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The Mandibles, FRNs, SDRs, IMF, G20, WTD! (September 5, 2016)

Posted in Book Reference, Collapse, Courts, Debt/Deficits, Dollar - World's Reserve Currency, Federal Reserve, Gold, Gold Standard, Guns, INFORM Act, International Finance, International Monetary Fund, Journalism, Money, Newspapers, Petrodollar, Press/Media, SDR - Special Drawing Rights, Silver, Silver Standard, Special Drawing Rights (SDR), World's Reserve Currency on September 5, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

X “Some of the folks at the G20 Summit may kick around the future composition of the ‘Special Drawing Rights’ that is emerging as the new world’s reserve currency. The International Monetary Fund formally sets the composition of the SDRs, yet the major players gathered in China yesterday to discuss such matters. A thing is now being described as a right.”

Z “Sounds like they are creating a right to reach first for your gun.”

X “Or they are sketching a new picture of the economic future based on rights rather than on power and circumstance.”

Z “Or someone special who has been allowed to have the only gun in the great currency gunfight now must play well with others who are suitably armed.”

X “Or the one with the big gun is now being disarmed.”

. . .

X “Felicitous publication really.”

Z “Timely, even. The times they are changin’ the way we will make change in the near future.”

X “In The Mandibles, Lionel Shriver adopts Keynes’ term ‘Bancor’ rather than the new age term ‘SDR’ to describe supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets. As the U.S. Petrodollar slips as the world’s reserve currency and then as the dominant component of the SDR/Bancor, the United States people will slip to second-world status in the world.”

Z “The way I describe it, when the Petrodollar is no longer the big dog, the United States is no longer the leader of the pack.”

X “Prices will increase and perhaps double in short order before more structural disorder devolves. Our McMansions still will sport baroque brushed nickel bathroom fixtures in the multiple bathrooms, yet in due course the water coursing through the corroding pipes will be increasingly intermittent and decreasingly safe.”

Z “Many of us have those problems now while everything appears to be dory hunky.”

. . .

X “Her description of the human consequences is very plausible, yet her explanation for the underlying causes is only partially complete. Contemporary economic doctrine is exposed as voodoo and a specious secular religion that rationalizes those in power acquiring and retaining wealth. The entitlement Ponzi scheme receives appropriate blame. The pernicious involvement of the Federal Reserve is alluded to obliquely, yet the entrenched corruption and incompetence in every quarter are not addressed.”

Z “She does not describe the institutions that are failing systematically and simultaneously. Congress, courts, executives and executive agencies, bureaucrats, universities, news outlets, parents, preachers, prophets, you name it. At some time, a fragile, fractured, fissured and fundamentally weak system of manipulation and intervention will fail with consequence.”

X “She does observe that the traditional news fashioners are defunct.”

. . .

X “‘The Chip’ is first described in an e-commentary titled ‘Monitoring The Masses: The Card And The Chip’ published on January 12, 2015. She further develops the human impact of implanting ‘The Chip’ to control and corral the masses. ‘The Chip’ is so much more efficient and effective than the corn chip and football at sating the populace.”

Z “‘The Chip’ is an electronic lobotomy that is more powerful, pervasive and perverse than fear or drugs. Technology saves us. I think that is what one would conclude. Surely.”

. . .

X “An empire cannot continue to mimeograph a fiat currency and force it on the rest of the world at great cost and consequence to the rest of the world without the rest of the world demurring at some point.”

Z “And the rest of the world is becoming restive.”

X “They are issuing SDR-denominated bonds.”

Z “And they are selling oil without even acknowledging the Petrodollar.”

. . .

X “In her novel, the U.S. government confiscates gold and disregards even basic civil liberties while confiscating the yellow stuff.”

Z “Survey the universe of commentary on the subject and you discover that no one has ever even questioned that the government will confiscate gold when the stuff competes with the fake stuff.”

X “The people of the United State of Nevada who seceded from the dysfunctional disunion agree that it is ‘dumb’ and ‘arbitrary,’ but they base their currency the ‘Continental’ on the gold standard.”

Z “She does not see that the government would have eliminated cash of any kind years or decades earlier.”

