It's like we were shipwrecked and relieved to be alive and through the storm. Now as we look towards the horizon, our hearts sink as we see yet another bigger, more violent storm approaching. This is not going away friends.
Can The Economy Recover?
by Paul Craig Roberts
.
Global Research, July 21, 2009
Information Clearing House - 2009-07-15
There is no economy left to recover. The US manufacturing economy was lost to offshoring and free trade ideology. It was replaced by a mythical “New Economy.â€
Screw the Banks and Investment Firms
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
Cowboy, great post. The whole thing was built on borrowed money and now it's coming to an end. I read an interesting bit of news about China. China is borrowing money to do their big stimulus. They use their US treasury bonds as collateral against the loans. If / when the dollar tanks, they can default on the loans and forfeit the treasuries. It looks like investors worldwide are going to get the shaft.
Here's a good article about dividends and earnings; http://www.runtogold.com/2009/07/the-co ... 0xz.fbfdxm
"This means companies are distributing $3 of dividends for every $1 of earnings. This is accomplished by burning through cash reserves, selling off assets, borrowing, etc. This is unsustainable."
Everything that EVERYONE is doing is just a deferral or postponement.
The World has too much production capacity and too few actually producing. The very rich have accumulated so much wealth that there isn't anything left over for the consumer.
The banksters have concentrated so much wealth into wealth creation that they have starved the producer and the producing economy. They're too myopic to realize that all their precious instruments have no intrinsic value. They only have value if they result in some kind of production and consumption. A bond is nothing but a demand call on some labor or material. If no material or labor is being produced, the bond has no value.
By creating an atmosphere of questionable value for their bonds, they have created an atmosphere of questionable value for all instruments. They have put the whole fiat money system in jeopardy. There are far more instruments than can ever be redeemed in goods or services. As the West utilizes less and less of it's industrial capacity, the supporting instruments will be worth less and less. Corporate bond defaults are the highest in American history. This will move up the ladder to infect other bonds.
All very intersting, dan
Here's a good article about dividends and earnings; http://www.runtogold.com/2009/07/the-co ... 0xz.fbfdxm
"This means companies are distributing $3 of dividends for every $1 of earnings. This is accomplished by burning through cash reserves, selling off assets, borrowing, etc. This is unsustainable."
Everything that EVERYONE is doing is just a deferral or postponement.
The World has too much production capacity and too few actually producing. The very rich have accumulated so much wealth that there isn't anything left over for the consumer.
The banksters have concentrated so much wealth into wealth creation that they have starved the producer and the producing economy. They're too myopic to realize that all their precious instruments have no intrinsic value. They only have value if they result in some kind of production and consumption. A bond is nothing but a demand call on some labor or material. If no material or labor is being produced, the bond has no value.
By creating an atmosphere of questionable value for their bonds, they have created an atmosphere of questionable value for all instruments. They have put the whole fiat money system in jeopardy. There are far more instruments than can ever be redeemed in goods or services. As the West utilizes less and less of it's industrial capacity, the supporting instruments will be worth less and less. Corporate bond defaults are the highest in American history. This will move up the ladder to infect other bonds.
All very intersting, dan
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
Yeah, the Chinese are shrewd and smart. As Roberts said, they're buying up gold and oil and energy. Wouldn't you have loved to be a fly on wall at the recent meeting between Bama, Tiny Tim, Hillary and those two financial officials from China?
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
Fly on the wall would be great. It would be a hard decision,,, on who to leave with my fly shit. China has stopped buying agency debt. They only buy short bonds. I'm sure that Tiny Tim told them that they have to continue to buy treasuries or we will stop servicing our debt.
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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littleflower
- Posts: 3420
- Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:30 pm
- Location: rainforest canopy
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
Yeah they have the best of both worlds, the only capitalist-totalitarian government in existence....a capitalists wet dream. I don't think you can even call them "commies" anymore. They've clearly gone to another level.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
The Deciet of Uncle Ben
Obama, Greenspan and the AP all said today that the economy was showing signs of a recovery. On what did they base that observation? I think Mike Whitney has the answer:
Laundering Money through the Big Banks: Bernanke's Quid Pro Quo
by Mike Whitney
.
Global Research, August 3, 2009
=
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is a man who knows how Washington works and uses that knowledge to great effect. His appearances on Capital Hill are always worth watching. He sits politely with his hands folded in front of him playing the bashful professor while one one preening congressman after another makes a fool out of themself. In contrast, Bernanke looks like a modest and thoughtful academic faithfully upholding the public's trust. But things aren't always as they seem. The Fed chief is sticking it to the American people big-time and no one seems to have any idea of what's really going on. Former hedge fund manager Andy Kessler sums it up in a recent Wall Street Journal article, "The Bernanke Market". Here's a clip:
"By buying U.S. Treasuries and mortgages to increase the monetary base by $1 trillion, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke didn't put money directly into the stock market but he didn't have to. With nowhere else to go, except maybe commodities, inflows into the stock market have been on a tear. Stock and bond funds saw net inflows of close to $150 billion since January. The dollars he cranked out didn't go into the hard economy, but instead into tradable assets. In other words, Ben Bernanke has been the market."
What does it mean?
It means the revered professor Bernanke figured out a way to circumvent Congress and dump more than a trillion dollars into the stock market by laundering the money through the big banks and other failing financial institutions. As Kessler suggests, Bernanke knew the liquidity would pop up in the equities market, thus, building the equity position of the banks so they wouldn't have to grovel to Congress for another TARP-like bailout. Bernanke's actions demonstrate his contempt for the democratic process. The Fed sees itself as a government-unto-itself.
Over at Zero Hedge, Tyler Durden did the math and figured that the recent 45% surge in the S&P 500 had nothing to do with the fictional economic "recovery", but was just more of the Fed's hanky panky. Durden noticed that the money that's been sluicing into stocks hasn't (correspondingly) depleted the money markets. That's the clue that led him to the truth about Bernanke's 6 month stock rally.
Zero Hedge: "Most interesting is the correlation between Money Market totals and the listed stock value since the March lows: a $2.7 trillion move in equities was accompanied by a less than $400 billion reduction in Money Market accounts!
Where, may we ask, did the balance of $2.3 trillion in purchasing power come from? Why the Federal Reserve of course, which directly and indirectly subsidized U.S. banks (and foreign ones through liquidity swaps) for roughly that amount. Apparently these banks promptly went on a buying spree to raise the all important equity market, so that the U.S. consumer who net equity was almost negative on March 31, could have some semblance of confidence back and would go ahead and max out his credit card. Alas, as one can see in the money multiplier and velocity of money metrics, U.S. consumers couldn't care less about leveraging themselves any more."
So, the magical "Green Shoots" stock market rally was fueled by a mere $400 billion from the money markets. The rest ($2.3 trillion) was main-lined into the market via Bernanke's quantitative easing (QE) program, of which Krugman and others speak so highly.
Wouldn't you like to know if Bernanke sat down with G-Sax and JPM executives and mapped out the details of this swindle before the printing presses ever started rolling?
So, how long can this kind of fakery go on before our creditors grow weary of dealing with chiselers and stop buying US Treasuries altogether? Here's a blurp from Friday's Wall Street Journal on that very topic:
"Shaky auctions of Treasury notes this week reignited concerns about whether the government can attract buyers from China and elsewhere to soak up trillions in new debt.
A fuse was lit this week when traders noted China's apparent absence from direct participation in two Treasury bond auctions. While China may have bought Treasurys just before the auctions, market participants read the country's actions as a worrying sign that China and other foreign investors may be ratcheting back purchases at a time when the U.S. is seeking to fund a $1.8 trillion budget deficit.
This week alone, the U.S. deluged the bond market with more than $200 billion in record-size sales. The U.S. has had little trouble finding buyers in recent months. But that demand is fading, and the Treasury market has become volatile."
