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Silver is the best thing that could happen to anyone..... let a large bar land on my head.
what a beast.... just keeps on running... where will she stop?
10,000 + means time to short IMO....
"Liberal Fascism" was an excellent book. "Liberty and Tyranny" was also interesting. Common sense needs to be more common..... it would help if people owned and used a calculator... and cut up the credit cards... that includes the Government, the Fed, and the "Investment Banks".
We have plenty of rules... the SEC and others in the roles of oversight need to do their jobs. Tim Geithner will prove to be the biggest criminal of our time. He was the co-conspirator of the CDS market that will prove to be the ultimate undoing of the US Dollar... no way can we ever resolve that debt.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
jmho..
Quite frankly it's about survival... if things get bad enough... even hard assets may not be "worth" much in the short term. You can't eat silver. However, when the system begins to reorganize and establish a monetary system, hard assets will always have value... ask a pirate, read the Bible.... Gold and Silver have had value since man started a barter system.
Gold and Silver are the "puts" of life....
Paper has always failed at some point...
Every empire has eventually come to an end...
Great Recession transforms workplace, work force
Great Recession's labor legacy: shorter workweeks, grayer work force and less job security
* By Jay Reeves and Christopher Leonard, Associated Press Writers
* On Thursday September 24, 2009, 4:17 pm EDT
Going to work may never be the same again.
The Great Recession has reshaped the American workplace and work force in ways that will last years, if not longer.
The work force is graying as college graduates can't find jobs, young workers get laid off and older workers delay retirement. People in white-collar jobs are feeling increasingly vulnerable to economic downturns, an insecurity that blue-collar workers have known for years.
Perhaps the most enduring change is the permanent loss of millions of jobs across the manufacturing, services and retail sectors.
For textile factories and service sector employers like customer service call centers, the next wave of significant job creation will occur abroad, where labor is cheaper. That trend was under way before the recession and will accelerate, according to labor economists. Americans who would have held these jobs will have to retrain themselves for other jobs, such as assembling microchips and medical devices.
For retailers, growth will be limited by more cautious consumer spending, in part because the days of easy credit are over. That means fewer retail clerks milling about stores around the holidays, and fewer merchandise buyers and other staff jobs at headquarters.
"We're in a very deep jobs crisis, and we're not coming out of it," says William George, professor of management at Harvard Business School. "It's too glib to say that jobs are a lagging indicator" and that hiring will return to normal once the economy does, he says.
The national unemployment rate, now 9.7 percent, is forecast to rise above 10 percent before the end of the year and isn't expected to return to a "normal" level near 5 percent until 2014.
Of course, layoffs aren't the only thing transforming the workplace.
The need to cut costs deeply and quickly has forced businesses to get creative -- not just go the easy route of layoffs. It's the central responsibility of managers these days, says Alec Levenson, a research specialist with the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California.
Through furloughs, fewer shifts and other cutbacks, employers have reduced the average work week to a near-record low of 33.1 hours.
About 400 workers at Nebraska meatpacker Premium Protein Products were told this week they will remain on unpaid furloughs for at least another two weeks, having been on unpaid leave since June. States also have joined in, with Utah State University asking employees to take a furlough next summer after taking a weeklong furlough last spring.
Reducing hours of all workers instead of eliminating jobs of a few is a strategy that had slowly been gaining favor in recent years because it saved companies money in several ways: It reduced the need for severance packages, as well as the cost to rehire and train these new workers once the economy rebounded.
The practice became much more widespread during last year's financial crisis and is likely to be repeated in future recessions, says Peter Cappelli, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.
Workers aren't necessarily complaining.
Bonnie Gerard, a business developer with the Knowledge Institute consulting firm in Exeter, N.H., has seen her work week cut from five days to four. That's made it harder to keep up with paying bills. But it beats losing the job. And, she acknowledges, it's made her more efficient.
"It keeps you more focused on the days you're here," she says. "You've still got the same goals, whether you're here four days or five days, and you've got to do the work."
No matter how creative companies get at cost-cutting, or how strong the recovery is, millions of jobs will never come back, George, the Harvard professor, says.
Over the past year, the U.S. non-farm payroll has shrunk to about 131 million people, a decline of more than 5.8 million auto workers, stock brokers, bankers, landscapers, carpenters, truckers, journalists, mechanics, cooks, maids and more. More than 1.6 million manufacturing jobs have disappeared in the last 12 months, along with 1 million construction jobs and 435,000 financial sector jobs.
In low-skilled manufacturing, the U.S. can't compete with countries like China, India or Mexico where labor costs are a fraction of those here. Likewise, cost pressures will continue to push information technology jobs overseas.
American workers will need to be retrained in the coming years to have a shot at the jobs that will be created. George says these jobs will require specialized knowledge, such as how to install energy-saving systems in buildings.
Community colleges and vocational schools that train people for such jobs could become as important as four-year universities.
Plenty of today's unemployed could benefit from such training.
"There are a lot of good people who are really stuck," says John Challenger, chief executive of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "They've been out of work for a long time, and that's made it all the harder for them to compete because they have to explain why they have not been chosen."
A record 4.98 million people had been out of work 27 weeks or longer in August, in part because this recession, which started in December 2007, has stretched longer than any since World War II.
That has forced a record number of people into part-time work. People forced to work part-time jobs because they can't get full-time positions has jumped 54 percent from a year ago to 9 million.
For those who still have a full-time job, flexibility is key.
At a factory that makes foundry equipment in suburban Birmingham, teams that once did specific jobs -- welding, grinding castings, fitting parts, assembling machines -- have had to learn multiple skills.
The shop, which once had 150 workers, now employs only 30.
"The ones we have now have to do it all," foreman Gerry Peoples says. That includes sweeping the floors since the janitors were laid off. "This is probably going to linger for years," says Peoples, who has survived two rounds of cuts and is down to a 32-hour work week.
About 40 percent of workers are now over 55 or older, the highest level since it was 40.8 percent in 1961, according to a Pew Research Center survey released this summer. More workers are delaying retirement for economic and personal reasons, locking up jobs that are sought by younger workers entering the work force.
Years ago, Jerry Bannister, 67, anticipated a more leisurely routine at his age. He oversees 10 maintenance workers at the Mays Chapel Ridge retirement community and has no plan to quit soon. He took the job seven years ago, after working 38 years at a Bethlehem Steel plant.
His Social Security and retirement benefits might be enough to live on, but he couldn't quit without making big changes to his lifestyle, such as cutting out vacations and golf.
"When I get to a point where I say, 'You know, I'm as old as the residents,' then it's time to step down," Bannister says.
Fewer workers these days feel as confident as Bannister does about controlling their destiny.
Job security has diminished after every recession since the 1970s, says David Lipsky, professor at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
As workers fought to get their jobs back, unions dropped long-held contract provisions like cost-of-living adjustments and job-security clauses, he says. That contributed to declining union membership, further weakening workers' bargaining position with employers.
Among white-collar workers, job security began to disappear in the recession of the early 1990s as technology allowed jobs to be shipped abroad. It may be gone now.
Over the past year, the unemployment rate jumped 64 percent for managers and professionals like lawyers, doctors and fund managers. That compares with a 56 percent increase in overall unemployment, according to Labor Department data.
Among people with a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is still low at 4.7 percent, but it's up from 2.7 percent a year ago.
For some younger white-collar workers, job insecurity is so high that just hanging on has replaced asking for a raise or a promotion.
Rusty Meador, 35, a development manager at Plantation Building Corp., a construction company in Wilmington, N.C., walks past empty desks daily. He once worked in the office as a general manager and had a team of project leaders who reported to him from the field. Now he's back on job sites, doing the work of laid-off colleagues -- without a word of complaint. Even if the economy turns around, the memory of this recession will stick with him.
"You're so grateful to have a job," he says.
Reeves reported from Birmingham, Ala. Leonard reported from St. Louis.
This is what your children are learning in school.... death to Capitalism... SOROS = TIDES FOUNDATION = FABIAN MARXISM
Pew Mexican Poll: 1-in-3 Would Migrate to U.S.
September 23rd, 2009 | Published in Newsroom Alerts
Pew Global Attitudes Project: 2009 Mexico Survey
Facing a variety of national problems, Mexicans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the direction of their country. Most describe crime, illegal drugs, economic issues, and political corruption as very big problems. Nearly six-in-ten Mexicans say those who leave their country for the United States enjoy a better life there. One-in-three would move to the U.S. if they had the opportunity and most of those would do so without authorization.
Nonetheless, the U.S. Census Bureau reported yesterday that immigration from Mexico to the United States is on the decline. The current Pew Global Attitudes survey finds that four-in-ten Mexicans say they know someone who left for the U.S. but returned because they could not find a job. Even more (47%) report knowing someone who returned because they were turned back by the border patrol.
Nearly all Mexicans see illegal drugs as a major problem, and there is strong support for a tough stance against drug traffickers. Fully 83% support using the army to fight drug traffickers and most believe the army is making progress in this campaign.
Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 1,000 adults in Mexico between May 26 and June 2, 2009. The sample is representative of the country’s adult population.
The full report is available online at: www.pewglobal.org
Dollar Rises From One-Year Low as Fed Reduces Demand for Risk
By Ye Xie and Matt Townsend
Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar rose from a one-year low versus the euro as the Federal Reserve failed to increase confidence in the U.S. economy, reducing demand for higher- yielding assets funded in the greenback.
The greenback earlier weakened as the Fed signaled it intends to keep holding down borrowing costs. The U.S. currency erased its decline as the decision to end its $1.45 trillion in purchases of mortgage-backed securities and housing agency debt three months later than previously scheduled indicated the recovery won’t be as robust as expected.
