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Ron Paul To Hold Hearing On CPI Lies And Fed Inflation Creation; Jim Grant To Tesify
This will be fun:
Congressman
Ron Paul, Chairman of the Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology
subcommittee, announced that the subcommittee will hold a hearing to
examine the relationship between monetary policy and rising prices (with
a particular focus on food and energy prices).
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 17th at 10:00 AM, in room 2128 of the Rayburn House office building.
“It is
unconscionable that published government statistics mislead Americans
regarding the true rate of price inflation, which is much higher than
commonly-reported CPI numbers,” Paul stated. “It is also unconscionable
that Federal Reserve Bank officials continue to deny the effects of
their monetary expansion on consumer prices. Inflation, properly understood, is a monetary phenomenon. The
price inflation Americans suffer today is largely the direct result of
relentless monetary expansion by the Federal Reserve over the past
decade. Our witnesses will explore how current
monetary policy, including QE2, directly impacts the standard of living
of Americans in ways that are not reflected in official government
data.”
Congressman
Walter Jones, vice chairman of the subcommittee, stated, “The Fed has
attempted to convince the public that its money printing campaign is
necessary to stimulate America’s economic recovery. Instead
of recovery, the real effect of the Fed’s money printing has been
monetization of America’s exploding fiscal deficits, devaluation of the
dollar, and creation of inflation in asset prices across the board. As
a result, working people in places like Eastern North Carolina are
being squeezed at the gas pump and the grocery store as they struggle to
make ends meet in a world in which their salaries have no chance of
keeping up with Mr. Bernanke’s printing presses.”
Scheduled to testify are:
Prof. Joseph Salerno, Chair of the Economics Graduate Program at Pace University
James Grant, Noted commentator and publisher of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer
Lewis Lehrman, Author, investment banker a
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great theatre
just the safety vent
just like the euro - can they do 13925 AH?
The Federal Reserve Corporation is the root cause of all our war and monetary problems throughout history.
The owners of the Fed were also making very good money off the Civil War they were involved in.
let the fireworks begin ....makes a change from 3 years of sweeping everything under the rug and pretending "We Can Handle This.... All is Well"
The is precisely why they activated the HAARP weapon system. They can easily end QE now. Repeat after me (marching):
"WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' Q-EEEE -- HAARP IS WHAT YOU NEED"
"HAARP IS WHAT YOU NEED"
"WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' Q-EEEE -- HAARP IS WHAT YOU NEED"
"HAARP IS WHAT YOU NEED"
Now you know why there are so many dead fish & dead birds around the world, all with internal organ damage.
song (countryish, bum, buh-bum, buh-bum)....
verse:
we're trying to inflate, it's another retake
the bernake's in a corner, while (sentor) Paul's enraged
the QE they say, it's a gotta go
can't wait for the next thing to blow
chorus:
they say we're in a fix...
just a runnin' out of tricks
oh lord, what to do?
please give us all a clue
(pause, deep country voice)
try HAARP -- it's a better tool...
bum, buh-bum, buh-bum
If a fellow wanted some information or documentation on the potentials and mechanics of HAARP, where might he click?
(link shit that proves HAARP conspiracy here)
PS: I believe it already. What a nightmare.
Nah. This news belongs on:
www.zerohedge.xxx
This is like great sex between this story and the BoA bomb to be dropped tonight. I need a cig.....
Let us hope this is not another Assange case of BofA B.S.
Even a fool like Paul can be useful. Ah, the consequences of one's own actions can be used to bring about some good. Still, though, Ron Paul as some good ideas.
Wish I could be there.
cake will be served
and green beer...it is after all St. Patricks day.
I'm waiting for the crock of gold speech to mask the crock of shit in the corner.
...and the pot of gold that was at the other end of that rainbow is actually a pot of sh!t.
classic
Ron Paul and Jim Grant!
Two of my favorite people.
Where is John Williams?
He is the best on this topic.
Go get em guys!
John Williams, plus whoever runs that MIT million price project, or whatever it is called.
Give 'em the Austrian School of Economics shaft Salerno, good luck to you.
