Discussion of Housing Bubble, US Dollar, Debt, Trade Deficit, Oil, Gold, Consumer Spending, Central Banks, Inflation, Outsourcing and the Bleak Future of the US economy
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Friday, February 06, 2009
New Open Forum
Last one was getting a bit full. Feel free to post up your links, comments, etc here...
Hi randy... professor michel chossudovsky recently held an awesome seminar in montreal on the current financial crisis and what the causes and goals are behind it. You can check it out on google video or i have a link to it on his website- i highly recommend you put in on your main page its extremeyl informative and accurate.
Houses/properties foreclose or default. Banks get the homes/properties. Larger banks gobble-up some of the smaller banks, and the smaller banks' assets become the larger banks' assets. The government bails out the larger banks in exchange for shares, and the government buys-out toxic mortgages (essentially owning those homes/properties) via TARP's/bailout bills. In conclusion, the government either owns part of or all of the banks that own the homes/properties...or the government owns the homes/properties themselves. This is an example of the public sector usurping the private sector; this is how you steal land from the population.
The Fed is flooding the money supply with more electronic monetary injections into banks and printed paper bills. This debases your dollar and reduces its purchasing power until, in the end, it is worth closer to zero than what its supposed worth is printed on the bill itself. This is an example of rendering goods/services inaccessible and an example of wiping-out savings accounts; this is how you steal money from the population.
People will riot due to anger and frustration; people will go hungry due to loss of money. I want you to google "trade guns for food." This is a psychological tactic to coerce the population to trade their only means of individual protection as stated by the Second Amendment of the US Constitution and a tactic to "non-illegally" circumvent the enforcement of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution...the right to bear arms for the purpose of security of a free state; this is how you steal defense/protection from the population.
Now the population is much easier to control. Control is power.
I did listen for the 1hr.18min. that the lecture lasted and found it interesting. He spoke of the fundamentals that have driven this financial crisis, being that speculation has been a massive one, as well as those rich and powerful elites behind the money. It is worth listening to, yet many here already understand the content of which he spoke about.
Also, he spends much time on the Canadian financial bailouts and what is going on in that country.
Did you see that yourwebsite is #29 of the best ranked websites. At least to according to http://www.gongol.com/lists/bizeconsites/. You're NOT #1 but #29 is quite good, in my opinion.
Appreciate the plug and Gongol link - Yes #29 is good, but I sometimes feel unworthy - with work/family, etc, there just is never enough time in a day to keep up with all the evolving events and write like I want to!
C'mon guys, the Guns for Food thing is a bit of a stretch, no? Sure they are taking advantage of a situation where some otherwise law abiding folks may be making a trade, but it is freaking Compton we're talking about. The majority of firearms are not safed, and theft of weapons is a major component of arming the bad guys. If you are going to tell me that there is a currently a concerted effort to get the populace hungry enough to disarm for food then I have a black helicopter for sale. Most savvy patriots are making contingency plans for food long before any program like that becomes the norm in America.
Thanks Randy. Today Bionca, Alexander, and myself went down to have Sunday lunch at my parents. Later in the afternoon Jessica called me. I was laying on the couch and talking to her. She was bringing up questions concerning the things that we here on this blog are obsessed with. So I was going into detail about our monopoly money, why presidents have been assasinated, how the whole freegin Government is a puppet of the RICH. About ten minutes into the conversation my father stood up from his computer (turns out he was behind me the whole time and he despises my opinions. You know, he despises the TRUTH both secular and spiritual.) and told me in a less than friendly manner to get out of the house if I was going to talk about such things. Un freegin believable yet then again it isn't. It's absolutely appalling to me how so many people despise the TRUTH. And I don't want to hear any "there just scared excuses". It's absolutely sickening to me. But other than that life is really going good for me now. My unemployment runs out in a week but it seems that I'm getting a job working on a hog farm. Something even more glorious than that is that I am now engaged to the only woman I've ever asked to marry me. My beautiful Jessica. After waiting 3 long grueling years she came back to me. She's flying out in April from CA to spend a week. We might get married then or otherwise it will be June. The LORD is truly good to me. My purpose in this life is to share HIS TRUTH. Not a watered down ritualistic distorted version.
GOD bless those of you who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
Justin
p.s. I would really like to get a skype conference gathering together with you all. Many of you are like family to me. Sharing the truth with one another. As it is written, "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother".
Based on previous stories I've heard regarding your father, I'm really not too surprised, but the news about Jessica (and the new job for that matter)is awesome!
Big congrats dude - keep doing whatever your doing!
Regarding the Skype thing - I barely have the time now to post up anything, much less chat with folks.
For those who think Peter Schiff is the best analyst of the US should read this article from the weblog of Mike "MISH" Shedlock. MISH has much more realistic view on things in the world. He explains e.g. why the USD hasn't fallen of a cliff. The name of the blog-entry is called "Peter Schiff was wrong". Weblink: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/01/peter-schiff-was-wrong.html
I've traded emails with Mish. He is ego is the size of Mt. Everest. Found him to be rude and high minded. None of those guys is right about everything they say.
an analysis of schiff's positions. I believe Mish and Peter are deep rivals.
Justin--I am glad you feel close to all of us bloggers, and we feel the same about you, too. I am so glad for your happiness and what you have wished for. Skyping would be fun, but I am so unstructured that I don't think I could coordinate such a conversation. Yet, do get to emails and love to exchange through that medium.
Randy--YOU DA MAN!!! I am so happy to have been a part of this experience. You work hard at this, in addition to your other life. 500,000 is incredible. Thanks for being there for us!!
I really like this Petrov fellow's analysis. For the rebuttal of "Guns for Food" being exported, granted, but it is also a bit of "monkey see, monkey do" with PC police forces. At least in Cali, a Ralph's card could buy booze & smokes I believe. Just because a journalist wanted to frame it as starvation in the hood, I wouldn't go there yet myself. Obama's "recovery" package contains a cool 4B+ for ACORN, et al, and I see that sailing through.
The MONEY TALK$ website is dedicated to raising questions few people have ever thought about and giving logical, deeply researched answers to questions like:
1. Why, is it that Americans are told that we are the greatest and wealthiest nation on the face of the earth yet we have to borrow billions from China and other poorer and lesser-developed countries to keep our economy going? 2. If our Government prints currency, the most desirable in the world, at a cost of only 4.2 cents per hundred-dollar note, why do we need to borrow from anyone? 3. When our government can and does mint coins and print all of our currency, why do we have a government that forces us to live under such heavy and oppressive taxes? 4. Why is our collective American indebtedness 48.4 trillion dollars and growing when most of us spend the greatest part of our lives producing wealth? 5. Why is the wealth-producing middle class getting squeezed out? 6. Why are the super rich, who really produce very little, getting richer and richer?
MODERN MONEY IS NOT THIS: "paper currency"
IT IS THIS:
digital hex
ELECTRONIC NUMBERS THAT DO NOT REPRESENT WEALTH
BUT ELECTRONIC NUMBERS THAT REPRESENT UNPAYABLE DEBT TO THE BANKING SYSTEM
Justin, maybe we can try and answer these questions you just raised here in this forum, as well. My toss at it is as follows:
1--We once were the world's number one purchaser of raw materials and the world's exporter of finished goods. Our laborers were paid well and they were able to buy what they made and save some, as well as further their debt burden making the moneymasters wealthier, fat and happy. That did not satisfy their craving for blood-drenched wealth, so they closed factories, shut down jobs, lowered the worker's standard of living, and shipped jobs and the making of finished goods overseas. At that point, we became the world's greatest debtor nation, purchaser of finished goods (imports exceeding exports lowering our GDP), and exporter of our raw materials. Therefore, since we had fewer things to sell to increase our standard of living, we began to manipulate finance and the manufacturing of financial gaming, for example, MBS, CDO, CDS using the dollars wired back from overseas via the purchasing of foreign made goods.
2--I am no expert on this one, but could it be that by keeping more dollars printed and in circulation we were able to keep credit cheap (credit cards, bank lenders, home equity) so the working class, who could not keep up with their stagnant or decreasing wages to buy what they made, needed or wanted as a conned-into-consumer, could continue to fuel the financial gaming bubble and make "investors" world wide very rich, on paper.
