First!

Paris is nice, but I got the Rust Belt blues.

Extend and pretend – The phrase used by BAC managers to address at-risk and non-performing CRE loans

Good for you Michelle!

You know those 1,500 banks that NR said would fail? This is from three months ago, but I think it’s even more appropriate today.US Banks Operating Without Reserve Requirements by Eric deCarbonnelOver the last few years the Federal Reserve has lower the fractional reserve requirement to just eight (8) percent!Moreover, the Federal Reserve allows depository institutions satisfy the entire eight percent reserve requirement with its “vault cash”, which, of course, is held to meet the liquidity needs of their customers but it is also used in the absence of the old fashion 20%-10% of assets reserve requirement. In other words, reserve requirements are effectively non-existent.Retail merchants deposit cash in the morning and it goes back out through the teller windows in the afternoon. These banks would run out of cash even with the mildest of concerns by their customers.Moral, if possible keep cash in the house. Even better, keep it in the form of 90% silver coins.http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/03/us-banks-operate-without-reserve.html

Nouriel states banks have grown too large through mergers and need to “slim down.” Yes, I agree, our financial system needs to go on a diet, and maybe even a “crash diet.” The speculative behavior of too many dollars chasing too few goods has gone on long enough, and this casino built on a house of cards needs to come crashing down. The Senate Banking Committee is this week addressing how to regulate the derivatives market, and I have no doubt they will continue to protect this market so the financial sector can continue their game of Russian roulette. What these bozos in Washington don’t seem to get is that the only winners of these weapons of mass destruction are the super-rich, yet their destructiveness is the equivalent of a parasite sucking the lifeblood from corporate America. If this is allowed to continue, there will be no winners, only losers, as jobs will continue to be lost, more companies will be forced into bankruptcy (thanks to NOW anonymous hedge funds waiting for the big payoff – the credit event), and the U.S. will become even more of a lifeless shell of past industry than it already is.Sad that there isn’t a sense of moral responsibility and obligation to workers and their families by ensuring companies can remain an on-going concern. Instead of proudly stating: “I have created thousands of sustainable jobs for the local economy” these shysters should instead admit their role in destroying our economy. What I’d give to hear these words: “Because I am a greedy SOB and I only care about how much money I have and what it can buy, I am sorry to say I’m responsible for thousands of job losses, robbing widows and orphan funds, retirees’ 401(k)’s, and nearly causing a financial collapse.”I think all these guilty parties need to be ground into chum and used as shark bait.

how bout iceland??http://www.economicdisasterarea.com/index.php/news/man-destroys-his-house-i-have-nothing-to-lose/Man Destroys His House – I Have Nothing To LoseThis is Iceland today.A man in Alftanes, a suburb of Reykjavik destroyed a house he and his family lived in until his bank repossessed it after the economic collapse.The man in his fifties said he’d lost everything. He also buried his car in the back garden and left before police arrested him for property damages.His home loans were in a foreign currency and he tried negotiating with his bank to no avail. The man said he didn’t care if he owed 60 or 120 million ISK, “I have lost everything”.He got a film crew to film the demolition and we await to see the footage posted somewhere soon.A bit drastic but I think many will understand the man’s position living in a society that is designed for banks and tax-evaders.

foriegn markets getting slammed tonight… S&P 600 will be here shortly.

The White House, WashingtonDear Friend,Last week, I announced United We Serve – a nationwide call to service challenging you and all Americans to volunteer this summer and be part of building a new foundation for America. ( goldman sachs, et al. excluded )And when I say “all,” I mean everyone – young and old, from every background, all across the country. We need individuals, community organizations, corporations, foundations, and our government to be part of this effort.Today, for the official kick off of United We Serve, members of my administration have fanned out across America to participate in service events and encourage all Americans to join them.The First Lady is rolling up her sleeves and getting to work too. But before she headed out today, she asked me to share this message with you.A Message From The First LadyOur nation faces some of the greatest challenges it has in generations and we know it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get us back on track.While Michelle and I are calling on every American to participate in United We Serve, the call to service doesn’t end this fall. We need to stay involved in our towns and communities for a long time to come. After all, America’s new foundation will be built one neighborhood at a time – and that starts with you.Thank you,President Barack Obama…o.k.. i received this email this evening and i canappreciate the idea. i believe in civic duty.just prior to receiving this i received a call froma crack addict stating he, along with a number ofhis housemates are being evicted by the bank thatforclosed on their prior land lord. let us call herex landlord x. the bank, bank u, or bank s or whatever..besides his crack addiction and lack of funds hisand his housemates most immediate problem is thatthe first floor of the dwelling is covered withtwo inches of feces and urine and other wastewatertype materials due to neglect concerning some basicplumbing realities. situation ongoing for some days.so contact with the ex landlord x results in a visitand an offer to get a plumber to respond immediatelyfor 100 dollars, cheap, to solve the immediate back up, reality.once this is established the residents, 8 of them, refuse to pay! just like bank u, or bank s or whatever refused all along.so what does ex landlord x do? who has seen hereproperty taken from her by bank a, or bank u or whatever. she goes ahead and commits to pay the plumber herself.her actions speak for themselves and for her spirit..for my part i would like to see communities all overthe country put on display my “art installation” asdescribed in the prior thread. the one with the opaque smoke and mirror ball. i think the obama family and america would get it and enjoy the experience.

m,i think somebody said “sharks don’t eattheir own kind”, but i don’t think thatis true!

Must read at Market Skeptics: summary of how the PPT operates and includes private sector firms in its coordinated interventions in the markets, with lots of precise detail.http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/06/still-researching-corruption-at.htmlHat tip to Zero Hedge (which I now read and enjoy daily).

@ LB,I agree wholeheartedly. If your stash is in cash or you are a net creditor, then deflation is your ticket to success. The question becomes is there more “power” in those who are net holders of direct US obligations or is there more “power” in those who are net holders of US individual and corporate obligations.While in theory both benefit structurally via deflation, the accounting of such an outcome is on paper catastrophic to the latter based on current metrics. While the math of deflation on US obligations is also unpleasant, it is at the same time strategic. Besides US exports becoming more competitive, net holders of direct US obligations would be salivating at getting repaid in higher value dollars and we would benefit via all the political goodwill that would flow out of that position.The fly in the ointment appears to be how do we transition from current metrics of growth and valuation to a new set that takes into account more “real value” at lower dollar amounts. Unless there is a clear and transparent mechanism of transition, then this whole episode ends is some type of serious meltdown.Unfortunately, some of the players who can map out this transformation of new valuations are the likes of the ratings agencies, the IRS, and accounting standards boards. When the IRS is the most respected party in a group of three you know the others leave much to be desired. Yet, if this nut can be cracked then harmony will return.