Dont forget Salerno. Great Von Mises commentator
William Black would be a good addition.
sad part is the owners dont give a shit
how about a no-fly zone over the JP Morgue building so the Bernank can't drop any money from his helicopter.
Of course that would end my career
Jon, Jon, Jon....what're we gonna do with you? But - per usual - you're Jonny-on-the-spot with that one. lol
That's true Mr.Nadler, you wouldn't be able to talk shit about PMs all day without the JP Morgue making your predictions come (somewhat) true.
OT - Nate reports that Martin Armstrong has been released from prison
http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2011/03/martin-armstrong-released-from-...
wow
+100
Great news. Hope he is safe. Would like to see him here at ZeroHedge.
That would be awesome!!! That man is one of the most salient and intelligent guys I have read.......ever. Even from Prison, where he has close to zero access to media, he has accurately analyzed the machinations of banks, the government and geopolitical events with amazing prescience and clarity.
Godspeed Martin Armstrong, and I hope to see you an the idiot box, refuting the lies and inconsistencies of the bubbleheaded idiots who currently deliver our nightly newstainment.
Sonya Sotamayor helped put him away, wonder what he thinks about her being named to the Supremes.
I saw a Sotomayor reference above this one. This is the second I've seen.
How about Kagan? Harvard material. Harvard Corporation material. We all know Fat Larry, but so much other trash has come out of Harvard including W, Poppy Bush (I know he graduated Yale in 3 years right after ww2 but I mean CIA Poppy Bush is intimately involved in the corruption of the Harvard corp), Enron and so many other Davos / CFR trash. Harvard is fake. Harvard is as legitimate as AIG.
I wonder if one could literally incriminate all of the judges in conspiracy? Hmmmmmm. I haven't even mentioned ones appointed by Republican Presidents.
(open invite to anyone to link shit that proves most, any, or all Justices are corrupt)
+ 1000 Miss E!
Imagine what he'll be producing with a staff, computers and references (net, library)!
Dont get your hopes up. He probably loves big brother now.......
Doubtful, but I'm sure he is looking over his shoulder.
This is nice to hear. Certainly wish him well.
Indeed. Good news are far to rare these days, glad to hear he is out
Wow that is awesome. And whomever said they would like to see him here I am sure Tyler will post his stuff. Kind of amazed really that he hadn't posted some of his prison stuff. Eager to hear what MA has to say, if the First Amendment still applies to him.
As Jackie the Jokeman used to say to Andrew Dice Clay........
Ah, ah ah ah ah ah AAAHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very much looking forward to the conclusions from that hearing .
Ron Paul = Morphius or Oracle?
Definitely Morphius. He has been trying to wake people up for a long time.
But you have to find him.
Just like you find Faber, Schiff, Rothbard, Mises.
We live in a prison, a prison for your wallet.
I'm relieved to finally see these names written in the comments of ZH's posts amongst all the statist, unionist "Unions are the lifeblood of the middle class!!" talk.
You just haven't been reading the comments here long enough then. Fear not, you'll see them mentioned more.
Some people make a serious, complete analysis of the banker-gangsters.
And then there are the fake critics who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those very same banker-gangsters in the assault on bus drivers and librarians.
well, excuse me, but...i mean, the point of all of this is to ensure that the masters -- JPM, GS, and BofA -- stay solvent, create multigenerational wealth for the management, and ...basically rape the peasantry blind, deaf, and dumb...
didn't ron get the memo?
Arthur: I am your king!
Woman: Well I didn't vote for you!
Arthur: You don't vote for kings.
Woman: Well how'd you become king then?
Maybe a watery tart throwing cutlery about is a valid political system, after all. Couldn't produce worse results than ours.
And don't forget that Arthur gets taken away by the police at the end of Holy Grail.
Salerno, huh? That'll be a hoot. Sooo, no Keynsian pin heads? The NYT and our information guardians will be quite upset. Expect the hearings to get no airtime while the TeeeVeeee readers trot out lunatics like Krugman to straw man things.
Well, at least it will get into the congang record.