X “That is one of the harbingers of great danger. When the government outlaws or confiscates Au, Ag, Fe, Pb, or even worthless fiat cash, the end of civil rights and civil liberties is near.”

Z “Or here.”

. .

[See the e-commentary at “Monitoring The Masses: The Card And The Chip (January 12, 2015)”, “Brave 1984 Farm: The Best Of All Possible Worlds (March 19, 2012)” and the e-commentary on the institutional distractions in our society at “Foot Longs and Football (September 2, 2013).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

G20 > G7; SDR > FRN; World > USA

In the intermediate run, a Kleptocracy is unsustainable.

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The Gold Standard Revisited (August 15, 2016)

Posted in Book Reference, Dollar - World's Reserve Currency, Gold, Gold Standard, Money, Nobel Prize, Noble Prize, Petrodollar, SDR - Special Drawing Rights, Silver, Silver Standard on August 15, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

M “You may be right.”

G “I don’t want to be right. But you just cannot trust the government.”

M “It will never seem reasonable, but it is rational. We must do something to restrain human nature and government excess.”

. . .

G “Gold is an element. Gold is a commodity. Gold is a currency if folks act as if it is a currency. Gold is what you make it. The vote is coming in. The Swiss not so much but who knows what to make about the election. Those who vote in favor of the dollar or the pound and against gold as a currency may soon be . . . pounding sand.”

. . .

G “As I recall, Keynes proclaimed that the gold standard, not gold per se, is a ‘barbarous relic.’ ‘Barbarian’ means ‘foreign.’ For example, ‘Barbara’ is a ‘foreign woman.’ So that might suggest that the gold standard, or at least gold, is popular in foreign countries. And it is. One point four billion Chinese and one point three billion Indians relish the element. The Russians embrace it with both paws.”

M “Seems that Au is A1 in the world today.”

. . .

M “Tying human activity to an element such as Au seems so . . . confining. And elemental. Yet without something tethering human greed, ‘printing money’ is a temptation too great. If he had known about it, Bill Shakespeare would have written about it.”

G “You cannot trust the government. And yet the great irony is that the government is not printing money. The government has ceded power to the Federal Reserve which sounds like the government and yet is a private business that owes its allegiance to the banks and advances the welfare of the those in the stock market racket.”

. . .

M “Keynes criticized the gold standard because it was a direct threat to his ego and his identity and his desire to make unbridled decisions. That is the hallmark of what passed for the elite.”

G “No one in power wants to be restrained by a standard. Some standard is better than no standard.”

. . .

G “The rule of law is a civilizing relic yet not one in currency today. Even with more rules and laws on the books than ever in the history of humankind, the rule of law simply does not apply to those in power. The law is no restraint.”

. . .

G “The Nobel gang rewards those who shill for the fiat system and the central banks. If the Nobel gang gave awards for those who ask probing questions about the viability and consequences of fiat currency and unrestrained debt, there would be more folks asking probing questions about the viability and consequences of fiat currency and unrestrained debt.”

M “Perhaps the new Noble Prize in Eco-nomics can be awarded to those few individuals who ask probing questions and provide trenchant answers.”

. . .

[See the previous great gold standard debate in the e-commentary at “Is The Gold Standard Really The Gold Standard? (January 18, 2010)”, a discussion of the silver standard at “The Silver Standard: The Value Of (Sort Of) Real Money (July 15, 2013)” and the observation in “The U.S. And Saudi Arabia: Not Playing Well With Others (Each Other) (July 11, 2016)” that President Nixon decided unilaterally to cancel the direct international convertibility of the United States dollar to gold today.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“In truth, the gold standard is already a barbarous relic.” John M. Keynes, A Tract on Monetary Reform (1924).

“Real gold is not afraid of the fire of a red furnace.” Chinese proverb

“There are three hundred economists in the world who are against gold, and they think that gold is a barbarous relic – and they might be right. Unfortunately, there are three billion inhabitants of the world who believe in gold.” Attributed to János Fekete

In every country, culture and civilization through space and across time, gold is the one thing and the only thing that has been cherished by everyone everywhere at all times.

