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The Elites Have Lost The Right to Rule
From Michael Krieger of KAM LP
War is the growth hormone of the cancer that is big government.
- Alex Jones
A government always finds itself obliged to resort to inflationary measures when it cannot negotiate loans and dare not levy taxes, because it has reason to fear that it will forfeit approval of the policy it is following if it reveals too soon the financial and general economic consequences of that policy. Thus inflation becomes the most important psychological resource of any economic policy whose consequences have to be concealed; and so in this sense it can be called an instrument of unpopular, that is, of antidemocratic policy, since by misleading public opinion it makes possible the continued existence of a system of government that would have no hope of the consent of the people if the circumstances were clearly laid before them. That is the political function of inflation. When governments do not think it necessary to accommodate their expenditure and arrogate to themselves the right of making up the deficit by issuing notes, their ideology is merely a disguised absolutism.
- Ludwig von Mises
How Wall Street Died
Let me take you back to the fall of 1999. I was a senior in college without a clue what I wanted to do with my life. Wall Street was in a boom and seemed exciting. I had always loved the financial markets since I had first discovered them years earlier; however, I wasn’t convinced this was the profession I wanted. I had majored in Economics at school for practical purposes but I found almost all of the courses to be extraordinarily uninspiring with the exception of a few like Corporate Finance and the Economic History of China. It was the general micro and macro economics courses that I found the most painful to sit through. I wasn’t alone in this assessment. Many of my close friends were Economics majors as well and we all felt the same way (I later found out this was because we were being indoctrinated in voodoo Keynesian economics) . So even with the Economics degree I wasn’t sure that I wanted to pursue a career in finance given the fact that I found myself more interested in subjects such as English , History and Philosophy. Nevertheless, the firms were hiring, I had the degree and it would allow me to move back to New York City without living at home.
What I discovered as I interviewed for jobs disturbed me right away. Every single firm with the exception of one was completely obsessed with math. Entire interviews revolved around “how quantitative are you” and the like. Although I hadn’t had much experience with investing I had enough to know this line of thinking seemed preposterous. It seemed to me only basic math skills are necessary to be a successful equity investor. Besides that, it seemed that the key is understanding that the world is always changing rapidly under the surface and therefore what is a good business today might be bankrupt tomorrow and what is a start up today could be the next Microsoft. This seems obvious but the skill set to figuring all this out is more geared to an appreciation of human psychology, historical cycles and cultural shifts (both fads and structural changes) than math. What I realized later is the reason they were so focused on mathematicians and Phd’s is that Wall Street was moving away from what it was always meant to be - a conduit between the holders of capital and those that wish to deploy that capital in productive economic activity. Rather than trying to hire a well rounded workforce of intelligent college graduates the firms were hiring a cadre of quantitative robots that would play an instrumental roll in blowing up the world’s financial system.
When you get too many people of a particular mindset (in this case highly quantitative and academic) to aggregate in a field that is very much a people business and one where “street smart” common sense is of extreme importance you are asking for serious trouble. When you couple that with a Federal Reserve that keeps interest rates too low what you get is a bunch of quants inventing products that provide a yield sufficient for pensions and others struggling to earn a return. Products that are completely mispriced for the risk inherent in them. I am not placing all of the blame on the Wall Street firms (although they deserve a lot and the fact people haven’t been punished severely is a huge reason why there is no confidence on main street), rather I believe the Federal Reserve deserves 95% of it. If it wasn’t for them manipulating the price of money to absurdly low levels you wouldn’t have had the rush into toxic products in a search for yield. While the newly enthroned Wall Street quant army would surely have done their damage nonetheless it wouldn’t have resulted in the complete destruction of the financial and monetary system that we face today. In a nutshell, this is how I think Wall Street died and until it gets its act together will remain a corpse.
The Elites Have Lost Their Right to Rule
One of my favorite quotes is from Joseph Schumpeter who said “everyone has elites the important thing is to change them from time to time.” Of course, this is what happens in a well functioning democracy. The problem today and the reason why the United States is on the verge of some sort of revolution (I believe it will manifest as a revolution of ideas and not an armed one) is that the election of Obama has proven to everyone watching with an unbiased eye that no matter who the President is they continue to prop up an elite at the top that has been running things into the ground for years. The appointment of Larry Summers and Tiny Turbo-Tax Timmy Geithner provided the most obvious sign that something was seriously not kosher. Then there was the reappointment of Ben Bernanke. While the Republicans like to simplify him as merely a socialist he represents something far worse.
Of course it is not just Obama. He is at the end of a long line of Presidents that think they have some sort of divine right of kings to rule. Think about the Presidency of the United States since 1988. Bush, Clinton, Bush…If Obama had not won the Democratic primary we would have ended up with President Hilary Clinton. Catch my drift? Something is not right here. This is the United States not some sort of petty monarchy. There is no divine right of any family or group of families to rule. When this starts to happen you get the disaster we are now faced with. That said, the bigger point is this. What Obama has attempted to do is to wipe a complete economic collapse under the rug and maintain the status quo so that the current elite class in the United States remains in control. The “people” see this ploy and are furious. Those that screwed up the United States economy should never make another important decision about it yet they remain firmly in control of policy. The important thing in any functioning democracy is the turnover of the elite class every now and again. Yet, EVERY single government policy has been geared to keeping that class in power and to pass legislation that gives the Federal government more power to then buttresses this power structure down the road. This is why Obama is so unpopular. Everything else is just noise to keep people divided and distracted.
Getting Into the Mind of Ben Bernanke
I do not have a clear window into the highest levels of power in many areas such as the military or the intelligence community but I do have a very good understanding of it when it comes to the financial system and the economy. At the end of the day everyone knows that those who can create the money and credit have the ultimate power over any political system. Therefore, at the top of the economic power of the world is the Federal Reserve and at the top of that is Ben Bernanke. This is why I took a great deal of interest in reading the full text of his speech today. Much will be written about it but I want to tackle it from two points. First, who is Ben Bernanke?
You can really see into his head from reading this speech. He is an academic who thinks he is smarter than everyone else which is why he is in the position he is in. He thinks the key to monetary policy is to trick people into doing things that will hurt them in the end. He believes the mal-investments he intends to push people and institutions into equals economic growth. What surprises me so much about the investment community and the American public in general is that so many fail to understand that we live in a top down centralized economic system much more similar to China in more ways than people want to admit. We look at how the government steers the economy in China and sneer. How are we so different right now?
As far as the speech itself, it confirms something I mentioned several weeks ago. Banana Ben absolutely wants to do a massive QE2 program. The only thing holding him back is gold is near an all time high. What he wants is gold much lower and stocks much lower to give him cover. Gold has not cooperated so he is in a bind. He cannot print a massive amount of money with gold here and stocks at 1055 because what happens if gold soars and stocks sell-off in the days that follow such an announcement? What if the response in the treasury market is not as desired? He is scared to do it here and he is right to be scared because such a reaction would be the end of the Fed right then and there. The Fed will be gone anyway within a few years in my opinion but it’s going to fight hard to survive and if you want to make money in this market you need to understand that. The most powerful institution in the world is fighting for its survival. Never forget that.
