BRING THE JOBS HOME & STOP THE WARS OR PREPARE FOR COLLAPSE – Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan Administration, interviewed by Elijah Johnson of http://FinanceAndLiberty.com . The most reasonable and authoritative video you will find online about the inherent risk of economic collapse and why to prepare now.
Monday, June 10, 2013
BRING THE JOBS HOME & STOP THE WARS OR PREPARE FOR COLLAPSE – Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
BRING THE JOBS HOME & STOP THE WARS OR PREPARE FOR COLLAPSE – Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan Administration, interviewed by Elijah Johnson of http://FinanceAndLiberty.com . The most reasonable and authoritative video you will find online about the inherent risk of economic collapse and why to prepare now.
Dallas Fed Chief: Markets Hooked on 'Monetary Cocaine' !
It is important that the Federal Reserve monitor the impact of rising
bond yields, but the central bank cannot live in fear of how markets
will react once it starts to withdraw stimulus, Richard Fisher,
president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank said.
"We cannot live in fear that gee whiz the market is going to be unhappy that we are not giving them more monetary cocaine," he said following a speech in Toronto.
Meanwhile, the Fed is poised to evaluate and potentially make changes to its massive monetary stimulus, said Fisher, who has been critical of the Fed's bond-buying program said.
Editor’s Note: Put the World’s Top Financial Minds to Work for You
To counter the financial crisis, the Fed dropped short-term interest rates to near zero in late 2008 and has since bought more than $2.5 trillion in bonds to bolster what has been an anemic economic recovery. Financial markets have been increasingly on edge on expectations that the Fed is ready to start scrolling back on its stimulus.
"The plot now thickens," Fisher said. He likened developments in the Fed's monetary policy to a Shakespearean play starring a "daring captain," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, steering the ship of the U.S. economy.
"Act IV, just beginning, will involve the drama of introspection, with the FOMC evaluating the utility of its navigational tactics, and, perhaps, fine-tuning them, if not altering the course," Fisher said, referring to the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, in remarks prepared for delivery to the C.D. Howe Institute Directors' Dinner in Toronto. Fisher is not a voting member of the committee this year.
"Only time will reveal the efficacy of current policy and whether the risks that I and more experienced observers like Paul Volcker fret over are as substantial as we surmise, or whether we have made much ado about nothing," he added. Volcker was the chairman of the Fed from 1979 to 1987.
NO QE TO INFINITY
Fisher is a longtime critic of the Fed's current bond-buying program, the Fed's third round of quantitative easing, known as QE3. He argues it has done little to help the economy and poses a risk of doing great harm.
He told the Toronto audience there was a "practical limit" to the size of the Fed's balance sheet and investors should not expect "QE infinity."
He later told journalists he had advocated for the Fed to begin slowing the rate of purchases of mortgage-backed securities, but not stop them.
Asked if he was concerned about the impact of rising bond yields on the economy, he said it should be monitored but that policymakers could not let markets dictate policy.
"We cannot live in fear that gee whiz, the market is going to be unhappy that we are not giving them more monetary cocaine," he said.
Fisher said he was not surprised to see a rise in bond yields given that they are near historically low levels, adding that as a former hedge fund manager he would be cautious.
Last week Volcker, who led the U.S. central bank's aggressive battle against inflation, also sounded a warning on QE3, saying that central banks are often too late in removing stimulus.
Fisher on Tuesday did not repeat his call, made most recently last month, for the central bank to cut back immediately on its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, though he did reiterate his concerns.
While chances are "extremely low" that monetary policies will help push inflation above the Fed's 2 percent target this year, the bond-buying program is, "at best, pushing on a string and, at worst, building up kindling for speculation and, eventually, a massive shipboard fire of inflation," he said.
He noted that while there was disinflation in some categories such as food, he was not worried as this was emboldening consumers.
Uncertainty over U.S. fiscal policy is keeping businesses from hiring, he added, negating the power of the Fed's super-easy policies.
Even so, recent job gains and retail sales suggest the recovery is strong enough "to propel hopes that consumption will help employment growth gradually improve over the long term," Fisher said.
Unemployment is expected to remain at 7.5 percent when the U.S. government releases its May jobs report this Friday.
Bernanke last month said the central bank needs to see further signs of traction before easing up on its monetary stimulus, but also said a decision to do so could be made at one of the Fed's "next few meetings" if the economy looked set to gain momentum.
Editor’s Note: Put the World’s Top Financial Minds to Work for You
© 2013 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
"We cannot live in fear that gee whiz the market is going to be unhappy that we are not giving them more monetary cocaine," he said following a speech in Toronto.
Meanwhile, the Fed is poised to evaluate and potentially make changes to its massive monetary stimulus, said Fisher, who has been critical of the Fed's bond-buying program said.