If Ron Paul turns out to be a "distraction" i will be fresh out of heroes...
What's the over/under on the number of questions ZeroHedge's geriatric Bircher gets in this time after slobbering all over his microphone?
I say 2.
It sure is amazing that the US markets can go up on a day like today:
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/world-indexes/
Japan market down big. China market down big. European markets down. News of massive quake and destruction in Japan (the 3rd largest national economy in the world). Ongoing chaos in MENA.
... and the US markets do a low volume meltup.
No manipulation here. All is well. BTFD.
goddam The Ben Bernank.
THE AMAZING PART IS THERE WAS NO POMO TODAY wink wink
well someone propped up the euro and dropped the buck
Yen explains the buck.
not all of it
But US equities fell prior to this week's 10- and 30- year T auctions. Maybe Bernanke & Co is transferring the air bubble from equities to Treasuries. If equities markets are down, wouldn't funds go into US Treasuries? At least that was my theory for this past week.
FOMC results out Tuesday...Monday, DC's TPINO (tea party in name only) caucus turns up the rhetoric over cutting a measly $100 billion from Obamacare. The Fed wants massive deficits and has to prove bond markets can handle it. So, will equities continue downward to push bond prices up?
Stocks are up because now we get to rebuild Japan.
C'mon, guys. You seriously have to brush up on your DoubleSpeak here.
Good thing our politicians are so intelligent and keep a rainy day fund for just such an occasion.
Cool , more people talking. Any idea when we will see people doing?
+1
You'll hear large calibre gunfire and see a lot of smoke when it does. Probably sometime in 2013 when the soup and bread lines run out of food.
Like what ? Political action ? Give me a break, this is a war of ideas
ZH, Ron Paul is doing a great job @ spreading an information that can help people reaching rational conclusions.
Ron 'John Birch Society' Paul is doing a great job of diverting attention from a serious political attack on the two-party system.
He's the Republican Kucinich.
No. This is nothing but a show just to get us sheeple informed to whats going on. Nothing more. Nothing will be done. Most of these so called hearings usually have 4 or less people in the chamber to make it look like there is actual shit going on.
expect that day to be full of news stories about "triumph in the face of tragedy in Japan" and lots and lots of Charlie Sheen.
Charlie is going on the road with the torpedoes of truth show........
Jim Grant to testify. Oh,that I have to watch. That should be good. Will the Bernank be there. lol
Bring it on!
Like a good Prosecutor laying the groundwork for the masses for the eventual overthrow
Or politico CYA
Last hearing Dr Paul was a bit of a letdown. If I had Shalom Bernank in front of me I would have done a lot more damage.
Bring it on!
Jim Grant to testify. Oh,that I have to watch. That should be good. Will the Bernank be there. lol
timmy and ben should be sitting up front
Please folks, the conversation has already been conducted. This is a re-run.
Go back to ancient history. Go back to Louis McFadden.
After four poisoning attempts, he was assassinated.
This kabuki is the damage venting system enacted by the Fed's masters to capture your interest.
Hamster wheel gooes round and round, round and round, round and round.
And that dang hamster seems still to be entertained.
See, this is why I love this site. This is the first I ever heard of this, but it's opened a new avenue of internet sleuthing.
If you haven't seen this, I'd recommend downloading it and watching it...it's, at the very least, incredibly thought provoking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guXirzknYYE
Hmm, I haven't. I've watched "Zeitgeist - moving forward", which is all about a centrally planned government, "using computers to calculate needs". Exactly how this isn't communism is beyond me.
Because of that, I've resisted watching the original. I guess I should give it a chance.
^^^ BINGO! +100000x
You are exactly correct.
I smelled the rot on that "movement" right out of the gates.
Absolutely, Neo-Communist laced with eugenics.
I'll stick with the Constitution, even if no one cares about it anymore
+++
I thought the original Zeitgeist was communism before I ever saw it, just from reading the Wikipedia page.
It's probably worth watching (all of the series) once but it's probably not good taking it for gospel.