Uncle Sam is goosing the bond market just like he is the stock market. Take a look at Treasury's latest bit of chicanery which was stuffed in the back pages of the Wall Street Journal back in June:
"The sudden increase in demand by foreign buyers for Treasurys, hailed as proof that the world's central banks are still willing to help absorb the avalanche of supply, mightn't be all that it seems.
When the government sells bonds, traders typically look at a group of buyers called indirect bidders, which includes foreign central banks, to divine overseas demand for U.S. debt. That demand has been rising recently, giving comfort to investors that foreign buyers will continue to finance the U.S.'s budget deficit.
But in a little-noticed switch on June 1, the Treasury changed the way it accounts for indirect bids, putting more buyers under that umbrella and boosting the portion of recent Treasury sales that the market perceived were being bought by foreigners." ("Is foreign Demand as Solid as it Looks, Min zeng)
Nice touch, eh? So, someone doesn't want you and me to know when foreign demand drops off a cliff, so they just bend-and-twist the definitions so they meet the Fed's requirements. How's that for transparency?. Apparently, Bernanke et al. don't believe the Chinese have translators who can make sense of all this subterfuge. That may be a miscalculation, however, given recent rumblings from the Orient.
Laundering Money through the Big Banks: Bernanke's Quid Pro Quo
by Mike Whitney
.
Global Research, August 3, 2009
=
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is a man who knows how Washington works and uses that knowledge to great effect. His appearances on Capital Hill are always worth watching. He sits politely with his hands folded in front of him playing the bashful professor while one one preening congressman after another makes a fool out of themself. In contrast, Bernanke looks like a modest and thoughtful academic faithfully upholding the public's trust. But things aren't always as they seem. The Fed chief is sticking it to the American people big-time and no one seems to have any idea of what's really going on. Former hedge fund manager Andy Kessler sums it up in a recent Wall Street Journal article, "The Bernanke Market". Here's a clip:
"By buying U.S. Treasuries and mortgages to increase the monetary base by $1 trillion, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke didn't put money directly into the stock market but he didn't have to. With nowhere else to go, except maybe commodities, inflows into the stock market have been on a tear. Stock and bond funds saw net inflows of close to $150 billion since January. The dollars he cranked out didn't go into the hard economy, but instead into tradable assets. In other words, Ben Bernanke has been the market."
What does it mean?
It means the revered professor Bernanke figured out a way to circumvent Congress and dump more than a trillion dollars into the stock market by laundering the money through the big banks and other failing financial institutions. As Kessler suggests, Bernanke knew the liquidity would pop up in the equities market, thus, building the equity position of the banks so they wouldn't have to grovel to Congress for another TARP-like bailout. Bernanke's actions demonstrate his contempt for the democratic process. The Fed sees itself as a government-unto-itself.
Over at Zero Hedge, Tyler Durden did the math and figured that the recent 45% surge in the S&P 500 had nothing to do with the fictional economic "recovery", but was just more of the Fed's hanky panky. Durden noticed that the money that's been sluicing into stocks hasn't (correspondingly) depleted the money markets. That's the clue that led him to the truth about Bernanke's 6 month stock rally.
Zero Hedge: "Most interesting is the correlation between Money Market totals and the listed stock value since the March lows: a $2.7 trillion move in equities was accompanied by a less than $400 billion reduction in Money Market accounts!
Where, may we ask, did the balance of $2.3 trillion in purchasing power come from? Why the Federal Reserve of course, which directly and indirectly subsidized U.S. banks (and foreign ones through liquidity swaps) for roughly that amount. Apparently these banks promptly went on a buying spree to raise the all important equity market, so that the U.S. consumer who net equity was almost negative on March 31, could have some semblance of confidence back and would go ahead and max out his credit card. Alas, as one can see in the money multiplier and velocity of money metrics, U.S. consumers couldn't care less about leveraging themselves any more."
So, the magical "Green Shoots" stock market rally was fueled by a mere $400 billion from the money markets. The rest ($2.3 trillion) was main-lined into the market via Bernanke's quantitative easing (QE) program, of which Krugman and others speak so highly.
Wouldn't you like to know if Bernanke sat down with G-Sax and JPM executives and mapped out the details of this swindle before the printing presses ever started rolling?
So, how long can this kind of fakery go on before our creditors grow weary of dealing with chiselers and stop buying US Treasuries altogether? Here's a blurp from Friday's Wall Street Journal on that very topic:
"Shaky auctions of Treasury notes this week reignited concerns about whether the government can attract buyers from China and elsewhere to soak up trillions in new debt.
A fuse was lit this week when traders noted China's apparent absence from direct participation in two Treasury bond auctions. While China may have bought Treasurys just before the auctions, market participants read the country's actions as a worrying sign that China and other foreign investors may be ratcheting back purchases at a time when the U.S. is seeking to fund a $1.8 trillion budget deficit.
This week alone, the U.S. deluged the bond market with more than $200 billion in record-size sales. The U.S. has had little trouble finding buyers in recent months. But that demand is fading, and the Treasury market has become volatile."
Uncle Sam is goosing the bond market just like he is the stock market. Take a look at Treasury's latest bit of chicanery which was stuffed in the back pages of the Wall Street Journal back in June:
"The sudden increase in demand by foreign buyers for Treasurys, hailed as proof that the world's central banks are still willing to help absorb the avalanche of supply, mightn't be all that it seems.
When the government sells bonds, traders typically look at a group of buyers called indirect bidders, which includes foreign central banks, to divine overseas demand for U.S. debt. That demand has been rising recently, giving comfort to investors that foreign buyers will continue to finance the U.S.'s budget deficit.
But in a little-noticed switch on June 1, the Treasury changed the way it accounts for indirect bids, putting more buyers under that umbrella and boosting the portion of recent Treasury sales that the market perceived were being bought by foreigners." ("Is foreign Demand as Solid as it Looks, Min zeng)
Nice touch, eh? So, someone doesn't want you and me to know when foreign demand drops off a cliff, so they just bend-and-twist the definitions so they meet the Fed's requirements. How's that for transparency?. Apparently, Bernanke et al. don't believe the Chinese have translators who can make sense of all this subterfuge. That may be a miscalculation, however, given recent rumblings from the Orient.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
Cowboy, thanks,,, excellent article. There is also another statistic floating around showing the relative number of bidders for bonds. It keeps falling. Our bond service costs for june were $ 106 billion. It's starting to sink in that we're strained to pay interest,,, we'll never pay off the principle.
MSM and GOV are painting the economy with rose-colored glasses just to keep bond buyers from deserting the markets. It's slowly becoming obvious that we can't pay back principle,,, nothing new. Buyers are starting to realize that when they make a new bond buy,,,, the money is used to repay THEM the interest from previous buys.
You can project bond buyers "down" and bond sales "up". At some point, an auction will fail and Bernanke will have to come up with cash rather than smoke and mirrors. GOV can only print money just so fast. The more that they print, the faster they chase away investors.
The stupidity is monumental. EVERYTHING is done as a postponement. Everything is done to preserve the banks. The US is non-competitive. 50 % of the cost of an item is for financing. The banks are a big part of the reason that the US is non-competitive. So, the banks are dragging us down and sucking out the last of the life-blood as they try to preserve their power.
They refuse to release their death-grip on the producing economy. They get free money from the FED. Do they turn around and make 1 % loans to business? Nope,, they can get 3.2 % by depositing their free money in treasuries. They could support the general economy at no cost [ their free money] They have no faith in the general economy so, they starve it.
They're too stupid to realize that at the end of the day,,,, the producing economy is the only thing that imbues any value into instruments like bonds and notes.