Eco-nomic SAT Question: Which statement does not fit: 1) resources are finite, 2) water is finite, 3) gold is finite or 4) money printing is infinite?

The Gold Standard may just be the Gold Standard or at least a standard.

The G20 Leaders Summit is in Hangzhou, China this September 4 and 5.

Convention between the United States and Great Britain (for Canada) for the Protection of Migratory Birds, also called the Migratory Bird Treaty, was signed on August 16, 1916.

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USA, FDIC, Or NCUA? LCU? SPCU? (October 19, 2015)

Posted in Bail In, Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Boycott Series, Collapse, Credit Unions, Debt/Deficits, Depression, Dollar - World's Reserve Currency, Federal Reserve, Gold, International Finance, Kleptocracy, Money, SDR - Special Drawing Rights, Silver on October 19, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

B “I want out of the Racket – the stock market Racket. I want to hold my deferred compensation in the form of dollars, for what they are worth. As I see it, Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds are allegedly protected by the ‘full faith and credit’ of the United States. What is that worth? When the Big Jolt hits, what is Uncle Sam’s telephone number? Or e-mail address? unclesam@unclesam.gov? A general promise by the Uncle when I have full faith that the credit of the United States is sketchy, provisional and conditional at best. I won’t touch Treasury Bills or Treasury Bonds.”

C “Another hollow and worthless promise. I won’t touch Treasuries and refuse to deposit money in a bank. The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) allegedly provides insurance for banks, yet the agency is ‘stressed’ to put it mildly and will not pay all claims in the event of a significant bank run. The NCUA (National Credit Union Association) allegedly provides insurance for credit unions and may provide some insurance protection for some time for some depositors. I am willing to make a tentative commitment to the system and keep some of my funds in my Local Credit Union (LCU).”

B “Depositing a healthy chunk of money in the Sealy Posturepedic Credit Union (SPCU) involves little counterparty risk and allows me to sleep peacefully at night. When the Big Jolt hits, there will not be enough physical dollars. Regular folks may accept regular dollars for two related reasons – inertia and habit – until the shock triggers them to do something and change their habits. Regular folks will accept the few available physical dollars for four or six or eight weeks for transactions as long as other citizens accept dollars for transactions. Then regular folks will only accept Sacagawea dollars and some coins for a few weeks, although coins like dollars of any kind are in short supply today. After a few more weeks, some informed folks will accept silver coins minted before 1964 at a premium.”

C “In the end, the Depression is our guide. Twelve gauge shot gun shells may be another medium of exchange and twenty-two rounds may be used as change to support the emerging barter economy. Cash of any kind is the threat to the those who run System. The government now requires banks to obtain and record the identity of anyone making a cash deposit and are refusing to accept cash for some payments.”

B “Banks do not need deposits to be able to loan money. Yet today many banks are offering gimmicks and gewgaws to attract funds that they will be able to retain during a ‘bail in’ without any obligation to the depositor.”

. . .

C “Junior’s paper route money stored in his piggy bank may be our only available liquid asset.”

B “She may not stand for us withdrawing some of the Standing Liberty quarters from the collection she has accumulated with her baby sitting money.”

C “We may need a bushel basket of Wheat Pennies to buy a pocketful of wheat.”

B “When the banks are maneuvering to avoid a haircut, we may be required to go to our Barbers.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at Preserve Cash; Preserve (Some) Privacy (May 4, 2015), “Bail Ins” Are Globalized; “Bail Outs” Are Bailed Back In; No Bail For Bankers (December 29, 2014), Globalizing The Bail In (July 8, 2013), Bailouts: Out; Bail Ins: In; Slowly Boilin’ The Frog (April 15, 2013), Money “In The Bank” Or “Under The Mattress” (October 8, 2012), Boycott Big Banks – Vote Your Dollars (November 21, 2011), and Boycott Big Banks (February 1, 2010).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The U.S. government is pursuing an international currency war and a domestic war on currency.