Just watching it and starting thinking in different terms than we're programmed to think by capitalist media is good enough.
the original focuses on the constitution in part three and it is strongly in support of the values and ideas within it and takes particular aim at how it has been, especially in recent times, totally subverted.
As far as the "neo-communist" remark...that sounds a lot like what we have going now doesn't it? although it might be more appropriately called neo-fascist....but nevertheless...it sure ain't a free market democracy what we have now is it?
Hooray for the Slaveholders constitution!
We need to build a wall to keep people from leaving.
I wasn't particularly fond of "Moving Forward". "Addendum" was pretty good...but the original was, in my opinion, extraordinary. It's much wider in scope than the others and far more thought provoking.
It does, however, seem to illicit violent reactions from deeply religious people...which was not an issue for me.
I personally don't mind religion, people should be allowed to believe in what they want to, but I have a major issue with movies (Moving Forward) which attempt to hide their true agenda, and brainwash you into trivial acceptance (which it does for the first 30-45 minutes).
all art has an agenda. all art has an opinion. at least all good art does.
art is not a policy that is imposed upon you. it is an idea you can either take or leave or use to arrive at your own idea. you are forced to do nothing.
"the function of art is to remind people that there is more to life than simply getting through the daily grind"
carlos santana
That's not my point. If I say to you that I vote Republican, and then give you some republican propaganda, I'm not deliberately trying to mislead you. If I, however, declare myself to be "independent", only then to push republican propaganda, THAT I have a serious problem with.
ZMF positions itself as if it's got an answer to all the ills of society, but completely fails to inform you the "solutions" have been tried time and time again, and never worked. THAT is deliberate intellectual dishonesty (or complete idiocy, pick one).
it's a film. it's just a film. in 2012 they say the world will end on 12/21/12...but we know...it's just a movie. do you think Roland Emmrich will receive hate mail on 12/22/12?
it's a film. it's about provoking thought not providing answers.
"all art has an agenda."
that's brilliant. One of my art historian professors told me that all art is propaganda. It was an ancient art history class. Not much has changed.
If you hadn't heard of senator McFadden, look up Murray Rothbard.
Oh, I know Rothbard. Got all his books. Haven't yet had time to read them all, but "Mystery of Banking" and "The Great Depression" are absolute classics.
check out jerome daly as well an the judge who ruled in his favor
http://www.dailypaul.com/87184/jerome-daly-the-man-who-humbled-the-feder...
Wow, I'm impressed.
Mystery of Banking is phenomenal and comes in handy for teaching statists the problem is not w/ the Fed's semi-private ownership structure. Public ownership makes central banking just as dangerous. It's fractional reserve banking that's the problem; the Fed removes the free market's natural limitations on fractional reserve banking which causes price distortions and inflation and later deflation.
PDF @ Mises: http://mises.org/books/mysteryofbanking.pdf
For the record, you can download all of this lectures on itunes.
Thanks, didn't know that.
Yes the intitial Zeitgeist was to build credibility before they try to judo all the supporters over into supporting eco-communism. It is a promotion as "The Daily Bell" calls it.
HG Wells "The Open Conspiracy" is a pretty good read.
If your reading about Mcfadden, check out Lindbergh too...they kidnapped his baby and called him a anti-semite...while granddaddy bush and the Warburgs were funding Hitler.
Snippet:
---
Rep. McFadden continued, "Every effort has been made by the Federal Reserve Board to conceal its power but the truth is the Federal Reserve Board has USURPED THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. IT CONTROLS EVERYTHING HERE AND IT CONTROLS ALL OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. IT MAKES AND BREAKS GOVERNMENTS AT WILL.
No man and no body of men is more entrenched in power than the arrogant credit monopoly which operates the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve banks. These evil-doers have robbed this country of more than enough money to pay the national debt. What the Government has permitted the Federal Reserve Board to steal from the people should now be restored to the people." ----- From The Federal Reserve is PRIVATELY OWNED by Thomas D. Schaufhttp://centre.telemanage.ca/links.nsf/articles/BCC271ABCF5F6136852568E000613B47
Always loved Louis T. Mcfadden's speech on the floor of Congress about the Fed - nice post...
