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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Writin’ (February 17, 2014)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Book Reference, Plastic, Slavery, Writing on February 17, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

W1       “Read and write and read and write and read and write and read and write and rinse and repeat.”

W2       “Learn to juggle all the words in the English language and a few other languages behind your back in the dark with ease.”

W1       “And recognize the nuances of education, location, geography, employment, religion, politics, race and class.”

W2       “Develop an eye for detail and an ear for dialogue.”

W1       “Subtly appreciate and acknowledge the true nature and flow of actual daily discourse and conversation.”

W2       “And understand and capture the smell and feel and taste of a person, place and thing.”

W1       “Write what you know.  And know much.”

W2       “Go beyond knowing and write what you understand.”

W1       “And understand much.”

W2       “Go beyond understanding and write about and with wisdom.”

W1       “Then write what terrifies you and satisfies you and mystifies you and pacifies you.”

W2       “Show.  Do not tell.”

W1       “Tell a great story by showing a great story.”

W2       “Show and tell may be the most revealing show and tell.”

W1       “It is often easier done than said.”

W2       “It is only said if it is done.”

W1       “It is only done if it is done.”

. . .

W2       “Celebrating one’s love for language is another way to celebrate the day.”

. . .

W1       “Are ‘Doonesbury’ and ‘Prairie Home Companion’ the Great American Novels?”

W2       “A novel notion.  The Great American Novel is not a novel after all but rather a visual depiction in “Doonesbury” and an oral transmission in “Prairie Home Companion” depicted and transmitted in dollops over the decades.  They reward those with an eye for detail and an ear for dialogue.”  

W1       “Devoid of all the insecure male posturing that seems to be deemed the sine qua non of the GAN.”

. . .

[See the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/nyregion/ban-sought-on-microbeads-in-beauty-items.html?hp&_r=0 seeking to address microscopic beads that get into the water supply.  See the “e-ssays” under https://e-commentary.org/category/plastic/ that are part of “Project Plastic.”]

[From the New Confederacy in Utah and Oklahoma to the Old South in Virginia, hate is on the run, on the retreat, and on the retrograde.  See the e-ssay” titled The Sea Change Is Now A Tsunami (March 11, 2013).  For those who are troubled by slavery in all its forms and permutations, the vote in Tennessee, a charter member of the Old South, on unionization at the Volkswagen plant is disappointing.]  

Bumper stickers of the week:

Observe, Listen, (smell, feel, taste), Question, Comment

Art for art’s sake is somewhat uninspired and uninspiring.  Exquisitely superb art that promotes positive political, economic and social purposes is the most inspired art.

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“No one deserves it.” (February 10, 2014)

Posted in Estate Tax, Personal Stories Series, Personal Story, Pogo Plight, Taxation on February 10, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C          “No one gave me anything.  I worked for everything.  I had three jobs and did not even get the minimum wage for one of them.  They expect everything.  They have already spent it many times over.  I am not even dead yet.  I feel that way.  They act that way.”

L          “I understand.  You are among a small group who really did it the old-fashioned way by taking risk and working hard.  And it is yours.  In your eyes and in the eyes of the law.  It is also your decision.”

C          “I didn’t build my business out of a garage.  I didn’t have a garage.  We hardly kept a car on the road.  We built it from our dinette table.  They’ll sell that Formica® table for a few dollars at a yard sale.  If they even have the gumption to have a yard sale.  What if I don’t give it to ‘em?”

L          “It is yours to give or not to give to them or to someone else.”

C          “That would be givin’ it to ‘em.  Know what I mean.”

. . .

L          “Probate and estate issues like this are among the most frequent legal matters and concerns for older folks.  Trillions of dollars are transferring to the next generation.”

C          “I heard someone call it ‘entitlement’.  I don’t know who’s entitled to my money, but I know it’s not those kids.”

. . .

L          “Probate is not evil.  However, probating a will is expensive, protracted and public.  By putting your assets in a trust, you create a legal entity that survives you and eases transfer.  The process is cheaper, shorter and private.  Many trusts are designed not just to ease the transfer but to elude creditors and avoid taxes.  Many of the trusts designed to avoid taxes are legal theft, but that is where America is in the arc of this country.  This basic trust is simply a mechanism to make the transfer simpler with some tax portability and a layer of creditor protection.”

