Archive for the Federal Reserve Category

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.”

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.

Sports Writers: 1 – 0 (January 14, 2013)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Courts, Economics Nobel, Federal Reserve, Guns, Journalism, Law, Newspapers, Perjury, Perjury/Dishonesty, Sports, Taxation on January 14, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A          “A mixed group of informed individuals acting individually issued a profound collective indictment.”

1          “In court, the government only determines whether a person is guilty or not guilty, a court does not determine whether a person is innocent.  Yet when you look carefully, far too many courts have found far too many innocent individuals to be guilty.”

A          “Still not a great idea to be Black or Brown and get mixed up in the American judicial system.”

1          “It is to be eschewed.  The government is not and should not be allowed to deprive someone of his or her liberty without proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  The court of public opinion does not need to meet that high threshold when considering those who play on the court or field or pitch.”

A          “The sports writers are akin to an informed group of jurors from all ages, albeit a little older, and backgrounds, albeit a shade White, and world views from different parts of the country.”

1          “On the uniforms, they sport the initials MLB not MDL – the Major Dopers League.”

A          “They can get their own hall of fame, the Hall of Shame.”

1          “I might waive the character requirement and support a scoundrel if he played clean against others who played clean.”

A          “They may also be atoning for the great oversight in the late 1990s when any honest person realized that the guys were juiced and few said anything.  Finding the individual who was not juiced or was not juiced much will be a challenge.  The brush could be too broadly brushed.”           

1          “This is a promising start.  Now if we can get the Norwegian suits to follow suit and not award the Nobel in e-con-omics unless they award it to someone who understands eco-nomics.”

A          “Everyone from Roberts on the Supreme Court to players on the courts succeeds by lyin’ and cheatin’.”

1          “He’s a lawyer-type.  He said that he would call balls and strikes, but keep this in mind.  He never ever said that he would call a ‘ball’ a ‘ball’ only that he would call balls and strikes.”

A          “He and Alito and Thomas and Scalia are having a ball.”

1          “Dishonesty and hypocrisy are so American.”

A          “So human really.  We don’t have a monopoly on it.”

. . .

[See http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/opinion/australia-banned-assault-weapons-america-can-too.html?hp for some international perspective on gun restrictions.]

[See the “e-ssay” titled “Why Johnny And Roger? (April 30, 2012)” and the recent article on the deliberations of the Federal Reserve at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/opinion/the-new-tell-all-fed.html?hp&_r=1& and the “e-ssay” at The Kids (At The Fed) Are Not Alright (January 30, 2012).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Play ball!

December 24 (December 24, 2012)

Posted in Bankruptcy, Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Consumerism, Federal Reserve, Pogo Plight, Spending, Taxation on December 24, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

TV        “You need a new car, you really smell bad and need to do something about it, you really, really need to sport an expensive watch and you really, really, really need to acquire expensive jewelry for the woman in your life or you are a total loser.”

. . .

LTR

Dear Billy,

I would like a regular 9 to 5 gig, a change of threads, a new straight razor and a short vacation.

Your friend,

Santa

P.S. – I’ve been nice.

P.P.S. – I don’t need a new ride, any cologne or a chronometer.  Ms. C. does not need any jewelry.  She says ‘hello.’  

. . .

[See the FBI documents that reveal secret nationwide monitoring of the Occupy Wall Street effort at http://www.justiceonline.org/commentary/fbi-files-ows.html.]

[See the research paper by the Congressional Research Service titled “Taxes and the Economy: An Economic Analysis of the Top Tax Rates Since 1945” at http://graphics8.nytimes.com/news/business/0915taxesandeconomy.pdf.]

[See the “e-ssays” titled “Consume, Don’t Invest? (Nov. 9, 2009)” and Boxing Day (December 26, 2011).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Can I pay my Visa bill with my MasterCard?

