Economics and Investing:

It has always been self-evident, but here are the numbers in chart form, to back it up: Purchasing Power of the Dollar Versus Gold. (Thanks to R.P.B.for the link.)

David R. pointed me to this sobering statistic: In just the month of March, the US government spent $1.1 TRILLION dollars.

Rick in Colorado sent this interesting interactive map link: Map The Meal Gap. Rick’s comment: This is why the average person needs to prepare. Note that for a family of four making $40,000 a year 1/3 of household are food insecure and this was in 2009!

Foreclosure red carpet style – From $1,350,000 to $576,000 in prime West Hollywood zip code. Wow! Scroll down and look at the photos of this house: It is not much more than just a 1920s bungalow, with a ratty plywood shack posing as a garage. Are they crazy? For comparison, here in the Un-named Western State, $576,000 would buy you a custom 3,000 square foot log house with river frontage, with a full size barn or shop on 40+ acres!

Items from The Economatrix:

Major Crash Coming For Stocks, Commodities Topping Out

March Jobs Report:  The Consumer Engine Kicks In

Cars That Could Rally While Japan Digs Out