First it was mortgage lenders. Then large banks began to wobble. Now, entire countries, including Ukraine and Pakistan, are facing financial ruin. The International Monetary Fund is there to help, but its pockets are only so deep.
No, Alexander Lukyanchenko told reporters at a hastily convened press conference last Tuesday, there is "no reason whatsoever to spread panic." Anyone who was caught trying to throw people out into the street, he warned, would have the authorities to deal with.
Lukyanchenko is the mayor of Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine with a population of a little more than one million. For generations, the residents of Donetsk have earned a living in the surrounding coalmines and steel mills, a rather profitable industry in the recent past. Donetsksta, a local steel producer, earned €1.3 billion ($1.65 billion) in revenues last year.
But last Tuesday the mayor, returning from a meeting with business leaders, had bad news: two-thousand metalworkers would have to be furloughed. Lukyanchenko doesn't use the word furlough, instead noting that the workers will be doing "other, similar work." But every other blast furnace has already been shut down, and one of the city's largest holding companies is apparently gearing up for mass layoffs.
Under these conditions, how could panic not be rampant in Donetsk, the capital of Ukraine's industrial heartland? In Mariupol, a steelworking city, a third of the workers have already been let go. The chemical industry, Ukraine's second-largest source of export revenue, is also ailing. In the capital Kiev, booming until recently, construction cranes are at a standstill while crowds jostle in front of currency exchange offices, eager to convert their assets into US dollars.
Donetsk is in eastern Ukraine, 8,100 kilometers (5,030 miles) from New York's Wall Street and 2,700 kilometers (1,677 miles) from Canary Wharf, London's financial center. But such distances are now relative. The world financial crisis has reached a new level. No longer limited to banks and companies, it is now spreading like wildfire and engulfing entire economies. It has reached Asia and Latin America, Eastern Europe, Iceland the Seychelles, the Balkan nation of Serbia and Africa's southernmost country, South Africa.
It is a development that has investors and speculators alike holding their breath. Some are pulling their money out of troubled countries, while others are betting on a continued decline -- and in doing so are only accelerating the downturn. Central banks are desperately trying to halt the downward trend, but in many cases the plunge seems unstoppable.
At first, it seemed as if the crash could be limited to Iceland. But now countries like Ukraine, Pakistan and Argentina are proving to be almost as vulnerable as the small island nation in the North Atlantic. It seems as though another country is added to the growing list of nations on the verge of collapse almost daily.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication. A national bankruptcy isn't just some theoretical construct. Argentina experienced it in 2001 and Russia three years earlier. Germany has gone bankrupt twice in its more recent history, once in 1923 and the second time after 1945. A country has reached this final stage if, as a result of war or blatant mismanagement, it has gambled away all trust, can no longer service its debt or convince anyone to lend it any money, no matter how high an interest rate it promises to pay.
This is what is currently happening to Iceland. The central bank in the capital Reykjavik increased its prime rate by six points to 18 percent last week. Venezuela, where inflation is also high, is now offering 20 percent to stimulate interest in its government bonds. At the moment, however, investors are shying away from all risk.
In the end, the rating agencies will have no choice but to downgrade the problem countries to their lowest level of creditworthiness. When that happens, lenders will have no choice but to write off much of their money. For citizens, national bankruptcy would probably lead to massive inflation.
The threshold countries, described until recently as "emerging" economies, are in for an especially rough ride. "The dream that they would be spared seems to have come to an end," says Rolf Langhammer, vice-president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Countries like Russia and Brazil owe their recent success in large part to the boom in commodities the world has experienced in recent years. But now prices for oil, copper, wheat and corn have plunged and a giant spiral of debt has begun to turn. The companies and banks that borrowed vast amounts of money abroad for their investments can no longer service their debt, and investors are pulling out their capital. As foreign currency becomes scarce and imports unaffordable, the currencies of these countries are losing value, which only increases the mountain of debt.
According to Stephen Jen, a currency specialist with the US bank Morgan Stanley, the flow of capital to threshold countries could drop by more than half -- from the current level of €575 billion ($730 billion) to €230-270 billion ($292-343 billion) -- if world economic growth drops to only 1 percent in 2009. The demise of these countries, says Jen, represents the new "epicenter of the global crisis."
The looming crisis has the countries in most dire need lining up for emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But all they are doing is buying time -- a few weeks, or perhaps even months -- and hoping that the general situation will soon improve.
The Ghost of Buenos Aires
The signs of looming national bankruptcy are plentiful, and bankers in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo know them well. In late 2001, they were the first to see the coming crash in Argentina. Men traveled across the Rio de la Plata, from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, carrying suitcases filled with US dollars. They stood in long lines at the city's banks, depositing the contents of their suitcases into accounts and safe deposit boxes there. Uruguay is South America's Switzerland, a safe haven for money in times of crisis. No one asks about where the millions come from.
DER SPIEGEL
Argentina in crisis.
Once the Argentine businessmen had transferred their dollars abroad, the second phase of the collapse began. The Argentine government froze all bank accounts, capping the maximum amount an accountholder could withdraw at only $250 (€198) a week. Small investors, those who had left their money in the banks, were the hardest hit. Tens of thousands of desperate citizens stormed the banks, and many spent nights sleeping in front of the automated teller machines.
The last phase of the downturn began in the Buenos Aires suburbs. After consumption had dropped by 60 percent, young men began looting supermarkets. In December 2001, 40,000 people gathered on Plaza de Mayo in front of the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace. There, they banged pots and pans together day and night, until an unnerved President Fernando de la Rúa fled by helicopter.
The image of the fleeing president has burned itself into the collective memory of Argentineans. It marks the worst financial crisis of the last 100 years. De la Rúa's successor allowed the peso to float free on the world currency-exchange markets after it had been pegged to the US dollar at a ratio of 1:1. Tens of thousands of small business owners, who had incurred debt when the peso was still pegged to the dollar, filed for bankruptcy.that Argentina would not be able to repay its $145 billion (€115 billion) in foreign debt.
Is history repeating itself today?
Economic experts have been warning for months that Argentina is again heading toward national bankruptcy. Men are traveling to Uruguay once again with suitcases filled with cash. In the space of only three weeks, more than $700 million (€553 million) was withdrawn from Argentine bank accounts. Government bonds have lost more than half of their value. ATMs are no longer giving out more than 300 pesos, and inflation is running rampant
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Negotiating your way around a tough economy
Anybody that’s a fan of bartering is a fan of mine.
