So WHY in the world would you "stockpile" stuff?

50 Ugliest Facts About the U.S. Economy

As we close on another week replete with ugly economic data and the usual bizarro counterintuitive market, here is a summary of the 50 most underreported facts about the state of the US economy, courtesy of the Coto report. After reading these it almost makes sense that the market has become completely desensitized to the sad reality now pervasive in this country. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations to this list. Surely if the list is doubled, the market will go up to 72,000 instead of just 36,000.

#50) In 2010 the U.S. government is projected to issue almost as much new debt as the rest of the governments of the world combined.

#49) It is being projected that the U.S. government will have a budget deficit of approximately 1.6 trillion dollars in 2010.

#48) If you went out and spent one dollar every single second, it would take you more than 31,000 years to spend a trillion dollars.

#47) In fact, if you spent one million dollars every single day since the birth of Christ, you still would not have spent one trillion dollars by now.

#46) Total U.S. government debt is now up to 90 percent of gross domestic product.

#45) Total credit market debt in the United States, including government, corporate and personal debt, has reached 360 percent of GDP.

#44) U.S. corporate income tax receipts were down 55% (to $138 billion) for the year ending September 30th, 2009.

#43) There are now 8 counties in the state of California that have unemployment rates of over 20 percent.

#42) In the area around Sacramento, California there is one closed business for every six that are still open.

#41) In February, there were 5.5 unemployed Americans for every job opening.

#40) According to a Pew Research Center study, approximately 37% of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 have either been unemployed or underemployed at some point during the recession.

#39) More than 40% of those employed in the United States are now working in low-wage service jobs.

#38) According to one new survey, 24% of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year.
#37) Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32 percent increase over 2008. Not only that, more Americans filed for bankruptcy in March 2010 than during any month since U.S. bankruptcy law was tightened in October 2005.

#36) Mortgage purchase applications in the United States are down nearly 40 percent from a month ago to their lowest level since April of 1997.

#35) RealtyTrac has announced that foreclosure filings in the U.S. established an all time record for the second consecutive year in 2009.

#34) According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in March 2010, an increase of nearly 19 percent from February, an increase of nearly 8 percent from March 2009 and the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in January 2005.

#33) In Pinellas and Pasco counties, which include St. Petersburg, Florida and the suburbs to the north, there are 34,000 open foreclosure cases. Ten years ago, there were only about 4,000.

#32) In California’s Central Valley, 1 out of every 16 homes is in some phase of foreclosure.

#31) The Mortgage Bankers Association recently announced that more than 10 percent of all U.S. homeowners with a mortgage had missed at least one payment during the January to March time period. That was a record high and up from 9.1 percent a year ago.

#30) U.S. banks repossessed nearly 258,000 homes nationwide in the first quarter of 2010, a 35 percent jump from the first quarter of 2009.

#29) For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together.

#28) More than 24% of all homes with mortgages in the United States were underwater as of the end of 2009.

#27) U.S. commercial property values are down approximately 40 percent since 2007 and currently 18 percent of all office space in the United States is sitting vacant.

#26) Defaults on apartment building mortgages held by U.S. banks climbed to a record 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2010. That was almost twice the level of a year earlier.

#25) In 2009, U.S. banks posted their sharpest decline in private lending since 1942.

#24) New York state has delayed paying bills totalling $2.5 billion as a short-term way of staying solvent but officials are warning that its cash crunch could soon get even worse.

#23) To make up for a projected 2010 budget shortfall of $280 million, Detroit issued $250 million of 20-year municipal notes in March. The bond issuance followed on the heels of a warning from Detroit officials that if its financial state didn’t improve, it could be forced to declare bankruptcy.

#22) The National League of Cities says that municipal governments will probably come up between $56 billion and $83 billion short between now and 2012.

#21) Half a dozen cash-poor U.S. states have announced that they are delaying their tax refund checks.

