What might happen

[ajl]

Land will not be the new gold because the only way you can get a return is to sell produce but produce out in the middle of nowhere is not worth anything. ie wheat in the middle of SK. After a while stupid operators figure out they are paying to work and the landlords get the land back which will happen this winter. The trouble with the inflation/deflation argument is that we currently have public sector inflation mixed with private sector deflation which is producing unclear signals. Education costs are going higher while commodity prices are coming down is evidence of this.

[Rareearth]

If there's more money in the system, people have more money and they will spend it, no one saves any more, - it's credit. People,manufactures, service providers, every one wants more at what ever cost. Just trying to look at every thing as a whole, not the various asset classes. Interest rates cannot rise, or the usa debt payments go up, why pay more, if you don't have to, and can't repay back in the first place.

When this bubble breaks, it will will be fast and destructive.

Land, is interesting. Two types of buyers, real farmers and investors. Two types or motives for ownership, farmers return on investment based on productivity. Investors is land as a store of value, (ROI, somewhat important) there is way more investor money and willingness to buy land than what farmers have. Investors will average down if and buy more if the markets continue to look risky. Land prices depend on outside markets, as well as production and commodity economics. land seems over priced, for production economics, are farmers also buying as a store of wealth?

[bucket]

I think investors have influence with governments.

They are probably trying to get land purchase principal as a tax deduction and pick up the revenue as a capital gains tax when sold. If land values go down use it as a loss. Win win for the investor if happens because he makes a return as he owns the land.

So buy land write it off, make money during ownership, sell at gain pay some tax, sell at a loss write it off.

[ado089]

Harry Dent Jr is worth taking a look at when having the inflation / deflation debate. He has a pretty good track record of using cycles and demographic to pull together an economic forecast. That said all the stimulus since 2009 has messed that up a bit.

[cottonpicken]

Its the debt and the entitlements.

There is no political way out of this.

Look what the people of ontario just voted themselves.

They cant print their own money,their provincial bond yields will go through the roof as their debt rating tanks,i expect some clandestine organization will pick up the slack.

Austerity will come,the market will force it but it will be a whole lot worse than all the steps we should have been taking ten years ago.

[farmaholic]

Entitlements. .....
The ones that drive me nuts are the "abused" social programs. Isn't anyone responsible for their own health and welfare anymore. Live a capitalist and die a socialist

[mbdog]

bucket...land being the new gold?...you're born, you eat, you drink, you die. Not much else matters. My thots on land deflation are tied to the risks of increased global trade/production in basic grain/oilseed commodities and having to compete in a world with less political protection/distortions.

[ajl]

Ontario just voted themselves a big fat bail out package that will be funded by the taxpayers of AB and SK.

[cottonpicken]

Inflation is needed to keep the banking sysystem solvent,the government solvent,the house hold solvent,the corporations solvent,small business solvent....

They did it overnight in the 30's by 75%,in the 70's,took our medicine and survived in the early eighties,bearly....

And then there are these defaults and restructures,which trust me does not help your purchasing power of what ever paper backed currency you happen to hold.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_default

[TOM4CWB]

CP

History repeats itself.

The Japs and Germans have been through this before.

Negative interest rates in the EU...

Interesting times with money flows... Expect to see restrictions...