Friday, November 07, 2008

Open Forum


Feel free to post links, comments, hold a discussion, etc here.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

FDIC Regulators shut down Freedom Bank:

http://www.mysuncoast.com/Global/story.asp?S=9276155

It's the 17th bank failure this year. Freedom Bank was shut down Friday, and all the branch locations are right here on the Suncoast.

Freedom Bank had three branches in Bradenton, and one branch in Sarasota. The FDIC took over the bank Friday as soon as banking hours were finished.

"The bank was closed and the FDIC was now the receiver of the assets of that failed institution," says Rickey McCullough of the FDIC. With more than $540 million in total assets and deposits, the bank just couldn't hold up against the economy. "(The bank) predominately did lending in construction, commercial construction, real estate...and with that and the losses caused the bank to fail," says McCullough.

Freedom Bank customers are now customers of Fifth Third Bank. "Freedom Bank customers can conduct their banking activity as usual throughout the weekend and again on Monday. We will open the four banking centers as Fifth Third Bank on Monday morning and we really look forward to serving our employees and our customers and meeting their banking needs," says Jama Dock of Fifth Third Bank.

Customers can still access the ATM, write checks, and Monday the locations will be open for business. The only difference customers will notice...their bank will have a new name. "Fifth Third Bank has had as its goal, for several years now, a growth in Florida. And we are always looking for opportunities to grow throughout the state."

There are roughly sixty employees at all four Freedom Bank offices.

When a bank is set to close, the FDIC looks for the highest bidders for the assets and deposits of the bank. Fifth Third Bank won that bid.

Anonymous said...

Randy, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the recent big rally in the stock market.

The economic news is still pretty bad, do you think this rally will be temporary and we will still see a downward trend? (I think we will.)

I'm also suspicous of the timing of the big rally so close to the election. Do you think there's any reason for me to be suspicious?

TIA
LL

Justin_n_IL said...

Excellent video on Orwell.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1925114769515892401

FOFOA said...

I think Randy and a lot of the regulars on here will appreciate this one if you haven't already seen it.

Here is a teaser (Spoiler alert: go straight to the link if you don't need to be teased):

After that bit of shocking news causing tears to well up in her eyes, Mary Jo then asked the obvious question, “So what is your position in all this?” O’Donnell knew this was coming and replied “Emergency food, gas and energy rationing has been declared nationwide. Every state officer or manager with a certain clearance level received training from FEMA and the Department of Treasury as to this possibility this past summer. Every American has to be guaranteed access to food and energy and those gas stations that do not have a military or state police unit there by now, will have one by 7 a.m. We have to insure safety and stability to prevent people from over-reacting as the Bush administration transitions over to the Obama administration in the next sixty days. I will be helping you with re-organizing your store into a more efficient model to deal with the foodstuff and merchandise purchase restrictions so the civilians will not freak out. Only forty customers will be allowed into the store at any given time and each customer will be handed a shopping list that they can abide by until the rationing program moves into full swing. Price controls are in full effect and we are in the process of working with your main offices to reprogram all computers to these limitations. We can accept cash today and hopefully the debit card system returns to normal in the next two hours. Sadly, we are rationing everything this cold winter, including electricity and most importantly, money.”

And this is the final section from the link:

Universal Currencies Already Exist So Use Them

There is a misguided belief that a universal one world currency does not exist. That is patently false.

If you were to approach a dealer in precious metals or many banks in Europe or Asia, the Middle East or Honduras, etc. with a United States $20 gold piece, you could immediately convert that one coin into a substantial amount of the local fiat currency currently in use. The same applies for Swiss or British gold, American or Canadian silver, you name it.

There are many vendors in third world countries that will conduct business or barter with you as an individual by using these true universal currencies. To prepare for the upcoming scenario displayed in the fictional piece above, you had best not be too dependent on your local stock broker to rescue your hide nor the ability to withdraw monies from a money market fund. The solution is to have a universal currency ahead of your neighbors, but not to flaunt it so blatantly in the open that your family’s safety is at risk. Discretion will be the better part of valor in such a scenario. The basics of getting ready for something like the story above is far beyond three cans of tuna, a roll of duct tape and plastic sheeting as Hurricane Katrina demonstrated so well. It is the more likely scenario that you and your family will deal with and the only warning you will get will be the crash of the Belarus Securities Exchange (just an example) or the implementation of currency exchange limitations by various nations throughout the world to insure they can pay their dollar denominated debts back.