The whole country is just hanging on,,, praying for a recovery. The money masters have the keys to the treasury and are smugly watching it all fall down. The Obots are rubbing their hands and waiting to redistribute the wealth. JP is planning to make a killing from carbon credits. Nobody seems willing to admit that the wealth of a country is a result of people doing productive work. Nobody has a plan to get people working.
Unemployment is headed for 40 % What recovery?
MSM and GOV are painting the economy with rose-colored glasses just to keep bond buyers from deserting the markets. It's slowly becoming obvious that we can't pay back principle,,, nothing new. Buyers are starting to realize that when they make a new bond buy,,,, the money is used to repay THEM the interest from previous buys.
You can project bond buyers "down" and bond sales "up". At some point, an auction will fail and Bernanke will have to come up with cash rather than smoke and mirrors. GOV can only print money just so fast. The more that they print, the faster they chase away investors.
The stupidity is monumental. EVERYTHING is done as a postponement. Everything is done to preserve the banks. The US is non-competitive. 50 % of the cost of an item is for financing. The banks are a big part of the reason that the US is non-competitive. So, the banks are dragging us down and sucking out the last of the life-blood as they try to preserve their power.
They refuse to release their death-grip on the producing economy. They get free money from the FED. Do they turn around and make 1 % loans to business? Nope,, they can get 3.2 % by depositing their free money in treasuries. They could support the general economy at no cost [ their free money] They have no faith in the general economy so, they starve it.
They're too stupid to realize that at the end of the day,,,, the producing economy is the only thing that imbues any value into instruments like bonds and notes.
The whole country is just hanging on,,, praying for a recovery. The money masters have the keys to the treasury and are smugly watching it all fall down. The Obots are rubbing their hands and waiting to redistribute the wealth. JP is planning to make a killing from carbon credits. Nobody seems willing to admit that the wealth of a country is a result of people doing productive work. Nobody has a plan to get people working.
Unemployment is headed for 40 % What recovery?
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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Apollonaris Zeus
- Posts: 3716
- Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2003 11:17 am
CoyboyAngel posted,
"Where, may we ask, did the balance of $2.3 trillion in purchasing power come from? Why the Federal Reserve of course, which directly and indirectly subsidized U.S. banks (and foreign ones through liquidity swaps) for roughly that amount. Apparently these banks promptly went on a buying spree to raise the all important equity market, so that the U.S. consumer who net equity was almost negative on March 31, could have some semblance of confidence back and would go ahead and max out his credit card. Alas, as one can see in the money multiplier and velocity of money metrics, U.S. consumers couldn't care less about leveraging themselves any more."
Knowing of the source of this statement, I do have to say that this is Hedge Fund Propaganda. Of course they paint a jilted picture of the recovery they make their money on belief of failure of the industry. That is how they make their money. The statement is an over-simplification of the stock recovery. Yes, banks have mutual funds therefore they invest in stocks. But to say that there is no individual investors putting money in is just absurd.
AIIZ
"Where, may we ask, did the balance of $2.3 trillion in purchasing power come from? Why the Federal Reserve of course, which directly and indirectly subsidized U.S. banks (and foreign ones through liquidity swaps) for roughly that amount. Apparently these banks promptly went on a buying spree to raise the all important equity market, so that the U.S. consumer who net equity was almost negative on March 31, could have some semblance of confidence back and would go ahead and max out his credit card. Alas, as one can see in the money multiplier and velocity of money metrics, U.S. consumers couldn't care less about leveraging themselves any more."
Knowing of the source of this statement, I do have to say that this is Hedge Fund Propaganda. Of course they paint a jilted picture of the recovery they make their money on belief of failure of the industry. That is how they make their money. The statement is an over-simplification of the stock recovery. Yes, banks have mutual funds therefore they invest in stocks. But to say that there is no individual investors putting money in is just absurd.
AIIZ
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
can't sit still wrote:Cowboy, thanks,,, excellent article. There is also another statistic floating around showing the relative number of bidders for bonds. It keeps falling. Our bond service costs for june were $ 106 billion. It's starting to sink in that we're strained to pay interest,,, we'll never pay off the principle.
MSM and GOV are painting the economy with rose-colored glasses just to keep bond buyers from deserting the markets. It's slowly becoming obvious that we can't pay back principle,,, nothing new. Buyers are starting to realize that when they make a new bond buy,,,, the money is used to repay THEM the interest from previous buys.
You can project bond buyers "down" and bond sales "up". At some point, an auction will fail and Bernanke will have to come up with cash rather than smoke and mirrors. GOV can only print money just so fast. The more that they print, the faster they chase away investors.
The stupidity is monumental. EVERYTHING is done as a postponement. Everything is done to preserve the banks. The US is non-competitive. 50 % of the cost of an item is for financing. The banks are a big part of the reason that the US is non-competitive. So, the banks are dragging us down and sucking out the last of the life-blood as they try to preserve their power.
They refuse to release their death-grip on the producing economy. They get free money from the FED. Do they turn around and make 1 % loans to business? Nope,, they can get 3.2 % by depositing their free money in treasuries. They could support the general economy at no cost [ their free money] They have no faith in the general economy so, they starve it.
They're too stupid to realize that at the end of the day,,,, the producing economy is the only thing that imbues any value into instruments like bonds and notes.
The whole country is just hanging on,,, praying for a recovery. The money masters have the keys to the treasury and are smugly watching it all fall down. The Obots are rubbing their hands and waiting to redistribute the wealth. JP is planning to make a killing from carbon credits. Nobody seems willing to admit that the wealth of a country is a result of people doing productive work. Nobody has a plan to get people working.
Unemployment is headed for 40 % What recovery?
Dan, isn't this what old Bernie Maddoff landed in jail for?
Zeus, Can't get away from the big players like China not buying our treasuries at an ever increasing rate. The plunge protection team can put on their phony face and buy treasuries in the Caymans but that can only last for a short time more.
Stock up on ammo.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
Bernie did exactly what social security does. He just didn't have a charter.
I have a friend who lives just south of Sacramento. He can't find ammo in .22 caliber. Forget 9 mm or .308.
I spent lots on food and little on ammo. If you think about it realistically, what good is tons of ammo,,, except for trading for food? Suppose that you have 4,000 rounds of .308 hollow point. You are never, ever going to fire off 4,000 rounds without someone shooting back. If you have enough gun battles to go through 4,000 rounds, chances are,,, someone is going to get you. If you're pined down, having gun battles every night, you'll probably run out of food and water.
If you don't live in a fortress, someone will just toss in a Molotov. If you're holed up, they'll get you sooner or later.
It's one thing to be fighting off looters and street gangs. What are you going to do when starving neighbors go sneaking around stealing to survive and feed their kids?
If bond auctions fail and we default, GOV will take the available oil. I just don't see GOV getting oil to all the farmers and food distributors. I just can't see any logic to hunkering down in the city with lots of guns and ammo. I'll trap squirrels before I'll shoot starving neighbors. Revenouers and G-men are a different story.
Head for the hallers and hills.
I have a friend who lives just south of Sacramento. He can't find ammo in .22 caliber. Forget 9 mm or .308.
I spent lots on food and little on ammo. If you think about it realistically, what good is tons of ammo,,, except for trading for food? Suppose that you have 4,000 rounds of .308 hollow point. You are never, ever going to fire off 4,000 rounds without someone shooting back. If you have enough gun battles to go through 4,000 rounds, chances are,,, someone is going to get you. If you're pined down, having gun battles every night, you'll probably run out of food and water.
If you don't live in a fortress, someone will just toss in a Molotov. If you're holed up, they'll get you sooner or later.
It's one thing to be fighting off looters and street gangs. What are you going to do when starving neighbors go sneaking around stealing to survive and feed their kids?
If bond auctions fail and we default, GOV will take the available oil. I just don't see GOV getting oil to all the farmers and food distributors. I just can't see any logic to hunkering down in the city with lots of guns and ammo. I'll trap squirrels before I'll shoot starving neighbors. Revenouers and G-men are a different story.