3--The tax system is geared to push the burden on the working class with little deductions, while the investor collecting dividends and capital gains is taxes at a lesser amount in order to entice them to further buy into the financial gaming club. The worker needs to be kept from gaining any financial power, otherwise they can dictate wages, workers could then shop for better paying jobs-a process that raises wages because workers are in demand, and expand unions, which is the only organization in America that sets the standards for wage growth, and working conditions, as well as represents the collective interests of workers in Washington. (They have their weaknesses and strengths, nevertheless.)
4--Because it is not wealth that we can use day to day. It is fabricated wealth that as we have seen can go up in smoke.Hard asset wealth does not disappear even in a down economy, such as gold, silver, barrels of oil, land, buildings, They do show signs of weakness but, over time, will increase and recover their losses., since these are items people use and want. We, the middle class, really are not producing wealth all of our lives. It just appears that way. It is an illusion. 401K is not wealth. It is the appearance of wealth. Now, if you owned an apartment building and collected rent, and could improve the place increasing its worth and getting more rent, then that is producing wealth. If you hold commodities in a warehouse waiting for a good time to sell, etc, then that could be producing wealth.
5--Because their middle class wealth has been an illusion. The middle class has been part of the usury system: paying rent, borrowing money, paying compounding interest, and not the collector in the usury system chain, but only the payor in that system. The middle class produces wealth for those collectors. Even small business owners who hire others to create wealth for him/her is often stuck in that usury system spending valuable profits and income on interest and fees, and rent payments, as well as insurance fees. This keeps the business owner from expansion, paying higher wages, hiring better skilled workers, and R and D to further expansion and the GDP of the economy.
6--Because they, the upper class, are the money lenders. They are the ones collecting rent, compounding interest payments, and have taken their profits and income, as well as the tax cuts they received from Republican administrations, which often were taken from the Social Security Trust Fund, or the middle class and gambled in the financial gaming system, or bought up the hard assets, or created wealth through building facilities outside the United States, which then were able to further remove dollars from within the country as Americans bought their cheap stuff from Wal-Mart-like box stores. Those money lenders and such could then put their money in foreign bank accounts, buy foreign hard assets, such as properties and land, or take a gamble in the American financial gaming system.
I have not read this through so please excuse any errors in spelling and such. This is my interpretation of what the answers would be to the 6 questions. And I have enjoyed sharing my limited view of how this nation has devolved from an earlier time that most of us remember. I look forward to reading analysis and interpretation from others.
Justin ---what you have done is fantastic. You have created a forum for discussion that has an educational component to it.
Randy--it might be interesting if at the beginning of each open forum questions that you pose, or posed by others could start the scroll and we then could build on what could be a WIkipedia of Op-Ed.
Wow Jerry.... Well said... I'll offer up a kudos on your answers.
You getting any of that BIG winter storm out there? The wood heat is feelin good tonight lol. Got about 6 inches on the ground right now and still snowing away. I'll be on the end of a shovel most of tomorrow...ugh
Did you know that www.dollarcollapse.com has every weekend a weblink to the cartoons/weekend-funnies posted on this blog. And that how I was directed to this website. I love the cartoons !!!
"It would seem prudent to figure out how you're going to deploy that before you start asking for more money. I don't think the sentiment in Congress right now is to just keep approving these bills," said Daniel Arnold, associate director, at financial group Sandler O'Neill.
Remember the story about Terminator seeds? I remember Jerry's remark that the only thing missing from that crime story was Tony Soprano. For those that don't remember that story here is the link.
Well the plot thickens. The great Obama who is surrounding himself with CFR, Bilderberg, and Trilateral guys has appointed a good friend of Monsanto to be the Secretary of Agriculture.
I'm sure it's just a queenky dink. Wake up people. Obama is just another Bush. Just another puppet of the elite. Plain and simple. Better get to know your CREATOR.
Pardon me as I rage in flames today. While I'm talking about the Great Obama I need to include this fact. His mentor and the man behind his agenda is none other than Zbigniew Brzezinski. Do some research on that guy.
Your welcome Randy. I know I post a lot of stuff up here. Some of it is most certainly redundant at the very least. But I have to agree that article was a "barn burner". I had to go back and read it again.
Thanks a lot Steve. I ended up at Randy's blog somewhere around early fall of 07. Took me a while to jump in on any comments but it's my most visited blog(Official E-Rot junkie). I'm more of a link poster than a commenter though lol. Your appreciation is not expected but it is valued very much nonetheless. It's nice to meet people who have an interest in the truth.
And what about this: California (the state that neighbours the state of Nevada) is running out of money. Weblink: http://www.mybudget360.com/taxes-investment-revenue-and-money-running-out-california-budget-crisis/ (Source: www.dollarcollapse.com)
It's NOT ONLY the US and the USD that are dependent on live-support to stay alive. The ENTIRE world's banking system is at risk. Do the words "CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS" (CDS) ring a bell ? There have CDS been issued to the tune of some $600 trillion WORLDWIDE and you're thinking ONLY the US and USD are in mortal danger ? Some 50% of US debt is owned by foreign countries. Just imagine what would happen to those foreigners if the US would default on its debts !!! How much they would lose !!! Comprende ???
I enjoyed Jim Willie's latest(nothing new there). The following excerpt was especially soothing.
"The maxim goes "burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on me" applies. The public is about to be burned again, then later in the spring, burned a third time. They do not learn. They prefer, as many friends and family of mine do, to continue to give the benefit of the doubt to the bank officials and Congressional leaders, and to cling to hope."
Can someone give me a no nonsense primer on how to purchase gold or silver ASAP? Also, what's the best way to invest in foreign exchanges? I don't want a mutual fund, ADR, or pink sheets. I have a Fidelity Acct and Ameritrade acct but I don't think either of them will suffice? Anyone?
Buying gold is a very personal thing at times like this. The best is to buy physical in person from a dealer for cash. No paper trail that way. The same goes for foreign currency.
Those that have some don't usually share that info.
If you can't buy in person, I recommend tulving.com.
LONDON (Reuters) — China’s willingness to continue buying United States Treasury securities in large numbers will depend on its need to protect the value of its foreign investments, the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, said Saturday. He also said that a stable yuan is in everyone’s interests.
“Whether we will buy more U.S. Treasury bonds, and if so by how much — we should take that decision in accordance with China’s own need and also our aim to keep the security of our foreign reserves and the value of them,” Mr. Wen said.
His enigmatic remarks, made near the end of a visit to Europe, could raise new concerns about China’s commitment to continue purchasing United States government debt.
I saw this movie, Equilibrium, several years ago. It's a great movie. It reminds me of a possible futuristic New World Order. So does life imitates art, or does art imitates life?
Go to maps.google.com and enter "coins" followed by a space and your zip code...it'll show you all the coin shops/stores in your city (sorted by distance from your zip code). You can even read some user reviews, if they exist. The coin shop I go to has very friendly, knowledgable people...and the shop is a member of the Better Business Bureau (you can look-up businesses' ratings/reviews/issues on the BBB gov website), member of the ANA, and an NGC certified dealer. It would be ideal if you sought out such a shop. The dealers/workers/employees should know much about numismatic coins and bullion coins and should be glad and able to answer all your questions.
"Geithner has been a key player in the current economic crisis -- helping Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and his team manage the wall street bailout."
Change you can believe in? LMAO.... Around these parts this is referred to as "putting the fox in charge of the hen house".
I know the above is old news but it still shocks me. No surprise but shocking nevertheless. Obama has surrounded himself with more of the same ol same ol and most Americans are dumbed down enough to believe he is going to fix things. The elite are plowing full steam ahead.
Contrary to what some believe the Trilateral Commission, CFR, and Bilderberg Group are not just a bunch of benevolent rich and powerful guys shooting the breeze with no impact.
Just thought I'd share another person's opinion concerning the hyper-linked article. The title says it all in my book. Just a matter of when. Of course I don't think anyone can pin down that answer.