“It looks like even though nothing is new, and the dollar weakness can continue, the market may have been a little long on foreign currencies,” said Laurent Desbois, president in Montreal of Fjord Capital, a currency fund manager with $800 million under management. A long is a bet a currency will gain.
The U.S. currency rose 0.4 percent to $1.4730 per euro at 4:22 p.m. in New York, from $1.4790 yesterday. It touched $1.4844, the weakest level since September 2008, after the Fed’s decision. It increased 0.3 percent to 91.37 yen, from 91.10. The yen traded at 134.60 per euro, compared with 134.76.
The central bank will “gradually slow” the pace of its asset purchases and end the program at the end of the first quarter of 2010, the Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting. The buying was previously scheduled to cease by the end of this year. The Fed held the target rate for overnight lending between banks at zero to 0.25 percent, a decision expected by all 93 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
‘Not Even Close’
“Extending it to March means the Fed is not even close to getting out yet,” said Stephen Gallo, head of market analysis at Schneider Foreign Exchange in London. “It gives the Fed more room to maneuver in case they need to increase the amount of the purchase later on.”
The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners including the euro and yen, rose 0.4 percent to 76.404. The gauge dropped 15 percent from its 2009 high of 89.624 reached in March on speculation investors sold the dollar to buy higher-yielding assets.
Some investors had expected the Fed to reduce the purchase of mortgage-backed securities, according to Scott Ainsbury, a portfolio manager who helps manage about $9 billion in currencies at New York-based FX Concepts Inc.
“The dollar trend continues,” Ainsbury said. “No reason to change.”
The index lost 3 percent since the last Fed meeting on Aug. 12, when the central bank said it would keep interest rates “exceptionally low” for an extended period of time.
Treasuries Gain
Treasuries rose on today’s decision, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down 0.04 percentage point to 3.40 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 1 percent.
Interest-rate futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade showed a 43 percent chance the central bank would keep the fed funds target unchanged through March, up from 27 percent odds a month ago.
The central bank will hold the benchmark lending rate steady through the end of the first quarter, according to the median forecast of 65 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The dollar will strengthen to $1.45 per euro and 97 yen by the end of the year, according to economists in a separate survey.
Norway’s krone appreciated as much as 1.2 percent to 5.7721 per dollar, the strongest level since Sept. 30, 2008, after Norges Bank said it “considered the alternative” of increasing the target lending rate, which it held at 1.25 percent. The currency gained 1 percent to 8.5540 per euro.
South Korea’s Won
South Korea’s won strengthened beyond 1,200 per dollar for the first time in 11 months, advancing 0.8 percent to 1,194.45 on speculation the Bank of Korea will increase borrowing costs in the near future. Policy makers stressed the importance of raising interest rates to stem rising property prices and mortgage lending, the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said Sept. 19, citing a report by the bank to the National Assembly.
“We are now starting to see first signs that other central banks will tighten rates, such as Norway and South Korea,” said Dale Thomas, head of currencies in London at Insight Investment Management Ltd., which oversees about $195 billion. “That is in contrast to the Fed’s easy policy. The dollar will continue to decline in a gentle way for the next few months.”
The greenback weakened earlier versus the yen on speculation leaders at the Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh this week will signal currencies other than the dollar need to strengthen to help rebalance global economic growth.
“The dollar remains under selling pressure as the G-20 summit moves toward reforming the international monetary system,” Philip Wee, a senior currency economist in Singapore at DBS Group Holdings Ltd., wrote in a research note sent to clients today.
My hope is $15.... then loading for the crash ... when we lose 100 banks... then out of it before they yank the ETF's. Dipping the toe in may not be a wrong move... below $20 looks good to me... any other opinions? This chart looks like a buy signal to me....
ELITES = Fabian Socialists
The greatest bulwark against tyranny in America has always been the system of private ownership and free enterprise, it is the cornerstone of our system of government and without it our freedoms and liberty are in jeopardy. Central economic planning is, in a very basic sense, the keystone to Fabian Socialism, for in order for it to succeed, central State planning and control must replace the system of free enterprise. While it was not necessary for the State to actually own or directly control all the elements in the economy it is enough for the State to have the right to assert itself in any area that it deems necessary. The Fabians called it "the democratization of economic power", in other words socialized and centralized control over economic direction within the country.
In 1942, Stuart Chase, in his book "The Road We Are Traveling" spelled out the system of planning the Fabians had in mind; the interesting thing is to look at that plan in comparison to 2008 America.
1. Strong, centralized government.
2. Powerful Executive at the expense of Congress and the Judicial.
3. Government controlled banking, credit and securities exchange.
4. Government control over employment.
5. Unemployment insurance, old age pensions.
6. Universal medical care, food and housing programs.
7. Access to unlimited government borrowing.
8. A managed monetary system.
9. Government control over foreign trade.
10. Government control over natural energy sources, transportation and agricultural production.
11. Government regulation of labor.
12. Youth camps devoted to health discipline, community service and ideological teaching consistent with those of the authorities.
13. Heavy progressive taxation.
It should be evident that while Socialist no longer use the name that the plan is Socialism at its heart. The Fabian Socialist Revolution began in earnest in this country in 1933 with the imposition of the Welfare State and has been steadily progressing since. Those who are promoting this system, whether in the Republican Party or Democratic Party, are nothing less than Traitors, guilty of a type of high treason that deserves the most punitive penalty for such treachery. Listen carefully to the propositions of both McCain and Obama; I suspect that you will quickly find both of their positions are not only similar, but propose in essence and detail the Fabian Socialist construct. The system that these marauders are imposing upon us will ultimately alter our system of government beyond recognition.
The Economy is a Lie, too
Posted By admin On September 22, 2009
Paul Craig Roberts
September 22, 2009
Americans cannot get any truth out of their government about anything, the economy included. Americans are being driven into the ground economically, with one million school children now homeless, while Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke announces that the recession is over.
At the urging of Larry Summers and Goldman Sachs’ CEO Henry Paulson, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bush administration went along with removing restrictions on debt leverage.
The spin that masquerades as news is becoming more delusional. Consumer spending is 70% of the US economy. It is the driving force, and it has been shut down. Except for the super rich, there has been no growth in consumer incomes in the 21st century. Statistician John Williams of shadowstats.com reports that real household income has never recovered its pre-2001 peak.
The US economy has been kept going by substituting growth in consumer debt for growth in consumer income. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan encouraged consumer debt with low interest rates. The low interest rates pushed up home prices, enabling Americans to refinance their homes and spend the equity. Credit cards were maxed out in expectations of rising real estate and equity values to pay the accumulated debt. The binge was halted when the real estate and equity bubbles burst.
As consumers no longer can expand their indebtedness and their incomes are not rising, there is no basis for a growing consumer economy. Indeed, statistics indicate that consumers are paying down debt in their efforts to survive financially. In an economy in which the consumer is the driving force, that is bad news.
The banks, now investment banks thanks to greed-driven deregulation that repealed the learned lessons of the past, were even more reckless than consumers and took speculative leverage to new heights. At the urging of Larry Summers and Goldman Sachs’ CEO Henry Paulson, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bush administration went along with removing restrictions on debt leverage.
When the bubble burst, the extraordinary leverage threatened the financial system with collapse. The US Treasury and the Federal Reserve stepped forward with no one knows how many trillions of dollars to “save the financial system,” which, of course, meant to save the greed-driven financial institutions that had caused the economic crisis that dispossessed ordinary Americans of half of their life savings.
The consumer has been chastened, but not the banks. Refreshed with the TARP $700 billion and the Federal Reserve’s expanded balance sheet, banks are again behaving like hedge funds. Leveraged speculation is producing another bubble with the current stock market rally, which is not a sign of economic recovery but is the final savaging of Americans’ wealth by a few investment banks and their Washington friends. Goldman Sachs, rolling in profits, announced six figure bonuses to employees.
The rest of America is suffering terribly.
The unemployment rate, as reported, is a fiction and has been since the Clinton administration. The unemployment rate does not include jobless Americans who have been unemployed for more than a year and have given up on finding work. The reported 10% unemployment rate is understated by the millions of Americans who are suffering long-term unemployment and are no longer counted as unemployed. As each month passes, unemployed Americans drop off the unemployment role due to nothing except the passing of time.
The inflation rate, especially “core inflation,” is another fiction. “Core inflation” does not include food and energy, two of Americans’ biggest budget items. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) assumes, ever since the Boskin Commission during the Clinton administration, that if prices of items go up consumers substitute cheaper items. This is certainly the case, but this way of measuring inflation means that the CPI is no longer comparable to past years, because the basket of goods in the index is variable.
The Boskin Commission’s CPI, by lowering the measured rate of inflation, raises the real GDP growth rate. The result of the statistical manipulation is an understated inflation rate, thus eroding the real value of Social Security income, and an overstated growth rate. Statistical manipulation cloaks a declining standard of living.
In bygone days of American prosperity, American incomes rose with productivity. It was the real growth in American incomes that propelled the US economy.
In today’s America, the only incomes that rise are in the financial sector that risks the country’s future on excessive leverage and in the corporate world that substitutes foreign for American labor. Under the compensation rules and emphasis on shareholder earnings that hold sway in the US today, corporate executives maximize earnings and their compensation by minimizing the employment of Americans.
Try to find some acknowledgement of this in the “mainstream media,” or among economists, who suck up to the offshoring corporations for grants.
The worst part of the decline is yet to come. Bank failures and home foreclosures are yet to peak. The commercial real estate bust is yet to hit. The dollar crisis is building.
When it hits, interest rates will rise dramatically as the US struggles to finance its massive budget and trade deficits while the rest of the world tries to escape a depreciating dollar.
