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What "Car Salesman" Ben Bernanke Said At Dinner Last Night
From Simon Black of Sovereign Man
What Ben Bernanke Said At Dinner Last Night
Last night I attended a private function put on by the National Economists Club where the guest of honor was none other than Ben Bernanke. You can read his full speech to the attendees here.
Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out how a guy with my views was even allowed in the room.
But since I was already scheduled to be in the US this week to speak at a conference in Miami, I jumped at the chance to enjoy Bistro Filet and economic doublethink.
I've always wanted to find out for myself-- does this man actually believe that printing money is the path to prosperity?
As it turns out, he does believe it.
At one point during the evening, when pressed about whether his Quantitative Easing program was good for Wall Street at the expense of Main Street, he flat out denied it, saying that such a premise is "simply not true".
He defended his printing $85 billion per month, suggesting that fixing interest rates at zero is beneficial for society because, among other things, it allows people to 'buy cars'.
I saw these words coming out of his mouth and thought to myself, "Is this guy f'ing serious?" Cars. Wow. As if going into debt to purchase a rapidly depreciating consumer item is somehow a victory for the people.
Fixing interest rates at zero screws responsible people who save.
My mother, for example, is completely risk averse. She holds the entirety of her savings in a bank account, and nobody can convince her otherwise.
What she doesn't realize is that the interest rate she receives is below the rate of inflation. So year after year, the purchasing power of her savings declines.
This point seemed completely lost on the Chairman.
He also dismissed the Fed's role in the growing wealth gap here in the Land of the Free.
As we've discussed before, recently published data show that the US wealth gap is at its highest point since 1929.
For this, the chairman blames trade globalization, saying that the wealth gap is a 'complicated phenomenon'.
He also stated flat out that there's ‘not much the Federal Reserve can do about long-term trends like [the wealth gap] that don't have much to do with monetary policy.'
Right. Keeping interest rates at zero so that bankers and the ultra-wealthy can see their portfolios rise to record levels while the middle class gets hosed by rising costs of medical care, education, food, and fuel has nothing to do with monetary policy.
This may have been the most intellectually disingenuous thing I heard all night.
Mr. Bernanke also made it quite clear that they were going to keep printing no matter what.
In his own words, he told the story about how they had tried issuing forward guidance... first suggesting that Quantitative Easing would last through 2013. Then they changed it to 2014. Then 2015.
Finally they changed the target altogether, announcing that they had set a threshold for the unemployment rate of 6.5%... but that this figure was just a 'threshold', not a 'trigger'.
In other words, even if the official unemployment rate moves below 6.5%, the Fed isn't going to end QE. They will at that point START to look at other data, like the Labor Force Participation Rate (which is at its worst level since 1978).
He also hinted that their unemployment threshold was not set in stone... which I took as a sign that they would probably lower this threshold even more, paving the way for several more years of printing.
And even if they do let up on Quantitative Easing, he stated very plainly that the Fed would still likely keep its target interest rate at zero.
Bottom line, it's not going to end... at least, not voluntarily. It's going to take a full-blown currency crisis before the Fed gets a whiff of reality.
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Bastard!
Why is that?
BERNANKE'S MY FRIEND!!!
I WANNA BUY A SILVERCOIN WITH JUST HIS HEAD ON IT!!!
a blank...
SERIOUS!! THAT GUYS IS MY SILVER'S BEST FRIEND!!!
This is why Bernocchio is quitting. He can't even lie good anymore, and has no wiggle room. The FED is stuck. The FED is exposed. They have ruined the economy in the name of saving their big banking buddies.
I hope he rots somewhere.
He never could. Honestly, it's his only true failure in the job.
Yellen though, won't have to worry about it, as she's got that evil, confused glare that sends all antagonists packing (engagement is pointless).
National Economists Club...
*can't stop puking*
I wish I was Simon Black just for last night. I'd be in jail right now, but it'd be worth it. At the minimum, I would have beaten the shit out of Bernanke.
Awesome advice for government retirees over at the Accredited Times:
http://accredited-times.com/2013/11/15/retirement-tips-for-government-wo...
Well worth a read if you've just retired from a government job or are a soon to be government retiree.
Hey Tyler please don't let this POS be a contributor here anymore. I don't care what he pays.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/uncle-sam-punish-banks-chilling-effect-economy-whalen-153737382.html
This is what happens when you live in an ivory tower, you lose touch with reality. The air must be rarified in the Fed's conference rooms. Either that or they're pumping nitrous in through the aircon vents because this is some silly shit.
I forgot who said it yesterday, Seek maybe....but these guys are just a bunch of fuckin aliens. Bernanke even looks like one. I always found this to be strikingly similar to what I see going on today when I see Bernak testify to Congress.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMZJ-mM2n9A
They will keep printing as long as the government keeps spending like a drunken sailor. The route of transmission for the capital will change from enabling small business people to thrive to supporting big business and then taxing them and paying for huge entitlement programs that don't work.