And what do you know? The guy supported Hitler!
Le Balance
You are right history just keeps repeating. Listen to Charles Lindbergh's speech about FDR and the way we were manipulated into WWII, its eerily reminiscent of Bush's Iraq war and the war on terror.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvLL--vSsA
Dr. William Black and Jim Rickards should also be called...
Do Ron and Rand have security detail at their condo in DC?
We need a money bomb!
Protect Dr. Paul!
I wonder if the MSM will give this any attention at all.
It will be completely ignored.
The Judge on Faux News will probably cover. He seems to be the only one on the whole shiity network who has any credibility.
What about Eric Bowling?
He talks about all that glitters (Gold).
He said $2,000 on Fox and Friends (My dad had it on in the morning when I was home for a weekend from school).
Nah, Bowling is just another Faux News talking head incapable of an original thought.
About time! We all know that what is going on at Bernanke's Fed is nothing less than the greatest economic heist in the history of the world. Despite constant attacks on Average Joe here on ZH, I think he knows this, as well.
Nothing in this country can heal, improve, recover...without first dealing with this corrupt banking system. And so why not just go right to the head of it, the Fed? Once those POMO funds are cut, the rest of the criminal syndicate known as Wall Street will automatically purge itself.
Beautiful in its simplicity.
Good luck, Congressman Paul.
P.S.
Helluva day today, Tyler. Nice work!
Don't think so. They'll nukular false flag your asses and Farenheit 451 here we come!
You gotta cut off the heads; Shalom Bernank is just hired help.
I've always said to everybody on Zh that trashes BB, all I can feel is pity the poor bastard... does what he's told (or else wife & kids might be "missing"); that's why he chokes up - battles with conscience. Now, to your point... how do puppet-masters get taken out?
It sounds like he is trying to pressure Ben to stop the QE crazy train. But if Ben wants to go further who is to stop him?
When inflation ramps up further in the months ahead will Congress look at inflation now as a bigger danger than a stock and bond collapse tomorrow because of QE withdrawal?
No one can stop him.
Greenspan is on record saying as such!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QkmLnNEvdU
The FEDERAL RESERVE CORPORATION harvests the meat off the bones of hardworking Americans to pay a 6% share-holder dividend to foreign owners
Vote L ... Rickards has a plausable explanation of how the Fed can announce the end of QE but continue stealth QE... Fed balance sheet is so large that they can continue to purchase treasury debt issues with interest/principal funds from MBS, and interest/principal on treasuries already on balance sheet.
Here is a link to KWN interview (written and audio) of Rickards on Sat 3-11-11... 'Perpetual QE: The Stock Is The Flow'... http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/3/11_Jim_Rickards_-_QE_is_dead%2C_long_live_QE!.html
media will ignore it and the masses will go on tweeting about how cool their new iPad is.
Here's the problem: if you re-cast CPI to show "real" inflation, then the already unsustainable entitlement programs get a bump into the stratosphere. Many here on ZH cheer the apocalpyse, and revising the CPI before we figure out how to tell GrandPa we're not going to increase his Social Security check because of it is a fine way to make it happen.
One of my many problems with Ron Paul is the lack of concern over consequences. We can agree that the CPI does not capture the reality for Americans who are unable to sell their homes and take advantage of lower prices...they feel only the rising prices and cannot realize the theoretical lower cost of housing. So Ron Paul is right to be concerned, but he needs to address what happens if he gets his way. I'm not convinced he has thought it through, or cares.
Sec Paulson is that you lurking
Right, so fraud is ok, because otherwise America will blow up.
Got'cha.
You beat me to the punch, Escape.
I think we have ourselves a banker here.
Of course I said no such thing. The real problem isn't the damn CPI calculation, it's what do you do about the entitlement programs - and Ron Paul isn't leading that charge, is he?
Think for a moment: why does anyone care if the CPI number is a fraud? If there was no consequence to it, then only propeller-head economists would pay attention.
When Dr. Paul holds hearings to discuss how much to cut Social Security TODAY, then I'll be listening. In the meantime, the net effect of him wanting to change the CPI is to increase Social Security benefits. Think before you post the knee-jerk response.