Head for the hallers and hills.
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
-
cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
the ammo might also help you get outa town if you live in the any city...a bad place to be. Nobody seems to be thinking perimeter defense as that guy you cited says. .308, .300 .50 how are those going?
I just wonder when the tipping point will come with treasuries. Our military has proved that it's pretty good at blowing things up, not very good about occupations.
I just wonder when the tipping point will come with treasuries. Our military has proved that it's pretty good at blowing things up, not very good about occupations.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
Well,,, they're working on it;cowboyangel wrote: Our military has proved that it's pretty good at blowing things up, not very good about occupations.
Job opening !!!
National Guard ad for Internment/Resettlement Specialist -- at "detention/internment facility" - providing custody, control, supervision, and escort Skills: military law and jurisdictions; level of force procedures, close confinement etc. Yes, new jobs are available!
http://jobview.monster.com/getjob.aspx? ... id16&AVSDM 09-07-16+09:18:00&pg=1&seq&fseo=1&isjs=1&re00
Earn more with the skills you have.
Learn more of the skills you need.
Job Title: Corrections Officer – Internment/Resettlement Specialist
* Company: Army National Guard
* Location: Multiple locations
* Job Status: Part Time
Employee
* Job Category: Security/Protective Services
* Career Level: Student (High School)
* Experience: Less than 1 Year
* Occupations: Correctional Officer
Military Combat
General/Other: Security/Protective Services
National Guard
Job Description
As an Internment/Resettlement Specialist for the Army National Guard, you will ensure the smooth running of military confinement/correctional facility or detention/internment facility, similar to those duties conducted by civilian Corrections Officers. This will require you to know proper procedures and military law; and have the ability to think quickly in high-stress situations. Specific duties may include assisting with supervision and management operations; providing facility security; providing custody, control, supervision, and escort; and counseling individual prisoners in rehabilitative programs.
By joining this specialty, you will develop the skills that will prepare you for a rewarding career with law enforcement agencies or in the private security field.
Earn while you learn
Get paid to learn! In the Army National Guard, you will learn valuable job skills while earning a regular paycheck and qualifying for tuition assistance.
Job training for an Internment/Resettlement Specialist requires approximately 19 weeks of One Station Unit Training, which includes Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training. Part of the training is spent in the classroom and part in the field. Some of the skills you'll learn include military laws and jurisdictions; level of force procedures; unarmed self-defense techniques; police ethics procedures; interpersonal communications skills; close confinement operations; search and restraint procedures; use of firearms; custody and control procedures.
Benefits
· Paid training
· A monthly paycheck
· Montgomery G.I. Bill
· Up to 100 percent Tuition Assistance for college or vocational training (up to $4,500 per fiscal year, 1 October – 30 September)
· Retirement benefits for part-time service
· Low-cost life insurance (up to $400,000 in coverage)
· 401(k)-type savings plan
· Student Loan Repayment Program (up to $50,000, for existing loans)
Requirements
· High School Diploma or GED (If you do not have a diploma or GED, you may still apply – ask a recruiter about how the Army National Guard can help you earn your GED.)
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I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
Wall St's Andy Kessler's into it too:
WSJ: Was It A Sucker's Rally?
Wsj_logo
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has bounced an astounding 30% from its March 9 low of 6547. Is this the dawn of a new era? Are we off to the races again?
Only a fool predicts the stock market, so here I go.
I'm not so sure. Only a fool predicts the stock market, so here I go. This sure smells to me like a sucker's rally. That's because there aren't sustainable, fundamental reasons for the market's continued rise. Here are three explanations for the short-term upswing:
1) Armageddon is off the table. It has been clear for some time that the funds available from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) were not going to be enough to shore up bank balance sheets laced with toxic assets.
On Feb. 10, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner rolled out another, much hyped bank rescue plan. It was judged incomplete -- and the market sold off 382 points in disgust.
Citigroup stock flirted with $1 on March 9. Nationalizations seemed inevitable as bears had their day.
Still, the Treasury bought time by announcing on the same day as Mr. Geithner's underwhelming rescue plan that it would conduct "stress tests" of 19 large U.S. banks. It also implied, over time, that no bank would fail the test (which was more a negotiation than an audit). And when White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel clearly stated on April 19 that nationalization was "not the goal" of the administration, it became safe to own financial stocks again.
It doesn't matter if financial institution losses are $2 trillion or the pessimists' $3.6 trillion. "No more failures" is policy. While the U.S. government may end up owning maybe a third of the equity of Citi and Bank of America and a few others, none will be nationalized. And even though future bank profits will be held back by constant write downs of "legacy" assets (we don't call them toxic anymore), the bears have backed off and the market rallied -- Citi is now $4.
2) Zero yields. The Federal Reserve, by driving short-term rates to almost zero, has messed up asset allocation formulas. Money always seeks its highest risk-adjusted return. Thus in normal markets if bond yields rise they become more attractive than risky stocks, so money shifts. And vice versa. Well, have you looked at your bank statement lately?
Savings accounts pay a whopping 0.2% interest rate -- 20 basis points. Even seven-day commercial paper money-market funds are paying under 50 basis points. So money has shifted to stocks, some of it automatically, as bond returns are puny compared to potential stock returns. Meanwhile, both mutual funds and hedge funds that missed the market pop are playing catch-up -- rushing to buy stocks.
3) Bernanke's printing press. On March 18, the Federal Reserve announced it would purchase up to $300 billion of long-term bonds as well as $750 billion of mortgage-backed securities. Of all the Fed's moves, this "quantitative easing" gets money into the economy the fastest -- basically by cranking the handle of the printing press and flooding the market with dollars (in reality, with additional bank credit). Since these dollars are not going into home building, coal-fired electric plants or auto factories, they end up in the stock market.
A rising market means that banks are able to raise much-needed equity from private money funds instead of from the feds. And last Thursday, accompanying this flood of new money, came the reassuring results of the bank stress tests.
The next day Morgan Stanley raised $4 billion by selling stock at $24 in an oversubscribed deal. Wells Fargo also raised $8.6 billion that day by selling stock at $22 a share, up from $8 two months ago. And Bank of America registered 1.25 billion shares to sell this week. Citi is next. It's almost as if someone engineered a stock-market rally to entice private investors to fund the banks rather than taxpayers.
Can you see why I believe this is a sucker's rally?
The stock market still has big hurdles to clear. You can have a jobless recovery, but you can't have a profitless recovery. Consider: Earnings are subpar, Treasury's last auction was a bust because of weak demand, the dollar is suspect, the stimulus is pork, the latest budget projects a $1.84 trillion deficit, the administration is berating investment firms and hedge funds saying "I don't stand with them," California is dead broke, health care may be nationalized, cap and trade will bump electric bills by 30% . . . Shall I go on?
Until these issues are resolved, I don't see the stock market going much higher. I'm not disagreeing with the Fed's policies -- but I won't buy into a rising stock market based on them. I'm bullish when I see productivity driving wealth.
For now, the market appears dependent on a hand cranking out dollars to help fund banks. I'd rather see rising expectations for corporate profits.
Posted on May 12, 2009 in Recent Articles | Permalink
WSJ: Was It A Sucker's Rally?
Wsj_logo
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has bounced an astounding 30% from its March 9 low of 6547. Is this the dawn of a new era? Are we off to the races again?
Only a fool predicts the stock market, so here I go.
I'm not so sure. Only a fool predicts the stock market, so here I go. This sure smells to me like a sucker's rally. That's because there aren't sustainable, fundamental reasons for the market's continued rise. Here are three explanations for the short-term upswing:
1) Armageddon is off the table. It has been clear for some time that the funds available from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) were not going to be enough to shore up bank balance sheets laced with toxic assets.