Piss off..

On second thought, what’s your address?

l,”In this regard, the line between national necessity and political expediency has no doubt been perilously blurred.We can only urge people to see what the evidence indicates and debate what is and ought to be a very contentious matter. The time for such a public discussion is long overdue.”.sounds true!

@ SE,I’ve seen the movie many times. While I agree that the Potter element is ever present, on a National and Global scale it won’t scale well. Yes, the Potters of the world may get everything cheap, but they don’t end up with much value in the end. No, the Potter method relies on asymmetry to succeed. If Potter is nefarious but everyone else (At least most) play it straight then Potter actually benefits more because he has scammed a portion of an overall legit market which serves to protect his value.The Potter operation fails on a wide scale, because the overall market becomes corrupt and ultimately the real values collapse. Believe it or not, Potter’s method is exactly what we need, but it needs to be open and transparent and mostly symmetric so that a legitimate market can come out at the other end with new and realistic and affordable valuations.You see we really needed Clarence to let George Bailey’s bank fail, but for him to instead spread the word about Potter’s scheme so that everyone could participate. The problem is that we’ve never figured out how to devalue gracefully! It’s an accounting construct that doesn’t exist! It’s informally called failure.Accounting derives value via numeric numbers and actually has no tangible connection to true value other than through those numbers. In the end all we really want accounting to do is to value something for us, but its transformation mechanism is numbers and the implied connection of those numbers to fiat money and the value that is associated with that money. All the gurus are pushing their solution to the crisis by tweaking one of these connections.I’m not saying I have the answer, but the solution lies in reestablishing those important connections at more realistic levels. No one actually disagrees that adjustments need to take place, they just disagree by how much and through what mechanism to do so. I posit that an open and transparent readjustment mechanism is the only way to preempt chaos! The question becomes who gets whacked and who get rewarded in the adjustment process. Understanding that the politics of that question makes chaos look rather appealing!

m,certainly! i said that but not so directly.i was convinced early on that the indirectapproach to communication was most effective,for better or worse r. …hmmmm.

2,i love the smell of chaos in the morning.too.

Programming the masses for the inevitable???Rehearsing the end of the worldread the last line… OOOOhh!!!http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8110000/8110678.stmexcerpt:-And that’s exactly what you don’t want to have to do in a crisis because a lot of time’s spent just organising who’s going to talk to who and how it’s going to work.”"Sir Omand says planning has improved since then.”

Unfortunately, there are also a number of horror stories related to overseas medical care, spa visits notwithstanding. I’ll gladly pay for care in the U.S.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!Moody’s says US is a solid AAA (ReutersBloomberg)

Is it not eerie how the Obama administration is foreshadowing the need for community self-sufficiency in times of crisis?One could argue no, its just good citizenship to be involved in your community. I agree, but why now? Why the urgency?

g,i think we will have to get involved on somelevel and find out just what kind of directionor communication is being promoted, we should bethe ones doing the infusing of ideas into thesesettings. we the people who have been surveyingthe landscape for a while. they have an organizational tool called incident command. myspeculation is that this system of communication,command and control will be what is communicated to the masses. this system has its place and is greatfor putting out fires, but it ain’t democracy andit doesn’t preserve freedom or liberty, it attempts to save lives in the face of doom byestablishing clear lines of authority and areasof critical responsibility. the paranoids wet dream, so to speak..i prefer the “art installation” myself, the onewith the smoke and mirror ball.

If that ain’t the truth!!!Those who have commercial insurance demand MRI because: they have insurance and have therefore “paid” for it.Those who don’t have commercial insurance but instead have Medicaid demand MRI because they “have insurance,” and we doctors don’t know anything so therefore we have to get MRI to be sure.

link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4556-0-24-24–.html?

