TF,

you are quoting Ted that

The entire world’s gold bullion inventory (bars held for investment or monetary purposes) is now worth 150 times more than all the world’s silver bullion. The numbers are pretty straight-forward; the 3 billion ounces of gold bullion in the world is worth roughly $5 trillion at current prices ($1650) versus the $31 billion value of the world’s 1 billion ounces of silver bullion (at the current $31 price).

What is this supposed to tell people? There is no economic or financial reason on this planet that would determine that ratio. The ratio is arbitrary. You can replace silver by platinum, copper, lead, Picasso paintings, fancy diamonds, collectible stamps or chick peas.

Looking at the fundamentals, I would actually expect the ratio to keep increasing as gold assumes are more and more dominant role in the financial system while silver is used up by industrial consumption.

Victor

Would those things you mention get less valuable as they got more scarce, too?

Or is this property unique to Silver?

Thanks, bud. 

Amen, bestever.  A great e-book by blogger, James Altucher, was just published a couple weekends ago.

He calls it "40 Alternatives to College."  Reading Altucher's introduction and reasons to not attend college is worth the price of the book alone.  (Altucher priced the ebook at $0.99, because he is so passionate about the subject of college being a racket, that he wants to let as many people as possible to realize.)  

40 Alternatives to College

Every high school student in America NEEDS to read this book before going into a life of debt-serfdom for a college education.

Was busy for the better part of the afternoon so missed the afternoon show in real time.  However, I did buy SLV in my trading account at $.20 intervals throughout the beatdown this morning.  Turned out to be a good move by the close.  However, did not sell out by the close.  My trading track record is impeccable.  I always find a way to be on the wrong side of the trade.  That does not bode well for tonight.  If my track record remains intact over night, I will offer my services (for a fee) for a one time and one time only bonanza.   On Friday April 27th at exactly 1:01PM, I will personally purchase 10 (ten) shares of AAPL stock.  Those who wish to participate in the bonanza need only short AAPL for one hour.  I will sell my 10 shares at 2:01 PM.  Will revisit this in the morning at the open. 

I Run Bartertown,

Would those things you mention get less valuable as they got more scarce, too?

Yes, in their function as money (store of value) scarcity is a problem because it makes the value unstable. Remember that gold is so valuable because it is so abundant (relative to changes in stock, i.e. relative to mine supply). The value of gold is completely independent of the question of whether some mines expand their supply or whether some dentists get crazy and waste a lot of gold. All this is tiny compared to the stock of more than 100000 tons and thus negligible.

But silver fails this test. Mine supply relative to existing stock is much bigger, and so changes in mine supply affect the price of silver. This explains why silver is poor money if compared with gold. (I know that chick peas are worse because they get stale - that part was mere provocation - but Picasso paintings, for example, are closer to gold than to silver because there is zero new supply, and so the stock is perfectly stable).

Victor

Ok...I see that your playing.

Chickpeas, he says. Haha.

Well, I'm glad we got that settled. You just stated that your being provocative and weren't really being serious. Now I know where we're at.

Done.

THE BERNANK FOMC DEVIL TRADE

This is what I do when I get bored.  Furthermore, for the TECHNICAL ANALYSTS I thought I add a little chart on the bottom right.  Look at the part that says "WHAT DAT?"  These folks who still read their JAPANESE CANDLESTICK CHEAT SHEETS would realize this is a nice HAMMER.

But, between you and I..... I don't follow that sort of RUBBISH.  Anyhow... I am actually finishing my article tonight and tomorrow morning on THE CRITICAL FACTORS THAT WILL IMPACT SILVER.

So no more blogging for me.

Congratulations to your daughter on her accomplishment -- and to you, for having helped bring her here. While the national (global?) average seems to keep going down, making sure kids like these have a chance is one of the few worthwhile pursuits out there. I sure hope to be in your position a few years hence.

For every instance of incompetence, stupidity, sense of unearned entitlement out there, I am nevertheless continually amazed by the resourcefulness, dedication and talent that STILL exists. And this is in no small part due to the fellow Turdites I seem to spend all too much time with...

Consider making use of a cost-free, yet highly selective advertising platform for your staffing needs -- you may be pleasantly surprised:

Turdland Jobs Forum

...

After Bretton Woods, the ratio fell to around 20 amidst the economic prosperity of the postwar era until Nixon abandoned the Gold Standard in 1971. As the price of the yellow metal floated, gold outperformed silver until the fallout from the 1973 oil crisis, and then for the remainder of the decade silver outperformed gold as the ratio fell. Restrictions on the private ownership of gold were lifted in late 1974.

