Cannabis Prices & The Coming Devaluation of the Dollar

[Madrus Rose]

Tho a little dated & the Cali Glut last 3yrs ended the high prices for MJ
love this quote /observation :

"DEA Success Update: Let's see. After 20 years of relentless federal Drug War activity, while the price of world-class marijuana has gone from $60 an ounce to $350, the price of quality cocaine has plummeted from $125 a gram to $30, and 30%-pure heroin has dropped from $700 a gram to about $100. Way to go, boys!"

High Times,
April 1995

 

[Madrus Rose]

Inflation happens slow and steady. last month, a lb of organic coffee was $10.99. Today, it was $13.50 for that same coffee. I barely noticed, but I only had a $20 on me at the time, so it struck me when I realized it, because I planned to buy a couple more items, but realized I didn't have enough on me.

That's how it happens. That's how it's always happened, and that's how it will continue to happen.

The stocks that have hit new 52wk highs in the market just yesterday were almost all 5 major Tobacco Companies LO PM MO RAI plus BTI (British /US tobacco Index) and all 3 of the major coffee sellers PEET GMCR & SBUX . These stocks were pretty much unfazed by the swoon caused by the Japan Tsunami or the Libyan exercise /unrest in the ME .

Phillip Morris Tobacco Co just reported that in the last 3 mos sales of $7Bil with projected production this year of 900Bil smokes , down just a little bit . In the next yr all the tobacco companies combined will roll up 3,300,000,000,000 ciggies with 1.2trillion of those ciggies being rolled here in the US which means they will roll the equivilent of 900smokes for every man women & child on earth in the next 52wks .

" Philip Morris reports International Profit up 15%"
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/philip-morris-international-profit-rises-15-2011-02-10


CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Higher prices and acquisitions helped Philip Morris International Inc. overcome a drop in organic volume and push its fourth-quarter profit up by 15%, the tobacco titan said Thursday.

Morris earned $1.75 billion, or 96 cents a share, for the period, up from $1.52 billion, or 80 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned 97 cents a share, up from 81 cents.

Revenue net of excise taxes rose 4.8% to $7 billion.
The average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet Research had been for the company to earn 97 cents a share on revenue of $7.3 billion

Total volume rose 4.1% to 899.9 billion smokes, but excluding acquisitions, shipments would have been down 2.5%. In the European Union, volume fell 5.2% largely due to “tax-driven pricing and adverse economic conditions,” along with lower share in key markets. In its Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa unit, volume was down 3.2% while Asian volume jumped by almost a quarter. Latin America and Canada posted a 1.5% increase.

 

[afungi]

I knew to get in after 9/11 but didn't and watched it double. I guess late is better then never.

 

[Rednick]

Like I've stated earlier in this thread, once gold is monetized the price is going to explode. Buy as much gold and silver as you can. Silver and gold. GET OUT OF PAPER US DOLLARS!

I will agree that you want to diversify so that you don't have a lot of money invested in 'paper dollars' (i.e. Stock Market, Bonds, Futures, or any other dollar derived instrument).
A well made portfolio will isolate your risk across various sectors of the economy and various industries in those sectors. Like a strong root system, you hack of some the plant still survives.
Land, with water rights, good terroir, and natural defenses (mountain ranges, bodies of water, desert borders, ect) is where I would be investing my money, if I had any to invest. Just in case all goes to hell in a handbasket in the cities, at least you'll have a farm to retreat to (if the locals don't annex it).

It is hard to see the whole system falling down, as it's interconnectedness creates dependence globally and strength through
redundancy.

P.S. Gold will never be monetized again. It shall remain an instrument of speculation with relatively small utility (electronics, space components, jewlery, ect) in proportion to its market. Its market is driven by speculation and sheeple. It is no different than paper currency in the fact the its real value, it the universal acceptance of it as having value. Something in human nature loves gold, Mr. Powers.
But I can't eat gold, and lead makes for better bullets.

