Archive for the Noble Prize Category

What Is With Our Friend Sweden And Our Friends The Swedes?  The Swedish Central Bankers Reward One Of Their Criminal Home Boys:  Bernanke.  The “Real” Nobel For Peace (War?) Rewards Hypocrisy And Dishonesty.  The Nord Stream Pipeline Terrorism Investigation Is Dodgy. (October 24, 2022)

Posted in Economics, Economics Nobel, Noble Prize on October 24, 2022 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “They are Swedes.  They are rumored to be smart and level-headed.”

J          “There is always that bottom half of the class lurking out there.”

. . .

K          “The selection of Bernanke is cruel, perverse, twisted and offensive.  He has done more to destroy opportunity for the average person and to shovel wealth to the already wealthy Kleptocrats than just about anyone else in recent history other than possibly Greenspan.  We are suffering and will continue to suffer from his decisions and indecision.”

J          “Bernanke committed economic crimes against the public good.  A person who commits economic crimes against the public good is a criminal.”

. . .

K          “One of the recipients of the purported Peace Prize is allegedly investigating Russian war crimes but not Ukrainian/NATO/US/UK war crimes.  They should be investigating war crimes.  Partisan activities should not be rewarded.  So many of the purported NGOs [Non-Governmental Organizations] are fronts working hand in glove with governments.” 

J          “They may need to take sides.  Sometimes, sides need to be taken.”

. . .

K          “You know full well that when they took the fingerprints on the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage caper, they made a perfect match with . . . Samuel, Uncle.  You know full well that when they did a DNA swab test on the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage caper, they made a perfect match with . . . Samuel, Uncle.  And now the Swedes are blocking a complete investigation of an international act of terrorism.”

J          “They may need to take sides.  Sometimes, sides need to be taken.”

. . .

K          “These are the good folks who conceived and crafted the legendary Volvo 122S and the celebrated SAAB 90 series.”

J          “These are the good folks at the Gransfors Bruk and S.A. Wetterlings and Hults Bruk facilities who hand forge scientific works of art that work artfully in hand.  At least we agree that the dullards at the Sveriges Riksbank, the Swedish Central Bank, are not the sharpest splitting mauls in the wood bunk.  Their failure, however, is not one of intellect but of judgement, character and integrity.”

. . .

[See “Noble and Ignoble Prizes” at Rabobank dated October 11, 2022 by Michael Every; “The Sveriges Riksbank Counterfeit Nobel Award Goes to Bernanke et al. for the Wrong Model” at Naked Capitalism dated October 19, 2022 by Yves Smith, the recipient of the Seventh Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2022; “Ben Bernanke vs. Greg Hunter” at www.mark-skidmore.com by Mark Skidmore, the recipient of the Fourth Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 14, 2019); “A Nobel? Ben Bernanke belongs in the Economics Hall of Shame” at the New York Post dated October 11, 2022 by the Editorial Board and “Ben Bernanke getting Nobel Prize is panned as ‘drunkest decision of all time’” in the New York Post dated October 19, 2022 by Ariel Zilber.]

[See the optimistic and hopeful e-commentary at Bernanke 2.0 (August 31, 2009) and a more disquieting analysis of his comments and tenure at the Fed. at  Economics And Finance:  Girls v. Boys (June 4, 2018) including commentary on economic and financial commentators including Yves Smith.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

“In the surreal economy, the Nobel Prize committee showed either they don’t read this Daily (no!), or if they do, they do the opposite.  After all, they just gave the Prize in Economics (jointly) to former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.

Yes, Economics isn’t a real Noble Prize.  Yes, there have been lots of previous stupid winners of even the real Prizes:

For Peace to Aung San Suu Kyi, for being pro-democracy – who then looked the other way over a genocide; to the EU, for being the EU; to Barack Obama, for something – who then carried out drone strikes on weddings, etc.; to Henry Kissinger – for blowing up South-East Asia, etc.

For Literature to Peter Handke – despite genocide denial (again); to Bob Dylan – for singing; to Mario Vargas Llosa – for being political in a way the committee liked; and never to Tolstoy while we was still alive.