Thus why I fear the time is short and very soon you might wake up to a nightmare despite another Saturday morning Presidential address telling you that the “future is so bright you will have to wear shades” or some other such nonsense. Amazingly, there is some good news to this entire scenario if the system stabilizes and the current reflationary effort succeeds in creating the desired inflationary reaction the central banks of the world desire. By next spring some asset prices will start to skyrocket in price and the perceived growth in GDP will cause the stresses in world equity markets to subside, enabling the hedge funds and other unregulated instruments to liquidate without further damage to banks throughout the world.

You will recognize this success immediately in the spring of 2009; just by going grocery shopping."

FOFOA said...

Fresh Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.

"But at this point I have given up hoping that we will draw the right conclusions from this crisis. The universal verdict is that capitalism has run amok..."

Anonymous said...

Fofoa, I have to agree with you, although I want to remain optimistic about the the next few years. Capitalism has run amok is such a true statement. The world is collapsing. Their economies are beginning to combust.

My opinion of the big recent rally is that foreign funds, equity groups, and such from around the world are pulling currencies out of what they are currently holding and rushing to the dollars and Treasuries feeling they are the safest havens. The rally is based upon this influx of currencies into the U.S., but this is all temporary, from where I sit. As the economy continues to slow and fail to function as a consumer capitalistic machine, jobs disappear, businesses fail, wages decline as downward pressure is placed on them, corporations downsize, dividends disappear, lay-offs continue, spending evaporates, etc, and then there is Eastern Europe and Western Europe.

I wish I had better things to write about!

FOFOA said...

Jerry,

The Capitalism that has failed is not true, free-market Capitalism. It is an abomination we created and then called "free-market Capitalism". The real shame is that Capitalism takes the blame here. If we had a truly free market, the sub-prime loans would never have been made. They were specifically induced, spurred on by bad monetary policy, and securitized and sold because who wants to keep toxic waste in your own back yard?

If the free market had been able to operate properly, the products it created, like home mortgages, would have had real value and would be worth holding on to.

Pritchard is not saying that Capitalism has run amok. He is saying that is the universal verdict, but that it is wrong.

I would add that we failed Capitalism, it didn't fail us. But now it takes the blame.

FOFOA

Justin_n_IL said...

Ffoa,

I hadn't seen that article yet. There was a line in there that walks well with what we were talking about in "season of change".

"The allowance of a supply chain collapse is what will trigger the preventative action or “excuse” needed to allow the nations of the world to modify the methodology of their government functions and the system of finance currently in use."

FOFOA said...

Justin,

Yes. There are many potential triggers right now. But I think there is a high probability that supply chains will turn out to be THE trigger. This is very under-reported in the media:

Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) — Richard Burnett’s lumber company had started loading wood onto ships heading for China. More was en route to the docks. It was all part of an order that would fill 100 40-foot cargo containers.

Then Burnett got a call from his buyer at Shanghai VIVA Wood Products Co. The deal was dead. He told Burnett, president of Cross Creek Sales LLC in Augusta, Georgia, he couldn’t get a letter of credit to guarantee payment for at least six months.

“It was like a spigot got cut off,” Burnett said, recounting the transaction that fell apart in July. The inability of buyers in China and Vietnam to get letters of credit has cost his company as much as $4 million this year, a third of projected revenue, forcing him to lay off 15 of 35 employees, he said.

Suppliers of oil, coal, grains and consumer products from Chicago to Mumbai are losing sales as the credit crisis spreads…

Emerging markets such as Brazil, Vietnam and South Africa are particularly vulnerable because buyers have more trouble proving their financial strength. The slowdown is also damaging the U.S., the world’s largest economy, where exports accounted for almost two-thirds of the 2.1 percent growth in gross domestic product…

Letters of Credit

Of the $13.6 trillion of goods traded worldwide, 90 percent rely on letters of credit or related forms of financing and guarantees such as trade credit insurance, according to the Geneva-based World Trade Organization.

Letters of credit are centuries-old instruments that allow far-flung partners to complete large transactions. An importing company gets its bank to issue the letter, guaranteeing payment for a delivery. That bank provides the letter to the exporter’s bank, which then guarantees payment to the exporting company.

The system breaks down when banks don’t trust one another and are unwilling to accept a letter of credit as proof that payment is coming…

The risk premium for letters of credit in emerging market countries such as China, Turkey, Pakistan and Argentina has doubled or tripled recently, said Uwe Noll, director of country/FI sales at Deutsche Bank AG.