So what is he going to do? I believe that the Fed and government are doing a lot more than people think to manipulate all markets behind the scenes. After all, they have publicly announced their manipulation in many other ways so does it make any sense whatsoever to assume they aren’t doing a plethora of other things behind the scenes? Of course not. I think that with the Fed in a bind they will accelerate and become ever more aggressive in behind the scenes games. This will make markets even more volatile and extraordinarily challenging. This is financial war make no mistake about it. The only way in my opinion to survive this is to buy all dips in precious metals, agriculture and oil. It is in these three areas that I expect to see the most price inflation as money eventually figures out the end game. The end game is more and more people will eventually wake up to the fact that the markets are a hologram put in front of you by the magicians at the Fed. That what constitutes real wealth in the years ahead will be owning food, energy and a means of exchange that will be accepted should a black market economy arise as it has in virtually all nations at one time or another throughout history.
In the end, the elites will be overthrown and a power vacuum will form. The transition period will be extremely difficult as the elites will fight their demise to the end. For you see, they care nothing for you they care about their power and control. Nevertheless, rulers have always only ruled by the will (or apathy) of the people and when the people become overly taxed and abused they always rebel. The main thing to think about is what kind of society do we want to rebuild from the ashes. I am of the view that it must be a return to the Constitution and an elimination of central banking power and secrecy. Let’s not fall for a demagogue or be pushed into a war when things are at their worst.
Have a great weekend,
Mike
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Not according to John Williams, we're at 22% Unemployed, and pushing 10% Inflation.
He might be right. I was quoting "reasonable" alternate numbers that many "generally" to agree with. Besides it doesn't quite feel like 22% to me but that might be because unemployment benefits extensions has taken the edge off for a while. I don't think they can keep the lid on though, and if we really are over 20% already then once that lid comes off it's going to look very bad very quickly.
Hunger is a great motivator.
Cougar, lots of people fell off the other end of conveyor-belt No. U-6. I'm inclined to go with higher numbers as well. The 99'ers going over the cliff.
But those magic electronic benefit cards, why, they keep on giving Doritos when swiped. No pressure on the people yet.
Visa has that franchise, right?
- Ned
Cougar, its worse i think. And sooner, much. There are so many small contractors, small businesses not doing business because of the housing market downturn. The employment, jobs spinoff from each house built (or not) is incredible. Carpet layers, carpet producers,Electricians , hardware stores lumber yards, lumber mills, truckers to bring it, etc.
It s a hell of a long list. I am not making money so i dont see the dentist, doctor or my accountant. Most of those are self employed, so we dont get counted.
I worked in the manufactured housing industry last 15 years. Averaged 3 houses per month till 2 years ago. Haventh done a house for my GC. client
in ten months and the last was a spec home. Mind our clients were settled , older and had no problem financing. A manufactured home was the cheapest option and even that died. But we are still getting tourists and so it all still seems normal in every other way.
Seems like no one sees a bust coming. At times i wonder if i am nuts and this site feeds into that. Tired of living in the twilight zone
There is a huge disconnect between economic reality and what plays out on the streets everyday. It feels like everyone is hanging on by a thread. On my bike ride recently I'm noticing so many "For Lease" signs on commercial property that it looks like 50% vacancies. If that is real, then the hit to small business must be apocalyptic.
Winter is coming, and people will hunker down against the cold. Buys us a few months. But come spring and they are outside and angry ... hang onto your hat.
"Cougar, its worse i think. And sooner, much. There are so many small contractors, small businesses not doing business because of the housing market downturn. The employment, jobs spinoff from each house built (or not) is incredible. Carpet layers, carpet producers,Electricians , hardware stores lumber yards, lumber mills, truckers to bring it, etc."
Let's not forget the bashing the south eastern states and fishing industry is taking for the GOM oil leak. I'll never eat shrimp again.
never eat shrimp again.
Sad now.
My impression is that ten months is stretching it.
This end game is a ways off, over a decade away.
This is the end game. Here and now. The system is unsustainable and people know it.
wiskeyrunner, your posts would be more believable as well as more understandable if you and everyone else on this blog used standard English. You must all be products of so-called public education, of a very recent vintage. Try to learn the difference between to/too/two, their/there/they're, and the truly exceptional themself's (never correct, and you don't make plurals with apostrophes, ever) vs. themselves.
I find some of these posts bewildering unless I allow myself to think you are all Asian, and then the barrier is set far lower in terms of grammar, syntax, and spelling--for a reason. If you are not Asian, shame on you. OK, English monitor off/:)
Prepositions are bad words to end sentences with.
- Ned
Nyuk - nyuk - nyuk!
Puckles,
Thanks for proofreading (in retrospect) those posts. I too have this difficulty in regarding the posts of any substantive value when the language is so badly applied and mangled. But I try to read past the educational system shortcomings and gather any nuggets of value as I peruse the Web these days.
"nuggets of value"-yep, sift through the trash, find out something that makes me go "huh?", then dig.
Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while.
- Ned
In other news...
German IG Metall Seeks 6% Pay Raise
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- IG Metall, Germany’s largest labor union, said it wants “fair” wage increases for workers in the iron and steel industries as the economy recovers.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-27/german-ig-metall-seeks-6-pay...
America, today, is the furthest thing from economic democracy. The furthest thing from a meritocratic society, in fact, it is an extremely anti-meritocratic society.
The closest I've ever come to a merit organization was th US military during the draft.
Which isn't exactly a positive comment, BTW.
Those of us who have really been paying attention, and taking our citizenship duties seriously over the years, fully realize just how hereditary so many positions are today among those so-called appointed governmental positions.
And Wall Street, as well....
sgt,
Right on, just look at the latest elections, who won, and who will likely win in Nov.
Bottom line, if your not a member of the Multi Million dollar club, your chances of election are ZERO.That's in addition to Public funds.
This article coincides an incredible amount with my general thesis... specifically, the FED's demise. Some type of central control will be necessary to continue the controlled demolition though... once the FED is out of the picture (there is only so long you can prop up nonperforming assets), it will be the wild west as we try and settle on central control of the money supply. Who knows, maybe we cede some power to the IMF?
In the end, I think many of the plans will be laid to ruin as the economy crumbles before the best laid plans come to fruition. However, out introspection may be incredibly painful if the vacuum is filled with the spoils from the wealth gap. He thinks there will be a successful revolution... creative destruction... I'm not convinced. What's at stake is literally the fabric of society holding together. I suspect there will be scattered spots of semblances of our former selves... but rebuilding will not come quickly nor cheaply... and the scars of our new reconstruction may very well usurp those already existing from our last endeavor at a divided populace.
