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Archive for the Economics Category

Kleptocracy, Inc.: Rebranding America (November 18, 2013)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Economics, Economics Nobel, Federal Reserve, Kleptocracy, Stock Market on November 18, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A “‘Go Kleptocracy, Inc. Go’ doesn’t have the same ring as ‘Go U.S.A. Go.’”

B “You could replace the stars with dollar signs and the stripes with universal product codes to reflect the monetization of America. Rally ‘round the ‘Dollar Signs and Bar Codes’ does not alliterate the way rally ‘round the ‘Stars and Stripes’ does.”

A “And doesn’t sound right, does it.”

B “To say that everything is a lie and a fraud is an understatement.”

A “Almost everything is a lie.”

B “That may be closer to the truth.”

. . .

B “A kleptocracy is an oligarchy that no longer is even vaguely concerned about even the pretense of evenhandedness or equality.”

A “That’s it; that’s us.”

. . .

B “And yet so many commentators point to the Dow that topped 16 Grand for a time today.”

A “It’s over the top. The rise is so tightly correlated with the monthly eighty-five billion dollar ($85,000,000,000.00) bribe paid by the Federal Reserve to the Big Banks.”

B “What if they doubled the bribe to one hundred and seventy billion dollars ($170,000,000,000.00) each month paid to the Big Banks. Why not. Everything is a fraud and a lie and a fraud.”

A “The crash will be even more epic.”

. . .

A “One of the former Federal Reserve officials confessed and apologized for the program known as ‘quantitative easing’ as the ‘greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time’ with little real economic expansion. Bernanke* is a nice guy who has really done little more than dispense bribes to Big Banks.”

B “Like Bernanke*, Jellen may be the best this talent-starved kleptocracy can produce. She will continue the official Federal Reserve policy of dispensing bribes to Big Banks.”

A “In her testimony, she assured Wall Street and the Big Banks that she will maintain their primacy and hegemony.”

B “Congress charged the Federal Reserve with considering employment.”

A “The Fed is mindful of the impact of its bribes on employment on Wall Street.”

. . .

A “What if he went out like former President Eisenhower and delivered a warning about the perniciousness of the financial industrial complex?”

. . .

A “The answer is so obvious and so easy. Preclude any bank from holding more than one hundred billion dollars ($100,000,000,000.00) in assets.”

B “The Big Banks will never approve that action by the Federal Reserve.”

. . .

A “The Norwegians do not help when they dispense their trophy to the cheer leaders who put a cheery façade on the fraud.”

B “And the e-con-omics departments oblige by providing a steady pipeline of obedient sycophants.”

. . .

[See the article titled “Andrew Huszar: Confessions of a Quantitative Easer” at http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303763804579183680751473884.].

[See the “e-ssays” titled Greenspan’s Legacy – Apres moi, Le Meltdown (January 30, 2006), The Dow Jones (the Murdoch ?) Hits 14 K In A Hollow Economy (July 23, 2007), A Bleak Day: The Trillion Dollar Tragedy (October 6, 2008), The TARP Is A Trap (January 19, 2009), The Bush Grand Slam (February 14, 2011) and (M)End The Fed (July 11, 2011) concluding with a draft Federal Reserve Enforcement Order that Janet Jellen could issue in her first few weeks on the job.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

In Greed We Trust

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September 15, 2008 – The Date That Should Live In Infamy (September 16, 2013)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Economics, Federal Reserve, Kleptocracy, Occupy Movement on September 16, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C “Five years ago in the morn, Senator McCain, the pundits and the powerful proclaimed that the fundamentals of the economy were sound.”

D “Didn’t seem that way to me then. Doesn’t seem that way to me now.”

C “Didn’t seem that way even to them in the afternoon. Those running the game realized that the hollow economy could not be propped up with lies and smoke and mirrors. September 15 is the date that should live in infamy.”

D “If market forces had been allowed to continue without the TARP and other interventions, the current generation would have endured its excesses rather than heaping them on the younger generations.”

. . .

C “And two years since the emergence of the Occupy movement. The folks shared a concern that something is wrong with the economic and political game even if they could not explain the problems or advance the solutions.”

. . .

D “No one has ever audited the Federal Reserve.”

C “Some companies claim to have paid back some of the government loans, but who really knows.”

D “No one has ever been prosecuted except a few unconnected fools and Madoff who made the mistake of purloining from the powerful.”

. . .

C “The Dow’s new highs are a sign of peril not of promise. As long as the Federal Reserve keeps fabricating phony funds, the Dow will keep providing phony figures.”

. . .

C “All the counterparty agreements are essentially insurance policies. An insurance company is required by law to provide adequate reserves to satisfy possible claims. Every concerned citizen should have reservations about an insurance scheme with no regulation or even reserves.”

