Pretty Squiggly Lines

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

« A Kingdom for Keflings

Blank Slate »

Pretty Squiggly Lines

November 19, 2008 by Tesh

What a delightful little graph:

RGB Rollercoaster

Don’t forget, this one is EPIC.

[Edited to add a revised graph found here, now with 100% more Great Depression information.]

Oh, and if you want the audio, this guy’s worth listening to:

Nouriel Roubini

About these ads

Posted in economy | Tagged economy, finance | 4 Comments

4 Responses

on November 20, 2008 at 10:26 AM Mama Druid

Interesting times, ain’t it?
on November 20, 2008 at 10:47 AM Tesh

Indeed. Never before have I fully appreciated that apocryphal Chinese curse. I can only hope that my children live in less interesting times and learn to compensate adequately for further… squigglies.
on November 21, 2008 at 6:10 AM Chris F

Honestly, I am glued to CNBC. Both on TV and in my car on satellite radio. 9-11 aside, this is the biggest crisis we will see in our lifetimes (knocks on wood).

At least all of this mess has made me feel good about my personal choice to not invest in any stock market. I always hated the system. I have a better chance of hitting a jackpot at a Casino.

Perhaps all of this will make other invests more wisely on tangible items. Smaller businesses without 200million dollar CEO’s. Things you can see, touch, and trust.

Scary part is this may just be the beginning, with some analysts predicting the dow could bottom out as low as 5000. That is admittedly the doom and gloom prediction but thats another 3000 points.
on November 21, 2008 at 9:46 AM Tesh

I’ve long detested the stock market and the investment pyramid. Perpetual exponential growth just isn’t possible in a finite world; something has to give. It’s either the monetary base like Weimar’s hyperinflation or our current sort of ratcheted collapse, but whatever the means, the “market” will always have to return to fair valuation. The fraud can only go on for so long. That’s just the pragmatic side of it.

The ethical side of my objection is firmly rooted in a deep aversion to usury (interest) and loathing of scams. Yes, there’s money to be made in stocks, but it’s gambling, driven by fraud, spin and the desire to “hit it big” rather than doing an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.

I know enough about math, markets and marketing to make plenty of money, but as far as I’m concerned, it would be dirty money, and I want nothing to do with it.

The current market crash is merely reality asserting itself. It’s not a panic, it’s not irrational. It’s decades of inflation, fraud, fiat money and fractional reserve lending unwinding. (But I repeat myself.) It’s as inevitable as entropy, and as healthy as a wildfire. The cancers in the system must be cleaned out to provide for long term survival. Unfortunately, our leaders just want to put bandaids on shotgun wounds, and try to treat sunburns while ignoring the melanoma.

Survival will indeed mean local business, a focus on sustainability rather than growth, and living within our means, as individuals and organizations. It will mean producing more than consuming. It’s not hard to understand, but it can be hard to change, especially to a society so deeply entrenched in an entitlement (or retirement) mindset.

/soapbox

Thanks, Chris.