As IF Times

link Arizona immigration law will boost crime in U.S. cities, police chiefs say.

This from people supposedly hired to protect citizens from crime and enforce the law. If the notion that enforcing the law will actually boost crime, then what about the corollary?  What if we didn’t enforce laws at all, would crimes then decline?  This seems to be the brilliant conclusion pushed by certain police chiefs, among them those from the famously crime free meccas of  L.A., Houston and Philadelphia.

This is somewhat related to the raging argument about dealing with the crime associated with drugs.  The bleat you hear often is that the war on drugs doesn’t work; why criminalize many for small indiscretions which don’ t harm anybody but the user.  This in itself is a debate which can be discussed by passionate champions on both sides and we won’t do it now.  But the theme that’s common to both of these issues is that the problems have been allowed to get so large that people now have trouble dealing with it.   Both can be traced back to waffling and uncommitted responses at the outset.  In the case of Arizona’s immigration law, the opposition is not based on capacity to enforce, it is mired in political haymaking which has everything to do with votes and nothing to do with efficacy.

What if people got away with murdering people who annoyed them?  What if people began stealing from neighbours because they had better stuff?  If these incidences got to large enough numbers, would police throw up their hands and say that to enforce laws against this behaviour would only drive a wedge between the police and would be criminals? It’s not just absurd, it’s irresponsible and stupid.  If police think that policies are politically wrong, then like everyone else, vote for someone who better reflects your opinion, or better yet, run for office. 

Cops should be in the police business, not in the policy business.  It can only be a matter of time before they decide that enforcing traffic violations will only drive a wedge between motorists and police officers.  Actually, if you eliminated all the policing activities that would create divisions and drive wedges into society, you probably wouldn’t even need police officers.  That sure would help most city budgets.  All I can think of that’s left  for them to do is responding to barking dog complaints.  That’s safe, I mean what do we care if we disenfranchise dogs.

link Gold Rising as Euro Weakens Spurs More Speculation (Update3) – Bloomberg.com.

While this all makes sense in the context of history, all of the publicly broadcasted incidences of professionals plowing into gold should throw up a cautionary flag to people.  Some big name smart guys are long the metal including George Soros, John Paulson etc, people who are known in investment circles as savvy people.

Upon reflection, history has indeed shown that when nations debase their currencies and there is financial panic, gold is the haven of refuge.  Of course, history does have a tendency to repeat but here’s something to consider.  At the moment, gold is still below the inflation adjusted highs recorded a while ago.  Many will say that this means it’s a good time to get in.  In my lifetime of experience, there is seldom a time when the investment train is waiting for you at the station.  Usually, you are chasing the rapidly moving train down the track.

As we all should know, markets are a discounting mechanism, that is, prices already reflect anticipated news at any given time.  Professionals move into an investment before the public realizes what’s going on.  Typically, the public clambers on board near the end of any particular move.  The fact that neither gold nor gold stocks are moving significantly higher should be a warning sign. All this financial distress crowding the headlines didn’t just happen, the crisis has been simmering for the better part of a year or more, so there has been ample time for gold and gold stocks to have discounted this.

That’s also not to say that the dangers in the financial environment are near a resolution.  Unless employment really picks up in a meaningful way, specifically non government driven employment, it’s difficult to see how the financial system can recover given the enormous tax and cost burdens coming down the pike. While to most people, the problems of Greece, Portugal and Spain may be distant and abstract, the ripple effects of how these nations treat their problems have wide reaching implications for all.  Backstopping all of these currencies is by implication, the U.S. dollar and we know what good shape that country is in.  No wonder people are being pushed towards gold.

One other thing to keep in mind about an environment in which gold rockets to the dizzying prices some forecasters have called for; $2000, $5,000 or $10,000 dollars an ounce.  If you consider the type of environment which would give rise to the price of gold reaching those kinds of levels, it would imply some pretty ugly conditions in the economy and even in society.  If it really got that bad, as I’ve always opined, you’re better off owning guns than bars of gold.  Remember, the U.S. is the home of the second amendment.  Let’s not even go there.