Mur's Wall of Whine

[lkwalker]

Romantic and reactionary is a contradiction in terms. It translates to 'fascist.'

[Egg]

And delusional. She wasn't even a very good writer.

[Egg]

Basically, to sum it up, I don't like her.

[lkwalker]

She doesn't like you either.

[Egg]

Yeah, but she's dead.

[Mur]

From this guy's desk to God's inbox hopefully.....

We’re Now Engaging in the Same Disastrous Policies… Only On a National Level Pt 1

Submitted by Phoenix Capital Research on 04/06/2011 11:15 -0400


The financial world is entering a massive process of transition though most folks have failed to see it. That process is that of Ben Bernanke being forced to resign and the US Federal Reserve being broken up.


I know many people believe the Fed is always going to be in power, but they are wrong. The US Federal Reserve is in fact the third central bank the US has had. And it, like the other two, will be dismantled in the next five years.


The reason for this is quite simple. The REAL Crisis (of which 2008 was the warm-up) is fast approaching. When I say REAL Crisis I mean full-scale systemic meltdown, a situation in which the market accomplishes what the Fed, regulators, and US Government at large have failed to do: clean house.


The plain facts are right in front of us. The US is broke on every level: Federal, State, Local, and individual/ consumer. We all know this, but we don’t want to admit it because doing so would likely mean wiping out at minimum 30% of what we have today.

Nobody wants this. Consumers don’t want to lose their retirement accounts or their savings. The Government doesn’t want to lose its unending virtual checkbook. Politicians don’t want to lose their financial backers (the oligarchs). And the Fed certainly doesn’t want to lose its massive Free Lunch.

However, it is clear to everyone that the system is broken. Consider that the very policies that Wall Street developed resulting in the 2008 meltdown (excessive debt, fraud, too much leverage, etc) are now being applied to the Federal balance sheet.

Indeed, the Fed’s response to the Financial Crisis was to do the exact same things Wall Street did.


The only reason it worked for a time was because investors continue to believe that the Fed is some kind of omnipotent financial authority that can take on all debts and back up all monetary transactions. The reason they’re willing to believe this is because not doing so would result in the collapse I referred to before.


To use a metaphor, if your house has a broken foundation (the financial system), you can prop it up using various structures (the Fed). However, eventually the foundation gives way regardless of the support.


We are already seeing this happen in Europe. The Euro is up but the entire European system is broken. No one wants to be a part of it any more. Only the politicians and bankers are trying to keep it together (largely because they don’t want to lose their influence).


However, elections in Germany are making it clear voters will obliterate anyone who is pro bailouts. As a result of this, the tide is turning. Large-scale reform and changes can take a while which is why the process seems to be occurring in slow motion.


But the process is occurring. And nothing can stop it. You can fight the tide tooth and nail, but it will turn regardless of your efforts.


The same situation will hit in the US in the future. I’ve already detailed why the US Dollar is holding up (it’s priced against other paper currencies) despite the fact an exodus from the greenback is occurring.

SNIP

Edited out sales pitch

Best Regards,



Graham Summers

[Mur]

Wow...great blog post by Mish.

I wont post the hold thing...but he nails it again.

No Path to Prosperity: Ryan's Incredulous Budget-Balancing Proposal, Preposterous Unemployment Estimate


Two excerpts

Can we really be serious about tackling the deficit while doing nothing about defense spending? I think not, and Ryan wimps out big time by failing to address it.

The United States spends more on defense than the rest of the world combined. We have troops in 140 countries. Yet, the simple fact of the matter is the US can no longer afford to be the world's policeman.

If other countries want our troops, perhaps they should pay us. However, it would be better yet if we would simply leave on our own accord.

As long as we are packing our bags, we should pack up and leave Iraq and Afghanistan. It's time to declare the wars are won and leave.

If we do that, and pull some troops home, it should be an easy matter to cut $200 billion a year out of the defense budget. That would save $2 trillion over 10 years. Actually I think we should cut far more, but I am hoping to come up with a number that has a chance.

Preposterous Unemployment Estimate

I have no idea what the normally sane Heritage Foundation is smoking at the moment, but the idea that Ryan's Path to Prosperity will lower the unemployment rate to 4% by 2015 is pure nonsense and I can prove it.

snip


Notice that in the height of the housing boom in 2005-2006, the highest average monthly job total was 212,000 jobs a month. At the height of the internet boom in 1999 with Greenspan stepping on the gas over absurd Y2K fears, the economy added 264,000 jobs a month.

At the peak of the commercial real estate boom in 2006-2007, the economy added somewhere between 96,000 jobs a month and 178,000 jobs a month.

Let's be realistic. The housing boom is not going to come roaring back. Nor is the commercial real estate boom, nor is another internet boom.

Quite frankly it is preposterous to suggest that by cutting spending the economy will add 400,000 jobs a month for 48 straight months. Heck, even the straight up number of 354,000 jobs a month is preposterous.

Read the whole blog post

Mish for President!


http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... ulous.html

[Egg]

Only another bubble will bring back jobs and since we're not doing anything real about developing new tech, I won't hold my breath.

51% of our taxes go to the military. We spend as much as the next 28 countries do on defense and 26 are our allies.

Honestly, who cares anymore? No one that has any power is going to do anything about it. Most won't even address the issue.

[lkwalker]

Why are you discussing trivial details and avoiding the larger issue? Of course greedy entrepreneurs will do what they are designed to do. That's a no brainer. Why is Marxist analysis ignored here?

[Egg]

Marxist analysis is not ignored, This is the facts, my man. When someone cries outrage, they're called a whiner. When someone offers a better way, they're called a dreamer.

So, what you do is look at the bogus system and at least find a better way to function within its confines.

Take money out of the military.

But, that actually makes you a whining dreaming hippy, I suppose.