My theory is that there will likely be violent outbursts within society that will accrue and accumulate as the economy deteriorates until some govt's of the states begin to deny obligation to the federal govt. When this happens it will likely result in some sort military conflict whether pseudo or not I don't know.
I think the end result will be some sorta mini civil war that the Union will be unable to win due to a already highly fragile govt that is hugely indebted and has lost the faith of its people.
Brute force works, but it only works when you can move it, otherwise its just an monolithic anchor.
I'm not sure the fracturing of states into regional countries would even cause a shot to fire. Denial of the power of the federal government is a certainty as people find out more and more no one is there to keep them in line. Eventually this understanding trickles to cities, counties, and states.
The first few that blink will get the national guard, et al, there to help with local conflicts... eventually these will become too burdensome.
The traditional blue states have literally zero chance at winning Rd. 2 should it come to that. The south has been disproportionately filling our military ranks for ages... the size of the arkansas national guard is staggering. As manufacturing migrated south too, we now have the industrial base to fuel any war effort. Add to that the persistant resentment of reconstruction... and I promise you the outcome will not be the same.
We get groups of states banding together... some fending for themselves... some thrown to the wolves... mostly run by loose "governments", spearheaded by robber barrons (most likely the people at the top of the wealth gap).
I completely do not believe we will have any world government nor vastly stronger/overt dictatorship in this country. I recognize the possibility, but do not believe it is a probability. The whole thing will fall apart before then... and big government will have left a terrible aftertaste in most mouthes (and sore assholes).
I don't imagine it will be a north or south thing anymore. It'll have a more northeast vs everyone else look should it ever happen. The Northeast (New England) is very liberal and very pro government. I live in Michigan the government here has destroyed our industrial base and has for years been trying to install a green industrial base which has failed horribly. Massive unemployment has destroyed our tax base and frankly our financial situation looks grim.
But this is an example of the results of a blue state. New York outside of NYC is a disaster. California outside of Orange county/Los Angels/Hollywood/and some silicon valley is a wreck. New Jersey, lol. Maryland, lol. Washington D.C., lol. Virginia, lol. Name me an industrial base in any new england blue state that is still running factories.
U can say Michigan has factories, we have factories in the same way Pamela Anderson has breasts. It's all show and further the vast majority are undercapacity or nonoperational most of the time anyways.
I don't think it will be a south/north thing either... i could see a couple southern state conglomerations... plus, we have a lot of western states to deal with that got to sit out the first go round... I suspect a large conglomerate of them will form... possibly with some of the southern states east of the mississippi... they do need port access after all.
I also don't think it would be out of the question to continue to have a central federal government, but just vastly reduced in size and scope. Effectively, it settles disputes between states... has a vastly smaller standing army... these sorts of things... local politics become the playgrounds of robber barons as they become the highest law in the land (unmasked).
So much depends on the rate and method of collapse... our collective introspection will be painful.
The Northeast (New England) is very liberal and very pro government.
i wHOLEheartedly agree†
Always great reading your 2 to 3 word posts... ah, but there 's this: We know you enjoy your handheld, but this isn't twitter and we really don't care if you agree or want to cuss at someone. Just wait until you can get to a keyboard and make a point. ZH demands as much.
nice ass, i bet†
why does a point, always have to B made?
i don't think ZH demands any thing from anybody.
Zero Hedge standards demand better.. Seriously ready your posts and think about how ridiculous the site would be if filled with posts like yours. (Maybe read your history in the morning?) I am really not trying to be mean, but posting shouldn't be your spur of the moment agreement or disagreement on an issue, but perhaps a deeper thought supported argument. thanks ;>)
What are you talking about.THEY CALL it,
F R E E W I L L AssFire.
Kathy,
I will not degrade you- I don't know what problems you have.
But, just look at all the JUNKS you create with your "free will"...it's not good.
what happened to your man's pants on fire picture, H O T ass.
Touche'!
"The Northeast (New England) is very liberal and very pro government."
Eesh, Milly. You should spend some time in Upstate NY or anywhere in NH/Maine.
"New York outside of NYC is a disaster."
Really? Hunh. Where I live (New Paltz) is mezza-mezz. Not great, but certainly not disastrous. And the cool thing is, there are heaps of folks who see what's coming (is already here?) and are working themselves stupid to prepare.
Don't fear the tsunami. Learn to surf.
And, uh...stop making heinous generalizations.
xx-It is really too bad that NYC is a part of NY. Upstate is great, except for the taxes.
- Ned
(OT, there is probably still a whole pile of pig-droppings under the ledge of "High Exposure" even after 30 years or so.)
If there is a breakup, it won't be regional so much as it will be racial. You'll have "pockets" of factions/tribes.
I agree, but there will be a robber baron at the top... how the pie gets sliced is anyone's guess... I suspect we'll attempt to cling to traditional county boundaries, etc. (most are by natural boundary anyway), but many of these will give way to the "pockets". And the southern portion of the states bordering mexico will likely become the state of ______________ gang, if not mexico proper... texas excluded of course.
I could see large cities being divided that way.... but most of america is just holding the earth together... the pockets are very large.
no kidding, new mexico is M E X I C O. Corrupt, protect the "old families" mafia drug lords.
Never thought I'd say this, but assfire is right.
At some point she will be kicked? Right Tyler? anyone?
STFU
I would suggest any conflict would be Urban/Rural...
Urban tend to be the entitlement crowd (not all, of course).
Rural tend to be the I will fend for myself, family, friends and neighbors.
It will be more along the lines of have resources vs. trapped in cities during time of broken supply chain/no supply. Generally speaking, rural places allow one to gather resources in a bit more inconspicuous manner and avoid interaction with other humans... which in those type of times are to be avoided at all costs... (too many trials and your card will get pulled). You will go into a general town to interact with others... even if it's effectively a flea market.
Think about how scary that would be for someone from new york city to try and lay claim to land in the ozarks... not gon do it.
Millennial, I rather doubt you've been to CA recently, if ever. Most of Southern California is a wreck, dominated by gangs and other effluent. Only the wealthiest areas have been spared. Northern CA, ex Silicon Valley, has its problems as well; again, mainly gang and drug-caused. A few agricultural areas in the interior have resisted this, but many are pocked with gangs as well. The state is going to hell in a handbasket--but you are correct in this, it has been mainly blue for generations. So has the rest of the Pacific coast, and both Oregon and Washington are experiencing social problems of severe magnitude. So I think you need to restate your paradigm: It's not a Northeast vs. the rest of the country problem, it's a North/Middle Atlantic/Upper Midwest/Pacific Coast vs. the rest of the country problem (let's not forget Chicago, please)...I feel your pain about Michigan, but the decisions that led to the demise of that formerly great state began 65 years ago.
love you, Puckles!