Editor’s Note: Put the World’s Top Financial Minds to Work for You
To counter the financial crisis, the Fed dropped short-term interest rates to near zero in late 2008 and has since bought more than $2.5 trillion in bonds to bolster what has been an anemic economic recovery. Financial markets have been increasingly on edge on expectations that the Fed is ready to start scrolling back on its stimulus.
"The plot now thickens," Fisher said. He likened developments in the Fed's monetary policy to a Shakespearean play starring a "daring captain," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, steering the ship of the U.S. economy.
"Act IV, just beginning, will involve the drama of introspection, with the FOMC evaluating the utility of its navigational tactics, and, perhaps, fine-tuning them, if not altering the course," Fisher said, referring to the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, in remarks prepared for delivery to the C.D. Howe Institute Directors' Dinner in Toronto. Fisher is not a voting member of the committee this year.
"Only time will reveal the efficacy of current policy and whether the risks that I and more experienced observers like Paul Volcker fret over are as substantial as we surmise, or whether we have made much ado about nothing," he added. Volcker was the chairman of the Fed from 1979 to 1987.
NO QE TO INFINITY
Fisher is a longtime critic of the Fed's current bond-buying program, the Fed's third round of quantitative easing, known as QE3. He argues it has done little to help the economy and poses a risk of doing great harm.
He told the Toronto audience there was a "practical limit" to the size of the Fed's balance sheet and investors should not expect "QE infinity."
He later told journalists he had advocated for the Fed to begin slowing the rate of purchases of mortgage-backed securities, but not stop them.
Asked if he was concerned about the impact of rising bond yields on the economy, he said it should be monitored but that policymakers could not let markets dictate policy.
"We cannot live in fear that gee whiz, the market is going to be unhappy that we are not giving them more monetary cocaine," he said.
Fisher said he was not surprised to see a rise in bond yields given that they are near historically low levels, adding that as a former hedge fund manager he would be cautious.
Last week Volcker, who led the U.S. central bank's aggressive battle against inflation, also sounded a warning on QE3, saying that central banks are often too late in removing stimulus.
Fisher on Tuesday did not repeat his call, made most recently last month, for the central bank to cut back immediately on its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, though he did reiterate his concerns.
While chances are "extremely low" that monetary policies will help push inflation above the Fed's 2 percent target this year, the bond-buying program is, "at best, pushing on a string and, at worst, building up kindling for speculation and, eventually, a massive shipboard fire of inflation," he said.
He noted that while there was disinflation in some categories such as food, he was not worried as this was emboldening consumers.
Uncertainty over U.S. fiscal policy is keeping businesses from hiring, he added, negating the power of the Fed's super-easy policies.
Even so, recent job gains and retail sales suggest the recovery is strong enough "to propel hopes that consumption will help employment growth gradually improve over the long term," Fisher said.
Unemployment is expected to remain at 7.5 percent when the U.S. government releases its May jobs report this Friday.
Bernanke last month said the central bank needs to see further signs of traction before easing up on its monetary stimulus, but also said a decision to do so could be made at one of the Fed's "next few meetings" if the economy looked set to gain momentum.
Editor’s Note: Put the World’s Top Financial Minds to Work for You
© 2013 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
Former White House Official Discusses Gold Manipulation
Today
King World News interviewed the former Special Assistant to the
President of the United States for Economic Policy and former member of
the U.S. President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. While in the
White House, Dr. Philippa “Pippa” Malmgren served as financial market
advisor in the White House and functioned as the liaison between the
White House and the Federal Reserve.
Dr.
Malmgren formerly headed the Global Asset Management business for
Bankers Trust in Asia, out of Hong Kong, and was also Chief Currency
Strategist for Bankers Trust Company, and former Head of Global
Investment Strategy at UBS. Dr. Malmgren was also a senior consultant
to Deutsche Bank, and currently advises the largest sovereign wealth
funds, hedge funds, and pension funds in the world.
Eric King: “What caused or who caused the crash in gold?”
“We have never seen
so many large industrialized economies all adopt this strategy
simultaneously. So naturally that does make governments nervous.
And
I’m not sure it’s such a surprise that some of the biggest banks were
heavily short (gold) and putting out notes to the marketplace saying,
‘This (gold) definitely should go down.’ Then there were some very,
very large transactions, historically large transactions that happened
within about half an hour on that Friday morning.”
Eric King: “When you say
‘large transactions,’ we reported that day the massive 500 ton paper
(gold sale) transaction that went through the market in a very short
period of time, I think it was about 15 minutes. Nobody sells that way
that has any brains. So the manipulation is obvious there, isn’t it?”
Dr. Malmgren: “I
can see the point. It’s interesting that everybody has been screaming
for an official investigation into this and it looks like that’s not
going anywhere. So the bottom line is we will never know.”
