No Sunshine and Lollipops in the U.S. Economic Future
June 4th, 2009 1:29 pm | by Mike Miller of Liberty Maven
If you’ve been following the actions of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Secretary, and big spenders in government, it’s quite clear that our economic woes won’t be over any time soon. In fact, we’re potentially headed for a cataclysmic disaster (if that’s not repetitively redundant enough for you).
The Fed has lowered interested rates to effectively zero, and is now embarking on massive quantitative easing (a fancy euphemism for printing money) which could ultimately result in the destruction of the U.S. Dollar.
China is buying less and less of our bonds, and foreign governments are holding less and less dollars in favor of the Euro or other currencies, and there are even calls to have the dollar replaced as the world’s reserve currency.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has gone to China to calm the fears. However, even before he arrived, a Chinese central bank spokesman gave Geithner the message that the US should not assume China will continue to finance Washington’s extravagant budgets. The governor of China’s central bank is calling for the abandonment of the dollar as reserve currency, using the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights in its place.
The method by which the Fed “prints money” is by creating money out of thin air and then uses this money to buy our own Treasuries.
Washington’s financial irresponsibility has brought pressure on the dollar and the US bond market. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke thought he could push down interest rates on Treasuries by purchasing $300 billion of them. However, the result was to cause a sharp drop in Treasury prices and a rise in interest rates.
As monetization of federal debt goes forward, US interest rates will continue to rise, worsening the problems in the real estate sector. The dollar will continue to lose value, making it harder for the US to finance its budget and trade deficits. Domestic inflation will raise its ugly head despite high unemployment.
The incompetents who manage US economic policy have created a perfect storm.
…
Life for most Americans will become truly stressful.
No sunshine and lollipops here.
Read As the Dollar Falls off a Cliff… by Paul Craig Roberts in its entirety and subscribe to Liberty Maven.
Showing posts with label banking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banking. Show all posts
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
AIG Rage or Just a Diversion?
Do you think that the government is corrupt and that it all changed when Obama entered office? Think again. Sure, the situation has gotten worse, but the housing crisis started during Clinton's years and has had oversight through Barney Frank, encouragement through Barney Frank, and now Barney Frank is answering the American taxpayer's frustration and outrage over the AIG bonuses but is not addressing the whole housing issue that started with him. Barney Frank is the chairman of the Committee on Financial Services (or House Banking Committee). Here is what he is over.
overseeing the entire financial services industry including
securities
insurance
banking
housing industries
Federal Reserve
Department of the Treasury
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
etc.
Along with Frank, Christopher Dodd is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which deals with the following:
banks and banking
price controls
deposit insurance
export promotion and controls
federal monetary policy
financial aid to commerce and industry
issuance of redemption notes
currency and coinage
public and private housing
urban development and mass transit
government contracts
Here's an interesting list for you. It's a partial list of what AIG ($165 million in bonuses) did with their bailout money...can we say "money laundering"?
What taxpayer money did AIG give and to whom?
Goldman Sacs - $13 Billion
Merrel Lynch - $7 Billion
Bank of America - $5 Billion
United Kingdom - $13 Billion
Germany - $17 Billion
France - $19 Billion
Switzerland - $5 Billion
Note: 1. About $44 Billion went to America/American companies.
2. About $62 Billion went overseas/other countries/banks in other countries.
Do you want to know why they continue to harp on the $165 Million in bonuses? Because they don't want you to pay attention to the fact that our tax money has actually gone overseas instead of "stimulating" our own economy. Is the $165 million as big of a deal after you have seen this breakdown? Not really. Plus, do we want to lose the ability to make and keep contracts without the Federal Government interfering?
Don't get me started on this issue because it shows how our government is corrupt, laundering money, destroying the constitution, and so on. Oh, and by-the-way, shouldn't there be a term limit? Both Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd have been in office since 1981.
Additionally, there seems to be a never ending chain of corruption and greed that loops its way through Washington. Not only does the greed show its way in the Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Banking Committee, but also the Committee of Ways and Means, which is chaired by Charles Rangel (elected in 1971). Here is a list of what that committee is involved in:
all taxation, tariffs and other revenue-raising measures
Social Security
unemployment benefits
Medicare
enforcement of child support laws
temporary assistance for needy families (federal welfare)
foster care and adoption programs
Do you see a list of the "stimulus" in the bailout/spending bills?
It doesn't end there either. Nancy Pelosi, one of my favorite people as you may have read (who assumed office in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1987), served on the Appropriations Committee. Here is the "constitutional basis for the Appropriations Committee comes from Article one, Section nine, Clause seven of the U.S. Constitution, which states that:
No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.
This clearly delegated the power of appropriating money to Congress, but was vague beyond that." Wikipedia
As one of the most powerful committees, its members are seen as influential and have the power to control the federal purse strings.
"how well the member secures rewards for his or her district is one of the best indicators as to whether or not he or she will be reelected. One way to achieve popularity in one's district is to bring it federal spending, thus creating jobs and raising economic performance. This type of spending is often derided by critics as pork barrel spending, while those who engage in it generally defend it as necessary and appropriate expenditure of government funds. The members of the Appropriations committee can do this better than most, and as such the appointment is regarded as a plus. This help can also be directed towards other members, increasing the stature of committee members in the House and helping them gain support for leadership positions or other honors." This essentially is why the spending bill had around 9,000 earmarks...those who placed those earmarks want to do so to be re-elected. Isn't that insane?!!!
Who is the current chair for this committee? David Ross Obey.
