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Fiscally Responsible?

Big Al
May 24, 2012

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26 Comments
    May 24, 2012 24:50 PM

    Just another example of the news medias number one job: to advance the re-election of Obama.

      May 24, 2012 24:59 PM

      That’s interesting given the comments made earlier by the president’s spokesman concerning the media.

      Of course, Karen, I do agree with you!

      Big Al

        May 25, 2012 25:07 AM

        If the banners are not paid for advertising/sponsorship, can we have a free one please. :mrgreen:

          May 25, 2012 25:01 AM

          HI Martin (UK),

          Some are and some are not.

          Tell me about what you would want a banner for.

          Big Al

    May 24, 2012 24:55 PM

    NO NEW NEWS ……OBAMA, CAN NOT EVEN BALANCE HIS CHECK BOOK,,,,WHY,HE DOES NOT HAVE TO……HE HAS MADE THAT CLEAR…..

      May 24, 2012 24:54 PM

      Nobody has to , In the Box, but responsible folks generally do!

      Big Al

    May 24, 2012 24:55 PM

    Figures don’t lie but liers and stupidity sure can figure.

      May 24, 2012 24:34 PM

      Hi Larry,

      Yes they certainly can in their own warped way!

      Big Al

    May 24, 2012 24:03 PM

    Yesterday I asked the question of what the modus operandi of a system collapse would look like. By this I meant more than the slow motion process of sinking into irreversible and practical bankruptcy. What I was wondering was how a sudden and catastrophic collapse of the financial system could come about even if THEY spray unlimited amounts of liquidity at it. The analogy was wrapped in the question of “can there be a forest fire that is so big that no amount of fire hoses can put it out.”

    Some more thoughts on this. The answer may well be “yes” and “no”. The key is to fire up the hoses at the right time (i.e. not too late). If the fire is driven by a sudden strong wind and overruns the fire brigade before they have a fighting chance, it won’t have matter how much fire power they had available.

    Thus, it appears that a system collapse must be prevented on time, proactively, BEFORE the firestorm picks up speed and momentum to overrun even a huge number of fire hoses.

    Here’s an article from Zerohedge on this point.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-big-print-coming

    If the Fed is on the ball maybe they shouldn’t wait until momentum becomes virtually impossible to reverse. But I have no idea where we are on that timeline. I wonder if the Fed does.

    There’s my two and a half bits.

      May 24, 2012 24:38 PM

      Peter,

      Let’s push that up to a nickel!

      In my opinion, odds are that this forest fire can easily get out of control!

      Big Al

        May 25, 2012 25:26 AM

        But what do you think that would look like? A number of big institutions collapsing at the same time, causing such selloffs everywhere?

          May 25, 2012 25:10 PM

          In my opinion, Peter,

          I think it could very be like the proverbial domino theory. How can it go any other way?

          Big Al

    May 24, 2012 24:14 PM

    I agree with the guest that the big boost in spending did take place in the Obama/Democrats first two years in power. Has anyone who is very knowledgeable of the federal appropriations for 2011 and 12 put out a revised appropriations that would be 1trillion less than the present appropriations? Who would be affected by the reductions in spending? How would the economy be affected? Could several scenarios be run showing the various effects on the economy and groups affected?

    On the other hand reductions in appropriations alone could increase our unemployment problems unless the government takes long term steps to bring back many of the businesses that have gone off shore for various legitimate reasons (high taxes, over burdensome regulations, ruinous competition)

    I believe that he real solution to reducing the deficit is to first get America back to work which in itself will reduce the deficit. Once that is done, or as it is being done, we need to tackle our entitlement problems. If we do not do this, even full employment cannot solve our long-term deficit problems.

      May 24, 2012 24:41 PM

      Martin,

      Employment is supposedly getting worked out. Gotta keep in mind that according John Williams it is not. Well, who do you believe?

      Entitlement problems certainly do need to be worked out. Right now that does not seem to be happening.

      Big Al

        May 25, 2012 25:06 PM

        Thanks Al for your comment but without developing tax and regulatory policy that will attract capital to come back on shore to produce goods and services in the USA, our national unemployment number is not going to drop. Another item to consider is the USA consumption pattern moving to less consumption by the public in general?

        One of the reasons the 30’s depression went on so long besides bad policy decisions by the fed and the government was that the public reduced their spending down to almost a survival level due to the economic uncertainty of the times.