This country will decay slowly unless there is a black swan event that sets the reset switch. When that happens politicians and bureaucrats like th Bernanke will face the music for lying to the masses. I almost can't wait for that day although it scares the shit out of me to think we will be living like the Road Warrior for a while.
So that's where Monendas went to. Read comments section of Accredited Times. LOL!
I think Whalen is right, as well as Krugmans' long depression piece in the newspaper today. I think they are both missing the point, however. We are in a transition from a credit based economy BACK to a capital based economy. Very painful yet unstoppable, and the CBs attempts at stopping it is killing all economies.
We are in a transition from a credit based economy BACK to a capital based economy. Very painful yet unstoppable, and the CBs attempts at stopping it is killing all economies.
Touchdown. What, like we're supposed to go from an overclown credit economy to an infinite credit economy? Ok... There will be plenty of central banks go bust trying, but....
Folks, MDB is merely trolling on the ZH site to drum up business on his own site.
Respond to MDB only if you truly want to support him, and NOT because you think that your indignation/venting or your wit will make any difference to MDB. Cause it won't. Just (fucking) ignore him.
MDB said:
Oh, that one's a dandy article. It comes on strong from the very first sentence:
"One of the major difficulties of having a government pension is the sheer quantity of money that has to be managed."
Amazing. That has ZH guest post written all over it..
Let them buy cars...he just really meant it helps his gdp numbers and GM
he is a criminal. .stupid...or retarded. ..or all three
He's making himself and all his pagan breathren rich. He's doing it with ill gotten goods. He's doing it blatantly. He is retiring and going to get away with it. Stupid and retarded don't apply.
Whether or not he gets away with it will largely depend on how long the economy lasts post tenure. I think there's a better chance than not that everyone soon realizes the wheels fell off a long time ago. At the very least, his legacy will be severely tarnished... Greenspan had the sense to pass the torch before everything imploded proper and his legacy has still been shit on pretty hard... In short, the court of public opinion has already convicted him and whether or not this translates into any formal punishment is up for debate.
Just another HEAD FAKE. And an "OJ Simpson-class" head fake at that.
YOU ARE LISTENING TO PHD THAT HAS NEVER EVER WORKED A REAL SINGLE DAY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE . WTF DO YOU EXPECT TO HEAR¿¿¿
and could you imagine Bernanke negotiating for a used car? now that would be priceless! or selling one? fucking scary prospect...
He would sell you a used Ford Focus with a 100k miles on it for 85B, and you would walk away with a smile on your face cuz you just got such a good deal on your -1% ARP.
he wouldn't sell me shit and he never has, despite tidy front-running profits thx to him. put another way, he's paid me to date to walk away from his jalopies.
well... in a way...
I never worked for the FED in my life...
so who's to blame?
in your case you can thank yourself for that. the problem is we look at the unsustainable rigged bullshit ponzi and rationally know it is only supported by sociopathic QE policies and yet we still aren't baffled by the double-speak.
Less the PHD and you're talking about the POTUS.
the unqualified generally hire each other, hence Mr. QEeen4EVA Yellen: another one that has never worked day in her life in private sector. it's the club of ineptitude academia.
Oh, so they are INEPT? That is the excuse?
They know EXACTLY what they are doing. Always have. Their only problem is keeping the game going while keeping us from realizing their game.
Make no mistakes, these people are not dumb, not inept. They are fractional reserve bankers, just doing what they do best.
pods
As long as he said "its simply not true" it must not be and I feel so much better.
Alright I can't help it. Simon is kind of growing on me a bit but I can't help myself here. Am I to believe that the man who drinks absynthe on a chilean mountain top while playing poker with a snow leapord can't convince his own mother not to keep her money in the bank? I thought Simon could talk the balls off a Rhinoceros. His own mother does not trust his advice?
When I used to picture Simon all I could see was this guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WRf6Q1o7PE
but now all I see is this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqwAXk8c2Ew
LMAO!! Is that evolution or devolution?
lol you always ask the hard questions.
Haha, I was thinking the same thing...mom won't even listen to the international man of mystery...I guess he will always be just her dufus little kid in her eyes.
like new...
that's like dating a +30 year old woman...
like new... with miles on it...
+30 would be new enough for me cause they sure don't have the miles on em like the +50 set does.
The 50+ set doesn't have a boardcomputer... and they don't need that expensive fuel to drive. 87 will do just fine...
that 30+ set does... every bump in the road... every winter and summer... all recorded... and there's always some nasty shit under the hood...
But whatever...
AFTER YOU'RE PAST 18 YEARS OLD, YOU'RE LIVING IN A SECOND HAND MARKET!
Yeah, the maintenance can be very expensive on those +30 types.
