Wednesday, January 14, 2009

John Steinbeck – in reverse!

Soaring cost of living drives residents from California

The Californian dream is turning sour for increasing numbers of West Coast residents who are abandoning the Golden State and heading east in search of a better life. Those leaving cite the worsening unemployment rate - 8.4 per cent, the third-highest in the nation - high taxes and rents, rampant foreclosure rates yet property prices still out of the reach of many families. Most businesses are shedding jobs - even in the entertainment industry - and with the state grappling a budget gap projected to swell to over 41 billion dollars in 18 months, higher taxes and drastic cuts to public services seem all but inevitable. [NOTE: During the Great Depression, millions of people moved from the midwest to California. Interesting to see the reverse happening. See Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath.]

Posted by drewster @ 03:26 AM (692 views)
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2 thoughts on “John Steinbeck – in reverse!”

  • drewster says:

    Not quite worthy of the main blog, but for any gold bugs:

    Telegraph: Trading in gold soars by 60%

    Gold, investors’ traditional safe haven in times of financial turmoil, experienced record levels of trading last year.

    The turnover in gold increased by 58pc in 2008 to a record $20.2 trillion, according to International Financial Services London, a body that promotes the City of London. Silver trading also saw a dramatic increase during the year, rising by 39pc to a new record of $2.6 trillion.

    Exchange traded gold and silver funds have been the strongest source of growth in demand since their introduction in 2003, IFSL said.

    The price of gold is expected to average $910 an ounce in 2009, 4.3pc more than last year, according to a panel of 20 analysts, traders and investors surveyed recently by Bloomberg. But silver and platinum prices will decline this year, the survey predicted.

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  • inbreda says:

    ETFs reduce demand for physical gold – thus affecting the price of gold and therefore the ETF as well. Loads of people are ggambling that the price of gold will rocket by actually causing the opposite. I don’t know how or why, but I can’t help thinking this is unsustainable and when it pops it will cause gold to go up by multiples. I just wish I knew how it could happen.

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