For Economics to Friedman – for monetarism, just before it was tried and failed, and as he backed the dictator Pinochet in Chile; to Nordhaus – for saying if climate change gets too bad, we can spend more time indoors and GDP will be OK; to Krugman – for saying free trade always ends up with the best of all possible outcomes in the best of all possible worlds.         

However, to give a Nobel to Ben “Sub-prime is contained”/“high levels of private debt do not matter”/“banks intermediate between savers and borrowers”/“zero rates and QE” Bernanke for providing “a foundation for our modern understanding of why banks are needed, why they’re vulnerable, and what to do about it” — just as central banks try to undo the post-2008 policy error, and perhaps the post-1980 financialisation and zombification of the economy to boot — is either a slap in the face (“You might reshape the global economy, but you aren’t going to get a prize from us!”) or shows economics, or the Nobel committee, or both are past saving.

Putting it more succinctly, Matt Taibbi tweeted: “Giving Ben Bernanke the Nobel Prize in Economics may be the drunkest decision of all time.”  Amen, Matt, Amen. And cheers to the Nobel Prize team.

. . .

Don’t worry though – we have Ben Bernanke and other Nobel prize-winners to guide us through.”

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Third Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 8, 2018)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Economics, Economics Nobel, Nobel Prize, Noble Prize, Noble Prize in Eco-nomics on October 8, 2018 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “An award dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the work of someone on the planet who really knows something about eco-nomics.  Eco-nomics is about making and sharing; e-con-omics is about taking and stealing.”

J          “The Noble Prize in Eco-nomics is a delightful and playful replacement for the discredited and misnamed ‘Nobel’ Prize in Voodoo E-con-omics.  And I get it.  You get what you reward.  You need to reward what you want to get.  Who gets it this year?”

K          “The recipient of the third annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics is . . . Ellen H. Brown who writes and speaks about money, banking, financial reform and the need for publicly run banks.  A lawyer and political candidate, Ms. Brown is the founder and president of the Public Banking Institute, a nonpartisan think tank researching and advocating for the creation of publicly run banks.  She has authored twelve books including Web of Debt and The Public Bank Solution, speaks regularly on these topics and crafts the “Web of Debt Blog.”  Her considerable corpus of work is undergirded by the conviction that eco-nomics should be concerned with pursuing the public good not just producing goods.”

. . .

J          “The ‘Nobel’ Prize in Voodoo E-con-omics is given by the Swedish Central Bank to someone who advances the interests of the central bankers or at least does not threaten them.  Their selections are not surprising.  Ellen Brown is number ‘n’ on the central bankers’ list of possible recipients.” 

K          “Bill Black is a co-number ‘n’ on the central bankers’ list of possible recipients.”  

. . .

K          “The Committee also examined and considered the pioneering work of Professors Mark Skidmore and Laurence  J. Kotlikoff who have contributed immensely and without enough credit to tracking and analyzing federal expenditures that are not on the books or part of the public discussion.”

. . .

[See the “Intergenerational Financial Obligations Reform Act” (INFORM Act), “Has Our Government Spent $21 Trillion Of Our Money Without Telling Us?” in “Forbes” by Laurence Kotlikoff and Mark Skidmore dated December 8, 2017 and “Heretics welcome!  Economics needs a new Reformation” in “The Guardian” by Larry Elliott dated December 17, 2017.]

[See the e-commentary at “Second Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 9, 2017)”, “First Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 10, 2016)”, “Announcing The First Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (May 2, 2016)”, “Award Deadlines (Livelines?) (July 25, 2016)”, “From e-con-omics to eco-nomics? (August 1, 2011)”, and “Skip the Nobel in Economics (October 6, 2009)”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The life cycle of American business:  Engineers build, salespersons sell, hedge funders loot

When what is known as “e-con-omics” transitioned to “behavioral economics,” the undertaking should have been moved from the department of religion to the department of psychology.  The undisciplined discipline does not require its own department.

Boycott banks; support credit unions

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Second Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 9, 2017)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Economics, Economics Nobel, Nobel Prize, Noble Prize, Noble Prize in Eco-nomics on October 9, 2017 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “An award dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the work of someone on the planet who really knows something about eco-nomics.  Eco-nomics is about making and sharing; e-con-omics is about taking and stealing.”

J          “The Noble Prize in Eco-nomics is a delightful and playful replacement for the discredited ‘Nobel’ Prize in Voodoo E-con-omics.  And I get it.  You get what you reward.  You need to reward what you want to get.  Who gets it this year?”