Plus they don't even cook! Not good.
The +30 and dating are the ones that 1) didn't know a good thing when they saw it and/or 2) jumped ship before things really got good. Not smart.
Life begins when the kids leave home and you're at the peak of your earning potential. SWEET!
SD, I had to login to green this comment. Hysterical and true at the same time!!!
Our Belgian friend shoots, and SCORES!!!
I prefer the +30 women. Younger than 40s though.
their expectations are more realistic and they aren't as painful to have discussions with.
My favorite part about getting 1.1% interest on savings is the tax that I have to pay on those earnings!
Doesn't that just give you a warm, fuzzy feeling all over?
Just knowing that the taxes I pay on the after-tax money I save can help both the artsy crowd get a new Performing Arts Center or the shiftless 3rd-generation work-allergic family get their monthly social assistance cheque makes me feel like such a hero.
In fact, I think I'm going to go celebrate my feel-good-nicity and splurge for a small coffee and help the local economy. (I'd buy a medium-sized, but don't want to appear selfish to my fellow citizens I might meet there that may still be able to afford one as well)
To my downvoter - both examples I gave are real life ones where I live. (But then maybe you are in one or the other category, in which case I can understand you don't like my comment - because it is against the gravy-train you have gotten accustomed to riding)
and than you have to calculate those earning on you taxform...
the work isn't justified :)
Thank god my money is gone for already a few years now.
*E*R*A*S*E*D*
Those who try to do that shit now will leave a bigger papertrail than me, that's for sure.
I try to keep hyperbole and emotions out of my comments, but this evil BernanQE motherfucker and everyone like him needs to be stopped. ASAP.
Oh, please.. Don't hold back now that you've made such a good start!
You know, there are perverts who think such mother-son relationships are not only normal, but to be applauded.
I much prefer to simply name people for what they are, rather than apply terms that are in all likelihood not true.
In Bernanke's case, he has sacrificed his soul on the altar of present gratification. Sadly, it is not something unique to him.
It is not money that is the root of all evil, but, to correctly quote the phrase, it is the LOVE of money that is at the root of all (kinds of) evil.
Epic understatement!
30-06
Will do the job nicely.
A 280 Rem with a Timney trigger would work as well.
A good nuking from orbit, to be sure.
It's too late. Let them run full steam ahead and bring down the whole house of cards.
Doc,
You're probably right. It's just that when the system implodes, it better damn well fall on the shoulders of the central bankers and Wall Street. Unless we are vigilant, I can see a "Boys from Brazil" scenario or, worse, Paul Krugman and his ilk are never entirely discredited and allowed to continue in the halls of power. End the Wars. End the Fed. End the IRS. Give individuals the freedom of economic self-determinism.
Filthy lying scum bastard is Bernanke.
The guy is a psychopath. Period. Remove him an enter another of the same thinking (Janet Yellen) and then expect a different result is the defination of insanity. That is the path we are on.
@Everybodys All American
Herrod, Xerxes, Alexander the Great, Caligula, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, Napolean, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Edi Amin, Bush II, Robert Mugabe, Alan Greenspan, Ben BernanQE, Barack Obama (and all of his pseudonyms), Janet Yellen....
There is no way in hell that these dorks believe this. QE is nothing but a bank bailout.
You're right. That's part of the reason why they change the Fed chair. So a new liar can take over and do it with the zeal necessary to fake every stooge out.
The problem is that they can only replace the useful idiots with even dumber and more desperate people... anyone note worthy sees the writing on the wall (and sits on the other side of the fence collecting bonuses).
Shovel ready graves, aka, QE3........
buy this 80,000 cadallac with a car loan, get some shizzle into your whizzle
Good, but this is Classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3TltMNbgGQ&lc=tusHRTzrdlm8n9xSdCUMlIN70...
Watch the Bernenks face toward end of video when Ron Paul asks him about gold. The best!
Like a doe in the headlights.
Crane the banksters. Contribute to Bernanke's unofficial welcome committee. He is the implacable enemy of the ordinary man, and gives not a fuck.
"gives not a fuck" ... neat little phrase, that. Nice.
I give not a fuck and I give not a damn,
For I am a Central Banker I am!
Assume the position and you will see,
My Monetary Policy.
And as Tyler said, everyone is falling for that one again… at least at the Fed and on Wall Street and in DC. And what happened then? Here’s how Andrew Ross Sorkin put it in 2009 in his story of the epochal failure of the TBTFs’ financial system in 2008 and Wall Street’s and Washington’s use of force to make the American taxpayer forfeit his standard of living and future to save the bankers and their ill-gotten riches in Too Big to Fail::
“The Wall Street juggernaut that emerged from the collapse of the dot.com bubble and the post 9/11 downturn was in large part the product of cheap money.