Since the spring of this year, the value of the US dollar has collapsed against every currency except those pegged to it. The Swiss franc has risen 14% against the dollar. Every hard currency from the Canadian dollar to the Euro and UK pound has risen at least 13 % against the US dollar since April 2009. The Japanese yen is not far behind, and the Brazilian real has risen 25% against the almighty US dollar. Even the Russian ruble has risen 13% against the US dollar.
What sort of recovery is it when the safest investment is to bet against the US dollar?
The American household of my day, in which the husband worked and the wife provided household services and raised the children, scarcely exists today. Most, if not all, members of a household have to work in order to pay the bills. However, the jobs are disappearing, even the part-time ones.
If measured according to the methodology used when I was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, the unemployment rate today in the US is above 20%. Moreover, there is no obvious way of reducing it. There are no factories, with work forces temporarily laid off by high interest rates, waiting for a lower interest rate policy to call their workforces back into production.
The work has been moved abroad. In the bygone days of American prosperity, CEOs were inculcated with the view that they had equal responsibilities to customers, employees, and shareholders. This view has been exterminated. Pushed by Wall Street and the threat of takeovers promising “enhanced shareholder value,” and incentivized by “performance pay,” CEOs use every means to substitute cheaper foreign employees for Americans [How Well-Educated, Hard-Working Americans are Treated in America, By Rennie Sawade, WashTech News, September 14, 2009 ]. Despite 20% unemployment and cum laude engineering graduates who cannot find jobs or even job interviews, Congress continues to support 65,000 annual H-1B work visas for foreigners.
In the midst of the highest unemployment since the Great Depression what kind of a fool do you need to be to think that there is a shortage of qualified US workers?
uhh... yes... it has been for as long as we can calculate... and it's only getting worse. Why do these countries get money? Must be the "Cash For Dictators Program." What a clunker...
http://the-classic-liberal.com/welfare-dependent-dictators/
It Is Going To Be A Rocky Road
Chuck Baldwin
September 22, 2009
Let’s face it: most Americans live in a world of false security. This is somewhat understandable, given the fact that the majority of the U.S. population was born after 1945. Few remember the dangers and hardships of World War II; fewer still remember the Great Depression. Few Americans know what it’s like to not have some sort of “supercenter” nearby with shelves stocked with every kind of food imaginable, twenty-four hours a day. Few know what life was like before there were restaurants of all sizes and types on virtually every street corner in America. And only a handful remembers when most roads were unpaved, or when sports were truly a pastime and not a megabuck obsession.
The paranoia regarding the Swine Flu being demonstrated by both government and media spokesmen begs a giant push for some type of “government solution.”
Modern living within the world’s only “superpower” has created a giant unsuspecting, soft, lackadaisical, and lethargic society. We expect the government to keep our streets safe, our roads paved, our stores stocked, our jobs secure, and our enemies at bay. However, in the desire to make government the panacea for all our problems, we have sold not only our independence, but also our virtue.
Where the federal government was contracted (via the U.S. Constitution) to accept limited power for the overall good of both states and people, it has become a monster of gargantuan proportions, claiming authority over virtually every liberty and right known to man. And in the process, it decided it didn’t need God, either.
It is no hyperbole to say that the U.S. federal government has been on a “Ban God” bandwagon for the past 50 years. Whether it kicks prayer and Bible reading out of school, bars military chaplains from praying in Jesus’ name, burns Bibles in Iraq, removes state supreme court chief justices from their positions for posting the Ten Commandments, or threatens high school principals with jail for asking the blessing, the federal government has invoked the judgment of Heaven upon our country as surely as did Old Testament Israel.
Although the comfortable, sports-crazed, TV addicts probably aren’t paying attention, this country is on the verge of an implosion like you cannot believe. For anyone who cares to notice, the signs are everywhere.
First of all, Israel and Iran are on the verge of war. And right now, I’m not concentrating on the “why” or “who’s right or wrong” of the equation. I’m simply telling you, war between Israel and Iran could break out at any time. And when it does, the chances that it will not become nuclear and not become global are miniscule. Yes, I am saying it: the prospects for nuclear war have never been greater. The CBS-canceled TV show, JERICHO, could become a reality in these United States in the very near future. (I strongly urge readers to purchase both seasons of JERICHO and watch them, because this could be our future.)
Secondly, America is on the verge of total financial collapse. By the end of this year, America’s budget deficit will stand at around $2 trillion. The debt gap is many trillions more than that. But the nail in the coffin for America’s fiscal health will be the decision by China to dump the U.S. dollar. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the death knell for our financial stability (and a painful lesson in sowing and reaping).
It is estimated that China owns around one-third of all U.S. debt. If and when China dumps the U.S. dollar, there would be nothing left to stabilize it, and Weimar Republic/Zimbabwe-style inflation will ensue. America will be thrust into financial chaos. (If one doubts that China is planning to dump the dollar, consider that China is currently purchasing and stockpiling gold at an unprecedented level. This is why gold has suddenly surged to over $1,000 per ounce and why it will continue to rise.)
Third, the paranoia regarding the Swine Flu being demonstrated by both government and media spokesmen begs a giant push for some type of “government solution.” If they keep hyping this “pandemic,” mass hysteria and fear (created by the government and its lackeys in the media) will result. This would, no doubt, necessitate some form of forced vaccination, quarantine (maybe this is what all those internment camps will be used for), and martial law.
Exactly how and when all of the above will actually materialize is yet to be seen. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that within the next few months, the world that we know today is going to vanish. And most Americans are totally unprepared for what’s coming.
If you are able to get out of debt, do it. If you need to scale down your lifestyle in order to be better prepared for difficult days, do it. If you don’t have guns and ammo, buy them. If you have not prepared some sort of preserved food pantry, do it. If you don’t have some kind of survival plan in place for you and your family, get one. If you are not physically fit, get in shape. If you are able to move to a more secure, out-of-harm’s-way location, do it. (During any kind of financial or societal meltdown, urban areas will quickly turn into war zones. Can anyone say, “New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina”?) In other words, get your nose out of the boob tube, get your bottom off the easy chair, and get busy.
Am I worried or discouraged? Absolutely not! (But I am preparing.) The potential good that may result from all of the above is that perhaps God will protect and raise up a remnant of people who would be willing to rebuild a place where Natural Law is respected, constitutional government is revered, and where a ubiquitous, loathsome, overbearing federal government is far, far away. You know, like America’s Founding Fathers did 233 years ago.
In the meantime, get ready. It’s going to be a rocky road.
you misunderstand... they are threatening ALL of the banks... IF you want to keep the FDIC in existence (insuring your money in the bank)... YOU HAVE TO ANTE UP!!!
They are forewarning you that the coming banks failures will topple the FDIC and bankrupt us... this is a very, very bad sign... Geithner's creation and oversight of the CDS market is going to destroy our economy and the US Dollar....
$450 TRILLION in USELESS PAPER HAS BEEN GENERATED... and the thieves are long gone....
www.usdebtclock.org
Kiss me and I'll kiss you back...... it unifies the financial system that is already in debt to the US Government... It undermines any private aspect of an independent bank. If the independent banks want to be FDIC insured... they have to ante up!
Sooooo.... the banks that didn't get Government money are tied to the FDIC inextricably. It ensures the loss of independence of any financial institution....
I envision this like a mob shakedown of a mom and pop shop as they go down the block... "You want protection? You gotta pay up."
JMHO... what do you think?
Ten Big Companies That Are Veering Toward Bankruptcy
Posted Sep 18, 2009 12:21pm EDT by Vincent Fernando and Joe Weisenthal in Investing, Media, Products and Trends, Recession
Related: AMD, LVS, S, M, GT, MYL, HTZ
From The Business Insider, Sept. 18, 2009:
Despite a few green shoots in the economy and a rocketing stock market, many large companies are still struggling to avoid bankruptcy.
A new report by Audit Integrity identifies some high-profile names "that have the highest probability of declaring bankruptcy among publicly traded firms."
Which companies appear the worst off? We took the list and removed any company with a market cap under $3 billion. We then ranked the remaining names by a simple measure of the market's perceived bankruptcy risk - Market Cap (MC) divided by Enterprise Value (EV). The less MC vs. EV, the less residual shareholders' value (above what debt holders can claim) the market is pricing-in for the company. Thus a lower MC/EV means the market thinks the company is more likely to go bankrupt.
1. Hertz
When you have tons of debt financing your fleet of cars, falling rental demand really hurts.
While the company raised new capital in May for some breathing room, Fitch and Moody’s actually cut their ratings for the company in July.
Ignoring the downgrade, shares kept rallying and are now at over five times the March $2 low. Best of luck.
Market Cap (MC)/Enterprise Value (EV) = 32%
2. Textron
What a tough time to be selling business jets.
Textron wrote down $2.3 in its backlog this year after it cancelled a new jet design, and demand for its other aircraft-related offerings has plummeted.
Shareholders may be heartened by the company’s ability to push back some debt maturities lately, but deteriorating credit quality at the company’s leasing arm makes the outlook uncertain at best.
MC/EV=39%
3. Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel is bleeding customers, and could lose as many as 4.4 million net post-paid subscribers this year.
This is a huge problem when you have large amounts of maturing debt over the next few years.
A recent Deutsche Telekom acquisition rumor offered some hope, but that appears to have faded. Facing a difficult road ahead on its own, the company better keep its lawyers on speed-dial.
MC/EV=41%
4. Macy's
Does anyone even shop at department stores anymore?
Same store sales will likely keep falling at Macy’s right through 2009. With $2.4 billion of maturing debt over the next five years, the company is trying to cut costs, and has already reduced its dividend.
Hopefully the US consumer will bounce back soon, and actually want to shop at Macy's.
MC/EV=47%
5. Mylan
In a classic case of management empire building, Mylan overpaid big time when it bought Merck’s generic business back in 2007 and is now stuck with $5 billion of long-term debt as a result.