C          “That all sounds good, I think.  So you think it’s a good idea.”

. . .

L          “You could set up a foundation.  The goal is usually virtuous, yet the smaller personal foundations usually do little more than feed an ego and pay administrative expenses.  The folks on the payroll are pleased to have the job and the paycheck.  I was impressed that Warren Buffett did not establish his own foundation and instead gave most of his assets to the Gates Foundation.  That approach saves on administrative costs and focuses efforts.”

C          “What group should I give it to?”

L          “Which group do you want to give it to?”

C          “I don’t know.  That’s what I pay you for.”

L          “I am here to determine what you want to do.”

. . .

C          “What if I give it to you.  You said it’s mine to give to anyone I want to.”

L          “With a very important proviso.  You cannot give your money to your attorney who is obligated to represent your interests.”

C          “Then I’m not absolutely free to give to anyone I want to.”

L          “For these purposes, I am you.  You cannot give it to yourself.  And I cannot take it under rules that are in your best interest.  For what it is worth, there was a time or two when you were reluctant to pay attorney’s fees that were earned twofold.”

C          “I figure that if you are not able to make sure that you get paid then you are not able to make sure that I get paid.  I’ll throw nickels around like manhole covers until the day I die.  You know me.”

. . .

C          “Those kids didn’t have to work very hard to be entitled to my hard-earned money.  But they don’t want to work.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” under https://e-commentary.org/category/estate-tax/.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Easy come, easy go; Hard come, easy go; Hard come, hard go.

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Boycott Futball? (February 3, 2014)

Posted in Boycott Series, Consumerism, Football, Hypocrisy, Pogo Plight, Sports on February 3, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

F1        “Are you crazy?  Apple pie and motherhood are as American as futball.”

F2        “Soccer Moms wielding mini vans hold the keys.  Will they make a motherly pitch to the kids and drive them to the pitch or accede to pressure and deposit them on the gridiron.”

. . .

F1        “Watching it for the ads seems akin to buying a girlie magazine for the articles.” 

F2        “Spectacles are always spectacular.  A brand is a story.  This year the brands really tried to tell stories over a number of ads throughout the extravaganza.”

F1        “Seemed to be fewer ads for ED medication and the usual number for EtOH self-medication.”

F2        “Capture the audience and then captivate the audience.”

. . .

F1        “The NFL is the big winner.  They scored non-profit tax-exempt status long ago.  The public pays for the millionaires to play for the billionaires.”

F2        “And the public finances most of the coliseums.  The teams are tantamount to unregulated public utilities.”

F1        “Perhaps citizens should pay a monthly bill for water and sewer, telephone, gas, and for futball.”

. . .

F2        “Football is counterproductive because it destroys so many gladiators along the way.  Society is left weaker.”

. . .

F1        “Sports has always provided every society with a forum to train warriors and titillate the populace.”

F2        “ROTC with colorful, multi-color uniforms, cheerleaders and beer.”

F1        “Tiddlywinks simply does not train warriors or titillate the public.  Few aspire to a career in the NTA – National Tiddlywinks Association.  Our need for blood sports is hard-wired into our dna.  Coursing is coarse, but the desire courses through our blood.”

F2        “Auto racing appeals to our love of speed and lust for a crash.  The most skilled drivers are at the wheel to maximize the speed and minimize but deliver the inevitable and cherished crash.”

F1        “Satisfying our need for immediate gratification led them to accelerate the process and fashion the ‘demolition derby’ that provides what the fans really desire – a string of premeditated crashes – without the wait.”

F2        “Rather than going in circles, they go right at each other.  Perhaps football could be reduced to fifteen minutes of uncontrolled mayhem with the gladiators going right at each other.”      

. . .

F1        “The ideal winter sport is the biathlon . . . shoot and ski in the winter and then run or bicycle or pogo-stick in the summer to stay in shape.  The ideal summer sports are soccer and women’s rules lacrosse.  Men’s rules lacrosse is for insecure sissies.”

F2        “Men’s rules lacrosse is the outdoor version of ice hockey.  Is there women’s rules ice hockey?”

F1        “What about co-ed inner tube water polo played indoors in the winter and cricket played in the summer?”

