Archive for the Supernova Dollar Category

Debt Insouciance.  Does Debt Really Matter In The “Debt Age”? (February 25, 2019)

Posted in Debt/Deficits, National Security, Noble Prize in Eco-nomics, Petrodollar, Population, Supernova Dollar on February 25, 2019 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “A billion a day, they say, in interest alone.”

J          “Folks should show more interest in this development, I’m just saying.”

. . .

J          “The National Debt is now officially over twenty two Trillion dollars ($22,000,000,000,000.00).  And we spent the electrons producing plastic and plundering the Planet.”

K          “Most of it was spent bombing countries and killing people.  I suspect that if we could sub poena God to testify and muse on the situation, we would discover that the real National Debt accurately calculated is over sixty six Trillion dollars ($66,000,000,000,000.00).”

. . .

K          “Twenty two Trillion dollars ($22,000,000,000,000.00) in Debt are on the books and an additional twenty two Trillion dollars ($22,000,000,000,000.00) are not on the books but were devoured by just two Departments (DoD and HUD).  I suspect there are probably another twenty two Trillion dollars ($22,000,000,000,000.00) off the books at other Departments.”

J          “So what do we make of the economic theories that correlate debt and domestic product if the real Debt-to-GDP ratio is not hovering at 100+% but really exceeds 300+%?”

K          “Or way above 400+%, if there is another twenty two Trillion dollars ($22,000,000,000,000.00) in ‘dark money’ that is additionally off the books.”

. . .

K          “There are at least a dozen ‘ten’ets that provide the only perspective on debt, public and private, and should be memorized by heart:

1. Debt matters.

2. Debt matters.

3. Debt matters.

4. Debt matters.

5. Debt matters.

6. Debt matters.

7. Debt matters.

8. Debt matters.

9. Debt matters.

10. Debt matters.

11. Debt matters.

Reagan was wrong.  Cheney was wrong.  Most babblers are wrong.  In the private and public sectors alike, Deficit – the rate – and Debt – the total – spending serve to accelerate, yank and suck ‘consumption’ from the future into the present.  No one polls those whose future consumption is being stolen.  However, the unborn are saddled with the debt.  This amounts to the greatest inter-generational crime in history.”

J          “That may be the only acceptable tattoo.  ‘Debt matters.’  Those who opine on the greatest threat to our national security do not understand the greatest threat to our national security but are nonetheless allowed to opine on the greatest threat to our national security.  Despite almost complete silence by those who are allowed to make public noise, the greatest threat to our national security is . . . the unsustainable national Deficit and Debt.”

K          “Unless the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates near zero, the Debt will not even be paid in part.  Low interest rates devastate the lives of millions of those at the other end of the life cycle who have been born for a long time – retirees – who reasonably anticipated a rate of return of 6 to 8 percent on their money in their final years.” 

J          “The unborn and long born are the targets and the victims in America today.”

. . .

J          “To explain the growing cacophony of Debt insouciance, explore the sub-sub-conscious.  Most comment makers across the political and economic spectrum are unable to admit that the Debt will never be repaid, so they contend instead that the Debt does not really matter.”

. . .

[On page 136 of Andrew McCabe’s book, recounting a 2017 Oval Office meeting, he observes:  “Then the president talked about Venezuela.  That’s the country we should be going to war with, he said.  They have all that oil and they’re right on our back door.”]

[See the e-commentary at “Over Over-Population:  10 Billion Little Miracles (And Counting) (And Costing) (January 26, 2015)” observing that accelerating consumption from the future to the present results in a much greater “effective world population” today that is closer to 10 billion miracles effectively punishing and pummeling the Planet even more ruthlessly than the 8 billion miracles of record.  “Deficits Do Matter (January 7, 2008)” discusses the concern with Debt and Deficits in more clinical detail.  “Forgiving American Debt? (March 3, 2008)” eleven years ago notes that the United States will never pay off the national Debt and yet all economic models and forecasts assume that the national Debt will be paid off.  “America The Bankrupt:  Economics 210 in the Land of the Freeway and the Home of the Wave (January 17, 2005)” more than fourteen years ago addresses the impending bankruptcy of the United States.  “National Financial Literacy Month: Teaching Financial Literacy In The ‘Debt Age’ (April 25, 2016)” asks whether there is any serious interest in teaching financial literacy in the “Debt Age”.  “Venturing A Few Unfounded And Unwarranted Predictions (July 13, 2015)” provides some further analysis and discussion of the ”Supernova Dollar” and other concerns.  “Third Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 8, 2019)” discusses the missing money in the federal budget, among other concerns.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Past, present and future walk into a bar.  It was tense.

Debt matters.

Not all debt is repaid, but all debt is paid.

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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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