The desperate attempt by the Fed Reserve to save the hegemonic, declining USA Empire

Below  is my response (edited) to an email I received.

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Thanks for the piece on FedNow (which does NOT use blockchain technology).  The Fed is trying to save the world reserve currency status of the Dollar (USD), something which is being threatened on multiple fronts.  My take on FedNow is as follows.

1. Sounds too good to be true (for central bank interactions).    Actually, it's a horrible concept when it gets down to the Main Street consumer level.  If I understand it correctly, you may as well add the Fed to your bank account as a co-account-holder.  [Why would anyone do anything similar to that!?  Mind boggling:]

2.  Even with FedNow, the USD is still FIAT currency, backed by a Gov't which essentially is bankrupt.  [Never imagined I'd see the day when our national debt was more than $31.5 trillion.  Our GDP is about $21 trillion, which means the Debt never will be repaid in full.  We can't afford it, especially because it gets larger every minute.  Plus, the interest payment alone is $1.3 billion per day.  That's where most of your personal income taxes go.]  Including the national Gov't debt, the corporate debt, and household debt, our total debt is about $70 trillion.  Tragic, and dangerous.

3. FedNow still allows the USA Gov't to lay siege via sanctions to any country it disagrees with , something with which much of the world is fed up.  Arguably, sanctions are an act of war.

4.  For most countries (other than the G-7), it's doubtful that the USD with FedNow would be preferable to a commodity-backed digital currency.  BRICS will have that (or something similar) sooner than later.

5. This whole thing appears mostly to be an attack on cryptos (including upcoming central bank cryptos in other countries), so if it wants to remain competitive, the crypto industry needs to clean up all its stupid problems involving exchanges, access, and fees.    When it comes to currency, people want something which is easy and accessible.  Crypto never should have called itself a "currency", because it's not.  It's a commodity (and so-defined by the U.S. Gov't), and that's why it's so convoluted and SLOW, and not easy to use.  It's somewhat like trying to buy your groceries with a bar of gold (or a bushel of grain), or even a gram of gold.  That isn't easy unless the normal legal currency has collapsed.

Such has been my main problem with crypto.  Too many people think it's a currency rather than what it is:  a commodity for investment (or barter).  At this time, the only Legal Tender (currency) in the USA is the US Dollar*****.  Everything else pretending to be currency is a commodity used in bartering, or strictly as an investment which later will be exchanged for Legal Tender.  To me, the crypto industry is bordering on (or committing) fraud when it claims to be a "currency".  Definitions matter.  

*****Such was proven years ago when our Gov't cracked down hard on the "Ron Paul Silver Dollar", which was being offered by a group of private individuals as an alternative currency.  https://www.thestreet.com/opinion/raid-on-ron-paul-dollar-maker-10390631
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Rickards, Monkeys, Economists, and Complexity Theory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl9oiXeqzCI&list=WL&index=93

Jim Rickards has a Master's Degree in International Economics, and his analyses have been mostly on the mark in the past.  In this 13-minute clip, he explains WHY the next financial crash (which is overdue) will be "horrific".  The presentation has some good chuckles, and his reasoning makes a lot of sense.

He talks a hundred mph, so you have to listen carefully.  Most economists will not like the content, but they mostly deserve his characterization of them. 

Here's a brief overview of complexity theory.  Don't miss the last half.  Complexity theory is the key to an "emerging post-Newtonian paradigm" which finally is providing a holistic approach to the analysis of complex systems in both natural and artificial arenas.  The short clip below is the best introduction I've seen so far to a truly innovative and revolutionary subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ladOjo1QA

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Fed, JFK, the "United States Note", and the Upper Crust

The Fed Reserve has been ruining this country for over a hundred years.  Very few know about it, or if they do, understand it...so very few care anything about it.  That's understandable.  The Fed's sole job is to transfer wealth to the Upper Crust...even Bernie Sanders, a guy who's all for "government", has said that.

Just before he was killed, JFK started by-passing the Fed by having Treasury & the U.S. Mint issue the "United States Note" directly...without the Fed as Middle Man.  [Notice the top of the bill.]

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/249527635582929370/

I had several of those "Kennedy bills" (in smaller denominations:) back in the '60s; wish I would have kept them.  I'll bet they're worth much more than face value today.  

The Fed was royally pissed.  The U.S. Note was in direct competition with the Fed Reserve Note.  Had he lived, JFK would have dried up the Fed; they would have become obsolete, & their guaranteed-by-law 6% annual dividend would have evaporated.  All that has caused a conspiracy theory (of the assassination) involving Bankers & the Administration of the Fed Reserve.  It's possible, I suppose, but how likely I don't know.  We'll never know the truth about JFK's death.

p.s.  The 6% dividend goes to the 12 Fed Branch Banks AND the 25 Fed Sub-Branch Banks---37 in all, & all privately owned.  The only thing governmental about the Fed is the Admin Office in DC...and as Greenspan said on PBS yrs ago, "No one has authority over us."...that includes the President.  The Congress conducts oversight Hearings, but if you've watched the clips of them on YouTube, you know they aren't worth much.  On critical questions, the Fed usually beats around the bush, never actually answering any significant question.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