SPCU/You > LCU/NCUA > Bank/FDIC > Uncle Sam/FF&C

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Venturing A Few Unfounded And Unwarranted Predictions (July 13, 2015)

Posted in "L" Shaped Economy, Bankruptcy, Banks and Banking System, Collapse, Depression, Elections, Foreign Policy, Gold, Gold Standard, Kleptocracy, Money, Pensions, Quantitative Easing, Recession, SDR - Special Drawing Rights, Security State, Silver, Silver Standard, Supernova Dollar, Zero Interest Rate Policy on July 13, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

3 “Pensions will be even more problematic.”

4 “When the stock markets reset catastrophically, pensions will need to be reset correspondingly.”

3 “We will need to muster the collective intellect and imagination to craft a provision allowing states to file bankruptcy.”

. . .

3 “Interest rates cannot be allowed to rise and will not be allowed to rise beyond a nominal .25 percent. Any greater rise would result in devastating financial and economic consequences. Some nominal rise will be imposed to proclaim that interest rates can indeed rise above zero without negative consequence. Those citizens who planned to fund a retirement with interest-bearing instruments have been sacrificed and will continue to be sacrificed without even a vote or even a debate on the policy.”

4 “Sacrifices have to be made. Few folks are concerned or even aware that the Federal Reserve rather than the market sets interest rates. The way I see it the Petrodollar will continue to rise as other currencies decline and those with the wherewithal seek the safety of the Petrodollar. At this time. The Petrodollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency and fundamentally weak foreign economies are a double magnet for money. When the world establishes its own world currency such as a system of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and circumvents the Petrodollar, the Petrodollar will explode and decline precipitously in value. As I describe it, the ‘Supernova Dollar.’ The last American export – the Petrodollar and resulting inflation – will not be imported by the world.”

3 “Along those lines, the physical dollar will disappear from circulation in the United States before it disappears from the world stage. The U.S. government and large corporations are slowly discouraging and will ultimately outlaw the use of dollars as ‘legal tender’ and as a medium of exchange. Possession of gold and silver bullion by private citizens also will be outlawed. The government will outsource to large corporations the issuance and control of the Universal Electronic Benefit Transfer (UEBT) cards to its subjects. Current credit and debit cards will be re-purposed seamlessly. The IRS will send a statement each year or even each month dictating one’s tax obligation and deducting the amount owed directly from one’s government controlled account. As a consequence, everyone’s inclinations, transactions, and movements will be monitored and manipulated as necessary.”

4 “On the other hand, possession of gold and silver in any form by foreign citizens and governments will be the law and settled practice. The West has readily abandoned gold and silver to an East that has eagerly absorbed the precious metals at rates that have been manipulated down by the West. And gold and silver will be a component of the Special Drawing Rights.”

3 “The West will no longer be able to use paper and electronic transactions to manipulate the prices of physical gold and silver.”

4 “If the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system and the Petrodollar are circumvented, the West will be less able to use paper and electronic transactions to manipulate prices.”

. . .

3 “The nations in the oil-producing regions will not fight over the oil they have but over the water they do not have with far less involvement of and intervention by the United States.”

4 “Nation-States will also disappear as thriving and functioning communities and be replaced by Corporation-States that dictate policy. The United States Congress took the lead and sold out to become the ‘Citigroup-Congress’ recently. More than just naming rights are involved. Current nations are just entities that can be manipulated and maneuvered to go to war with each other when necessary.”

3 “Along those lines, shares in United States Senators will be sold more openly akin to shares in corporations. The news will announce that shares in ‘Senator Larry Jenkins, Inc.’ are up 3.1 percent today on news that he will sell his vote for the Big Project. The John Roberts Supreme Court has endorsed the two-step business plan. If you pay a politician directly for a vote, you are in trouble; if you pay an intermediary that pays a politician for a vote, you are blessed.”

4 “Notions of freely-established supply and demand for goods, services and commodities will yield to quotas per subject each month. Without functioning markets and with regular and systematic market manipulation and intervention, notions of inflation and deflation will be antiquated. World population will continue to grow and resources will continue to be more precious which under the old paradigm would fuel inflation. However, people will simply do without.”

3 “Along those lines, capitalism is a system that socializes the costs of activities and privatizes the profits. The end stage is the emergence of a very small cabal who control all resources and allow the subjects access to just enough resources to subsist in a police state that throttles any debate or dissent.”