If that is the case I strongly recommend you rephrase your original post.
This phrasing seems to suggest you don't think CPI should be re-cast.
Furthermore, if this indeed isn't your suggestion, then what you effectively suggest is a real term reduction in entitlement programs.
My phrasing suggests that we ought not to increase the entitlement programs. Eliminate indexing of payments to the CPI, then calculate inflation any way you want - it doesn't matter then.
Nice doublespeak.
Either we keep CPI at its manipulated low figure, in which case the entitlement programs are adjusted at rates below real inflation. OR we correct the CPI figures, in which case we need to reduce entitlement programs... to rates below real inflation. Either way, entitlement programs in real terms suffer.
To claim there's an increase in anything but nominal terms is clearly wrong.
But there is no plan to reduce entitlement programs! Lacking that, if you increase CPI you increase government spending, with all that implies.
You say that "we need to reduce entitlement programs" (exactly my point) but it seems you assume that will actually happen. My bet is we go over the precipice first.
When exactly did I assume anything? I didn't even state my position with regards to entitlements cuts, my argument is about your apparent inability to call a spade a spade.
Entitlement spending cuts essentially have nothing to do with fraudulently calculated CPI figures, and one is not a valid argument for the other.
"Think for a moment: why does anyone care if the CPI number is a fraud?"
Because it serves to obscure the massive theft that occurs.
That's an emotional concern more than a practical concern. Most people judge inflation by personal experience - the CPI may make you angry but it doesn't put money in your wallet or take it away...it's just a number, unless you are on Social Security. Then you care big time.
In other words, you DO operate in nominal terms, not real.
Inflation might not take fiat currency notes with arbitrary denominations away, but it absolutely, positively does take purchasing power out of your wallet.
Beginning to remind me of a Monty Python skit...
CPI is not real inflation. CPI is a number. Real inflation is what makes a difference to your wallet. CPI does not. Getting wound up about a number makes no sense to me unless your real concern is the real dollars - and the only link between CPI and real dollars is to indexed entitlements. I'm not going to bother repeating that anymore.
"CPI is not real inflation. CPI is a number. Real inflation is what makes a difference to your wallet. CPI does not."
Tax policy is indeed related to the CPI as is the Fed's justification for creating more inflation. Instead of allowing the market to correct distorted prices, the Fed points to fudged CPI and other stats to continue reckless policies. Implementing policies based on fraudulent data does effect our wallets.
It's like saying, "well the intelligence report said they had weapons of mass destruction."
Because it serves to obscure the massive theft that occurs.
What theft?
You mean theft of social security momey? Implying said money is owed to you?
If that's your thinking, then you're part of the problem.
That money isn't owed to you. Congress can reduce social security benefits anytime they wish.
Consider it a gift. That's the wiser way to view it.
A gift that can be reduced or stopped at any time, regardless of how much you "paid in".
Social security is an insurance plan. It works just like any other insurance plan. Money you pay in is insurance premiums. Money paid out is benefits to claimants.
Congress can adjust those premiums and benefits anytime they wish.
The idea of social security having a "trust fund" is complete nonsense. There is no "trust fund". Money paid in goes right back out in benefits.
Yep.
And so, when tax cuts go through for the ruling class which cut 'projected' flows into the ILLUSORY trust fund, it simply gives ammunition to those liars and class warriors who intimate that Social Security just CAN'T be funded when AIG can, no questions asked.
It's a pure confidence game.
Actually it's called "loot the middle class".
... and it's going rather well.
The 'middle class' is an illusion. There are workers, and there are owners.
Just like George Carlin said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsL6mKxtOlQ
Team America- Social Security is nothing compared to our "defense" spending We should focus on cutting that before cutting important social programs. From reading other posts you've made I know you are really gung-ho about our military, but let's be honest about what's sucking the life out of our country.
Bravo! Bravo! Papi!
Ron Paul's point is that he would rather we cut excess from the military instead of cutting from regular people who are the system's foundation.