From 2007 – 2008, the company lost over $1.3 billion very much due to goodwill write-downs.
While the company could earn $300 million this year, they’ll have to earn far more than that in the future to make their debt manageable.
MC/EV=51%
6. Goodyear
Demand for Goodyear tires has sunk, and the company is saddled with massive debt and pension obligations.
It doesn’t help that The United Steelworkers union prevents the company from proper cost control by forcing factories to stay open.
Shareholders have to wonder how much value will be left of the company after bondholders and the union members have their way.
MC/EV=53%
7. CBS
Weak advertising and falling license fees have sent CBS's earnings off a cliff in 2009.
If they remain depressed for too long, the company could have trouble refinancing $3.2 billion of debt coming due over the next five years.
It will really come down to whether or not CBS’s earnings collapse is merely cyclical, or the result of structural trend whereby traditional TV is dying.
As a business blog, we can't help but feel partly guilty here.
MC/EV=55%
8. Advanced Micro Devices
When will AMD actually make money again? The question is becoming more important by the day since it carries over $5 billion in long-term debt.
After losing almost $3 billion from 2007 – 2008, analysts expect the company to lose more money in 2009 and 2010.
While the shares rallied from their February $2 low, they still appear stuck in a long-term down trend from $40 highs way back in 2006.
MC/EV=55%
9. Las Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands over-expanded and over-levered in the last few years and now has over $10 billion in debt to deal with.
Despite jumping 13 times from their March low, Las Vegas Sands shares still face an uphill battle.
Conditions in Las Vegas are horrible, Asian expansion isn’t enough, and if this lasts too long then LVS will end up in bankruptcy court looking like it bit off more than it can chew.
MC/EV=60%
10. Interpublic Group
As one of the largest advertising and marketing companies in the world, IPG was slammed by the global recession.
As the company’s CEO said during recent second quarter results, the downturn “is proving steeper and more lasting than expected”.
Revenues have fallen double digits and the company’s exposure to General Motors as its largest client hasn’t helped.
MC/EV=80%
Ten Big Companies That Are Veering Toward Bankruptcy
Posted Sep 18, 2009 12:21pm EDT by Vincent Fernando and Joe Weisenthal in Investing, Media, Products and Trends, Recession
Related: AMD, LVS, S, M, GT, MYL, HTZ
From The Business Insider, Sept. 18, 2009:
Despite a few green shoots in the economy and a rocketing stock market, many large companies are still struggling to avoid bankruptcy.
A new report by Audit Integrity identifies some high-profile names "that have the highest probability of declaring bankruptcy among publicly traded firms."
Which companies appear the worst off? We took the list and removed any company with a market cap under $3 billion. We then ranked the remaining names by a simple measure of the market's perceived bankruptcy risk - Market Cap (MC) divided by Enterprise Value (EV). The less MC vs. EV, the less residual shareholders' value (above what debt holders can claim) the market is pricing-in for the company. Thus a lower MC/EV means the market thinks the company is more likely to go bankrupt.
1. Hertz
When you have tons of debt financing your fleet of cars, falling rental demand really hurts.
While the company raised new capital in May for some breathing room, Fitch and Moody’s actually cut their ratings for the company in July.
Ignoring the downgrade, shares kept rallying and are now at over five times the March $2 low. Best of luck.
Market Cap (MC)/Enterprise Value (EV) = 32%
2. Textron
What a tough time to be selling business jets.
Textron wrote down $2.3 in its backlog this year after it cancelled a new jet design, and demand for its other aircraft-related offerings has plummeted.
Shareholders may be heartened by the company’s ability to push back some debt maturities lately, but deteriorating credit quality at the company’s leasing arm makes the outlook uncertain at best.
MC/EV=39%
3. Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel is bleeding customers, and could lose as many as 4.4 million net post-paid subscribers this year.
This is a huge problem when you have large amounts of maturing debt over the next few years.
A recent Deutsche Telekom acquisition rumor offered some hope, but that appears to have faded. Facing a difficult road ahead on its own, the company better keep its lawyers on speed-dial.
MC/EV=41%
4. Macy's
Does anyone even shop at department stores anymore?
Same store sales will likely keep falling at Macy’s right through 2009. With $2.4 billion of maturing debt over the next five years, the company is trying to cut costs, and has already reduced its dividend.
Hopefully the US consumer will bounce back soon, and actually want to shop at Macy's.
MC/EV=47%
5. Mylan
In a classic case of management empire building, Mylan overpaid big time when it bought Merck’s generic business back in 2007 and is now stuck with $5 billion of long-term debt as a result.
From 2007 – 2008, the company lost over $1.3 billion very much due to goodwill write-downs.
While the company could earn $300 million this year, they’ll have to earn far more than that in the future to make their debt manageable.
MC/EV=51%
6. Goodyear
Demand for Goodyear tires has sunk, and the company is saddled with massive debt and pension obligations.
It doesn’t help that The United Steelworkers union prevents the company from proper cost control by forcing factories to stay open.
Shareholders have to wonder how much value will be left of the company after bondholders and the union members have their way.
MC/EV=53%
7. CBS
Weak advertising and falling license fees have sent CBS's earnings off a cliff in 2009.
If they remain depressed for too long, the company could have trouble refinancing $3.2 billion of debt coming due over the next five years.
It will really come down to whether or not CBS’s earnings collapse is merely cyclical, or the result of structural trend whereby traditional TV is dying.
As a business blog, we can't help but feel partly guilty here.
MC/EV=55%
8. Advanced Micro Devices
When will AMD actually make money again? The question is becoming more important by the day since it carries over $5 billion in long-term debt.
After losing almost $3 billion from 2007 – 2008, analysts expect the company to lose more money in 2009 and 2010.
While the shares rallied from their February $2 low, they still appear stuck in a long-term down trend from $40 highs way back in 2006.
MC/EV=55%
9. Las Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands over-expanded and over-levered in the last few years and now has over $10 billion in debt to deal with.
Despite jumping 13 times from their March low, Las Vegas Sands shares still face an uphill battle.
Conditions in Las Vegas are horrible, Asian expansion isn’t enough, and if this lasts too long then LVS will end up in bankruptcy court looking like it bit off more than it can chew.
MC/EV=60%
10. Interpublic Group
As one of the largest advertising and marketing companies in the world, IPG was slammed by the global recession.
As the company’s CEO said during recent second quarter results, the downturn “is proving steeper and more lasting than expected”.
Revenues have fallen double digits and the company’s exposure to General Motors as its largest client hasn’t helped.
MC/EV=80%
Census: Recession had sweeping effect on US life
Recession's impact: Census data show longer commutes, delayed marriage, fewer immigrants
* By Hope Yen, Associated Press Writer
* On Monday September 21, 2009, 9:27 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The recession is profoundly disrupting American life: More people are delaying marriage and home-buying, turning to carpools yet getting stuck in ever-worse traffic, staying put rather than moving to new cities.
A broad array of U.S. census data, released Monday, also shows a dip in the foreign-born population last year, to under 38 million after it reached an all-time high in 2007. This was due to declines in low-skilled workers from Mexico searching for jobs in Arizona, Florida and California.
Health coverage swung widely by region, based partly on levels of unemployment. Massachusetts, with its universal coverage law, had fewer than 1 in 20 uninsured residents -- the lowest in the nation. Texas had the highest share, at 1 in four, largely because of illegal immigrants excluded from government-sponsored and employer-provided plans.
Demographers said the latest figures were striking confirmation of the social impact of the economic decline as it hit home in 2008. Findings come from the annual American Community Survey, a sweeping look at life built on information from 3 million households.
Preliminary data earlier this year found that many Americans were not moving, staying put in big cities rather than migrating to the Sunbelt because of frozen lines of credit. Mobility is at a 60-year low, upending population trends ahead of the 2010 census that will be used to apportion House seats.
"The recession has affected everybody in one way or another as families use lots of different strategies to cope with a new economic reality," said Mark Mather, associate vice president of the nonprofit Population Reference Bureau. "Job loss -- or the potential for job loss -- also leads to feelings of economic insecurity and can create social tension."
"It's just the tip of the iceberg," he said, noting that unemployment is still rising.
The percentage of people who drove alone to work dropped last year to 75.5 percent, the lowest in a decade, as commuters grew weary of paying close to $4 a gallon for gasoline and opted to carpool or take public transportation.
Twenty-two states had declines in solo drivers compared with the year before, with the rest statistically unchanged. The decreases were particularly evident in states with higher traffic congestion, such as Maryland, Texas and Washington.
Average commute times edged up to 25.5 minutes, erasing years of decreases to stand at the level of 2000, as people had to leave home earlier in the morning to pick up friends for their ride to work or to catch a bus or subway train.
Palmdale, Calif., a suburb in the high desert north of Los Angeles, posted the longest commute at 41.5 minutes. It barely edged out New York City, with its congestion and sprawling subway system, at 39.4 minutes. Shortest commute time: Bloomington, Ill., at 14.1 minutes.
Nationwide, more than 1 in 8 workers, or 17.5 million, were out the door by 6 a.m.
Marital bliss also suffered. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans 15 and over, or 31.2 percent, reported they had never been married, the highest level in a decade. The share had previously hovered for years around 27 percent, before beginning to climb during the housing downturn in 2006.
The never-married included three-quarters of men in their 20s and two-thirds of women in that age range. Sociologists say younger people are taking longer to reach economic independence and consider marriage, because they are struggling to find work or focusing on an advanced education.
The Northeast had the most people who were delaying marriage, led by states such as New York and Massachusetts. People in the South were more likely to give marriage a try, including those in Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas.
The dip in foreign-born residents comes as the government considers immigration changes, including stepped-up border enforcement and a path toward U.S. citizenship. At nearly 38 million, immigrants made up 12.5 percent of the population in 2008; an estimated 11.9 million are here illegally.