“The whole global trade production line relies on letters of credit,” Matt Robinson, an analyst at Moody’s Economy.com wrote in an Oct. 23 report. “No letters of credit, no transactions — and no transactions mean no international trade.”

The evidence is piling up in the world’s ports.

An Iranian oil tanker able to carry enough crude oil to supply Ireland for five days arrived at the Turkish port of Ceyhan on Oct. 6. Then she waited eight days before the company that hired her was able to secure a letter of credit that was acceptable to Iraq, the country selling the cargo, according to two people involved in the loading and unloading of the oil.

Mumbai-based Essar Shipping Ports & Logistics Ltd. couldn’t buy equipment used to handle bulk materials at ports when the Chinese supplier wasn’t able get a letter of credit from an Indian state-owned bank accepted in China, said V. Ashok, Essar’s executive director.

“This is absolutely a crisis situation here,” Ashok said. “If you don’t discount LCs, how will you do business? Business around the world is done on LCs, not cash. It’s all jammed.”

In Chicago, C1 Resources is holding up 1 million metric tons of cement valued at as much as $150 million, because an African customer can’t secure a letter of credit…

Justin_n_IL said...

Looks to be the case Fofoa. I can hear them now. "For the sake of peace and security you have to embrace this new system". Peace and Safety! Peace and Safety!

Here is something for any fellow Bible thumperz.

1 Thessalonians 5
4But ye, brethren, ARE NOT in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Here are verses 1-3>
1But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

3For when they shall say, PEACE and SAFETY; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

The catch to the "thief in the night" part is how deceiving the times will be. JESUS said the end times would be so deceiving that if it were possible the very "elect" would be deceived. We know that Satan and his ministers transform themselves into messengers of righteousness. His minions will "appear" to be the servants of equity and justice. The current leaders in the American Government appear as anything but that. Look for a new guy to rise to the top. I know I'm getting way out in left field in most peoples opinion but I'll make the following prediction. McCain or Obama will make a notable increase in taxes. Doesn't take a genius to make that prediction does it? I'll also predict that they will die in office early in their term from natural causes(Daniel 10). Doesn't take a genius to make that prediction as well. Just takes a person who sees prophecy as I do. One thing is for sure. If McCain or Obama dies in office early on then those of you who read this will think "Justin" when it happens, LOL. Just some food for thought.

GOD bless you guys and gals,

Justin

Justin_n_IL said...

Check this Obama clip out.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s

laurie said...

Justin, Daniel 10? Explain please.

Justin_n_IL said...

LOL, my bad. Daniel chapter 11. SORRY!!!

Justin_n_IL said...

A piece from Canada.

http://www.financialpost.com/news/story.html?id=927271

Justin_n_IL said...

I understand why but it's still absolutely amazing how powerful America is. She truly sits atop the rest of the world even though much of her power is derived from "illusion". This article is a brilliant display of her power.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081103/ap_on_re_as/us_elections_world_view

Anonymous said...

I'm not the only one wondering about the timing of the stock market rally! Wonder if it will crash again one day after the election?

http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/clusterfuck_nation/2008/11/a-nervous-nation/comments/page/2/#comments

LL

Justin_n_IL said...

While I usually enjoy Mr. Kunstler's articles the following tells me that Jim lives in a fairy tale.

"Mr. Obama may not know it, either, but he is a trustworthy soul to hold our hands as we enter this unknown territory."

Anonymous said...

Say anything you want, since all politicians are crooked, but when hard times hit, it's usually better to go a bit to the left (FDR) rather than going to the right (Hitler.) Anyway, that's how I see it.

LL

Justin_n_IL said...

Hmmm..... At the end of September last year the deficit was $162 BILLION. This past September it jumped to $455 BILLION. Many are projecting $1 TRILLION + for next September. Hmmm..... Before the BIG default comes in all it's loathsome glory one of two things must happen in order to make a swipe at the defecit. Of course the swipe will be in vain. Nevertheless to keep up an illusion of legitimacy to the rest of the world an attempt will be made. Either the next Preso will slash spending and diminish the monstrous size of the Federal Government. Or he will bring about the GREATEST across the board tax hike this nation has ever seen. I have little doubt it will be the latter.

Bye the way here is a good piece.

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article7125.html

Anonymous said...

