Answer part 2. I would guess that business inventory might be exempted from an across the board asset tax, as taxing inventory would put a lot of businesses under during a period of time that they want to maintain employment.
.............................................................................. Good point of view.... US=GM....everyone knows the legacy costs/debts have got to go through default.... And there is nothing they can do about it.... using traditional and erroneous means.... ............................................................................... The inevitable is just that....the black horse is black.....not white.... ............................................................................... Why not cut to the chase and start to rebuild in such a way that globalization can happen in the best manner possible.... An exchange can be anywhere.....It is just the laws.... A few strokes of the pen....which is "somebody's job" should be taking place..... But very mistakenly and sadly is not even being pondered.... One has to go it alone.... .......................................................................... True universal accounts are needed....all instruments....including plain jane short term debt of any/all central banks in currency of choice....at central banks' true rates....not levered forex nonsense.... With a few mouse clicks....one pawns off the worry of the local wacko politicos.... This needs to be a tax free highway....such that the wackos cannot manipulate incentives.... This is the only way globalization is going to work....
I am a US citizen. But these huge obligations have me wishing I had second citizenship somewhere else. But where??? Russia? Europe? China? Africa? A Muslim country? South America? It looks almost like there is nowhere safe. The world economy is so interlinked, that the whole pile could come down.
............................................................... Thus the need for true universal accounts that are un-encumbered.... Which is also the answer to replentished big numbers via the exchanges....
Marc Faber lost money for his clients last year even though he supposedly predicted the meltdown. Hes not in HK anymore, must be working on new unburned cient base in Singapore. Might be a great analyst but certainly not a trader.
According to Faber's definition the US already was in a period of "hyperinflation" in 79/80 then (CPI was at 13.5%). Clearly, that wasn't hyperinflation if one assumes that entails price increases being "out of control". While there is no hard definition, Wikipedia suggests But I guess a talking head like Faber enjoys the headlines and "hyperinflation" sounds so much more catchy for the media than "high inflation". P.S. Why is he singling out the USA by the way? Ireland, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Japan, Greece won't have hyperinflation? Some of these countries' outlook is much much more bleak than the United States'.
................................................................................................ Just who can buy into agriculture.....? The winners in ag are going to be the vert and the horizontal integrateds.... The only thing keeping land out of the corps. are govt. subsidies.....US farmers have been socialized for a long time.... ie land prices kill renewable efficiencies....ie why solar thermal etc.... And in a 200 to $600 per month world ....who is going to pay up ?.... A rich man's stomach is 100X the poor man's stomach ?.... ........................................................................................ Rogers has evolved into a book salesman.... Rogers literally talks his book.....and is becoming another Cramer....who really has nothing but Nielsen in mind....
Allegedly Rogers is now involved in some farm projects in Canada and Brazil, see http://www.investorazzi.com/2009/04/06/latest-on-jim-rogers’-farmland-projects/ -- if that is correct then at least he puts his money where his mouth is, since one of his theories is that farming will be the place to be for the next 25-30 years.