In three large metro areas, Miami, San Jose, Calif., and Los Angeles, more than one-third of all residents are foreign-born.
Roughly half the states showed declines in the number of immigrants from 2007 to 2008. Major metro areas also posted decreases, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Detroit and Tampa, Fla. An influx of workers from India, who came looking for specialized jobs in telecommunications, manufacturing, computers and software, partially offset the national immigration decrease.
About 1 in 5 U.S. residents spoke a language other than English at home, mostly clustered in California, New Mexico and Texas.
The number of foreign-born and minority residents often tracked closely with how a state ranked in the levels of uninsured.
The highest numbers were in agricultural communities with large Hispanic populations in California's San Joaquin Valley, South Texas and South Florida. Regions in New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Oklahoma and Georgia also fared poorly.
The numbers help explain why the debate over illegal immigration and health insurance is so heated.
"The fact that many election 'swing states,' with large and growing Hispanic populations, rank low on health insurance for children and young adults points to the significance of this issue for both parties in future national elections," said William H. Frey, a demographer at Brookings Institution, a think tank.
Democratic proposals to overhaul health insurance would exclude illegal immigrants from benefits, but Republicans contend the prohibition is meaningless because of lax enforcement. President Barack Obama has now proposed broader and tougher restrictions; opponents say the steps are still not enough.
Other findings:
-- The homeownership rate fell to 66.6 percent last year, the lowest in six years, after hitting a peak of 67.3 percent in 2006. Residents in crowded housing jumped to 1.1 percent, the highest since 2004, a sign people were "doubling up" with relatives or friends to save money.
-- The share of people who carpooled to work rose to 10.7 percent, up from 10.4 percent in the previous year. Commuters who took public transportation increased to 5 percent, the highest in six years, with Washington, D.C., at the top.
-- Women's average pay still lagged men's, but the gap has been narrowing. Women with full-time jobs made 77.9 percent of men's pay, up from 77.5 percent in 2007 and about 64 percent in 2000.
-- More people have high school diplomas. Only two states, Texas and Mississippi, had at least 1 in 5 adults without high school diplomas. This is down from 17 states in 2000 and 37 in 1990.
--More older people are working. About 15.5 percent of Americans 65 and over, or 6.1 million, were in the labor force. That's up from 15 percent in 2007.
Associated Press writers Frank Bass in East Dover, Vt., Calvin Woodward in Washington and Mike Schneider in Orlando contributed to this report.
Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov
I think this guy should be in charge... maybe Obama will make him a Czar? Friggin Truth Czar... hehe
No such thing as a rookie question.... more people need to start asking questions, finding out data, and making their own mind up about what is happening.... on this board we just feel the future looks bleak... our reality will be all too poignant.
Tell others about the treasuries and the Federal reserve monetizing our debt....
Tell others about the Federal Reserve....
ASK MORE QUESTIONS OF THOSE IN POWER!
bump... a must read.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=41481483
They are lying.... the Fed is buying back treasuries from the countries who purchased them within 4 to 7 days after the auctions. The Fabian Marxists are accomplishing their ultimate goal of undermining the currency.
oops, I accused someone of lying ... I must be a racist.
He's the George Costanza of Presidents...
"Just remember: It's not a lie if you believe it."
Obama: Legalize illegals to get them health care
The Washington Times
Originally published 04:45 a.m., September 18, 2009, updated 07:49 a.m., September 18, 2009
Stephen Dinan (Contact)
President Obama said this week that his health care plan won't cover illegal immigrants, but argued that's all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage.
He also staked out a position that anyone in the country legally should be covered - a major break with the 1996 welfare reform bill, which limited most federal public assistance programs only to citizens and longtime immigrants.
"Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken," Mr. Obama said Wednesday evening in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. "That's why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else.
Mr. Obama added, "If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all."
Republicans said that amounts to an amnesty, calling it a backdoor effort to make sure current illegal immigrants get health care.
TWT RELATED STORIES:
• Barbour: Policy, not race, drives Obama foes
• Obama begins health plan media blitz
• How rogue conservative filmmakers took down ACORN
"It is ironic that the president told the American people that illegal immigrants should not be covered by the health care bill, but now just days later he's talking about letting them in the back door," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee.
"If the American people do not want to provide government health care for illegal immigrants, why would they support giving them citizenship, the highest honor America can bestow?" Mr. Smith said.
But immigrant rights groups see the speech as a signal that Mr. Obama is committed to providing health care coverage for anyone in the United States legally, regardless of their citizenship status.
"It's the first time I've certainly heard, publicly, him talking more about legal immigrants," said Eric Rodriguez, vice president for research and advocacy at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). "I think that was certainly positive progress. We were absolutely concerned about not hearing that."
On Wednesday, hours before Mr. Obama's speech, the NCLR had given the administration a public scolding, demanding that Mr. Obama needed to make "a public commitment ... to ensure that those who are here legally are covered."
A White House spokesman did not respond to questions about where the White House would make the cutoff for eligibility, and Mr. Rodriguez said he's still waiting for an answer from the administration.
"We don't know where they mean to draw the line," he said. "Our biggest concern is that most people don't realize legal immigrants are currently barred from receiving health care benefits for the first five years in the country."
Under the 1996 welfare overhaul, most federal aid programs are restricted to citizens and legal immigrants who have been in the country for at least five years. Democrats have tried this year to chip away at that rule.
Immigration has dogged Mr. Obama in the health care debate. Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican, shouted, "You lie," when the president, in an address to Congress last week, said his plans wouldn't cover illegal immigrants.
Lawmakers - who got an earful from constituents back home during August - have insisted on extra checks to make sure illegal immigrants do not have access to taxpayer-funded programs.
Senators have worked on language that would prevent illegal immigrants from buying insurance through a proposed insurance exchange envisioned in the health care reform package.
But the NCLR said that could lead to situations where some members of a family would be covered and others, including children of illegal immigrants, wouldn't be.
Mr. Obama said legalizing illegal immigrants is a way to take the sting out of the entire issue.
But Republicans said by pushing to legalize illegal immigrants, Mr. Obama is signaling that those here illegally eventually will get access to taxpayer-funded benefits.
Still, the push to pass a legalization bill is beginning to gain steam, even as advocates fret that the White House is moving too slowly.
On Thursday, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois Democrat and an outspoken advocate for legalization, agreed to take leadership in writing a new, more generous bill.
"We simply cannot wait any longer for a bill that keeps our families together, protects our workers and allows a pathway to legalization for those who have earned it," Mr. Gutierrez said. "Saying immigration is a priority for this administration or this Congress is not the same as seeing tangible action, and the longer we wait, the more every single piece of legislation we debate will be obstructed by our failure to pass comprehensive reform."
If DJIA breaks 10K... shorting my brains out... FAZ looks good below $20... at $15 loading up.
Bailed-out companies detail new expense policies
Companies that received bailout money lay out new expense policies following reports of excess
* By Stephen Manning and Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writers
* On Monday September 14, 2009, 9:49 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Companies that received billions of dollars of government aid have published policies meant to limit lavish expenses, new rules that follow reports of costly private jets, spa retreats and other corporate excess at firms receiving taxpayer money.
The Treasury Department required financial institutions and automakers that received money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program to post their new polices covering "excessive or luxury expenditures" on their corporate Web sites. The policies posted Monday ranged from blanket statements of proper spending practices by company employees, to how much to tip a hotel doorman while traveling.
The list includes companies that took some of the largest chunks of government aid -- including insurer American International Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., General Motors Co. and Chrysler LLC.
The policies, which generally require greater scrutiny by top executives and corporate boards of major expenses, are part of a broad swath of government standards at bailed-out companies designed to help them stay afloat during the financial crisis. That includes an ongoing Treasury review of the pay packages for executives at major TARP recipients.
Lawmakers and the public have blasted some spending and perks at companies that were given government lifelines, including a posh California retreat for executives of AIG last fall and the decision last year by top automakers' officials to fly corporate jets to Washington while asking for billions in bailouts.
Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly would not comment on the policies that had been posted as of Monday afternoon. GM, which has received $50 billion in government aid and is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the program, has until October to report because it emerged from bankruptcy in July.
The amount of disclosure revealed Monday varied broadly. They covered issues like entertaining clients, use of corporate jets and renovations of office space.
Chrysler Financial Services, which has repaid $1.5 billion in federal loans, provided a 15-page policy that prohibits employees traveling on business from being reimbursed for lunch on trips that don't require an overnight stay and directs employees to fly coach if their flight is less than four hours. Employees also can't expense country club fees, massages and spa services, hotel frequent-guest programs and tuxedos or evening gowns. Tips are limited to 20 percent, and employees must choose mid-sized rental cars.
Lost baggage at the airport? Tough luck. Under the policy, Chrysler Financial will not reimburse employees for personal items lost while traveling on business.
GMAC Financial Services, meanwhile, offered a more broad set of rules for workers prohibiting expenditures that "are, or reasonably could be construed as, excessive or as a luxury." It applies to expenditures for entertainment or events, office renovations or travel.
AIG said "Celebratory events are prohibited, except those acknowledging key AIG career milestones. Holiday parties and events must be approved by the Business Unit's CEO and should, where practicable, be held in AIG facilities."
Bank of America wrote that senior management would have to approve renovations that were considered out-of-the-ordinary, including the purchase of antiques and customized finishes. That policy follows reports that Merrill Lynch, which is now part of Bank of America, spent $1.2 million last year renovating the office of then-CEO John Thain, work that included pricey rugs and antique furniture.
Chrysler Group LLC's policy requires employees to arrange for reasonable travel and lodging and "avoid lavish or extravagant expenditures." The automaker will not pay for entertainment or holiday parties for the benefit of employees "unless such expenses are reasonable" and approved in advance by top executives.
