this shows how our money is really stuffed

[oldfart]

Angry ant. Chill out mate, our dollar has taken a nose dive due to the fact it was too strong .
Aus dollar needed to drop to be competitive .
Ask yourself this then why has the price of a barrel of oil dropped since the dollar has crashed

It's all highs and lows 

[mainline]

getting back to the important stuff, nice bike though. I picked up the remastered re-issue of On Any Sunday the other week for the grand total of $9.00 and the footage of those crazy buggers on those flat-trackers is still the highlight for me.

One hand on the bars (on purpose ) while going sideways next to a picket fence (if you're lucky). Gotta love it.

[jimson]

In the 90s I worked at Neilson & moller windscreens in Taren Point anyway that place ran 24 hours a day 7 days a week     and sold screens all around the world and then our dollar got stronger and the world stopped buying screens and they went bust  :'( sometimes its just not right. jimson

[Denis]

the yanks have blown all their money and now they have come to take ours. The drop in our $ against theirs as compared to less than 12 months ago is the most obvious sign. Even if I were a millionaire I personally would not a touch a single thing out of the US at present on principle only. The US economy collapses, they see we are doing just fine so we'll bleed the Oz people for 50c in every dollar they have. Paying an extra $5000 to Uncle Sam for absolutely nothing as compared to 12 months ago??..if you love the US for what they've done to the average persons savings and investments globaly then go right ahead bit of bee in my bonnet of this, it truley is nothing short of a money grab from average joe and makes one sort of understand why so many others are up in arms, literally! If we had vast oil reserves down here I'd be a little more than worried about any US military activity in this country  

Hey now, let's play nice. As an American I admit that the greedy US mofos on Wall Street had a lot do do with the world's crappy economy, but you have to remember that China, Japan and lots of other world banks were perfectly happy and willing to loan the money out, expecting to get a lot of money back in return. They played the game as well. One group or nation can't do this on their own any more than one person can tango with himself.

I also want to point out that I've been going to AMCA meets here since 1999 and there are LOTS of Australians, New Zealanders, Germans, Dutch and Japanese who've been coming to the US and taking container loads of Indians, Hendersons, Excelsiors and Harleys back to their countries and making TONS of profit.

[maicomc490t]

OK guys - there are no right or wrong answers on the whole global meltdown thing other than we are seeing a massive correction to a lot of otherwise pear shaped things that have become accepted practice and the worm has turned !!!

House prices will drop, fuel has dropped and sadly the arse has fallen out of our dollar (which should now be recovering and it appears to be so - while parity would be handy it would fairly well root our overall economy meaning no more money for dole handouts or sponsoring the entry of African refugees etc, lol!)

It comes down to the old ' if you want it badly enough, you will pay' situation, eg, I have just forked out a considerable amount of money for a 501 Maico which requires a full resto and that is after an expensive shipping exercise. I also have bought a shitload of NOS stuff that sadly will now cost a small fortune. No time for tears, just get on with life and enjoy being above the ground.

Anyone with good, quality spares can now wait for a cashed up dollar rich yank to buy up.

For what it's worth (or not anymore, lol)

Dave Mac

[OSSA PHANTOM]

 As an American I have to say that the American economy is being looted by the US government
 itself in an attempt to drive the US into socialism. Obama is an economic moron, his cabinet is no better,
 none have ever had a real job or been a bsuinessman. These bailouts are nothing more than manufactured
 scams. I do find it funny though that he has told the liberal buffoons that voted for him "Sorry, but I won't be keeping any of those promises I made". I really feel sorry for the retards who thought he could cure cancer.

[pancho]

 As an American I have to say that the American economy is being looted by the US government
 itself in an attempt to drive the US into socialism. Obama is an economic moron, his cabinet is no better,
 none have ever had a real job or been a bsuinessman. These bailouts are nothing more than manufactured
 scams. I do find it funny though that he has told the liberal buffoons that voted for him "Sorry, but I won't be keeping any of those promises I made". I really feel sorry for the retards who thought he could cure cancer. ... with respect for your views i hope your wrong and hope you can see positives out of the wishes of your population of voters who came out this time to make a change. i know in the past i have been alarmed at the result of federal elections in oz but in hindsight have been convinced that the voters probably got it right. kind regards from one ozzy mate.

[AjayVMX]

The US is richer than ever it's just fewer people share the wealth. For every action there is an equal and sometimes more drastic reaction. I have my opinions and it points the finger squarly at the outgoing US government and their war mongering global controlling ways. Thank God the US had the sense to toss them out while they had the chance      

As a matter of interest, the US is NOT richer than ever.  It's being running huge deficits for well over a decade, created by both brands of politics.  It only gives the impression of being rich.