“The savings glut in Asia, combined with unusually low U.S. interest rates under former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan (which had been intended to stimulate growth following the 2001 recession), began to flood the world with money…”
Senior Savings Income Transfer Fraud is getting ZIRP'd-off.
750 trillion in derivatives and growing unfunded liabilities for the federal government tells me that Tapering will never happen. Yellen will end up printing moar.
So many guns in this country and not a single one pointing at the right target.
Now THAT'S a tragedy.
And that folks is why '60 is the new 80' for retirement.
Don't you have that backwards ?
They have no choice PERIOD
If interest rates rise, the U.S. is finished PERIOD
If the stock market crashes, the U.S. is finished PERIOD
If they don't finance the government, the U.S. is finished PERIOD
If the U.S. is finished, the Empire is finished PERIOD
If the Empire is finished, TPTB are finished PERIOD
It will eventually happen I think, but unfortunately we will end up with a totalitarian socialist state.
It will eventually happen I think, but unfortunately we will end up with a totalitarian socialist state.
I don't accept that there is no choice. I don't want to live under a pos system of government.
"I don't want to live under a pos system of government."
Two things on that:
A. You already do.
B. They would be glad to help you end that whole "living" thing.
I'm gonna go start myself a reservation with some like minded "savages" a la Brave New World.
The U.S. will survive when the international bankers are finished.
In New Fed Boss Same as the Old Fed Boss Ron Paul wrote:
“The Fed’s loose monetary policy was the root cause of the current financial crisis. Just like the Great Depression, the stagflation of the 1970s, and every other recession of the past century, the current crisis resulted from the creation of money and credit by the Federal Reserve…
“The future of the US economy with Chairman Yellen at the helm is grim indeed, which provides all the more reason to end our system of central economic planning by getting rid of the Federal Reserve entirely.
“Ripping off the bandage may hurt some in the short run, but in the long term everyone will be better off. Anyway, most of this pain will be borne by the politicians, big banks, and other special interests who profit from the current system.
“Ending this current system of crony capitalism and moving to sound money and free markets is the only way to return to economic prosperity and a vibrant middle class.”
Getting Old Sucks (I know that from experience!): the irony in your post is multi-layered!
...finished PERIOD
the litany of the above phrase followed by:
It will eventually happen I think, but unfortunately we will end up with a totalitarian socialist state.
amounts to a strong suggestion that such a state might be considered a Post-menopausal Republic.
Next come the hot flashes?
Buy cars , Not Gold.....
I plussed you on that one. I assume you are a good wrench then? My gold does cost me anything but these cars/trucks that I have do.(insurance/maintaining/ registration) Like the stubborn bastard I am, I replaced the clutch slave cylinder on my Hyundai Accent last weekend at a cost of just under $30. It would have been $500 at a shop but I have tools and I needed all of them. What a pain in the ass that was.
Now I get to do Mrs. M's Jesus Fucking Chrysler 3.3 liter Town and Country, and it's goddamned mopar fuel rail system, to replace a stupid ten cent O-ring on the fuel pressure regulator because it is leaking gasoline. I have to be very careful on how I do this one or it will get expensive very quickly. It appears that I have to take half of the car apart to replace a simple O-ring ON THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. WTF?
I kind of hate cars actually. My gold has never had to have an oil change. Perhaps a 1965 GTO is what you were referring to?
Never invest in anything with an exhaust pipe or an asshole.
"If it flies, floats, or fucks, then rent it"
BITCOIN Assasination, it's only a matter of when...
First they have to blow thru $1000...
I was wondering if the FED was buying up all of the BTC it can.
I think that is a real probability.
Gold/Silver they control via ETFs and Paper money multiplied via fractional reserve lending.
Bitcoins, they are going to have to buy to play with.
Berskanky does NOT believe his lies for a second. Do not give him the benefit of the doubt. He is evil and malevolent. He is now looking for his big payback just like Timmah G.
From here until the crash..the FED Head will be only 4 years..its like musical chairs now...they all want the 4 years of fame and benefits..but no one wants to be at the helm when it crashes for good...so kick the can and give it to the next guy...until the music stops....and it will...then that namw will be known in history as the "one" who destroyed the USA
Hahahahahaha. Do you remember my ObamaCar post?
Love this! "We defaulted son, but we all had cars!"
Anyone else notice how the quality of leadership at the Fed continues to decline? We are now down to a quivering mop that will do precisely as s/he is told.
It seems clear to me that the owners of the Fed know full and well that we are approaching the end game, and the puppet installed at the currency dispensary needs to be incapable of independent thought.
All of the rage aimed at Bernanke and Yellen needs to be redirected to the wizards behind the curtain. It is time to pull the curtain aside and expose the real criminals.
Reminds me of a real life Idiocracy and City of Ember
Yesterday a news story reported repo men were busy again and this was a 'good sign' because it showed banks were lending again to people with bad credit. They didn't mention that its ALLY bank and the taxpayers are on the hook for these bad loans.