Eric King: “Here’s the
problem. What do you do? (Let’s say) the CFTC launches an
investigation at the behest of the U.S. government, and then they come
back to the U.S. government and say, ‘Well, it turns out that there is a
crime being committed, but the entity doing it is the U.S. government
and the Federal Reserve.’”
Dr. Malmgren: “Yes, you must arrest yourself immediately (laughter ensues).”
Eric King: “So, realistically you can’t have an investigation when this type of thing is going on, correct?”
Dr. Malmgren: “No,
you can’t. And I think this is one reason that many of the
institutions that I’m advising are very wary about gold is because they
do feel it’s subject to manipulation. That (as a result) the volatility
is too heart-stopping to withstand.
And
they are looking at other options. One option is definitely the world
of diamonds. I see lots of private wealth moving in that direction.
That’s one reason we see diamonds hitting absolutely record high
prices. It’s because you can move an immense amount of value across a
border with this thing in your pocket that a metal detector cannot find.
By
the way, I was in charge of anti-money laundering policy for the U.S.
government, so I’m not condoning this. I’m just saying it’s a fact. In
a world where inflation pressures are definitely ripping through
emerging markets, people want to move ‘value.’ And in a world where
currencies are being debased, they want to hang on to value.”
IMPORTANT - This
was part I of an absolutely extraordinary written interview series with
Dr. Malmgren that will be released today. It is a chance for KWN
readers and listeners around the world to hear from a former member of
the U.S. President’s Working Group on Financial Markets discussing gold
manipulation, the coming theft of assets by governments around the world
and much more. The above section was just a small portion of what Dr.
Malmgren had to say and the extraordinary audio interview with Dr.
Philippa Malmgren is available now and you can listen to it by CLICKING HERE.
© 2013 by King World News®.
All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the blog page
is permitted and encouraged.
The audio interviews with John Embry, Dr. Philippa Malmgren, Bill Fleckenstein, Eric Sprott, Stephen Leeb, Rick Rule, Gerald Celente, Jim Grant, Michael Pento, Egon von Greyerz and Art Cashin are available now. Also, be sure to hear the other recent KWN interviews which include Marc Faber and Felix Zulauf by CLICKING HERE.
Eric King
The Dream Fog and the Cemetery Futur
Dog Poet Transmitting.......
May your noses always be cold and wet.
I feel like I was already here yesterday (Cue the Beatles). Still, here we are again today. The basic point of this post is to primarily, announce the radio broadcast for this evening. You never know, someone new might show up.
I've got about 3 more months in this location. Time enough to tune a few things up, should I be able to sustain the focus and... there's not a whole lot to put my attention on anyway (the book is near finished, finally and Neil's is fair charted out.; the amount of time these projects have been taking is significant. Put's me in mind of, 'we'll sleep when we're dead'; should that even happen, given how strange the times are).
As much as pending, or is it 'threatening' events have been dragging their feet in endless chess moves; this is due to the reality of this planet's most vicious killers, finally meeting a certain amount of opposition. Prior to recent times, they simply killed at will with impunity, laying waste to a number of countries in the Middle East, while looting their antiquities and whatever resources the bankers and corporations were after, not to mention loaning them funny money, so that they could lay usurious interest upon it, in order to own the economy of those nations as well, during what is euphemistically called their, 'recovery period', during which they do not recover... ever; should things go on as the reavers intend.
However, with all the agonizing redundancy of one state of tension following another, I'm getting the feeling that it is not going to be all that much longer now. Howdy Doody Obama has been caught out as a kind of marionette, Big Brother, along with the weaseling banks and corporations, who pull his strings. They are assisted in their endeavors by a massive army of civil service chipmunks, other professionals and unprofessionals, lawyers of every stripe, lacking the more deserved stripes and pretty much the biggest collection of idiots and ne'er do wells, ever gathered before on the world stage, for The Apocalypse Grand Finale.
There are certain alarming conditions that bode no well for world peace. One of these is that the Assad forces are crushing the rebels. That's the kind of thing the vampire elite are not fond of. They are not fond of anything that does not go their way and what they want, what the vampire elite want, is the subjugation and/or murder of every living thing on the planet, except for themselves and those, in the permanent underclass, who remain behind to serve them, until death. Most of you, not being members of the vampire elite, probably are not as appreciative of their strategy as they are; being as you would not be considered a benefiting recipient of their efforts. No matter, this has no effect on them.
Another disturbing feature is that Nixon/Obama has got himself into a minefield of IED cowpies, of an assured, explosive character. This fairly guarantees new outrages against the public, in the form of ham handed, false flag efforts. When things go bad for the thugs in power, it causes a serious annoyance for the vampire elite and they resort to acting out on their favorite motto, “If it doesn't work, use force ...and if that doesn't work, use more force”. So... where does that leave us? We'll see. Please feel free to enjoy the relative peace of the moment.