 

[SpasticGramps]

It is hard to see the whole system falling down, as it's interconnectedness creates dependence globally and strength through
redundancy.

I just don't see how anyone can say this having gone through the '08 mini-meltdown. Systemic risk was exposed and it is not only still present, but has gotten WORSE. I think what most people are missing is the systemic risk was passed on to YOU and I. It was passed on from the failed corporations to the people such that when it shits the bed the next time the systemic risk will wipe out everybody. The banking cabal has a green light to scam and create instruments that are worthless because their losses will always be backstopped by the taxpayer. It's fucking Fascism and we are all taking it sitting down. For now anyway. If anyone hasn't noticed there are a lot of revolutions and rioting going on throughout the world. It's American hubris to believe that it's not coming to our own streets when our children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

Strenght through redundancy? Really? Systemic risk and a global ponzi scheme isn't a good foundation of economic theory. It's destined to fail and it is failing right now. Piece by piece it's unraveling.

Buffet is correct. There is a war waging right now. The sad part of it is the losing side has yet to figure out we are at war and probably won't till they wake up one day with nothing. I believe WWIII probably won't be nation to nation combat but rather the uprising of the proles against the bourgeoisie. Global Civil War if you will.

 

[whodare]

itll be intresting to see what happens when the lay people realize all those paper bills they have wont even buy a loaf of bread fuck silver and gold get your self lots of honey salt and whole wheat berries....

 

[Rednick]

The structural components will have to change, I agree.
I was more looking at the whole 'Rome on Fire' scenario.
Americans don't realize things, until it hits us smack dab in the face. Too busy getting fat watching 'The Biggest Loser'.
The biggest structural change will be that of a three versus two party system. Ofcourse limiting campaign funds to public funding would be nice, too.

 

[Madrus Rose]

G.E.’s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GEs-S...6.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=

General Electric, the nation’s largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010.

The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.

Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.

That may be hard to fathom for the millions of American business owners and households now preparing their own returns, but low taxes are nothing new for G.E. The company has been cutting the percentage of its American profits paid to the Internal Revenue Service for years, resulting in a far lower rate than at most multinational companies.

In a regulatory filing just a week before the Japanese disaster put a spotlight on the company’s nuclear reactor business, G.E. reported that its tax burden was 7.4 percent of its American profits, about a third of the average reported by other American multinationals. Even those figures are overstated, because they include taxes that will be paid only if the company brings its overseas profits back to the United States. With those profits still offshore, G.E. is effectively getting money back.

Such strategies, as well as changes in tax laws that encouraged some businesses and professionals to file as individuals, have pushed down the corporate share of the nation’s tax receipts — from 30 percent of all federal revenue in the mid-1950s to 6.6 percent in 2009.

Yet many companies say the current level is so high it hobbles them in competing with foreign rivals. Even as the government faces a mounting budget deficit, the talk in Washington is about lower rates. President Obama has said he is considering an overhaul of the corporate tax system, with an eye to lowering the top rate, ending some tax subsidies and loopholes and generating the same amount of revenue. He has designated G.E.’s chief executive, Jeffrey R. Immelt, as his liaison to the business community and as the chairman of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and it is expected to discuss corporate taxes.

Over the last decade, G.E. has spent tens of millions of dollars to push for changes in tax law, from more generous depreciation schedules on jet engines to “green energy” credits for its wind turbines. But the most lucrative of these measures allows G.E. to operate a vast leasing and lending business abroad with profits that face little foreign taxes and no American taxes as long as the money remains overseas.

Company officials say that these measures are necessary for G.E. to compete against global rivals and that they are acting as responsible citizens. “G.E. is committed to acting with integrity in relation to our tax obligations,” said Anne Eisele, a spokeswoman. “We are committed to complying with tax rules and paying all legally obliged taxes. At the same time, we have a responsibility to our shareholders to legally minimize our costs.”