D “Insurance companies have historically been regulated by states. The most likely state to regulate the financial industry – New York – has no incentive to regulate and every incentive to allow unregulated criminality. New York is profiting handsomely from the criminality,”

C “Laissez faire, they say. Those in power are too lazy to create a fair economic system.”

D “The same old same old.”

C “The same old same old.”

D “The same old same old is getting old.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” under the Category “TARP” at https://e-commentary.org/category/tarp/ and any of a few dozen “e-ssays” presented in the last nine years on the economy. See the “e-ssays” under the Category “Occupy Movement” at https://e-commentary.org/category/occupy-movement/.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

A system that cannot go on forever will not go on forever.

“Twenty-five years ago, I worked there during the summers for $7 an hour and now my son works there part-time for $7.75 an hour.”

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Digital Deception (August 5, 2013)

Posted in Consumerism, Digital, Economics, Perjury/Dishonesty, Pogo Plight, Privacy on August 5, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1 “I mentioned to a close friend privately that digital is holding its own against analog. However, digital has some downsides.”

2 “I call it digital deception. Digital allows for so much more deception because nothing is permanent.”

. . .

1 “I clicked ‘add to cart’ to add a product on the ‘Styx’ e-commerce website, jotted down the price and noted the free shipping on a sheet of paper.”

2 “Which gets us back to the need to make a written record that is permanent.”

1 “I minimized the site on the screen, called a local store for comparison and then maximized the site on the screen. The price was the same, but the free shipping was changed to a much more substantial cost.”

2 “Bait and switch transcends technology. You may find that the shipping is free, but the shipping date is in a month or longer. That may prove to be an unprofitable stratagem because it goes against the all-consuming desire for immediate gratification.”

. . .

1 “Now it is offering free shipping and delivery in a week. It is almost as if the system detects that I will purchase the product if the shipping is free.”

2 “If you leave the site for a period of time and then return, the algorithm may reset to bait you with free shipping. Switch from the site for a while and see what happens.”

. . .

1 “The ‘Fly By Night’ travel web sites provide the best price for a flight and then in a subsequent visit to the site a few minutes later increase the price or offer less appealing routes. Once they have gotten you, they have got you.”

2 “Unless you don’t let them get you.”

. . .

1 “The ‘Pillow’ real estate website regularly changes and updates information including what it represented to be historical data. The predicted price for my house in 2007 is now materially different.”

2 “I can predict the closing price of the Dow last week.”

1 “Taking a screen shot requires a clever workaround. I filed a printed screen shot of my property and then compared it a year later. The figures and historical graph were different. I printed the subsequent results to keep a record in a printed format and then check later.”

. . .

1 “I checked on the availability of a website address and was shocked at this late stage of web address homesteading that it was still available. I then checked the availability of another more general website and discovered that it was already staked. When I returned to purchase the first website, it was not available.”

2 “If I find that a website address is available, I immediately purchase it.”

. . .

2 “You could use another computer and search for a product or flight without revealing your identity or propensity until you sign in to make a purchase. However, the dubious real estate data appears on every computer screen.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Clio needs to clutch the parchment scrolls tenaciously

Let the buyer be aware and be wary and be weary

Mano-a-mano with a machine

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The Silver Standard: The Value Of (Sort Of) Real Money (July 15, 2013)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Economics, Gold Standard, Money, Silver Standard on July 15, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

E1 “The participants in the study are less expensively schooled rural residents who distrust dollars but desperately desire them. Or their equivalent. They regard Morgan silver dollars as real money.”

E2 “And Morgans are still a form of legal tender.”

E1 “One invoice stated that it could be satisfied by tendering three (3) Morgans or seventy-two (72) dollars. Two media of exchange.”

E2 “The Morgan silver dollar is a known quantity made with an alloy of ninety percent silver and ten percent copper. The local folks adopted a form of the silver standard using government coinage but without any government edict, direction or regulation.”

E1 “In my on-going survey, the value of a Morgan with no additional numismatic appeal is about thirty-three percent more than the assay value of the silver content of the coin. Those trading in Morgans have no idea what the Dow is that day or even what the Dow is, but they know the exchange value of Ag every day.”

E2 “Their allegiance is not unalloyed, however, because in the final analysis the value of both silver and Morgans is denominated in dollars. Dollars are still the unit of account.”

E1 “What is revealing and intriguing is the added value of the thing that is made out of the substance. Information has value and is valued. The Morgan conveys accurate information and is easy to convey while also providing a store of value which are attributes worth a premium in the market. The study continues.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

One Morgan silver dollar = the price of Ag x .9 x 1.33 = $___ fiat dollars.