"...this was a 'good sign' because it showed banks were lending again to people with bad credit."
I can't...I just ...can't handle this shit.
ZIRP to infinity! And beyond!
Cash for clunkers 2.0. Cruise Route 66 in style all summer of recovery 2014 long.
Haven't the banks been saved already? I just don't get it. Why is it necessary to continue QE ad infinitum? What started out as a desperate move to save the banks is now being used as a tool to funnel wealth to those same banks and their minion.
Now Bernanke is saying even if we hit their target unemployment rate that won't necessarily initiate taper. Uh, these targets keep moving which means one of two things; either the economy is in dire straits or they are in desperate need of monetizing the balooning debt. Either way the dollar will continue to lose value, but I guess that's good because we export more?
So let me get this straight. Even though the dollar loses value, even in light inflation our spending power drops. How in the heck is that suppose to help the employment picture?
"Haven't the banks been saved already? I just don't get it. Why is it necessary to continue QE ad infinitum? "
Because it is all a big fraud. The banks haven't been saved, they have been propped up.
As many of us here on ZH have said before, it's not about returning to prosperity, nor is it about sound economic fundamentals. This is about the destruction of the dollar, pure and simple. QE will not stop when they hit 6.5% unemployment, there will be another reason why it must continue - because the game ends only when the flaming dumpster rolls over the cliff and crashes at the bottom of the canyon. From those fires will rise a new currency, oone backed by PMs, of the average person will have none.
This is the same game played over and over elsewhere in places like Brazil and North Korea - announce a new currency, watch as the old one goes to zero, then announce that the state-run banks will excahnge the notes on a 10 to 1 reverse ratio. Lather, rinse, repeat. This is the game - the only difference here is that the USD is the world's reserve currency - hence its a more complicated maneuver.
There’s a chart posted January 2012 on Angry Bear that shows the financial sector’s share of corporate profits already is back to the 44% range... with this comment:
- See more at: http://angrybearblog.com/2012/01/where-has-all-money-gone-part-ii.html#sthash.zvGXecpM.dpuf/
Putting it into perspective:
"From 1973 to 1985, the financial sector never earned more than 16 percent of domestic corporate profits. In 1986, that figure reached 19 percent. In the 1990s, it oscillated between 21 percent and 30 percent, higher than it had ever been in the postwar period. This decade, it reached 41 percent." -- Simon Johnson, August 08, 2010
"How in the heck is that suppose to help the employment picture?"
Well ya see. After the rich peoples unions have totally destroyed the working class unions then the American worker bee's gonna beg to work cheaper than dem ol chinese peoples. Walmart will be, excuse me is, the new Foxconn. And den dat ol immigration fence will finally get built so we can keep people out who will worker cheaper than da american working man will have to.
"He defended his printing $85 billion per month, suggesting that fixing interest rates at zero is beneficial for society because, among other things, it allows people to 'buy cars'."
It also allows savers to get no interest. I am sure Brnanke can spin that into a positive for society as well. Then there is the chronic 10% real unemployment due to QE. I am sure Bernanke can spin that as a benefit to society. 47 million on food stamps. that must be a positive result of QE as well.
Typical f*kin' jew.. Using red herrings, smoke and mirrors to cover the real agendas and their usury fraud.
I think it's red lox.
OF course it's the Jews. They are responsible for all thats wrong in the world. Why there is a jew under every bed. I bet they have a camera in your living room and are watching you right now. Unless of course it's a Black or a lettuce picker. Ah thats it, it's jewish, black, lettuce pickers come to rob use all blind. Quick sit on our ass and blame them bad ol jewish, black lettuce pickers fo all da bad stuff dat happens to us po white anglo saxon protestants.
BOO!
Lettuce pickers and your other suggested classes are not the ones associated with the concept of usury.
And when America’s middle class is so submerged with usury, debt far beyond anyone’s imagination or understanding and usury to the extent that it controls all three branches of the Federal government, mocking the truth of who has their hands on the levels of power is irresponsible.
Usury has allowed ascendance of the Money Power…and a government that accommodates the Money Power by allowing it to profit from loans of money created out of nothing, out of thin air.
So what yer saying then is it is not the Jews, it is the Usuries? Cause you ain't sterotyping right? Just considering your statement, "are not the ones associated with the concept of usary."
I ride a Harley. I wear a vest with stuff on it. Therefor I must be a Son of Anarchy correct. Or maybe kinda like anyone who wore long hair was a hippie until country folk started doing it to. And all vietnam protestors were commies until..........
I do not "mock" the truth. I mock the delusion.
But I pose the following, "IF" your truth was true, why then do all other ethnicities allow themselves to be subjected to it?
Are they waiting for the second coming of Hitler to be saved?