In conclusion; we're going for brevity today, let me say that the whole prophecy and prediction game has never, as far as I can see, done anyone a lick of good. Nostrildamus is incomprehensible and the wide latitude of meanings that are employed by the woo woo crowd, pretty much renders their conclusions meaningless. In point of fact, most people pay no attention anyway, even if they were capable of understanding any of it, they wouldn't be all that interested. They've inhaled the Dream-Fog and are walking in a wide eyed somnambulism, through the cemetery future. I'm not here to disparage the hoi poloi, not that they would notice. I'm here to say what I say until I go away.
Today, I wandered through a town festival and observed the hundreds upon hundreds, eating some pretty horrible things (grin) and washing it all down with copious amounts of beer and wine. It's the yearly merchant's day shopping frenzy and there were more people than I had seen in this town before. That's a lot. They were google-eyed over an assortment of pedestrian cars (pun intended), and all the other things you see for sale at these affairs and which wind up in the garage or in the attic soon enough or... not soon enough. It was a snapshot of our times. This is what interests people, here... or most anywhere. It doesn't interest me, or most of you. The trick it seems, is to get me and you into a space where we can engage in what does interest us. I'm working on that.
End Transmission.......
May your noses always be cold and wet.
I feel like I was already here yesterday (Cue the Beatles). Still, here we are again today. The basic point of this post is to primarily, announce the radio broadcast for this evening. You never know, someone new might show up.
I've got about 3 more months in this location. Time enough to tune a few things up, should I be able to sustain the focus and... there's not a whole lot to put my attention on anyway (the book is near finished, finally and Neil's is fair charted out.; the amount of time these projects have been taking is significant. Put's me in mind of, 'we'll sleep when we're dead'; should that even happen, given how strange the times are).
As much as pending, or is it 'threatening' events have been dragging their feet in endless chess moves; this is due to the reality of this planet's most vicious killers, finally meeting a certain amount of opposition. Prior to recent times, they simply killed at will with impunity, laying waste to a number of countries in the Middle East, while looting their antiquities and whatever resources the bankers and corporations were after, not to mention loaning them funny money, so that they could lay usurious interest upon it, in order to own the economy of those nations as well, during what is euphemistically called their, 'recovery period', during which they do not recover... ever; should things go on as the reavers intend.
However, with all the agonizing redundancy of one state of tension following another, I'm getting the feeling that it is not going to be all that much longer now. Howdy Doody Obama has been caught out as a kind of marionette, Big Brother, along with the weaseling banks and corporations, who pull his strings. They are assisted in their endeavors by a massive army of civil service chipmunks, other professionals and unprofessionals, lawyers of every stripe, lacking the more deserved stripes and pretty much the biggest collection of idiots and ne'er do wells, ever gathered before on the world stage, for The Apocalypse Grand Finale.
There are certain alarming conditions that bode no well for world peace. One of these is that the Assad forces are crushing the rebels. That's the kind of thing the vampire elite are not fond of. They are not fond of anything that does not go their way and what they want, what the vampire elite want, is the subjugation and/or murder of every living thing on the planet, except for themselves and those, in the permanent underclass, who remain behind to serve them, until death. Most of you, not being members of the vampire elite, probably are not as appreciative of their strategy as they are; being as you would not be considered a benefiting recipient of their efforts. No matter, this has no effect on them.
Another disturbing feature is that Nixon/Obama has got himself into a minefield of IED cowpies, of an assured, explosive character. This fairly guarantees new outrages against the public, in the form of ham handed, false flag efforts. When things go bad for the thugs in power, it causes a serious annoyance for the vampire elite and they resort to acting out on their favorite motto, “If it doesn't work, use force ...and if that doesn't work, use more force”. So... where does that leave us? We'll see. Please feel free to enjoy the relative peace of the moment.
In conclusion; we're going for brevity today, let me say that the whole prophecy and prediction game has never, as far as I can see, done anyone a lick of good. Nostrildamus is incomprehensible and the wide latitude of meanings that are employed by the woo woo crowd, pretty much renders their conclusions meaningless. In point of fact, most people pay no attention anyway, even if they were capable of understanding any of it, they wouldn't be all that interested. They've inhaled the Dream-Fog and are walking in a wide eyed somnambulism, through the cemetery future. I'm not here to disparage the hoi poloi, not that they would notice. I'm here to say what I say until I go away.
Today, I wandered through a town festival and observed the hundreds upon hundreds, eating some pretty horrible things (grin) and washing it all down with copious amounts of beer and wine. It's the yearly merchant's day shopping frenzy and there were more people than I had seen in this town before. That's a lot. They were google-eyed over an assortment of pedestrian cars (pun intended), and all the other things you see for sale at these affairs and which wind up in the garage or in the attic soon enough or... not soon enough. It was a snapshot of our times. This is what interests people, here... or most anywhere. It doesn't interest me, or most of you. The trick it seems, is to get me and you into a space where we can engage in what does interest us. I'm working on that.