One incontrovertible fact is that N. California is far as it can be away from the Right Coast and all the over- and under-baked controllers.
I would say you've got it backwards. The inland valley cities are the hell holes right now, anywhere within 30 miles of the coast is just fine. Not saying that can't change, but you couldn't pay me enough to live inland right now
compare Modesto with say, San Diego or the Bay
Puckles:
I agree with you. There's a "Zone Of Sanity" running in this country, which basically runs form Texas to North Dakota North to South, and from the west bank of the Mississippi on the East to the CA OR WA border in the West.
On the basis of these mid-western and western states a new Nation could be formed.
Oh sure, you've got your exceptions, among them New Mexico and Minnesota - two disloyal, blue states. But NM could be given back to Mexico as a peace offering, and MN would no doubt choose to affiliate with Canada by plebiscite.
Cali- sell it to the Chinese and let them deal with the immigration issue. I'm sure LOs Migrantes will happily deal with the Public Security Bureau on that one. Oregon and Washington - take over by conquest and send the tree huggers south to the Democratic People's Republic of California.
If anything, Chinese know how to deal with dissidents.
The Northeast, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the rest? The voted Democratic and socialist - let 'em rot. They'll eventually petition to join the EU anyway.
Long Live the New Texas Republic!
Long live the NTR!
And also long live the Hudson Valley of NY, which it seems many folks here seem to dismiss out of hand. This may be prejudice, or ignorance, or maybe it's just local (pick your locality -- so far in this thread alone we have TX & MI dissing my home region) chauvinism. Whatever it is, I respectfully submit that -- in the same way the Dem vs. Repub thinking is unhelpful -- slapping labels on various regions is a waste of time.
Methinks most of the folks here in these fora would be pleasantly surprised by what all is going on in my hometown/region. Forward thinking, smart downsizing, localizing. One can be live-and-let-live / he ain't heavy he's my brother (sister) and still own a shotgun and have PMs and stored food and be organizing one's community like a MoFo.
Let go of the binary thinking folks. I know it takes extra cranial effort, but (for the most part) we're all smarties here and have the mental BTUs to burn.
After all, if there's a massive crash, then I'll be wanting to trade the things I make in upstate NY for what ya'll are making in Michigan. It's just a coupla (reeealllly loooong) canoe/kayak/sailboat rides away.
Viva! -- Sager
Yes, there are pockets of value everywhere... the problem is what happens when the boundaries get drawn and you're stuck in a new region that retards all your positive efforts? (e.g. the country as a whole at this point). Kind of like the result of a cow eating a diamond... a pile of shit with a diamond in the middle. You'll suffer at the hands of the same battle that repeats over and over and over... capitalists versus their subjects... they/we will ride your coattails into the ground. You need to clean the shit off yourself and go hop in the diamond pile. My guess is that you will have a much better chance at getting a fair shake west of the mississippi and east of the rockies.
Actually, Oregon and Washington EAST of the Cascades is pretty much in line with the rest of "flyover" country attitude-wise, once you get over the hump of the Cascades it descends to statist hell...yup, descends in all ways (beautiful country though). Those states can be split at that natural border.
F*CK the NTR!
You can have this Sh*thole of a once marginally decent nation state. I'd rather move to Central America/South America/ Pacific islands than stay here in the next several years.
please let us know your new address. I've always laughed at the hollywood crowd: "If W is re-elected, I'm moving to <fill in the country here>."
Anyone who really has those sentiments doesn't say anything, they just go.
- Ned
"Anyone who really has those sentiments doesn't say anything, they just go."
Actually, I have been researching a relocation for several years now. Saying nothing would not be helpful to anyone arriving at the same conclusions regarding the seemingly imminent collapse of the American State and its (perceived) freedoms granted to individuals. Wouldn't you like to know of a good alternate to the possible destruction of your way of life as you know it? I would. And so I speak.
Screw the IMF, and the Globalists.....give the power back to Congress.
And OUTLAW any contributions for re-election except from private citizens,and a limit on the amount.
We have to get back to a Republican form of Democracy.
We MUST have a Con Con, this LIFETIME appt shit for SCOTUS is fkd.
Sorry bstds do not INTERPRET what the Founders meant & apply the Const, they apply THEIR views of it.
NO MORE.
our founding fathers lead us here... they are not to be blindly followed... glaring inconsistencies abound... and we're no longer interested in doing as people say, not as they do.
The perfect system they designed caved like a crying baby given a tit. So will the system we design. They are not worthy of worship... They knew a great deal and had many solid suggestions, but were men the same... and destined for failure.
I hope we find an answer before we shit the bed.
No Con Con.
See above: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/elites-have-lost-right-rule#comment-549387
Maybe failure is the plan. A proud and powerful nation will not release its control easily. A crumbling bankrupt shell of its former self may just be desperate enough to allow the globalists to move in and setup full control.
Control over the money is not proving to be enough. They want more.
Last thing I want is the IMF, UN, or other idiotic group in control of my rules, laws, and regulations.
The U.S. is the U.N. and I.M.F. Globalist is just another round about term for the U.S. China has and will continue to flip the bird. In this sense, the "globalists" already have control of the U.S....
Collapse is inevitable and has been from the start. The reason why austerity and other measures will be attempted is to continue the looting, not to stave off collapse... Once collapse occurs, the wealth gap will be put to its intended use, unmasked control.
They're not globalists per se, they're just people with capital looking for return. If that takes them to a foreign land, fine... but for now, they feast on the largest cow (us).
Wall Street is a dying business model. They serve no utility to society if they are not aiding investors ethically on how to invest wisely. They are doing the exact opposite. The Fed is certainly fighting for it's survival and I have said for the past year they and the banking elites will do anything in their power to counteract the anger towards them but they have reached a point where it is so evident all the secrecy in the world only compound the case that they are operating as an illegal institution using the American taxpayer as a source of cash under the guise of a false Federal edict that was created by bankers themselves in 1913 along with the income tax structure.
The political landscape has altered drastically. More are seeing through the Red & Blue and want the government out of their lives because they have been impoverishing us and there is no possible defense for their burderning of taxpayers with debt while they enrich themselves like selfish parasites. This nation is too special to allow this. In 2009 the banks had short squeezes..now they got nothing but reality staring them straight in the face.
Back below 10k by today or Monday.
+1
Looking back a few years, it's absolutely insane that 40% of GDP would be related to the financial services industry. They are necessary to have fluid capital markets -- absolutely essential -- but they are overhead. 40% of GDP as overhead is insane, as has been asserted by even people *inside* that industry, like Jack Bogle (head of Vanguard).