#20) Two university professors recently calculated that the combined unfunded pension liability for all 50 U.S. states is 3.2 trillion dollars.

#19) According to EconomicPolicyJournal.com, 32 U.S. states have already run out of funds to make unemployment benefit payments and so the federal government has been supplying these states with funds so that they can make their payments to the unemployed.

#18) This most recession has erased 8 million private sector jobs in the United States.

#17) Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of 2010.

#16) U.S. government-provided benefits (including Social Security, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other programs) rose to a record high during the first three months of 2010.

#15) 39.68 million Americans are now on food stamps, which represents a new all-time record. But things look like they are going to get even worse. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting that enrollment in the food stamp program will exceed 43 million Americans in 2011.

#14) Phoenix, Arizona features an astounding annual car theft rate of 57,000 vehicles and has become the new “Car Theft Capital of the World”.

#13) U.S. law enforcement authorities claim that there are now over 1 million members of criminal gangs inside the country. These 1 million gang members are responsible for up to 80% of the crimes committed in the United States each year.

#12) The U.S. health care system was already facing a shortage of approximately 150,000 doctors in the next decade or so, but thanks to the health care “reform” bill passed by Congress, that number could swell by several hundred thousand more.

#11) According to an analysis by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation the health care “reform” bill will generate $409.2 billion in additional taxes on the American people by 2019.

#10) The Dow Jones Industrial Average just experienced the worst May it has seen since 1940.

#9) In 1950, the ratio of the average executive’s paycheck to the average worker’s paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has exploded to between 300 to 500 to one.

#8) Approximately 40% of all retail spending currently comes from the 20% of American households that have the highest incomes.

#7) According to economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, two-thirds of income increases in the U.S. between 2002 and 2007 went to the wealthiest 1% of all Americans.

#6) The bottom 40 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.

#5) If you only make the minimum payment each and every time, a $6,000 credit card bill can end up costing you over $30,000 (depending on the interest rate).

#4) According to a new report based on U.S. Census Bureau data, only 26 percent of American teens between the ages of 16 and 19 had jobs in late 2009 which represents a record low since statistics began to be kept back in 1948.

#3) According to a National Foundation for Credit Counseling survey, only 58% of those in “Generation Y” pay their monthly bills on time.

#2) During the first quarter of 2010, the total number of loans that are at least three months past due in the United States increased for the 16th consecutive quarter.

#1) According to the Tax Foundation’s Microsimulation Model, to erase the 2010 U.S. budget deficit, the U.S. Congress would have to multiply each tax rate by 2.4. Thus, the 10 percent rate would be 24 percent, the 15 percent rate would be 36 percent, and the 35 percent rate would have to be 85 percent.

So why in the world would you NOT lay up some bags of rice, wheat, flour, etc?

Murphy’s Laws of TEOTWAWKI

HA!

Nice

Murphy’s Laws of TEOTWAWKI

Let's Invade Mexico! by Fred Reed

Fred nails it again

Let's Invade Mexico! by Fred Reed

Food for thought.......

I sat down and thought the other day about all the people who have said, in one form or another "When the fecal matter hits the fan, I am coming to stay with you."

This is jocular, well meaning, and maybe a way to comment on me swerving into being a "prepper" without revealing the true underlying thought that they think I am nuts, and likely to be in the headlines for some wild shooting spree, with these crazy anti-government rants and all those guns! Kind of the nervous, frozen smile and "heh heh" you get in polite company where no one has the stomach to say "you are freaking insane!"

However, in talking to some folks, they will admit that our problems are insurmountable and they cannot see a way out of our mind numbing debt. In that context they chuckle and refer to me putting aside precious metals, guns, ammo, and food as "maybe a good thing... the gold and silver has certainly been good to you, huh?" It is at that point in the conversation when they usually say "well, I am coming to YOUR house when all that stuff goes down."