What the Next USA President Should Do

Use the Office and/or its Bully Pulpit for---

1.  promoting laws to break up the Mega Banks & Mega Tech Companies (clearly they are monopolies);

2.  the cessation of all Trade Wars;

3.  the withdrawal of combat troops from the Middle East & Central Asia, as well as cutting the number of our military bases on foreign soil by half---that number is now about 800-900 or so---and the military budget by half (currently that budget is more than the next seven largest military budgets in the world combined);

4.  the reinstatement of Nuke Treaties;

5.  ending of our Central Bank, as JFK started to do (we don't need a Middle Man to produce Gov't currency... especially one who charges interest);

6.  a return to some version of the Gold Standard (the amount of gold in the world doesn't prohibit that...only the artificially depressed price of gold does);

7.  the end of blanket surveillance by the NSA, CIA, FBI, and any other Agency;

8.  a return to the Constitutional requirement of Congress having to declare war before troops are sent to war;

9.  a repeal of the "Real ID Act";

10.  a reinstatement of EPA Rules trashed by Trump & Crew;

11.  policies/laws addressing the threat of Climate Change;

12.  promoting the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Banking Act;

13.  the reinstatement of "Net Neutrality";

14.  promoting the establishment of Banking as a Public Utility;

15.  the establishment of the Internet as a Public Utility;

16.  the complete revision of the IRS, or maybe, the elimination of it;

17.  promoting laws that require Congress to read legislative bills before voting on them, and to vote only on one subject/bill at a time (instead of attaching unpopular bills as riders to bills that are guaranteed to pass);

18.  making pot completely legal, and codeine an OTC drug (as it was earlier in my life);

19.  reducing our nuclear arsenal;

20.  promoting laws that prohibit Usury (laws we once had);

21.  prohibiting Gov't interference in foreign elections, prohibiting coups, & prohibiting assassinations by the Executive Branch (according to the Constitution, only Congress legally can order assassinations);

22.  promoting laws that establish Term Limits for all elected officials in the Fed Gov't;

23.  promoting laws that prohibit electronic, black box voting... use paper ballots only;

24.  limiting Executive Orders by Presidents to only the two described in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution:  the Pres can require written reports by his Dept Heads, and can grant pardons to those convicted of Fed crimes (those are the only two described in the Constitution);

25.  policies which abide by International Law, and in particular, recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court (we didn't mind doing that when we set up the Nuremberg Trials).

Those are only some of the things the next President should do, but they would be a great start toward returning this country to sanity.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

"War is a Racket" Redux

I posted this essay about a year & a half ago.  It's still brutally relevant today, especially with the NeoCons in the current Administration--- Bolton, Pompeo, Pence and the like ---up to their usual Warmongering.
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"As I look back on my 33 years of service in the Marines---from Second Lieutenant to Major-General---I realize that I've been nothing but a thug for Bankers and Big Corporations."  ~ General Smedley Butler

See brainyquote.com for more quotes by General Butler.

Only people who don't know what's going on still believe that our brave & well-meaning military folks are fighting for freedom, democracy, etc.  In actual fact, they are the unwitting enforcement arm of our Fed Reserve Bank and other Western World Mega Banks, as well as other major Corporations whose leaders believe they are the real rulers of the world.  Butler clearly pointed that out in his book, War is a Racket.

Now (& for some time) that both Repubs & Dems in DC pretty much ignore and/or violate key parts of the U.S. Constitution, the Corporatists are free to complete their establishment of Global Private Rule.  Public Governments still will exist, but only as window dressing.  By the way, none of this is a "grand conspiracy"; to the Powers-That-Be, it's simply "good business practice" and "the best thing for the world".  It's also important to grasp the fact that Corporatists are NOT Free Market Capitalists; instead, they are Fascists.  The very last thing they want is a Free Market.  They prefer a series of Monopolies supported by their puppet governments.

To those who believe Trump is fighting all this, and is the champion of the Common Man, you are sadly mistaken.  Trump is the quintessential elitist, Corporatist, Establishment, Crony Capitalist...the worst kind of capitalist.  He's a serial liar, a Super-Rich snob, a gaslighter, and doesn't care at all about the bottom 90-99% of the USA's citizens.  He's just telling you what he thinks you want to hear.  His whole history proves all the above.  Study it, and then you'll see.  A good start is the documentary, "Meet the Trumps:  from Immigrant to President"; it can be found online.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

p.s.  I'm an Army Vet and a gun owner.  Not only Vets, but ALL of us need to wake up to the fact that War (especially the current & recent ones) is not about "spreading democracy".  Instead, it's about economics and finance.  The main beneficiaries of it are Mega Corporations, especially Mega Banks.

Two Differences Between the Last Crash and the Coming Crash

1.  Because of only window-dressing laws/regs (supposedly to prevent another Crash) instituted during the Obama Era, and deregulation during two years of Trump & Crew,

2.  the metrics for the coming Crash now are worse than were those for the last Crash; thus, the next Bust most likely also will be worse.