K          “The recipient of the second annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics is . . . Norbert Häring of Planet Earth and Germany.  His considerable corpus of work is undergirded by the conviction that eco-nomics should be concerned with pursuing the public good not just producing goods.”

. . .

[See “There Is No Nobel Prize in Economics” in “AlterNet” by Yasha Levine dated October 12, 2012, “The Nobel family dissociates itself from the economics prize” in “Real-World Economics Review Blog” by Jorge Buzaglo dated October 22, 2010 and “The Beauty (Pageant?) of Economics” in “Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis” by Ronald A. Wirtz dated September 1, 1999.]

[See the e-commentary at “Announcing The First Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (May 2, 2016)”, “Award Deadlines (Livelines?) (July 25, 2016)”, “From e-con-omics to eco-nomics? (August 1, 2011)” and “Skip the Nobel in Economics (October 6, 2009).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Eco-nomics is about good; e-con-omics is about goods

Eco-nomics is about making; e-con-omics is about taking

Eco-nomics is about making good; e-con-omics is about taking goods

“There is only one difference between a bad economist and a good one: the bad economist confines himself to the visible effect; the good economist takes into account both the effect that can be seen and those effects that must be foreseen.”  Claude-Frédéric Bastiat

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First Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 10, 2016)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Banks and Banking System, Courage, Credit Unions, Crime/Punishment, Economics, Economics Nobel, FDIC, Journalism, Kleptocracy, Law, Newspapers, Nobel Prize, Noble Prize, Noble Prize in Eco-nomics, Press/Media, Rule of Law, Song Reference on October 10, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “An award dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the work of someone on the planet who really knows something about eco-nomics.”

J          “Novel.  Appropriate.  Necessary.  And unprecedented.”

K          “The recipient of the first annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics is . . . Professor William Kurt Black, Esq. professor of law and economics with the University of Missouri at Kansas City.  With decades of substantial and substantive real world experience, Professor Black examines and explicates the workings of banks and the banking system in the United States and the world with insight and conviction.  In his classic, timely and timeless magnum opus The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One, he advances the conservative notion that those in the banking industry who commit systematic and rampant fraud should be convicted.  In an inspiring TEDxUMKC presentation available at TED the national public forum, he notes that bankers deploy banks as weapons of mass destruction against the public.  Unlike so many other law professors and judges who explore the interface of law and economics, he contends that law and economics should serve more than the interests of the wealthy and the powerful.  A felicitous contributor to the public discourse and dialogue, Professor Black’s continuing academic and personal commitment to the common weal and greater good is a good thing.”

. . .

[“This is Walter Kingsbury Brinkley, XYZ News, New York.  Earlier today, the highly coveted Noble Prize In Eco-nomics was awarded to Professor William K. Black, Esq. of the University of Missouri at Kansas City.  In his most celebrated work, Professor Black contends among other observations that the adoption of the rule of law in America is a swell idea.  In a related development, the Swedish bankers convened and announced the 2016 Nobel Prize in E-con-omics given to the individual who has or individuals who have done the most during his, her or their career to advance the interests of the wealthy and powerful.  . . . “]

[See the e-commentary at “Announcing The First Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (May 2, 2016)”, “Award Deadlines (Livelines?) (July 25, 2016)”, “From e-con-omics to eco-nomics? (August 1, 2011)” and “Skip the Nobel in Economics (Oct. 6, 2009).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“Yes, as through this world I’ve wandered I’ve seen lots of funny men; Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen.”  “The Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd” by Woody Guthrie (c) 1958 (renewed) Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc.

Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank; give a man a bank and he can rob the world.

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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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Award Deadlines (Livelines?) (July 25, 2016)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Cameo In Courage Award, Nobel Prize, Noble Prize, Profile In Courage Award, Pulitzer, Pushitzer on July 25, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “You could sit around and whinge, as the Australians say, or you could stand up and do something about it.  If they are rewarding the wrong person, reward the right person.  Reward talent, raw and varnished, unknown and unacknowledged.”

. . .

Award:                                 App. Liveline:           Announcement:

Pushitzer In Commentary Last Friday in Jan.   Third Monday April

Cameo in Courage              Last Friday in Feb.   Second Monday May

Noble in Eco-nomics          Last Friday in Aug.   Second Monday Oct.