On Feb. 10, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner rolled out another, much hyped bank rescue plan. It was judged incomplete -- and the market sold off 382 points in disgust.
Citigroup stock flirted with $1 on March 9. Nationalizations seemed inevitable as bears had their day.
Still, the Treasury bought time by announcing on the same day as Mr. Geithner's underwhelming rescue plan that it would conduct "stress tests" of 19 large U.S. banks. It also implied, over time, that no bank would fail the test (which was more a negotiation than an audit). And when White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel clearly stated on April 19 that nationalization was "not the goal" of the administration, it became safe to own financial stocks again.
It doesn't matter if financial institution losses are $2 trillion or the pessimists' $3.6 trillion. "No more failures" is policy. While the U.S. government may end up owning maybe a third of the equity of Citi and Bank of America and a few others, none will be nationalized. And even though future bank profits will be held back by constant write downs of "legacy" assets (we don't call them toxic anymore), the bears have backed off and the market rallied -- Citi is now $4.
2) Zero yields. The Federal Reserve, by driving short-term rates to almost zero, has messed up asset allocation formulas. Money always seeks its highest risk-adjusted return. Thus in normal markets if bond yields rise they become more attractive than risky stocks, so money shifts. And vice versa. Well, have you looked at your bank statement lately?
Savings accounts pay a whopping 0.2% interest rate -- 20 basis points. Even seven-day commercial paper money-market funds are paying under 50 basis points. So money has shifted to stocks, some of it automatically, as bond returns are puny compared to potential stock returns. Meanwhile, both mutual funds and hedge funds that missed the market pop are playing catch-up -- rushing to buy stocks.
3) Bernanke's printing press. On March 18, the Federal Reserve announced it would purchase up to $300 billion of long-term bonds as well as $750 billion of mortgage-backed securities. Of all the Fed's moves, this "quantitative easing" gets money into the economy the fastest -- basically by cranking the handle of the printing press and flooding the market with dollars (in reality, with additional bank credit). Since these dollars are not going into home building, coal-fired electric plants or auto factories, they end up in the stock market.
A rising market means that banks are able to raise much-needed equity from private money funds instead of from the feds. And last Thursday, accompanying this flood of new money, came the reassuring results of the bank stress tests.
The next day Morgan Stanley raised $4 billion by selling stock at $24 in an oversubscribed deal. Wells Fargo also raised $8.6 billion that day by selling stock at $22 a share, up from $8 two months ago. And Bank of America registered 1.25 billion shares to sell this week. Citi is next. It's almost as if someone engineered a stock-market rally to entice private investors to fund the banks rather than taxpayers.
Can you see why I believe this is a sucker's rally?
The stock market still has big hurdles to clear. You can have a jobless recovery, but you can't have a profitless recovery. Consider: Earnings are subpar, Treasury's last auction was a bust because of weak demand, the dollar is suspect, the stimulus is pork, the latest budget projects a $1.84 trillion deficit, the administration is berating investment firms and hedge funds saying "I don't stand with them," California is dead broke, health care may be nationalized, cap and trade will bump electric bills by 30% . . . Shall I go on?
Until these issues are resolved, I don't see the stock market going much higher. I'm not disagreeing with the Fed's policies -- but I won't buy into a rising stock market based on them. I'm bullish when I see productivity driving wealth.
For now, the market appears dependent on a hand cranking out dollars to help fund banks. I'd rather see rising expectations for corporate profits.
Posted on May 12, 2009 in Recent Articles | Permalink
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
cowboy, you mentioned "banks future profits",,, profits from where? There are 18 million empty houses,, I believe. Everything is being held back off-foreclosure, off-market. Manufacturing is at something like 60% capacity. A jobless recovery isn't really a recovery because we constantly lose market share to foreign competition. If we don't have domestic consumption, the only "recovery" will be in bubbled-up financial markets. Since we screwed the world with toxic AAA, that isn't likely to happen again.
Without jobs, there just isn't a future; "The number of US companies with a corporate offshoring strategy in place more than doubled in the past three years" ""Sixty per cent of companies that had already offshored say they have aggressive plans to expand existing activities," http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2 ... g-for.html
Every tax that we add makes us that much less competitive. Obama finally admitted that he was going to tax the shit out of the middle class. The world has way too much production capacity,,, what would bring the jobs here?
Japan has been trying to escape the doldrums for 20 years. They at least have savings to work with. I don't see any true recovery appearing that doesn't include productive jobs. I don't see productive jobs spontaneously appearing in a country that is non-competitive from the predations of banking and GOV. "future bank profits" seems to be a contradiction in terms.
Dan
Without jobs, there just isn't a future; "The number of US companies with a corporate offshoring strategy in place more than doubled in the past three years" ""Sixty per cent of companies that had already offshored say they have aggressive plans to expand existing activities," http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2 ... g-for.html
Every tax that we add makes us that much less competitive. Obama finally admitted that he was going to tax the shit out of the middle class. The world has way too much production capacity,,, what would bring the jobs here?
Japan has been trying to escape the doldrums for 20 years. They at least have savings to work with. I don't see any true recovery appearing that doesn't include productive jobs. I don't see productive jobs spontaneously appearing in a country that is non-competitive from the predations of banking and GOV. "future bank profits" seems to be a contradiction in terms.
DanI don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
This comes under the heading of "don't worry, be happy". Bill Bonner;
"Last week, Timothy Geithner promised the Chinese that the US economy would recover thanks to demand from the private sector. " "Adjusted for inflation, the US consumer's earnings barely rose from the '70s. By some measures, he had actually less disposable spending power in 2007 than he had in 1973. And now his income is going down. The June number reflected the biggest drop in income in 4 years. Salaries and wages fell 0.4% in June...the 9th drop in the last 10 months. How is it possible for him to spend more? "
"Half America's mortgages will be underwater by 2011, says a Reuters report." "Since the start of 2008, 6.7 million jobs have been lost A record 5 million people have been unemployed for more than six months"
"The commercial mortgage industry projects that 41% of the prime performing loans will be underwater by the first quarter of 2011. 46% of prime jumbo mortgages will follow suit in 2011." "A startling 69% of subprime mortgages will be underwater in 2011. This marks a 50% increase since March 2009. In the option-adjustable mortgage market, the exposure is mind-boggling. These loans offered reduced payments in exchange for increased principal balances. 89% of these loans will be underwater by 2011."
"In certain areas in Florida and California and in Las Vegas, 90% of homes will be underwater by 2011"
"From 2010 to 2013 about 1,000,000,000,000 dollars of commercial real estate loans are coming due" "Think of that, more than 25 percent of all commercial loans coming due in the next 4 years are underwater. And commercial property values are not at a bottom yet." http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/20 ... nderwater/
Commercial property values will never recover if we don't utilize our industrial capacity.
The pundits can talk about a recovery but, the property crash has only just started. In Tokyo, commercial property values are at 1 % of bubble prices. Residential values are at 10 %.
How does anyone in their right mind expect the banks to survive these kind of losses? The CDOs written on these loans probably have a nominal value of $ 250 trillion.
Yes, the producing economy is stabilizing a bit. But what happens when the banks need $ 100 trillion more. I believe that each person's exposure / debt is about $ 45,000 so far.
I don't see any way for the banks to come up with $ 175 trillion in the next 3 years.
GOV keeps pulling money out of the future to fund un-productive BS today.
Historically, this is just one more added chapter to a long book on fiscal stupidity.
