SPENT

[FOTD]

Federal Reserve Cannot Account for $9 Trillion

http://www.economyincrisis.org/articles/show/2907

That's a lot of dough. Remember when the paper had "silver certificate" printed on it and the money was backed by something finite and real? Now, it's all fiat money printed with nothing to back it but "Trust Us."

Fed Does Not Believe Economic "Stabilization" Will Persist 

http://www.economyincrisis.org/articles/show/2916


This economy is in the shidder and will not get better for years.  The devil is glad his friend here is starting to get old and won't be alive when the entire capitalist system crashes into reality.

Slow burn....

[FOTD]

"In a democracy, it is difficult to justify a situation in which the most important economic policy making body is, by design, more answerable to the banking industry than democratically elected officials."

Waterboard the Fed?
American taxpayers have the right to know where the trillions of dollars being pledged in their name are going

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/may/25/federal-reserve-bailout-transparency

It's worth noting that each Republican administration since Reagan has doubled or tripled the national debt. We may be past the point where we can pay it off.

[OpenYourEyesTulsa]

Over the weekend Obama was interviewed on CSPAN and he said that the country is out of money.  That's because he spent it all and is now trying to squeeze more out of us for healthcare when we are all broke. 

[waterboy]

He spent it all? That's quite a stretch. A spin worthy of Limbaugh.

[Conan71]

He spent it all? That's quite a stretch. A spin worthy of Limbaugh.

I dunno, I kind of know the feeling with this home renovation and moving.  I've been pumping my fair share back into the economy. 

[guido911]

He spent it all? That's quite a stretch. A spin worthy of Limbaugh.

That Obama quote needs a little context and he is technically right. Still, what a dumb statement to make when our country may have its AAA credit rating reduced and we are looking for someone to loan us money. I know when I go car shopping the first thing I tell the salesman is that I do not have any money...

[cannon_fodder]

And when currency was "backed" by assets the conspiracy theorists argued that there wasn't really any or certainly not enough of a backing.

When it was silver backed we wanted gold.

When it was gold we thought silver would be more efficient.

A problem arose every now and then when a powerful country would just take the reserves of a smaller country, destroying their economy in total.

It was also a hassle to pay interest to "hold" reserves.  Holding gold securely and keeping inventory is expensive, essentially an interest payment to hold the reserves.  An inherent inefficiency.

Then there is the small logistical issue of our economy producing more wealth in a year than all the gold that has ever been mined.

Also the issue of mineral resources being used more efficiently in other capacities (better to have them as conductors or medical instruments than sitting in a vault). 

And good luck getting manufacturing on board.  A pegged currency would be so strong that our exports would simply stop in total.  Won't anyone think of labor?

Stupid capitalist system.  All creating high standards of living and more wealth than the world has ever seen while encourage the free exchange of goods, ideas, and information.  Personally, I think what we need is MORE government involvement because they do such a good job in the areas they currently administer (social security, medicaid, defense, intelligence . . .).

[FOTD]

This is an amazing read....not for the faint of heart.

Volume 56, Number 10 · June 11, 2009
The Crisis and How to Deal with It

By Bill Bradley, Niall Ferguson, Paul Krugman, Nouriel Roubini, George Soros, Robin Wells et al.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22756

"I think that the debate here is about what needs to be done in the short term versus the long term. The lesson of the Great Depression is pretty clear: it started with the stock market crash of 1929, and it actually became the Great Depression by 1933 for four reasons. One, we didn't believe in a counter-cyclical monetary policy. The money supply contracted rather than being eased. Interest rates were not falling, and that made the credit crunch worse. Two, nobody believed in counter-cyclical fiscal policy. The general theory of Keynes was written only in 1936; in the early 1930s, the government was raising taxes and cutting spending in order to maintain a balanced budget. That made the recession even more severe.

Three, there was a belief that banks should be allowed to collapse. Thousands of them collapsed, the credit crunch became even worse. And four, by 1933, 75 percent of households had defaulted on their mortgages; they couldn't pay them. So a stock market crash became a Great Depression. Then you add currency wars internationally, trade wars, protectionism, and capital controls; then you had default by countries and the rise of totalitarian regimens in Germany and in Italy, in Japan, and Spain, and we ended up in World War II. So those are the consequences of not taking the right policy actions in the short run.

I agree, however, that we have to worry about the long run."

FOTD is wondering about economists and if they even have a clear picture.

Obscene bankster profits at taxpayer expense.

In a word word....ponzinomics

[cannon_fodder]

1933:

No FDIC
No unemployment
No Social Secuirty
No Medicaid
No farm subsidies
No Bank Regulation
No floating currency
No service based economy (manufacturing and agrarian based)
No globalization
No internet
No United Nations
No hegemonic power

And wasn't this same group of people yelling at Bush for trying to spend his way out of a recession without raising taxes?  Pretty sure they called that reckless.  Now, it's good policy.

I agree with the premise - that we need to be concerned and watch closely.  I agree that economists do NOT have a clear picture (the good ones will admit that).  I agree that profits at taxpayers expense are bs.  I too question the ponzi economics.

But we have to look at the lessons from the past in context.  The mistakes of the great depression could all be corrected and it could still be the wrong decision at this time.   The article basically advocates for spending out of a recession, which creates a catch 22 in its own logic.

[FOTD]

Sparty, don't you love wordventions!

[FOTD]

If We Don't Stop Wall Street's Colossal Theft Now, Where Will This Country Be Next Year?
By Tiffiniy Cheng, AlterNet. Posted June 5, 2009.

The financial sector is stopping our country from getting out of the crisis, it is to blame for our troubles. If we don't stop it, where will our country be by the end of this year? Come attend events across the country next week to learn more about how we can stop Wall Street before it bankrupts all of us.


http://www.alternet.org/action/140490/if_we_don't_stop_wall_street's_colossal_theft_now,_where_will_this_country_be_next_year/


So, write your congressmen stern letters? Let's see, post that Betty Ford address for us.....