The assortment of tax breaks G.E. has won in Washington has provided a significant short-term gain for the company’s executives and shareholders. While the financial crisis led G.E. to post a loss in the United States in 2009, regulatory filings show that in the last five years, G.E. has accumulated $26 billion in American profits, and received a net tax benefit from the I.R.S. of $4.1 billion

Minimizing taxes is so important at G.E. that Mr. Samuels has placed tax strategists in decision-making positions in many major manufacturing facilities and businesses around the globe. Mr. Samuels, a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the University of Chicago Law School, declined to be interviewed for this article. Company officials acknowledged that the tax department had expanded since he joined the company in 1988, and said it now had 975 employees.

By the time the measure — the American Jobs Creation Act — was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2004, it contained more than $13 billion a year in tax breaks for corporations, many very beneficial to G.E. One provision allowed companies to defer taxes on overseas profits from leasing planes to airlines. It was so generous — and so tailored to G.E. and a handful of other companies — that staff members on the House Ways and Means Committee publicly complained that G.E. would reap “an overwhelming percentage” of the estimated $100 million in annual tax savings.



cont'd full story

 

[chefboy6969]

lots of problems in the world today and the key is to be SELF-SUFFICIENT..so all those peeps that don;t have access to the WORLDS # 1 COMMODITY and thats WATER/H20 NOT Gold/Silver/US dollars..My advice is sell the BMW;s and the IPad 2 and go buy a farm where you have access to water and you will be just fine...all those greedy fucks that drive gas guzzling HUMMERS and live their lives like sheep will get left behind

OVERGROW THE WORLD, we are gonna have to in order to eat


peace
Chefboy

 

[SpasticGramps]

I moved from inner city metropolitan area to the country on some lake front property two years ago when everything crashed and the Bailout Bonanza started. The fundamental failures of the system can only be propped up with large infusions of paper money for so long. The central bankers cannot hide the house of cards built on a foundation of sand for too much longer IMO.

 

[UpInTheCut]

Privately-owned central banks + discretionary monetary policy = systemic corruption/oppression.
Qe1 and Qe2 represent 2.5 Trillion combined in debt-asset purchases.. The 100% privately owned Fed makes 6% annual dividends on their shares... that just makes me sick to my stomach..
I found this graph showing what 5000 Americans thought about, how wealth was distributed in America

and here is a graph showing the top 10 members of Congress net worth, totaling around 2.8 billion!!!!! who all, by the way, voted to extend Bush's tax cuts....No surprise there

You better believe there is a class war in America and WE THE PEOPLE are getting Poorer everyday while the people we elect to office get richer and richer... serfdom is alive and well in the 21st century

 

[SpasticGramps]

Maybe instead of asking for the Super Size Meal at McDonalds, people should start asking "Serf Size please". US Banana Republic.

 

[UpInTheCut]

One of my favorite stand up Comics George Carlin (R.I.P) speaking the truth:


"It's called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

 

[UpInTheCut]

Maybe instead of asking for the Super Size Meal at McDonalds, people should start asking "Serf Size please". US Banana Republic.

LOL...when anger subsides...Laughter really helps sooth the soul..

 

[UpInTheCut]

Only 47% Of Working Age Americans Have Full Time Jobs

By Ilargi on The Automatic Earth.
VK, roving reporter for The Automatic Earth, has been playing with the numbers from the January 7 employment report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It seems valuable to look at unemployment from this, a different, angle. Some of it may even surprise you.
The total non institutional civilian labor force (Americans 16 years and older who are not in a institution -criminal, mental, or other types of facilities- or an active military duty) is reported as 238.889 million. Of these, we see:

Employed: 139.206 million people (58.3% of labor force)

Unemployed: 14.485 million people (6.1% of labor force)

Obviously, that can't be the total picture, we're only at 64.4%. This is why:

Part time employed for economic reasons: 8.931 million people. This concerns people who want a full-time job but can't get one.

Part time employed for non-economic reasons: 18.184 million people. Non-economic reasons include school or training, retirement or Social Security limits on earnings, but also childcare problems and family or personal obligations.