Barter is the bedrock of ALL economics… it’s the “bedrock trampoline” a crashing economy smashes into before it eventually bounces back.
If you’re in business and you don’t barter directly with other business owners, or use an ethical, regulated barter company such as Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE), you’re seriously missing out on multiple benefits. That goes for the good economic time AND the bad economic times.
Just imagine how much business you’d lose if you didn’t accept credit cards…? How much business are you losing by not using the MBE barter system…?
Let’s hope people don’t let this country go the way Argentina did back in 2002 and HAD TO use barter because the country went BANKRUPT.
Barter is the bedrock of ALL economics… it’s the “bedrock trampoline” a crashing economy smashes into before it eventually bounces back.
If you’re in business and you don’t barter directly with other business owners, or use an ethical, regulated barter company such as Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE), you’re seriously missing out on multiple benefits. That goes for the good economic time AND the bad economic times.
Just imagine how much business you’d lose if you didn’t accept credit cards…? How much business are you losing by not using the MBE barter system…?
Let’s hope people don’t let this country go the way Argentina did back in 2002 and HAD TO use barter because the country went BANKRUPT.
New Economic Revolution Needed...?
Quoting Einstein, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
That said, $700 BILLION... the lunacy (I can't think of another word for proposing such a ridiculous short term solution to a problem that was allowed to happen for so many years) that is happening in the economy right now, really is insane.
I am feeling rather smug, with that "I told you so" look on my face, though. Why?
For three years people have been telling me I was crazy for working so diligently for Merchants Barter Exchange - a new (launched eight years ago) company to help businesses trade for things at the same price as cash using the barter system - it even cost me my marriage, but I knew the economy was headed for a fall like this.
We are now being lauded as "futurists". Call us futurists if you want to, but for us the writing has been on the wall for many years: our economy is down the toilet and is not going to be solved by "bubble-gum politics". The only way to save the US economy is Merchants Barter Exchange.
The people "pulling the strings" now have their dirty little fingers on the flusher handle.
Barter, as an economic system, has outlived Kings and Queens, Empires, World Wars, Governments, recessions... It is the bedrock trampoline every economy hits when it crashes.
Thankfully Merchants Barter Exchange had the foresight to create their highly effective method of bartering 100%, same as cash, 100% of the time.
If there's anybody out there that really thinks $700 billion is really going to fix this problem, you probably also believed that the Titanic could have been saved with a large enough piece of bubble gum. Folks, please stop drinking the Kool Aid... and I tell you what, you can buy a lot of Kool Aid with $700 billion dollars.
Rant over, just had to get that little thing off my chest. Phew!
That said, $700 BILLION... the lunacy (I can't think of another word for proposing such a ridiculous short term solution to a problem that was allowed to happen for so many years) that is happening in the economy right now, really is insane.
I am feeling rather smug, with that "I told you so" look on my face, though. Why?
For three years people have been telling me I was crazy for working so diligently for Merchants Barter Exchange - a new (launched eight years ago) company to help businesses trade for things at the same price as cash using the barter system - it even cost me my marriage, but I knew the economy was headed for a fall like this.
We are now being lauded as "futurists". Call us futurists if you want to, but for us the writing has been on the wall for many years: our economy is down the toilet and is not going to be solved by "bubble-gum politics". The only way to save the US economy is Merchants Barter Exchange.
The people "pulling the strings" now have their dirty little fingers on the flusher handle.
Barter, as an economic system, has outlived Kings and Queens, Empires, World Wars, Governments, recessions... It is the bedrock trampoline every economy hits when it crashes.
Thankfully Merchants Barter Exchange had the foresight to create their highly effective method of bartering 100%, same as cash, 100% of the time.
If there's anybody out there that really thinks $700 billion is really going to fix this problem, you probably also believed that the Titanic could have been saved with a large enough piece of bubble gum. Folks, please stop drinking the Kool Aid... and I tell you what, you can buy a lot of Kool Aid with $700 billion dollars.
Rant over, just had to get that little thing off my chest. Phew!
Barter: An Old Concept That Continues To Help Business
The earliest documented records of civilizations bartering dates back over 9000 years to the Egyptians, but it is certain that Man bartered long before that. Barter is the oldest form of commerce and is still going strong, in fact with the recession strengthening more and more business owners are turning to organized barter to bolster their businesses.
It is a very simple concept - quite likely the major reason for its longevity and continued success. Barter is the exchange of goods and services for other goods and services. In essence a cashless transaction. An example is a restaurant that needs landscaping. The landscaping company does some work for the restaurant in exchange for some gift certificates. But what happens when the job is quite large and the landscape company does not want that many restaurant gift certificates, or none at all? Enter the barter exchange.
Barter companies have been around since the mid-50s in America and it is estimated that there are probably over 1400 exchanges of differing sizes and scope now in the US. Just type “barter exchange” into any Internet search engine and you will be inundated with a myriad of companies to chose from. A barter exchange steps into the one-on-one relationship that exists with traditional bartering, basically allowing businesses to trade with other businesses they have nothing in common with (or where no duality of needs exists). Take the earlier example of the landscape company. If they belonged to a reputable barter exchange they would get barter credits (usually known as barter dollars) for doing the work for the restaurant, but they could then spend that barter revenue on renting a backhoe, or getting tires for their trucks, or something equally useful to their business.
There are multiple reasons to belong to a good barter exchange, below are a few key benefits:
*Increased revenue
*More clients
*Better cash flow
*Improved efficiency
*Greater marketing opportunities
*Increased purchasing power
Unless a business has more work than it can handle, barter is a ‘no-brainer’ for any company. A business has all its fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance, vehicles, machinery, etc.) whether it has one hundred customers or three hundred, if a business can take dead time or inventory that in effect is costing money and turn it into new revenue, it’s a home run. The major benefit to companies is that they get to leverage their cost of goods. Back to the landscape company, what does it really cost them to do $1000 worth of work for the restaurant? Obviously less that $1000 or they wouldn’t be in business long (usually a company’s cost of goods is 50% or less). Since barter work is absorbing their surplus time, inventory or capacity, when they barter their services they are only incurring their actual cost of goods, this means they can make purchases via the exchange for pennies on the dollar - another home run.