"Without taking sides on the issue of the possibility of default, I'd like to add this recommendation for this article: the caterwauling from the deflationists and radical dollar bugs centers on the impossibility of US default and the US dollar's "King of the Fiat Sewer" status. Completely ignored, and never discussed, are the very real, sizable and measurable impacts of reduced tax revenues caused by the "recession" and the prospects for actually repaying US debt absent inflation.
There are no such prospects. US debt continued to rise in "good" times, but now, somehow, facing an epic economic slowdown, the US will be able to radically INCREASE borrowing and in this manner grow our way out of debt. In my opinion, taking and supporting such a position requires either an IQ of 70 or a suspension of disbelief. It does not matter if the US Dollar is the best of the turds in the sewer. If there are no prospects for debt repayment, the dollar is toast, and the Treasury market along with it.
I can never imagine making a timing call, and this article alludes to the reason: this government is liable to do anything, absolutely anything, to hold onto the reins of power. It has already demonstrated clearly its willingness to pick winners and losers and steal from taxpayers to enrich its partisans. In such an environment, anything is possible and nothing should surprise.
Justin expresses an opinion on the inability of the government to cover its growing losses even with a stimulus program. That could very easily happen. I guess, the rationale by the Obama Team Players is that through stimulus, workers will be able to pay for the things they need day to day in their community helping keep local shops and services alive, and the taxes paid by the workers and business owners, which might cover the cost of the stimulus. I wish I could know if this strategy will work.
What I object to more are all the other economic drains, such as the huge defense dept. budget ($500B) and the fight in the middle east ($500B), the loss of corporate taxes due to US corporations moving shop off-shore ($450B), the factory flight to off-shore locations (worker wage income tax losses in the billions, if not trillions), the imbalance of tax distribution, whereby those top tier income earners pay less tax, due to their tax avoidance programs and investment revenues all averaging out that top tier individuals only pay 19% in taxes, and bailouts to banks ($3T). Then add in the Yuan currency manipulation by the Chinese.
With all of the possible added revenues, there would be trillions in a bottom up stimulus investment. But Team Obama is not going in that direction. A real disappointment.
What I have written about is the consumer has the ultimate power to push back Obama's Status Quo administration. I am calling it the Consumer Thrift Reform Movement. It has already started by default. But if WE ALL called our Congress and told them we are stopping spending and borrowing until real change begins NOW. NO more spending unless it is a daily essential. NO more borrowing unless we must and it will be from a local bank around the corner. And then, we explain what exactly we want to happen. If millions of people do this, we gain the power.
All of the sausage they are trying (and will succeed largely) to cram into it is mind boggling....then again. My Mother told me there was one slice of bacon in it that would cover the building of an ATV trail.... Surprised? Not even.
I turned on my T.V. last night(a rarity) and listened to what Lou Dobbs was saying. Heard that the Chamber of Commerce is throwing a hissy fit about a potential clause that would require the buying of "American Made" products for all the infrastructure projects. Such a thing would fly in the face of globalization/no sovereignty/etc. and the powers that be despise the hindrance of such things.
I'm sure most of the erots are familiar with the guy who wrote "Creature from Jekyll Island". I've seen him in many videos. I had not yet seen this video. A good watch for those who haven't already.
"Financial firms and other companies receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout money spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for meetings and charitable gifts on behalf of lawmakers."
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Bond investors’ bets on bank nationalizations are hindering already reduced lending by the world’s biggest financial institutions.
The market for securities with characteristics of both debt and equity that Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and other financial companies used to bolster their capital is in freefall on concern governments will stop banks that took public cash from paying interest.
“The danger is the government’s going to take over everything and not pay anything,” said Gregory Habeeb, who manages $7.5 billion in fixed-income securities at Calvert Asset Management Co. in Bethesda, Maryland. “It could happen.”
Signs of the Apocalypse in Markets? 2-4-09 seekingalpha.com Macroman Macro Man is back in the saddle this morning and somewhat bemused to see that the world has gone China-recovery mad. Both the comment section of yesterday's post and his email inbox this morning are crammed full of observations about the bottoming of Chinese equities and the manufacturing PMI. While it is factually true that both have bounced, Macro Man is withholding judgment. After all, the Shanghai composite is closer to its recent lows than the US homebuilders index, and he doesn't see anyone falling over themselves to call a recovery in that industry. More importantly, we should all remember that things don't move in a straight line forever, and China has cranked up a large infrastructure stimulus. Indeed, there will be a period of improved growth in the US this year...just as there was last year. Looking elsewhere, Macro Man sees little else but doom and gloom. Indeed, if he were the religious type, he might be worried about the impending approach of the Apocalypse. Yet another emerging market currency has been splattered today, as the Kazakh tenge has finally been devalued by 20% after months of pressure. The KZT was in vogue a couple of years ago as a sexy long....but another one of Macro Man's rules of thumb is never to trade a currency named after a movie character (the KZT is known as the 'Borat'). The pressure on the KZT has been mirrored in "real" markets, where the CEE currencies such as HUF and PLN have been obliterated in the past few days, with market liquidity collapsing. So the Great Unwind has further to go. Macro Man is back in the saddle this morning and somewhat bemused to see that the world has gone China-recovery mad. Both the comment section of yesterday's post and his email inbox this morning are crammed full of observations about the bottoming of Chinese equities and the manufacturing PMI. While it is factually true that both have bounced, Macro Man is withholding judgment. After all, the Shanghai composite is closer to its recent lows than the US homebuilders index, and he doesn't see anyone falling over themselves to call a recovery in that industry. More importantly, we should all remember that things don't move in a straight line forever, and China has cranked up a large infrastructure stimulus. Indeed, there will be a period of improved growth in the US this year...just as there was last year. Looking elsewhere, Macro Man sees little else but doom and gloom. Indeed, if he were the religious type, he might be worried about the impending approach of the Apocalypse. Yet another emerging market currency has been splattered today, as the Kazakh tenge has finally been devalued by 20% after months of pressure. The KZT was in vogue a couple of years ago as a sexy long....but another one of Macro Man's rules of thumb is never to trade a currency named after a movie character (the KZT is known as the 'Borat'). The pressure on the KZT has been mirrored in "real" markets, where the CEE currencies such as HUF and PLN have been obliterated in the past few days, with market liquidity collapsing. So the Great Unwind has further to go. At the same time, US sovereign 5 year CDS surged 15 bps yesterday to 86 bps. To put that in perspective.....it's where Citigroup CDS was trading exactly one year ago. Remarkably, Macro Man could only find three other countries with double-digit CDS ratings: Japan (58), Germany (59), and France (69). Was it really only a decade or so ago that Japan's loss of a AAA rating amidst massive borrowing made waves? Now markets are essentially saying that the Japanese government (facing a massive demographic challenge) is the best creditor in the world. Rumours that the devil is shopping for a mink winter parka are as yet unconfirmed. More troubling is the prospect of a populist political backlash to the crisis. Populism is generally the enemy of sensible policymaking; in that vein, developments in Switzerland are troubling. We've had suggestions from the SNB that they might contemplate FX intervention as a tool in their policy arsenal; as currencies are a zero-sum game, that merely shifts pressure from the Swiss economy to someone else. But this weekend, the Swiss are voting on a proposed "economic freedom of movement" treaty with the EU. A certain cohort in Switzerland opposes allowing workers from some new "undesirable" EU countries into Der Schwiez. The imagery used in their campaign is truly scary, as to Macro Man's eye it is not dissimilar to that used in early '30s Germany. Finally, there is a literally Biblical sign of the Apocalypse in Australia, as Queensland has been beset by floods of such magnitude that crocodiles are swimming in the streets. In typically Aussie fashion, however, afflicted citizens have homed in on the really apocalyptic aspect of the flooding: they're running out of beer.
There's video available with the title: "The day the dollar falls". It was made by the dutch VPRO TV-station VPRO. Duration: approx. 50 minutes. It describes a scenario in which the EUR/USD falls from 1,28 to 1,65 within a day. Weblink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuPgdZeAFjA
"Like the Roaring Twenties, the long boom from approximately 1982 to 2000 was characterized by boundless optimism and an explosion of new technology. New forms of mass entertainment — MTV, cable television, video games, and the Internet — proliferated, turning the United States of America into the world's entertainment capital. Men with big ideas — the leveraged-buyout moguls of the '80s and the high-tech wizards of the '90s chief among them — had no trouble finding capital to leverage their grandiose ambitions. Like the Twenties, the last two decades of the 20th century were a time of larger-than-life colossi like Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, and numerous flamboyant entertainers, from rock stars and hectomillionaire athletes to the instant celebrities of reality TV and American Idol. Risk and chutzpah were everywhere rewarded and nowhere penalized, or so it seemed. Old-school caution and frugality were cast to the wind; the world belonged to the extravagant, the glitzy, and the fully leveraged.