Dan
"Last week, Timothy Geithner promised the Chinese that the US economy would recover thanks to demand from the private sector. " "Adjusted for inflation, the US consumer's earnings barely rose from the '70s. By some measures, he had actually less disposable spending power in 2007 than he had in 1973. And now his income is going down. The June number reflected the biggest drop in income in 4 years. Salaries and wages fell 0.4% in June...the 9th drop in the last 10 months. How is it possible for him to spend more? "
"Half America's mortgages will be underwater by 2011, says a Reuters report." "Since the start of 2008, 6.7 million jobs have been lost A record 5 million people have been unemployed for more than six months"
"The commercial mortgage industry projects that 41% of the prime performing loans will be underwater by the first quarter of 2011. 46% of prime jumbo mortgages will follow suit in 2011." "A startling 69% of subprime mortgages will be underwater in 2011. This marks a 50% increase since March 2009. In the option-adjustable mortgage market, the exposure is mind-boggling. These loans offered reduced payments in exchange for increased principal balances. 89% of these loans will be underwater by 2011."
"In certain areas in Florida and California and in Las Vegas, 90% of homes will be underwater by 2011"
"From 2010 to 2013 about 1,000,000,000,000 dollars of commercial real estate loans are coming due" "Think of that, more than 25 percent of all commercial loans coming due in the next 4 years are underwater. And commercial property values are not at a bottom yet." http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/20 ... nderwater/
Commercial property values will never recover if we don't utilize our industrial capacity.
The pundits can talk about a recovery but, the property crash has only just started. In Tokyo, commercial property values are at 1 % of bubble prices. Residential values are at 10 %.
How does anyone in their right mind expect the banks to survive these kind of losses? The CDOs written on these loans probably have a nominal value of $ 250 trillion.
Yes, the producing economy is stabilizing a bit. But what happens when the banks need $ 100 trillion more. I believe that each person's exposure / debt is about $ 45,000 so far.
I don't see any way for the banks to come up with $ 175 trillion in the next 3 years.
GOV keeps pulling money out of the future to fund un-productive BS today.
Historically, this is just one more added chapter to a long book on fiscal stupidity.
Dan
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
Ellen Brown is a genius and has some great ideas and positive solutions. Check this out.
The Public Option in Banking: How We Can Beat Wall Street at Its Own Game
by Ellen Brown
.
Global Research, August 6, 2009
webofdebt.com
President Obama has repeated his call for a public option in health care, in order to create some competition for the insurance companies and keep them honest. We the people need to call for a public option in banking, in order to create some competition for the private banks and keep them honest.
In Wall Street’s latest affront to the public trust, the nine mega-banks graced with $125 billion in taxpayer bailout money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) were reported last week to be paying out billions of dollars in bonuses to their executives. At least 4,793 bankers and traders received more than $1 million each in bonus payments, although it was one of Wall Street’s worst years on record. After months of investigating banker compensation, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on July 30, “The repeated explanation from bank executives that bonuses are tied to performance in a manner designed to promote (national economic) growth does not appear to be accurate.â€
The Public Option in Banking: How We Can Beat Wall Street at Its Own Game
by Ellen Brown
.
Global Research, August 6, 2009
webofdebt.com
President Obama has repeated his call for a public option in health care, in order to create some competition for the insurance companies and keep them honest. We the people need to call for a public option in banking, in order to create some competition for the private banks and keep them honest.
In Wall Street’s latest affront to the public trust, the nine mega-banks graced with $125 billion in taxpayer bailout money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) were reported last week to be paying out billions of dollars in bonuses to their executives. At least 4,793 bankers and traders received more than $1 million each in bonus payments, although it was one of Wall Street’s worst years on record. After months of investigating banker compensation, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on July 30, “The repeated explanation from bank executives that bonuses are tied to performance in a manner designed to promote (national economic) growth does not appear to be accurate.â€
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
hey Larry or swordfish or whatever you're calling yourself these days...chew on this bro.
Entering the Greatest Depression in History
More Bubbles Waiting to Burst
by Andrew Gavin Marshall
.
Global Research, August 7, 2009
- 2009-08-06
Introduction
While there is much talk of a recovery on the horizon, commentators are forgetting some crucial aspects of the financial crisis. The crisis is not simply composed of one bubble, the housing real estate bubble, which has already burst. The crisis has many bubbles, all of which dwarf the housing bubble burst of 2008. Indicators show that the next possible burst is the commercial real estate bubble. However, the main event on the horizon is the “bailout bubbleâ€
Entering the Greatest Depression in History
More Bubbles Waiting to Burst
by Andrew Gavin Marshall
.
Global Research, August 7, 2009
- 2009-08-06
Introduction
While there is much talk of a recovery on the horizon, commentators are forgetting some crucial aspects of the financial crisis. The crisis is not simply composed of one bubble, the housing real estate bubble, which has already burst. The crisis has many bubbles, all of which dwarf the housing bubble burst of 2008. Indicators show that the next possible burst is the commercial real estate bubble. However, the main event on the horizon is the “bailout bubbleâ€
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
Well cowboy, that's a nice cheerful report. I read that, between TARP, the GSEs and now the FHA, the American taxpayer is backing 9 out of 10 Mortgages in the US. I believe that our potential exposure is something like $ 775,000 per person.
The CBO says that debt service will take 300 % of the budget by 2023. It's rumored that Obama is going to raise taxes to 350 % of your income and everything will be fine
The CBO says that debt service will take 300 % of the budget by 2023. It's rumored that Obama is going to raise taxes to 350 % of your income and everything will be fine
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
Ya, real cheery report! And now Obama is talking about reforming Social Security! Wonder what that's gonna look like after tiny tim and larry summers get their slimy hands on it. These idiots are looking at mass insurrection. I guess that's what they want, because that's easier to control than doing the right thing and reforming the financial sector itself...ending derivative trading ( like Roosevelt did during the last big D) stopping energy speculation, either ending or auditing the Fed, calling for a National symposium on economic reform headed by university econ professors like Michael Hudson, Nourial Rabini, Dean Baker, you get the idea.
Insurrection is a lot easier to control and actually more desirable than ethical solutions, in the minds of Wall St-Washington policy makers. We can only hope for a moral "7 days in May" type mutiny. There's gotta some good people left in the system.
Insurrection is a lot easier to control and actually more desirable than ethical solutions, in the minds of Wall St-Washington policy makers. We can only hope for a moral "7 days in May" type mutiny. There's gotta some good people left in the system.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
" after tiny tim and larry summers get their slimy hands on it." Surely, you jest. GOV has "borrowed" $ 4.2 trillion from SS and the government employees retirement fund. I'm moving my chair to starboard, The lee side is tilting a bit.
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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can't sit still
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- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
So far, we've had 70 something bank failures. There might be a few more. 'according to analysts at the Royal Bank of Canada the U.S still has banking failures in the thousands to face before the crisis is over"
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... ic-is.html
Mish seems to think that the FDIC has run out of money to cover failures. If the FDIC and not the shareholders are responsible for absorbing the toxic off-balance sheet paper, the FDIC is going to be very busy and very broke. Dan
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... ic-is.html
Mish seems to think that the FDIC has run out of money to cover failures. If the FDIC and not the shareholders are responsible for absorbing the toxic off-balance sheet paper, the FDIC is going to be very busy and very broke. Dan
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
-
cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
Gonna also be very interesting to see what the organized churches do when soup kitchens soon become the order of the day....5 Catholics on the Supreme Court now...interesting.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
-
can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
Well, the US has 34 million on food stamps. Hunters in the south are bringing deer to food pantries. The pantries are having huge demand. Donations are down. I send a little money to; http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/Pag ... g_homepage
So far, the companies like Conagra and Cargill look to be healthy. Much will depend on whether or not GOV extends benefits for the unemployed. If there is a bank holiday ALL food stamps will shut off. They're just a plastic card nowadays. If the banks are closed, it's doubtful that stores will process credit transactions. I'm not so sure that this country still has the spirit that would be needed to open soup kitchens.
" Many soup kitchens are turning away the hungry, and even hastily constructed new facilities to house the homeless are often inadequate to satisfy the rising demand.