Indeed the root cause of the current crisis (the credit freeze) can be blamed entirely on the Clinton administration, who liberated lending of money to people who never should have been able to borrow money and never had any chance whatsoever to pay it back.  When this happened, it was only a matter of time for the house of cards to fall...   It is amazing that it lasted as long as it did though...

[Denis]

The problem with our government is they can't say no to spending, especially during the last 8 years. It's also misguided and incorrect to lay the current economic crisis solely at the feet of the Clinton administration.

[AjayVMX]

"In 1999, under pressure from the Clinton administration, Fannie Mae, the nation's largest home mortgage underwriter, relaxed credit requirements on the loans it would purchase from other banks and lenders, hoping that easing these restrictions would result in increased loan availability for minority and low-income buyers. Putting pressure on the GSE's (Government Sponsored Enterprise) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Clinton administration looked to increase their sub-prime portfolios, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development expressing its interest in the GSE's maintaining a 50% portion of their portfolios in loans to low and moderate-income borrowers"  (ref: New York Times, Sept 30, 1999)

Everyone is entitiled to an opinion of course...

[OSSA PHANTOM]

 Wally,
  I wish you were right but a number of polls and studies shows that those who voted for Obama didn't have any clue as to what his plans were and now they are unhappy because he isn't giving them free gasoline,forgivr their mortgages or hand out any cash.
 I believe the root problem is the educational system which does not teach, economics,government or trying to instill a sense of achieve. American school system teach what to think, not how think. They
stress, diversity, political correctness, self-esteem, white guilt and a host of other useless garbage.
 All of this is a scam to dumb people down and line of pockets of people like Al Gore.
As an engineer who works in the field of alternative energy applications I can say with all honesty that
global warming is a scam and that there is not energy source out there that is go to replace oil in the next hundred years. The left likes to tout getting rid of foreign energy sources for electricity. The problem is the US doesn't use foreign energy for electricity, it use nuclear and US coal but this is never reveal to
unknowing public. You can't tax your way to prosperity but nothing will change until the US dumps democrats and republicans and adopts conservatism. Getting off my soapbox now and going back to the toolbox.

[DJRacing]

As an engineer who works in the field of alternative energy applications I can say with all honesty that
global warming is a scam and that there is not energy source out there that is go to replace oil in the next hundred years.

How do you know that? What are your theories based on?
Fifteen years ago I could work outside all day with my shirt off and get moderitely sunburnt, today if I have my shirt off for two hours I'm burnt to the same degree. You might think that global warming or a hole in the ozone lay may not exist in your country, but believe me where I come from the sun is allot harsher than it use to be.
Ten years ago I could snow ski in the Austrian Alps all day without applying sunscreen and was amazed that I didnt get burnt but if I was to try to do the same thing here up on our mountains today I would have blisters from the sunburn. Maybe this has nothing to do with global warming but it just seems a strange coincidence. I am not a PC greenie type person and I certainly dont believe everything my government tells me but what I do know is that if I dont look after my bike and do maintanence it turns to crap. I wonder if the same applies to the planet we live on?
Most things are money driven, and I cant see big corperate giants jumping to spend money on something that isnt going to give them a return so it is allot easier for them to get their scientist to say it doesnt exist or is a scam.
Maybe Global warming isnt happening and their isnt a hole in the ozone layer and our dollar had to collapse to prop up the spending of another country because they over committed themselves.

Life is harsh..... Thankfully my scotch whiskey isnt.

[firko]

They stress, diversity, political correctness, self-esteem, white guilt and a host of other useless garbage

 
And I bet you work in the nuclear industry and are a card carrying member of the NRA. It'd fit right in with your tolerant and open minded outlook on life. After 8 years of the most laughable administration in US history, methinks Obama is the breath of fresh ideas that the USA needs.

global warming is a scam

That statement defies all serious scientific research but backs up the oil company driven conservative propaganda fed to the gullible American people as "fact". The "dumbing down" (to use your terminology) of the American people starts in your schools where from day one the kids are taught little or nothing of other societies or political philosophies that differ from the American idea of 'democracy'.
Because of that lack of knowledge Americans grow up with an inbuilt distrust of any political ideal that differs from what they are taught. The paranoid hatred of the evil socialism is a classic example yet if you asked the average American in the street to explain how socialism works they wouldn't have a clue. This ignorance is further carried into the American psyche by the far right dominated media (Fox, CNN) that feed largely biased and erroneous propaganda under the guise of "news".

This is nothing personal Phantom, you seem a nice bloke and I like your bikes. However if you are going to make American political statements on an Australian vintage motocross forum you must be prepared to hear an alternative view. 

[magoo]

You guys are geniuses, who would have thought that the worlds problems would have been solved by a bunch of middle aged has been dirt bike riders. Amazing.

[AjayVMX]

And we definitely get better at solving these problems at Margeurita Time....