Here is a good article – Review of the Economic situation for the week. They write one every Monday.
Signs Economic Commentary for 29 September 2008 — Signs of the Times News
Here are some excerpts, but I do recommend reading the entire article.
“Here is the borrowing that’s happened in 2008 alone, with precious little public debate:
- $29 billion to bail out Bear Stearns.
- $40 billion in the first mortgage-holder bailout.
- $80 billion for an additional year of Iraq war operations. (Another $150-$200 billion in war costs such as future veterans’ disability benefits were incurred but not funded.)
- Up to $85 billion to bail out AIG.
- $153 billion to households for “economic stimulus.”
- $200 billion, and possibly more, to bail out Fannie and Freddie.
- $290 billion in farm subsidies, despite agricultural prices and grains profits being at record highs.
- $700 billion general bailout of securities backed by bad debt. (The International Monetary Fund estimates this figure will rise to at least $1 trillion.)
That comes to $1.6 trillion, explaining the debt-ceiling rise, and does not include roughly $300 billion in essentially interest-free cash issued to banks by the Federal Reserve on an emergency basis, which may or may not be repaid, but which in any case make all existing money somewhat less valuable. Why is the debt aspect of the splurge barely being remarked on by the mainstream media and by politicians? Why are the young not furious? And about that $700 billion about to the shoveled to the Wall Street elite — in 2007, George W. Bush vetoed an increase of $7 billion per year in health care spending for the poor, saying the country couldn’t afford it.”…
…”The Golden Rule when consuming all mass media coverage of economics is, of course, to remember that it is always wrong; either factually or in its timing, or both.
Which means, given the universally bleak tone of last night’s Crunchy TV, that either:
a) the economy is about to boom
b) the situation is even worse than portrayed and we’re facing The Apocalypse
Or, those calling the shots want the economy to crash now. Since all the assets were propped up by optimism, basically, making everyone severely pessimistic will ensure a crash. And, as the blogger, Badtux points out, deflation is to be feared more than inflation by average people. The rich, however, are hurt more by inflation. After a deflationary crash, those with cash can buy up all the assets for pennies on the dollar.”…
…”If you are wondering, I believe the AIG bailout is a very good model for how it has to go down. These institutions get the money — but the government gets ownership of them and can throw out the bad managers and reform their practices so they don’t do this stupid evil s**t again, and then sell off the workable assets and fold the part that’s not workable. Any bailout that’s going to work long-term is going to have to work like that, else this nonsense is just going to happen again. You can’t just throw money at these institutions. You have to take them over and reform them.”…
…”Now, at that point economic activity has *also* fallen, since economic activity needs cash to lubricate it and a lot of cash has been diverted towards futile attempts to pay unpayable debts rather than buying stuff. Figure that the economy is moving 10% of the goods and services that it formerly moved. Furthermore, food was planted and picked at the older, cheaper value of the food. So the stores are full of food, but nobody can afford to buy it because an orange that costs $1 is now only worth 1c but the store can’t sell it to you for 1c and make money because they paid the farmer 50c for it at the beginning of the year (thanks to the futures market). The end result is food riots, crops rotting in the fields, and the real threat of a fascist takeover of the country. Look up Father Coughlan and get back to us — it was only barely that FDR kept Father Coughlan’s cronies from taking over (see: Business Plot) and sending us down the same path that Germany and Italy went down. And that was before twenty-five years of rote recitation of “government is the problem, not the solution” discredited FDR’s brand of liberalism in the minds of most Americans — today, a FDR would not be allowed to be elected (I don’t consider Obama to be an FDR, looking at his policy proposals on his web site they appear to be fairly moderate free-enterprise-oriented proposals, not something shockingly socialist like the CCC program that built much of the infrastructure in Death Valley).