4 “The treatment of Cyprus and Greece are intermediate stages in the process.”

3 “The future is not unpredictable.”

. . .

[See the efforts to eliminate cash at http://betterthancash.org/.%5D

[See the e-commentary at Monitoring The Masses: The Card And The Chip (January 12, 2015).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

If you do predict a definite event, do not pick a definite date. If you do pick a definite date, do not predict a definite event. Unless you want to.

In the past, if you could predict the future accurately, you could make a fortune. In the present, you can predict the future astutely, but you cannot do much to protect your fortune or your future. Even if you want to.

“The best way to predict your future is to help create it.” Attributed to Abraham Lincoln

There are few warning signs on the off ramp down the road to serfdom.

What about global climate change?

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AIIB: China: 1; U.S.A.: 0? (April 6, 2015)

Posted in ADB, AIIB, Banks and Banking System, China, Dollar - World's Reserve Currency, Foreign Policy, International Finance, Money, SDR - Special Drawing Rights, Sports, Supernova Dollar on April 6, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A “International March Madness, I say. Tracking the bracket was an all-consuming delight. Looks like the final score is a soccer score which is appropriate for an international vote after weeks of intense hardball lobbying. But not as close as the likely score on the hardwood tonight.”

B “1 to 0 is a soccer score, 40 to 0 is not a soccer score or a basketball score or a hardball score, it is a resounding shutout. The Chinese AIIB Selection Committee is still selecting the Final Forty. They say the Prospective Founding Members are in Division I and the Regular Members are in Division II.”

A “The first plebiscite on a nation by other nations in history. The world is weary of American hegemony.”

B “And arrogance and dominance.”

A “The vote was not an anonymous voice vote, the world spoke with one voice. The roll call is deafening.”

B “The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) do not say ‘American Bank’. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) does not say ‘Japan Bank’. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) does not say ‘Chinese Bank’. But it is clear what they say.”

A “A pound to the penny that Great Britain and the City of London know a great deal and are quickly angling to be the player settling international accounts in lieu of the U.S.-dominated SWIFT. The ‘special relationship’ between the U.S. and Great Britain is . . . so special.”

B “Germany, France and Italy joined Britain and joined. The ANZUS countries of Australia and New Zealand. The Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.”

A “Belgium of the BeNeLux countries did not submit an application although the Netherlands and Luxembourg did.”

B “The three neutral ‘S’ countries during World War II including Sweden, Spain and the world’s banker Switzerland.”

A “The BRICS including Brazil, Russia, India and perforce China, yet not South Africa apparently.”

B “South Korea is on board but North Korea is jettisoned.”

A “Vietnam and Iran and Saudi Arabia but not Afghanistan.”

B “The PIiIGS are coming around including Portugal, Italy as noted, Iceland, possibly Ireland in the near future, and of course as noted Spain. Greece is preoccupied.”

A “Taiwan. Taiwan. China’s enemy is China’s friend.”

B “Hong Kong. Even Hong Kong. China’s other enemy is China’s friend.”

A “Tibet. Still not free.”

B “Israel. Even Israel. Oddly Israel. America’s friend is America’s adversary China’s friend.”

A “They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Is it commutative? The friend of my enemy is my enemy . . . or my friend?”

B “A friend without benefits who get benefits? It gets complicated. Canada and Japan deciding not to join are revealing.”

A “In contemporary culture, we are asked to ‘friend’ someone. Nations have interests not friends. Perhaps the United States needs to ask for other nations to ‘interest’ the U.S.”

B “But they are interested in other national interests.”

A “The Republicans in the U.S. oppose the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reforms and resist efforts to develop the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to substitute as the world’s reserve currency in lieu of the U.S. petrodollar. The AIIB will also settle accounts using something other than the SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, another institution dominated by the United States. The world is developing a workaround and trying to quarantine the toxins in the current financial system.”

B “The world is seeking free, fair and honest financial settlements.”

A “The U.S. thought it could take their ball and go home, but instead of the world blowing up, the world blew up another ball.”

. . .