End Transmission.......
German court case could force euro exit, warns key judge
Crucial hearings on the eurozone’s bail-out policies at Germany’s top court this week could set in motion events that force Germany’s withdrawal from the euro, a leading judge has warned.
Crucial hearings on the eurozone’s bail-out policies at Germany’s top court this week could set in motion events that force Germany’s withdrawal from the euro, a leading judge has warned.
Udo di Fabio, the constitutional court’s euro expert until last year, said the
explosive case on the legality of the European Monetary Union rescue
machinery could provoke a showdown between Germany and the European Central
Bank (ECB) and ultimately cause the collapse of monetary union.
“In so far as the ECB is acting 'ultra vires’, and these violations are deemed
prolonged and serious, the court must decide whether Germany can remain a
member of monetary union on constitutional grounds,” he wrote in a report
for the German Foundation for Family Businesses.
“His arguments are dynamite,” said Mats Persson from Open Europe, which is
issuing its own legal survey on the case on Monday.
Dr Di Fabio wrote the court’s provisional ruling last year on the European
Stability Mechanism (ESM), the €500bn (£425bn) bail-out fund. His comments
offer a rare window into thinking on the eight-strong panel in Karlsruhe,
loosely split 4:4 on European Union issues.
The court is holding two days of hearings, though it may not issue a ruling
for several weeks. The key bone of contention is the ECB’s back-stop
support for the Spanish and Italian bond markets or Outright Monetary
Transactions (OMT), the “game-changer” plan that stopped the Spanish
debt crisis spiralling out of control last July and vastly reduced the risk
of a euro break-up.
The case stems from legal complaints by 37,000 citizens, including the Left
Party, the More Democracy movement, and a core of eurosceptic professors,
most arguing that the ECB has overstepped its mandate by financing the
deficits of bankrupt states.
Berenberg Bank said the case was now “the most important event risk” looming over the eurozone, with concerns mounting over an “awkward verdict” that may constrain or even block ECB action.
Dr Di Fabio said the court, or Verfassungsgericht, does not have “procedural leverage” to force the ECB to change policy but it can issue a “declaratory” ultimatum. If the ECB carries on with bond purchases regardless, the court can and should then prohibit the Bundesbank from taking part.
The Bundesbank’s Jens Weidmann needs no encouragement, say experts. He submitted a report to the court in December attacking the ECB head Mario Draghi’s pledge on debt as highly risky, a breach of both ECB independence and fundamental principles. The ECB does not have a legal mandate to uphold the “current composition of monetary union”, he wrote.
Dr Di Fabio said it was hard to imagine that an “integration-friendly court” would push the EMU “exit button”, but it can force a halt to bond purchases. This may amount to the same thing, reviving the eurozone crisis instantly.
“It would pull the rug from under the whole project. It is the OMT alone that has calmed markets and saved the periphery,” said Andrew Roberts from Royal Bank of Scotland. Mr Draghi said last week that the OMT was the “most successful monetary policy in recent times”.
The court dates back to the Reichskammergericht of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1490, but it was revived after the Second World War along the lines of the US Supreme Court.
It has emerged as the chief defender of the sovereign nation state in the EU system, asserting the supremacy of the German Grundgesetz over EU law, hence the German term “Verfassungspatriotismus”, or constitution patriotism.
The court backed the Lisbon Treaty but also ruled that Europe’s states are “Masters of the Treaties” and not the other way round, and reminded Europe that national parliaments are the only legitimate form of democracy. It said Germany must “refuse further participation in the EU” if it ever threatens the powers of the elected Bundestag.
It issued another “yes, but” ruling last September. It threw out an injunction intended to freeze the ESM, but it also tied Berlin’s hands by capping Germany’s ESM share at €190bn, and blocked an ESM bank licence. It killed off hope of eurobonds, debt-pooling, or fiscal union by prohibiting the Bundestag from “accepting liability for decisions by other states”.
Crucially, the court said the Bundestag may not lawfully alienate its tax and spending powers to EU bodies, even if it wants to, for this would undermine German democracy.
Chief Justice Andreas Vosskuhle said at the time that Germany had reached the limits of EU integration. Any further steps would require a “new constitution”, and that in turn would require a referendum.
Berenberg Bank said the case was now “the most important event risk” looming over the eurozone, with concerns mounting over an “awkward verdict” that may constrain or even block ECB action.
Dr Di Fabio said the court, or Verfassungsgericht, does not have “procedural leverage” to force the ECB to change policy but it can issue a “declaratory” ultimatum. If the ECB carries on with bond purchases regardless, the court can and should then prohibit the Bundesbank from taking part.