I laugh and say "come on." But the problem is, I won't be here if things get so bad that they are looking for a safe place in the midst of an economic or societal implosion. I will, of course, try to stay local if things are moderately bad, but if things are screamingly dangerously "gotta find food" so that I am actually eating my store of rations, there is NO WAY I am hanging around a place where half the people are already dependent on government checks, helpless and prone to violent crime (Durham NC has some of the highest crime rates in the state). I have a place and more importantly, a group of people I have already pre-arranged to "get with."

The other thing is that if I WERE to stay here, I have heard this same line from over 17 families. That means they are just like the Durham welfare drones who have faith in that government dole. Their trust is that it just won't get that bad, and they will be continuously gainfully employed with moneys to provide. What they really think is "things will never get that bad." I really hope they are right......, but what if they DO get that bad? These are people I love. I would probably have to say "here is enough to keep you going a little bit, but you cannot stay here."

You should pray (if you pray) that I am crazy. Nothing would please me more than to give stored food away in bulk to keep it from going bad, and replenish it in about 10 years....., assuming I am still here on earth at that time. If things are really bad, do NOT imagine that you can just glom on to some person you know who is crazy enough to have some weapons and food stored away somewhere. Lots of folks are going to have the same ideas. If that person is REALLY well prepared and things are REALLY bad, you are going to show up at a house with an open door saying "Gone. Take what you can use."

EU rescue costs start to threaten Germany itself - Telegraph

"You cannot find a bank safe deposit box in Germany because every single one has already been taken and stuffed with gold and silver. It is like an underground Switzerland within our borders. People have terrible memories of 1948 and 1923 when they lost their savings."

EU rescue costs start to threaten Germany itself - Telegraph

Remants Film Synopsis

I love good apocalyptic stories, books and movies. This looks promising.

Remants Film Synopsis

BOB RUBIN: "US In Terribly Dangerous Territory," Bond Market May Be Headed For "Implosion"

I may buy some WAY WAY out of the money July bond puts.


BOB RUBIN: "US In Terribly Dangerous Territory," Bond Market May Be Headed For "Implosion"

In jail for being in debt | StarTribune.com

We outlawed debtor's prisons, for better or worse, back in the 19th century.

This article, upsetting as it may be, is even more upsetting because of the underlying trend away from individual rights to corporatism.

Of course, one could argue that these persons are just scofflaws and "should" be prosecuted. This is true, but not the issue. The question is whether debt is a sufficient cause for incarceration.

I am actually of the opinion that involuntary servitude to pay back debt is morally superior to debtors prisons, wage garnishment, or bankruptcy, but in a country with a history of race based slavery, this will never happen.

The fact is, though, that "caveat emptor" belongs to the financial houses no less than the end consumer. If you are so phenomenally stupid as to issue credit cards to college kids with no incomes, make mortgage loans to unemployed persons, and extend lines of credit to people who are a tick away from destitution, then don't go whining to the state for police protection from your own stupidity.

In jail for being in debt | StarTribune.com

How Gold Performs During Periods of Deflation, Disinflation, Runaway Stagflation and Hyperinflation -- Seeking Alpha

Amid the global crisis in confidence, investors seem to be rediscovering the fact that gold has been used as money for thousands of years. In periods where black swans are no singular occurrences but are practically coming in flocks, the status of gold as a safe haven has yet again proven its worth. - Ronald-Peter Stoferle, The Erste Group

How Gold Performs During Periods of Deflation, Disinflation, Runaway Stagflation and Hyperinflation -- Seeking Alpha

Revolution, God, and Tin Foil hats

Is it just tinfoil lunatic obsession for morally grounded people to rant, complain, whine and trumpet the creeping totalitarianism? Maybe. Then again, there may well come a time when we have to simply DEFY the state. Much of the reaction of the state at present leads me to fear that very set of events in our future, or abject tyranny. I hope I am very very wrong.