NO JOBS! Obamas says “we hope to create somejobs”… WTF… and “we guessed on unemployment” Folks they have no clue what is going on and when Obama is being guided by the Banksters hand picked Cabinet memebers like Timmy, Benny, Larry this is what we get, a president who hopes and guesses and then is left out there alone to explain what happened….I have said all along Obama is not very smart and this type of stuff just confirms it… If people are counting on Obama to fix anything you will be sorely dissapointed… The one thing he could do is wipe all the idiots that have set him up to look like an idiot. then i would say Game On for Obama.Recovery’s Missing Ingredient: New JobsExperts Warn of A Long Dry SpellDespite signs that the recession gripping the nation’s economy may be easing, the unemployment rate is projected to continue rising for another year before topping out in double digits, a prospect that threatens to slow growth, increase poverty and further complicate the Obama administration’s message of optimism about the economic outlook.The likelihood of severe unemployment extending into the 2010 midterm elections and beyond poses a significant political hurdle to President Obama and congressional Democrats, who are already under fire for what critics label profligate spending. Continuing high unemployment rates would undercut the fundamental argument behind much of that spending: the promise that it will create new jobs and improve the prospects of working Americans, which Obama has called the ultimate measure of a healthy economy.”Our hope would be to actually create some jobs this year,” Obama said in an interview with The Washington Post in the days before taking office.Obama has defended his economic approach — which includes the $787 billion economic stimulus plan and record investments in health care, alternative energy, education and job training — as necessary to stabilize the shaky economy and point the way to job growth.So far, the White House has counseled patience even as the political debate surrounding its economic policies grows more urgent. Officials point out that job growth will not come until robust economic expansion takes hold, which they expect will happen as stimulus funding works its way through the economy. Still, the flagging job market is likely to stir calls for further stimulus efforts as polls show voters growing increasingly wary of federal spending in the wake of a costly series of financial- and auto-industry bailouts and amid current efforts to expand health-care coverage to the uninsured, which is estimated to cost at least $1 trillion over the next decade.With many forecasters projecting unemployment to remain above 10 percent next year and not return to pre-recession levels of roughly 5 percent for years after that, Obama is likely to be confronted with defending the effectiveness of his economic policies as the nation endures its worst employment situation in a generation.Analysts say the high levels of joblessness would be accompanied by increases in child poverty, strained government budgets, and black and Latino unemployment rates approaching 20 percent.”I find it unfathomable that people are not horrified about what is going to happen,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute. “I regard all this talk about how the recession is maybe going to end, all the talk about deficits and inflation, to be the equivalent of telling Americans, ‘You are just going to have to tough it out.’ But we’re looking at persistent unemployment that is going to be extraordinarily damaging to many communities. There is a ton of pain in the pipeline.”Christina Romer, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said that while the president is “very concerned” about the unemployment forecasts, the White House has assumed “a posture of watchful waiting,” adding: “There will be big increases in stimulus spending in the fall and early next year. We have to wait to see what happens with that. If you get to the end of this year or early next year and employment is still limping back, then we have to do some serious thinking about whether there might be special problems in the labor market that require targeted interventions.”Before passage of the stimulus bill, the Obama administration had predicted that unemployment would peak at 8 percent before beginning to abate this fall. But unemployment has already reached 9.4 percent, the highest level in a quarter-century, and the situation is not projected to start improving until long after the White House had predicted.Many economists agree that the job market would be in much worse shape had the stimulus package not been enacted. And some say more stimulus measures may be needed, even as the federal government grapples with a huge budget deficit.”There is a good economic argument to be made that the government has not done enough stimulus,” said Niko Karvounis, a policy analyst at the New America Foundation who recently wrote a report warning that the economic recovery is likely to be tepid and accompanied by unusually high unemployment.But with polls showing increasing public opposition to government spending and with no significant constituency mobilized to push for more government investment in jobs, the political prospects for any further stimulus legislation seem slim. Meanwhile, the continued rise in unemployment is creating an opening for Republican critics, who have criticized the level of spending Obama has pursued to try to fix the economy.”They even predicted that if we passed it quickly, unemployment wouldn’t go higher than 8 percent. Well, here we are just a few months later and the unemployment rate is approaching 10 percent,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “The administration admits that their earlier predictions were a guess — and that they guessed wrong.”Obama tersely acknowledged in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week that unemployment is likely to peak above 10 percent. That prediction is in line with a growing number of respected economic forecasts, including those of private economists and the Congressional Budget Office, which projects that the unemployment rate will continue to rise into the second half of next year.”Unemployment won’t peak until this time next year, and then it will remain very high through next year,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com. “It won’t get back to full employment until 2013 or 2014. This really speaks to the severity of the job losses that have been absorbed by the economy. They were massive.”Since the recession took hold in December 2007, the U.S. economy has lost 5.7 million jobs, a rapid decline that caught administration and other economists off guard. In recent months, the velocity of job losses has slowed substantially, which, combined with a rising stock market and increases in consumer spending, has offered hope that a recovery is beginning to take hold.But employers still cut 345,000 jobs last month, while the nation’s growing working-age population requires the job market to expand by 125,000 to 150,000 a month just to keep the unemployment rate stable.The dynamics of the modern economy further dim the employment picture. Job growth was weak for years after the past two recessions, in 1991 and 2001. Employers have grown increasingly slow to rehire workers, and steady advances in technology have allowed businesses to do more with fewer workers.While the recession has touched workers across the spectrum, “many of the job losses are in manufacturing and construction, affecting less-educated workers and immigrants,” Zandi said. “It is going to be hard for them to find their way back into the workforce quickly.”Meanwhile, the current recession has been characterized by the implosion of the housing market and the near collapse of the financial sector and automobile industry. Despite huge federal interventions, many of the jobs in those industries are gone for good.High unemployment also does not bode well for consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the nation’s economic activity, putting further pressure on the job market.”We have not seen the highest unemployment rate, and this is going to go on for a long time,” Mishel said. “The political conversation seems to be that we have already dealt with the recession. But we need to have a conversation about how we are going to get to the other side, where employment is growing again.”http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/21/AR2009062101859.html

Here a great visualization of one trillion dollars.http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

MM CA: Obama is being guided by the Banksters hand picked Cabinet memebers like Timmy, Benny, Larry this is what we get, a president who hopes and guesses and then is left out there alone to explain what happened….What if the reverse is true. Theses guys had convinced Obama that they can make the markets do whatever “needs to be done.” Now that Obama bit the poison apple, he is now one of them and he has to play along or destroy his political career.

Don’t cry for me, kilgores

Great read for those interested in Housing numbers and its impact… Seems most Americans wealth has always been in thier real estate holdings, not stocks. Housing bottom has a long way to go….http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2009/son2009.pdf

NO JOBS- Mass layoff notices increased in May… most to occur in June and july. Remember this is larger companies… Small buisness layoffs have a higher impact…Read the rest at link below:http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/mmls.pdfFor release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Tuesday, June 23, 2009MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2009Employers took 2,933 mass layoff actions in May that resulted in the separation of 312,880workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits duringthe month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Each actioninvolved at least 50 persons from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in May increasedby 221 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 41,654.Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 1,232 and associated initial claims increasedby 132,322. Initial claims rose to its highest level on record, while events matched the peaklevel from March 2009, with data available back to 1995. In May, 1,331 mass layoff events were reportedin the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 165,802 initial claims. Over theyear, manufacturing events and initial claims more than doubled. (See table 1.)

EVEN YAHOO TECH TICKER IS USING THE “D” WORD FOR OUR ECONOMIC MESS NOWThe article in part:”…The talk was all about rising yields, soaring commodities, a weakening dollar, and how to drain liquidity when the time came. Would the Fed be able to stick the landing? Could we tolerate a little bit of inflation if it meant not cutting the recovery short?What a difference a week makes. Here comes the D-word again.With the rally sputtering, and the economy showing few meaningful signs of recovery, suddenly the market is back to its old fears.Oil has moved sharply lower, and gold, which just a couple of weeks ago was knocking on $1000 now looks set to break below $900, to the eternal disappointment of its fans. Sure, gas prices have bounced back, but still, the CPI showed its biggest drop in 50 years last week….”The rest of the URL:http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/268445/Deflation-It's-Back?tickers=%5Edji,%5Egspc,%5EIXIC?sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=

There is more than one way to preside over a global HOLOCAUST. Poison gas is one. Nuclear war would be another. Bidding up commodities also works. The pillaging of the criminal elite still another.How do people who do this sleep at night?

no not as high and depends on decductibels. when you get to 5000 deductibles it gets very cheap actually… Aetna, BC, kaiser, all of them. the problem is getting accepted with private insurance. LOL- they only want healthy people and low risk, liek children, young adults. you lsit one risk factor and odds of getting accepted are low. It’s one big scam with private insurance also. it is somewhat easier if you currently have insurance to purchase a private plan. State laws govern acceptance… but in anutshell for what I’m paying and my employer is paying on our behalf- probably close to 40K total for us, it is definately cheaper to get your own these days. Companies and employees who have comapny insurance are subsidizing thsoe that dont and private insurance is bascially just for low risk and healthy people.and if Health insurance is not fixed in this country and the trillions in Govt obligations with medicaid is not addressed and overall insurance costs are not brought down, this economy will not recover for decades…the economic mess we are in now is childs play and nothing compared to what we face in 5, 10 years if health care is not fixed. bad mortgages, foreclosures, bad banks, low stock market is all minor compared to thsi issue.