He suggests cutting across the board, including military largess. Making Grannie and Gramps eat i-pads while expanding overseas is not going to work.
Social Security outlays are now bigger than military spending (depends on who's drawing the pie chart*) and growing faster. BOTH issues need to be addressed. The topic of this thread is CPI, and military spending isn't driven by that number.
*if you include spending on military retirees then it looks bigger - I'd lump military pensions into Social Security for this discussion because they are both driven by CPI..."entitlements".
"The real problem isn't the damn CPI calculation, it's what do you do about the entitlement programs - and Ron Paul isn't leading that charge, is he? "
Those are your words, not mine. Your suggesting that cutting retirees benefits alone is going to reduce the debt. Ron Paul is the only Republican (aside from Rand) who suggests that Democrats and Republicans reach a bipartisan agreement in cutting both entitlementand military spending. That's leading the charge.
Rand so far has come up w/ the best budget. Michele Bachmann proved she is willing to spend on military adventures at the expense of current retirees SS (using superlative CPI instead of Core CPI) and veterans. The fact that these people are focused on Obama's $100 billion tells you they're not serious about cutting their military programs or even the TSA's budget.
To be clear, my personal preference is not to cut entitlements at all, but do limit the growth (cap the annual increase, for one suggestion). Military expendures must be cut. After that, raise taxes...not a popular opinion, but in the end a 50/50 cuts vs. taxes mix is the most practical solution IMHO.
... but in the end a 50/50 cuts vs. taxes mix is the most practical solution IMHO.
There is no solution. There is no way to make the present setup work going forward.
The present setup is designed, engineered, to require constant borrowing with concurrent inflation of the money supply until the dollar is worthless and America collapses.
This is why nothing is going to be done to "fix" it. It's going exactly as planned.
The only mandate the federal government has is SPEND MORE MONEY so more money will have to be borrowed, the Fed can keep running the printing presses, and Wall Street can keep making money flipping treasury debt to the Fed.
$14 trillion debt is peanuts. It's going to $50 trillion, then $100 trillion, then $200 trillion, and keep right on going till the dollar is toilet paper ...exactly as planned.
Oh please. Spending has nearly doubled since 2001, going from $1.863 Trillion to $3.456 Trillion. It's a spending problem, not a revenue problem. It doesn't matter what happens with revenue. If we had cold fusion tomorrow powering a doubling of revenue, they'd just spend up to that new plateau. Yes, the defense budget is a joke. But, please, so much of the rest of it is a joke, too.
We sure could use those missing trillions the Pentagon can't find. In 1999 2.3T missing, 2000 1.1T missing. Thats 3.4 Trillion dollars in 2 consecutive yrs.. Watch Cynthia McKinney question Rumsfeld @ the 1:08 mark in the video. This is a common occurence with the Pentagon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvLL--vSsA
I understand what you're saying, but sometimes the truth has consequences that are unpleasant. The truth should be exposed and let the chips fall where they may.
I agree with TeamAmerica, and I would like to say that not only do I respect RP but I wrote in his name on my vote for president.
In a nutshell, this monetary system needs to be revamped from top to bottom. Any jiggering will only cause a collapse of the system because of all the plates spinning in the air, which in my opinion is both necessary and inevitable.
That being said, there should be a plan "B" for doing this so that the least amount of pain is felt by the masses. I can't for the life of me see how we get from "here to there" without massive loss of life.
It goes without saying that the truth needs to be told and that the metrics we as a nation use, to make financial decisions, have to be honest. However, we all know that this system will crash soon. If we know this then what comes next? This needs to be thought out and planned for. Just having a guy in the fight for us and taking down the system willynilly isn't going to turn out well for the innocent victims of Bernank and company if we don't have a plan "B" to implement.
I personally would rather see RP put out a paper on how to enact/reform the system and start that debate PRIOR to our currency becoming worth LESS to the point of starvation for the bottom 40%.
Yes, by all means talk about the fraud and expose it. BUT, get going on plan B and figure out how to seque to that plan.
That is my interpretation of what TA was alluding to with his remarks. It's my point, in any event.