At its heart, the "TEA PARTY" is NOT a group of Christian activists seeking to impose a theocracy. It has Christian morality at its core (and be thankful for that!), but it is a step down from a Christian movement (and be thankful for THAT, too!!!!). It is, in reality, a threat of revolution from the common man against the accretion of power in DC, and the subjugation of the populace. If that is so, let us hope that the halls of power quake and back off, rather than attempt to hold on to power with force. Get this straight, though..... MEN RARELY (VERY RARELY) GIVE UP POWER VOLUNTARILY. It has to be wrested from them. You are a fool if you look for change to come from DC and hope that sending a bunch of guys with (R) after their names to "Sodom on the Potomac" will change things.

If this is so, it is time for Christians, especially, to LEARN that there is, a "theology of revolution." Calvin, Knox, Rutherford, the Scotch Presbyterians, etc actually formed the ideological boilerplate for the formation of this country, or at least the revolution. One of the reasons this country had one of the few "successful" revolutions in history was precisely that people KNEW why they were biblically justified in standing up to tyranny.

Rebellion without moral constraints is horribly ugly. If you look at bellowing militia waving AR-15s or AK-47s and think they have no commitment to civil structures, you do RIGHT to fear. Anarchical rebellion is never pretty. God put civil structures in place to preserve order and protect the rights of people. When those structures are gone, and the people are unrestrained, blood can flow in tidal waves, and things can get extremely ugly. The lack of such things in the birth of our country, and relatively irenic conclusion to our initial war lay in precisely this.... people knew why they were revolting, and to what purpose.

For what it is worth, the principles laid out by Calvin (actually by Augustine, and, one could claim by Paul), are that rulers are appointed by God and rule for Him and in His name and for his purposes. These purposes are PRIMARILY to provide freedom (for the propagation of the gospel), to punish the wicked (who deprive persons of their freedoms) and to "reward the just."

When a king or ruler begins to rule in OPPOSITION to these principles, he has forfeited his right to rule and should be, in the name of God, resisted as a tyrant rather than a lawful king. This resistance is not to be done lightly, but carefully and slowly. The steps are 1) Protest, appeal to the law, and seeking protection in the various legal/political structures that exist (courts, "lesser magistrates," differing municipalities 2) Flee ... either to another state or area, or to another country altogether 3) Revolution, under the leadership of a "lesser magistrate" who rises against the higher (a state against DC, for example. Revolution does not have to be violent, though it often is.

If you look at our Declaration of Independence, you will see that it is a secularized (without all the God-talk) recap of those very principles. This is why, when King George saw the DOI, he exclaimed "the colonies have run off with a Presbyterian minister!"

When I look at the creeping fascism in the areas like S510 and the recent internet control bill, my tin foil hat becomes a bit constricted. You might dislike the term "fascism" and think because we don't see some mesmerizing screecher with a a goofy moustache and straight bangs, it is not "fascist." Fascism is the union of state worship with corporate control with a military emphasis.

I ain't looking for black helicopters to come zooming in and spirit me off as soon as I post this, but there is no doubt that people who express fierce independence and a willingness to resist are at least viewed as "someone to watch." I want the federal drones to view all the "little people" out there as ASSETS, rather than potential enemies. In the meantime, though, I wanna keep my copy of LEX REX close by, and remind them that they look awfully close to King George these days.

CNBC: 3 big banks cutting deal on foreclosures - Real estate- msnbc.com

Rats and cockroaches scurry when the lights are on.

Note that they are cutting deals ONLY when the states Attorneys Generals are preparing cases against them. All the fraud and abuse has undergone months and months of scrutiny and they have been shameless and recalcitrant.

Now, though, they are cutting deals. These are the people who, if we had not propped them up with TARP money, would have plunged us all into ruin if we let them go under.

Bah.


CNBC: 3 big banks cutting deal on foreclosures - Real estate- msnbc.com

Too Stupid to make up.....

As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following:

When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards.

Our first stop was Shannon, Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard. That’s where the stupid started.

First, everyone was forced to get off the plane–even though the plane wasn’t refueling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine.