For the most part, people do not yet understand that these job losses on Wall Street are permanant -- they aren't coming back. These job losses in the mortgage industry are permanant -- they aren't coming back.
We will always have need for mortgage underwriters and fund managers, but not at the previous bubble levels. When you add in a generation of retail investor mistrust (like after the previous Great Depression), we're talking about something as dramatic as a 80-90% permanent loss from those financial jobs.
This is nothing to cry over -- shifting that much parasitic overhead to other productive activities is incredibly beneficial to society.
And those other productive activities are? I don't know how many people are employed in the 40% GDP sector but if half of them were to lose their jobs what would become of them?
My guess is most of those quants entering the financial markets for employment 30 years ago recognized then that industrial jobs would no longer be the growth industry it was in the 40s 50s 60s. A new 'industry' had to be invented and the financial one was born.
What could possibly replace the ponzi scheme that has been erected? We haven't the Wozniaks, Jobs, Gates, Ellisons in sufficient quantity or talent or creativity apparently to invent industries that will utilize the energies of tens of millions of people.
It appears the financial industry was born of desperation.
Bingo. We've always had a knack for finding a stick save industry or invention, but what happens when we suppress the creative environment and/or we suffer at the hands of the macro environment in contraction? In other words, we always leap frog until we don't. If you put yourself in harm's way enough, eventually your card will get pulled.
Just what, pray tell, do you envisage the original Wall Street business model to be? Surely not what it is today, a bankster-controlled looting agency. Wall Street used to exist to enable legitimate businesses (that wanted to expand seriously) a means of finding funding. That was its primary purpose--not advising the sorry public on investing-- and yes, the investment banks made money from it, but it was never the free-for-all it is today.
I'll give you a challenge. It's called the tombstone test. Count the number of tombstone ads in the Wall Street Journal over the past three years vs. the number in ANY year of the Sixties-Eighties. That will give you a rough measure of just how well Wall Street has been meeting its original purpose for the past twenty years. Indeed, they have been so few, especially in this century, that I rather doubt many of you would recognize one if you saw one.
Yes, the original model for Wall Street was a bankster-controlled looting agency. Wall Street is a wealth transfer mechanism. Always has been, always will be.
The original model was as a "gentleman's club" to exchange pieces of ownership (claims on future profits) to speculate, invest, and offset risk.
Wall Street's legitimate function is for liquid capital markets. Analysis (in theory) would make capital available for sound, productive endeavors.
No, it doesn't do that now. In fact, it does the *opposite* of that (ensuring capital is siphoned from productive efforts, and re-directed to stupid efforts).
However, fluid capital markets are essential: I want to start a car manufacturing company. Many billions in startup capital would be required, which is absolutely essential to get started. In this case, the capital markets could actually give me many billions of dollars to build my first car before I had my first sale.
When the "poor" cannot access capital in this manner, they are slaves. Capital markets enable a poor man with a great idea to deliver new products and services, and both he and society are now richer.
Been there, done it. One hour past the Titanic hitting the iceberg. The band still plays on.
Fall planting:
Yup yup. All those are good for stews and soups on winter days. And if you laid up some wheat berries, by golly you'll have dumplings in your stew even if the market shelves are bare.
Can't happen here, they say. Yes it can.
+1 Sounds Tasty
Forsake the Brussels Sprouts. Embrace Acorn squash
Fall planting:
I was at the hardware store today and they were selling off seed packs for a nickel each. So I bought them out, about 200 packs. There were carrots and parsnips in the mix. I'll have to think about fall planting, never tried it. I do raise collard greens which are biennial and will start putting on leaves in winter just after the worst of the cold.
Crock
Planting today. In so. Calif. and putting in some additional tomatos, beans, beets and cabbages.
And the longuer he waits, the more dangerous it gets. I've been saying this for a year now.
And now that this is hitting the media, it's going to hit momentum.
Tik Tak Tok Baby Ben!
Media outlets spreading the all clear are diminishing in ratings and stature. Whether our crowd is right or wrong is irrelivant as we are becoming more popular and loud.
It doesnt take a rocket scientist to distrust the current administration.
"...The Fed will be gone anyway within a few years in my opinion but it’s going to fight hard to survive and if you want to make money in this market you need to understand that. The most powerful institution in the world is fighting for its survival. Never forget that....."
Yes.... and the Fed is going to fight to the last American sucker....
Revolutions do not evolve in a vacuum.... The American culture is prone to violence..... Americans are vindictive and when the time comes, there will be nowhere in the planet that the pop cultural "elite" can hide.... They will be hunted down like rabid animals, wherever they are, and humiliated in a most undignified manner prior to being put to death.
IT IS WRITTEN.....
Ciao,
Econolicious
We are prone to seeking justice, not violence. Otherwise Bernie Madeoff would be dead.
However, once people realize the Federal Reserve is Bernie Madeoff times one trillion...well it will be interesting.
No... you are wrong.... the American culture is prone to violence, if the American culture were prone to seeking justice, Madoff would be dead and so would Fuld, Rubin, Gramm, Dodd, et al....
Best regards,
Econolicious
I don't think you're an American, sorry.
We are a Christian nation. To quote our father in heaven "vengeance is mine saith the lord".
"We are a Christian nation."
no, we aren't - people like you are a BIG part of the problem - some fuck-tard like W claims to be born again and you sheep run out and blindly support him
it's so obvious to us that aren't brainwashed with religious mumbo-jumbo: as a politician in America you gain 30% of the vote by claiming to be Christian - what intelligent, self-centered politician WOULDN'T claim to be Christian in that environment?
are you aware that there are at least 14 myths on this planet that parallel the Jusus Christ Lord and Savior BS almost to the letter?
This country WAS formed by Christian principals, that are being thrown out the window by people who don't/won't see if for was intended to be. Without the principals we started with coming back to the main stream, we will have many more fuck-tards coming into office. Last election I voted for Ron Paul (a believer), and not for those other two clowns allegedly running on different platforms.
The FF had every opportunity to put the words "Christ" or "Christian" into the Constitution/BoR, but they didn't. If anything, these words are conspicious by their EXCLUSION.
The USA is secular, period. Religion has no place in politics or public policy. Your god belongs in your home and in your church and in you heart. Nobody has the right to impose their god from a postion of power or privilege. You would not tolerate some public official shoving their god down your throat, and you would be right to be offended.
I'm an atheist, too, but there's no need to be insulting.
The Zeitgeist propoganda is rubbish. There is no similarity between Horus/Krishna or other with Jesus Christ.
Read some comparative mythology, especially Joseph Campbell. There are many, many similarities and parallels among many of the world's myths and religions.
Joseph Campbell power of myth really really helped me go forward in life and believe in my
F R E E W I L L as a human beings. loved the stories and analogies. boy he was a beautiful soul. thanks apocalypse now for your great post @ 02:30 ..... morning. your thinking and explaining while i dream, i think?
ahhhh, the "we need a man" verbiage you posted above, now it makes sense.
have fun with your apocalypse hun.