Citi requires approval by a member of its executive committee and aviation director before the company's corporate jet can be used. Only the CEO can use the plane for personal travel and must submit a written agreement on reimbursement. Earlier this year, the company reversed plans to take possession of a new corporate jet after receiving roughly $45 billion in bailout money. Citi also set limits on the use of tickets to sports and other events.
GM spokeswoman Renee Rashid-Merem said the automaker's "expense policy is compliant with the requirements of our U.S. Treasury loans as well as the requirements of the (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act) rules and we plan to disclose our policy as required."
Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.
Juvenal
Creepy.... very creepy.
Fabian Socialist=Criminals
Conspiracy Theories abound, but let's take a closer look.by Republicae
(libertarian)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
There are an unimaginable number of "conspiracy theories" regarding the New World Order, some with merit, most are simply illogical and without merit. I will not delve into the initial beginning of this "New World Order", but I begin at a pertinent point in its history that will, hopefully, explain just what they plans have been, how those plans have been implemented and how they will ultimately be defeated by their own plans.
It is vital to understand that the New World Order is inextricably tied to the Fabian Socialists which formed in England during the later part of the 1800s and their intricate plans for a global fascist-socialistic society. In fact, there is no New World Order outside of the Fabian Socialist agenda. It should be remembered that the Fabian Socialists were equally accepted in both the Nazi/Fascist and the Communist/Marxist/Leninist/Maoist/Trotskite ideologies. The Fabians have been, throughout their history, political and social chameleons who have, through stealth and deception, changed their outer skin to infiltrate every political, social and educational institution around the world, particularly in Great Britain and the United States. Speaking of chameleons, the primary symbol of the Fabians is a "wolf wrapped in a sheep's skin".
The Fabians, like all socialists, are completely dedicated to the centralization of all power, in all aspects of society and government. Their primary push as been to advance the idea that the power of government, The State, is the center of society. Fabians are not above calling themselves anti-socialist, conservatives, liberals, moderates, or any other name in order to achieve their goals of centralization. They are not above joining any group that can be used to influence official and public opinion to achieve their goals and indeed, they have succeeded over the decades to do just that. The rise of The State, its well-being and the gradual increase in its power is of primary importance to the Fabians over any and all considerations for the individual. Their goal has been to wean the individual away from self-dependence and responsibility toward a dependency on The State and a sense of responsibility toward the "common good".
Their "silent revolution" undermines a nation from within, deep within the bowels of the society in order accommodate a gradual, incremental transformation into a socialist society. One of the famous Fabians was George Bernard Shaw, the playwright, he stated clearly the techniques the Fabians used: "Our propaganda is one of permeating - we urged our members to join the Liberal and Radical Associations in their district, or, if they preferred it, the Conservative Associations - we permeated the party organizations and pulled all the strings we could lay our hands on with the utmost adroitness and energy, and we succeeded so well that in 1888 we gained the solid advantage of a Progressive majority full of ideas that would never have come into their heads had not the Fabians put them there."
In 1889, Sidney Webb, another Fabian said:
"The Fabian Society occupies a different sphere as a Socialist Society from that of the two larger bodies. It includes members of all the other organizations, with a number of active workers chiefly of the middle class, and 'literary proletariat'. . . . The Society exercises a considerable influence, more real than apparent, by the personal participation of its members in nearly all reform movements, as well as by their work at the Universities and in the fields of journalism and the teaching of Political Economy. It is not, however, a numerous body, and makes no attempt to increase its numbers beyond a convenient limit."
In his book The New Despotism, Lord Hewart, written in 1929, revealed the serious nature of the Fabians involvement in the British government: "A mass of evidence establishes the fact that there is in existence a persistent and well-contrived system, intending to produce, and in practice producing, a despotic power which at one and the same time places Government departments beyond the sovereignty of Parliament and beyond the jurisdiction of the Courts."
It is evident that the expansion of the Fabian Socialist Plan has been successfully extended to the United States with the primary push during the Administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 30s and 40s. Needless to say, the Fabians had a direct influence on Woodrow Wilson and the creation of several pieces of legislation, including the Federal Reserve Act, as well as the 16th and 17th Amendments; all of which set the stage for every component for the future implementation of the Fabian Plan. The primary influence on Wilson was Colonel Edward Mandell House, the Fabian who was influential in the founding of the Council on Foreign Relations along with the bankers: J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Bernard Baruch, Otto Kahn, Jacob Schiff and Paul Warburg. As we know, House was also heavily involved with the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank, the Round Table Group and the forerunner of the United Nations, the League of Nations. All, each and every one of these institutions, including any ancillary organizations, is completely Fabian in concept, ideology and agenda.
"The crisis [the Great Depression] discovered a great man in Franklin Roosevelt...None too soon he has carried America forward to the second stage of democratic realization. His New Deal involves such collective controls of the national business that it would be absurd to call it anything but socialism, were it not for a prejudice lingering on from the old individualist days against that word...Both Roosevelt and Stalin were attempting to produce a huge, modern, scientifically organized, socialist state, the one out of a warning crisis and the other out of a chaos..." H.G. Wells The Fate of Man 1939
Now, another extremely important point of understanding of the Fabian Socialist can be found in a book by Colonel House called Philip Dru: Administrator. In this book Colonel House describes the political agenda of the Fabians in the implementation of the New World Order under the Administration of the Fabian Socialists. It is a very scary scenario and the strategies found in this book have been enacted, step by step, stage by stage, ever since it was written. Within it can be found the plan of having a small, select group of powerful insiders causing a depression which compels the country to elect a man who just happens to talk to the people in what is called "fireside chats" in which this newly elected president will introduce and launch a plan called "The New Era".[now remember this book was written in 1912] From that point, these insiders [Fabians]control the government, control the banks and corporations, weaken the country to the point that there is a very real chance of society splitting in civil war, at which point a dictatorship is imposed on the justification of keeping the country together. The character in the book that assumes dictatorial power is named Philip Dru, the Administrator.
There is absolutely no doubt that the implementation of the New Deal was nothing more than that of the Fabian Socialist Plan. The Fabian Political and Economic Planning Committee proved indispensable in the formation of the New Deal, in fact if you read what the New Deal accomplished and compare it to the Fabian P.E.P. they are almost indistinguishable from each other. A portion of the Fabian P.E.P. stated: "The individualistic manufacturer and farmer will be forced by events to submit to far-reaching changes in outlook and methods. What is required, if with only a view to equitable treatment of individuals, is transfer of ownership of large blocks of land - not necessarily of all the land in the country, but certainly a large proportion of it - into the hands of the proposed statutory corporations and public utility bodies and of land trusts."
Another principal instrument used in the New Deal creation was the monetary and economic policies proposed by John Maynard Keynes and the Marxist Dexter White. White, of course, played a primary role in the development of the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 and the establishment of the IMF. In fact, White was later appointed the Director of the IMF by President Truman.
The great American Patriot John T. Flynn stated in his book entitled The Road Ahead that there was a "creeping revolution" taking place in the United States and made a clear connection between Fascism and Fabian Socialism when he said: ". . . the line between Fascism and Fabian Socialism is very thin. Fabian Socialism is the dream. Fascism is Fabian Socialism plus the inevitable dictator."
The Fabian Socialist have intentionally presented their ideology within a very socially acceptable package; humanitarian in appearance and approach, its actual purpose is complete, absolute power over society as administered through an iron fist covered in a kid-skin glove.
John Maynard Keynes promoted his services as a capitalist economist, but the reality of his politics and his economics were far from capitalistic. One Fabian Socialist by the name of John Strachey was very clear about the true intentions of Keynesian Economics and monetary policy. He proposed Keynesian policies as "an indispensable step in the right direction. The fact that the loss of objectivity, and the intrinsic value of the currency which is involved (i.e., inflation) will sooner or later make necessary, on pain of ever-increasing dislocation, a growing degree of social control . . . for the partial character of the policy will itself lead on to further measures. The very fact that no stability, no permanently workable solution can be found within the limits of this policy will ensure that once a community has been driven by events to tackle its problems, in this way, it cannot halt at the first stage, but must of necessity push on to more thorough going measures of re-organization."
Keynes stated: "Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist System was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. The sight of this arbitrary rearrangement of riches strikes not only at security, but at confidence in the equity of the existing distribution of wealth. Those to whom the system brings windfalls, beyond their deserts and even beyond their expectations or desires, become 'profiteers,' who are the object of the hatred of the bourgeoisie, whom the inflationism has impoverished, not less than of the proletariat. As the inflation proceeds and the real value of the currency fluctuates wildly from month to month, all permanent relations between debtors and creditors, which form the ultimate foundation of capitalism, become so utterly disordered as to be almost meaningless; and the process of wealth-getting degenerates into a gamble and a lottery."
Sounds like a familiar process doesn't it? The fact is that the Fabians have been in, in one degree or another, control of this country since at least the later part of the 1800s, some may say since 1860 with the nationalist putsch by Lincoln [who was influenced by Marxists from the failed revolution of 1848] and have continued to press their agenda into a Socialist society.
Perhaps one of the most important points to understand is the purpose of the central banking system and the fiat monetary system to the Fabian Socialist New World Order Plan. As explained by H.G. Wells, in his 1930 book entitled The New World Order:
"we grasp this not very obscure truth that there can be, and are, different sorts of money dependent on the economic usages or system inoperable, which are not really interchangeable, then it becomes plain that a collectivist world order, whose fundamental law is such a Declaration of Rights as we have sketched, will have to carry on its main, its primary operations at least with a new world money, a specially contrived money, differing in its nature from any sort of money conventions that have hitherto served human needs. It will be issued against the total purchasable output of the community in return for the workers' services to the community."