        We have a demographic spending shift with more people, baby boomers, having lower incomes and not purchasing durable and non-durable goods as in their middle years.

        Granted due to the recent problems of a over inflated stock market, housing collapse, bank speculation etc, many of these people are putting off retirement if not forgoing retirement. Of course the effect of this can mean that young people looking for jobs are going to find problems finding them because the older work force is delaying or not going to retire.

        It is amazing when mankind tries to rewrite the natural laws be it in economics and/or social policy, he always gets it wrong either in the short run or long run.

        On the other side of the coin because of abortion, artificial contraception and many young people putting off marriage till their late 20’s and early 30’s and than only having 1 or 2 children we may not have enough younger age population to pick up the drop in consumption let alone support our social programs Soc Sec etc.

        Granted the immigration legal or otherwise has helped the consumption numbers but many of these people are at poverty or lower middle class wage scale.

        I think that if you could find honest economists who plug in demographics, tax, and regulatory policy, into their economic models they could provide your audience with very informative economic pictures.

          May 25, 2012 25:57 PM

          Any ideas as to who that economist would be?

          Big Al

    May 24, 2012 24:19 PM

    Al.

    I hope you will take the time to simmer Bill Still`s info as well as read the book from Charles Walters. Tightening the belt will only make things worst for humans (not corporations, of course). The Austrians know this: contract the money supply, and you get a contraction of economic activity.

    We need to get the international financiers, of which Bernanke is part off, in jail under the RICO laws present in all western countries. They are stealing the wealth of nations through debt based currency and now quadrillions in derivatives. Multiple times the productive capacity of the whole planet.

      May 25, 2012 25:53 AM

      Morning MissiveDuTexas,

      I did talk with Bill and I have a copy of his book. He is a very interesting guy.

      Regarding “tightening the belt”, what I mean specifically is to cut back on a lot of the “freebies” that the governments cannot afford and to go back to a philosophy of “something for something” as opposed to “something for nothing”.

      Do you agree?

      Big Al

        May 25, 2012 25:00 PM

        That is really the first time I hear you say that. Your comments usually fall more in the camp of “ban entitlements”, although most of those we paid for for years and the corpogovernmommy just took the money and ran ( social security, anyone?).

        As for something for nothing, do you perceive those as such?

        Interest on the debt for the privilege of using currency created out of thin air?
        TSA for running their hands down people`s pants?
        CIA for spying on the american people, having renditions offices all over the planet and smuggling cocain and heroine into the United States?
        The FBI for making sure no one above the middle class’ pay grade is held accountable for self evident crimes?
        The IRS for hiring thousands to audit the average americans while leaving all the corporate scams untouch, ignoring the money laudering scams of the big banks and allowing money to leave the US tax free?

        And the biggest entitlement of all, the military industrial complex, making friends all over the planet for decades.

        Senate panel backs $631 billion in defense spending
        http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/25/us-usa-defense-budget-idUSBRE84N1LD20120525

    May 25, 2012 25:18 AM

    Miss DU….YOU HAVE A GREAT POINT…..JAIL THEM ALL….,including the 535 member of congress…

      May 25, 2012 25:23 AM

      “dereliction of duty”….would be a great law suit against the members of congress…

        May 25, 2012 25:45 AM

        MDT, Al and Jerry

        I liken the banksters to a Boa Constrictor around the middle classes throat. Until someone lops the head off the snake it will continue to suffocate the strength of a free people. The U.S. needs an Andrew Jackson of the 21st century. Notice how Hollywood hasn’t made any of this type of time travel movies, at least that I know of. I would love to see the Fed crumble in guilt at his revelations of the Boa analogy.

        Dan

          May 25, 2012 25:33 PM

          I agree with you on the Andrew Jackson…..

            May 25, 2012 25:07 PM

            I like Andrew Jackson, a man with the cahounes needed to stand up to the usurpers.

            On July 10, 1832, President Andrew Jackson vetoed a bill that would have renewed the corporate charter for the Second Bank of the United States. It was one of the most definitive acts of his presidency.

            http://millercenter.org/president/events/07_10

    May 26, 2012 26:35 AM

    Andrew Jackson has his own website; maybe he is coming back to the future to kick a$$.

    Dan