Rock-paper-silver; silver rocks paper.

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TEDx: THEODORAx or DOROTHEAx or . . . DOROTHyx? (April 8, 2013)

Posted in Economics, Energy, Environment, Society on April 8, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1 “TED is a clever acronym. Technology, Engineering and Design. Three universes and infinite possibilities. ‘Ideas worth spreading,’ they allege.”

2 “On first hearing, it sounds like a program named after your favorite smallmouth bass fishing buddy.”

1 “That is part of what reels them in. Our friend TED covers the usual 3E programs – energy, economics, and the environment – and everything in between and on all sides. Local programs are identified by the small letter ‘x’ and then the community such as ‘TEDx Gotham City’ or ‘TEDx Dodge.’”

2 “I thought the ‘x’ stands for the second ‘x’ chromosome. By design, the speakers are from diverse backgrounds, yet they still tend toward more males than females. However, the local organizers and more than 53 percent of the attendees are double ‘xx’ers. But that is not why the local programs are not called ‘TEDy Shangri-La.’”

1 “That was my first thought. Just because the ‘y’ chromosome so often correlates with goonery and buffoonery does not mean that all males are goons and buffoons. Really.”

2 “Not all of them. But the local programs may need to be called ‘THEODORAx’ or ‘DOROTHEAx.’”

1 “Or keep the males in the loop and call the local programs ‘DOROTHyx.’”

. . .

2 “Women undertake most of the jobs in non-profit entities.”

1 “Yet the White boys still hold most of the positions of power in for-profit entities.”

2 “But one can say with a high degree of confidence that it is not because of talent. The White boys are there because of market distortions.”

. . .

1 “With women surpassing males in high school and college, the emerging civil rights issue is whether a less talented cohort of males can be admitted in the interest of maintaining roughly equal numbers of males and females in a class.”

2 “Instead of a young woman going to college to get an MRS. degree, today’s young man goes to college to get an MR. degree.”

1 “If he gets in.”

. . .

[See the website http://www.ted.com/pages/about.]

Bumper stickers of the week

TED: Ideas worth spreading

Ideas: Good, especially good ones.

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Energy “Manhattan Project”: The “Carbon Tax And Dividend” (March 25, 2013)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Economics, Economics Nobel, Gay Politics, Global Climate Change, Global Warming, Supreme Court, Taxation on March 25, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1 “The ‘Manhattan Project’ wisely collected all the talent in one location under one command to develop the atomic bomb. The project required the right mathematical formulas and the right raw materials to be assembled by one team under one governmental authority. Some say the solution to our energy challenges is to create a Manhattan Project under one authority with one energy czar. However, the solution is not to establish a government agency but rather to enlist and unfetter the market mechanism. Rather than subsidizing a company that is politically connected or sports a flashy marketing campaign, let the market decide. Let not one but one million citizens work on it. The proposed ‘carbon tax’ provides a tax on carbon and thus rewards those who can reduce or avoid the production of carbon and taxes those who cannot. The funds collected by the tax are returned as a dividend to the public to maintain revenue neutrality.”

C2 “The ‘old cap and trade scheme’ created undesirable property rights that would be unworkable and undesirable. A carbon tax and dividend sounds workable and desirable.”

C1 “Friedrich van Hayek would have endorsed the carbon tax and dividend mechanism. He surely is rolling over in his grave because we as a society have not adopted it.”

C2 “I know that I for one want Fred to rest in peace.”

. . .

[See the website http://www.citizensclimatelobby.org/.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

A planet is a terrible thing to waste

Sign outside the Supreme Court: “Supremes: You can hurry love.”

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The Dow At 14 K. Again. (February 4, 2013)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Economics, Federal Reserve, Housing, Inflation, Stock Market on February 4, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C “Back above 14,000 again.”

D “Happy daze are here again. I guess. 14,000 is better than 7,000, but how much better and for how long and for whom and for what reasons are anyone’s guess.”

C “Beaucoup dollar electrons are given to those who already have beaucoup dollar electrons. There are no other places to plug in the dollar electrons, so the stock markets are the default investment.”

D “And money market funds and certificates of deposit are paying .0000001 percent which is crippling current retirees.”

C “And those who know that the stock market is rigged and instead seek a safe refuge have no remunerative alternative.”

. . .

C “Real estate continues to fool everyone. The value of commercial properties is likely to slide as brick and mortar businesses board up their doors and windows.”

D “The banks cannot mark to the actual market value their vast portfolios of repossessed and returned houses and underperforming loans. Their collective insolvency would be manifest. A collective lie undergirds the system.”

C “Housing starts may be up but only at the upper end of the housing market.”

