It's Official, Bridgeport, Connecticut Is A Dismal Town

[billt]

Average price of Gold in 2005..................$445.00

http://www.austincoins.com/gold_price.htm

Average median price of a home in 2005..............$213,900.00

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/14/real_estate/NAR_fourth_quarter_sales/index.htm

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Current price of Gold............................$1,359.20 (As of 5:45 AM Phoenix time)

http://www.blanchardonline.com/market_charts/index.php?content=18668274311&gclid=CKL29-nrz6QCFQWAgwodkAmVEA

Current median price of a home.............$183,700.00

http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/national-median-existing-home-price-increases-to-183700-in-june-55718.aspx

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This shows how unbalanced and artificial the current price of Gold is. Just 5 years ago it was peoples perception that everything was wonderful, and the economy was booming. In reality we were headed for one of the greatest recessions / depressions in modern times. As a result Gold was cheap, abundant, and no one wanted it.

Fast forward to today, 5 years later. Housing is cheap, and in reality a much better buy and greater value than it was just 5 years ago, and Gold has increased over 3 FOLD. The only thing that has changed is peoples perception of things. They tend to think because so many have lost their homes and jobs, we're ready for TEOTWAWKI. Beck and Liddy support this type of thinking. Someone is going to be wrong, and someone is going to be right. Housing is a better buy, and no one wants it because they cannot afford to buy it. Gold is over priced and they're standing in line for it in the exact same economy. There in lies the perception. It's no different than trading stocks. You are buying the stock because you're convinced it's going to go up in value. The problem is you are buying it from someone who is equally convinced it is going down. Once again perception rules the thought process. If you replace perception with common sense, Gold is horribly overpriced based on the current economy and price of goods in general.  Bill T.

[tombogan03884]

Actually Bill, If you buy one of those "cheap" foreclosed houses you will most likely get hosed on the taxes which are still based on the previous inflated price of the house. Not the current fire sale price.
Guy I work with had his house valued at $500 K taxes set at $10K/Year .
Housing crash comes along, the value drops 50%, Taxes stayed the same, now the house next door to his is valued at more than his but the taxes are lower.

[fightingquaker13]

Actually Bill, If you buy one of those "cheap" foreclosed houses you will most likely get hosed on the taxes which are still based on the previous inflated price of the house. Not the current fire sale price.
Guy I work with had his house valued at $500 K taxes set at $10K/Year .
Housing crash comes along, the value drops 50%, Taxes stayed the same, now the house next door to his is valued at more than his but the taxes are lower.

You can petition to have yor home reappraised. its generally, at least here, granted. The tax collector is independently elected.
FQ13

[Badgersmilk]

This is true. What more or less proves it is how much Gold is pushed as a commodity today. They're advertising it on TV every 5 minutes, and people are buying into the scam, big time. Everyone has to have it, or should. People like Glen Beck are the greatest Gold salesmen on the planet. All of this is creating an artificial demand based on nothing more than fear of something that might happen. Same with Silver. It's at $23.00+ an ounce. A year ago it was at $16.00. What's changed? Inflation? Nope. If anything there is deflation. Look at the price of houses and new automobiles and trucks. Yes, a few things have gone up, but no where near enough to push Gold and Silver to where they now sit. Just like the housing market 5 years ago, it has had a "false demand" of sorts placed on it.

The only difference is instead of banks loaning money to idiot's who can't pay it back, we've got guys like Gordon Liddy and Glen Beck telling us it's time to dig that bunker in the back yard and buy Gold, NOW! As always, run with the sheep, and you'll be slaughtered. I look for Gold and Silver to take a major dump a few months after the election, if not sooner. Then, when everyone can't sell what they've got at a huge loss, will be the time to buy it. Again, just like housing.  

If you think about it right now Gold and Silver are sitting right where AR-15's and AK-47's were right after Hussein's election. Their prices skyrocketed based on the perception that something bad MIGHT happen. In the case of AR's and AK's it was the fear Hussein would ban them. He didn't, people ran out of money and credit, and the prices plummeted, and availability went through the roof because people who bought them were dumping them, and manufacturers were producing them 24/7. Now they are all but half price if you shop around. Watch Gold and Silver do the exact same thing. Houses, black rifles, and soon Gold & Silver will join these commodities as abundant and CHEAP!   Bill T.

I agree with everything your saying here 100%.  BUT.  There will be a differance.  When the housing market dumped, look what it did to the economy and society here in our country and around the world.  With the state we're now in.  What do you think will be left of that economy / society with another hit that would be even more devastating???  Though they are no longer connected in reality, society percieves the value of their dollars being based on gold.

Lets think in sheep logic (Glen Beck's audience).  Your telling me my gold is worthless!?!  But I grew up "knowing" that my dollars have their value because of gold somehow...  AHHHHHHH!!!!    Help me government!  Give me something new to believe in!

But WHAT???  What can they offer?  Governments maintaining ANY kind of control over people will be dependent upon their answer to this.  Sooooooooooo.  