NO JOBS – possibly worse than even I have been saying:”He calculates that the real unemployment rate in the country last month was not 9.3%, which is the figure that was reported, but rather closer to an alarming 16.8%. By that measure, more than 30 million people are effectively out of work. That’s nearly one-fifth of the labor force.”http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/22/obama-recession-recovery-opinions-columnists-green-shoots.htmlWhy The Left Is Questioning Its HeroJoel Kotkin, 06.23.09, 12:01 AM EDTWhat if the “green shoots” of economic recovery turn out to be crabgrass instead?Much has been made by the national media and the markets about the emergence from our desiccated economic soil of what President Obama has called “green shoots.” But although the economy may already be slowly regenerating (largely due to its natural resiliency), we need to question whether these fledglings will grow into healthy plants or a crop of crabgrass.The political right has made many negative assessments of the president’s approach, decrying the administration’s huge jump in deficit spending and penchant for ever more expansive regulatory control of the economy. Polling data by both The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal shows some growing unease about both the expanding federal role in the economy and the growing mountain of debt.BuzzBut this conservative critique, which includes sometimes shrill accusations of nascent “socialism,” isn’t the most important counter to Obamanomics. Perhaps more on point–and politically risky for the administration–are criticisms coming from his supposed bedfellows further to the left.One recent example comes from a new report issued my old colleagues at the liberal-leaning New America Foundation called “Not Out of the Woods: A Report on the Jobless Recovery Underway.” It amounts to a blistering, if largely unintentional, critique of the administration’s policies, providing a sobering antidote to manufactured euphoria peddled by both presidential spin-meisters and some Wall Streeters.The report baldly assets that the president’s programs are simply not sufficient to make up for a “huge job creation deficit” that is getting worse by the day. It estimates the country needs to generate 125,000 or more new jobs a month just to keep pace with population growth–something few see happening for at least several years.Even with little immediate hope for such employment gains, the report does cite government and private-sector projections of upward of 10% unemployment well into next year. More worrisome still, the authors assert that the administration’s current program is unlikely to create a return to a “normal” level of joblessness–to between 4% and 5%–until after the president’s first term.New America report then goes on to make some even scarier observations. It claims unemployment rates are far higher in reality than official statistics reveal, citing calculations by Chairman of New America’s Economic Growth Program Leo Hindery of what they call “effective unemployment.” This also includes the millions now working part-time but seeking “full-time and productive work.”Hindery is no conservative. He was an adviser to John Edwards and, more recently, to the president himself. Yet his prognosis is grimmer than the ones offered by most right-wingers. He calculates that the real unemployment rate in the country last month was not 9.3%, which is the figure that was reported, but rather closer to an alarming 16.8%. By that measure, more than 30 million people are effectively out of work. That’s nearly one-fifth of the labor force.Given current economic policies, the report suggests, we can expect “a six-year recovery for what has been to date only a year-and-a-half recession.” Hiring by government and green industries are clearly not going to make up for the massive losses in productive sectors like manufacturing, business services, energy and agriculture.Against this grim background, the president’s program seems inadequate and even chimerical. To be sure, the massive bailout of institutions such as the big banks–as well as Chrysler and General Motors ( GMGMQ.PK – news – people )–has provided some reassurance to Wall Street that paper assets may continue their recent upward climb.Yet that will do precious little to make a dent in unemployment elsewhere in the economy. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, chief economic guru Larry Summers and others might see “green shoots” for investors, but those could turn out to be more like crabgrass for the rest of us.In fact, finance is surviving the recession remarkably unscathed. Just compare the numbers. Since 2007, manufacturing (and other blue-collar-dominated sectors) lost 13% of its employment, while construction payrolls have plunged over 16%. Meanwhile, finance, the industry arguably most responsible for the economic meltdown, has dropped a mere 5% of its jobs. Today unemployment in the financial sector stands at less than 5%, compared with nearly 20% in construction and over 12% for manufacturing.So as hundreds of thousands of construction and factory workers are being sacrificed, many grandees of finance–like top executives of Bank of America ( BAC – news – people ) and Citigroup ( C – news – people )–remain in their plush perches. Even proven financial demolition experts like Mark Walsh, who led Lehman Brothers’ ( LEHMQ – news – people ) disastrous march into toxic properties, are now being paid to clean up the mess they so brilliantly created.No wonder some factions of the left are becoming uneasy with their hero. Some privately admit that the administration–despite its pro-middle class rhetoric–has adopted an economic program that makes Ronald Reagan seem like the voxpopuli. One wonders how they will react later this year, when continued high unemployment meets massive, perhaps even record, Wall Street bonuses.This state of affairs, as the New America report correctly suggests, does not lead us down a path toward “a strong and sustained recovery.” Clearly, we need something more. For one thing, the country needs to reassert its ability to produce more of what it consumes. (See Joel Kotkin’s earlier column, “We Must Remember Manufacturing.”)Others on the left are also making this point, perhaps none more effectively than an article in the Nation called “The Case for Kenosha.” The piece, in short, skewers the Obama administration’s manhandling the auto industry and manufacturing sectors. It accuses Obama of taking the old industrial belt on a “wild ride” that will lead to more plant shutdowns and increased outsourcing to foreign factories. “With ‘fixes’ like these,” the article states, “it’s hard to imagine how Obama plans to fulfill his campaign promise to ‘revive and strengthen all of American manufacturing.’”This is not to say that the entire left side of the political spectrum opposes the administration’s economic policy. There is now more than one left in this country, and the gaps between these lefts are every bit as wide as those between, say, small-government libertarians, social conservatives and messianic global interventionists.To date, the administration has listed toward the agenda of what may be best described as the left’s gentry wing. These include activists at universities, urban planners and liberal nonprofits, many of whom see in Obama’s pro-green policies and multicultural agenda the fulfillment of their long-time fantasies.This, at times, puts them at odds with large parts of the middle- and working-class base of the Democratic Party. The administration’s plans to”coerce” people out of their cars for the alleged good of the environment probably does not offer much “hope” for those working at auto plants. Highly dependent as they are on stocks and asset inflation for their income, the gentry are not likely to object to the administration’s coddling of large financial institutions.Then there is the party’s populist contingent, whose inspiration comes more from FDR and Harry Truman than from the likes of Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi. They are less likely to see much of a difference between a Timothy Geithner or a Hank Paulson. To them, the two Treasury secretaries have both been useful servants for the nation’s “economic royalists.”Of course, most conservatives might despair over the populists’ tendency to embrace statist solutions to our economic problems. But would-be inheritors of the Reaganite mantle should at least sympathize with their goal to restore broad-based upward mobility and close-to-full employment. Indeed, if the Republican Party figures out how to take command of the issues like job creation and social mobility, they could even become relevant once again.Right now, though, critiques from the left may be more effective than yammering from the still-clueless right. The president knows that talk of green shoots makes people and markets feel better. But unless those shoots show some staying power, the long-term economic consequences–and ultimately political ones, too, for the president and his party–could prove unwelcome indeed.