Meanwhile, in part due to the restrictions on gold ownership prior to 1974, the Hunt brothers began to buy large quantities of silver beginning in the early 1970s. Their buying spree culminated with a mega-spike in the price of silver in late 1979 and early 1980, when it became known that they were gradually cornering the market. The gold/silver ratio hit a bottom of 16 at this time. In response to this, the Comex introduced “Silver Rule 7” in early 1980. Steep restrictions were placed on leverage and the use of margin when buying commodities.Immediately, the price of silver began to fall, culminating in a 50% drop at the end of March. The heavily leveraged Hunts were wiped out, and silver continued to fall even faster than gold, which itself crashed from $850 to $600 in just three months (refer to Charts 2 and 3, note the activity in 1980). By May 1980 the ratio was back at 40.

Charts 2 and 3: The Gold/Silver Ratios 1970 – 2009

For the duration of the decade and into the early 1990s, the ratio continued to rise because gold outperformed silver, but only because it did not lose as much of its value. While the ratio reverted back to its 20th century average by 2000, gold and silver did not bottom until 2001 and 2003, respectively. At that time, silver once again turned up and the ratio began to fall. This trend continued until the onset of the 2008 Financial Crisis. The 2007-2008 spike in the ratio provided a very attractive entry point for those who were in a position to take advantage of it.

...

http://seekingalpha.com/article/206897-the-historical-gold-silver-ratio-and-why-it-s-time-to-buy-silver

Silver doesn't need to be treated as money to be valuable.  I agree with Victor that the fact that gold's above ground supply remains constant is one of the benefits of gold as money vs. silver.  The dependence on mining supply to fix the consumption of silver gives silver value.  I don't expect to ever see silver used as a common medium of exchange again.  I invest in silver because I don't expect supply to be able to keep up with demand given declining grades and increasing costs, and being able to hold it is nice (I can't hold other commodities in large quantities).  I save in gold because that is money.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1203647021/the-powerpot

I didn't see this posted.

___________________

I scratch my head that somehow your conclusions about unemployment are so different than mine  and that you call for the printing of money to boost “demand”. A call, I add, that since the founding of the Federal Reserve has resulted in an increase of the money supply by 12,230%.

I also must scratch my head at the view that the Federal Reserve should maintain a stable price level. What is wrong with having falling prices across the economy, like we now have in the computer sector, the flat screen television sector and the cell phone sector? Why, I ask, do you want stable prices? And, oh by the way, how’s that stable price thing going for you here at the Fed?

Since the start of the Fed, prices have increased at the consumer level by 2,241% [3]. that’s not me misspeaking, I will repeat, since the start of the Fed, prices have increased at the consumer level by 2,241%.

So you then might tell me that stable prices are only a secondary goal of the Federal Reserve and that your real goal is to prevent serious declines in the economy but, since the start of the Fed, there have been 18 recessions including the Great Depression and the most recent Great Recession. These downturns  have resulted in stock market crashes, tens of  millions of unemployed and untold business bankruptcies.

I scratch my head and wonder how you think the Fed is any type of success when all this has occurred.

Let’s have one good meal here. Let’s make it a feast. Then I ask you, I plead with you, I beg you all, walk out of here with me, never to come back. It’s the moral and ethical thing to do. Nothing good goes on in this place. Let’s lock the doors and leave the building to the spiders, moths and four-legged rats.

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/04/my-speech-delivered-at-new-york-federal.html?

"I don't expect to ever see silver used as a common medium of exchange again."

I just found a silver quarter the other day.  Silver was/is used as a common medium of exchange.  The last 40 years are the anomaly.  I must beg to totally differ.

Gold, Silver, Copper.  Worked for the Romans, worked until 1971.  Or 1913.  Pick your poison.

On the college discussion - it amazes me how many people graduate college (and highschool also) with "special distinction, highest honors, cum lade, etc.  I was at a high school graduation a few years ago and 1/3 of the students graduated with some type of special honors.  That stuff ought to be for the top 5 or 10%., not 33%.  I was an industrial engineering student and alot of my classes were tough, but not many people flunked. You had to be a real slouch to fail.

Dollars aren't the only thing being inflated, grades are too! 

I was in college from 1999-2003 and I would need a few thousand each year for student loans, but they would qualify me for, and give me like $10,000 each year in my checking account account to spend on anything I wanted. It was supposed to be school related but people bought laptops, cars, apartment rent, beer - whatever. I would always pay my extra balance back to build up credit, but I know some people that don't have much to show for that debt except maybe a 2003 Dell Laptop that is too slow to even connect to TF Metals report. What good is a computer if it can't do that!

I wish that I'd have known about metals and the raping of the dollar because the intrest rate on that money was <1% !  Could have gotten a nice stack going when gold still had three digit handle!