D “With these low interest rates, a 30 year note is very appealing and may be prudent and prescient for the right person. The homeowners who can manage to hold jobs and fund and feed a mortgage with a low interest rate may find that they have a bird’s nest on the ground.”

C “When inflation takes off.”

D “Yup.”

. . .

C “One arm of the government – the Federal Reserve – is funding and fueling the other arms of the government with bogus electronic chits.”

D “The way I see it, one arm of the bankers – the Federal Reserve – is funding and fueling the bankers and fooling and defrauding the body politic.”

C “Anything that cannot go on forever.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” titled The Dow Jones (the Murdoch ?) Hits 14 K In A Hollow Economy (July 23, 2007) and “Fiat Stock”: Taking Stock Of The Stock Market (May 16, 2011).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Shouldn’t it be Obsessive-Compulsive Order?

Anything that cannot go on forever will not go on forever.

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Money “In The Bank” Or “Under The Mattress” (October 8, 2012)

Posted in "Fiat ______", Economics, Gold Standard, Hyperdive Economic Collapse, Journalism, Newspapers on October 8, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

$ “They say that something is ‘money in the bank’ if it is a sure thing, but you must wonder whether ‘money in the bank’ is really ‘money in the bank.’”

C “Or money in the credit union. The Federal Reserve can create electrons but it cannot quickly create hard dollars. The time will come when enough citizens simultaneously conclude that the financial system is a rigged chimera with a false facade.”

$ “Like the week of September 15, 2008.”

C “Exactly. With so few physical dollars in the bank to respond to demands for dollars, a financial institution will need to limit withdrawals to a small sum per depositor, perhaps $100. Assurances that the funds are insured will not be reassuring. The typical depositor does not want to hear that the account is insured when he or she wants to withdraw money from the account. That event either will be the Big Jolt or will be caused by the Big Jolt that will lead to a collective loss of faith.”

$ “The news outlets will be forced to take a short break from the stories about rescuing kittens from trees to relay stories of angry depositors.”

C “And the populace will come to realize that money does not grow on trees. So your money is only money in the bank if it is under your mattress.”

$ “The alternative is to leave the money in the bank and get .0000001 percent interest on the funds that you may never see again.”

C “Seems that a few dollars in the pocket are not a bad idea. After a Big Jolt, inertia and habit will incline others to accept dollars in the transition for some time.”

$ “Both paper dollars and gold may lose their luster at the same time. The stuff does not offer much heat whether measured by calories or B.T.U.s.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” titled “Is The Gold Standard Really The Gold Standard? (January 18, 2010)” and “Fiat Gold” / Fool’s Gold (May 2, 2011).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“I will use my Fe [guns] and my Pb [bullets] to protect my Au and my ETOH.”

“I will use my skills and resources to develop a sustainable supply of clean H2O and to provide enough cals. [heat inside the body] and B.T.U.s [heat outside the body] to sustain me, my family and my community.”

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On Uncertainty, Certainment (July 30, 2012)

Posted in Economics, Politics, Society on July 30, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

N “Planning is impossible. I don’t know what is happening with taxes. I don’t know what is happening with government spending. I don’t know what is happening with health care. I don’t know what is happening at the office, but someone is going and no one is coming. The gas station proclaimed that I don’t have to pay as much for the fuel that allows me to sit in a traffic jam and destroy the environment and drive up my health care costs even when I am not getting anywhere. I remain confident that I will pay more for gas in the near future. And I will pay more for health care in the near future to maintain health that is devastated by the fuel I am burning. Europe is ready to implode; the Middle East is ready to explode. O’Bama has not delivered on his promises; Romney cannot deliver on his promises. Everyone in power is making promises, but the situation is not promising.”

. . .

[N = Neighbor]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Teacher Driver

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The LIBOR / LieBOR / LieMore (July 23, 2012)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Economics, Perjury, Perjury/Dishonesty on July 23, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1 “Scandal in the financial and banking arenas has become so common place that it is now more akin to daily car crashes rather than to the occasional and always well-publicized plane crash. Who cares any longer.”

C2 “We as a society have become so inured to scandal that scandal is now the norm.”

C1 “No one at the top in economics or politics or law is not corrupt.”

C2 “And derivatives are now estimated to increase about a gazillion dollars a day.”

C1 “Be patient. Give it a little more time. You won’t be disappointed. Rome did not collapse in a day, but we may be able to set a new Olympic record.”

. . .

[See http://theautomaticearth.com/Finance/libor-was-a-criminal-conspiracy-from-the-start.html.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Another day, another gazillion in derivatives.

“A gazillion in derivatives here, a gazillion in derivatives there, and pretty soon you’re talking real economic devastation.”

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Archive for the Economics Category

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