Organized barter companies (usually those with national scope) also have many more benefits over conventional advertising methods since they are much more proactive. Barter members call into the exchange brokerage with things they need and the brokers match those needs with other members that can fill them. There are usually fees to join, but compared to a print advertisement for example, you only pay to join once and then most exchanges are ‘pay per use’. If at all possible, when choosing a good barter company, go with one that does not encourage cash-barter blends (i.e., a portion of the transaction is cash - not strictly all barter) and join a company that insists on ‘100% trade, 100% of the time’. Any barter company that allows blends to happen usually has inflation in their economy and not too many hard goods as a consequence.
One final tip when choosing a good barter exchange, make sure they allow you to spend first - this ensures you that their barter dollars actually have tangible worth and you’ll be able to continue spending them on a long term basis. Extra revenue is fine, but if you cannot spend it, it’s as good as worthless - unfortunately some businesses have been badly hurt by less reputable barter companies this way. Most quality barter companies will actually offer a guarantee to new members that they will let you spend a barter credit balance first and get you new business. Barter is a lot of fun and with the right company can be one of the most useful business tools you ever employ.
As far as tax goes, the IRS considers all barter transactions whether directly or via an exchange exactly the same as cash revenue. Consult your tax adviser for more detailed information on how to report barter income.
Tram Holloway owns the Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN division of Merchants Barter Exchange, a national barter company, and is available for any questions you may have concerning bartering: barterguy@yahoo.com.
It is a very simple concept - quite likely the major reason for its longevity and continued success. Barter is the exchange of goods and services for other goods and services. In essence a cashless transaction. An example is a restaurant that needs landscaping. The landscaping company does some work for the restaurant in exchange for some gift certificates. But what happens when the job is quite large and the landscape company does not want that many restaurant gift certificates, or none at all? Enter the barter exchange.
Barter companies have been around since the mid-50s in America and it is estimated that there are probably over 1400 exchanges of differing sizes and scope now in the US. Just type “barter exchange” into any Internet search engine and you will be inundated with a myriad of companies to chose from. A barter exchange steps into the one-on-one relationship that exists with traditional bartering, basically allowing businesses to trade with other businesses they have nothing in common with (or where no duality of needs exists). Take the earlier example of the landscape company. If they belonged to a reputable barter exchange they would get barter credits (usually known as barter dollars) for doing the work for the restaurant, but they could then spend that barter revenue on renting a backhoe, or getting tires for their trucks, or something equally useful to their business.
There are multiple reasons to belong to a good barter exchange, below are a few key benefits:
*Increased revenue
*More clients
*Better cash flow
*Improved efficiency
*Greater marketing opportunities
*Increased purchasing power
Unless a business has more work than it can handle, barter is a ‘no-brainer’ for any company. A business has all its fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance, vehicles, machinery, etc.) whether it has one hundred customers or three hundred, if a business can take dead time or inventory that in effect is costing money and turn it into new revenue, it’s a home run. The major benefit to companies is that they get to leverage their cost of goods. Back to the landscape company, what does it really cost them to do $1000 worth of work for the restaurant? Obviously less that $1000 or they wouldn’t be in business long (usually a company’s cost of goods is 50% or less). Since barter work is absorbing their surplus time, inventory or capacity, when they barter their services they are only incurring their actual cost of goods, this means they can make purchases via the exchange for pennies on the dollar - another home run.
Organized barter companies (usually those with national scope) also have many more benefits over conventional advertising methods since they are much more proactive. Barter members call into the exchange brokerage with things they need and the brokers match those needs with other members that can fill them. There are usually fees to join, but compared to a print advertisement for example, you only pay to join once and then most exchanges are ‘pay per use’. If at all possible, when choosing a good barter company, go with one that does not encourage cash-barter blends (i.e., a portion of the transaction is cash - not strictly all barter) and join a company that insists on ‘100% trade, 100% of the time’. Any barter company that allows blends to happen usually has inflation in their economy and not too many hard goods as a consequence.
One final tip when choosing a good barter exchange, make sure they allow you to spend first - this ensures you that their barter dollars actually have tangible worth and you’ll be able to continue spending them on a long term basis. Extra revenue is fine, but if you cannot spend it, it’s as good as worthless - unfortunately some businesses have been badly hurt by less reputable barter companies this way. Most quality barter companies will actually offer a guarantee to new members that they will let you spend a barter credit balance first and get you new business. Barter is a lot of fun and with the right company can be one of the most useful business tools you ever employ.
As far as tax goes, the IRS considers all barter transactions whether directly or via an exchange exactly the same as cash revenue. Consult your tax adviser for more detailed information on how to report barter income.
Tram Holloway owns the Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN division of Merchants Barter Exchange, a national barter company, and is available for any questions you may have concerning bartering: barterguy@yahoo.com.
Merchants Barter Exchange Fighting Recession
Barter is booming in the dwingling economy. MBE helping to support businesses.
Whilst presidential candidates merely talk about economic solutions that might help the current financial crisis, Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE) continues to actively help businesses around the country bolster themselves against the recession.
Since streamlining the barter system over seven years ago, MBE has helped businesses around the country benefit from the age-old concept of trading goods and services instead of tying up their cash. The MBE system allows businesses to move slow-moving or surplus inventory, increase revenues, maximize efficiency, gain more customers, and improve cash flow with a simple and effective concept that's been around for millennia.
"With our '100% trade, 100% of the time' system and efficient brokering department, we've made barter a simple and essential medium for any sized business," states Steve Bolles, president. Every Fortune 500 company has known the value and benefit of barter, but until the cost-effective simplicity of the MBE system and its safeguards against misuse (price-gouging or cash-barter blends), the effective application for small and medium sized companies has been limited.
MBE has steadily grown in size around the country, but is currently experiencing unprecedented growth due to the recession-proof nature of their business model. "Revolutionizing an industry is a challenging prospect and hasn't always been easy," says Bolles. "These are exciting times for our company and this latest growth makes the journey and struggles we've endured all the more rewarding."
For more information about their national licensing program, employment opportunities, or membership eligibility, please contact:952-334-1226
Merchants Barter Exchange
www.merchantsbarter.com
Whilst presidential candidates merely talk about economic solutions that might help the current financial crisis, Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE) continues to actively help businesses around the country bolster themselves against the recession.