H.G. Wells described that as a part, one of the primary parts of the Fabian New World Order's Plan was the contrivance of a monetary system that would be issued, through a central banking system, against the total productive output of the society exchangeable in return for labor. The description is striking because what it denotes is a monetary system where there is no real value to the money itself, in other words a fiat currency, but the "value" would be the production of labor. Now, if you put this together with the quotes from Keynes, you will quickly see that the key to their plan was a highly centralized government with a highly centralized banking system issuing a monetary unit, which through the instrument of inflation, would be reduced from an actual value to a value based solely upon the exchange of labor. This was a truly socialistic concept, that inflation would be used to transform the sound monetary system of the United States into a socialistic monetary system where the exchange rate is the actual labor of the population. Today, that is what we have, our money has no value, but it is exchanged based upon labor.
I realize that many think this current economic down-turn is just the New World Order simply playing the next stage in their plans to impose a complete socialistic society during this latest economic crisis, but in my research I see a very different story. Based on the Fabian Socialist Political and Economic Planning Committee, the New World Order has made no other plans for another monetary system except the Fiat Monetary System and Central Banking System that are now in place and which are now in crisis. I am of the opinion that the New World Order is in trouble, the elite is in trouble because the system that they have spent at least the last 95 years investing all of their power, their time, their resources and intellect in is rapidly approaching a period of time when it will completely collapse. For decades they have pressed their plans, all based on a socialistic vision of creating little more than a feudal system of peonage where the people make up the productive base of their wealth through a system of confiscation and transference from the people themselves into the coffers of the Elite Administrators. Their Socialist Empire is completely built upon and dependent on the continuation of this system; the only system left to them would be a system of complete slavery and that is untenable and totally non-conducive to their plans of Socialism because it would not allow for the continued productive transfer of wealth as the current system allows.
So, as much as these Fabian Elites have put into this system, as much as they seemed to think they could continue the control of the system and extend it globally, they appear to have deluded themselves into thinking that an economic system built solely upon the creation and extension of debt was sustainable indefinitely. The Debt Standard of Fiat Money, based upon labor exchange and debt expansion will collapse, it is a mathematical impossibility for it to continue and with that collapse the Fabian Elite will lose not only their ability to maintain their power, but they will lose their wealth and position in our country and others. Once the collapse of the monetary and economic systems occur, they will have no options left to them, there will be nothing they can do to salvage the system.
There can be no doubt that during this time of collapse the Fabian Socialists will show their true nature, the heart of which is brutal disregard of the individual. They will attempt to put a death grip on society, squeezing as much life as they can from it and will do so in the most extreme ways imaginable. We must however, never relent or retreat from our principles, from our goal of Liberty and Freedom, even when the Fabian New World Order Thugs begin their final oppressive push to retain their power and wealth.
There will be a period of chaos, during this period we must consider the Elite as absolute enemies of the People, of Liberty and Freedom. During that period we must consider such criminals the legitimate focus for the People's Justice. I personally see no other options but the total and absolute elimination of the sources of this Fabian Socialist plague from our land. Until this land is purged from the influence of this Fabian Socialist Ideology the Constitutional Republic will not be safe for Liberty and Freedom, nor will prosperity ever return as long as they remain a viable force.
Now, I leave you with these horrible thoughts from one of the Fabian Traitors, David Rockefeller: "We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries."
In Liberty and Eternal Vigilance,
Republicae
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were once our countrymen."
~ Samuel Adams
The Fabian Socialists are looking to destroy the banner of Capitalism... they look to destroy the US Dollar.
Silver is flying... high of $16.99 yesterday ... hope you loaded at $13.
The dollar index will test 70 IMO. It's falling like a rock....
A Fabian Socialist Dream Come True
The gradual revolution of the Fabian Socialists is quickly becoming a reality in America.by Republicae
(libertarian)
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Fabian Society began in England in 1887 by a very small group of elitist socialist that sought to reform society gradually into one of socialism instead of through violent revolution. At first their purpose was to be an alternative in Britain for the more dominate Marxist Social-Democratic Federation, but their true goal was to accomplish socialism through a very gradual process using the voting booth and representative democracy as their instrument of change. In fact, one of their symbols is a Turtle with the motto: "When I Strike, I Strike Hard". Another symbol is the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing and the Globe on an Anvil being hammered into the Fabian model.
The Fabian Plan for gradual Socialist Revolution was as definitive as it possibly could be, to say it has been a conspiracy is simplistic in the extreme. It instituted a widespread educational program for its leadership and its minions, as time progressed, it opened schools, such as the London School of Economics, and the New School of Social Research.
One stroke of genius was that instead of advocating a Socialist State, they assisted in the implementation of the Welfare State, which as we should all know is merely a few steps away from a purely Socialistic State. It was, of course, implemented gradually, and played upon the weaknesses of human nature to gain popularity. Unlike the usual Socialist points of views, the Fabians didn't advocate complete State ownership of businesses, industry, agriculture or land, instead they sought to involve the State into very specific areas of importance such as electric power production, transportation, precious metals and of course, credit. The remaining balance of economic systems would be left to the private sector however; it would be highly regulated by the State and operated according to the wishes of the State.
If you look at Britain, you will see that they accomplished their goals with ease and while American has been more difficult, the goals are the same and they have made enormous advances toward those goals, as we all know. Much of their accomplishments have been realized without using that dreaded word: Socialism. They have brought the Fabian Dream to America through an extremely brilliant system that has been openly accepted by the voters of this country without the hint of suspicion on their part that they were voting a Socialistic system into place.
Now, make no mistake about it, Fabian Socialists are Statist, they are absolutely authoritarian in their philosophy. Their long-term goal has always been a Socialistic Dictatorship with full-imposition of a very legalistic society where the individual is simply a part of the collective. An example of this can be found in the writings of one of the founders of the Fabian Society, George Bernard Shaw speaking of the Socialist Utopia, he said: "Under Socialism, you would not be allowed to be poor. You would be forcibly fed, clothed, lodged, taught, and employed whether you liked it or not. If it were discovered that you had not the character and industry enough to be worth all this trouble, you might possibly be executed in a kindly manner; but whilst you were permitted to live, you would have to live well."
Of course, all of this would be in the best interest of society as a whole and the whole made up simply of parts, individuals merely cogs in the machine of social justice. This idea of social justice is the biggest selling point and perhaps the easiest to peddle to the people. Programs of social reform, incremental at first, allowed for the tempering of the people; allowing for them to grow accustom to the intervention of the State in the affairs of the individual. Of course, such reforms are never an end unto themselves only stepping-stones to a greater Socialist construct of society.
Regarding the great strides made toward these goals, Max Beer stated with confidence: "There was no reason for Socialists to wait for revolution. The realization of socialism had begun the moment when the State became accessible to social reform ideas." Indeed, the revolution was already half realized at the moment when the State stepped over the threshold of progressive social construction and intervention into the private lives of the people.
The first step in any Socialist plan is the reform of capitalism, when the capitalist system is sufficiently neutralized the rest comes relatively easy. The first step to an efficient plan of capitalist neutralization is control over the money supply and for that a central bank is required along with a fiat monetary system, in this country that was initiated with the advent of the Federal Reserve. Later, of course must come effective controls over major infrastructure and services, all accomplished through the New Deal. The New Deal accomplished substantial feats toward the Fabian Socialist construct with numerous price controls, quotas, subsidies, inspections, regulations, licenses, fees, penalties and massive government interventions into what was formerly private enterprise. Although you would never hear politicians of either political party to admit to support the ideals of socialism, they nevertheless not only support such measures, but also promote them.
We have recently seen a greater push toward socialism, though few realize it. The government is assuming more and more responsibility for and authority over the economy, all under the guise of protecting the people from potentially unscrupulous free marketeers. We are being moved yet another step closer to the dream-society of the Fabians. Of course, these are simply steps, essential parts to a much broader agenda, one that is authoritarian in nature and execution, even the centrally planned economy is a mere step, not the end product. It is all carefully crafted, manufactured to ensure the most popular support possible for "people-friendly" solutions while instituting a fraudulent system of central control over the unsuspecting public. The system has been marketed to the public, one specific component at a time, each component essential to the completion of the whole and that is the brilliance of this gradual imposition of Fabian Socialism in this country.
The greatest bulwark against tyranny in America has always been the system of private ownership and free enterprise, it is the cornerstone of our system of government and without it our freedoms and liberty are in jeopardy. Central economic planning is, in a very basic sense, the keystone to Fabian Socialism, for in order for it to succeed, central State planning and control must replace the system of free enterprise. While it was not necessary for the State to actually own or directly control all the elements in the economy it is enough for the State to have the right to assert itself in any area that it deems necessary. The Fabians called it "the democratization of economic power", in other words socialized and centralized control over economic direction within the country.
In 1942, Stuart Chase, in his book "The Road We Are Traveling" spelled out the system of planning the Fabians had in mind; the interesting thing is to look at that plan in comparison to 2008 America.
1. Strong, centralized government.
2. Powerful Executive at the expense of Congress and the Judicial.
3. Government controlled banking, credit and securities exchange.
4. Government control over employment.
5. Unemployment insurance, old age pensions.
6. Universal medical care, food and housing programs.
7. Access to unlimited government borrowing.
8. A managed monetary system.
9. Government control over foreign trade.
10. Government control over natural energy sources, transportation and agricultural production.
11. Government regulation of labor.
12. Youth camps devoted to health discipline, community service and ideological teaching consistent with those of the authorities.
13. Heavy progressive taxation.
It should be evident that while Socialist no longer use the name that the plan is Socialism at its heart. The Fabian Socialist Revolution began in earnest in this country in 1933 with the imposition of the Welfare State and has been steadily progressing since. Those who are promoting this system, whether in the Republican Party or Democratic Party, are nothing less than Traitors, guilty of a type of high treason that deserves the most punitive penalty for such treachery. Listen carefully to the propositions of both McCain and Obama; I suspect that you will quickly find both of their positions are not only similar, but propose in essence and detail the Fabian Socialist construct. The system that these marauders are imposing upon us will ultimately alter our system of government beyond recognition.