But behind these two parallel utopias, separated by more than six decades, lay a common reality that none but a very few astute, well-connected, or economically well-schooled were able to perceive: an artificial economic expansion created by the issuance of vast amounts of paper money. The great episodes of monetary expansion of the '20s, '80s, and '90s resulted from the magic of central banking — in America's case, of the Federal Reserve's ability to create new debt by lowering interest rates far below any rational market pricing. This resulted in years of easy credit, abundant borrowing, and an illusion of far greater prosperity and growth rates than actually existed. The result was cultural and societal no less than economic: because so few Americans, then or more recently, understood how the banking and Federal Reserve System works, the illusion of unnatural prosperity encouraged waste, leisure, and the notion of American invincibility."
If Americans, who work everyday, decided to stop using the mega-banks, and said to their Congressperson that they will NOT borrow anymore money and get trapped into the debt cycle, then those people would wake up. If we say no more debt for us unless we totally require it for a specific reason, then they would realize the people have more power than they do.
But it is happening by default, and many haven't realized their consumer power by saying we just will not go out and shop until we know there is a real change in this recovery plan. So, until that time comes, we will just hunker down and ride it out.
It looks like a failed vote for working America. President Obama has to NOW form a 15 member panel, ranging from his Penny Pritzker-part of the subprime debacle, corporate CEOs from GE and Cat, labor leaders, Volker and more.
If Obama doesn't get yet, he'll never get it. It is time to stop asking the questions and do whatever it is he believes in doing. Take the risks. If you want to speak to others, go out side and interview the public. They have the answers!!
We can get all riled up over what is going to happen during the rest of this and into next year. It best happen, since the fools in Washington will not get it right. We have already seen that. The Regressive Republicans have done the destroying for 30 years. So what is another few more?
Robert Reich has good ideas. But, what we heard was a discussion in Congress that was removed from grounded reality. Where was discussion about rebuilding our industries, and our manufacturing to serve the people of this nation. Infrastructure work is great, but to just cross a repaired bridge that does not lead to a long lasting job, is pointless. Where was the talk about calling back the profits from multi-nationals that walked away from the cities, towns, and workers of this nation? It was not heard.
Congress will never be connected to reality until the bottom falls out into a burning inferno. And then, they will listen, but it will be to far gone for action because they will have spent billions on fixes that did not fix.
Good ideas? So did Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama....... Like the video I recently watched, "Meet the new boss same as the old boss"... That goes for the snakes they surround themselves with as well. It's been said Kissinger had some good ideas.
The point of my rant is that "TALK is CHEAP". Those scumbags like Reich say one thing and do another. They like to window dress with words and do something altogether different with their actions. They talk about a bumper crop of delicious apples. But every harvest brings a more rotten & worm infested crop than before.
Obama wants to stimulate the economy. Below is a video (from june/july 2007) in which is shown the dire state in which dire state the L.A. Department of Power and Water is in. If the money of the stimulus plan would be spent on inproving this system all around the US, then it would be money well spend. Weblink:http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=67UxjCrjeao
BTW: How do I make this link posted here clickable ?
Hey Jerry, did you by any chance bother to watch the 12-part series on Argentina that Randy linked? (That I can see fine in IE, still dead in Firefox on 2 different PC's) Look at the "Hope & Change" that brought the charismatic Menem to power. I just don't think partisan flips of the same card is going to accomplish anything at this point. D's & R's can capture the divided anger, but Big Money rolls on regardless.
"President Barack Obama plans to expand the membership of the National Security Council and increase its authority to set strategy on a wide range of domestic and international issues, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, quoting his national security adviser."
I got this from FOFOA... Puts things into perspective.
How many zeros in a billion???
This is too true to be funny...
The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.
While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans ....
It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.
Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D)is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans .. Interesting number...
what does it mean?
A. Well... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans(every man, woman, and child)you each get $516,528.
B. Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.
C. Or... if you are a family of four... your family gets $2,066,012.
Imagine, now $700 billion bailing out banks in the US . That's enough to fund complete medical care for every man, woman and child currently alive in the US for 11 years!!
50 billion to bail out the auto industry???
Washington , D.C.
&
Ottawa ON.
< HELLO!!! >
Are all your calculators broken??
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax , Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property y Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax upon Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Income Tax
Everything Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY???
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
102 comments:
The scariest chart again
B of A, Citigroup could be nationalized
http://tinyurl.com/796ywy
check the chart comparison that starts about midway in the video:
tinyurl.com/ac6tyu
Hi randy... professor michel chossudovsky recently held an awesome seminar in montreal on the current financial crisis and what the causes and goals are behind it. You can check it out on google video or i have a link to it on his website- i highly recommend you put in on your main page its extremeyl informative and accurate.
http://www.globalresearch.ressourcequebec.com/Lecture/January_14-2009.htm
http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/01/23/homebuilders/
Housing starts have died, and so has most home building projects.
Houses/properties foreclose or default. Banks get the homes/properties. Larger banks gobble-up some of the smaller banks, and the smaller banks' assets become the larger banks' assets. The government bails out the larger banks in exchange for shares, and the government buys-out toxic mortgages (essentially owning those homes/properties) via TARP's/bailout bills. In conclusion, the government either owns part of or all of the banks that own the homes/properties...or the government owns the homes/properties themselves. This is an example of the public sector usurping the private sector; this is how you steal land from the population.
The Fed is flooding the money supply with more electronic monetary injections into banks and printed paper bills. This debases your dollar and reduces its purchasing power until, in the end, it is worth closer to zero than what its supposed worth is printed on the bill itself. This is an example of rendering goods/services inaccessible and an example of wiping-out savings accounts; this is how you steal money from the population.
People will riot due to anger and frustration; people will go hungry due to loss of money. I want you to google "trade guns for food." This is a psychological tactic to coerce the population to trade their only means of individual protection as stated by the Second Amendment of the US Constitution and a tactic to "non-illegally" circumvent the enforcement of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution...the right to bear arms for the purpose of security of a free state; this is how you steal defense/protection from the population.
Now the population is much easier to control. Control is power.
I did listen for the 1hr.18min. that the lecture lasted and found it interesting. He spoke of the fundamentals that have driven this financial crisis, being that speculation has been a massive one, as well as those rich and powerful elites behind the money. It is worth listening to, yet many here already understand the content of which he spoke about.
Also, he spends much time on the Canadian financial bailouts and what is going on in that country.
I'm starting lose interest in all that's going on. It sickens me how dumb people are and HATE the TRUTH. I'm sure I'll come back around.
Randy,
Did you see that yourwebsite is #29 of the best ranked websites. At least to according to http://www.gongol.com/lists/bizeconsites/. You're NOT #1 but #29 is quite good, in my opinion.
Regards from Europe,
Willy2
Lightning, Earthquakes & Hurricanes
Jim Willie
Next Dimensions,
Excellent Itulip Video - posted on Main page - Thanks
Randy
Well said David - Scary Stuff
Guns for food
Jerry,
Jerry, Yup the homebuilders are toast and housing prices have much farther to fall.
Justin, Unfortunately I feel the same way sometimes - becoming numb and apathetic towards it all..
Willy2,
Appreciate the plug and Gongol link - Yes #29 is good, but I sometimes feel unworthy - with work/family, etc, there just is never enough time in a day to keep up with all the evolving events and write like I want to!
C'mon guys, the Guns for Food thing is a bit of a stretch, no? Sure they are taking advantage of a situation where some otherwise law abiding folks may be making a trade, but it is freaking Compton we're talking about. The majority of firearms are not safed, and theft of weapons is a major component of arming the bad guys. If you are going to tell me that there is a currently a concerted effort to get the populace hungry enough to disarm for food then I have a black helicopter for sale. Most savvy patriots are making contingency plans for food long before any program like that becomes the norm in America.