It’s probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren’t loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.

The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to reinspect our Cargo–just to inspect us again: Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever. So we lined up to go through security AGAIN.

This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols.

So we’re in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that they’re going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this:

TSA Guy: You can’t take those on the plane.

Soldier: What? I’ve had them since we left country.

TSA Guy: You’re not suppose to have them.

Soldier: Why?

TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.

Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I’m allowed to take it on.

TSA Guy: Yeah but you can’t use it to take over the plane. You don’t have bullets.

Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?

TSA Guy: [awkward silence]

Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get the f**k out of here. I’ll buy you a new set.

Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security]

This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns–but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.


Another TSA Outrage | RedState

I guess we need 51 stars on the flag?

American foreign policy is fatally flawed on a number of fronts:
1) Having some good intentions makes us the "good guys"
2) We have the moral resources to police or administer the world and will remain uncorrupted by taking up the power to do so
3) We have the financial resources to administer what has become an empire
4) Even if 1-3 above were all true, we have a fatally stupid belief that imposing a government "top down" through use of military force will transform a society

In his better days, before he became a waterboy for Neocon foreign policy, Rush Limbaugh said it best when he stated "the military is there to kill people and break things."

Gov. Perry's plan sounds just dandy to me. What is one more country to rule?


Perry: May need troops in Mexico - Dan Hirschhorn - POLITICO.com

The first signs of the coming dollar crash are in Hong Kong

Sovereign man has a very nice, insightful and VERY prescient article about the weakness of the world's fiat currencies, the strength of the Chinese remimbi, and the recent issuance of bonds by McDonalds denominated in Remimbi. However, the most significant story here is the relaxation of currency controls between Hong Kong (a protectorate of China, but one which has its own, freely traded currency) and China. The recent ruling that China can make instant cross border settlements with Hong Kong without gov't approval is a virtual nuke-sized hole in the currency restrictions that have held the Chinese currency down. Look for money (dollars especially) to gush into China and the remimbi to gush out.

If you don't have a broker with Hong Kong connections, now might be a time to get one. Moreover, a smart kid who moves to Hong Kong today and positions himself to facilitate the flow of money between the debt laden countries which use dollar/euro/yen and China will probably find himself amazingly wealthy in the years to come.

The first signs of the coming dollar crash are in Hong Kong

Jim Rogers: G20 Is a Waste of Time

“It’d be better off if they just met in a bar, had a few beers and went home.”

ha ha

"Chinese have been working dawn to dusk for 20 years, and saving over 35% of their income. Any time you have a country that works hard, saves and invests, it will do better than a country which consumes, borrows, and spends." Well, doh. Plain simple hard economic facts. Work hard, save money, don't live beyond your means. Basic financial truths that ought to be bedrock principles of planning, from the family on up. How is it that folks come to believe that governments are somehow exempt?

Jim Rogers: G20 Is a Waste of Time

Motivation of My Filming of My TSA Encounter by John Tyner

John Tyner's common sense note:

Every attempt to blow up a plane since 9/11 has been stopped by passengers after the government failed to provide protection for them. Every incident, however, has been met by throwing more money and less sensibility at the problem. Aside from securing the cockpit doors and the realization by passengers that they must fend for themselves because they're more likely to be killed by a hijacker than flown safely to their destination where the hijacker's demands can be met, security is largely the same as it was before 9/11.

The only thing changing is the amount of money being spent on the problem and the constant erosion of liberty, and all I did was draw attention to this. If you want to argue that the airlines are private, you're preaching to the choir. I refused the x-ray machine, and then I refused a groping by a government official. I mildly protested, and when they told me that I could submit to the screening or leave the airport, I left peacefully. The only time I got angry during the entire encounter was when I was unlawfully detained and threatened with a lawsuit and a fine.

If you think the government is protecting you, ask yourself this: If the official at the end of the video thought I had an incendiary device, why would he want me to go back into a small area crowded with hundreds of people instead of leaving the airport as quickly as possible?