We’ve come to the end of the line in our political and economic crisis where stereotypes are going to be necessary. I do not believe that Harley riders, as a group, have saddled our nation with usury. Nor do I believe that the primary financial positions in our country are long-haired Hippies.
The Federal Reserve and its lock on the currency and the politics of our country with its consequent onslaught on modern society happens to be in the hands of Jewish families. If that is a stereotype, then the definition of usury all through the centuries from Shakespeare to the European monarchies have used this stereotype—usury is connected with the Jews.
As for stereotyping, here’s how Manny Friedman put it in the Times of Israel:
“The truth is… We Jews have something planted in each one of us that makes us completely different from every group in the world… And then they came to America, the one place that ever really let them have as much power as they wanted, and suddenly they’re taking over. Please don’t tell me that any other group in the world has ever done that. Only the Jews. And we’ve done it before…
“The time has come, though… We own a whole freaking country (America)…we can be proud of who we are, and simultaneously aware of our huge responsibility — and opportunity.”
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jews-do-control-the-media/
Each Ethnic group has a genetic marker that makes them unique to other ethnic groups. I do not believe, though I may be wrong, that "Usuary" has yet been established as a genetic marker specific to any particular ethnicity.
Many nations including our own fore fathers have used the thinking, "We’ve come to the end of the line in our political and economic crisis where stereotypes are going to be necessary. " Manifest Destiny anyone. Hitleresque anyone? The Balkans? The various factions of Islam and our own Christian church that guilts people into tything, Hell the Catholics can be downright militant about it.
Does the italian mob and Irish before them engage in usurious activities. Pawn shops and pay as you go car lots all across the nation? Labor pools? Grove and field bosses of other ethnicities that extort their pound of flesh along with any particular group engaged in drug or gun dealing.
I'm was not aware that Shakespere and European monarchies are/were especially immune to the to prejudices and stereotypes and many Kings and princes took their off the top from sharecroppers.
In most instances stereotyping has been a tool used by those who have their own agenda. Whether that is to steal what is rightfully someone elses or avoid expanding their minds to include truths they maynot be comfortable with.
Yes the Jew are known to be good at math. The Chinese probably better. But then unlike most of America they place a premium on educating themselves regarding such matters. Would you dismiss a group for exercising an intellectual advantage that was worked for.
Then again my question, if this is a "known factor" why then have we for all this years put up with. Why have we not educated ourselves to cease dealing with those who would rip us off, i.e. Defense contractors, based purely on the fact that they are riping us off. After all are not their charges a bit usuraius?
How about a stretch of the concept iincluding American corporations exploiting slave labor and then sell their Igiggy's at inflated prices. In their case it is capitalism right. But in the case of jews it usuary??? Sorry, it does not compute.
I personally believe holding individuals regardless of race, ethnic background or whatever, responsible for their individual actions. It is to easy when condemning any group for the innocent to get caught up in the prejudice.
But then my agenda may be somewhat different than yours. And I know better to than to try and kill the cancer of bigotry that has been passed down through generations. But it does help to be aware that prasctice is alive and well in America.
I will leave you with a play on a quote from Richard Bach, "Argue for your prejudice and it is yours."
Usury: Usury is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans.
Sound familiar ?
Anyone? ( cricket chirp )
"This point seemed completely lost on the Chairman."
He knows the Fed is boxed into a corner, so they can continue QE until the system crashes... and blame the crash on "unexpected circumstances".
That and if he has a mea culpa, then it's probably too late for it to do any good or accomplish its intended result. In other words, a lot of these folks are going to be looking at the nuremberg trials part II (probably being generous at that) and he might as well keep his foot on the gas. There will be many who realize they don't quite have the political connections they thought when the strong man arrives. Until that day, game on... and definitely talk up the taper like it's going to happen.
He needs no "mea culpa". He is soing his job. He works for the Banks. Who is going to conduct the "Nuremberg traiils part II"? Who will be the strongman?
Of course he's doing his job, that's the point... so were the soldiers... they were just following orders. The excuse no longer works... It's objectively unacceptible.
Who knows who will conduct the trials... who knows who will be the strong man... does it matter who? Do you actually dispute the thesis? Do you believe the present state of affairs will exist in perpetuity?
"It's objectively unacceptible."
No argument.
Most of my life I have believed America could not go on perpetuating injustice without being held accountable. In most cases I have been wrong.
Maybe I have grown to old and jaded. I do look for a time when it might end and I and others have done our part to try and effect that in some small part. Unfortunately, mmore often than not, it has not ended well as the ignorance of the American public is to strong a force to combat. I do grant myself the illusion on occasion that it might actually happen, i.e. revolt. I see absolutely nothing on the horizon to give me hope of that. What I see is pain and suffering for many.
The cycles at play are longer than our lives... not completely arguing from induction, but when has it never not changed? The fact that you have been wrong about how long people accept the situation has nothing to do with whether they will reach a boiling point and break out the pitchforks and torches. Plenty of folks in tunisia, egypt, etc. thought the same thing...