Why do you think I would?SWK

Nice article with excellent data points: whole thing at link below… Debt and GDP- whos going to pay for all the debt?http://marketoracle.co.uk/Article11485.htmlthis kind of tells the story about future Jobs:”I think it is fair to say that any financially ill-prepared baby-boomers are going to have a somewhat difficult time of it and should practice their Wal-Mart and McDonald’s greetings.”How Much Further to Go in the Deleveraging Cycle?1. Overall Debt – Clearly excessive debt is one of the core issues at the heart of the current malaise so it is here that we must start. When looking at the question of deleveraging, one needs to consider a number of different dimensions, including the state of the banking and financial systems themselves, the state of the asset markets, the overall level of debt in the economy as well as the level of indebtedness of the various actors in the economy.I think it worthwhile if we start at the macro level and work down from there. A key indicator of the status of deleveraging refers to the overall level of debt in the economy as measured by total credit market debt. A graph prepared by Ned Davis Research shows that Total Credit Market Debt for the US stood at $49 trillion as at February 2009, which was a record 350% of US GDP. And these figures don’t include the forthcoming budget deficits or the massive level of unfunded liabilities in the US, which some put as high as another $49 trillion. Adding unfunded liabilities to total credit market debt puts the debt to GDP ratio at a staggering 700% of GDP.Not only is the current ratio of 350% the highest on record but it far surpasses the peak of 300% that was reached in 1929. In the aftermath of the Great Depression total credit market debt declined over the following two decades to reach a low of 130% in the mid-1950s.Some quick calculations show that based on a modest savings rate of 4% and real GDP growth of 3% pa, zero interest payments and the assumption that no more debt is created (which is unlikely given the Federal Government’s proclivity to spend), it would take until about the year 2026 to get back to a more sustainable debt to GDP ratio of say 150%. At a savings rate of 8% pa then you could get to the same level by about 2022.When one includes unfunded liabilities, based on the above criteria it would take until 2030 just to get back to the current historically high rate of 350%.Therefore based on the current trajectory of debt creation and without some rather radical changes in policy it appears that the US is not only looming as a basket case but will be unable to fund its way moving forward. As the saying goes: “Where GM goes so does the US”. Can anybody say Chapter 11? I think it is fair to say that any financially ill-prepared baby-boomers are going to have a somewhat difficult time of it and should practice their Wal-Mart and McDonald’s greetings.Analysis by Morgan Stanley highlights that the composition of this debt has also changed since the 1930s, with the household’s proportion of total debt increasing from 18% to 27% whilst corporate debt has declined from 51% to 22%. Government and financial debt has also increased significantly over that time. This suggests that consumer deleveraging will be of paramount importance in any sustainable recovery in the US and elsewhere.And the US is not the only nation up to its eye-balls in debt. Recent figures highlight that Ireland has $1.8 Tn in debt vis-à-vis GDP of $200 Bn (900% ratio), the UK has $10.5 Tn debt against GDP of $2.3 Tn (456%) whilst conservative Switzerland has a debt of $1.3 Tn versus GDP of $300 Bn (433%). Iceland is broke and on IMF life support. And in a recent newsletter John Mauldin stated that Eastern Europe has borrowed an estimated $1.7 trillion, primarily from Western European banks. And with Eastern European home buyers entering their own form of carry trade by borrowing in Swiss francs, they are suffering as their own currencies decline by as much as 50% against the franc.These are indeed scary figures and it raises the question: Can all of these debts ever be repaid? Based on current policy settings by governments and central banks alike, I think the answer is a definitive “No”, at least not without destroying the world’s fiat currencies, massive write-downs and / or repudiation of debt. What it will require is a shift back towards governments and central banks encouraging savings rather than debt, and more fiscal responsibility on the part of governments. Green shoots or Indian Summer? Which ever it is it will take more than a couple of years downturn to resolve.

It’s all an elaborately crafted illusion meant to deceive the masses, we will be called the Obama nation of desolation before too long and Obama who the world thought would be a savior will be looked upon as the antichrist. The question is- who will appear out of the chaos to lead the world to true recovery?????

No question that we’re going to go over 10% unemployment on the official figures. I said a year ago on this blog that I thought the published data on US unemployment would go to double digits. It’s a time bomb effect. People can only keep those mortgage payments and credit card payments going for so long.PeteCA

HI PETECAThen where will our American graduate RNs work?

JOBS ARE THE KEY INGREDIENT TO BOTTOMING OUTI just don’t believe [call me negative] that some creative American is going to quickly come up with a new industrial base idea to put the unemployed back to work in a few years, when all the real manufacturing base, we could used, has been shipped overseas.Besides, even if you had a remote chance of implementing a revolutionary invention to replace an existing global tooling method and hence, banrupting that sector; would they let us do it?It seems globalism is like a trapped rat snarling at America, with sharp teeth, “don’t you dare replace me”.

dont need to wait for FOMC, $usd and $usb are dead.

hardly any fear on the street when shorts/bears still hiding. they should have brought bull down, but they didnt. so bull still in control. FOMC, helicopter Ben will crucify shorts/bears.

Actually, thats much closer to 1/6 the labor force. Credibility is everything.

President of China Hu Jintao would make short order of Moe, Larry and Curly; I mean Ben, Larry and Timmy.