Since streamlining the barter system over seven years ago, MBE has helped businesses around the country benefit from the age-old concept of trading goods and services instead of tying up their cash. The MBE system allows businesses to move slow-moving or surplus inventory, increase revenues, maximize efficiency, gain more customers, and improve cash flow with a simple and effective concept that's been around for millennia.
"With our '100% trade, 100% of the time' system and efficient brokering department, we've made barter a simple and essential medium for any sized business," states Steve Bolles, president. Every Fortune 500 company has known the value and benefit of barter, but until the cost-effective simplicity of the MBE system and its safeguards against misuse (price-gouging or cash-barter blends), the effective application for small and medium sized companies has been limited.
MBE has steadily grown in size around the country, but is currently experiencing unprecedented growth due to the recession-proof nature of their business model. "Revolutionizing an industry is a challenging prospect and hasn't always been easy," says Bolles. "These are exciting times for our company and this latest growth makes the journey and struggles we've endured all the more rewarding."
For more information about their national licensing program, employment opportunities, or membership eligibility, please contact:952-334-1226
Merchants Barter Exchange
www.merchantsbarter.com
Barter Exchanges Catch On as Credit Tightens
Small businesses find that trading for goods and services not only conserves cash; it can also substitute for borrowing and rack up savings
Shawn Cressman, president of Cressman's Lawn & Tree Care, the business his father started 33 years ago in Bethlehem, Pa., has occasionally engaged in bartering with other outfits over the years. But transactions were usually informal and not necessarily directly tied to the company's bottom line.
These days, though, Cressman sees bartering as a significant way to reduce cash outflow. Last fall he joined the Stroudsburg (Pa.) Merchants Barter Exchange, an association that coordinates and organizes trading of products and services among its more than 10,000 business members. In September, when the transmission blew on one of the firm's trucks, Cressman turned to the exchange and bartered for a replacement. "That would have cost between $1,500 and $2,000, and that was not in my budget," he says. He also bartered to acquire a $4,000 piece of stone-crushing equipment. "I probably wouldn't have bought one this year," he says. "It would have had too much of an impact on my cash flow." But as a result of strategic bartering, Cressman estimates he has been able to save about $6,000 total so far this year.
In recent years, bartering has gained currency as a relatively easy path for small outfits to attain goods and services without having to dig into their coffers. It has also become a successful channel to attract new customers and expand one's business. According to the most recent numbers compiled by the National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) in Mentor, Ohio, some 400 barter exchanges in the U.S. and Canada generate transactions worth $4 billion a year.
On the Upswing
And now, with banks cutting back on credit lines or shutting them down altogether, the use of barter has gained renewed momentum. Notably, Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter, last month announced it planned to barter rice for oil from Iran, one of world's top 10 rice importers. For small businesses, ramping up their own use of barter is a strategy that allows them to reserve cash and still expand operations at a time when credit lines have yet to thaw.
Tom McDowell, executive director of NATE, says he has seen a 10% to 12% increase in new clients joining organized barter exchanges. "Suddenly, [business owners] were running into different obstacles, and they started looking for other avenues for resources, not just credit," he says. "The interesting thing that is happening in this economy is that businesses still have inventory and capacity. They still have expenses. What they don't have is customers."
Barter exchanges (BusinessWeek SmallBiz, 4/16/08) are fee-based membership groups. Typically, barter dollars are issued when a member performs a service or offers a product that can then be used to purchase goods or services of another member within the exchange. (The exchange receives a commission on the "purchase" side of the transaction.) Most exchanges work on a 50-50 cash-to-barter system, while others, such as Merchants Barter Exchange, operate as a 100% barter trade system. Most offer lines of credit that can be used to snap up a host of items, from carpet cleaning services to office supplies to large equipment.
A Way to Get Credit
Merchants' founder, Steve Bolles, says membership in his eight-year-old exchange, which has offices in 30 states, has tripled this year. As the financial situation remains bleak, Merchants continues to ramp up clients. "Just 18 months ago, when we would go and talk to business owners about signing up, they would say, 'We don't need to talk to you.' Now everybody gives us an appointment." A strong inducement: "Everyone we sign up gets a line of credit right away," Bolles says.
"Most people are looking to conserve cash," says Ralph Sigler, who owns Carolina Packaging & Supply in Raleigh, N.C., and belongs to two different exchanges. "We started bartering about 12 years ago. The way we were growing, it made sense to substitute barter dollars for cash dollars." Sigler says he bartered to obtain everything from security system installations to letterhead and envelopes. "I've saved anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 a year by bartering, and I've also taken on a lot of new accounts."
Bartering serves as another avenue to help keep businesses afloat. "I would say my bartering has gone up 20% in the past six months," says Mike Cody, owner of Chip & Crack Windshield Repair in Garner, N.C. "At first I used it for hotel stays and gifts to employees." Now he says he has begun to barter to obtain equipment for his business instead of having to spend cash. "If I were to make a guess, I'd say that I've saved over $1,000 this year."
"Eventually we will see a shift in thinking," says NATE's McDowell. "What will happen is that people who were reluctant to use the credit line, or used it sparingly, will see the tremendous credit crunch and will look for new resources. They will find that they can use trade exchanges."
Perman is a staff writer for BusinessWeek.com in New York.
Shawn Cressman, president of Cressman's Lawn & Tree Care, the business his father started 33 years ago in Bethlehem, Pa., has occasionally engaged in bartering with other outfits over the years. But transactions were usually informal and not necessarily directly tied to the company's bottom line.
These days, though, Cressman sees bartering as a significant way to reduce cash outflow. Last fall he joined the Stroudsburg (Pa.) Merchants Barter Exchange, an association that coordinates and organizes trading of products and services among its more than 10,000 business members. In September, when the transmission blew on one of the firm's trucks, Cressman turned to the exchange and bartered for a replacement. "That would have cost between $1,500 and $2,000, and that was not in my budget," he says. He also bartered to acquire a $4,000 piece of stone-crushing equipment. "I probably wouldn't have bought one this year," he says. "It would have had too much of an impact on my cash flow." But as a result of strategic bartering, Cressman estimates he has been able to save about $6,000 total so far this year.
