-- Posted Friday, 2 December 2011 | | Disqus

[Ever consider stuffing money in your mattress to guard against a banking collapse? Here’s a guest editorial from our friend Erich Simon that suggests you might be better off taking your nest egg and buying…a bunch of mattresses. We’re not sure whether Erich’s point is being made tongue-in-cheek, but we are convinced, after an exchange of several e-mails, that he is a true connoisseur of bedding and accessories.  RA]

I just shelled out $2,400 for a traditional, coil-spring twin XL mattress set. Apparently I am not alone with mattress horror stories. Is the new mattress worth $2,400? I don’t know, but it’s got a 10-year warranty. Only problem with that is a $2,400 replacement mattress in ten years will be a smidgen of what I just received.  Adjusted for Net Present Value and the ongoing bleed of “quality metric,” probably a lot less, so for all intents and purposes my purchase will have depreciated down to sub-zero. Of course, if I were buying the hedonic of a new computer ten years out I would no doubt improve on existing “capacity.”

A mattress is a better barometer than a computer or a traditional store of value, including gold. Mattresses consume scarce resources like cotton and petroleum. Mattresses are something everybody needs, and they wear out and have to be replaced. Mattresses are not purely “frivolous tangibles” and speak to the Means of Production (MOP) in our factoried society. They are price-pointed to exhaustion on the demand side. Labor costs, like everything else, while in the short term can fall from layoffs, will only continue to rise as increases in the minimum wage are passed through the pipeline.

Acquiring 20/20 economic vantage starts by ranking each of the millions of products and services on a “necessity-luxury” scale and regularly updating the ratings to reflect changing social conditions, such as diminishing scarce resources due to over-crowding. For example, “fishing” might be a necessity to supply food, whereas artwork, a luxury. Artistry is likely to be a lost profession in any overcrowded Brave New World. Factor society’s remaining credible MOP, and all of this speaks to the collapse of cultural diversity and transition into monoculture (the birth of global Empire states, wherein the military society is the penultimate monoculture). Add to this Technological Advance and you could gauge price-arbitrage opportunities across the gamut of products and services. You could also anticipate prices for store-of-value assets like gold, based on overall supply as well as the economic future of society.

High-End Only

The reason I finally went high-end on a mattress was my fear of being left behind, and my knowledge that mattresses are hollowed out junk – toxic, even — and unless you pay up, you’ll never find anything decent in this day and age. And in a year’s time, the thing will already be ragged and sagging, and when you finally get reimbursed via warranty the replacement will be priced comparatively but of little quality and substance. And that’s if the manufacturer or dealership hasn’t closed their doors in bankruptcy, such as happened to the Lemoyne Sleeper Mattress Company, a stalwart out of Harrisburg, PA. At this rate, “quality” anything will be reserved for the upper tenth of 1%, not mere 1%-ers, and a mattress like the one I’ve got will cost $10,000.

This speaks to the dynamic at play and provides insight into the grinding poverty and collapse of money that are attributable to overpopulation and ultra-competitiveness for the remaining goods of substance. As for gold, Fed manipulation always keeps the gold price second, and lagging, the appreciation in prices of necessities and unbridled money printing.

Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indication of future results, so let the buyer beware. There is a substantial risk of loss in futures and option trading, and even experts can, and sometimes do, lose their proverbial shirts.  Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2011, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved.www.rickackerman.com

-- Posted Friday, 2 December 2011 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com

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