The Bundesbank’s Jens Weidmann needs no encouragement, say experts. He submitted a report to the court in December attacking the ECB head Mario Draghi’s pledge on debt as highly risky, a breach of both ECB independence and fundamental principles. The ECB does not have a legal mandate to uphold the “current composition of monetary union”, he wrote.
Dr Di Fabio said it was hard to imagine that an “integration-friendly court” would push the EMU “exit button”, but it can force a halt to bond purchases. This may amount to the same thing, reviving the eurozone crisis instantly.
“It would pull the rug from under the whole project. It is the OMT alone that has calmed markets and saved the periphery,” said Andrew Roberts from Royal Bank of Scotland. Mr Draghi said last week that the OMT was the “most successful monetary policy in recent times”.
The court dates back to the Reichskammergericht of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1490, but it was revived after the Second World War along the lines of the US Supreme Court.
It has emerged as the chief defender of the sovereign nation state in the EU system, asserting the supremacy of the German Grundgesetz over EU law, hence the German term “Verfassungspatriotismus”, or constitution patriotism.
The court backed the Lisbon Treaty but also ruled that Europe’s states are “Masters of the Treaties” and not the other way round, and reminded Europe that national parliaments are the only legitimate form of democracy. It said Germany must “refuse further participation in the EU” if it ever threatens the powers of the elected Bundestag.
It issued another “yes, but” ruling last September. It threw out an injunction intended to freeze the ESM, but it also tied Berlin’s hands by capping Germany’s ESM share at €190bn, and blocked an ESM bank licence. It killed off hope of eurobonds, debt-pooling, or fiscal union by prohibiting the Bundestag from “accepting liability for decisions by other states”.
Crucially, the court said the Bundestag may not lawfully alienate its tax and spending powers to EU bodies, even if it wants to, for this would undermine German democracy.
Chief Justice Andreas Vosskuhle said at the time that Germany had reached the limits of EU integration. Any further steps would require a “new constitution”, and that in turn would require a referendum.
Fannie Mae buying foreclosed homes with an LLC THEY CREATED! Is this how the housing market is “turning around”?
There has been a home in our area that has been vacant for over 2
years. I did some research on it and found out that it was purchased in
July 2012 by SFR 2012-1 US WEST LLC.
Nows here is where it gets interesting…
THIS LLC WAS CREATED BY FANNIE MAE!
Here is the link to an article that never saw the light of day….now I know why.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/20120727mystery-buyer-snaps-up-foreclosure-homes.html?nclick_check=1
and here:
http://www.har.com/Houston-Real-Estate-Blogs/29893/275-Phoenix-Area-Foreclosed-Homes-Snapped-Up-By-LLC-Set-Up-By-Fannie-Mae
“It’s unclear who the buyer is, but 275 foreclosure houses across the Phoenix metropolitan area were purchased through a very quiet $34 million cash deal at the end of July.
The Arizona Republic says Fannie Mae announced in February that it would auction 2,490 foreclosure homes in Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago, Florida, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
It was the first time the government-owned mortgage firm agreed to openly sell groups of foreclosure houses located in just one metro area. Since the crash, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac usually have sold homes they get back from lenders one by one, or in bulk with houses located all over the country.”
———————–
If Fannie Mae is a government ran lending institution…How and why would they create their own LLC and purchase the homes ( which they already own ) from the themselves…It makes no sense to me except to make the “housing numbers” appear better than what they are….
Im not an expert in the field by any means…I just thought it was very interesting. If you could shed some light on it please post.
AR 15-SPECIALIST
Nows here is where it gets interesting…
THIS LLC WAS CREATED BY FANNIE MAE!
Here is the link to an article that never saw the light of day….now I know why.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/20120727mystery-buyer-snaps-up-foreclosure-homes.html?nclick_check=1
and here:
http://www.har.com/Houston-Real-Estate-Blogs/29893/275-Phoenix-Area-Foreclosed-Homes-Snapped-Up-By-LLC-Set-Up-By-Fannie-Mae
“It’s unclear who the buyer is, but 275 foreclosure houses across the Phoenix metropolitan area were purchased through a very quiet $34 million cash deal at the end of July.
The Arizona Republic says Fannie Mae announced in February that it would auction 2,490 foreclosure homes in Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago, Florida, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
It was the first time the government-owned mortgage firm agreed to openly sell groups of foreclosure houses located in just one metro area. Since the crash, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac usually have sold homes they get back from lenders one by one, or in bulk with houses located all over the country.”
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If Fannie Mae is a government ran lending institution…How and why would they create their own LLC and purchase the homes ( which they already own ) from the themselves…It makes no sense to me except to make the “housing numbers” appear better than what they are….
Im not an expert in the field by any means…I just thought it was very interesting. If you could shed some light on it please post.