The Marketoracle article is misleading, especially the graph. You see the national debt as a percentage of GDP going down following Truman, as he came out of a massive economic war spending period, Into Ike, LBJ, Nixon and Carter. All those presidents presided over a country with manufacturing making up a much larger percentage of GDP, while the financial sector was a much smaller sector.

We were the world's biggest seller of finished goods, and purchaser of raw materials. Once Reagan took office, that began to reverse: seller of raw materials, purchaser of finished goods; the financial sector becoming a bigger part of the GDP, as the industrial economy shrank.

Manufacturing produces skilled workers, more inflation because workers are buying the very goods they manufacture, and those goods are exportable and create trade surpluses. Service sector jobs are not exportable and do not reduce the trade deficits. This is not supply side but demand side economics. These workers end up with higher wages, which stimulates the economy.

Once Reagan-Bush took office, and those that followed, created supply-side economics, and shrunk the demand side. Labor began to disappear via outsourcing, and the remaining manufacturing employers were able to shrink hourly pay because there was a greater pool of available workers for the remaining fewer jobs. Unions lost their power to bargain for higher wages, and concessions of all types occurred. Therefore, the national debt grew because Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush began borrowing money to pay for their budgets as a result of revenue short falls. Tax cuts don't stimulate the economy. The rich got big tax cuts during Reagan-Bush-Bush but it never trickled down. As a result Reagan raised taxes. Bush 41 raised taxes. Clinton and Greenspan increased revenues through a tech bubble, followed by Bush's initial boost in revenues following 9-11 through the housing bubble, and derivatives bubble.

Justin_n_IL said...

Good points Jerry. You as well as most others around here are much more astute concerning economics than myself. Nevertheless it's all really quite simple. This nation is in debt to it's eyeballs due to the lust for goodies and the thieving bankers who provide the means. Major tax hike coming to provide an illusion that it can all work out.

Anonymous said...

I want to add that trickle down, supply-side economics, creating supply even if there is no demand failed and failed miserably. This is what has been created over the last 30 years. Now, car dealers, and auto manufacturers are left with an over supply. Over supply has been the policy, instead of keeping the inventory extremely lean creating more of a demand. There are other factors, too, such as businesses and manufacturing getting hit with huge health care payments instead of the costs being spread out among the entire population. This kept business from having enough money to put back into R and D, labor or expansion. Business has also been hit with compounded interest as they went to banks for lines of credit to make payroll and cover uncollected bills. These two examples have hurt American industries.

Tax cuts have not stimulated the economy. Those rich folks who were given the tax cuts did not want to trickle it down. Instead, they put it aside and invested it in what has become the biggest fraud in history. They took what should have been tax revenues, or you might say government subsides, and made more money for themselves while the rest of us paid the taxes, without the subsides, so the rich could benefit.

It is time to trickle UP. Stimulate the economy from the ground up. Not from the top down. It is time the rich who have been subsidized for 30 years begin to pay what they should have been paying all along like the rest of us.

Anonymous said...

The debt as it stands today is unpayable. Period. It will not be repaid. We will either default through financial collapse or hyperinflate it away. All that matters now is how long until our creditors figure this out.

Today we got CHANGE. Tomorrow we will get more change.

Anonymous said...

For those of you who are not renting~

Feds May Be Considering Subsidy on Troubled Mortgages
By: PAUL JACKSON
November 4, 2008
http://www.housingwire.com/2008/11/04/feds-may-be-considering-subsidy-on-troubled-mortgages/

NO MORE MORTGAGE PAYMENTS SOON - Get Ready to Default!
Posted on November 4th, 2008

Oh my. Friends, get ready to default on your mortgage…on purpose. The first chatter about the government sponsored loan modification initiative has surfaced from Paul Jackson at Housing Wire

http://mrmortgage.ml-implode.com/2008/11/04/no-more-mortgage-payments-soon-get-ready-to-default/

Stop Paying Your Mortgage Today
Seriously.

Assuming your home is worth equal or less on the market today than your outstanding mortgage balance, of course....

http://market-ticker.org/archives/636-Stop-Paying-Your-Mortgage-Today.html

-Raul

Anonymous said...

I agree. It's time for civil disobedience. Here we're a month into the bailout and the banks who are the recipients of the monies (against our will) have not done anything except flaunt that they're spending the money on bonuses, paying dividends, and salaries.

I'm had my fill. Where's my bailout?

Take my mortgage, please.

Anonymous said...