Today is the 99 year anniversary of the creation of the Federal Reserve – a semi-quasi-proto-government-like being – not understood by 99.999999999 % of Americans.  To his (and our) credit, Bernanke is sharing the assumptions and strategy more transparently and considering the unemployment level because Congress directed the Federal Reserve to consider the unemployment level in its decision making.  To his (and our) detriment, he is subsidizing Wall Street with vast amounts of free money and saddling ‘Main Street’ with debt and creating unhealthy conditions for the economy in the intermediate term.

The Kids (At The Fed) Are Not Alright (January 30, 2012)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Federal Reserve, Greenspan, Kleptocracy, Prison/Criminology, Society on January 30, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “They sound like a bunch of seventh graders snapping their towels in the locker room and squealing at each other.”

J          “Seems that the model of adult life as ‘high school writ large’ has degenerated into ‘junior high school writ large.’”

K          “Civilization may be on the retrograde as our society slides into collapse.  Our national destiny may be heading toward a state of ‘kindergarten writ large.’  Too many of our politicians have problems ‘playing well with others.’  At least at the Fed, the clowns were all playing ‘Ring Around The Rosie’ with each other while disregarding the decline outside.”

J          “The Fed should be required to release transcripts every year rather than after five years.  What is transpiring and conspiring is too important to wait.”

K          “Years ago, the notion of ‘Groupthink’ was trendy.  The idea is that a group may be more concerned about maintaining harmony that developing a realistic perception of the situation they confront.  You wonder if even one of the Fed economists was writing internal e-mails warning of what was obvious to anyone who looked outside.”

J          “And got together after work with a friend over a beer and despaired about the situation.”

. . .

K          “Grab a sheet of paper and jot down the names of three individuals, trained as economists or not, who have a clue about what is going on in the economy.”

J          “. . .  How about two?”

K          “Two will do.”

J          “. . .  I am working on it.  . . .  How about one?”

K          “One is a start.”

J          “. . .  Can I have until tomorrow?”

K          “Take your time.  Larry Summers’ statement about women in scientific disciplines may be 180 degrees from the truth.”

J          “Summers is reliable because he is reliably wrong especially about the ‘dismal science.’”

K          “The only individuals who have a clue in our society about our economic circumstances are women – Brooksley Born, Sheila Bair, Elizabeth Warren, Yves Smith, Nicole Foss, Gretchen Morgenson, Terry Gross, Christine Lagarde, etc.”

J          “That is because women care.  When you think about it, the forte of our fellow males is starting wars and filling prisons.  When you get right down to it, the males who start the wars should fill our prisons.”

K          “Talent is a mix of a tutored and sage intellect, personal and intellectual integrity, and good old-fashioned courage.  America simply does not have talent at the top.  The élite is not élite.  And the current feeder system of universities, foundations and fellowships is designed to ferret out the same charlatans and promote them into positions of power in America.”

. . .

[See the article and comments in “The Washington Post” discussing the delusions at the Federal Reserve Bank six years ago at http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/greenspan-image-tarnished-by-newly-released-documents/2012/01/12/gIQAvh0mtP_story.html.]

[See the “Frontline” program titled “The Warning” discussing the shenanigans of Greenspan, Summers, Rubin and their ilk and the courage of Brooksley Born at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/.]

[See the “e-ssay” uploaded exactly six years ago to the minute titled “Greenspan’s Legacy – Apres moi, Le Meltdown (January 30, 2006).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The nerds won, but not the smart or courageous ones.

What clothes is the Emperor not wearing today?

Plus ca change . . .

(M)End The Fed (July 11, 2011)

Posted in Antitrust, Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Crime/Punishment, Federal Reserve, Language, Law, Monopoly, O'Bama, Politics on July 11, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “The vocal critics of the Fed are missing the point.  Stated simply, every nation needs a central bank, but the Big Banks own and operate the Federal Reserve.  Stated another way, the country tolerates a misunderstood institution – the Federal Reserve – that is an unrestrained cancer and at the same time lacks an institution it desperately needs – a central bank independent of excessive political and any private interference.”