TSA's response? Of course. They are going to INVESTIGATE this dangerous person. Lesson: Never humiliate vengeful bureaucrats.

Motivation of My Filming of My TSA Encounter by John Tyner

YouTube - Quantitative Easing Explained

FANTASTIC VIDEO. The common people NAIL the federal reserve. When the man in the street understands and puts it together like this, it is all over for the fed.



YouTube - Quantitative Easing Explained

Commentary » Blog Archive » The Entitlement Crisis

Really liked this. Jim DeMint is one of the true good guys. This person's criticism of him though, is a bullseye. YOU MUST BE WILLING TO TAKE ON ENTITLEMENTS IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT THE DEBT. All the caterwauling about "it is not fair to the retiring boomers" (hey, *I* am one of those people) is irrelevant. It *IS* unjust. So freaking what? I live in a world of injustice and this is one more item. Justice is one thing. Survival is another.

I do like his comment about earmarks being the "gateway drug" to wasteful and corrupt spending.

Commentary » Blog Archive » The Entitlement Crisis

Demplosion

Nice

Best Line in the dialogue: "People like you think it is a crisis when you run out of sprouts at the salad bar at Whole Foods"

Weasel Zippers » Blog Archive » Obama: “I’m So Glad To Meet an Indian Communist, I’m Told You’re Part of The Political Mainstream Here”…

Some things speak for themselves

Weasel Zippers » Blog Archive » Obama: “I’m So Glad To Meet an Indian Communist, I’m Told You’re Part of The Political Mainstream Here”…

Junkscience.com -- 100 things you should know about DDT

A pretty impressive rebuttal to those who would continue the ban on DDT.

Junkscience.com -- 100 things you should know about DDT

MyDesk ▷ TheBullionDesk

Can someone out there say "short squeeze"? thank you. thank you very much. Silver sold off 2 dollars and came screaming right back.

Expect JP Morgan and the big guys to fight, kick, scream, manipulate, and try every dirty trick in the book to stop this.

I think it got away from em this time though.


MyDesk ▷ TheBullionDesk

Gold and Silver Confiscation | FINANCIAL SENSE

When a nation loses confidence in the currency, the state starts to throw its weight around. Just as Roosevelt confiscated Gold, the only state with hyperinflation BEFORE the age of fiat currencies also attempted to confiscate gold an silver.

Gold and Silver Confiscation | FINANCIAL SENSE

Wake bus driver accused of slapping kindergartener :: WRAL.com

Why criminal charges? A nice friendly -ss whipping would have taught him that you don't mess with other people's kids, and then he could go on and be a productive citizen.

Wake bus driver accused of slapping kindergartener :: WRAL.com

An Inflationary Death Spiral | FINANCIAL SENSE

Pento always makes good sense

An Inflationary Death Spiral | FINANCIAL SENSE

Political Ratholes by Gary North

I usually like Gary North, but this article is just desk pounding screechingly good.

FANTASTIC review of Meg Whitmans, campaign, as well as a generalized survey of culture, politics, economics and life.

Outstanding.

Political Ratholes by Gary North

Sanderson Farms eyes Nash County site :: WRAL.com

I never thought I would wind up with the peasant dress wearing, patchouli crowd, but I am opposed to this too.

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Sanderson Farms eyes Nash County site :: WRAL.com

David Stockman on spending

I sure hope David Stockman is wrong.

He was right the last time he piped up,though.

"On the fringes of the 75-plus greenhorns who will populate the Republican caucus, there appears to be some sentiment in favor a modern version of Senator Robert Taft’s sensible isolationism of an earlier era. At least some of the Tea Party crusaders appear to be saying, “enough of nation building and wars of occupation in the global backwaters." But wait until the neo-con thought police get done with “freshman orientation” at the Republican caucus meetings in December. The $800 billion that goes for national security and its step-child, homeland security, will be safe from assault -- at least from the anti-spending forces of the GOP."


www.minyanville.com/articles/print.php?a=30936

LOOK OUT BELOW!!!!!