There is something to be said for a organized nation-wide boycott on paying all mortgages to wake up those thieves that WE can play, too. I am serious. What would the lender/mortgage holder's do? NOTHING but panic. They don't want YOUR house. They don't want to assume your mortgage. Dean Baker says that there is no need for a homeowner bailout. He says that for those who are underwater, they should be allowed to remain in the home paying rent to the mortgagee/lender at a fair market rental price FOREVER, or until they move out, if they cannot pay the mortgage loan amount. This would force the lender to re-negotiate the loan with the borrower, forcing the lender to "eat" some of the overpriced, overvalued loan, too. I think this idea is great. It puts the responsibility in the hands of the lender and borrower. The taxpayers are out of it.

Anonymous said...

Will Obama “Change” The Bush Police State Or Expand It?

Anonymous said...


Is an assassination of Obama Britain's next move?
(30 min youtube)

While I think it is highly unlikely, the Lyndon Larouche PAC team believe the possibility of this threat exists. Presidents whose policy were not aligned with the empire have been killed in the past. This time however the goal maybe to create chaos in order to establish a global order and global banking system. They also discuss the current financial crisis and the upcoming meeting on Nov 17 between 20 nations.

Justin_n_IL said...

What makes people think Obama is not aligned with the PTB? Look at who he wants for his chief of staff(A Clintonian). He has mingled with the CFR. Obama is more of the same. He does however have the great quality of looking different to the masses. Why do you think he stresses how you might not agree with upcoming decisions? He will pick up where Bush left off at. The puppet will do a 180.

Anonymous said...

I guess anything is possible! We can all project our worst fears that nothing good will come of this election. Power is a corruptible tool. I think the events that will transpire in the coming weeks will be very telling. There are many threats that are hovering above this nation and all who reside within it. This yet-to-be-president has many events that are and will be transpiring. The economic crisis is not going away. It is growing. It is becoming dangerous for the health and welfare of the country. Bush continues to rule, although Obama has new and even more power than Bush in his last remaining weeks. We will see what Obama does with his power. I have many ideas, of which I share with many others, on what he needs to do.

FDR was aligned with many powerful people. He was not a man of means, but a president. There were hundreds of wealthy "corporate royalists" of which he railed about. He made significant changes taking what could have been an even worse depression, and once in power enacted many initiatives that put people back to work and began moving the economy again. And then, of course, there was the war. But he made changes that mattered.

Obama appears to be thinking along the FDR lines of forward movement. I am willing to give him the chance.

Jordan Greenhall said...

Question - I've got the gold and the cash, but the wife doesn't want to store it in a safe in the house (afraid that will attract too much attention) - any suggestions? How secure from bank failure *are* safety deposit boxes? Are there other options out there?

Justin_n_IL said...

10g05

Waterproof box buried underground.

Anonymous said...

10g05,

Here's a good thread on the subject.

Don't trust someone else to hold it for you.

Silence is the best security.

Hiding it well in the house may be more secure than a safe.

Think it through good and hard and you will probably come to these same conclusions.

Anonymous said...

Jerry,

With all due respect, your optimism regarding Obama is almost touching. It reminds me of that "power of positive thinking" that a lot of Americans have.

They say Obama came from out of nowhere. But people aren't reading between the lines of who can take someone from nowhere and put him near the top. The foundations and personages around Obama make McCain look like he's poorly connected.

And Emmanuel is the pits. He's a pro-war, pro-Zionist guy who has pushed the Democratic party in a way that is less than useless for the working class. His father was in the Irgun, of all things. Why not just say Mossad? And Biden is the Senator from the great state of usury on credit cards.

Justin_n_IL said...

Well said Northwoods. The same agenda is in place. It only has a different outward appearance for those who fail to scratch the surface. A new "mouth piece" if you will.

Anonymous said...

Tonight on NPR, Economic writer Robert Cutner is being interviewed and asked plainly, "how will we pay off trillions of dollars in debt?"

Without pause, Cutner replies, "We don't...we just roll it over."

How is that answer acceptable? I really want to throw up.

On another note, someone should make a "Obama is paying my mortgage" t-shirt.

Anonymous said...

You all may be right, but can you tell me one world leader who is not what you make Obama out to be? Name me one! Canada, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Britain, Russia, China, etc. Name me one. There are none. We have to live with what we got. So, what do we do? We push the elected officials into hearing what we have to say. Again, we pushed and Bush never listened, but nevertheless, we still pushed. We push Obama, too.