In recent years, bartering has gained currency as a relatively easy path for small outfits to attain goods and services without having to dig into their coffers. It has also become a successful channel to attract new customers and expand one's business. According to the most recent numbers compiled by the National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) in Mentor, Ohio, some 400 barter exchanges in the U.S. and Canada generate transactions worth $4 billion a year.
On the Upswing
And now, with banks cutting back on credit lines or shutting them down altogether, the use of barter has gained renewed momentum. Notably, Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter, last month announced it planned to barter rice for oil from Iran, one of world's top 10 rice importers. For small businesses, ramping up their own use of barter is a strategy that allows them to reserve cash and still expand operations at a time when credit lines have yet to thaw.
Tom McDowell, executive director of NATE, says he has seen a 10% to 12% increase in new clients joining organized barter exchanges. "Suddenly, [business owners] were running into different obstacles, and they started looking for other avenues for resources, not just credit," he says. "The interesting thing that is happening in this economy is that businesses still have inventory and capacity. They still have expenses. What they don't have is customers."
Barter exchanges (BusinessWeek SmallBiz, 4/16/08) are fee-based membership groups. Typically, barter dollars are issued when a member performs a service or offers a product that can then be used to purchase goods or services of another member within the exchange. (The exchange receives a commission on the "purchase" side of the transaction.) Most exchanges work on a 50-50 cash-to-barter system, while others, such as Merchants Barter Exchange, operate as a 100% barter trade system. Most offer lines of credit that can be used to snap up a host of items, from carpet cleaning services to office supplies to large equipment.
A Way to Get Credit
Merchants' founder, Steve Bolles, says membership in his eight-year-old exchange, which has offices in 30 states, has tripled this year. As the financial situation remains bleak, Merchants continues to ramp up clients. "Just 18 months ago, when we would go and talk to business owners about signing up, they would say, 'We don't need to talk to you.' Now everybody gives us an appointment." A strong inducement: "Everyone we sign up gets a line of credit right away," Bolles says.
"Most people are looking to conserve cash," says Ralph Sigler, who owns Carolina Packaging & Supply in Raleigh, N.C., and belongs to two different exchanges. "We started bartering about 12 years ago. The way we were growing, it made sense to substitute barter dollars for cash dollars." Sigler says he bartered to obtain everything from security system installations to letterhead and envelopes. "I've saved anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 a year by bartering, and I've also taken on a lot of new accounts."
Bartering serves as another avenue to help keep businesses afloat. "I would say my bartering has gone up 20% in the past six months," says Mike Cody, owner of Chip & Crack Windshield Repair in Garner, N.C. "At first I used it for hotel stays and gifts to employees." Now he says he has begun to barter to obtain equipment for his business instead of having to spend cash. "If I were to make a guess, I'd say that I've saved over $1,000 this year."
"Eventually we will see a shift in thinking," says NATE's McDowell. "What will happen is that people who were reluctant to use the credit line, or used it sparingly, will see the tremendous credit crunch and will look for new resources. They will find that they can use trade exchanges."
Perman is a staff writer for BusinessWeek.com in New York.
A New Breed of Barter Exchange Brings Hope to American Business
Anybody reading the headlines these days knows the world teeters on the biggest worldwide recession in modern history and our leaders are scrambling for solutions. It is very timely that I recently had the opportunity of interviewing Mr Steve Bolles, founder and President of Merchants Barter Exchange, one of America’s great innovators of economic change and stability right now. Bolles is far from reclusive, but rarely entertains interviews, however due to the seriousness of the current global crisis he extended this offer.
For those unfamiliar with barter, what is Merchants Barter Exchange and what does it do?
Historically barter is the one-on-one exchange of similar or like-valued goods or services instead of using cash or currency. Merchants Barter Exchange is an ever-growing national network of diversified business owners that utilize the simplicity, ease and efficiency of our MBE-barter system to trade for multiple hard goods and services at the same price as cash with other members of our network. In short we have created an alternative payment mechanism for business owners to turn what they have too much of (time, inventory, or capacity - in essence their inefficiency) into positive revenue, increased cash flow, better marketing, and save a bunch of cash as they do so.
What was your inspiration behind Merchants Barter Exchange?
Back in the 90s I had another business and was a member of an older and very different kind of barter company. The more I used their antiquated mechanism, the more I noticed many flaws and huge areas of improvement. They had no systems in place to prevent people inflating the price of their goods or services, or price gouging, they also charged when a client bought and when they sold, they didn’t seem to have much control over how people traded and with whom, and even allowed members to pay part in cash and part in trade, which didn’t seem to make any sense to me. Most of the other members I dealt with were very unhappy with the overall system. That’s when I started to look for a better barter company, but after extensive research I discovered that every single barter company had the same flaws and challenges.
So what did you do to make Merchants Barter Exchange so different?
Firstly, we centralized the control and the membership list. This allowed us to ensure we only sent members brand new business and were not converting cash clients to trade clients. It also ensured we had secure systems in place to stop people charging more than they would for a cash transaction. It didn’t make any sense to pay more because it was barter, as you lost all the economical benefits. Since we have the control, we are able to expel any member that should try to break the rules that keep our system running effectively. Secondly, with control of the integrity and value of the MBE-barter dollar, it allowed us to do large and small trades for our members. I believe we are the only national barter company that can brag the ability to do $100,000 printing jobs 100% on trade with no cash element. Thirdly, since our system worked so well, we expanded very rapidly and needed to develop a solid and ongoing direct sales division to ensure we were able to meet as many of our members needs as we could. To date I think we have the best fulfillment rate and the greatest client retention rate (95%) of any barter company in the US.
What are you currently doing to ease the crisis in the US economy?
Even though we have grown steadily since we began in 2000, we are nowhere nearly as large as I would have liked us to be by now to help the millions of small business owners around the US, and around the world that can benefit from the MBE-barter system. Right now we are working on rolling out our corporate licensing program as fast as we can to reach as many new businesses and as many new cities around the US as we can. The major challenge has been screening the right entrepreneurial candidates that not only have the investment capital to buy in, but have the right morals, ethics, and responsibility for us to allow the priviledge to own and operate a local sales region. We are helping all those we can right now and improving the lives of our members and people in their communities, in time we will help increasingly more individuals.
Looking to the future, do you have any plans to expand beyond the US?