Radical Difference Between Monetization 1 and QE2 | FINANCIAL SENSE

Interesting article here. He claims that this round of "quantitative easing" -which means that the fed is simply printing money- is radically different than anything we have seen thus far.

This time, the fed is intervening directly into the Treasury Bond market. In other words, the Fed will be creating an artificial Treasury bond market, where it uses an unlimited amount of newly created public money to buy from private investment banks. We are "borrowing from ourselves" by simply printing the money.

In evaluating why this so-called "QE2" is so different from the first rounds of quantitative easing, we need to understand that the use of the funds is quite different. In the autumn of 2008 the Federal Reserve used the original round of money to create artificial liabilities when there were no lenders, thereby keeping the highly leveraged banking system from collapsing. The money wasn't actually being spent on anything you could reach out and touch; this was more about balance sheets and accounting manipulations on a massive scale.

During 2009 and early 2010, for the true second round of quantitative easing (which involved rolling the new dollars over from the first round of bank loans and creating substantially more new dollars), the Federal Reserve created an artificial mortgage market, so that mortgage interest rates would be lower than what a free market would've allowed, and thereby would hopefully help slow down or avert a collapse in the housing market. The new money was used to acquire financial instruments (mortgage securities), but "sterilization" meant that the newly created money would not be allowed to escape from the Federal Reserve's and banks' balance sheets. So again, the new money wasn't being used to buy or create anything you could actually reach out and touch. The mortgage money had already been lent by the bank, so the newly created Fed money didn't go to the home purchasers.

What makes this current round night-and-day different is that the new money is being created to pay real people for real jobs and real tangible goods. The United States government budget deficit is not about market values of financial instruments, but rather about paying workers on a massive scale for "stimulus" projects. It's about massive road reconstruction projects and expensive high-speed rail lines – with the money being given to workers to go out and spend, in return for their labor. It's about paying a vast army of federal workers - who spend their paychecks. The federal budget deficit is about massive transfers and redistributions of wealth within the US, including Social Security and Medicare, low income housing and many other purposes. All of which require real money that really gets spent by real people.

This is huge, disastrous, and a precedent of monstrous proportions.

We have fools running our monetary policy, and we are going to suffer eye popping consequences for it.

There is simply no way out of this.


Radical Difference Between Monetization 1 and QE2 | FINANCIAL SENSE

Run, Silver, Run!! | FINANCIAL SENSE

You see, readers, as uncomfortable as it may be to say: I love liberty, not necessarily America. But I stand on the shoulders of giants in American history in this regard. Loving liberty more than country was the reasoning behind the American Revolution in the first place.




Run, Silver, Run!! | FINANCIAL SENSE

"We are winning, why should we 'negotiate'?" -- Indeed

World Blog - Taliban leader's aide: Reports of peace talks 'nonsense'

If this is happening in NEW YORK!!!???

This is quite unbelievable.

I could understand it if it were a bunch of traditionally democratic seats in Georgia, or Alabama. But NEW YORK??

Five seats flipped from dem to republican. That is astounding.

Left Coast Rebel: Breaking News: Randy Altschuler camp reports that Democrat Tim Bishop is down by over 300 in NY-1

Boehner under fire: First cut should be lawmakers' salaries - TheHill.com

My understanding is that the first task Boehner has agreed to pursue is SLASHING LAWMAKER SALARIES.

Lest you think this refers to how much money they make, this is NOT the point.

This refers to the size of their budget, so that their staff size is reduced.

Reducing the number of salaried people who run around on staff for Congress cannot be anything but a good idea.

I applaud this, and think we all should.


Boehner under fire: First cut should be lawmakers' salaries - TheHill.com

Color Me "Skeptical"

It's starting.

Watch this little 20 second vid.

"This health care bill will ruin the best health care system in the world, and it will bankrupt our country. We are going to repeal ObamaCare"

real good up to here, John......