In other words, I don’t expect the U.S. to go down the path of FDR if we have another Great Depression. I expect a Mussolini, probably some general taking charge to “restore confidence and pride in our government”, and the usual stuff that happens when you have a Mussolini in charge. Bad things. Really bad things. You know the drill.”…
…”So the stage is now set for a fascist, Mussolini-style takeover of the U.S. Take a look at the following list of laws passed since 9/11,
courtesy of George Ure:
1. USA Patriot Act
- A 342 page document presented to Congress one day before voting on it that allows the government access to your bank and email accounts, as well as your medical and phone records with no court order. They can also search your home anytime without a warrant.
2. USA Patriot Act II
- This one allows secret government arrests, the legal authority to seize your American citizenship, and the extraction of your DNA if you are deemed a potential terrorist.
3. Military Commissions Act of 2006
- Ends habeas corpus, the right to an attorney, and the right to court review of one’s detention and arrest. Without this most basic right, all other rights are gone too since anyone can be detained indefinitely. Now anyone may be arrested and incarcerated and nobody would know.
4. NSPD 51
- A directive signed by George W. Bush on May 9, 2007, that allows the President to declare martial law, effectively transforming the U.S. into a dictatorship with no checks and balances from the Legislative or Judicial Branches. Parts of this directive are considered classified and members of Congress have been denied the right to review it.
5. Protect America Act of 2007
- Allows unprecedented domestic wiretapping and surveillance activities with a reduction in FISA court oversight. Probable cause is not needed.
6. John Warner Defense Authorization Act
- Signed by George W. Bush on October 17, 2007, this act allows the President to declare a public emergency and station troops anywhere in America without the consent of the governor or local authorities to “suppress public disorder.”
7. Homegrown Terrorism and Radicalization Act
- Passed overwhelmingly by Congress on October 23, 2007, is now awaiting a Senate vote. This act will beget a new crackdown on dissent and the Constitutional rights of American citizens. The definitions of “terrorism” and “extremism” are so vague that they could be used to generalize against any group that is working against the policies of the Administration. In this bill, “violent radicalization” criminalizes thought and ideology while “homegrown terrorism” is defined as “the planed use of force to coerce the government.” The term, “force” could encompass political activities such as protests, marches, or any other form of non-violent resistance.
So when you add in:
It starts to get a little scary.”
Scary indeed.
Here is an easier to read link for “Haliburton Confirms Camps Constructed“
Another good article:
Mike Whitney: Black Monday?
Some excerpts
“Rep Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) gave the best speech of the day railing against the financial industry and defending the interests of working class Americans.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich: “The $700 bailout bill is being driven by fear not fact. This is too much money, in too short of time, going to too few people, while too many questions remain unanswered. Why aren’t we having hearings…Why aren’t we considering any other alternatives other than giving $700 billion to Wall Street?
Why aren’t we passing new laws to stop the speculation which triggered this? Why aren’t we putting up new regulatory structures to protect the investors? Why aren’t we directly helping homeowners with their debt burdens? Why aren’t we helping American families faced with bankruptcy? Isn’t time for fundamental change to our debt-based monetary system so we can free ourselves from the manipulation of the Federal Reserve and the banks? Is this the US Congress or the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs?”
Bless him.
“There was greater opposition to the Paulson bill than any legislation in the last half century. The groundswell of public outrage has been unprecedented, and yet, Congress, completely insulated from the demands of their constituents, continues to blunder ahead following the same pro-industry script as their ideological twins in the White House. There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties. Not surprisingly, neither Pelosi nor any of the Democratic leadership has even met with any of the more than 200 leading economists who have stated unequivocally that the bailout will not address the central problems that are wreaking havoc on the financial system. Instead, they have caved in to Bush’s demagoguery and the spurious claims of G-Sax bagman Henry Paulson, a man who has misled the public on every issue related to the subprime/financial fiasco so far.”
Hmmm…I would think that meeting with experts would be the wise thing to do. But, that is just me, I guess. I have had my suspicions about Pelosi for some time. She does not quack like a Democrat…