Many private corporations across America are withdrawing their funding for social welfare projects. Ironically, their generosity is ending just as mass poverty is returning to America."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 54,00.html
It's a sad time of re-adjustment.
So far, the companies like Conagra and Cargill look to be healthy. Much will depend on whether or not GOV extends benefits for the unemployed. If there is a bank holiday ALL food stamps will shut off. They're just a plastic card nowadays. If the banks are closed, it's doubtful that stores will process credit transactions. I'm not so sure that this country still has the spirit that would be needed to open soup kitchens.
" Many soup kitchens are turning away the hungry, and even hastily constructed new facilities to house the homeless are often inadequate to satisfy the rising demand.
Many private corporations across America are withdrawing their funding for social welfare projects. Ironically, their generosity is ending just as mass poverty is returning to America."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 54,00.html
It's a sad time of re-adjustment.
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
-
cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
In case anyone is wondering why all these dismal posts, here's something to think about. Knowing what the problem is and how it is maintained is the first step to remedying it. Coalitions of businesses, small banks, industry, consumers and homeowners have to organize in some way and demand reform. Without major reform, there will be rioting in the streets and wide scale unrest. Congress, the Fed, Treasury, the White House, will not act, except to dispense order at the point of a gun.
This is a serious message folks. There is a solution and it will come from the bottom up or from no where.
The Economy is in Deep, Deep Trouble...
Question for Bernanke: "Do you have the cojones to raise rates?"
by Mike Whitney
.
Global Research, August 14, 2009
Booyah. It's morning in America. The jobless numbers are stabilizing, the stock market is sizzling, quarterly earnings came in better than expected, traders have turned bullish, housing is showing signs of life, and clunker-swaps have given Detroit a well-needed boost of adrenalin. Even Cassandra economists --like Paul Krugman and Nouriel Roubini--have been uncharacteristically optimistic. Is is true; did we avoid a Second Great Depression? Is the worst really behind us?
Maybe. But there is only one way to find out for sure. Raise rates.
Bernanke should welcome the opportunity to show everyone how he's pulled the world's biggest economy back from the brink of disaster. All he needs to do is stop giving away free money, shut down a few of his so-called lending facilities, and stop manipulating interest rates by purchasing mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from Fannie and Freddie. How hard is that? The S&P 500 has skyrocketed 48 percent since March 9. What's Bernanke waiting for; a 75 percent increase; a 100 percent increase??? How high do stocks have to go to convince Bernanke that the economy can stand on its own two feet without the torrent of cheap liquidity issuing from the Fed?
Bernanke can prove to his critics that the US economy doesn't need the Fed's monetization programs and price fixing; that it doesn't need the liquidity injections and the buying up of junk mortgages. ($80 billion last month alone) After all, as Bernanke opines, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong!"
Right. Now prove it.
All Bernanke has to do is boost rates by a point or two and demonstrate that he's willing to mop up some of the $13 trillion he's pumped into the financial markets. With just one announcement, the Fed chair could show our biggest creditor--China--that he's serious about defending the dollar and the trillion dollars of US Treasuries China purchased believing that the US was a responsible trading partner who would never write checks on an account that was overdrawn by $12 trillion. (The National Debt)
So, go ahead, Ben. Raise rates, shut down the printing presses, roll up the corporate welfare programs. Be a He-man. Make your critics eat their words. This is from Bloomberg News 8-12-09:
"The Fed’s policy-setting Open Market Committee will today keep the target rate at zero to 0.25 percent and retain plans to buy as much as $1.45 trillion of housing debt by year-end to help secure a recovery, analysts said. The FOMC’s statement is expected at about 2:15 p.m. in Washington."
Hmmmmmm. So all the "green shoots" happy talk is pure gibberish, right? There is no recovery. Bernanke plans to continue flooding the financial system with cheap liquidity. It's all a fraud. Things aren't better; they're worse.
Look at the facts.
There were 1.9 million foreclosures in 2009 in the first six months, and there will be another 1.5 before the end of the year. Is that better? According to Bloomberg: "A glut of unsold homes is also pushing down prices. The 3.8 million homes for sale in June would take 9.4 months to sell at the current pace of transactions, according to the National Association of Realtors. The inventory turnover rate averaged 4.5 months in the six years from 2000 to 2005.....More than 18.7 million homes, including foreclosures, residences for sale and vacation homes, stood vacant in the U.S. during the second quarter. That compared with 18.6 million a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau said July 24
Total home sales fell 23.7 percent in June versus a year earlier." Bloomberg)
Massive supply, falling prices, record foreclosures, flagging demand--and according to Deutsche Bank--48 percent of all mortgages will be underwater by 2011. It's all bad.
Here's another clip from Bloomberg today 8-12-09:
"Home price declines in the U.S. ACCELERATED in the second quarter, dropping by a record 15.6 percent from a year earlier, as foreclosures weighed on values.
The median price of an existing single-family home dropped to $174,100, THE MOST IN RECORDS dating to 1979, the National Association of Realtors said today.
“I don’t think we’re at a bottom yet in home prices,â€
This is a serious message folks. There is a solution and it will come from the bottom up or from no where.
The Economy is in Deep, Deep Trouble...
Question for Bernanke: "Do you have the cojones to raise rates?"
by Mike Whitney
.
Global Research, August 14, 2009
Booyah. It's morning in America. The jobless numbers are stabilizing, the stock market is sizzling, quarterly earnings came in better than expected, traders have turned bullish, housing is showing signs of life, and clunker-swaps have given Detroit a well-needed boost of adrenalin. Even Cassandra economists --like Paul Krugman and Nouriel Roubini--have been uncharacteristically optimistic. Is is true; did we avoid a Second Great Depression? Is the worst really behind us?
Maybe. But there is only one way to find out for sure. Raise rates.
Bernanke should welcome the opportunity to show everyone how he's pulled the world's biggest economy back from the brink of disaster. All he needs to do is stop giving away free money, shut down a few of his so-called lending facilities, and stop manipulating interest rates by purchasing mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from Fannie and Freddie. How hard is that? The S&P 500 has skyrocketed 48 percent since March 9. What's Bernanke waiting for; a 75 percent increase; a 100 percent increase??? How high do stocks have to go to convince Bernanke that the economy can stand on its own two feet without the torrent of cheap liquidity issuing from the Fed?
Bernanke can prove to his critics that the US economy doesn't need the Fed's monetization programs and price fixing; that it doesn't need the liquidity injections and the buying up of junk mortgages. ($80 billion last month alone) After all, as Bernanke opines, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong!"
Right. Now prove it.
All Bernanke has to do is boost rates by a point or two and demonstrate that he's willing to mop up some of the $13 trillion he's pumped into the financial markets. With just one announcement, the Fed chair could show our biggest creditor--China--that he's serious about defending the dollar and the trillion dollars of US Treasuries China purchased believing that the US was a responsible trading partner who would never write checks on an account that was overdrawn by $12 trillion. (The National Debt)
So, go ahead, Ben. Raise rates, shut down the printing presses, roll up the corporate welfare programs. Be a He-man. Make your critics eat their words. This is from Bloomberg News 8-12-09:
"The Fed’s policy-setting Open Market Committee will today keep the target rate at zero to 0.25 percent and retain plans to buy as much as $1.45 trillion of housing debt by year-end to help secure a recovery, analysts said. The FOMC’s statement is expected at about 2:15 p.m. in Washington."
Hmmmmmm. So all the "green shoots" happy talk is pure gibberish, right? There is no recovery. Bernanke plans to continue flooding the financial system with cheap liquidity. It's all a fraud. Things aren't better; they're worse.
Look at the facts.