F2        “Moms may need to select among competing pitches.  Cricket Moms would emerge as another target demographic for advertisers.”

. . .

F1        “What would happen to Monday morning quarterbacking?”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

“Is Dylan a Cadillac shill or a Chrysler shill?  . . . . . . .  or a Ford shill?”  “I think he was a Victoria’s Secret model.”

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Humanity’s Motto: To Enslave And To Colonize (January 27, 2014)

Posted in Blue States / Red States, Economics, Immanentizing The Eschaton, Markets, Pogo Plight on January 27, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A          “You can now add Bezos to the legendary ‘CDEs’ of exploitation – Carnegie, Disney and Edison – who made their fortunes exploiting others.”

B          “And the kingpins of exploitation – the Waltons.  As humans, we seek to enslave and to colonize, not to nurture and to develop.”

A          “Take one’s liberty and take one’s property.  It’s the human way.  We established a Constitution to protect life, liberty and property.”

B          “He too seeks to enslave.  Amazon has become the CyberWalmart.”

A          “Like Walmart, the prices are very low and allow some shoppers to afford to make it through the day.  Some of the customers may be the same employees who cannot subsist on Walmart wages.  The Amazon prices are usually lower and the guarantee is objectively better than the guarantees offered by locally owned businesses that may be going out of business in part because of Amazon’s competition.”

B          “By contrast, Costco pays a living wage and offers health care and retirement to its employees while offering very low prices and an unconditional guarantee to its customers.” 

A          “Walmart is a Red State company headquartered in a Red State.  Costco is a Blue State company headquartered in a Blue State.  Amazon is an anomaly – a Red State company headquartered in a Blue State.” 

B          “Look at the state they leave the employees in when a company pays slave wages.  Slaves don’t make profitable consumers.” 

A          “If there are no consumers, you can’t have seventy percent of economic growth fueled by consumer spending.”

. . .

[The author has no financial interest in Amazon, Costco or Walmart and has shopped at all three institutions.]

[Pete Seeger – May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014]

[“Almost half of the world’s wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population, and seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in the last 30 years.  The World Economic Forum has identified economic inequality as a major risk to human progress, impacting social stability within countries and threatening security on a global scale.”  http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/working-for-the-few-economic-inequality.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

To Enslave And To Colonize.  Hey, it’s who we are.

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King Daze (January 20, 2014)

Posted in Hypocrisy, Race, South on January 20, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A          “King’s birthday has become a day for some people to undertake very visible and well publicized ‘public interest’ activities.  A day on not a day off.”

B          “The activities are advertised and publicized the way the Soviets announced spending on consumer goods.  Make a big announcement before spending money, make a big announcement while spending money, and make a big announcement after spending money.” 

A          “I am more interested in how one leads his or her life yesterday and tomorrow.”

. . .

A          “Lawyers also undertake very visible and well publicized pro bono publico activities.”

B          “Secular redemption for activities undertaken during the rest of the week.  I am more interested in what they do on all of their days off not on their day on.”

. . .

A          “Doing something if desirable.  The Civil War did not end at Appomattox, they just called a truce, changed the uniforms from gray fatigues to white sheets, and privatized the terrorism.  Celebrating King’s birthday is part of the long road and the slow process to end America’s enduring Civil War.”

B          “We still have a long way to go.  Virginia still celebrates Ku Klux Klan Day.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

The world is my country; Doing good is my religion

Justice and Truth do not have on and off days

Virginia celebrated Ku Klux Klan Day last Friday  

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America’s Frazzled First Amendment (January 13, 2014)

Posted in Abortion, Courts, First Amendment, Journalism, National Defense Authorization Act / FY 2012, Newspapers, PATRIOT Act, Press/Media, Rating Agencies, Supreme Court, USA PATRIOT Act on January 13, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

L1        “The right-wing majority on the Supreme Court has devolved a simple formula for First Amendment analysis:  Who is making the statement and what statement is he, she or it making?  A corporation is extended any and all protection that advances its interests and shields it from liability under the guise of the First Amendment.  An individual is extended First Amendment protection only to the extent that his or her speech is acceptable to the right-wing majority on the Supreme Court.”