But the by far largest category "missing" from both the Employed and Unemployed statistics is the "Not In Labor Force": 85.2 Million people.

The BLS definition states: "Not in the labor force (NILF). A person who did not work last week, was not temporarily absent from a job, did not actively look for work in the previous 4 weeks, or looked but was unavailable for work during the reference week; in other words, a person who was neither employed nor unemployed." (Clearly, this does include lot of unemployed people).

To summarize: 108.616 million people in America are either unemployed, underemployed or "Not in the labor force". This represents 45.5% of working age Americans.

If you count the "Part time employed for non-economic reasons", you get 126.8 million Americans who are unemployed, underemployed, working part time or "Not in the labor force". That represents 53% of working age Americans.

So only 47% of working age Americans have full time jobs. While the official unemployment rate is 9.4%. Something's missing somewhere.
A few more factoids on the topic:

Today, the long term unemployed make up 42% of total unemployed. That is to say, of course, those who are actually counted as unemployed instead of "Not in the labor force".

43.2 million Americans receive foodstamps. That's 18.1% of all working age Americans. If they all have on average 1.5 dependents, which is probably a reasonable estimate, a full one third of the US population receives at least part of their food through this system.

Of course, these are not really stamps anymore, or any sort of paper, they’re now "food stamp debit cards". Michael Snyder at Economic Collapse dug up an ABC News article from April 2009, which deals with the fact that JPMorgan Chase is one of the main servicers of the "food stamp debit cards" (in 26 states). JPMorgan also services child support debit cards (in 15 states) and unemployment insurance cards (7 states).

Granted, some things may have changed somewhat since the article was written, but even just the very ideas that are the foundation of schemes like these are worth looking at. Because, naturally, JPMorgan does this to make a profit. Says ABC:

Take Indiana. JP Morgan gets 62 to 64 cents for each food stamp case handled monthly there. With 296,245 cases right now, that means the state is paying JP Morgan $183,672 a month on top of any other fees it collects. Indiana eliminated 100 full-time employees when it hired JP Morgan to make the program cost-neutral [..].

But the greatest statement the article makes, and the reason ABC looked into this in the first place, is that JPMorgan outsourced its call and service centers for the "food stamp debit cards" to India. If that isn't indicative of the level to which ethics and morals have sunk, I don't know what is. You could conceivably create a lot of jobs for Americans in these service centers, which would get them off food stamps! For starters.

 

[whodare]

just goes to prove they want you to have to rely on their hand to feed...

they want a welfare state that has no self sustaining abilities, easier to control people that way...


take the red pill

 

[SpasticGramps]

I've come to rather like this song.

Linkin Park Wretches and Kings

There's a time, when the operation of the machine becomes so odious.
Makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part,
You can't even passively take part.
And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels,
Upon the levers,
Upon all the apparatus. And you've got to make it stop!
And you've got to indicate to the people, run in to the people on it.
And unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!

 

[rasputin]

That's from Mario Savio's "Bodies upon the gears" speech. Interesting that they incorporated it as a lyric. Haven't heard the song.

 

[Madrus Rose]

Paul Hawken's "The Next Economy" published 1983

Last weeken read some parts of it once again:

"Economic contraction occurs when levels of production and consumption cannot be sustained. Economic collapse occurs when economic contraction coincides with a period of excessive buildup of debt. It is preceded by a period in which debt climbs quickly in the hope that each new level of indebtedness will finally see the economy "turn around" and service the debt. The collapse is the realization that it won't work. There is a crisis of confidence. People panic, sell stocks, call notes, liquidate holdings, and rush for currency or instruments that have value."

 

[stony2]

cannabis supply here (middle of europe) has been about constant for the last 5 or 10 years. still some (actually most) people still expect the 5€/g price that was usual in year 2000, when the euro has lost about half its purchasing value since then

it's clear that prices have to go up when supply is the same and purchasing power decreases by half and production costs double, but try explaining that to a bunch of deadbeat junkies