efficient and save money in the long-run or as you mentioned having it even tuned up so that it uses less gasoline at the moment.

I just do not want anyone thinking that this means people would burn more gasoline in volume terms, but specifically as a rising percentage of disposable income. Right?

[Duende]

Pulled from the article referenced earlier in the thread:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')ccording to Claudia Coulton, co-director of the Centre for Urban Poverty at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, over 10,000 families - one in eight of all owner occupiers in Cleveland - will face eviction this year - and the number is expected to rise.

[bodigami]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Revi', '(')...)
I just bought 20 shares of FPL, since they're the lowest carbon electricity producers in the US. People will still need to keep the lights on for a few years, whatever happens. I'll sell before 2012, since that's when the Olduvai Gorge starts to open up, and the lights start to go out, according to Duncan.
(...)

[Revi]

Yes the Mayans predict that it will be the end, and the beginning of a new cycle. Duncan predicts that it's the beginning of the Olduvai event and some others have predicted other milestones in 2012. I didn't know that we'll welcome baby 7 billion too. 2012 should be quite a year.

Meanwhile Evergreen Solar is finally going up! I might be able to retire after all. It languished for a year and a half.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ESLR

I figure that the next economy isn't about oil. Right now it seems like the only game in town, but solar is coming up from way behind.

2012 may also be the year that the big switch to renewables begins in earnest.

[GreyGhost]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('whereagles', 'T')he idea is that if gasoline becomes more expensive, then you'll have less money to tune up your car and you'll end up consuming MORE gasoline after all.

[roccman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('zensui', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Revi', '(')...)
I just bought 20 shares of FPL, since they're the lowest carbon electricity producers in the US. People will still need to keep the lights on for a few years, whatever happens. I'll sell before 2012, since that's when the Olduvai Gorge starts to open up, and the lights start to go out, according to Duncan.
(...)

[ohanian]

You guys are stupid
2012 is the year that
Runaway Global Warming kicks in


It has absolutely nothing to do with this Mayan Shit!!!

[Revi]

2012 is also the year that the Yankees win the World Series again. We'll see about that... It does seem like the year 2012 is a big one. A lot of things are supposed to happen then. It's going to be interesting.

[Kaj]

The year 2012 is the UK's turn to host the Olympics, and nothing should be allowed to interfere!
Foul play by the rest of the world! Thats just poor sportsmanship on behalf of those Mayans.