Welcome to Gaia! ::

ok, so i was driving along in Mundy Township, Michigan (just south of Flint)... Gas station sign read 3.199/gal

so i got to thinking... is the price REALLY going down?

the answer to that is no, its not. our economy is deflating, and i believe the banks may have something to do with it. the fed has to loan money to the banks at interest in order for the money supply to exist.

problem is, a bunch of this money just came up missing when the banks closed. as a result, we've deflated. our dollar is now worth 1.16 canadian. normally it wouldn't be something to panic about, BUT... if there were an opposite of irrational exuberance, this would be it.

its a 2 sided problem. until now, we've had inflation issues. now we're having deflation issues. too much changed too fast, as a result, the people panic, and talk of bailouts ensues.

question is... bail them out? why SHOULD we? if you were foolish enough to take all your money and put it in a bank instead of investing in something, you were asking for trouble. I personally do my banking with one of the oldest financial institutions in the US: JP Morgan Chase. JP Morgan has been pulling strings for decades, odds of them collapsing anytime soon is slim to nil. the US auto industry (and, by and large, the US Beer industry), is controlled by only a few companies... maybe thats how investment banking needs to be. Its like the game console market. perpetually controlled by 2 or 3 companies. Is there anything wrong with that? I sure as hell don't think so.

1. that, i was not aware of...

2. yes, it is, considering our rapid inflation during the Bush Regime. however... consumers are wary of any rapid change in the economy. I feel as though the reaction to bailout the banks... is an overreaction. the situation DOES need to be looked at more carefully, though. like... why were people issued home loans in the first place if they cauldn't pay them off? thats the whole reason these banks are going to s**t.