AR 15-SPECIALIST
Corporatism Is Not Capitalism: 7 Things About Predator Corporations That Every American Should Know
Corporatism Is Not Capitalism: 7 Things About The Monolithic Predator Corporations That Dominate Our Economy That Every American Should Know
By Michael, on October 21st, 2011
Right
now, there is a lot of talk about the evils of “capitalism”. But it is
not really accurate to say that we live in a capitalist system.
Rather, what we have in the United States today, and what most of the
world is living under, is much more accurately described as
“corporatism”. Under corporatism, most wealth and power is concentrated
in the hands of giant corporations and big government is used as a tool
by these corporations to consolidate wealth and power even further. In
a corporatist system, the wealth and power of individuals and small
businesses is dwarfed by the overwhelming dominance of the
corporations. Eventually, the corporations end up owning almost
everything and they end up dominating nearly every aspect of society.
As you will see below, this very accurately describes the United States
of America today. Corporatism is killing this country, and it is not
what our founding fathers intended.The following is the definition of “corporatism” from the Merriam-Webster dictionary….
the organization of a society into industrial and professional corporations serving as organs of political representation and exercising control over persons and activities within their jurisdictionCorporatism is actually not too different from socialism or communism. They are all “collectivist” economic systems. Under corporatism, wealth and power are even more highly concentrated than they are under socialism or communism, and the truth is that none of them are “egalitarian” economic systems. Under all collectivist systems, a small elite almost always enjoys most of the benefits while most of the rest of the population suffers.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters realize that our economic system is fundamentally unjust in many ways, but the problem is that most of them want to trade one form of collectivism for another.
But our founding fathers never intended for us to have a collectivist system.
Instead, they intended for us to enjoy a capitalist system where true competition and the free enterprise system would allow individuals and small businesses to thrive.
In an article that was posted earlier this year on Addicting Info, Stephen D. Foster Jr. detailed how our founding fathers actually felt about corporations….
The East India Company was the largest corporation of its day and its dominance of trade angered the colonists so much, that they dumped the tea products it had on a ship into Boston Harbor which today is universally known as the Boston Tea Party. At the time, in Britain, large corporations funded elections generously and its stock was owned by nearly everyone in parliament. The founding fathers did not think much of these corporations that had great wealth and great influence in government. And that is precisely why they put restrictions upon them after the government was organized under the Constitution.Our founding fathers would have never approved of any form of collectivism. They understood that all great concentrations of wealth and power represent a significant threat to the freedoms and liberties of average citizens.
After the nation’s founding, corporations were granted charters by the state as they are today. Unlike today, however, corporations were only permitted to exist 20 or 30 years and could only deal in one commodity, could not hold stock in other companies, and their property holdings were limited to what they needed to accomplish their business goals. And perhaps the most important facet of all this is that most states in the early days of the nation had laws on the books that made any political contribution by corporations a criminal offense.
Are you not convinced that we live in a corporatist system?
Well, keep reading.
The following are 7 things about the monolithic predator corporations that dominate our economy that every American should know….
#1 Corporations not only completely dominate the U.S. economy, they also completely dominate the global economy as well. A newly released University of Zurich study examined more than 43,000 major multinational corporations. The study discovered a vast web of interlocking ownerships that is controlled by a “core” of 1,318 giant corporations.
But that “core” itself is controlled by a “super-entity” of 147 monolithic corporations that are very, very tightly knit. As a recent article in NewScientist noted, these 147 corporations control approximately 40 percent of all the wealth in the entire network….
When the team further untangled the web of ownership, it found much of it tracked back to a “super-entity” of 147 even more tightly knit companies – all of their ownership was held by other members of the super-entity – that controlled 40 percent of the total wealth in the network. “In effect, less than 1 percent of the companies were able to control 40 percent of the entire network,” says Glattfelder. Most were financial institutions. The top 20 included Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and The Goldman Sachs Group.Unsurprisingly, the “super-entity” of 147 corporations is dominated by international banks and large financial institutions. For example, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are all in the top 25.
#2 This dominance of the global economy by corporations has allowed global wealth to become concentrated to a very frightening degree.
According to Credit Suisse, those with a household net worth of a million dollars or more control 38.5% of all the wealth in the world. Last year, that figure was at 35.6%. As you can see, it is rapidly moving in the wrong direction.
For a group of people that represents less than 0.5% of the global population to control almost 40 percent of all the wealth is insane.
The dominance of corporations is also one of the primary reasons why we are witnessing income inequality grow so rapidly in the United States. The following comes from a recent article in the Los Angeles Times….
An economic snapshot from the Economic Policy Institute shows that inflation-adjusted incomes of the top 1% of households increased 224% from 1979 to 2007, while incomes for the bottom 90% grew just 5% in the same time period. Those in the top 0.1% of income fared even better, with incomes growing 390% over that time period.You can see a chart that displays these shocking numbers right here.
#3 Since wealth has become concentrated in very few hands, that means that there are a whole lot of poor people out there.