I'm sure that this post could go on for days with the information I've researched but one thing is clear...too much power, too little reality, too many committees, too little accountability, too much insanity!
overseeing the entire financial services industry including
securities
insurance
banking
housing industries
Federal Reserve
Department of the Treasury
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
etc.
Along with Frank, Christopher Dodd is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which deals with the following:
banks and banking
price controls
deposit insurance
export promotion and controls
federal monetary policy
financial aid to commerce and industry
issuance of redemption notes
currency and coinage
public and private housing
urban development and mass transit
government contracts
Here's an interesting list for you. It's a partial list of what AIG ($165 million in bonuses) did with their bailout money...can we say "money laundering"?
What taxpayer money did AIG give and to whom?
Goldman Sacs - $13 Billion
Merrel Lynch - $7 Billion
Bank of America - $5 Billion
United Kingdom - $13 Billion
Germany - $17 Billion
France - $19 Billion
Switzerland - $5 Billion
Note: 1. About $44 Billion went to America/American companies.
2. About $62 Billion went overseas/other countries/banks in other countries.
Do you want to know why they continue to harp on the $165 Million in bonuses? Because they don't want you to pay attention to the fact that our tax money has actually gone overseas instead of "stimulating" our own economy. Is the $165 million as big of a deal after you have seen this breakdown? Not really. Plus, do we want to lose the ability to make and keep contracts without the Federal Government interfering?
Don't get me started on this issue because it shows how our government is corrupt, laundering money, destroying the constitution, and so on. Oh, and by-the-way, shouldn't there be a term limit? Both Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd have been in office since 1981.
Additionally, there seems to be a never ending chain of corruption and greed that loops its way through Washington. Not only does the greed show its way in the Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Banking Committee, but also the Committee of Ways and Means, which is chaired by Charles Rangel (elected in 1971). Here is a list of what that committee is involved in:
all taxation, tariffs and other revenue-raising measures
Social Security
unemployment benefits
Medicare
enforcement of child support laws
temporary assistance for needy families (federal welfare)
foster care and adoption programs
Do you see a list of the "stimulus" in the bailout/spending bills?
It doesn't end there either. Nancy Pelosi, one of my favorite people as you may have read (who assumed office in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1987), served on the Appropriations Committee. Here is the "constitutional basis for the Appropriations Committee comes from Article one, Section nine, Clause seven of the U.S. Constitution, which states that:
No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.
This clearly delegated the power of appropriating money to Congress, but was vague beyond that." Wikipedia
As one of the most powerful committees, its members are seen as influential and have the power to control the federal purse strings.
"how well the member secures rewards for his or her district is one of the best indicators as to whether or not he or she will be reelected. One way to achieve popularity in one's district is to bring it federal spending, thus creating jobs and raising economic performance. This type of spending is often derided by critics as pork barrel spending, while those who engage in it generally defend it as necessary and appropriate expenditure of government funds. The members of the Appropriations committee can do this better than most, and as such the appointment is regarded as a plus. This help can also be directed towards other members, increasing the stature of committee members in the House and helping them gain support for leadership positions or other honors." This essentially is why the spending bill had around 9,000 earmarks...those who placed those earmarks want to do so to be re-elected. Isn't that insane?!!!
Who is the current chair for this committee? David Ross Obey.
I'm sure that this post could go on for days with the information I've researched but one thing is clear...too much power, too little reality, too many committees, too little accountability, too much insanity!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Who is Monitoring the Monitors?
Does anyone reading this wish they got a giant bonus at the end of the year? Do you wish you had a contract that meant that you would receive a $100,000 bonus? Of course you do. And you would care about doing a good job...the right job if you had a contract for that dollar figure wouldn't you?!
Well, yesterday my husband was laid-off and my twenty cents a day from this blog isn't going to put food on our table. Not to give a sob story but I look at what the bonuses are for these people for the FAILING part of AIG and I just have to shake my head and go "huh?". What is wrong with this system? One big thing...it's part of the system.
Note: Our information is listed below. If you can consider us for opportunities that you see out there, please contact us on our LinkedIn accounts.
My Husband's LinkedIn
My LinkedIn Info
Sure, it is reported that a Republican Senator suggested that "AIG’s executives should resign or commit ritual suicide in shame over the bonus payments", but that doesn't mean that the contract wasn't already there for them to receive the bonuses in the first place. Where did the contract come from? Well, since we bailed them out...us.
Who is monitoring the monitors? I guess it us up to us to do that job.
What have you done in your spare time today? Watch TV? Play solitaire on the computer? Volunteer your time to your community or to your country?
If it wasn't the later, rethink what you are doing. It has to start somewhere and it has to start with you and I.
Well, yesterday my husband was laid-off and my twenty cents a day from this blog isn't going to put food on our table. Not to give a sob story but I look at what the bonuses are for these people for the FAILING part of AIG and I just have to shake my head and go "huh?". What is wrong with this system? One big thing...it's part of the system.
Note: Our information is listed below. If you can consider us for opportunities that you see out there, please contact us on our LinkedIn accounts.
My Husband's LinkedIn
My LinkedIn Info
Sure, it is reported that a Republican Senator suggested that "AIG’s executives should resign or commit ritual suicide in shame over the bonus payments", but that doesn't mean that the contract wasn't already there for them to receive the bonuses in the first place. Where did the contract come from? Well, since we bailed them out...us.
Who is monitoring the monitors? I guess it us up to us to do that job.
What have you done in your spare time today? Watch TV? Play solitaire on the computer? Volunteer your time to your community or to your country?
If it wasn't the later, rethink what you are doing. It has to start somewhere and it has to start with you and I.
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