Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Hyperinflation, Money Demand, and the Crack-up Boom


In the early 1920s, Ludwig von Mises became a witness to hyperinflation in Austria and Germany — monetary developments that caused irreparable and (in the German case) cataclysmic damage to civilization.

Mises's policy advice was instrumental in helping to stop hyperinflation in Austria in 1922. In his Memoirs, however, he expressed the view that his instruction — halting the printing press — was heeded too late: (more)

Economic Black Hole: 20 Reasons Why The U.S. Economy Is Dying And Is Simply Not Going To Recover


Even though the U.S. financial system nearly experienced a total meltdown in late 2008, the truth is that most Americans simply have no idea what is happening to the U.S. economy. Most people seem to think that the nasty little recession that we have just been through is almost over and that we will be experiencing another time of economic growth and prosperity very shortly. But this time around that is not the case. The reality is that we are being sucked into an economic black hole from which the U.S. economy will never fully recover. (more)

Whalen: Banking Bloodbath Is Still Ahead

Chris Whalen, of Institutional Risk Analytics, says a bloodbath in the banking industry is still dead ahead.

“Loss rates for the industry will be very high," Whalen says, forecasting record charge-off rates, higher loan loss reserves and a lot of "minus signs" for banks' bottom lines.

"Right now the total egg — credit — is shrinking," Whalen told Tech Ticker. "The bank side is not a source of growth."

"Can you pull it out on the capital market side? Maybe, but I'm not sure where that comes from" given many of the big banks have loaded up on low-risk securities in the aftermath of 2008's bloodbath. (more)

Pakistan Collapse Could Trigger Global Great Depression and World War III

During 2009 the 2600 terrorist attacks resulted in the number of deaths soaring to more than 12,000 casualties in Pakistan, compared to the number killed in Iraq falling to 2,800 from the 2008 total of 5,900. The U.S. War in Afghanistan pushed the Taliban and Al-Qeeda over the border into Pakistan that has sparked an escalating insurgency and Pakistan's own U.S. backed un-popular "War on Terror" which is going just as badly as that in Afghanistan, only without the deep financial pockets to embark up on an never ending war that is increasingly sapping what little strength the Pakistan Economy had out of it and now seriously risks the collapse of the state due to the stress of the conflict on the economy and society. (more)

Why Did the ‘Stimulus’ Fail to Help the Economy?

When Congress was debating President Obama’s proposed “stimulus” last year, two of the watchwords for the near-trillion-dollar boondoggle were “jobs” and “shovel-ready.” Now, given what comes out of Washington, one needs a shovel to clean up the muck, and I appreciate the politicians and the media telling us we needed to have our shovels ready.

Now that the numbers are in, however, it seems that money spent had no appreciable effect on lowering unemployment:

A federal spending surge of more than $20 billion for roads and bridges in President Barack Obama’s first stimulus has had no effect on local unemployment rates, raising questions about his argument for billions more to address an “urgent need to accelerate job growth.”

An Associated Press analysis of stimulus spending found that it didn’t matter if a lot of money was spent on highways or none at all: Local unemployment rates rose and fell regardless. And the stimulus spending only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry, the analysis showed. (more)

Happiness in Slavery


Think you’re free? Think again, slave!

This week the Federal government will attempt to auction off 118 billion dollars in U.S. debt to anyone who thinks the U.S. dollar is a great place to be. Of course if you ask liars like Fed Chief Ben Bernanke or his young sidekick “tiny” Tim Geithner, they will most certainly assure you that the dollar is strong and that the U.S economy is on a miraculous rebound. But this is fiction.

Lets do our own risk assessment, shall we? After all, barring any foreign investors stupid enough to take the bait, it’s going to be you and I… and several generations of our descendants left holding the check as the fat gluttons on Wall Street lick their plates before dashing out of the restaurant. But I warn you; what you are about to read is nothing short of horrifying and should convince you – once and for all – that we are in the final stages of a freefall spiral into outright despotism. (more)

Nobel economist Stiglitz: "US privatized profits, socialized losses is not capitalism." It’s fascism

Joseph Stiglitz understands half the US economic disaster when he explains current policy is “no way to run an economy that’s going to work,” “there’s moral hazard everywhere,” and newly-invented and unregulated financial markets have only increased risk, not decreased it.

The Nobel Laureate, former chief economist for the World Bank, and current Columbia university economics professor understands fully that US economic policy is designed to benefit an elite-class of financial market “traders.” He accurately articulates that gambling losses in fraudulent credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, and leveraged investments/bets without the capital to back their losses are socialized by the TRILLIONS in an unprecedented transfer of wealth from taxpayers to a financial oligarchy. And Mr. Stiglitz understands the consequences of a shattered economy on near-record unemployment in the US most accurately measured at 22%. (more)

U.S. Heading for Hyperinflationary Collapse, Ruling Elite Preparing for Civil War

This country achieved greatness because Americans took chances, had the freedom to succeed or fail, picked themselves up when they failed, and lived their lives within a moral framework of fairness and honesty. That flame of independence and freedom is dying out. Americans no longer believe in shared sacrifice, working hard, honoring a sense of civic duty, morality, or modesty. A private banking cartel controls the purse strings and protects its bank owners and its protectors in Congress. The President wages wars across the globe without Constitutional approval from Congress that is required. Agencies of government operate in secret, assassinating foreign enemies, fomenting unrest in other countries, and spying on Americans. Look at the fear we’re feeding. Look at the lives we’re leading. (more)