At a time when technology should be making it possible to lift standards of living all over the globe, poverty just continues to spread. According to the same Credit Suisse study referenced above, the bottom two-thirds of the global population controls just 3.3% of all the wealth.
Not only that, more than 3 billion people currently live on less than 2 dollar a day.
While the ultra-wealthy live the high life, unimaginable tragedies play out all over the globe every single day. Every 3.6 seconds someone starves to death and three-quarters of them are children under the age of 5.
#4 Giant corporations have become so dominant that it has become very hard for small businesses to compete and survive in the United States.
Today, even though our population is increasing, the number of small businesses continues to decrease.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16.6 million Americans were self-employed back in December 2006. Today, that number has shrunk to 14.5 million.
This is the exact opposite of what should be happening under a capitalist system.
#5 Big corporations completely dominate the media. Almost all of the news that you get and almost all of the entertainment that you enjoy is fed to you by giant corporations.
Back in 1983, somewhere around 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the United States.
Today, control of the news media is concentrated in the hands of just six incredibly powerful media corporations.
#6 Big corporations completely dominate our financial system. Yes, there are hundreds of choices in the financial world, but just a handful control the vast majority of the assets.
Back in 2002, the top 10 banks controlled 55 percent of all U.S. banking assets. Today, the top 10 banks control 77 percent of all U.S. banking assets.
The “too big to fail” banks just keep getting more and more powerful. For example, the “big six” U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo) now possess assets equivalent to approximately 60 percent of America’s gross national ....
#7 Big corporations completely dominate our political system. Because they have so much wealth and power, corporations can exert an overwhelming amount of influence over our elections. Studies have shown that in federal elections the candidate that raises the most money wins about 90 percent of the time.
Politics in America is not about winning over hearts and minds.
It is about who can raise the most cash.
Sometimes this truth leaks out a bit in the mainstream media. For example, during a recent show on MSNBC, Dylan Ratigan made the following statement….
“The biggest contributor to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is Goldman Sachs. The primary activities of this president relative to banking have been to protect the most lucrative aspect of that business, which is the dark market for credit default swaps and the like. That has been the explicit agenda of his Treasury Secretary. This president is advocating trade agreements that allow enhanced bank secrecy in Panama, enhanced murdering of union members in Colombia, and the refunding of North Korean slaves.”Later on, Ratigan followed up by accusing both political parties of working for the bad guys….
“But I guess where I take issue is, this president is working for the bad guys. The Democrats are working for the bad guys. So are the Republicans. The Democrats get away with it by saying, ‘Look at how crazy the Republicans are; at the Democrats pretend to care about people.’ BUT THE FACT IS THE 2-PARTY POLITICAL SYSTEM IS UTTERLY BOGUS.”Wow – nobody is actually supposed to say that on television.
Today, most of our politicians are bought, and most of them actively help the monolithic predator corporations accumulate even more wealth and even more power.
In fact, as I wrote about recently, the big Wall Street banks are already trying to buy the election in 2012.
Fortunately, it looks like the American people are starting to wake up. According to one recent survey, only 23 percent of all Americans now trust the financial system, and 60 percent of all Americans are either “angry” or “very angry” about the economy.
Unfortunately, many of them are joining protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street which are calling for one form of collectivism to replace another.
The American people are being given a false choice.
We don’t have to choose between corporatism and socialism.
We don’t have to choose between big corporations and big government.
Our founding fathers actually intended for corporations and government to both be greatly limited.
The following is a famous quote from Thomas Jefferson….
“I hope that we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.”Unfortunately, things did not turn out how Jefferson wanted. Instead of us controlling the corporations, they now control us.
This next quote is from John Adams….
“Banks have done more injury to the religion, morality, tranquility, prosperity, and even wealth of the nation than they can have done or ever will do good.”But who dominates our economy today?
The big banks.
Perhaps we should have listened to founding fathers such as John Adams.
Lastly, here is another quote from Thomas Jefferson….
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks), will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”How prescient was that quote?
Last year, over a million American families were booted out of their homes by the big banks. The financial institutions actually now have more total equity in our homes than we do.
Unemployment is rampant, but corporate profits are soaring. The number of Americans on food stamps has increased by more than 70 percent since 2007, and yet the incomes of those at the top of the food chain continue to increase.
We need a system that allows all Americans to start small businesses, compete fairly and have a chance at success.
Instead, what we have is a corporatist system where the big corporations have most of the wealth, most of the power and most of the advantages.
We need to get the American people to understand that corporatism is not capitalism.
Corporatism is a collectivist system that allows the elite to accumulate gigantic amounts of wealth and power.
The answer to such a system is not to go to a different collectivist system.
Rather, we need to return as much power as possible to individuals and small businesses.
Our founding fathers intended for us to live in a country where power was highly decentralized.
Why didn’t we listen to them?
www.endoftheamericandream.com
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