A “Remember when we noted the ‘three principle products’ of a country in school. In the past, the U.S. exported the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, and the Peace Corps. Today, the United States exports phony dollars, toxic inflation and endless wars.”

B “Many countries just are not interested in participating in the American Dream any longer. However, the vote is less one of disdain for the U.S. than fear if the current contagion is not corralled.”

. . .

A “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

B “And the U.S. did not join.”

A “The percolating world instability will lead to money flowing into the dollar for some time until the world refuses to import American dollars and American inflation and dooms the dollar. The Supernova dollar. The big bet is predicting the peak.”

B “China is positioned to buy gold priced artificially low by the West and then revalue the gold and demand that the yellow stuff be included in the SDR, directly or indirectly.”

. . .

A “I am betting dollars to doughnuts the Chinese will display the same arrogance and dominance in operating their racket.”

B “The same incompetence and decadence. The same new, same new, as they say.”

. . .

A “And the changes will not even be understood by Americans even after the full force of the changes washed ashore. Except when they go to buy a plasma tv and scope out the sticker.”

. . .

[See some background discussion at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Worldwide_Interbank_Financial_Telecommunication.%5D

Bumper stickers of the week:

The central message of the Twentieth Century is that it is easier to take by investment than by invasion. Neither “I” in AIIB stands for ‘Invasion’. The United States still embraces the old paradigm of “bomb and kill and kill and bomb.” Diplomacy is war carried on by other means.

Copies of the debate in each country discussing whether to join the AIIB are a rich trove of insight.

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Quantitative Easing = Money Printing (January 19, 2015)

Posted in Deflation, Economics, Federal Reserve, Inflation, INFORM Act, Money, Quantitative Easing on January 19, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A “‘Quantitative Easing’ sounds so academic and antiseptic and . . . surely sound.”

B “And nebulous enough to fool a frightened public that does sense that something is wrong.”

A “When you cannot do anything positive and you feel a compulsion to do something, should you do something negative?”

B “It is doing something.”

. . .

A “The Federal Reserve has been ‘printing’ more money and passing it to the wealthy for a half-dozen years. The money is not making a demand on resources right now, so there is no systemic inflation yet other than rises in the prices of basic necessities. The general public does not have enough money to make substantial demands on resources, so some prices are even heading down. The Federal Reserve ‘electrons’ are driving up the stock market and leading some to conclude that all is good in the land. When the money meanders into the economy and begins to make demands on resources that also may be in short supply, prices will go up.”

B “Limited deflation then inflation if not hyperinflation. Coming to a nation near you.”

. . .

A “When someone discovers that printing money is the problem, how will the Federal Reserve react?”

B “‘Print’ more money.”

. . .

[See the “Intergenerational Financial Obligations Reform Act” (INFORM Act) discussed at http://www.theinpformact.org/.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Quantitative Easing: Coming (Back) To A Nation Near You

Quantitative Easing 4 = Money Printing (4th Edition) ?

Print, baby, print

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Gas / Au / Ag / Cu: The Great Commodity / Currency Wars: What’s Up? What’s Down? What’s Really Up? What’s Going Down? (November 17, 2014)

Posted in "Fiat ______", Carbon Surcharge & Dividend, China, Debt/Deficits, Dollar - World's Reserve Currency, Football, Foreign Policy, Gold Standard, Middle East, Money, Peak Oil, Russia, Silver Standard on November 17, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

E1 “Today’s high-tech town criers, LED scoreboards broadcast the news from every street and street corner. They proclaim that gas prices are down, gas prices are down, gas prices are down. The most public and publicized scores in our economy are even more prominent than football scores.”

E2 “Is supply up because Saudi Arabia has strategically increased the supply? Is demand down because the world is in recession? What’s really up? What’s really going down?”

E1 “What’s real? The great trifecta is at play. Saudi Arabia is advancing American political interests by undercutting Russian oil sales while also underpricing American fracking operators and undermining Iranian producers. Prices now below about $80 a barrel undermine American competitors who are fracking the production of oil at a cost of typically $85 a barrel. An American operator who cannot compete and goes down will not later reenter the market. Saudi Arabia can effortlessly constrict supply and drive up the price.”