L          “A transparent central bank?”

K          “Call it whatever you want.”

L          “A responsive central bank?”

K          “Responsive to something other than Big Banks.  Bernanke* should have the intellect to understand the problem and the integrity to compel change, yet even he may take his marching orders from others.”

L          “He, Geithner and the others either assisted in creating the problem or allowed it to fester and permutate.  Now O’Bama is serving the interests of the financial industry at a time when his Department of Justice should be serving members of the financial industry with sub poenas and criminal indictments.  What incentive it there for him to reform the financial industry or the Fed.  Simply look at who he is soliciting for campaign contributions.”

K          “He was caught.  He simply could not get elected and cannot get reelected without the money.  No one is able to identify one industry in America that is not completely monopolized today.  Banks are among the biggest offenders.  Without a market, there is not a market and are not market forces.  Change likely will not come until there is a complete economic collapse.  That situation may generate enough sustained interest and desperation among those who can change affairs to reform the system.”

L          “Or the catastrophe may not leave any choice.” 

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Antitrust Chief Flees; Monopolies Reign Freely

Because you don’t have to do the time, do the crime

Big sticker; small font sans serifs; big bumper:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BEFORE THE

BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

WASHINGTON, D.C.

___________________________________

Written Agreement by and between

BIG BANK,

New York, New York

And

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK,

New York, New York

___________________________________

.          WHEREAS, in recognition of their common goal to maintain the financial soundness of Big Bank (the “Big Bank”), a nationally chartered bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, the Big Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the “Reserve Bank”) have mutually agreed to enter into this Written Agreement (the “Agreement”).

.          NOW, THEREFORE, the Bank and the Reserve Bank agree as follows:

  1. Within ninety (90) days of this Agreement, the board of directors of the Big Bank shall submit to the Reserve Bank a written plan to divest itself of any and all deposits and assets in excess of one hundred billion dollars ($100,000,000,000.00) . . . .

The Bush Grand Slam (February 14, 2011)

Posted in Afghanistan, Bernanke, Bush, CIA, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, FBI, Federal Reserve, Iraq, Military on February 14, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “Quite an inspiring legacy.  The Bush appointees.  At least the prominent ones who are still serving.  Bernanke*, Mullen, Mueller and Gates.”

2          “Sounds like a trusts and estates boutique law firm.”

1          “By law, some major political appointees remain in office through the start of a subsequent administration.  The first three appointees continued serving at the start of the O’Bama administration.  O’Bama retained Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense and re-appointed Ben Bernanke* as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.”

2          “He really blew it in his early years with the Fed, yet Bernanke* may be the best that America can produce.  We need Bernanke to channel his inner Volker.”

1          “Bernanke is the pivotal player.  Gates swore an oath that included providing for the ‘common defense.’  His performance is exemplary and an example for all.  Ike, a Republican and former general to boot, was remarkably courageous in his last days in office when he warned us in no uncertain terms about the power of the military-industrial complex.  So much money that should be used for our common defense or other purposes is squandered on projects and programs that are unnecessary.  Gates is still challenging wasteful and duplicative spending.”

2          “Perhaps Gates could take off for a week to go bass fishing and then return to duty.  He has the stroke to get it done, but he may want to get out before he has a stroke.”

1          “You’ve got to have the fire to stay in the game.  Look at the record.  When the National Security Act of 1947 transformed the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) into the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), there was concern to avoid the secret Gestapo police that had terrorized Europe and the world a few years earlier.  After 9/11, the barriers between international intelligence gathering and domestic police activities were eliminated.  Without institutional barriers, we rely on individual restraint.  As Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Robert Mueller has provided balance and prosecuted the task with integrity and an abiding concern for the Constitution.”

2          “Another former Marine making it.”

1          “And Mike Mullen as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has been a steady hand on the tiller.”

2          “Tough task.  The military is engaged in two wars that America cannot win and cannot lose.  America cannot afford to pursue them and cannot afford not to pursue them.”