The issue isn't whether there will be a formal transition, the issue is whether this will really amount to a change in who runs barter town. Who knows... odds are that there will be no material change to the top and we'll get the same, but improved, mechanisms of control thrust upon us over the next 80 years give or take, before things boil over again. You never know though...
You didn't drive that.
Bernanke has not only swallowed the kool-aid, he is the kool-aid. BTW, I don't think the Bernank could sell a car, and selling Wallstreet and DC on free printed money is not really selling anything either, it's giving crack to an addict.
Federal Reserve of the Banks, by the Banks and for the Banks.
The rest of the country and its citizens be damned. The main aim of the political class and the central bankers around the world is to create one bubble after another for the zombie bankers to feed on. The majority of the population who actually work hard to earn their living by engaging in productive work have to pay the price by either loosing a majority of their earnings in the form of taxes, interest on loans or paying the bill for the bailouts.
www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article40231.html
"The majority of the population who actually work hard to earn their living by engaging in productive work have to pay the price by either loosing a majority of their earnings in the form of taxes, interest on loans or paying the bill for the bailouts. "
If 2008 and the news subsequent to then has not motivated the people to do a wholescale march on Washington, then they are choosing the above.
But I don't see the American people willing to carry a lighted torch and a pitch fork to Washington let alone having the will to sacrifice up to and including their own lives for ideals greater than themselves as their forefathers did -because they’ve had it too easy for too long. This is the genius of CB and people like Edward Bernays.
The next best thing that can happen and it most inevitably will with time and attrition is to see our lawmakers getting us into a REAL conflict –not like the one we’ve been controlling since 9/11, but the one that involve adversaries that are our equal and that are tearing us a new one economically right now with the formulation of the BRICS.
I know this much. We can’t fight an epic World War and purge the masses at home at the same time like it was Joe Stalin and Mao Zedong (before and after) WWII. The state of modern warfare as it exists today and more importantly the "timing" is not moving in the direction and to the advantage of the CBs.
This is their conundrum.
"Because it is all a big fraud. The banks haven't been saved, they have been propped up."
If that is true, then another real estate bubble buster will surely require a whole lot more QE. Speaking of which there are articles out today saying real estate sales have dropped the past two months.
"My mother, for example, is completely risk averse. She holds the entirety of her savings in a bank account, and nobody can convince her otherwise.
What she doesn't realize is that the interest rate she receives is below the rate of inflation. So year after year, the purchasing power of her savings declines.
This point seemed completely lost on the Chairman"
It isn't lost on him, he simply doesn't care. Your mother is not one of his constituents.
Yellen said savers wear many hats. She doesn't care about your mother either. Your mother is not one of her constituents.
If your mother was a banker, they would care about her interests.
Why not go further and say, why have a base rate anyhow? silly figure I always through, cough, cough.
Actually why not take this further, why have Central Banks? Oh no not that far...
"Mr. Bernanke also made it quite clear that they were going to keep printing no matter what.
In his own words, he told the story about how they had tried issuing forward guidance... first suggesting that Quantitative Easing would last through 2013. Then they changed it to 2014. Then 2015"
Which means printing isn't working. So the FED is going to continue what doesn't work instead of doing what will work.
Which means it is working. For a select few.
When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When your only tool left is buying government bonds with electronically created money, QE is the answer to everything.
Calling William Banzai!! That photo is just waiting for the Bernank's head to be cropped onto the salesman.
"Yellen said savers wear many hats."
Yeah, and the hat they are wearing now is give the banks your money at less than zero return because the pathetic interest provided won't cover inflation. That was a really sick statement by her, because the hat they expect people to wear is to fall farther behind while the banks get to play with that money while getting bailed out by QE.
There should be a minimum percent return to depositors that is a certain percentage above the inflation rate. It should be called the depositors guarantee.
Exactly right. And the handcuffs and leg chains (not hat) that savers have been wearing for nine years and up are intended costume for all Americans. Because this beloved country is in the death grip of a cartel so mad with power that stealing the product of the American economy is not enough. They are intent on taking it all. And as soon as possible.
Want proof? Janet Yellen.
Will Rogers was right.
America will drive itself to the poorhouse in a new car.
...owned by the bankers.
"He also stated flat out that there's ‘not much the Federal Reserve can do about long-term trends like [the wealth gap] that don't have much to do with monetary policy.'
Right. Keeping interest rates at zero so that bankers and the ultra-wealthy can see their portfolios rise to record levels while the middle class gets hosed by rising costs of medical care, education, food, and fuel has nothing to do with monetary policy.
This may have been the most intellectually disingenuous thing I heard all night."
Everything out of their mouths is intellectually dishonest.