E2 “The Republicans will provide tax benefits and government subsidies for the frackers and increase the national debt.”

E1 “That’s for real. If Russia and Russians can endure the very real impact of the sanctions and continue to circumvent the use of the dollar, they may end up prevailing in the ‘Cold Currency War.’ The public scoreboards provide daily clues to developments on the international battlefield.”

. . .

E2 “Now when the price of oil is down is the time to adopt a carbon premium and dividend program.”

E1 “Never happen.”

E2 “Nothing will happen until it is too late.”

E1 “Not when gas mongering SUVs are flying off the shelves.”

. . .

E2 “The PM markets for elements 79 and 47 are distorted. Now that the physical quantities of Au and Ag are so tiny in comparison to the exploding paper market, the spot price is another illusion. Sellers of physical quantities are setting prices that exceed the former ‘spot price plus markup’ formula to reflect the limited physical supply. However, no generally accepted ‘physical spot price’ has emerged. In a world of fraud, illusion and dishonesty, the ‘market price’ is not the ‘market price’ and another ‘market price’ must be concocted to provide realistic information.”

E1 “The market is unreal. However, it is hard to fix the metals market when the metals market is fixed. Information is sketchy, incomplete and possibly inaccurate. China, Russia, India, Brazil and other governments and the Chinese, Russians, Indians, Brazilians and other citizens are amassing massive amounts of physical gold. Manipulating the acquisition price of physical gold lower via machinations in the paper market facilitates the transfer of physical gold to folks who are not always happy with us.”

E2 “That may be the most counter-productive policy in recent memory. Some countries are rallying around gold to provide a counterpoise to the dollar.”

E1 “That is surreal.”

. . .

E2 “Morgans were minted from 1878 to 1904. Peace dollars from 1921 to 1935. Even among those who are not interested in the numismatic value of a coin, the premium for George T. Morgan’s creation is more than the premium for Peace dollars.”

E1 “A hint of aesthetic sensibility among the junk metal set. Morgans may have been minted again in 1921.”

E2 “One fellow said that he maintains 70 percent of his precious metals inventory in silver to serve as a medium of exchange and 30 percent in gold to serve as a store of value and secondary medium of exchange. However, the dollar is still the unit of account. Wonder what he knows.”

E1 “Metals perforce do not pay interest, yet when banks start charging interest to hold funds, metals become the non-interest burdened asset. What percentage of his assets are in metals? And why?”

. . .

E1 “The ISIS or ISIL or Islamic State or whatever is proposing to issue their own currency by minting real gold dinars and real silver dirhams.”

E2 “The IS is also in the business of selling oil on the black market at reduced prices which lowers the world price. Another factor in the analysis.”

E1 “And the scoreboard up ahead proclaims: ‘Unleaded – 3 dinars and 99 dirhams per liter; Diesel – 4 dinars and 49 dirhams per liter. Free oil check and window washing.’”

E2 “A mecca for the gold bugs.”

E1 “‘27 inch flat screens from China for 99 dinars.’”

E2 “If gold is denominated in dollars, the dollar is king. If gold is denominated in gold, then gold is king.”

E1 “Aren’t they obligated to field a football team first?”

. . .

E1 “If I couldn’t make light of it, it would get too heavy.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

He who has the dollars has made the rules; he who has the gold will make the rules.

Folks (and governments) will use Fe and Pb to acquire and protect Au and Ag.

We seek stasis, we get entropy.

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Punt, Pass And Kick: The End Is Far (February 24, 2014)

Posted in Bail In, Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Gold Standard, Kleptocracy, Money on February 24, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C2 “An unsustainable system is sustaining itself. Somehow. Yet, in the end, an unsustainable system is unsustainable.”

C1 “Everyone is engaged in a grand ‘punt, pass and kick’ game to punt his or her personal or professional responsibility, pass the buck, and kick the 55 gallon rusty drum down the pot-holed road and over a structurally unsound bridge, yet the system is stumbling and bumbling along. They continue to build ‘bridges to nowhere’ and allow existing ‘bridges to somewhere’ to decline and decay.”