L2        “With a few exceptions.”

L1        “A few, but very few exceptions.  The oral argument this week at the Supreme Court involving the reasonable and safe distance between protestors and citizens entering an abortion clinic is less about the First Amendment and more about efforts by the right-wing majority to restrict abortion.”

L2        “Restrict abortion by restricting access.”

. . .

L1        “Some bonehead judges shield the fraudulent statements and misrepresentations of rating agencies’ such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch with First Amendment protection.  A fraudulent statement advanced with the intent to deceive is not entitled to any constitutional protection even if it is advanced by a corporation rather than an individual.”

L2        “The next step by some judges is to insulate any statements however deceptive or fraudulent by other specific industries such as the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries from liability by bestowing First Amendment protection on them.”

. . .

L2        “The O’Bama Administration has maintained the hostile attitude and increased aggressive actions against whistleblowers and those challenging often illegal government shenanigans.  The executive branch contributes to the problem not to the solution.”

L1        “Their dismissive treatment of the press is taken from Tricky Dick’s play book.  The White House is Fort O’Bama.”

. . .

L1        “Congress could address most of these problems with legislation that most courts would honor and enforce.  Legislation including the USA PATRIOT Act and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 should be reviewed and amended.”

L2        “Seems that all three branches are a threat to the people today.”  

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” titled https://e-commentary.org/category/first-amendment/ in particular The Supreme Court On Drugs (June 25, 2007), Bill/Melinda and Warren, It Is Time To Get Into The Game (January 25, 2010), Corporations United (Feb. 15, 2010), In Sexy Opinion, Supreme Court Affirms First Amendment (March 7, 2011) and At War With The First Amendment (February 27, 2012); the “e-ssays” at https://e-commentary.org/category/national-defense-authorization-act-fy-2012/ and https://e-commentary.org/category/usa-patriot-act/; and commentary on rating agencies at https://e-commentary.org/category/rating-agencies-2/.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

My Political Ideas                                            Are Too Complex

To Fit On One                                                  Bumper Sticker

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The American Menu: Three Food Groups (January 6, 2014)

Posted in Consumerism, Food, Health Care, Market Solutions, Plastic, Pogo Plight on January 6, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

The Gyre of Death:

Breakfast:     Sugar, Fat, Salt

Lunch:            Fat, Salt, Sugar

Dinner:           Salt, Sugar, Fat

Rinse and repeat and repeat and repeat.

. . .

A          “New Year’s resolutions are one of the earliest examples of recycling.  The list of resolutions could be stored with the holiday decorations and reused each year.”

B          “We need to reduce.  Hope springs eternal, particularly in the winter.  Better to have propounded New Year’s resolutions and lost than never to have propounded them at all.”

A          “We need to resolve to shed calories responsibly all year.”

B          “Better to have lost pounds.”

. . .

A          “Disregard the class and cultural arrogance and condescension that underlies the discussion and the problem still weighs on us.  We as a people are too chunky.”

B          “Too many Americans drive around all day poisoning themselves at the food shacks that litter the highways and byways and then drive to a bar and poison themselves with liquid intoxicants before taking that last drive of the day late at night back home.  We need to change our life style.”

A          “Obesity imposes a staggering additional tax on health care costs.  If the government chimes in and proposes something, someone whines about the ‘nanny state’ interfering in our lives.”  

B          “Granny may have been right about these things.  Moderation always in all things.”

. . .

A          “Beer companies seek to decant 11 rather than 12 ounces into a bottle and grocers now package five rather than six avocados in the bag.  How do you create the market conditions so that a sugar water company reduces the ounces in the bottle and the purveyor of French fries puts fewer spuds in the bag?”

B          “And change our life style so that no uses plastic bottles.”

. . .    

[See the “e-ssay” titled Back Door Inflation (July 16, 2007).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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‘Mericanize: Monetize, Mechanize And Militarize (December 30, 2013)

Posted in Economics, Energy, Kleptocracy, Markets, Military, Pogo Plight, Society on December 30, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1        “America makes nothing but monetizes everything.”

C2        “And makes things up.” 

C1        “We make up fake money, but we cannot make up fake energy.  We need to energize not monetize.  We need to measure the energy inputs and environmental outputs before we do or make or consume anything.  Money is not the measure and sends the wrong signals.”