MM_CA said …”Just went through annual enrollment for wife and I. Our contributuons to our employer based health care coverage is now:our contributions cost:Our contributionsMedical $330.00 26 $8,580.00Medical $399.00 26 $10,374.00Medical $729.00 $18,954.00Dental $36.00 26 $936.00Dental $32.00 26 $832.00Dental $68.00 $1,768.00Total $20,722.00Company costsMedical $290.00 26 $7,540.00Medical $340.00 26 $8,840.00Medical $630.00 $16,380.00Dental $48.00 26 $1,248.00Dental $44.00 26 $1,144.00Dental $92.00 $2,392.00Total $18,772.00total costs $39,494.00she works as RN for one of the top Bay area hospitals and hers is higher. i work for a fortune 60. based on mine employee dedcutions and the actual cost of the paln for the compnay i am now paying over 50% of the cost. i estimated her rates that her hospital pays on her behalf. What a disaster..Maybe you can share the rates your small business is paying?

Speaking of just how profitable being a Congressman is and the sum cost of betrayal and treachery er. excluding the privately placed fringe benefits, etc.:http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22891.htmspeaking of sweet and IMF deception too… see Ron PaulHo hum (from a fascist A$40 per hour and 40kbps Broadband connection of “ëxcellence” only found in Australia)

Ah, the good old halo effect.

I feel very fortunate that I only pay $6 total (not a typo) a month for myself, my spouse, and 4 dependents. $500 annual family deductible, 90% medical (max $1000 out-of-pocket, 50% optical, 70% dental, and even orthodontic coverage. Not one single person I know of has this type of coverage, but it used to be standard years ago.So will Obama’s healthcare plan start taxing me on my benefits? How will salary administration changes occur in order to compensate me for these increased taxes? What a disaster for employees and employers alike.Sidebar, I received a bill from the hospital for my daughter’s second eye surgery this morning. Same type of surgery performed three years earlier, outpatient, no problems. 300% increase! Changes need to happen, and soon.

費爾普斯（ Edmund Phelps）論美國經濟•需 15年才能重建金融海嘯下損失的財富•未來 3至 5年失業率維持 7%•無捷徑可快速扭轉困局，企業及家庭均需重新調整資產負債

and what coverage is that and what type of employer… my company emloys 135K people and that is what we pay for benefits…

Thanks. I’ll check it out.

Good for him, but sorry he was driven to that extreme an end.

Small employer with under 100 employees and self-insured with only a stop-loss policy for the largest claims.

sort of – i feel a second stimulus coming later this year and i hope the unelpoyment numbers dont get as bad a s i wrote. but with consumption and productivity falling off a cliff i woudl not rule out much higher unelpoyment. see below as an example of what is happening in consumption and production… and this is the supposedly insulate High tech industry…The global PC market took one of its largest sales plunges ever in Q1 2009, according to iSuppli. Total units shipped fell 8.1% year-over-over and were down 14.1% from Q4 2008, the largest dips in the seven years that iSuppli has been tracking PC shipments.The heaviest anchor in the market was desktop sales, down 23% year-over-over, and that is most likely tied to corporate buyers. Businesses and IT departments are simply not buying many new computers for their workers. They are stretching out the life of existing machines, and some are likely using extra machines from laid off workers to replace any malfunctioning PCs rather buying new systems.Matthew Wilkins, iSuppli analyst, said “The worldwide recession sparked by the credit crisis slammed PC shipments for the second quarter in succession during the first three months of 2009. The first-quarter performance of the worldwide PC market was worse than iSuppli had expected in its prior forecast, which called for a 4 percent decline in shipments compared to the same period in 2008. After a long period of immunity to the global downturn, the economic crisis finally has begun to impact the PC market.”

Can someone ban this f’ing idiot!

Ban the bastard!!!

Only people without a conscience can sleep at night and lives in a society that allows it.

pjb.if an australian dollar exchanges for about .8 u.s. dollaris it possible that an australian hour is more likea month or two elsewhere? why is your telco trying to destroyyou? like here, i guess, it is all they know…EVANK on 28 July 2007 – 12:34 )You think your broadband provider is expensive, try $3,355 per month for a 1.5Mbps DSL connection. Welcome to the internet in Kazakhstan. cheap! ?

WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON AND WHY?For 20+ years now a shift in the US from a manufacturing to a service economy with decreasing job creation and lower wages except for those at the top all sold to the American public under the guise that globalization will improve all American’s standard of living. This has simply been a ruse to force the average American’s wage lower by allowing virtually unregulated immigration, work visas and choosing to hire workers in India and other countries over Americans. This has been very rewarding to the largest corporations which began in the US with US workers and are now worldwide powerhouses. But the primary reason for these policies has and always will be to maximize profits for the financial services industry. As clearly demonstrated by this current financial crises, they will constantly seek new ways to increase leverage and circumvent regulations as increasing profits are the only goal even if it means the entire US becomes a 3rd world country. This is why the devastation in foreclosures and jobs have not yet been dealt with: it’s simply not a priority compared to recapitalizing the banks so that they can continue global operations. But there’s more to it than that: the entire capitalistic system has been hijacked by the financial elites to use every legal and illegal means of capturing and controlling the rest of us (individuals and countries) through DEBT with the US government supporting their actions with unlimited amounts of cash at terms only the rest of us could fantasize about. It’s amazing how we have been brainwashed into believing that there is NEVER enough money for infrastructure, healthcare, education, etc but when it comes to war or bailing out the financial system, there is virtually unlimited money under the guise of TBTF. In one year (since 2008) we have either loaned, guaranteed or spent over 3x the amount of money as was spent for the entire history of our country including all the wars, weapons, etc! While perpetual wars have always been great for business, insatiable greed drives these financiers to new levels of exploitation and the cycle simply repeats itself replacing one bubble with another ad infinitum. What’s the most effective way to break this cycle? That is the question left to us and only us as our leaders have clearly demonstrated, they have no intention of doing it on their own.

Interesting post, although I note that the Marshall Plan was post-WWII, and you didn’t have an inflation-adjusted figure for WWII. Do you have any idea of what that would be?SWK

Great post. Well said.SWK

Some here seem to understand the power of free markets, but some here get all wobbly and squishy when it comes to applying the obvious free market solution to the expense of health care. Outlaw health insurance. Get the government out of the system. After the initial shock, prices would bottom immediately. Believe me, doctors know how to recognize reality. Absent some kind of serious initiative to get rid of health insurance, you can count on continuing to bitch about the health care system the rest of your lives, regardless of what the Democrats can get done now or in the future.