Hand over the vengeance or Imma kick you in balls buddy. LOL
If the time comes.
But to pretend America is violent by nature or not a Christian nation is wrong.
you would do well to read some primary sourced history of this nationstate JLee, and not revised versions of "history". . .
the model for religion is so similar to "nations" though, so I can understand your finding the line between the two blurry. . . both need to be "believed" in to exist, meaning they exist in minds, and inevitably have father-figures at the top to tell the flock what to do / think, to appeal for money / tithes, offering blessings / protection, and of course, there's the feeling of inherent specialness for "believing" which is definitely an amrkn trait.
also, as soon as the believer is "enlightened" the whole myth dis-appears, and reality gets very very clear.
+1, there is religion, and then there is spirituality, and there is a difference. The priests argue dogma, the monks find common experiences.
There is the America of the Constitution and Bill of Rights (spiritual), then there is the religion of America...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M
Junk away, mes freres et mes soeurs...:)
edit--actually, you can insert [country, state, religion, group] for America is the above statement
How'd that whole genocide against the Red Man go?
Violent - mmm.. yep!
Ya christians aren't violent.
Well except for that whole holy war thing.
Oh and that spanish inquistion thing.
In a 2008 study of U.S. military members it was found that members of the military are less likely to be Christian than the general U.S. population.
The US general population is currently 80% Christian, while, according to the study, the military services (combined) are about 77% Christian. It's still a large majority, though.
About 22 percent of the military claim "no religion/secular", 77% are Christian of various faiths, and about 1 percent is made up of other religions, such as Jewish, Wiccan, Hindu and Muslim.
A large reason for this is because fewer young adults are Christian/religious than older generations, and men (the majority of the military) are less likely to be Christian than women.
I'm so glad the military isn't a violent organization.
I can keep going if you want and since cheeky isn't here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gifEn61dZBc
YOU believe in fantasies. WE do not necessarily agree.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXmNpdYpfnk
Get all the cows into a passive SP500 fund.....
Get all the cows into WalMart....
Move rates to 0% for savings....and get all the cows
to bail out the Fed......
Get all the cows to think that the ELECTIONS represent democracy....
Get all the cows to bow down to the legal largesse of big interest lobbyist groups....
Get all the cows in front of bIg business BOOB tube media....
Get more and more non-thinking COWS....
GET AND OWN ALL OF THE COWS AND THE GRASS THEY EAT....
get all the cows to eat GMO corn in feedlots.
get all the cows to drink the fluoridated water.
yeah, I'm seeing where you're going. . . *wink*
buy all dips in precious metals, agriculture and oil.
Since TPTB appear to be supressing the value of precious metals, I would agree that buying the dips may be wise. Oil, on the other hand, appears to be propped up and in an economic downturn may not do as well as you think. Agriculture? Well, everyone has to eat.
I have a problem with the OIL, and Agriculture.............
Unless there's another way, I see no way to participate in either, without PAPER..............how do you reap benefits, and from whom, if the system is gone.
Good one. We don't need no paper wheat. But we don't have real choice other than to farm.
I am invested in paper agri via my IRA, but it is something I have already mentally forfeited - since there is a chance Govt can convert them to annuity.
Google "CSA". You do have a choice.
It may not be a pure investment play or trade, but its impact is real. Every dime you spend in Safeway/Kroger/Albertson's/Food Lion support the 'paper' Ag charade. And thus, if you do not want to play the paper Ag game, then you need to "walk the walk" and start making changes in your life. Anything less makes you a hypocrite, imo.
There are CSA's and farmer's markets' everywhere and they are spreading... sources of real food and sustainable agriculture outnumber old tired excuses.
Cancer & Desperation of QE2
Aug 27 2010
"The urgency of the QE2 Launch will be made quite clear by the leaders occupying positions of power, after they digest the latest housing data. The July existing housing sales fell by 27.2% in a single month. The July new home sales fell by 12.4% in concert.
Let me make a paradoxical point: THE UNITED STATES WILL BEGIN A RECOVERY WHEN THE TOO BIG TO FAIL BANKS ARE PLOWED UNDER. They are blocking remedy and restructure. They are resisting liquidation of badly impaired assets. They do not lend money, as their credit engines are broken, since they are dead entities that occupy space in the US financial sector. They cast large long shadows. Their removal from the scene of the credit machinery would surely light a fuse of credit derivative accidents, the likes of which the world has never seen."
http://www.kitco.com/ind/willie/aug272010.html
Ammo Bitchez!
http://www.nssfblog.com/epa-considering-ban-on-traditional-ammunition-take-action-now/
Or like Bill Gross says; buy what the government is buying
http://www.winchester.com/library/news/Pages/Winchester-Awarded-Contract.aspx
"I do not have a clear window into the highest levels of power in many areas such as the military or the intelligence community but I do have a very good understanding of it when it comes to the financial system and the economy."
I'm glad you think so.
I confess;
went to elite prep school, top Ivy undergrad/grad; Oxbridge post-grad---top of huge IB
also got out when the firms went public and everything changed
I never thought my people could become this greedy, corrupt, venal...
I'm shocked and clueless as to where it all ends up.
I keep thinking of Russia in 1917, France in 1789.
People are buying refuges in Switzerland, friendly central American countries, just in case.
They'll be just fine. Live like kings forever. This whole thing ends up with the aristocracy MORE entrenched, not less. The price will be any remaining faith in American democracy.
Westerners make the mistake of believing that democracy is somehow the natural order of things. ("If we just knock out Saddam, freedom will sprout like wildflowers!")
Democracy is incredibly fragile and hard to maintain. The constants of history are autocracy, oppression and corruption, not Western-style democracy.
All true.
And you know what? Most people won't even miss democracy when it's gone. For one thing, most never participated nor understood what was going on. And of those that did, they participated in something more closely resembling a corporatist state than anything Jefferson or his fellows imagined or would have recognized.
The tree of democracy was cut off at the roots a while back. Not sure it matters right now which way the dead trunk falls. It's going to fall for sure, thank the SCOTUS for that. I guess the only plan is to stay clear and then keep moving.
The neat part is that the productive (and thieves) don't necessarily have productive nor capable children. And, always, eventually cede control to collective bargaining [and then feed us enough rope to hang ourselves (credit and instruments of credit) or manually pick us off (governmental/regulatory capture) or a combination of both]. So cheer up, change will be here before you know it... I just hope our calloused hands and crooked backs can hold out til then.
"I guess the only plan is to stay clear and then keep moving."
+++++
+100, I always appreciate your commentary, and so does my cat Trogdor (though the other cat, Kali, doesn't like uncertainity, she had a hard life before we rescued her, so she doesn't want to remember her hungry days...:)
Think you nailed the sad reality there, fella.