C2        “Even by their own terms, money and markets are far too broken to work either efficiently or equitably today.”

C1        “We aid and abet the rich players taking money electronically from the poor and middle class.”

C2        “Everything is an accounting hijink and a legal mirage concocted by the accountants and the lawyers.”

C1        “And the e-con-omists.  Everything is virtual; nothing is real.”

. . .

C1        “Now they are proclaiming that the great American heartland will be saved by the construction of new factories and a renaissance in manufacturing.  However, the typical factory does not actually employ more than two employees who turn on and monitor the machine.”

C2        “And billions are spent to keep those two employees from receiving a slightly higher minimum wage.”

C1        “Economic slaves make unprofitable consumers.”

. . .

C1        “The response in Boston is another display of the militarization of society.  The town was invaded by American storm troopers who dressed and acted like they were invading Fallujah or Kandahar.”

C2        “We lost the race years ago.  The camo armored personnel carrier replaced the black and white Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.  The .308 replaced the .38.  Kevlar® replaced khaki.”

C1        “The old saw says it all:  ‘A YouTube video is worth ten thousand words.’  The vignettes told the most harrowing stories as the militarized police broke into houses and pulled citizens out of their homes.  A few folks were shocked, a few were outraged, and a few were disgusted, yet there was an undertone of acceptance and obeisance.”

C2        “We are lost.  We are neutered and anesthetized.”

. . .

C1        “We are the Etch-A-Sketch® society.  Nothing is real or permanent.”

C2        “We are the Play-Doh® people.  No spine and no substance.  Malleable as clay.  There is no there there.” 

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” titled Minimum Wage and Maximum Earners (July 31, 2006), Racing Backwards; Moving Forward? (July 27, 2009), Occupy America: The “Bonus March/Chicago Police Riot/Kent State” Of 2011? (October 17, 2011) and Men In Pink: Today’s Sensitive New SWAT Togs (August 20, 2012).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Too much information, too little insight

Everything is virtual; nothing is real

Energize don’t marginalize

We need fewer folks chasing fewer flora and far fewer fauna

The cup is one sixteenth full

In the end, the physicists always triumph over the e-con-omists

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The Fed at 100 (December 23, 2013)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Federal Reserve, Kleptocracy, Stock Market on December 23, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A          “We celebrate the birthday of our financial savior today and of our spiritual savior on Wednesday.”

B          “Birthday cards and candles are flying off the shelf.” 

A          “Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act on December 23, 1913 a few seconds before heading home for the holidays and a few minutes before President Wilson signed the legislation.  You wonder if they had a clue.”

B          “Most folks don’t have a clue, but what do you do.  Most folks look uncomfortably bewildered if you even allude to the Fed.  Someone who is uncomfortable with a topic does not readily come around.”

A          “They are more comfortable talking about the Football League than about the Federal Reserve.”

B          “The great debate on a national bank was lost a hundred years ago.  We need a great debate today.”

A          “The Fed is really out of control, but the wealthy are getting wealthier, so no one cares.”

B          “Congress provided some policy direction when it required to Fed to consider the level of employment in its calculus.  The Fed’s policies and decisions over the last decade have done nothing to improve employment, yet there is no sanction or penalty in the Congressional legislation.”

A          “The Fed has done more to promote the greatest transfer of wealth to the already wealthy than at any other time or in any other place in history.”

B          “The money is collecting in the Swiss bank accounts of the wealthy.  When and as the money slips from the virtual into the real economy, measured inflation will go up.”

A          “Seems to me that inflation will be exacerbated by a reduction in the supply of goods brought about by a breakdown in production and distribution.”

. . .

A          “The Fed is not the fourth branch of government, it is the first branch.”

B          “The To-Big-To-Fail-Or-Jail Banks are the first branch of government and they own the Fed and the government.”

. . .

A/B       “What will blow out the candles?”

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” collected in the Category “Federal Reserve” at https://e-commentary.org/category/federal-reserve/.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Now that the banks have privatized the government, the government will never nationalize the banks.

If one person amassed 99.999999999999999999999999 percent of the income and wealth in America, would anyone notice?

Capitalize the gains; socialize the losses.

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