Absolutely! Our primary focus obviously is to assist the American business owners right now, however we created our business model to be a global monetary alternative. We already have interest from other countries around the world eager to implement our system into their economies. When the time is right we’ll definately expand internationally. Everything in good time.
I also heard you’re working on a book, is this true?
Yes. I’ve been co-collaborating on a book about the industry and the major differences and functions of the MBE-barter system with a close colleague in the industry. Right now we have more pressing issues to deal with and the book project has taken a slight back seat. We’ll finish it in due course, but it’s been an interesting project to work on.
For those unfamiliar with barter, what is Merchants Barter Exchange and what does it do?
Historically barter is the one-on-one exchange of similar or like-valued goods or services instead of using cash or currency. Merchants Barter Exchange is an ever-growing national network of diversified business owners that utilize the simplicity, ease and efficiency of our MBE-barter system to trade for multiple hard goods and services at the same price as cash with other members of our network. In short we have created an alternative payment mechanism for business owners to turn what they have too much of (time, inventory, or capacity - in essence their inefficiency) into positive revenue, increased cash flow, better marketing, and save a bunch of cash as they do so.
What was your inspiration behind Merchants Barter Exchange?
Back in the 90s I had another business and was a member of an older and very different kind of barter company. The more I used their antiquated mechanism, the more I noticed many flaws and huge areas of improvement. They had no systems in place to prevent people inflating the price of their goods or services, or price gouging, they also charged when a client bought and when they sold, they didn’t seem to have much control over how people traded and with whom, and even allowed members to pay part in cash and part in trade, which didn’t seem to make any sense to me. Most of the other members I dealt with were very unhappy with the overall system. That’s when I started to look for a better barter company, but after extensive research I discovered that every single barter company had the same flaws and challenges.
So what did you do to make Merchants Barter Exchange so different?
Firstly, we centralized the control and the membership list. This allowed us to ensure we only sent members brand new business and were not converting cash clients to trade clients. It also ensured we had secure systems in place to stop people charging more than they would for a cash transaction. It didn’t make any sense to pay more because it was barter, as you lost all the economical benefits. Since we have the control, we are able to expel any member that should try to break the rules that keep our system running effectively. Secondly, with control of the integrity and value of the MBE-barter dollar, it allowed us to do large and small trades for our members. I believe we are the only national barter company that can brag the ability to do $100,000 printing jobs 100% on trade with no cash element. Thirdly, since our system worked so well, we expanded very rapidly and needed to develop a solid and ongoing direct sales division to ensure we were able to meet as many of our members needs as we could. To date I think we have the best fulfillment rate and the greatest client retention rate (95%) of any barter company in the US.
What are you currently doing to ease the crisis in the US economy?
Even though we have grown steadily since we began in 2000, we are nowhere nearly as large as I would have liked us to be by now to help the millions of small business owners around the US, and around the world that can benefit from the MBE-barter system. Right now we are working on rolling out our corporate licensing program as fast as we can to reach as many new businesses and as many new cities around the US as we can. The major challenge has been screening the right entrepreneurial candidates that not only have the investment capital to buy in, but have the right morals, ethics, and responsibility for us to allow the priviledge to own and operate a local sales region. We are helping all those we can right now and improving the lives of our members and people in their communities, in time we will help increasingly more individuals.
Looking to the future, do you have any plans to expand beyond the US?
Absolutely! Our primary focus obviously is to assist the American business owners right now, however we created our business model to be a global monetary alternative. We already have interest from other countries around the world eager to implement our system into their economies. When the time is right we’ll definately expand internationally. Everything in good time.
I also heard you’re working on a book, is this true?
Yes. I’ve been co-collaborating on a book about the industry and the major differences and functions of the MBE-barter system with a close colleague in the industry. Right now we have more pressing issues to deal with and the book project has taken a slight back seat. We’ll finish it in due course, but it’s been an interesting project to work on.
10 Most Common Myths About Barter
10 Most Common Myths About Barter By Tram Holloway For those that don't know the term 'barter', it is the oldest and simplest form of commerce known to Man. Bartering is the exchange of goods and/or services between parties without the need for cash. Example: "I'll trade you flooring for roofing." Even though it has existed for thousands of years (most likely since the dawn of Man) and globally governments, large corporations and individuals engage in over $1 trillion of barter business per year, there still exist some urban legends and myths about this practice. Due to the economic crisis facing the world, more and more people are bartering, especially via credible, organized barter organizations like <http://www.merchantsbarter.com/> Merchants Barter Exchange, that make trading between multiple parties childsplay. It is the intention of this short article to dispell some of the myths and legends still hanging around out there. 1) IT'S ILLEGAL:. MYTH. Far from being illegal, barter is encouraged due to the economic benefits it creates. Any entity that has surplus stock, time, or capacity is smart to exchange what it has too much for for things it would have paid cash for (or might not have the financing for) especially in this economy. The IRS website has a section just for bartering: <http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc420.html> http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc420.html All barter income must be declared just like cash revenues. What is illegal - just like cash under the table - is not declaring trades. This is a major reason to belong to an ethical barter company like <http://www.merchantsbarter.com/> Merchants Barter Exchange that takes care of all paperwork and issues 1099b statements each year to members. 2) IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE TO BARTER. MYTH. The opposite is actually true. Barter saves money - which is the major reason governments and big business use it so much - because you are moving things you don't need and have usually already purchased (and are probably depreciating assets). Every company has a cost of goods and operating expenses. Because barter brings brand new business from alternative sources, all barter income is produced at cost. Example: If you buy coffee cups at 20 cents on the dollar and sell them for $1.00, you have an 80% gross profit margin (out of which you cover your expenses: advertising, phones, salaries, etc.) If you have 100 cups in your inventory you can't sell and another company is prepared to trade $100 of office supplies for your cups, economically speaking you just bought $100 of office supplies for only $20 cash outlay. Who wouldn't want to do that? One thing to watch out for is how well an organized barter company controls trading. Some older barter companies have been known to allow their clients to inflate their barter prices, or even take part payment in cash (which is not true barter!) and something that is not easy to control when they disclose their membership list. 3) THE QUALITY ISN'T THE SAME. MYTH. Although when you engage in direct trading with another party there is a large element of trust, since in most cases one party must go first - "You fix my truck, then I'll do your electrical work" - but almost all direct trade occurs between people that know each other. Barter companies can often ensure better quality and more assurances, because there is no (or limited) direct trading. The majority of MBE clients state that the quality of service they receive is actually higher, because their member benefits are so good, they don't want to risk expulsion from the exchange for not providing quality work. 4) IT'S OLD FASHIONED. MYTH. It's the oldest form of commerce, that's true, but it is far from old fashioned. Especially since 2000, when Merchants Barter Exchange reinvented the way organized barter is transacted to ensure all trading is conducted 100% on trade 100% of the time, and at exactly the same pricing as cash (which had never been done before at a national level.) As a comparison, farming is probably as old as bartering, but with developments in technology nobody would call farming old fashioned. 5) YOU CAN ONLY BARTER FOR SMALL STUFF. MYTH. Although it is true when you trade directly with another business that smaller transactions are easier to manage, the advent of organized bartering has allowed almost any trade to take place. The majority of direct trades are limited to the "pizzas for a haircut" level, but with efficient and well managed systems like MBE-barter, amazing trades like $100,000+ printing jobs are possible all at 100% trade and the same as cash pricing. Theoretically, there is nothing that cannot be traded via the MBE-bartering system, since it is probably the only bartering mechanism that conducts all exchanges at the same pricing as cash. 6) BARTER COMPANIES THAT DON'T DISCLOSE THEIR CLIENT LIST ARE BAD. LEGEND. Although at first this may make sense, when investigated deeper it is actually better to belong to a large barter company that DOES NOT disclose your private information. Since it makes much more economic sense to trade rather than spend cash, all exchanges with open lists cannot control members joining just to convert existing cash relationships to barter. It makes sense for the new member, but steals cash revenue from the older, existing members, and is usually a cheap sales trick. What is more important than a directory of members is the availability of goods and services, and the attrition rate of members. Exchanges that cannot fulfill orders usually have a very high turnover and ultimately will fail - especially in a bad economy where cash is tight. 7) BARTER ONLY WORKS FOR SERVICES. MYTH. It is true that service companies have a lower cost of goods than a business that sells product, however, provided there are controls and assurances that the correct (same as cash) prices are being charged, both goods and services can be exchanged. The cost structure of a business does not change just because something is bartered, only the economic advantages change for the better. 8) ISN'T BARTER AND HAGGLING THE SAME THING? WRONG. Some people confuse the two terms. Haggling is negotiating a lower price for something, barter is simply exchanging one thing for another. There is a big difference, although certain TV shows like "Let's Make a Deal" have confused the terms somewhat. 9) I ONLY BARTER FOR CASH. Since barter predates money/ currency, cash is actually a form of barter note (hence the term 'bank note'.) People "exchange" their dollar bills for goods and services they need - which bridges the "my stuff for your stuff" limitation of traditional bartering. Obviously every business needs cash revenues coming in to cover various bills and expenses that they cannot barter for, but overlooking using barter as an essential part of their business model can be fatal to their success. A business interested in conserving cash is stupid not to engage in barter, if it has the opportunity because of the huge cash savings. A smart business - especially with the help of a good barter company - can potentially offset over 20% of their cash outlay. Theoretically, using the improved MBE-barter system, any business can offset much more than just 20% because the pricing is kept the same as cash, which many other barter companies cannot control. 10) THERE IS ALWAYS A WINNER AND A LOSER. MYTH. Similar to point 3) above, in traditional one-on-one bartering in many cases one party goes first and it is often difficult to find an exact dollar-for-dollar match. This is a major reason for the increasing growth and success of barter companies like Merchants Barter Exchange <http://www.merchantsbarter.com> as they allow businesses with no commonality to gain the economic benefits of barter without directly trading with each other. There are more myths and legends out there, but hopefully I have managed to cover many of the major points and questions for any interested business owners keen to discover more about this subject. Because of the turmoil in our global marketplace, I predict a huge increase in the use of bartering to accompany traditional cash transactions, more as a necessity rather than a choice. Any business that is not seriously considering using the multiple benefits of a barter company like Merchants Barter Exchange <http://www.merchantsbarter.com> either has a recession-proof business or is simply not serious about surviving this impending depression. TRAM HOLLOWAY is the owner/ operator for the St. Paul, MN, office of Merchants Barter Exchange. He has many successful years of experience in both sales and management and can be reached at: 952-334-1226 or email: barterguy@yahoo.com href="mailto:barterguy@yahoo.com" ymailto="mailto:barterguy@yahoo.com">barterguy@yahoo.com> for more information about member benefits.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
MBE-Barter: Serious CPR For An Economic Meltdown
As the American economy teeters on the brink of the biggest financial meltdown in history, and the proposed $700bn bail-out plan looks set to go down as well as David Blaine's stunt, there is still a small glimmer of hope.
Our ancestors created some incredibly simple things that are essential to our survival: the wheel (which became cogs, spindles, etc.), the aquaduct (which became pipes and plumbing), and barter (which later became economies.) Take away the teeth from a cog and it's still just a wheel. Take the covering off a pipe and it's still a simple aquaduct. Take the insanity out of our modern economy and you have the bedrock, the solid foundation of bartering.
Back in 2000, Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE) revolutionized how barter was traditionally implemented, taking it out of the Stone Age and into the 21st Century. The "Caveman Bank", as it is affectionately known, was created for just such a time as we are currently experiencing. Ridiculed and laughed at for being behind the times, they diligently stuck to their core beliefs and ethics of "100% trade, 100% of the time", same pricing as cash, and no cash-barter blends.
Nobody's laughing now.
Founder and President, Steve Bolles, had the foresight back when everybody else was being duped by the Y2K scare to go back to the drawing board and reinvent barter into the highly effective business tool that is now the MBE trading system. "Everybody told me I was crazy," states Bolles. "They told me it was impossible to trade anything bigger than pizzas for haircuts."
Today, nobody thinks Bolles is crazy. In fact, he is now being lauded as a visionary, possibly the man that can offer the only real solution to the long term survival of our liberties and free way of life. "We simply put secure systems in place to create fair trading at fair prices."
MBE-barter benefits everybody. Business members gain from moving their surplus (time, inventory, or capacity) in exchange for needed hard goods and services they would have paid cash for. They also get the most valuable commodity of all: new clients and word-of-mouth advertising. The consumer benefits also by better service, happier staff, and a more efficient business. And Uncle Sam is happy too, as MBE keeps everything above-board by send out 1099B forms to all members.