As one who has lived most of the past 30 years in Asia, I am forever puzzled yet fascinated by the cultural differences. While both the democratic West and barely democratic East both have their elites, in Asia governments are merely monarchies with a thin and false veneer of democracy spread on top, unless they actually do remain monarchies (I include communist and junta-type countries as monarchies, plus Singapore, which barely makes any pretense that it is not a monarchy). Monarchs get away with a lot, though there are exceptions (1789 France). Perhaps it is the Confucian influence, but from what I have observed, respect for power and money is granted no matter the means used to achieve it, as if some divine hand played a role. Ruthless dictators, druglords, woefully corrupt elected officials (Roh of South Korea took over $750 million in bribes during his tenure) all gain the respect of the majority of the populace. Perfect example is Mao, whose bloated mug still graces China's currency.
The same human need that creates gods also evidences itself in the need for autocratic leaders who impose some sort of order---even a malevolent one---on a confusing and arbitrary Universe. It's order out of chaos, even if the order is a little nasty. Maybe democracy is evolution, or maybe it is going against human nature; I'm not sure which. I do believe, however, that even if democracy is a step forward, the human race is about to take a step back and universally reacquaint itself with the notion of absolute rule. For reasons I can never quite fathom, it seems to work pretty well for society as a whole in Asia, though on an individual level it has its drawbacks.
As one who has lived most of the past 30 years in Asia
I knew it, a charlatan is what you are. And you have balls to come in here and call Americans "chickenhawks" while you hide with Asian whores.
I knew it was you, Mr. Chickenhawk. I have been waiting for your answer as to why you opted out of fighting in the war you supported, claiming your age was a factor. I remind you again that people older than you have given their lives in Iraq, so your failure to man up and put your body where your mouth is is proof positive that you are as I said, a chickenhawk. And let me remind you again there are no generational exceptions granted by the Armed Forces, so what any member of your family has done or will do confers any kudos on you whatsoever.
And what might I have been "hiding" from in Asia, which as you might not know is a very large continent embracing lands from the Middle East to the Pacific? Do you mean while you were bravely defending America in your Maryland coinshop, as in "better to fight them in Maryland so we don't have to fight them in DC"?
I see today you add both sexism and racism to your CV. There are many women in Asia who would take exception to your callous remark about whores in this part of the world. And where do your "Christian Principles" grant you entitlement to cast aspersions?
I owe you no justification.
But you do owe to tell the truth, the truth that you hate America, and everything she stands for. Fess up, or run like the yellow name-caller you are.
nice JLee, nice. . . you got that religious "madonna /whore" meme down pat, doncha fella?
I do. And I need no guidance from you.
wow.....just....wow.
I may not agree with everything chindit13 proffers, but, he is consistant as far as I can tell, and does make me think, or, re-think.
I sincerely wish I could have the same opinion of your commentary, but I haven't had the opportunity...I will wait for you to allow that to happen.
It's obvious he lacks love for America and hates her from afar. That is all you need to know.
All of your postings are merely frantic and desperate attempts to cloud the underlying and undeniable issue: you are a Chickenhawk. Your flimsy excuse about your age rings hollow and suggests cowardice in addition to hypocrisy. Just to remind you, people older than you have given their lives in the Iraq War. You simply lacked the courage or the real commitment to put your body where your mouth is. You wanted a war to make you feel like the man you are not, while sacrificing absolutely nothing personally, and giving nary a care for the hundreds of thousands of innocent lives disrupted or destroyed. Typical Chickenhawk. Typical of a vocal segment of the holier-than-thou Born Agains, who become rabid when given the chance to slaughter non-whites. Same as Cheney, who---once elected VP---spoke incessantly about all the misdeeds of Saddam, though none of these bothered Cheney while he ran Haliburton and did more business with Saddam than any other US company---right up until the election. You know the man...the five deferment Cheney.
In your ongoing attempts to deflect attention from your failure of nerve, you have also shown yourself to be a racist ("Asian whores") and sexist ("need a man in leadership position"). Your unsophisticated and strident religious views ("God's Laws"...does this mean shari'a?) show you to be the Christian equivalent of Osama bin Laden (missing the real point of faith and your particular religion). The main and significant difference between you and the despicable bin Laden, however, is that he is no Chickenhawk. He stood up to the Soviet occupation, rather than championing the mujahideen resistance from a safe distance.
That you know nothing about real patriotism, and instead adopt Ann Coulter-type drivel about "hating America", shows that for you there is absolutely no redemption. You are not even in the nascent stages of understanding the ideals and principles upon which the US is based. I would guess your demonstration of faith is equally as spurious and think Christianity means telling everyone else what their sins are while ignoring your own. That supercilious approach got Jerry Falwell, who never took time from his anti-everybody rants to notice one of the Seven Deadly's (gluttony) was going to send him to that same blazing Hell to which he spent a life condemning others. A warning to others, perhaps?
Learn real charity, learn real patience, learn real understanding, learn what the championing of the basic rights of every single man, woman and child on this Earth means, learn about governing for the maximum good, learn about the system of checks and balances that includes the citizens' right to speak freely...and you might begin to understand the principles upon which the US, as well as the many faiths practiced by good people on this planet, are all about. You might learn that America is a goal, a work in progress, whose journey should never end.
I doubt you have the capability, however, instead falling to false dogma and silly chest beating where you pretend to be something you are not. It was you who initiated this ongoing debate in one of last week's articles, after you misread and misunderstood a comment I made in response to that article. You have not distinguished yourself in the meantime, and in fact have exposed the weakest parts of your character, of which there seem to be many. I often wonder if you actually know you are on ZeroHedge and not some Conservative Christian Coalition blog. ZH exists to point out and expose the weaknesses and failings of a system that is supposed to be transparent, democratic, fair, regulated and reformed as necessary. Usually it focuses on finance, but it never fears to stray toward the political if that is where the system needs exposing. By your flimsy definition it probably defines America hating, though it is nothing of the sort. Perhaps you would do yourself a favor by moving on.
honestly, i think you are bullshit lately.
Good for you! I am a Chickenhawk, a racist and a sexist! Whatever, your drivel while you hide in Asia has no meaning.
But you are a coward and hate America. This is true!
> Perhaps it is the Confucian influence,
This is an extremely difficult topic.
I called my friend at Tokyo University to get an answer but apparantly, there seems to be no right answer for this.
Obviously, confucian influence (and its abuse for politics) takes a big role but in addition to that but there seems to be some different additional reasons for each country;
For China, there seems to be an history of admiration to those who were able to do difficult tasks associeted (Kakyo test)
For Japan, there is the daijyo bhuddism and Shotoku Taishi's (oftem misunderstood) idea of "Wa wo motte toutoshi to nasu".(Translates into something like "One for all is good")
For Korea, there is the idea of "han" that makes them live in anger without major revolts.