Chignos said: Believe me, doctors know how to recognize reality.The reality, my friend, is even after complaining to my doctor about the 300% increase in hospital costs for my daughter’s surgery, she hardly blinked. She explained and justified why she uses that particular hospital, all in the name of excellent patient care. Had I been paying for these costs myself rather than my company, do you think she would have been more sympathetic and offer an alternative facility? Why shouldn’t that be done regardless of who’s paying?I agree that insurance drives health care costs higher, and now look where we are because of it. Problem is, I don’t want to come down with a serious illness being caught in the pricing downdraft without insurance, kind of a catch-22.

Thanks. I thought that might’ve been what you were getting at, but wasn’t totally sure. And I agree with your perception of things–also appreciate your posts.

i agree, good post FEDup

Michelle,It sounds to me like your doctor knows quite well how to recognize reality; viz., you have Cadillac health insurance therefore the most expensive delivery of health care is indicated for you and your daughter.Have you ever calculated how much you’ve paid in for health insurance all these years? (for most people the answer is: of course not, my employer pays it) Then compare that to how much your insurance has paid out for your medical expense. My own personal estimate is that these health insurers make out like bandits on virtually everyone.If you think about all the other financial risks you take daily, going without health insurance makes excellent financial sense, the earlier in your working life, the better. After all, these insurers have to make enough money on you to pay all their expenses and their own health insurance as well! I always said, when I grow up I want to be an insurance company. At all times they are simply too big to fail–in most states their profits are regulated (therefore guaranteed) by that state government.Of course, outlawing health insurance isn’t nearly politically correct enough to happen any time soon, so we’re likely to just morph along with the current system, or som minimally feel-good Obama change. For sure the Democrats will never seriously consider single-payor if it would mean they get the same insurance you do!But just remember one thing; single payor isn’t any better than our current system, it’s just different. You’ll always bitch about the health system, and you won’t realize fully why you’re dissatisfied until take full responsibility for your own health care expense and have no one else to blame but yourself.

Democracy by numbers (of dollars, not of votes).

PJBYou made some bold predictions for the $ by the end of next month. do you still stand by them? Why did you put your reputation on the line? Please elaborate on your thought process.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/bankster-%E2%80%9Choliday%E2%80%9D-planned-for-september.html

Mother Nature will help. You will see.E627K Acquisition in Swine H1N1 Raises Pandemic ConcernsPandemic H1N1 Cluster in Buffalo New York Raises Concerns

Oh brother.

i;ll offer a solution as a minor league economist. slash military spending to the tune of a moratorium on no more military hardware for 5 years, no manufacture of bio weapons, bring our bravest home from mideast. slash the National Security State and those private Blackwater fascists. tax the super rich big, like schwarzennager with 7 hummers. nationalize gm and them car companies and put americans to work manufacturing bullet trains, and light rails and monorails. nationlize the oil companies big time for windfall profits and funnel the money into solar and wind fields crisscrossing our country. we’ll hire our own to manufacture the hardware. create a socialized health care system like France and Canada. nationalize the pharmaceutical companies. clean up our election system with no tv ads allowed ,one person one vote,no corporate or individual donations allowed just provide candidates with boxes made of wood and let them visit their constituents the old fashioned way.Let’s talk solutions

the elephant in the room is the military and national security budget over the last 30 years. what has it gotten us-insecurity and poverty.

Change everything over to France…….and then what? It won’t be any better, just different. A very wise person once told me that the successful organization has one inviolable rule: you don’t change anything unless the change will result in something that is clearly better. Not a little better or maybe it’ll work…….clearly better.If any changes are to come they will be economically viable; viz., if wind power is the thing, let T. Boone put in his money and let’s see if it makes a profit. If Obama is correct, let’s elect him and see if he can sweet talk the mullahs and bring the troops home.Or how about this one: let’s all register our opposition to bailing out the rich bankers on Wall Street! The point is that if you wanna talk solutions you wanna talk. Someone else will become the person who goes out there to work and makes it happen.

it won’t be better- for who. for the single family mom who works mcdonalds? i assert it will be much better for her and thats who I’m concerned about.you’re dead wrong about TBoone. Socialism or a varient on it will clean up the disparities not the economic system we have now. This bs about Profit is a load of crap we’ve bought. How about a new paradigm like looking out for each other instead?as for working for change, the reason I don’t post here much is because i’m out working for change in my own hometown, instead of talking about it. that means working the soup kitchen, cleaning up the shore and tending a community garden. I can only do so much.There is soooo much need out there.I also recall that millions of us protested the Iraq invasion before it began. Lotta good that did. I also recall the immense opposition to the bailout. Where are our young leaders? i’m afraid to say it but a democratic revolution seems the only way it will change.

Obama says it will cut health care costs… lol if you voted for him then you should be happy – right?

“Socialism or a varient on it will clean up the disparities not the economic system we have now. “ya mean Ignatz that you believe in the common welfare? as written in the Constitution. what about Schwartzennagerz Hummers, will he only be allowed one? who are you to say that Schwartzie is only allowed one Hummer? Isn’t it his right to have 7? Why does he need 7? What about the ‘wisdom’ of the free market Ignatz that has gotten us here. Why did Madoff need all that money?Why do people like luxury goods? Why do Wall Streeters need more bonuses when their fellows down the street are pushing shopping carts with plastic bags. Is the earth heating Ignatz? Are we not in a state of emergency? Do yourself a favor and buy a leaf blower with an internal combustion engine and annoy your neighbor. I’ve had it with your posts.

damn the dollar and treasury! market rally! feel sorry for China, Japan, and Russia now.

MM CA, PeteCA,What do you make of this? Did this require a 2/3 majority to pass?CA Income Tax Child Deduction Elimination To Cost $210 per Child In More Taxes

More on the deflation-inflation-hyperinflation debate:”We know that the Fed’s balance sheet has exploded (to $2.07 trillion), but that is only half the story. Data from the St Louis Fed shows that the “monetary multiplier” has collapsed from a decade-average of 1.6 to the depths of 0.893. The “velocity” of money has slowed to a crawl.”Professor David Beckworth from Texas State University said the Fed’s efforts to boost the money supply are barely keeping pace with the deflation shock. Stimulus is not gaining traction. The credit system is broken.Where will the inflation impulse come from given that capacity use is at a post-war low of 68pc in the US, and nearer 60pc worldwide? The immediate threat is wage deflation.”Tim Congdon – a hard-money Friedmanite from International Monetary Research – says the Fed is still not easing enough, perhaps because it is spooked by so much criticism or faces a mutiny by its own hawks. “If Ben Bernanke and his officials are listening to this sort of stuff and taking it seriously, they are making the same mistake as the Fed in the early 1930s,” he said. The US “output gap” is near 7pc. That is a powerful lid on inflation.”The sin has been to let M2 money growth wither since January, to let bank lending contract at a 5pc annual rate, and to let 10-year bond yields rise to nearly 4pc. The Fed pays lip service to the Friedman-Schwartz theory of the Depression, but has not digested the lesson.”Mr Congdon’s prescription is what Britain did in 1931 and 1992: monetary stimulus à l’outrance (today: bond purchases), offset by spending cuts. This mix – easy money/tight fiscal – would halt debt deflation without ruining the public finances of the US, Britain, and Europe in the way that Keynesian schemes ruined Japan. ‘The markets would rocket,’ he said.”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/5586043/Dont-believe-the-hyperinflation-hype—dare-to-make-cuts.htmlSWK