Thanks Randy. Today Bionca, Alexander, and myself went down to have Sunday lunch at my parents. Later in the afternoon Jessica called me. I was laying on the couch and talking to her. She was bringing up questions concerning the things that we here on this blog are obsessed with. So I was going into detail about our monopoly money, why presidents have been assasinated, how the whole freegin Government is a puppet of the RICH. About ten minutes into the conversation my father stood up from his computer (turns out he was behind me the whole time and he despises my opinions. You know, he despises the TRUTH both secular and spiritual.) and told me in a less than friendly manner to get out of the house if I was going to talk about such things. Un freegin believable yet then again it isn't. It's absolutely appalling to me how so many people despise the TRUTH. And I don't want to hear any "there just scared excuses". It's absolutely sickening to me. But other than that life is really going good for me now. My unemployment runs out in a week but it seems that I'm getting a job working on a hog farm. Something even more glorious than that is that I am now engaged to the only woman I've ever asked to marry me. My beautiful Jessica. After waiting 3 long grueling years she came back to me. She's flying out in April from CA to spend a week. We might get married then or otherwise it will be June. The LORD is truly good to me. My purpose in this life is to share HIS TRUTH. Not a watered down ritualistic distorted version.
GOD bless those of you who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
Justin
p.s. I would really like to get a skype conference gathering together with you all. Many of you are like family to me. Sharing the truth with one another. As it is written, "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother".
p.s.
I love to play spades. I play a lot on Yahoo. If anyone wants to partner up with me contact me at jut74@yahoo via messenger or email.
GOD bless,
Justin
Justin,
Based on previous stories I've heard regarding your father, I'm really not too surprised, but the news about Jessica (and the new job for that matter)is awesome!
Big congrats dude - keep doing whatever your doing!
Regarding the Skype thing - I barely have the time now to post up anything, much less chat with folks.
Anyway, I'm really happy for ya!
Randy
I'm pretty stoked - This Blog's 500,000 hit milestone was made/crossed through tonight.
Not to diminimize the current banking crisis, but would like to see a comparision of GDP during those years
For those who think Peter Schiff is the best analyst of the US should read this article from the weblog of Mike "MISH" Shedlock. MISH has much more realistic view on things in the world. He explains e.g. why the USD hasn't fallen of a cliff. The name of the blog-entry is called "Peter Schiff was wrong".
Weblink: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/01/peter-schiff-was-wrong.html
some thoughts on the situation by Andre at Outlawjournalism
http://www.outlawjournalism.com/?p=125
I've traded emails with Mish. He is ego is the size of Mt. Everest. Found him to be rude and high minded. None of those guys is right about everything they say.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/116432-the-cult-of-peter-schiff-is-it-deserved?source=email
an analysis of schiff's positions. I believe Mish and Peter are deep rivals.
Justin--I am glad you feel close to all of us bloggers, and we feel the same about you, too. I am so glad for your happiness and what you have wished for. Skyping would be fun, but I am so unstructured that I don't think I could coordinate such a conversation. Yet, do get to emails and love to exchange through that medium.
Randy--YOU DA MAN!!! I am so happy to have been a part of this experience. You work hard at this, in addition to your other life. 500,000 is incredible. Thanks for being there for us!!
gold jumped $35 today.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123284319920613125.html
what you need to know about gold from the wsj
To "anonymous" who mentioned California as being the only state trading guns for food, I've found articles on Oregon and Ohio doing it also:
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2008/10/31/trade_your_guns_for_food_or_mo
http://www.breakthematrix.com/BreakTheMatrix/Ohio-Hungry-Turn-In-Your-Guns-Get-Food
If we wait long enough, more states will be doing it...b/c times will progressively get more desperate.
On Peter Schiff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kW64YYcUso
Thanks for the kind words Louisa & Jerry.
And to those who posted links - much appreciated. Looks like I've got some catch-up reading to do tonight.
Randy
Next Dimensions,
WOW! That was a Superb link from Outlawjournalism - nail on the head!
DollarDaze & Petrov:
http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/dollardaze/2009/0126.html
I really like this Petrov fellow's analysis. For the rebuttal of "Guns for Food" being exported, granted, but it is also a bit of "monkey see, monkey do" with PC police forces. At least in Cali, a Ralph's card could buy booze & smokes I believe. Just because a journalist wanted to frame it as starvation in the hood, I wouldn't go there yet myself. Obama's "recovery" package contains a cool 4B+ for ACORN, et al, and I see that sailing through.
The MONEY TALK$ website is dedicated to raising questions few people have ever thought about and giving logical, deeply researched answers to questions like:
1. Why, is it that Americans are told that we are the greatest and wealthiest nation on the face of the earth yet we have to borrow billions from China and other poorer and lesser-developed countries to keep our economy going?
2. If our Government prints currency, the most desirable in the world, at a cost of only 4.2 cents per hundred-dollar note, why do we need to borrow from anyone?
3. When our government can and does mint coins and print all of our currency, why do we have a government that forces us to live under such heavy and oppressive taxes?
4. Why is our collective American indebtedness 48.4 trillion dollars and growing when most of us spend the greatest part of our lives producing wealth?
5. Why is the wealth-producing middle class getting squeezed out?
6. Why are the super rich, who really produce very little, getting richer and richer?
MODERN MONEY IS NOT THIS:
"paper currency"
IT IS THIS:
digital hex
ELECTRONIC NUMBERS THAT DO NOT REPRESENT WEALTH
BUT ELECTRONIC NUMBERS THAT REPRESENT
UNPAYABLE DEBT TO THE BANKING SYSTEM
Money Talks
Justin, maybe we can try and answer these questions you just raised here in this forum, as well. My toss at it is as follows:
1--We once were the world's number one purchaser of raw materials and the world's exporter of finished goods. Our laborers were paid well and they were able to buy what they made and save some, as well as further their debt burden making the moneymasters wealthier, fat and happy. That did not satisfy their craving for blood-drenched wealth, so they closed factories, shut down jobs, lowered the worker's standard of living, and shipped jobs and the making of finished goods overseas. At that point, we became the world's greatest debtor nation, purchaser of finished goods (imports exceeding exports lowering our GDP), and exporter of our raw materials. Therefore, since we had fewer things to sell to increase our standard of living, we began to manipulate finance and the manufacturing of financial gaming, for example, MBS, CDO, CDS using the dollars wired back from overseas via the purchasing of foreign made goods.
2--I am no expert on this one, but could it be that by keeping more dollars printed and in circulation we were able to keep credit cheap (credit cards, bank lenders, home equity) so the working class, who could not keep up with their stagnant or decreasing wages to buy what they made, needed or wanted as a conned-into-consumer, could continue to fuel the financial gaming bubble and make "investors" world wide very rich, on paper.
3--The tax system is geared to push the burden on the working class with little deductions, while the investor collecting dividends and capital gains is taxes at a lesser amount in order to entice them to further buy into the financial gaming club. The worker needs to be kept from gaining any financial power, otherwise they can dictate wages, workers could then shop for better paying jobs-a process that raises wages because workers are in demand, and expand unions, which is the only organization in America that sets the standards for wage growth, and working conditions, as well as represents the collective interests of workers in Washington. (They have their weaknesses and strengths, nevertheless.)
4--Because it is not wealth that we can use day to day. It is fabricated wealth that as we have seen can go up in smoke.Hard asset wealth does not disappear even in a down economy, such as gold, silver, barrels of oil, land, buildings, They do show signs of weakness but, over time, will increase and recover their losses., since these are items people use and want. We, the middle class, really are not producing wealth all of our lives. It just appears that way. It is an illusion. 401K is not wealth. It is the appearance of wealth. Now, if you owned an apartment building and collected rent, and could improve the place increasing its worth and getting more rent, then that is producing wealth. If you hold commodities in a warehouse waiting for a good time to sell, etc, then that could be producing wealth.