Noble in Jurisprudence      Last Friday in Aug.   Third Monday Oct.

Hammerstein Awards        Under construction

Bybee/Watford/Canby*     Under construction

                  Dishonest Judge Award

. . .

J          “Someone has to do it.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “Announcing The First Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (May 2, 2016)”, “First Annual ‘Cameo In Courage’ Award For 2016 (May 9, 2016)”,  “First Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2016 (April 18, 2016)” and “On Standards & Quality (July 20, 2015).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best.  You want to be considered the only one who does what you do.”  Jerry Garcia

If you want law and order, try a little justice

Think big, think long.

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Announcing The First Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (May 2, 2016)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Economics, Economics Nobel, Nobel Prize, Noble Prize on May 2, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

          “This year, the first annual Noble Prize in Eco-nomics is to be awarded to the individual or individuals who have made the greatest contribution to the understanding of eco-nomics and the operation of the eco-nomy.  To be announced on the second Monday each October and this year on October 11, the award is established and endowed with a prize purse of $250.  Nominations are accepted through the last Friday each August and this year on August 26.”

. . .

[Send a nomination and a supporting letter to e-ssay@gci.net by August 26, 2017 and send the entry fee to your favorite charity.]

[See the e-commentary at “From e-con-omics to eco-nomics? (August 1, 2011)” and “Skip the Nobel in Economics (October 6, 2009).”]

[See “The Beauty (Pageant?) of Economics.”]

Bumper sticker of the week:

If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.

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National Financial Literacy Month: Teaching Financial Literacy In The “Debt Age” (April 25, 2016)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Consumerism, Economics, Economics Nobel, Federal Courts, Kleptocracy, Nobel Prize, Noble Prize, Schooling on April 25, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “But do they really want them to be financially literate.”

J          “Who wants a citizenry to be financially literate.  Illiteracy is so profitable.”

K          “What would they teach.”

. . .

K          “For a few hours, they should teach them simply to consume less.  That is the answer.  Devour less.  That goes against the spend and spend and spend and consume and consume and consume mantra they are fed every waking moment on every medium everywhere they venture.”

J          “The same corporations and institutions that ceaselessly propagandize them to spend then underwrite a few hours of instruction advising them, in effect, not to spend.”

. . .

K          “You could teach supply and demand, yet supply and demand no longer drive or dictate price.”

J          “Price/earnings ratios remain a sound financial metric in an economy with accurate price discovery.  With all the government and private sector manipulation and intervention, they are not relevant or reflective metrics of reality.”

. . .

K          “Markets do not exist.  The ‘stock market’ is a Racket.  What few insider trading cases are prosecuted are overturned and repudiated by obliging federal appellate courts doing their job protecting the Kleptocracy.”

. . .

K          “Personal finance courses would at core contradict all the carpet bombing saturation advertising inflicted on the public.  And look how the consequences define our age.  We have evolved from the ‘Stone Age’ to the ‘Bronze Age’ and now to the ‘Debt Age’.”

J          “Still prudent to avoid debt at any cost unless the return is nearly certain.  The debt one assumes to spend time around a college may not be worth the return.”

K          “To the individual and also to society.  Buying a used car and not eating at a restaurant are sound pieces of financial literacy advice.  However, someone must buy new cars and frequent restaurants on occasion.”

J          “The loans for new cars exceed the expected life of the cars.  Restaurants are moving to computer ordering and eliminating the wait staff.” 

. . .

K          “All prices are manipulated and manufactured.  What would you teach.” 

J          “Most current economic curricula in America’s colleges and universities is a secular religion built on inaccurate assumptions and the conviction that growth can continue forever.”

K          “To educate the Nobel Prize winners in Economics in economics, night classes in financial literacy could be offered.”

J          “The classes for them would need to be scheduled around their daily teaching schedules propagandizing the religious orthodoxy.”

. . .

[See the discussions of the “Save” program and the “Credit Abuse Resistance Education” program.]

[See the e-commentary at “Consume, Don’t Invest (Nov. 9, 2009).”]

Bumper sticker of the week:

“The more flak you get the closer you are to the target.”  World War Two bomber’s observation

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