Yup, in spite of all the inflation yelling that I and others have done and in spite of higher energy prices, I have to agree it looks like the money supply is stable — for now.So what do you think we should do now? Pump another $trillion stimulus package into the economy or just wait and see how this plays out?I do not think Congress is in the mood to pass another stimulus bill, so it’s probably going to be a wait and see attitude among the politicians and thus the Fed.

There is an interesting interview over at Institutional Risk Analytics with Ann Rutledge. One of her answers had this observation regarding regulatory shortcuts that have harmed the system, “Modern financial theory is a religion; we believe that markets meld data into truth, but that the truth of markets is beyond the ability of any one person to comprehend, except some very special wizards who have the right recipes to decode it. One after another, the wizards are discredited, but our slavery to false ideas about markets continues. Part of the reason for this is the lock that The Chicago School of finance has had on financial thinking. A little objectivity would show that much of what we think is, in fact, a set of myths — but myths that favor certain parties in the market at the expense of everybody else.”

My moral compass is just fine thank you… I care about all americans and the suffering going on and could give a rats ass about gay marriage these days…point was, that one issue has stolen the headlines out here for over 2 years, enough already…

DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCHWe tried devaluing the dollar with mass deficits, the recent actuals speak for themselves….we’ve got severe deflation. COLA and CPI are protected from house price degradation; but if they weren’t, the deflation would easily be double digit today.I know give the banks lots of fed cash, that will lower the dollar…LOL….little good that does if the banks won’t lend it out. Little good that does as average household incomes, excluding laid off families moving in with each other lately and making the family houisehold incomes artificially and unrealistically too high, plummet through the basement with horrifying unemployment factored in.The solution: raise unemployment by increasing the pool of job seekers? LOL, you’ll really fire up your dreaded deflation doing that. Nope, your hands are tied.

I’m not too worried about the single mom working at McDonald’s. I think she’ll probably do just fine. McDonald’s is a complete and utter success sory; aren’t you a bit too elitist, insulting her efforts?OK then, I’ll have to say I’m more worried about you. How much change do you receive cleaning up the shore? (you could make more $$ working at McDonald’s–also, their food is generally better than at the soup kitchen) Don’t you let the deer eat your community garden?Ignatz got lost the mid eighties when that glorious Union of Soviet Socialist Republics bit the bag. His ilk won’t be satisfied until we’re all eating out of garbage cans.

Recovery on the way“Prospects for economic recovery next year have improved for the first time in two years, the OECD said on Wednesday, while U.S. data showed an unexpected jump in orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, backing hopes the global economy may be healing.”This is a good sign. Is it not?

Mish also has some recent thoughts on the subjectThe Big Inflationist Scare from June 22.http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-inflationist-scare.htmlhlowe

Sorry guys I have to disagree completely. Once you’ve dealt with doctors that won’t take more than 2 minutes talking to you, then once you get worse they look at you, we have to right to demand they run those tests….it’s your life!

Fed says deflation has receded as a concern, while the inflation threat is remote and the pace of contraction is slowing. Sounds like a perfect Goldilocks forecast for end of recession-except for one little thing: JOBS – where are they?

Well, it also depends on how well they spin what is going on economically.Can they blame it on the middle east due to increasing oil prices?Can they blame it on China, perhaps for raising our long term interest rates, due to not buying our Teasuries?Or, perhaps NK or Iran or anyone or anything else?Or, could they just blame it all on the American people, for not being financially responsible and buying homes they could not afford?It will be interesting to see how many Americans wake up and see what is going on.

Obama has the answer to all our economic woes- as stated in his June 23rd press conference(concerning the energy bill)”We all know why this is so important. The nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century’s global economy. That’s what this legislation seeks to achieve — it’s a bill that will open the door to a better future for this nation. And that’s why I urge members of Congress to come together and pass it.”Not only will we save our economy- but we will lead the global economy!!!!

It’s hard to measure the total energy put into computerizing a system vs. the savings in energy from hand processing.Management always wants to reduce the amount that it has to manage. I see this as no more than a desire to reduce the people who handle the records (geez, there’s entire educational programs on handling medical records!). There is semi-valid claim that computerizing records allows for quicker retrieval and less loss: it’s not uncommon for actions to be canceled due to lost/misplaced records.That stated, I too agree with Guest below that computerized records presents a big security threat (access to private data). I’d think that insurance companies would really like to have ready access…I’m a practicing Luddite, so I’m naturally disinclined to go along with the computerization of the planet.Mark

http://equaltimeradio.com/?q=audio/by/artist/les_leopold.LISTEN: The Financial Crisis Explained: Les Leopold on Equal Times.For years, Les Leopold has waded hip-deep into the ineffable world of high-finance: financial instruments, CDOs, derivatives, and a bunch of other words I don’t understand. Lucky for me and you, Les does. And luckier still, he knows how to explain it.Les’s role as he sees it in the Wall Street debacle and its aftermath is, basically, Translator for the People. His book, The Looting of America: How Wall Street’s Game of Fantasy Finance Destroyed Our Jobs, Pensions, and Prosperity—and What We Can Do About It, breaks the crisis down in easy-to-understand terms for the everyday working person.

The real issue (no, not gay-marriage, it’s only for distraction purposes) originated in D.C., not California.Sadly, it hasn’t just been California either.Mark

A small government would never attract all the power-seekers: it wouldn’t have power to re-dole out.Reclaiming the government (a mantra that made me puke when used by Howard Dean followers) will do little. The Russian oligarchs were removed and a government was taken for the people; didn’t seem to work out very well there.Less is more…Mark

New thread.

strong dollar? until RSI is above 50, you can forget about it. $USD and $USB down until proven otherwise.

The Guardian is a propoganda tool of the Labour Government. This is classic “green shoots” claptrap.