5--Because their middle class wealth has been an illusion. The middle class has been part of the usury system: paying rent, borrowing money, paying compounding interest, and not the collector in the usury system chain, but only the payor in that system. The middle class produces wealth for those collectors. Even small business owners who hire others to create wealth for him/her is often stuck in that usury system spending valuable profits and income on interest and fees, and rent payments, as well as insurance fees. This keeps the business owner from expansion, paying higher wages, hiring better skilled workers, and R and D to further expansion and the GDP of the economy.
6--Because they, the upper class, are the money lenders. They are the ones collecting rent, compounding interest payments, and have taken their profits and income, as well as the tax cuts they received from Republican administrations, which often were taken from the Social Security Trust Fund, or the middle class and gambled in the financial gaming system, or bought up the hard assets, or created wealth through building facilities outside the United States, which then were able to further remove dollars from within the country as Americans bought their cheap stuff from Wal-Mart-like box stores. Those money lenders and such could then put their money in foreign bank accounts, buy foreign hard assets, such as properties and land, or take a gamble in the American financial gaming system.
I have not read this through so please excuse any errors in spelling and such. This is my interpretation of what the answers would be to the 6 questions. And I have enjoyed sharing my limited view of how this nation has devolved from an earlier time that most of us remember. I look forward to reading analysis and interpretation from others.
Justin ---what you have done is fantastic. You have created a forum for discussion that has an educational component to it.
Randy--it might be interesting if at the beginning of each open forum questions that you pose, or posed by others could start the scroll and we then could build on what could be a WIkipedia of Op-Ed.
Wow Jerry.... Well said... I'll offer up a kudos on your answers.
You getting any of that BIG winter storm out there? The wood heat is feelin good tonight lol. Got about 6 inches on the ground right now and still snowing away. I'll be on the end of a shovel most of tomorrow...ugh
Did you know that www.dollarcollapse.com has every weekend a weblink to the cartoons/weekend-funnies posted on this blog. And that how I was directed to this website.
I love the cartoons !!!
A VERY REAL NEW WORLD ORDER
My word verification is "culness"...yep that's me....haha
Bleeding banks prompt talk of new big U.S. bailout
p.s. From the article above
"It would seem prudent to figure out how you're going to deploy that before you start asking for more money. I don't think the sentiment in Congress right now is to just keep approving these bills," said Daniel Arnold, associate director, at financial group Sandler O'Neill.
Really? Could have fooled me....
OMG...my word verification is krooks..jk lol
Remember the story about Terminator seeds? I remember Jerry's remark that the only thing missing from that crime story was Tony Soprano. For those that don't remember that story here is the link.
Monsanto buys ‘Terminator’
Seeds Company
Well the plot thickens. The great Obama who is surrounding himself with CFR, Bilderberg, and Trilateral guys has appointed a good friend of Monsanto to be the Secretary of Agriculture.
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack: Too much Monsanto in the Mix?
I'm sure it's just a queenky dink. Wake up people. Obama is just another Bush. Just another puppet of the elite. Plain and simple. Better get to know your CREATOR.
Justin
Pardon me as I rage in flames today. While I'm talking about the Great Obama I need to include this fact. His mentor and the man behind his agenda is none other than Zbigniew Brzezinski. Do some research on that guy.
Byron Dale in "Six Most Powerful Videos on Money"
http://tinyurl.com/anbf54
Gerald Celente: Greatest Depression
This is an excellent interview via podcast.
Peter Schiff has responded to the critical article of MISH:
Weblink: http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/schiff/2009/0129.html
THE AUDACITY OF REALITY
Justin - that "audacity of reality" article was one of the best reads I've had in quite some time - Thanks
Hey,
Your welcome Randy. I know I post a lot of stuff up here. Some of it is most certainly redundant at the very least. But I have to agree that article was a "barn burner". I had to go back and read it again.
P.S.
Plus the title made me chuckle. Kinda like Glen Beck's "inconvenient debt".... Nice pot shots at the scripted propaganda slogans.
Randy,
You have a great blog here. And thank you Justin for all of the great posts. I've read them all.
Thanks a lot Steve. I ended up at Randy's blog somewhere around early fall of 07. Took me a while to jump in on any comments but it's my most visited blog(Official E-Rot junkie). I'm more of a link poster than a commenter though lol. Your appreciation is not expected but it is valued very much nonetheless. It's nice to meet people who have an interest in the truth.
STOCK SHOTZ INTERVIEWS GERALD CELENTE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7De6d52LsQo&eurl=http://www.stockshotz.blogspot.com/
Dollar: a conspiracy theory
Very interesting article by Russia Today
The Dollar Death Dance
Jim Willie speaks his mind on the death throes of the U.S. Dollar with the economy on life-support.
http://www.contraryinvestorscafe.com/broadcast.php?media=143
And what about this: California (the state that neighbours the state of Nevada) is running out of money.
Weblink: http://www.mybudget360.com/taxes-investment-revenue-and-money-running-out-california-budget-crisis/
(Source: www.dollarcollapse.com)
@Steve:
It's NOT ONLY the US and the USD that are dependent on live-support to stay alive. The ENTIRE world's banking system is at risk. Do the words "CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS" (CDS) ring a bell ? There have CDS been issued to the tune of some $600 trillion WORLDWIDE and you're thinking ONLY the US and USD are in mortal danger ? Some 50% of US debt is owned by foreign countries. Just imagine what would happen to those foreigners if the US would default on its debts !!! How much they would lose !!!
Comprende ???
I highly suggest watching the "Crash Course" @ www.chrismartenson.com It shows you exactly where we are going.
I enjoyed Jim Willie's latest(nothing new there). The following excerpt was especially soothing.
"The maxim goes "burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on me" applies. The public is about to be burned again, then later in the spring, burned a third time. They do not learn. They prefer, as many friends and family of mine do, to continue to give the benefit of the doubt to the bank officials and Congressional leaders, and to cling to hope."
Deception in quest of remedy
Hello,
Can someone give me a no nonsense primer on how to purchase gold or silver ASAP? Also, what's the best way to invest in foreign exchanges? I don't want a mutual fund, ADR, or pink sheets. I have a Fidelity Acct and Ameritrade acct but I don't think either of them will suffice? Anyone?
Thanks,
-bullparade
Bullparade,
Buying gold is a very personal thing at times like this. The best is to buy physical in person from a dealer for cash. No paper trail that way. The same goes for foreign currency.
Those that have some don't usually share that info.
If you can't buy in person, I recommend tulving.com.
Bullparade -
I recommend "Golddealer.com" - Link on the right side of my blog.
Call ans ask to speak w/Ken Slater. Stick w/bullion unless you know what you're doing...
Chinese Cautious on Treasury Notes
LONDON (Reuters) — China’s willingness to continue buying United States Treasury securities in large numbers will depend on its need to protect the value of its foreign investments, the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, said Saturday. He also said that a stable yuan is in everyone’s interests.
“Whether we will buy more U.S. Treasury bonds, and if so by how much — we should take that decision in accordance with China’s own need and also our aim to keep the security of our foreign reserves and the value of them,” Mr. Wen said.
His enigmatic remarks, made near the end of a visit to Europe, could raise new concerns about China’s commitment to continue purchasing United States government debt.
IMF Considers Issuing Bonds to Raise Money
I saw this movie, Equilibrium, several years ago. It's a great movie. It reminds me of a possible futuristic New World Order. So does life imitates art, or does art imitates life?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPeeQKuQRe8
CNN Foreclosure
to bullparade:
Go to maps.google.com and enter "coins" followed by a space and your zip code...it'll show you all the coin shops/stores in your city (sorted by distance from your zip code). You can even read some user reviews, if they exist. The coin shop I go to has very friendly, knowledgable people...and the shop is a member of the Better Business Bureau (you can look-up businesses' ratings/reviews/issues on the BBB gov website), member of the ANA, and an NGC certified dealer. It would be ideal if you sought out such a shop. The dealers/workers/employees should know much about numismatic coins and bullion coins and should be glad and able to answer all your questions.
"Geithner has been a key player in the current economic crisis -- helping Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and his team manage the wall street bailout."
Change you can believe in? LMAO.... Around these parts this is referred to as "putting the fox in charge of the hen house".
