Speculation creates a market where there might not otherwise be one. It is tied directly to supply and demand. When something is demanded, either by those who are actually using it in the production of something or by those who are only speculating, and the supply is not enough to meet the demand (or there is a perception that the supply may be interrupted, such as, with oil, by natural disasters or social upheaval like in the Middle East) the price goes up. Usually, this spurs economic activity, which is good for economies. Efforts are made to produce more of it. Right this minute, old silver mines that have sat dormant for years are being looked at for new production. If the high price of silver is from speculation, and that high price now makes it worth going after that silver when a low price would not, and additional jobs are created, please explain how that is counter-productive to economic growth.
Here is what is counter-productive to economic growth:
When you introduce governmental interference to the market, that?s where the problems start.
?You can?t drill off the US coast if you?re an American company, only if you?re Cuba or China or somebody else that?s not American. You can?t drill in Alaska. We?ll throw in all kinds of obstacles to keep you from going after the massive quantities of shale oil buried under US territory.?
?Hey Brazil, we?ll loan you billions of dollars, guaranteed by the US taxpayer, to get your own offshore oil production ramped up. And once you do, we hope to be your best customer!?
What the hell is that? That?s economic suicide.
Inventions of many of the great products that put America at the top of the economic food chain would never have come about were it not for speculation. First of all, invention is, by definition, speculation. The individual or collective mind, through the power of imagination, producing an idea to create something that may be beneficial to one?s self and others. Most inventions fail, and so do may speculative ventures. When individuals have created something that worked, without speculators (others who saw the possibilities, even possibilities that the creator never envisioned) that provided money, advice, business know-how?those inventions blossomed into huge industries.
Speculation is natural. It works in reverse, too. You always hear about the speculators in oil, gold, banking?that make a killing. But whenever there are huge losses, and there always are ups and downs, if markets are left alone to function correctly, the ?unbiased media? never talks about the big investors that lose, it?s always the little guy that gets hurt that you hear about. The media doesn?t talk about the many of thousands of little guys like me that have watched our small piles of silver that we put away many years ago go up more than ten times in value. Speculation benefited me and I had nothing to do with that speculation.
I take that back. I speculated that it would be a good idea to have some silver. I speculated that it would be a good idea to hang onto it, even as it passed $ 10, $ 20, $ 30?. I am speculating that it will reach $ 40. My speculation may backfire when it crashes, as it always has, historically, and it?s back down to $ 15 and I?ve left thousands of dollars on the table.
You speculate every day of your life. You just don?t realize it. You speculate that the price of gas may be more tomorrow, so you fill up today. You speculate that the price of an iPad may be 30% less if you wait another year and keep using what you?ve got now.
Speculation is what makes things work. It creates, it builds, and like everything in life, it isn?t perfect. It has its ups and downs.
Government interference into speculation ? this group can speculate, this other one can?t, this group of union workers or this state and that one are exempt from Obamacare, the rest of you must comply or we?ll sic the IRS on you?that only destroys.
aziz ansari aziz ansari corn maze icloud apple update apple update download ios 5
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.