" and replace it with common sense reforms that will bring down the cost of health insurance."

which lets you know that Boehner is indeed just one more shill for big pharma and the traditional special interests of Republicans.

Many of the people encouraged or energized or empowered or something by last Tuesday's results talked about "holding their feet to the fire." Well, he is already giving you your first big fat juicy podiatric target right here.

We will know within a month whether we have real change or not. Color me "skeptical."

RealClearPolitics - Video - Boehner: "We Are Going to Repeal ObamaCare"

YouTube - Bernanke Perjury?

This is TREASON! Nothing short. I swear if this present Congress does not reign in this bunch of thieves, it is all over.



YouTube - Bernanke Perjury?

YouTube - Debt Collection Firm Sets Up Fake Courtroom to Trick Debtors Into Paying

You have to laugh at the creativity of this.

YouTube - Debt Collection Firm Sets Up Fake Courtroom to Trick Debtors Into Paying

The big political news of the night!

The real story is the nonstory. The Republican pick ups at the state level.

There will be 18 states subject to reapportionment. The Republicans will control a majority of those — at least ten and maybe a dozen or more. More significantly, a minimum of seventeen state legislative houses have flipped to the Republican Party.

The North Carolina Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1870.
The Alabama Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1876.

Expect that in the South, do ya? Understandable. However:
The entire Wisconsin and New Hampshire legislatures have flipped to the GOP by wide margins.
The State Houses in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Montana, and Colorado, all now GOP.

The Maine and Minnesota Senates now are Republican GOP.

The Texas and Tennessee Houses went from virtually tied to massive Republican gains. The gains in Texas were so big that the Republicans no longer need the Democrats to get state constitutional amendments out of the state legislature.

These gains go all the way down to the municipal level across the nation. That did not happen even in 1994.

This was a tsunami.

Now comes the REALLY hard part, which is convincing local congressmen and state senators to ASSERT THEIR RIGHTS AS STATES to a confiscatory, encroaching, unconstitutional federal government.

I have long ago given up on any kind of change from DC. Maybe I could be surprised, but I don't think so. Real revolutions, like real politics are always local.

We have had power, money and influence stolen and moved to DC mostly because the "give a damn" of locals has been misplaced, and it is difficult to stand up to the storm of vituperation, ridicule, tut-tut-ing and hostility one endures when attempting to defy the triumvirate of DC apparatchniks, the military industrial complex, and the cozy relationship between Wall Street and the Federal Reserve.

Here is hoping for a big round of TAKE A HIKE! to DC. One can hope.

Anyone have an axe?

WE SPEND TOO MUCH!!!!

How freaking hard is that to understand? The Brits have gone across the board and cut spending because they realize they are going under if they don't. Everything is cut, from health care to the miltary (Brits are considering forming a joint military with France to avoid the massive outlays necessary to project power around the world as the US poodle).

Could we borrow one of your budget architects?

It's Official: The Government Isn't Getting Its Money Back Out of GM - Megan McArdle - Business - The Atlantic

What a shocker!

It's Official: The Government Isn't Getting Its Money Back Out of GM - Megan McArdle - Business - The Atlantic

Federal Reserve return to Jekyll Island to celebrate 100 years of fleecing the USA

If the American people knew what really went down on Jekyll Island and understood the Federal Reserve, they would surround Jekyll Island, drag every last one of these guys out into the streets and hang them from a lamp post. This is absolutely Unbelievable. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

International Committee Against Stoning | Save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Campaign

The breathtaking mercy of the Iranian mullahs is just heartwarming.

They have decided to hang her, and that "immediately" rather than stoning.

I am sure she is grateful

International Committee Against Stoning | Save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Campaign

Jumbo smuggling racket busted in Assam, 9 rescued - The Times of India

How exactly would one "smuggle" an elephant?

Jumbo smuggling racket busted in Assam, 9 rescued - The Times of India