Geithner likely to be Treasury Secretary
I know the above is old news but it still shocks me. No surprise but shocking nevertheless. Obama has surrounded himself with more of the same ol same ol and most Americans are dumbed down enough to believe he is going to fix things. The elite are plowing full steam ahead.
Contrary to what some believe the Trilateral Commission, CFR, and Bilderberg Group are not just a bunch of benevolent rich and powerful guys shooting the breeze with no impact.
Just thought I'd share another person's opinion concerning the hyper-linked article. The title says it all in my book. Just a matter of when. Of course I don't think anyone can pin down that answer.
"Without taking sides on the issue of the possibility of default, I'd like to add this recommendation for this article: the caterwauling from the deflationists and radical dollar bugs centers on the impossibility of US default and the US dollar's "King of the Fiat Sewer" status. Completely ignored, and never discussed, are the very real, sizable and measurable impacts of reduced tax revenues caused by the "recession" and the prospects for actually repaying US debt absent inflation.
There are no such prospects. US debt continued to rise in "good" times, but now, somehow, facing an epic economic slowdown, the US will be able to radically INCREASE borrowing and in this manner grow our way out of debt. In my opinion, taking and supporting such a position requires either an IQ of 70 or a suspension of disbelief. It does not matter if the US Dollar is the best of the turds in the sewer. If there are no prospects for debt repayment, the dollar is toast, and the Treasury market along with it.
I can never imagine making a timing call, and this article alludes to the reason: this government is liable to do anything, absolutely anything, to hold onto the reins of power. It has already demonstrated clearly its willingness to pick winners and losers and steal from taxpayers to enrich its partisans. In such an environment, anything is possible and nothing should surprise.
Just my opinion / not investment advice."
U.S. Debt Default, Dollar Collapse Altogether Likely
Justin expresses an opinion on the inability of the government to cover its growing losses even with a stimulus program. That could very easily happen. I guess, the rationale by the Obama Team Players is that through stimulus, workers will be able to pay for the things they need day to day in their community helping keep local shops and services alive, and the taxes paid by the workers and business owners, which might cover the cost of the stimulus. I wish I could know if this strategy will work.
What I object to more are all the other economic drains, such as the huge defense dept. budget ($500B) and the fight in the middle east ($500B), the loss of corporate taxes due to US corporations moving shop off-shore ($450B), the factory flight to off-shore locations (worker wage income tax losses in the billions, if not trillions), the imbalance of tax distribution, whereby those top tier income earners pay less tax, due to their tax avoidance programs and investment revenues all averaging out that top tier individuals only pay 19% in taxes, and bailouts to banks ($3T). Then add in the Yuan currency manipulation by the Chinese.
With all of the possible added revenues, there would be trillions in a bottom up stimulus investment. But Team Obama is not going in that direction. A real disappointment.
What I have written about is the consumer has the ultimate power to push back Obama's Status Quo administration. I am calling it the Consumer Thrift Reform Movement. It has already started by default. But if WE ALL called our Congress and told them we are stopping spending and borrowing until real change begins NOW. NO more spending unless it is a daily essential. NO more borrowing unless we must and it will be from a local bank around the corner. And then, we explain what exactly we want to happen. If millions of people do this, we gain the power.
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/124836/the_whole_world_is_rioting_as_the_economic_crisis_worsens_--_why_aren%27t_we/
The world is rioting over the economic crisis worsens, why aren't we?
Jerry,
All of the sausage they are trying (and will succeed largely) to cram into it is mind boggling....then again. My Mother told me there was one slice of bacon in it that would cover the building of an ATV trail.... Surprised? Not even.
I turned on my T.V. last night(a rarity) and listened to what Lou Dobbs was saying. Heard that the Chamber of Commerce is throwing a hissy fit about a potential clause that would require the buying of "American Made" products for all the infrastructure projects. Such a thing would fly in the face of globalization/no sovereignty/etc. and the powers that be despise the hindrance of such things.
Vomiting in Illinois.........
Justin
I'm sure most of the erots are familiar with the guy who wrote "Creature from Jekyll Island". I've seen him in many videos. I had not yet seen this video. A good watch for those who haven't already.
G Edward Griffin - Creature From Jekyll Island A Second Look at the Federal Reserve
"Financial firms and other companies receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout money spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for meetings and charitable gifts on behalf of lawmakers."
Bankrolling charitable gifts
This has to be one of the most brilliant pieces I have yet to read!!
It is called "Too Big To Fail"--A Bail Out Hoax, by Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, Ph.D of Economic at Drake University.
http://counterpunch.org/zadeh01302009.html
The last few sentences says what I have begun to say and that is a grassroots movement is now needed to end the Wall Street theft.
READ IT!!!
PLANETARY BANKRUPTCY
The Bad Bank Assets Proposal: Even Worse Than You Imagined
New Max Keiser video
I forgot all about Max'e new radio show. Here's the link for those interested.
The Oracle with Max Keiser - 30
Randy,
What's your opinion on whether or not the gov will nationalize Bank of America and Citi?
Could this really happen? And if it did, wouldn't it cause a crash in the stock market?
Thanks.
G
G,
It's basically already happened - in a quasi sort of way: Citigroup & BOA Nationalization?
Link from today:
Citigroup Leads Hybrid Bond Drop on Bailout Concern
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Bond investors’ bets on bank nationalizations are hindering already reduced lending by the world’s biggest financial institutions.
The market for securities with characteristics of both debt and equity that Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and other financial companies used to bolster their capital is in freefall on concern governments will stop banks that took public cash from paying interest.
“The danger is the government’s going to take over everything and not pay anything,” said Gregory Habeeb, who manages $7.5 billion in fixed-income securities at Calvert Asset Management Co. in Bethesda, Maryland. “It could happen.”
Justin/Jerry,
Excellent links - thanks
Thank you. You are welcome Randy.
We’ve All Been Had
That last article....geesh... That really pins down the mother load of banking sorcery.
Forecast 2009: There Will Be Blood
Signs of the Apocalypse in Markets? 2-4-09 seekingalpha.com Macroman
Macro Man is back in the saddle this morning and somewhat bemused to see that the world has gone China-recovery mad. Both the comment section of yesterday's post and his email inbox this morning are crammed full of observations about the bottoming of Chinese equities and the manufacturing PMI.
While it is factually true that both have bounced, Macro Man is withholding judgment. After all, the Shanghai composite is closer to its recent lows than the US homebuilders index, and he doesn't see anyone falling over themselves to call a recovery in that industry. More importantly, we should all remember that things don't move in a straight line forever, and China has cranked up a large infrastructure stimulus. Indeed, there will be a period of improved growth in the US this year...just as there was last year.
Looking elsewhere, Macro Man sees little else but doom and gloom. Indeed, if he were the religious type, he might be worried about the impending approach of the Apocalypse.
Yet another emerging market currency has been splattered today, as the Kazakh tenge has finally been devalued by 20% after months of pressure. The KZT was in vogue a couple of years ago as a sexy long....but another one of Macro Man's rules of thumb is never to trade a currency named after a movie character (the KZT is known as the 'Borat'). The pressure on the KZT has been mirrored in "real" markets, where the CEE currencies such as HUF and PLN have been obliterated in the past few days, with market liquidity collapsing. So the Great Unwind has further to go.
Macro Man is back in the saddle this morning and somewhat bemused to see that the world has gone China-recovery mad. Both the comment section of yesterday's post and his email inbox this morning are crammed full of observations about the bottoming of Chinese equities and the manufacturing PMI.
While it is factually true that both have bounced, Macro Man is withholding judgment. After all, the Shanghai composite is closer to its recent lows than the US homebuilders index, and he doesn't see anyone falling over themselves to call a recovery in that industry. More importantly, we should all remember that things don't move in a straight line forever, and China has cranked up a large infrastructure stimulus. Indeed, there will be a period of improved growth in the US this year...just as there was last year.
Looking elsewhere, Macro Man sees little else but doom and gloom. Indeed, if he were the religious type, he might be worried about the impending approach of the Apocalypse.
Yet another emerging market currency has been splattered today, as the Kazakh tenge has finally been devalued by 20% after months of pressure. The KZT was in vogue a couple of years ago as a sexy long....but another one of Macro Man's rules of thumb is never to trade a currency named after a movie character (the KZT is known as the 'Borat'). The pressure on the KZT has been mirrored in "real" markets, where the CEE currencies such as HUF and PLN have been obliterated in the past few days, with market liquidity collapsing. So the Great Unwind has further to go.
