Archive → November, 2008
America Looming Financial Destruction
America is doing a fine job at self-destruction. The printing presses are going full stream ahead without any concern that the government won’t be able to get enough people to lend them the money at what will have to be very low rates. Low rates because the interest on the national debt is already rivaling the Defense Dept and it wouldn’t take much higher rates to surpass it. For now, everybody is scared about defaults and since the US government hasn’t defaulted the assumption is that your money is safe — oh, assumptions! Given that the currency is only as strong as the government, many assume that if the government fails then the money is worthless anyway.
Well, everybody will be right at some point. As the current deflation continues with the unwinding of an over leveraged system, people are trying to protect their cash. Funny, these people are buying US government Treasury debt to do so. Once people understand that the US government is bankrupt then the rates on the debt will increase as the principal is destroyed. The government will have to pay higher rates to float new debt and there is always new debt. The US government loves to finance long term with short term debt which has lower rates. Eventually, the rates will begin to rise as inflation returns. This will be followed by hyper inflation and the official bankruptcy of the US.
Get out of US treasuries and into hard physical assets. By the way, don’t expect to hold stock certificates that represent gold — those will fail also. Hold gold or other physicals.
People keep saying this is not like 1929. Yes, they are right! In 1929, the US government didn’t have the kind of NATIONAL DEBT that the government has now. This is much worse than 1929.
America is doomed.
Robert Shiller — Economic Crisis to Last for Years
Robert Shiller, Yale economist, has been a voice of reason for many years and has frequently pointed out bubbles in the US stock market. His book, Irrational Exuberance, originally published in 2000 is now in its second edition. He has recently recorded a talk about the current economic crisis. It is delivered in three parts below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
America is doomed.
Western Financial System has Collapsed
This blog has explained that the US financial system is on the verge of total collapse, regardless of a few up days on Wall Street. Today, it is joined with the same pronouncement from Willem Buiter.
Things are critical. Unless the banks start lending in normal volumes very soon, this recession could indeed become another Great Depression. We cannot wait for the banks to find their juju. The government may have to take it to them.
Secretary Henry Paulson appears to be completely inept. Just a week ago Paulson proclaimed the financial system was solid and strong and, in fact, he didn’t even need the second $350 BILLION from TARP. Today, he decided that the funds were needed right away and, further, added another $800 BILLION of loan guarantees.
So far, the US government has granted or guaranteed up to $7 TRILLION in monies. This indicates that the financial system has collapsed. Further, the US government is not getting adequate ownership of the entities as monies are awarded. Meanwhile, executives are pulling out BILLIONS to reward themselves from their incompetence. This is corporate welfare on steroids. This is the raping of the American taxpayers and their future heirs. This is the result of the greed and corruption that has been American capitalism for decades. This will result in the breakdown of the social structure and there will be riots in the streets of America.
America is doomed.
Financial Crisis Riots
A financial crisis will be what destroys America. The true terrorists are the greed of the America economic system. Consider this quote:
I don’t trust the government, I don’t trust the banks, I don’t trust the political parties, and I don’t trust the IMF. We had a good country here and they’ve ruined it.
Sound familiar?
Well, this one is from Iceland where there has been a complete financial collapse and Iceland wasn’t in as bad of shape as the US is in now. What happened in Iceland is what the US is looking at but is being temporarily delayed with over $7 TRILLION in bailout money and guarantees. The US will have TRILLION dollar deficits with increasing NATIONAL DEBT. This is temporary because the money will continue to flow to bailout one company after another – ultimately this stupid spending will crush the dollar and the hopes of a generation.
With the stock market artificially up for a few days, people are already thinking the worse is over. But we are still in inning 1 of a very long game. Sure, the field is loaded with crooked umpires that is keeping everybody playing but it is just a matter of time.
America is doomed.
George W Bush == Herbert Hoover
It’s official … this year the stock market had a worse year than any year of the Great Depression. Thus, George W Bush is now equivalent to Herbert Hoover. Both were Republicans. Both believed in the bankrupt ideology of “free markets” and “capitalism”. Both ushered in horrible, devastating economic problems that resulted in pain for millions and millions of America. Both were so arrogant that they continued to believe in their stupid ideas even when people were lined up in soup lines. Both were wrong.
As the country melts down, guess where George W Bush is today? Peru! Seriously, could there be an bigger idiot that George W Bush?
Fortunately, America finally made a good decision in electing soon to be President Obama. This man is smart and will do the right things. There still will be pain but in the end there is hope.
Robert Prechter Predicting Stock Market Crash
Robert Prechter predicted the current stock market crash in 2007. Below, in three parts, is his analysis.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
America is doomed.
1929 Stock Market Crash
An excellent history of the 1929 Stock Market Crash, in five parts. As you watch it, see if it reminds you of anything.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
America is doomed.
Collapse of US Auto Industry
It looks unlikely that there will be a bailout of the US Auto Industry in the Lame Duck session of Congress. There are plenty of politicians opposed to it. GM stated that it will be too in the upcoming Obama administration. Consider this video released by GM
America is doomed.
Republican Pro-Death Party
Many people don’t realize how unbelievably evil the Bush-Cheney administration is. Sure, everybody knows about the wars and the lies for getting into the wars. People know about the repeal of regulations that have ushered in a financial crisis and made America’s water and air more polluted. There is substantial documentation about the greed and corruption within the country. Bush and Cheney don’t care about humanity — they care about money, power, and oppression. The list goes on and on.
Look what the Bush-Cheney evil bastards have done to NASA to support their political anti-science agenda. Or how they are out to limit women’s health care in the name of their sick religious based “pro-life” agenda. If there is one thing that the Bush-Cheney people are not — it is PRO-LIFE. They believe in wars, capital punishment, guns for everybody, and subverting health care which all result in people dying — hard to be pro-life when virtually all your policies result in people dying. The only place Republicans are pro-life is when it involves people unborn and this could be honored if they were not for killing people after they were born. In fact, people could understand a truly PRO-LIFE party who was opposed to all policies that resulted in human death. Probably the single best argument for no benevolent god is the way the Republican religious right feel about their fellow humanity. With the America that the Republicans have created the best thing is abortion, because once a child is born in Republican America that child is fucked for the rest of their life.
To make matters even worse McCain and Palin got 58 MILLION people to vote for them. What kind of idiot would vote for McCain and Palin? The kind of religious idiot who thinks the earth is 6000 years old and that god created it in seven days.
America is doomed.
Naomi Speaks — Listen!
Naomi Klein is the best person to outline the big picture related to the financial crisis. She is use to making such observations and her book The Shock Doctrine is a must read of our time. Today, she points out that the handling of the financial crisis is “not merely incompetent. It is borderline criminal.” Many of the items mentioned in her piece have been mentioned in these pages, but it is wonderful to see Naomi organize them in a single summary. Naomi explains that Wall Street will end up opposing exactly what the America electorate just voted for — all in an effort to keep the free money flowing on Wall Street.
One thing we know for certain is that the market will react violently to any signal that there is a new sheriff in town who will impose serious regulation, invest in people and cut off the free money for corporations. In short, the markets can be relied on to vote in precisely the opposite way that Americans have just voted. (A recent USA Today/Gallup poll found that 60 percent of Americans strongly favor “stricter regulations on financial institutions,” while just 21 percent support aid to financial companies.)
America is doomed.