C2 “To build a sustainable bridge, we must do something as simple and foresighted as using stainless steel rebar to support the structure so that it does not rust and rot from within.”

C1 “When the 55 gallon oil drum is empty, it will be much heavier and harder to kick down the road. We may not make the bridge. Will time expire on the ‘punt, pass and kick’ game without a possibility of overtime.”

C2 “We may get ‘sudden death’ overtime, although we may be deceased. We cannot argue with success.”

C1 “As long as you succeed.”

C2 “Some folks will argue with failure, but it may be too late.”

. . .

C1 “We cannot peer behind drawn curtains or peak behind closed doors. At best, we may observe some developments while trying to assemble a puzzle with only a few random pieces operating in the dark with one hand tied behind our back.”

C2 “On a good day. We interpolate and extrapolate with little information and confront an active effort by a variety of folks to mislead and deceive. A conspiracy requires too much cooperation, but a confluence of powerful interests responding to the same incentives and acting in concert to acquire lucre and power can cause mischief.”

C1 “What is today’s exchange rate between lucre and power? A desperate cabal trying to stave off a large creditor or interest could loot the Treasury. When there was some chatter about the United States not returning all the gold in the Federal Reserve vaults to Germany because the gold had been sold, little was said. Big players do not air their tainted laundry in public. What if the gold is not there?”

C2 “You could craft a movie around a discovery that all the gold in Fort Knox will not buy a twenty-five cent cup of coffee.”

C1 “Gold has mesmerized men through the ages, although it does not taste particularly tasty.”

C2 “Even with golden mustard. And it does not wear well.”

C1 “If ‘He who has the gold makes the rules,’ what if there is no gold?”

. . .

C1 “The Big Jolt may come when ordinary folks are spooked by something, rational or irrational, and try to withdraw their deposits from financial institutions. When it first senses a possible problem, the Federal Reserve will send a directive in seconds to all financial institutions limiting withdrawals to a small sum and then, if that does not work, allowing financial institutions to print script of some kind on site to give to depositors seeking to withdraw their funds.”

C2 “That script may not be acceptable. At that point, the script would be backed by the half faith and hollow credit of the United States.”

C1 “An old banker reflecting on the start of the Great Slide looked out the window at depositors who demanded their money and felt an overwhelming sense of terror. Their terrified look triggered his terrified look.”

C2 “Their terrified look may trigger more than a terrified look.”

C1 “Look out.”

. . .

C2 “A ‘Bail In’ is likely to trigger the same reaction unless it is done very slowly with little publicity so that no one notices.”

. . .

C1 “Something may be done or may happen to jeopardize the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency. That will have a bad ending. Try to explain what has happened and will happen to the ordinary citizen.”

. . .

C1 “I am convinced that the clearest lesson in American history is the absolute conviction that no one in the banking and financial industry who loots and robs the public will ever be convicted let alone even indicted for a crime.”

C2 “We might as well enshrine it in a constitutional amendment – the Kleptocracy Amendment.”

C1 “Because of our actions and inaction, we are fundamentally in worse economic shape now than we were in September of 2008. What do you think, three more years or ten more years or could the ‘punt, pass and kick’ game sustain for thirty more years.”

C2 “A riot could become a rebellion and then an insurrection. Enough people and places are festering and percolating to spark and provide the tinder.”

C1 “The catalyst may not be economic or financial. A computer virus could go viral or a virus could go viral.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” titled Beans and Bullets (April 6, 2009) and Bailouts: Out; Bail Ins: In; Slowly Boilin’ The Frog (April 15, 2013) and those collected under https://e-commentary.org/category/gold-standard/.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

You can argue with failure

Crime pays in America, but only big crime

Something that cannot go on forever will not go on forever

Federal Reserve Note legends on dollars, 1928 and 1934 and 1953 and 2014 and ____:

REDEEMABLE IN GOLD ON DEMAND AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR IN GOLD OR LAWFUL MONEY AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK

THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, AND IS REDEEMABLE IN LAWFUL MONEY AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK

THIS NOTE IS A LEGAL TENDER AT ITS FACE FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

THIS NOTE IS . . .

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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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