[JC5123]

I agree with everything your saying here 100%.  BUT.  There will be a differance.  When the housing market dumped, look what it did to the economy and society here in our country and around the world.  With the state we're now in.  What do you think will be left of that economy / society with another hit that would be even more devastating???  Though they are no longer connected in reality, society percieves the value of their dollars being based on gold.

Lets think in sheep logic (Glen Beck's audience).  Your telling me my gold is worthless!?!  But I grew up "knowing" that my dollars have their value because of gold somehow...  AHHHHHHH!!!!    Help me government!  Give me something new to believe in!

But WHAT???  What can they offer?  Governments maintaining ANY kind of control over people will be dependent upon their answer to this.  Sooooooooooo.  

I agree with Bill that the price of gold has been overly Hyper inflated mostly by fear. While I do think that commodities are something to get your hands on, at those prices you would need to be buying someones house in order to offload a couple ounces of gold. I DO think that the dollar is unstable, and the bottom is going to fall out. I for one am focusing on  things that would be useful in the barter system that will inevitably follow a collapse of our currency. Pre '65 coins, all nickels (before they change the composition again) and durable goods. Especially the things that I don't think that people think about. i.e. lantern mantels, fuel stabilizer, things as simple as a needle and thread. They stuff that you always need at the worst possible time, but never really thought about until you did need it. I want to stock up on things that will be of real use and value if/when our currency collapses.

[Sponsor]

[billt]

You can petition to have yor home reappraised. its generally, at least here, granted. The tax collector is independently elected.
FQ13

This year the taxes on my home dropped over 35%, reflective on what it's actual value now is. Sometimes it takes time, but these tax liabilities are being adjusted. What is a greater concern are people who purchased in these "planned communities". Many tanked long before all of the amenities promised were actually provided for. The builder skipped, and now instead of a home that was supposed to have a golf course view, they can't open their windows because of all of the blowing dust and dirt.   Bill T.

[billt]

I for one am focusing on  things that would be useful in the barter system that will inevitably follow a collapse of our currency. Pre '65 coins, all nickels (before they change the composition again) and durable goods. Especially the things that I don't think that people think about. i.e. lantern mantels, fuel stabilizer, things as simple as a needle and thread. They stuff that you always need at the worst possible time, but never really thought about until you did need it. I want to stock up on things that will be of real use and value if/when our currency collapses.

I agree, and I'm doing much the same. A can of soup is worth more when you're starving, or a blanket when you're cold, than a Gold coin is. A gun and ammunition is the most valuable. With it you can get most anything.  Bill T.

[Pathfinder]

This year the taxes on my home dropped over 35%, reflective on what it's actual value now is. Sometimes it takes time, but these tax liabilities are being adjusted. What is a greater concern are people who purchased in these "planned communities". Many tanked long before all of the amenities promised were actually provided for. The builder skipped, and now instead of a home that was supposed to have a golf course view, they can't open their windows because of all of the blowing dust and dirt.   Bill T.

Same here in ND, only with flooding. Now that I'm on the P&Z Commission (chair it actually), I get to see all of the mistakes and mis-steps that predecessors made. One in particular was to allow a first batch of homes in a development to be built with storm sewers only in part of the development - with the other part getting storm sewers when Phase 2 was built. Guess what? No Phase 2 and a bunch of the homes were seriously threatened with flooding - and some got water in the basements - last Spring during the floods. So now we have to address the problems left behind because of this kind of foolishness. It ain't just the banks folks.

[Hazcat]

Survival needs / trade goods....

Guns / ammo

Alcohol

gold

(not in any particular order)

[billt]

I agree with everything your saying here 100%.  BUT.  There will be a differance.  When the housing market dumped, look what it did to the economy and society here in our country and around the world.  With the state we're now in.  What do you think will be left of that economy / society with another hit that would be even more devastating???  Though they are no longer connected in reality, society percieves the value of their dollars being based on gold.

All the housing market crash did was in reality take people out of someplace they had no business being in the first place. Now these people who were living in homes they did not have a single dime invested in, are living in rentals which is where they should have been all along. All the housing market did was create a false perception of wealth by allowing people to live better than they could afford with money they not only didn't possess, but could not pay back. What we are seeing is a "redistribution of wealth". Just not the kind Hussein wants. These homes will eventually be purchased by people with the money who can afford them. When that happens prices will once again start to rise, but in a much more stable, stronger market.

This whole process will take time. Perhaps a decade or more. But when the period of readjustment is over, the economy will be far more stable because it will represent real wealth, not paper credit. Much like the stock market was stronger when it returned to stability after the 1929 crash. Gold, while real, is vastly over inflated at the moment. The same will happen to it, and more wealth will be "redistributed".

The government now is much like IBM and Digital were in the 80's. They are overly fat, and will be required to slash and burn across the board. There is a way out of this, but it's not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Look for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of government jobs to disappear. Government pensions to dissolve. Programs to be repealed and cut, and less government to go around for everyone. Exactly the total opposite of what Hussein's dream of "change" encompassed. They'll be change all right, just not what he expected, or any of the liberal dems. Liberalism is dead simply because no one can even remotely afford it. In this regard Hussein killed off his own party. The one's who are left will kick up some dust and bitch and moan, but the election will prove once and for all no one is listening.   Bill T.