When WALMART starts talking inflation, people better open their eyes.

[wisco]

Wal-Mart CEO Bill Simon expects inflation - USATODAY.com

"The world's largest retailer is working with suppliers to minimize the effect of cost increases and believes its low-cost business model will position it better than its competitors.

Still, inflation is "going to be serious," Wal-Mart U.S. CEO Bill Simon said during a meeting with USA TODAY's editorial board. "We're seeing cost increases starting to come through at a pretty rapid rate."



This is just the tip of the iceberg my friends. All of this phantom money we've been printing over the last 4 decades and especially the last few years is coming home to roost.

Japan cannot buy our debt anymore, they have their own problems. China is leary of the dollar and has stated as much, brokering side deals with countries like Russia to avoid dollars. PIMCO (the worlds largest bond holder) is no longer purchasing US Treasury bonds, resulting in the Federal Reserve purchasing between 70-80% of T-Bills.

Call me a doom and gloomer, but IMO we are headed for some times the likes of which nobody in this country has seen.

I see so many people comparing todays crisis to the Great Depression, but that is way off base for a multitude of reasons:

1) During the GD we had a manufacturing/production based economy, today we do not
2) We were the worlds largest creditor nation, today we are the worlds largest debtor nation
3) We did not have a $14 trillion "official" deficit, with about another $70 trillion in social programs, entitlements, and derivatives piled on
4) We had trade surpluses, not $40 billion/month deficits
5) We had a gold backed currency, todays is purely a fiat/faith based system and that faithis dwindling around the globe

....I could go on, but I think you get my drift.

Buckle your seatbelts everyone, this is going to be a wild ride.

[retdetsgt]

I'm not so much doom and gloom, but I have little doubt we're in for some serious inflation. We can't avoid it the way the government has been printing money. And that will make the debt get worse because they government will have to pay more interest on the borrowed money.

What will happen is that we will have to suffer for a while, something Americans simply aren't used to. We've gotten what we wanted, when we wanted for so long and that's going to stop. The government is a reflection of the attitudes of the people and look how many people are up to their eyeballs in consumer debt?

Here's another article along those same lines:

Stephen Moore: We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers - WSJ.com

More people are working for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined. The largest single employer in the Portland area is Oregon Health Sciences University, the state medical school and hospital.

[SANE-A30]

I agree with all the above, I shudder to think what the future holds...it is very scary times indeed people's greed and lack of values has played a part of this as well..