I am not really sure where you are going with your perspectives, but what we need are practical and functional and structural changes in order to get the economy moving. Remember, the economy has not stopped. It still is moving, although at a snail's pace (0.3% for September). It still is moving. We need it to move on a much more wider scale. A scale that encompasses more citizens.

I so agree that all of us in this nation need to redefine our economic priorities with a new paradigm shift toward less consumption and more conservation. I do believe that this is happening. Just as in the 60's eating a vegetarian diet was considered extremely fringe, but today, we see organics, locally grown produce, and even printer cartridge refill stations in our local grocery stores. So, what was considered weird and on the fringe has become mainstream. That was a paradigm shift. More of it will come. Just get on Youtube and see how many people are retrofitting their own gas cars to fully electric.

Everyone has an agenda! You, me, them. They have their connections and so do I, and so do you. We all have our pasts, as well. But, for the better of the nation, we get past it. For the better of our families we put aside our past and some of our connections.

Our newly elected officials and soon to be appointed ones, have a task to do. They realize that. Do you think that Obama, and the rest want their children and grandchildren to live in a more dangerous, polluted, and economically limited and deprived country? We don't for ourselves. Let us hope they don't either.

I might have positive thinking when it is needed. I am more of a cynic than anything else. I am a curmudgeon mostly, but I want to feel optimistic today, and tomorrow and next month. I will change only when shown that I have reason to change, as I did with Bush on day 2.

We can get cash and gold and store it away. We can prepare for a garden for next Spring. We can pay off our debts, and reduce our spending. We can conserve our electricity whenever possible for our own sake. We can drive less, and take care of ourselves. But of course there is more to do. We need to watch every move these officials make. We need to praise their right moves and condemn their bad ones. We are now living in a time when such action is critical.

Anonymous said...

Some video/audio links for those interested:

Robert Schiller from YALE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrSsNXLWVig

Peter Schiff on Obamanomics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSixu-wxvKI

Peter Schiff radio show 11-5-08
http://www.europac.net/media/PeterSchiff_11-05-2008.mp3

Max Keiser on Alex Jones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ro3LOdx7C0&feature=related

Anonymous said...

ha jerry you live on butler street!?!? I live on savanah ave in wilkensburg. You think FDR was a good president? The only good thing FDR ever did was contract polio, though i may be taking your posts the wrong way, wake up man!

Anonymous said...

All I am saying is that we are in crisis. If FDR did not put into play a nationwide works program, poverty would have escalated even more than it had. That is a fact. We are going to see even more job losses than just the 750k we have had up to September. Unless we move into building America back up, there will be no America. The coming depression will have no chance to be diverted, or softened. So, Anonymous, what is your plan? What are your ideas for the nation to move forward? I would love to hear them. I am very open to opinions.

Anonymous said...

first of all jerry, why must it be softened of diverted??? Hmmmm answer me that, and FDR didn't start the "nationwide works" programs you speak, Hoover did. FDR actually berated Hoover for the very things he takes credit for during his first run for president. I would argue that we should take this lump like men and stop crying and running home to mamma. People need to act like people again and not strangers, communities need to band together and figure out some problems for themselves. I truely hope that the major corporations go bust during this downturn because of all their leveraged debt, if the government was truely out to help us they would never have let this companies get so big in the first place. Once they go the way of the dinosaurs the market monoplies that they hold will collaspe and create vast opportunities for people to start small companies and repair the middle class that the elites and their friends have been stealing from us for years. I agree that infrastructure and other public works would be good, but let the states take that burden on themselves. Everytime we have a crisis the federal government always ALWAYS uses it for a major power grab, so perhaps we should all read up on our history and rethink how things should be done

Anonymous said...

let the market work its magic, people need the bitter medicine before they will stop overspending jerry! Question jerry, are you a union member, how long have you lived in our great city?

Anonymous said...

I believe that the states are going broke. They are experiencing serious revenue problems. As in PA, our infrastructure is old and decaying. Much of it is trying to get upgraded, from sewer and water, to bridges and roads. School buildings are old and in decay. The states cannot do it alone.

I do believe that we cannot dwell on what was and need to look at what is needed now. The free market philosophy drove mergers, consolidations, buyouts, etc. and that is why these corporations grew into monopolies and conglomerates. That was unfortunate. Many of these oligarchs had such power that they bought our legislators into passing laws that brought us where we are today. In addition, they funded their own representatives to run for offices in government.