At the same time, US sovereign 5 year CDS surged 15 bps yesterday to 86 bps. To put that in perspective.....it's where Citigroup CDS was trading exactly one year ago. Remarkably, Macro Man could only find three other countries with double-digit CDS ratings: Japan (58), Germany (59), and France (69). Was it really only a decade or so ago that Japan's loss of a AAA rating amidst massive borrowing made waves? Now markets are essentially saying that the Japanese government (facing a massive demographic challenge) is the best creditor in the world.
Rumours that the devil is shopping for a mink winter parka are as yet unconfirmed.
More troubling is the prospect of a populist political backlash to the crisis. Populism is generally the enemy of sensible policymaking; in that vein, developments in Switzerland are troubling. We've had suggestions from the SNB that they might contemplate FX intervention as a tool in their policy arsenal; as currencies are a zero-sum game, that merely shifts pressure from the Swiss economy to someone else. But this weekend, the Swiss are voting on a proposed "economic freedom of movement" treaty with the EU. A certain cohort in Switzerland opposes allowing workers from some new "undesirable" EU countries into Der Schwiez. The imagery used in their campaign is truly scary, as to Macro Man's eye it is not dissimilar to that used in early '30s Germany.
Finally, there is a literally Biblical sign of the Apocalypse in Australia, as Queensland has been beset by floods of such magnitude that crocodiles are swimming in the streets. In typically Aussie fashion, however, afflicted citizens have homed in on the really apocalyptic aspect of the flooding: they're running out of beer.
There's video available with the title: "The day the dollar falls". It was made by the dutch VPRO TV-station VPRO. Duration: approx. 50 minutes. It describes a scenario in which the EUR/USD falls from 1,28 to 1,65 within a day. Weblink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuPgdZeAFjA
The Insolvency of the Fed
Snippet.....
"Like the Roaring Twenties, the long boom from approximately 1982 to 2000 was characterized by boundless optimism and an explosion of new technology. New forms of mass entertainment — MTV, cable television, video games, and the Internet — proliferated, turning the United States of America into the world's entertainment capital. Men with big ideas — the leveraged-buyout moguls of the '80s and the high-tech wizards of the '90s chief among them — had no trouble finding capital to leverage their grandiose ambitions. Like the Twenties, the last two decades of the 20th century were a time of larger-than-life colossi like Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, and numerous flamboyant entertainers, from rock stars and hectomillionaire athletes to the instant celebrities of reality TV and American Idol. Risk and chutzpah were everywhere rewarded and nowhere penalized, or so it seemed. Old-school caution and frugality were cast to the wind; the world belonged to the extravagant, the glitzy, and the fully leveraged.
But behind these two parallel utopias, separated by more than six decades, lay a common reality that none but a very few astute, well-connected, or economically well-schooled were able to perceive: an artificial economic expansion created by the issuance of vast amounts of paper money. The great episodes of monetary expansion of the '20s, '80s, and '90s resulted from the magic of central banking — in America's case, of the Federal Reserve's ability to create new debt by lowering interest rates far below any rational market pricing. This resulted in years of easy credit, abundant borrowing, and an illusion of far greater prosperity and growth rates than actually existed. The result was cultural and societal no less than economic: because so few Americans, then or more recently, understood how the banking and Federal Reserve System works, the illusion of unnatural prosperity encouraged waste, leisure, and the notion of American invincibility."
Parallels With the Great Depression
Anyone have any comments to fill in my blanks?
scenario: widespread bank closures
triggers: ??
probability: ??
spawned issues: ??
scenario: Dollar Destruction
triggers: ??
probability: ??
spawned issues: ??
scenario: Food Distribution collapse
triggers: ??
probability: ??
spawned issues: ??
scenario: social unrest
triggers: ??
probability: ??
spawned issues: ??
If Americans, who work everyday, decided to stop using the mega-banks, and said to their Congressperson that they will NOT borrow anymore money and get trapped into the debt cycle, then those people would wake up. If we say no more debt for us unless we totally require it for a specific reason, then they would realize the people have more power than they do.
But it is happening by default, and many haven't realized their consumer power by saying we just will not go out and shop until we know there is a real change in this recovery plan. So, until that time comes, we will just hunker down and ride it out.
What The "Stimulus" Debate Teaches Us
Obamanomics=Food Lines
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTjjN04XEcE&eurl=http://dotconnectoruk.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSlGmnfADYU&eurl=http://dotconnectoruk.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opxuUj6vFa4&eurl=http://whatreallyhappened.com/&feature=player_embedded
It looks like a failed vote for working America. President Obama has to NOW form a 15 member panel, ranging from his Penny Pritzker-part of the subprime debacle, corporate CEOs from GE and Cat, labor leaders, Volker and more.
If Obama doesn't get yet, he'll never get it. It is time to stop asking the questions and do whatever it is he believes in doing. Take the risks. If you want to speak to others, go out side and interview the public. They have the answers!!
We can get all riled up over what is going to happen during the rest of this and into next year. It best happen, since the fools in Washington will not get it right. We have already seen that. The Regressive Republicans have done the destroying for 30 years. So what is another few more?
Robert Reich has good ideas. But, what we heard was a discussion in Congress that was removed from grounded reality. Where was discussion about rebuilding our industries, and our manufacturing to serve the people of this nation. Infrastructure work is great, but to just cross a repaired bridge that does not lead to a long lasting job, is pointless. Where was the talk about calling back the profits from multi-nationals that walked away from the cities, towns, and workers of this nation? It was not heard.
Congress will never be connected to reality until the bottom falls out into a burning inferno. And then, they will listen, but it will be to far gone for action because they will have spent billions on fixes that did not fix.
Good ideas? So did Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama....... Like the video I recently watched, "Meet the new boss same as the old boss"... That goes for the snakes they surround themselves with as well. It's been said Kissinger had some good ideas.
The point of my rant is that "TALK is CHEAP". Those scumbags like Reich say one thing and do another. They like to window dress with words and do something altogether different with their actions. They talk about a bumper crop of delicious apples. But every harvest brings a more rotten & worm infested crop than before.
Smoldering in Illinois
Obama wants to stimulate the economy. Below is a video (from june/july 2007) in which is shown the dire state in which dire state the L.A. Department of Power and Water is in. If the money of the stimulus plan would be spent on inproving this system all around the US, then it would be money well spend.
Weblink:http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=67UxjCrjeao
BTW: How do I make this link posted here clickable ?
Hey Jerry, did you by any chance bother to watch the 12-part series on Argentina that Randy linked?
(That I can see fine in IE, still dead in Firefox on 2 different PC's)
Look at the "Hope & Change" that brought the charismatic Menem to power. I just don't think partisan flips of the same card is going to accomplish anything at this point. D's & R's can capture the divided anger, but Big Money rolls on regardless.
"President Barack Obama plans to expand the membership of the National Security Council and increase its authority to set strategy on a wide range of domestic and international issues, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, quoting his national security adviser."
Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!!!
Obama to revamp National Security Council: report
I got this from FOFOA... Puts things into perspective.
How many zeros in a billion???
This is too true to be funny...
The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.
While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans ....
It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.
Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D)is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans .. Interesting number...
what does it mean?
A. Well... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans(every man, woman, and child)you each get $516,528.
B. Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.
C. Or... if you are a family of four...
your family gets $2,066,012.
Imagine, now $700 billion bailing out banks in the US . That's enough to fund complete medical care for every man, woman and child currently alive in the US for 11 years!!
50 billion to bail out the auto industry???
Washington , D.C.
&
Ottawa ON.
< HELLO!!! >
Are all your calculators broken??
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax , Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property y Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax upon Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Income Tax
Everything Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY???
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt...
We had the largest middle class in the world..
and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What happened?
Can you spell 'politicians!'
And I still have to
press '1'
for English.
I hope this goes around the
US & CANADA
at least 1 billion times
What the heck happened???
America’s march towards fascism: and some helpful hints on how to protect yourself from the United States government
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