1          “And a calm head implementing the transition from DADT (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell) to a military culture that allows everyone a chance to serve and die without living a lie.”

2          “You know that he could have opted to go into the Marines after the Academy?”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “V Day (February 14, 2005).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Much is well that ends well

Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity

O’Bama Revisited (January 17, 2011)

Posted in "L" Shaped Economy, Bailout/Bribe, Economics, Federal Reserve, Military, O'Bama on January 17, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

F          “Cold day on the Mall two years ago.  Can’t say that things will be much warmer this week.”

G          “It’s still cold and is getting colder.  The day will live in infamy.  Neville Chamberlin O’Bama.”

F          “Not going to throw in Hussein for good measure.”

G          “That’s silly.  His first name was Arthur.  He gets a C-.”

F          “Arthur?”

G          “Neville C. O’Bama.  After the tax sell-out, I called the White House and the delegation and told them that I have had it.  I unsubscribed from seven political e-mail lists.  My contributions are too miniscule to matter, yet I told them that I am not making any more contributions.  No bumper stickers, no canvassing, no money, no more.”

F          “No one subscribes to my political views, so I can’t even unsubscribe from e-mail lists.  We confronted a Hobson’s choice in 2008.  O’Bama was and is a centrist.  He’s the better we could do.”

G          “He hasn’t challenged the massive continuing transfer of wealth to a small elite who do not contribute to the economy.  It is almost as if he got into office and discovered that there are certain unwritten overriding rules that cannot be undermined or even challenged by anyone in the office.  The cabal of trolls in the basement of the White House call the shots.”

F          “He hasn’t.  And you may be right.  The economic fundamentals are worse than they were in September, 2008.  The poison is still flowing in the financial system.  The banksters know that they will be bailed out by both the Republicans and the Democrats and will never need to make bail for their crimes.  The recent bailouts have been detailed and delegated to the Fed.”

G          “When is someone going to realize that the aggregation of wealth in the hands of a very small group is actually an impediment to economic growth?”

F          “When the Nobel Prize Committee signals that it will give a Nobel in Economics for the conclusion.”

G          “The expenditures employ yacht builders and polo saddle makers, but not ordinary unemployed butchers, bakers and brick makers.”

F          “Yacht builders and polo saddle makers need jobs.  Politics is about compromise.  Compromise is not pretty.”

G          “Compromise is different than capitulation.  He has capitulated.  Someone said that the country may need a war to pull us out of the economic depression.  He and we have two of them going that have not done much positive.”

F          “Is the third war a charm.”

G          “Just watch.  America can be broken.”

. . .

[President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his “Military-Industrial Complex” farewell speech/warning 50 years ago about the “unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex.”]

[MLK Day]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Hope (I hope, hopefully)

Interesting Thing About Interest Rates (November 29, 2010)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Economics, Federal Reserve, Inflation on November 29, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K         “It really is hard to get rich when they are paying .000000001 percent per annum interest.”

J          “Unless it is compounded every second.”

K         “We are told that we should save, yet there is no economic incentive.  There is no interest when there is no interest.  Senior citizens who counted on a five to ten percent interest rate for their money to fund their retirements are being flat lined by the flat line interest rates.”

J          “Some of the negative economic impact of the contemporary economic excess is being inflicted on the current generation.  Doesn’t seem unfair.  Although there is more saving, only a thin sliver of the populace is saving because there is no other safe haven for the money.  The money is just parked.  Another problem may be brewing.  The banks are given free money by the federal government and are loaning it at positive but low rates to a few apparently credit-worthy borrowers.  What will happen in three years when interest rates are forced to go up and the rate of return on the current mortgages and deeds of trust is less sexy?  Will the banks try to call the loans early?  I assume the banks will enforce provisions precluding assignment of the obligations to get them off the books as quickly as possible.”