Why must the possibility of a depression be diverted or softened? Are you saying bring it on, or that it does not have to occur? It is coming if a real change does not happen. It will come: ready or not!

I agree that people are so damn stubborn and are obsessed with spending and having to buy what they don't need. I wish I had an answer for that one. Maybe you do? But, many, many people will change their buying habits because they are in economic trouble. Many will change their spending habits.

If the economy goes into a depression, many capable and inventive people will not have the means, or be able to get the means to start up small busineses and companies. It takes capital and the elites will have that capital because they were allowed to steal it from middle America.

I don't believe the market can function well enough to let anything right happen. It needs to be directed and controlled. If it let to do its thing, it will only bring on those who abuse it.

I have been active in my community as an citizen activist, and we cannot get people to get off their butts and pull themselves away from American Idol and work on their own behalf. I am sorry to say, getting our own communities to band together and do something is a rarity.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy your posts here, Jerry. You make a lot of sense to me. Just wanted to say that.

And at the risk of being laughed at by everyone here, I'm cautiously optimistic about President Obama, too. It feels good to be hopeful, when I've been without hope for the last 7-8 years.

LL

Justin_n_IL said...

"I really enjoy your posts here, Jerry. You make a lot of sense to me. Just wanted to say that.

And at the risk of being laughed at by everyone here, I'm cautiously optimistic about President Obama, too. It feels good to be hopeful, when I've been without hope for the last 7-8 years."

Just wanted to say that I do as well. It's just that we are at odds with one another when it comes to opinions on Obama. I certainly hope that I've never came off as condescending towards anyone.

Unless someone has read the bulk of my posts they might consider me to be a doom and gloomer with no hope. I have hope but I expect a deluge of doom and gloom before hand. Then I expect worldwide peace, liberty, justice, safety, etc. With you know who at the helm.

I know that many like to point to the fact that there are always such people in times of crisis(i.e. Great Depression, WW 2, etc.). However with a close study of the WORD things that are to occur directly before the peace, liberty, justice, etc. have just recently became possible.

Justin_n_IL said...

http://www.plata.com.mx/mplata/articulos/articlesFilt.asp?fiidarticulo=89

The International Reserves were growing by leaps and bounds, as a consequence of the “Imbalances in International Trade”, where the countries which were issuing currencies accepted as Reserves were exporting huge amounts of their currencies in “payment” of their trade deficits. These currencies were then re-invested by the exporting countries in bonds and agency debt. The main actor was the US, which was able to fund its enormous fiscal deficits through the sale of these bonds and agency debts. It was a nice deal while it lasted for the US and, I suppose, for the Brits as well as the Europeans.

Now, if the Reserves are no longer growing but diminishing, this might indicate that the exporting countries are no longer buying and accumulating more US, British and European debt. If they are not accumulating more foreign currency bonds and debt, then the fiscal deficits of the US, the Brits and the European Union countries are no longer being funded – especially important to the US, which is running an immense fiscal deficit, what with the US Treasury going into debt like a drunken sailor on account of the need to bail-out all and sundry debtors.

Now if the US deficit is not being funded, then that means that the fiscal deficit is simply being monetized by the Fed. Or what else can it mean?

The US is on track to incur a fiscal deficit of $1 Trillion, perhaps much more, in this fiscal year. If the International Reserves are not growing, that means it will be impossible to fund that deficit. That would mean: monetary inflation in spades, in the US.

I’ll leave you with this question: what is the significance of the drastic change in the growth-trend of International Reserves, from explosive growth, to the sudden beginning of a contraction?

I hope others, more competent than myself, address this question. I believe it is quite important that we have an authoritative answer to it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous (LL), thanks for your opinion regarding my comments. I appreciate that very much!

Justin, I feel as you do, too. I want to be optimistic about this new administration and their goals. I hope their solutions lead our economy out of the deep and dark hole that it is about to fall into. There is a great deal of momentum they have to fight against; and there still is 70 more days.

I am a cynic much of the time, but right now, I want to be optimistic. I am realistic today, because, just like all of Randy's terrific audience seems to be doing, I have been obsessed with reading and studying the state we are in. It sure does not look good. I have my doubts with Obama's choices for his cabinet, and confidants, but I will be willing to withhold criticism until they have a chance to take office and act. They are being bombarded by world pressures, and have very difficult tasks ahead of them. They have inherited a terrible mess.