Obviously MBE is growing and benefitting as a result of the current economic climate, but as Bolles says, "We can't grow nearly fast enough to help all the people we'd like to." MBE is currently looking for sales professionals and managers, entrepreneurs that wish to own and operate their own local MBE-economies, and news and media professionals seeking more information.
For more information about MBE or barter in general contact: barter4life@gmail.com
Our ancestors created some incredibly simple things that are essential to our survival: the wheel (which became cogs, spindles, etc.), the aquaduct (which became pipes and plumbing), and barter (which later became economies.) Take away the teeth from a cog and it's still just a wheel. Take the covering off a pipe and it's still a simple aquaduct. Take the insanity out of our modern economy and you have the bedrock, the solid foundation of bartering.
Back in 2000, Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE) revolutionized how barter was traditionally implemented, taking it out of the Stone Age and into the 21st Century. The "Caveman Bank", as it is affectionately known, was created for just such a time as we are currently experiencing. Ridiculed and laughed at for being behind the times, they diligently stuck to their core beliefs and ethics of "100% trade, 100% of the time", same pricing as cash, and no cash-barter blends.
Nobody's laughing now.
Founder and President, Steve Bolles, had the foresight back when everybody else was being duped by the Y2K scare to go back to the drawing board and reinvent barter into the highly effective business tool that is now the MBE trading system. "Everybody told me I was crazy," states Bolles. "They told me it was impossible to trade anything bigger than pizzas for haircuts."
Today, nobody thinks Bolles is crazy. In fact, he is now being lauded as a visionary, possibly the man that can offer the only real solution to the long term survival of our liberties and free way of life. "We simply put secure systems in place to create fair trading at fair prices."
MBE-barter benefits everybody. Business members gain from moving their surplus (time, inventory, or capacity) in exchange for needed hard goods and services they would have paid cash for. They also get the most valuable commodity of all: new clients and word-of-mouth advertising. The consumer benefits also by better service, happier staff, and a more efficient business. And Uncle Sam is happy too, as MBE keeps everything above-board by send out 1099B forms to all members.
Obviously MBE is growing and benefitting as a result of the current economic climate, but as Bolles says, "We can't grow nearly fast enough to help all the people we'd like to." MBE is currently looking for sales professionals and managers, entrepreneurs that wish to own and operate their own local MBE-economies, and news and media professionals seeking more information.
For more information about MBE or barter in general contact: barter4life@gmail.com
Depression?... Recession?
Finally, as the theatrical smokescreen of the Presidential race is clearing, folks are starting to talk about the real issue at hand: the economy.We've been in a recession for a while now and, like a bad repair job, people have optimistically tried to patch it up. When David Walker, the comptroller for the US (the chief bean-counter, if you like), walked out after 10 years earlier in 2008, the 'you-know-what' should have hit the fan, but it didn't.Just like the classic movie, "The Wizard of Oz", the media machine deluged us with distractions, "Ignore the man behind the curtain..."I understand economies go up and down, but the writing has been clearly spray-painted on the wall in luminous paint for years. The recession, or the possible depression as many predict, doesn't depress me, it's the fact that people in power knew about it and do not appear to have done one positive thing to solve the problem. This is not a time to take a headache pill to simply dull the pain. If a meteor was headed for Los Angeles, would you really care who got in the White House?Whoever gets in, they are going to have one heck of a crater to fill. But I'm not depressed, not in the slightest. I'm actually very happy and feel very fortunate. For once, I'm part of the solution. Thanks to the work of Steve Bolles and my active part in his company, Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE), we offer an economic liferaft to certain business owners. Just like Noah's Ark, we can't save everybody, but we can help those smart enough to hop aboard.MBE is a company that's time has come, and is experiencing accellerated growth because they are a barter company that works. Savvy entrepreneurs are also hopping aboard through the MBE Licensing Plan, helping to safeguard their local business economies.Barter may not be able to solve all the problems facing us today, but as the oldest and most proven form of commerce, just like the Ark, it may help us ride out this recession.Thank you for reading, and God bless.
Use a BARTER-BAND-AID, It's Cheaper Than A $700bn Bail-Out.
As with most simple things, it is often a matter of not being able to see the wood for the trees. So it would appear is the case of the "$700bn bail-out".For a number of days now, we have our country's so-called best political and economic minds thrashing out a plan that may or may not work. The major worry, is that it is a mere "Band Aid" solution, not a cure. Just like Western medicine - the take a pill and see what happens system - this quick fix does not address the real underlying issues, and nobody really seems sure what the side-effects might be. Personally I'm glad they are taking their time.As with my opening statement, and I've mentioned it a lot recently (even before this crisis) the short AND long term solution to our current economic situation has been staring us right in the face for thousands of years, and the actual mechanism that will effectively allow it to happen has been perfected since 2000.Obviously I am biased towards Merchants Barter Exchange (MBE) because I am a part of the corporation, however one of the major reasons I joined the company and have been so active is that it was obvious that a well organized, secure, controlled and effective "back-up economy" was going to be VERY necessary years ago when the wave of IRRESPONSIBLE lending began.The talk about the necessity of this bail out plan because of the restriction of credit and the ensuing lay-offs, etc that will happen as a result can all be resolved very quickly and simply by all the worried companies (and CAT has been mentioned often in the news) joining the Merchants Barter Exchange network.MBE acts as a fair trading clearing house/ brokerage that moves companies' surplus time, inventory and capacity. Unlike the other so-called barter companies that are lurking around out there (and I'm sure they are not all bad - just some are worse than others in their practices) MBE conducts ALL of their barter transactions 100% on trade at the same prices as cash. The system has been so perfected that should the economy really tank before the whole network can roll out nationally (which could be achieved well before Christmas with the right incentive) employees can also benefit from the MBE program.As a company we have been ready and willing to discuss this with all the major players. Politicians (and we won't name any names) have been regularly contacted and warned, likewise many news sources and major business players. Thus far no major bites... Me wonders if they are still looking at the trees wondering how they are going to make an Ark large enough to survive this impending tsunami.Do it, don't do it, but as the folks on the Titanic found out... when there aren't enough liferafts... there simply aren't enough liferafts.
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