K         “They will find a way.  Some astute homeowners will secure a low interest rate mortgage and use the funds to invest in savings accounts that should start paying substantial interest rates.  That stratagem may be the only way to ride rising interest rates in the safest investments in a broken economy.  With so much money in the system and an unresponsive economy, we will see inflation.  Recent purchases of Treasury securities suggest that the smart money anticipates inflation.  When bread rises to $100.00 a loaf, the attendant changes in the economy will lead to interest on your bread rising from the current 00.001%.”

J          “Inflation will make all the current debt much less of an expense in real economic terms.  Inflation will expunge debt.”

K         “Anyone who saves is spent.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Paying the highest rate allowed by law (but nothing is allowed?)

Anyone who saves is spent

Rational Fear: Still “Unusually Uncertain” (November 8, 2010)

Posted in "L" Shaped Economy, Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Depression, Federal Reserve, Greenspan, Kleptocracy, Technology, Unemployment, Volker with tags on November 8, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K         “Think about it.  Some maintain the blind conviction that the business cycle is ordained by nature like the tides to rise after it falls.”

J          “Faith in nature.  This season is bad so that the next season will be good because that is the way it is.  Good luck.”

K         “Some desire to return to unrestrained personal consumption and unbridled economic growth.  Even if it is attainable at this time it is not sustainable over time.”

J          “Faith in unchecked consumption.  With oil peaking and a world population that has not peaked, the prospects are not promising.  America had its opportunity to consume.  Other countries, particularly China and India, now want and have earned their opportunity to consume.  If the oil holds out.  And if the coal does not kill us.”

K         “Some believe that new technology will be pulled out of the hat and pull us out of this mess.”

J          “Faith in technological salvation.  The technology sector likely will continue to grow but not enough to propel the entire economy.  The tech world is producing some sexy developments and neat gadgets.”

K         “I’ve always supported free trade when it is truly free.  Decades ago, I could see that globalization would shift massive numbers of American jobs overseas.  They said the solution is to train and retool the America workforce.  The workforce is not retrained and retooled and may not be retrainable and retoolable.  Not many commentators in academic economics or in the financial press have a clue.”

J          “It is one thing to listen to Greenspan and know that everything he says is wrong, yet who is getting it right.  Knowing which way not to go in a maze is not the same as knowing which way to go.  Volker has a clue, yet he is on the sidelines.”

K         “Bernanke* has a clue.  Now that monetary policy has effectively failed, he is enacting what is effectively fiscal policy.  Fiscal policy is the province of the legislature, the Congress.  But Congress is broken.  The Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, an act of Congress, requires the Fed to promote full employment.  Perhaps he is actually trying to stimulate employment.”

J          “But there are no jobs, now or in the future.  Quantitative Easing II is nothing more and nothing less than TARP II implemented by the Fed rather than Congress.  The Fed’s purchase of bonds is nothing more and nothing less than a slick way to provide another bribe and bailout to Wall Street.”

K          “That is hard to dispute unless there are a few random hires here and there.  And he continues a tradition at the Fed of lying or at least deceiving the public.  He can do something.  He and the Fed regularly issue ‘Remarks’ and ‘Speeches’ on all manner of topics.  He should direct the Fed to issue a finding that a single bank with deposits and assets of more than 100 billion is a clear and present danger to the American economy and to the security and well-being of the Republic.  If a bank or other financial institution does not enter into an Enforcement Action with the Fed, close the resources of the Federal Reserve to the bank or financial institution.  In effect, require banks to downsize to manageable sizes.  They must be small enough to fail and to play well with others.”

J          “Won’t happen.  Our democracy is now a kleptocracy.”

K         “That won’t help employment, however.  But he could pull it off.  He can be bold.  He would have to play all his capital.  But for us citizens, however, the only things we have to fear are so many very real fears.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

The only things we have to fear are so many very real fears.

Don’t end the Fed, mend the Fed.

“And as things fell apart/Nobody paid much attention.”  “(Nothing But) Flowers” – Talking Heads

“This country’s hard on people, you can’t stop what’s coming.”  No Country for Old Men movie (2007)