He is admitting to treason. Military officers out there. Arrest Ben Bernanke for attempting to take over the United States of America, for transferring the US Gold reserves to JP Morgan and for facilitating the bribery of the President of the United States of America.
Arrest him. (and Janet Yellen, Loyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon).
They have to get his permission first. And then all of washington must go too.
After that statement, Bennie needs to have his head lopped off, it obviously isn't doing much for him anyways...
As many of us here on ZH have said before, it's not about returning to prosperity, nor is it about sound economic fundamentals. This is about the destruction of the dollar, pure and simple. QE will not stop when they hit 6.5% unemployment, there will be another reason why it must continue - because the game ends only when the flaming dumpster rolls over the cliff and crashes at the bottom of the canyon. From those fires will rise a new currency, oone backed by PMs, of the average person will have none.
This is the same game played over and over elsewhere in places like Brazil and North Korea - announce a new currency, watch as the old one goes to zero, then announce that the state-run banks will excahnge the notes on a 10 to 1 reverse ratio. Lather, rinse, repeat. This is the game - the only difference here is that the USD is the world's reserve currency - hence its a more complicated maneuver.
Bernanke should do the world a favor and take up the art of seppuku.
To the Sovereign Man
Stop your bitching. Don't you know Ben Shalom is "exceptional"?
Did he mention any guillotine preferences?! Brown? Black? Basket type, etc.?
Yes, he should be given that choice---as the crimes have been commited, the verdict is in and the sentence has been set. Nothing left to do but execute the process.
Bernanke reminds me of the bandmaster on the Titanic who kept the music playing even as the ship was sinking.
With negative interest rates beng threatened on both sides of the Atlantic one wonders what he has to say about gold "not earning interest."
The hits against gold are now starting to get more common and it is a question now of whether people will lose their nerve or actually find it.
The bottom line is that the American people have been Cyprussed over a period of more than 10 years and more is in store.
The gutless FED however will not go to negative interest rates because the world might just spit the dollar dummy out.
"Bernanke reminds me of the bandmaster on the Titanic who kept the music playing even as the ship was sinking"
The Bandmaster knew the truth.
This Stalin like, grimly determined mindset is how you know that when gold starts rising, all possible resources to stop it will have been exhausted. It won't stop. They are going to blow their whole wad trying to create a fantasy.
Fugazi | Steady Diet of Nothing - # 07 – [Quantitative Easing ] Long Division song.
Some people might want Bitcoin, but, I'll go with the gold an silver :)
" I've always wanted to find out for myself-- does this man actually believe that printing money is the path to prosperity?
As it turns out, he does believe it. "
No, no he doesn't . He just knows that, if he admitted the truth, "Occupy Wall-Street" could possibly turn into "Nuke Wall-Street" .
Nah, didn't you see how the country with much citizen support tromped all over the civil and constitutional rights and even bad mouthed, bad mouthed I say, them dumb ol Occupy peoples.
How many underground actions had to take place before the people woke up to the reality of Vietnam? How many people had to hit the streets before some thought, hey might be an idea to address this lip serves we pay to, "All men are created equal.........."
We are all part of the sham my friends or we would not be here now!
"My mother, for example, is completely risk averse. She holds the entirety of her savings in a bank account, and nobody can convince her otherwise.
What she doesn't realize is that the interest rate she receives is below the rate of inflation. So year after year, the purchasing power of her savings declines. "
What she also doesn't realize is keeping the money in the bank makes it super easy for the govt to steal it. Instead she should invest in something that will always have value, yet will require some effort to steal: Guns, ammo, gold, big ass bags of rice, gasoline...
Actually, gold and silver specifically will likely be banned like gold was under FDR if things get out of hand, so maybe another not as popular rare metal would be a better investment, unless you want to sit on your gold for 40 years before you can use it...
If they ban it in the USA it will simply be a sign of how hopeless the situation is for them to go against an asset class that forms such a smalll portion of overall wealth in US society.
The "death" toll is rising as we see liberties, privacy, gun ownership, savings etc slowly die.
And inflation has stolen the value from any insurance policy recipients might own.
Says United of Omaha Life Insurance Company:
“Let’s say you bought a $10,000 policy in 2001. Since then, according to the 2011 Consumer Price Index, inflation has taken $2,126 in buying power from your policy.*
“For example, your beneficiary would buy 21% less with the $10,000 than could have been bought in 2001.”*
*U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index/All Urban Consumer (CPI-U).
As for the CPI-U, says Dr. Anthony Santelli, “My only issue (with a contract that contains an inflation hedge) is in its use of the CPI as a measure of inflation. It would be better if such a contract were written with a hedge using the price of a real item, like the price of oil or bread, because the CPI is an abstraction that contains fudge factors. In theory at least, one of the parties to such a contract could have control over how the CPI is calculated and, as such, could manipulate it in his favor in order to gain from such a contract.”