And of course, there should be plenty of other reasons that I am not aware of.....
I've often wondered about this too. I don't think there is anything particularly asian about it. China and family had Confucius, Europe and family had Plato.
Both these philosphers were just Hyenas to the lions like Chin shi Huang-di. They justified the behavior of the lions by developing theory. Frankly, I think is more healthy to accept what the lions do and act in your best interests as best as you can. Ignore the philosophers.
East Asia has individualists too, like Lao-tsu. Individualists never want or get much attention.
Freedom and democracy...HUGE difference...
Paraguay Bitchez !
The main thrust here is we have to overthrow the power of the ruling class, no Che Guevara summary executions. People in several White Houses and Congresses can be prosecuted along with the banksters. And return to the Constitution. That means sound money to start with. No Central Bank scam. Free enterprise and impartial taxation. The Loser in Chief is not the only one who can take advantage of a crisis. Mainstream America is fed up with the ruling class in both parties, Wall Street, and the ruling class media.
I like the "No executions" part. Put them in work camps in the agricultural fields of the country, there will be enough of them to be able to send all the illegals back to Mexico. It's time they did something useful in their lives.
You've put your finger on several great points
(1) the US is based largely on a militaristic understanding of power. Everything from marching bands to not stepping out of line with superiors. Not that there's anything wrong with this, but it should be recognized for what it is... largely a command and control mentality and economy
(2) Wall Street use to be a place for capital formation and legitimate deal making. It has largely now become the cesspool of elitist greed. People create financial instruments not because they serve some legitimate purpose, but in order to generate greater commissions and payouts.
I use to think that the black helicopters and cabal theories belonged to the lunatic fringe... but with what we are seeing, I'm starting to believe that there is a lot of behind the scenes work going on... to keep the system in place... and who can blame TPTB... without it (and them), we can sort of figure out what the social outcome is from world history...
George Carlin said it like it is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt49DsfKDMc&p=7DC74373713B4B6B&playnext=1...
RIP George.
my mt man, F E A R
Anyone else think the converting of MBS that "run off" to Treasuries is a coverup of the real extent of the garbage that the MBS really were? I figure the Fed just prints the money to make up for the mark to market of the MBS and converts it to Treasuries and no one knows the diff. If they didn't buy Treasuries they would have to admit the losses.
more George...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeLLR3LWtv4&feature=related
Brilliant, just like someone else i know, ZH
my delete button works on iPhone ha ha.
What is the probability that a "black market" economy will arise in the US?? Could you imagine that?!?
I'd give it about a 190 percent probability. The black market economy in mexico is already eclipsing the legitimate one.
This article is a big yawn. If Ben wants QE2, he's going to do it.
The mainstream media didn't even mention QE 1.0 on the nightly news, and they aren't going to do it now. Even if they did, it's going to be so confusing to the average joe ("monetization of mortgage-backed assets through open market operations") that he's going to tune out.
Even Glenn Beck and the Tea Partiers have no idea what QE 1.0 was.
I must repeat my earlier comment:
Gold is the exit door to the trap, and Ben can't apply the bait and set the trigger until its shut.
You're right about two things:
As they say, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all the time.
There will no QE whatever after November, you can count on that. The Democrats in Congress are aware of the outrage of the American people. They didn't bail out the states, they don't have the courage. With an election looming they aren't going to do anything.
I doubt QE will happen, unless the FED goes completely Rogue with maybe a wink from Congress. Now that is a possibility.
Wouldn't be surprised if FED is long 10 million SP Futures and 10 million 30 yr Futures right now.
WHAT?? -1 for massive stupidity. How the hell did you get on zerohedge, isnt there a simple math problem you have to get past?
How's that?
First off, I think Gold Can go higher, and the government would love nothing more to bring the price down. I don't think they own a lot of it, and I can think of many reasons they would love to see the price to come down, and none of it for our benefit.
At the same time, I think downward pressure on gold prices may cause some loss of confidence in gold, and bring investors into such things as treasuries. ( and of course, the government will buy gold).
I'm sure gold and other PMs will head down at some point, but I would ignore that. Its still better than paper any day. That's why I think there's more than meets the eye, and I smell a trap.
Exactly. QE 2 is going to happen. If it means a higher stock market, So be it. The economy and the stock market are now two separate worlds. Robini, How ever the fuck you spell it says QE won't save the economy...Yes , But it makes the market go up and to the fed, that's all that matters.
It is spelled Roubini. His background is of Iranian/Jewish parentage.
I agree that QE 2 is most likely on the way - but I didn't get that as much from the Bernanke speech as I did from macroeconomic indicators (ie unemployment, gdp malaise, etc) - it seems like this article, and its subsequent postings, are much more of a forum to complain whenever the chairman of the Fed opens his mouth - which in itself is completely understandable, albeit not very useful.
I agree with you for the most part. But the public does know what a federal debt is. And they sense that somehow a lot of money is still flowing to some sectors/people, and not improving their local economy in any meaningful way.
Thank you for the most reasonable comment on board.
Don't like the "elite"? Too bad. It's called democracy and they got voted in. Don't like democracy? Then you are a part of the problem.
Quit whining.
Don't like democracy? Then you are a part of the problem.
I am a sovereign individual and it irks me when half of everything I earn is confiscated by the government due to popular demand. That makes me a bad, bad person.
Everybody hates getting screwed by the government. Except those addicted to the handouts.
This is a democracy. Rule of the majority. As bad as it is, it is better than anything else. So... voters put this filth in office, and voters deserve everything they are going to get. Or if you are Bush you can move to a ranch in Bolivia.
This is a democracy. Rule of the majority.
It's supposed to be a republic. Rule of law.
And so we split hairs. The term can be applied to any system with an electoral process.
Do you have a point beyond anger that your tax dollars are parted from your wallet?
Split hairs? There is a huge difference between majority rule and constitutional rule. Do you believe that you have an absolute right to free speech by virtue of law or do you believe that you can lose that right if enough people vote for you to lose it?
This is not a matter of semantics.
Do I sense some degree of contempt for the taxpayer who dislikes being ripped off? Suppose I took half of everything you earn, better yet, suppose I convinced a majority to vote for making you my slave. Would that anger you?
Here we go, riding off on the bullshit trail. I have no problem with free speech, but what does that have to do with your republic/democracy tangent?
Well that sure as hell happen here in our fine democracy a while ago didn't it? I seem to remember somethign about a civil war...
I grew up on a farm and probably worked more in my first 15 years than you have in your whole life. I worked my way through college. I may have paid more in taxes than you. I assure you I've paid my share. Beyond what I just told you, you don't know jack about me. What I sense is how dumb this conversation has become. Good luck.