It is all accomplished with the utmost respectability of course, they would not dream of such an imposition without popular support and they will make sure that they have popular support.
In 1933, they proposed that private enterprise had failed leaving the jobless to starve, hope to fade and that the State must step in to save the country and protect the people from the dangers associated with the inherent problems of free enterprise. Today, the call is very similar, the State must step in to protect the people. The Corporate State is, in the minds of Fabians, the ultimate protector of the common man, the provider of security on all fronts, but it requires our complete compliance and the relinquishment of our liberty in exchange. The State is to ultimately be the only one allowed wealth, the problem is that wealth is the people's wealth confiscated in exchange for their hard labor. It is, in essence, a plan for a modern feudal society of peonage and the people are the peons.
Proofs of a Conspiracy? Look around...
In Liberty and Eternal Vigilance,
Republicae-Seditionist
Barack Obama, Fabian Socialist
Jerry Bowyer 11.03.08, 12:32 PM ET
Barack Obama is a Fabian socialist. I should know; I was raised by one. My Grandfather worked as a union machinist for Ingersoll Rand during the day. In the evenings he tended bar and read books. After his funeral, I went back home and started working my way through his library, starting with T.W. Arnold's The Folklore of Capitalism. This was my introduction to the Fabian socialists.
Fabians believed in gradual nationalization of the economy through manipulation of the democratic process. Breaking away from the violent revolutionary socialists of their day, they thought that the only real way to effect "fundamental change" and "social justice" was through a mass movement of the working classes presided over by intellectual and cultural elites. Before TV it was stage plays, written by George Bernard Shaw and thousands of inferior "realist" playwrights dedicated to social change. John Cusack's character in Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway" captures the movement rather well.
Arnold taught me to question everyone--my president, my priest and my parents. Well, almost everyone. I wasn't supposed to question the Fabian intellectuals themselves. That's the Fabian MO, relentless cultural and journalistic attacks on everything that is, and then a hard pitch for the hope of what might be.
That's Obama's world.
He's telling the truth when he says that he doesn't agree with Bill Ayers' violent bombing tactics, but it's a tactical disagreement. Why use dynamite when mass media and community organizing work so much better? Who needs Molotov when you've got Saul Alinski?
So here is the playbook: The left will identify, freeze, personalize and polarize an industry, probably health care. It will attempt to nationalize one-fifth of the U.S. economy through legislative action. They will focus, as Lenin did, on the "commanding heights" of the economy, not the little guy.
As Obama said, "the smallest" businesses will be exempt from fines for not "doing the right thing" in offering employer-based health care coverage. Health will not be nationalized in one fell swoop; they have been studying the failures of Hillary Care. Instead, a parallel system will be created, funded by surcharges on business payroll, which will be superior to many private plans.
The old system will be forced to subsidize the new system and there will be a gradual shift from the former to the latter. The only coercion will be the fines, not the participation. A middle-class entitlement will have been created.
It may not be health care first; it might be energy, though I suspect that energy will be nationalized much more gradually. The offshore drilling ban that was allowed to lapse legislatively will be reinstated through executive means. It may be an executive order, but might just as well be a permit reviewing system that theoretically allows drilling but with endless levels of objection and appeal from anti-growth groups. Wind and solar, on the other hand, will have no permitting problems at all, and a heavy taxpayer subsidy at their backs.
The banking system has already been partially nationalized. Bush and Paulson intend for their share purchases to be only non-voting preferred shares, but the law does not specify that. How hard will it be for Obama, new holder of $700 billion in bank equity, to demand "accountability" and a "voice" for the taxpayers?
The capital markets are not freezing up now, mostly because of what has happened, although community organizers' multidecade push for affirmative-action mortgages has done enormous harm to the credit system. Markets are forward looking.
A quick review of the socialist takeovers in Venezuela in 1999, Spain in 2004 and Italy in 2006 show the same pattern--equity markets do most of their plummeting before the Chavez's of the world take power. Investors anticipate the policy shift in advance; that's their job.
It's not just equity markets, though; debt markets do the same thing. Everywhere I turn I hear complaints about bankers "hoarding" capital. "Hoarding" is a word we've heard often from violent socialists like Lenin and Mao. We also hear it from the democratic left as we did during the 1930s in America. The banks, we're told, are greedy and miserly, holding onto capital that should be deployed into the marketplace.
Well, which is it, miserly or greedy? They're not the same thing. Banks make money borrowing low and lending high. In fact, they can borrow very, very low right now, as they could during the Great Depression.
So why don't they lend? Because socialism is a very unkind environment for lenders. Some of the most powerful members of Congress are speaking openly about repudiating mortgage covenants. Local officials have already done so by simply refusing to foreclose on highly delinquent borrowers. Then, there's the oldest form of debt repudiation, inflation. Even if you get your money back, it will not be worth anything. Who would want to lend in an environment like this?
Will Obama's be the strong-man socialism of a Chavez, or the soft socialism that Clement Atlee used to defeat Churchill after WWII? I don't know, but I suspect something kind of in between. Despite right-wing predictions that we won't see Rush shut down by Fairness Doctrine fascists. We won't see Baptist ministers hauled off in handcuffs for anti-sodomy sermons. It will more likely be a matter of paperwork. Strong worded letters from powerful lawyers in and out of government to program directors and general mangers of radio stations. Ominous references to license renewal.
The psychic propaganda assault will be powerful. The cyber-brown-shirts will spew hate, the union guys will flood talk shows with switchboard-collapsing swarms of complaint calls aimed at those hosts who "go beyond the pale" in their criticisms of Obama. In concert with pop culture outlets like The Daily Show and SNL, Obama will use his podium to humiliate and demonize those of us who don't want to come together and heal the planet.
You've heard of the bully pulpit, right? Well, then get ready, because you're about to see the bully part.
Jerry Bowyer is chief economist of Benchmark Financial Network and a CNBC contributor.
National Park Service Admits 9/12 Demo Largest On Record
Posted By admin On September 14, 2009 @ 8:25 am In Featured Stories | 127 Comments
Thomas Lifson
American Thinker
September 14, 2009
Editor’s note: People on scene said the number was around 2 million people.
The truth will out. Despite mainstream media attempts to characterize turnout as in the thousands, a spokesman for the National Park Service, Dan Bana, is quoted as saying “It is a record…. We believe it is the largest event held in Washington, D.C., ever.”
Democrats and their media acolytes may wish this weren’t so, and they may even employ the Ostrich Strategy, burying their collective heads in the sand, pretending that a major important political movement isn’t happening. But they only hasten their own demise in doing so.
Meanwhile, Gateway Pundit compares the littler left behind on 9/12 with the aftermath of the Obama inauguration. It is a startling contrast.
Nice.... must have been great... sorry there wasn't more than a few thousand people here according to the national news media.
Audit: Gov't could lose millions in gas royalties
Audit: Gov't could millions of dollars in gas royalties from not correcting shortfalls
* On Monday September 14, 2009, 3:15 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government risks losing millions of dollars in royalties from natural gas production because it does not promptly determine and collect when it gets shortchanged, according to congressional auditors.
The Government Accountability Office said in a report Monday that the Minerals Management Service, which manages oil and gas production on public lands, does not have the tools or staff necessary to check that companies are paying the government what it is owed in royalties.
The report specifically looks at royalty-in-kind. Under this program, companies producing gas on federal lands and offshore pay the government with gas rather than cash. The government then sells the gas.
The agency estimates that it is owed $21 million, but the figure could be larger. That's because the government is not verifying how much gas companies produce and it does not include interest, because MMS has not determined when interest should accrue on unpaid royalties.
The government collected more than $12 billion in royalties last year from oil and gas production offshore and on federal lands. About $2.4 billion came from natural gas royalty-in-kind payments.
The report is the latest to expose shortcomings in the government's management of oil and gas revenue. Earlier reports found problems with the oil royalty-in-kind program and highlighted how the U.S. government receives much less percentage-wise than what other countries collect from their oil and gas production.
Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov
Exactly.... the ETF's are considered to be "contributing to the instability of the market". Silver is the best example.... it's the road towards the destruction of Capitalism... all derivative assets will no longer considered assets... when the delisting happen... the financial institutions will no longer have to cover... and JP Morgan Chase who hold 90% of the silver shorts in the ETF market will not have to cover... wala ... instant derived capital. I'm trying to determine who holds the biggest short on UNG... check the chart... it was massively shorted down... now they want to pull the plug. Someone close to the government has everything to gain here. Criminals run the show.... I have been following that principal for the past year... it's worked well.
may try a flip... still a little nervous of early dump... don't wanna lock myself out before takeoff! if i wuss out... gotta take advantage of any low prices....
This is Fabian Socialism.... good stuff to read.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Society
One last thing... he really is "out of no where." No real job in the past... no business experience... no work history... only used the system and legality to pilfer public funds for friends and cronies... and every time I see him getting into Air Force One my head spins... how is this guy qualified to be President? Not that McCain had much to offer either... I'm fully independent... but I feel like I could have thrown a rock out into the crowd at an ACLU convention and hit a better candidate in the head.
We get 2 meat puppets served up by the banks to choose from in our "election". Someone wins the popularity contest and we shut up... content that we live in a real democracy... what a joke.
The fact that he is leading the UN security council really made my heart sink. A sitting President has never been in this position before.... this is a security risk for our country. This President was elected be our PRESIDENT... not some UN lackey. He does not believe in our Constitution, nor does he believe in protecting our borders. How can this be allowed?