There were 1.9 million foreclosures in 2009 in the first six months, and there will be another 1.5 before the end of the year. Is that better? According to Bloomberg: "A glut of unsold homes is also pushing down prices. The 3.8 million homes for sale in June would take 9.4 months to sell at the current pace of transactions, according to the National Association of Realtors. The inventory turnover rate averaged 4.5 months in the six years from 2000 to 2005.....More than 18.7 million homes, including foreclosures, residences for sale and vacation homes, stood vacant in the U.S. during the second quarter. That compared with 18.6 million a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau said July 24
Total home sales fell 23.7 percent in June versus a year earlier." Bloomberg)
Massive supply, falling prices, record foreclosures, flagging demand--and according to Deutsche Bank--48 percent of all mortgages will be underwater by 2011. It's all bad.
Here's another clip from Bloomberg today 8-12-09:
"Home price declines in the U.S. ACCELERATED in the second quarter, dropping by a record 15.6 percent from a year earlier, as foreclosures weighed on values.
The median price of an existing single-family home dropped to $174,100, THE MOST IN RECORDS dating to 1979, the National Association of Realtors said today.
“I don’t think we’re at a bottom yet in home prices,â€
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
Wondering where the money goes??? Wondering how much money is "going" ??
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.
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garcialovesme
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:46 am
3rd post on the forums and in to the political mix I go...
Haven't read every post on this thread so please ignore me if this point has been raised.
It may well not be the fault of the lenders and more the fault of the borrowers. If it wasn't for the greed and false aspirations of every single person who was willing to borrow money from the fat cats then we wouldn't be in the mess we're in.
The banks have not forced anyone to borrow their money have they? Yes, they made it easy and sold it as risk free. Yes they gave money to people who had no way to pay it back. If people only realised that money is simply not the answer to any problem. Let's not have a go at rich people. Some people go to work, work hard and make a lot of money. Some of these people work because they love the job. Fair enough. Others go to work to make money. I do. I don't love my job but I need SOME money to get by. I don't screw people for a buck or two. Social justice is more important to me than lining my pockets. Coming from the UK I feel priviledged to live in one of the richest parts of the world. I am humble in the face of a world rife with poverty, hunger, war and greed. I borrow as little as possible and spend wisely on things that actually improve my life (drugs, beer etc, etc). Joking aside, we only have ourselves to blame.
Every single one of us can decide what to do with our time on this planet. If you want to chase the pot of gold, feel free. But you'll never find it and you'll waste your life trying. The only way to stop the banks from raping our world is to give them as little as possible. Don't borrow if you don't have to. Don't spend if you don't have to and don't complain and blame others if it all goes a bit wrong. The problem is YOU (not you but the Royal you).
I'd also like to say that the American guy that appeared on the BBC while being interviewed about the proposed health care reforms in th U.S. seems to have a screw loose. He seemed to think he was qualified in berating the British health care system and commented 'You guys have to wait 6 weeks for a dentist. Have you seen British people's teeth?' I have seen our teeth and they aren't great. This is down to people not going to the dentist. Laziness, that's all. And you don't have to wait 6 weeks, 6 days maybe... Utter right wing rubbish. I think his dentist has drilled too far. Having white, straight teeth should always be secondary to having a care system that cares for EVERYONE and not just those who can pay. The only problem with the NHS is that people aren't willing to pay more to help others. In my opinion (see above) you should embrace a social system and that shares the cost of keeping people alive and well. What a a damn shame that in such rich countries where we can eat all we want, drink all we want and say what we want, people decide to look no further than the ends of their noses.
As the theme this year is evolution, I think it's time we evolved past our survival of the fittest programming and helped embrace a new wold where we all do our bt for everyone else. People will alway try to take advantage of that. So we should burn those people on stakes. Maybe.
Rant over. Thanks.
Haven't read every post on this thread so please ignore me if this point has been raised.
It may well not be the fault of the lenders and more the fault of the borrowers. If it wasn't for the greed and false aspirations of every single person who was willing to borrow money from the fat cats then we wouldn't be in the mess we're in.
The banks have not forced anyone to borrow their money have they? Yes, they made it easy and sold it as risk free. Yes they gave money to people who had no way to pay it back. If people only realised that money is simply not the answer to any problem. Let's not have a go at rich people. Some people go to work, work hard and make a lot of money. Some of these people work because they love the job. Fair enough. Others go to work to make money. I do. I don't love my job but I need SOME money to get by. I don't screw people for a buck or two. Social justice is more important to me than lining my pockets. Coming from the UK I feel priviledged to live in one of the richest parts of the world. I am humble in the face of a world rife with poverty, hunger, war and greed. I borrow as little as possible and spend wisely on things that actually improve my life (drugs, beer etc, etc). Joking aside, we only have ourselves to blame.
Every single one of us can decide what to do with our time on this planet. If you want to chase the pot of gold, feel free. But you'll never find it and you'll waste your life trying. The only way to stop the banks from raping our world is to give them as little as possible. Don't borrow if you don't have to. Don't spend if you don't have to and don't complain and blame others if it all goes a bit wrong. The problem is YOU (not you but the Royal you).
I'd also like to say that the American guy that appeared on the BBC while being interviewed about the proposed health care reforms in th U.S. seems to have a screw loose. He seemed to think he was qualified in berating the British health care system and commented 'You guys have to wait 6 weeks for a dentist. Have you seen British people's teeth?' I have seen our teeth and they aren't great. This is down to people not going to the dentist. Laziness, that's all. And you don't have to wait 6 weeks, 6 days maybe... Utter right wing rubbish. I think his dentist has drilled too far. Having white, straight teeth should always be secondary to having a care system that cares for EVERYONE and not just those who can pay. The only problem with the NHS is that people aren't willing to pay more to help others. In my opinion (see above) you should embrace a social system and that shares the cost of keeping people alive and well. What a a damn shame that in such rich countries where we can eat all we want, drink all we want and say what we want, people decide to look no further than the ends of their noses.
As the theme this year is evolution, I think it's time we evolved past our survival of the fittest programming and helped embrace a new wold where we all do our bt for everyone else. People will alway try to take advantage of that. So we should burn those people on stakes. Maybe.
Rant over. Thanks.
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cowboyangel
- Posts: 6986
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 10:32 pm
It's a popular myth that greedy ignorant underfunded home buyers caused the crash. Bank loan officers filled in the blanks for income qualifiers and never checked like they were supposed to. So who's to blame? They made the stupid loans because of the ever increasing bubble and that they knew the big banks would buy up and re-sell these loans and bundle them into crap like mortgage backed securities. DERIVATIVES are probably what caused the crash more than anything else. Webster Tarpley says that Chase alone is holding about 100 trillion dollars in derivatives. 100 Trillion! These are the so called "toxic assets" that Geithner's "bad banks" were supposed to buy. This is the crap that you and me the taxpayers are expected to pay for ultra rich wall st. gamblers who made "bad decisions" Fuck em.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981
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can't sit still
- Posts: 4645
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:21 pm
- Location: SoCal
How did you choose that particular "pen Name' 
What you say is quite true. Nobody was forced to borrow. The problem is that if you want to go to college or have a house for your family, you pretty much have to borrow. Everyone thought that they deserved the middle class life. Most people listened to advertising that told them that they had to keep up with the Joneses. Damn near everyone believed that house prices were going to go up forever. Willful blindness, I guess.
Survival-of-the-fittest originally selected for physical traits. As man gets more and more control over his environment, the selection is more for mental traits. I think that deviousness comes near the top of the list.
What you say is quite true. Nobody was forced to borrow. The problem is that if you want to go to college or have a house for your family, you pretty much have to borrow. Everyone thought that they deserved the middle class life. Most people listened to advertising that told them that they had to keep up with the Joneses. Damn near everyone believed that house prices were going to go up forever. Willful blindness, I guess.
Survival-of-the-fittest originally selected for physical traits. As man gets more and more control over his environment, the selection is more for mental traits. I think that deviousness comes near the top of the list.
I don't post things because I believe that they are the absolute truth. I post them because I believe that they should be considered.