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https://youtu.be/9F_sxkSHmCo ...

a very poignant & informative video.

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For those who believe there is no imminent Crash coming, all you have to do is look at the time intervals between the Booms & Busts from the 1973-75 severe Recession up to Present Day, and you'll see that we're overdue for the next Bust.  No one has suspended the Boom-Bust Cycle.  If anything, Busts have become more numerous since the establishment of the Fed Reserve in 1913...and the "Nixon Shock" (abandonment of the Gold Standard) in 1971.  

The DC politicians plus the Corporate Media either are lying or they're significantly ignorant when they tell us everything is rosy.  [Very few in the Corp Media have sounded any warning bells at all.]  The Asset Bubbles now are worse than they were just before the 1929 Crash...& those numbers are proportionate, i.e., inflation is taken into account.  Prediction:  the Big Bust will be no later than the end of 2020.  It possibly could be later, but I really doubt it.

Plan accordingly.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Beware: The U.S. "Debt Ceiling" is an Utter Joke

It was instituted by Law in 1917.  In the 20th century, our Government's Debt Ceiling was raised 90 times.  From 2001 through 2016, it has been raised 14 times; and it was supposed to be raised again last Fall.  Through some sort of machinations, Congress conjured up "emergency spending funds" and postponed the problem until mid-March of this year.

Doublespeak---

March 2018 has come and gone, so what happened?  Congress SUSPENDED the Debt Ceiling until March 2019.  In other words, there is no Debt Ceiling presently.  It was suspended once during Obama's Administration as well.  Considering the history of it, arguably there never has been a Debt Ceiling.   The whole thing appears to be Orwellian Doublethink and Doublespeak.

The Nixon Shock---

Why is any of this important?  Why should we care at all?  It started with the "Nixon Shock" in 1971.  That's when the Executive Branch issued a "temporary suspension" of the convertibility of the U.S. Dollar into gold.  We went completely off the "Gold Standard".  Essentially, our Gov't defaulted on its Debt.  Shortly thereafter, the Dollar lost 25% of its value.  Our long, "temporary" excursion into fiat currency began.  Instead of being backed by gold, our "money" became backed by "the full faith and credit of the United States".  That means virtually nothing at all if our Gov't borrows, and borrows, and borrows into oblivion... and the rest of the world knows that.

The Largest Debtor Nation---

This great Land has gone from being a creditor nation to being the world's largest debtor nation.  To whom is the "money" owed?  Primarily, it's owed to foreign Central Banks, other Mega Banks (including domestic ones), and other Mega Corporations.  The kicker is this:  that Debt is now mathematically impossible to repay in full.  So why do those outfits keep loaning us funds?  For the same reason a Bank doesn't want you to ever repay the full amount on your credit card:  the perpetual interest payments; they will never end.  And from where does the Gov't get the funds to make those multi-billion dollar interest payments to Banks & Corporations...from personal income taxes, of course.

In the spirit of Orwellian Doublespeak, the Fed Reserve calls borrowing the "selling of Debt, or Bonds".  When other entities cut back on "buying Debt" (loaning us funds), the Fed Reserve (which is made up of privately owned banks) "buys" U.S. Bonds.  That essentially means a supposed part of our Gov't loans funds to our Gov't.  All this borrowing serves to devalue the fiat Dollar.

The Bottom Line---

Why should we care?  If for no other reason, because we are saddling our children and grandchildren not only with a continually devalued Dollar, but also with a Debt that will have interest payments in perpetuity.  Then there's the extremely high probability that our economy will collapse because of the Financial shocks brought on by the Fed's insane amount of borrowing.

When it comes to borrowing, the Trump Administration is following right in the footsteps of the Administrations of Obama, Dubya Bush, and others:  increasing the National Debt by multiple times.  And why all this borrowing?  For the most part, it's to maintain U.S. Hegemony throughout the world.  And why is that?  Because the availability of several key natural resources is peaking or shrinking, and without control of those resources, the USA cannot dominate the world and further enrich itself.  Naturally, the Establishment denies any such thing...hardly a big surprise.  The Plutocrats claim the whole shebang is to protect the world, spread democracy, and preserve freedom.  Right.  Edward Bernays would be proud of such claims.
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SIDE NOTE---
Price Inflation is not the result of the cost of production going up; rather, it's the result of the value of the Dollar going down.  When the value of the dollar decreases, it takes more dollars to buy the same amount of goods or services as before the decrease.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Largest Amount of Borrowed Money in Any Quarter in USA History

In the 1st Quarter of this year, the Fed borrowed $488 billion...the largest amount for any Quarter in our history.  The Treasury Secretary claims that the Bond Market is "robust", and can handle the borrowing.  In fact, that Market has peaked and is trending down.  It's starting to collapse.  Our Debt is a Bubble sitting on a pin. 

That amount of borrowing plus the Repub Tax Cuts plus other factors = a big rise in price inflation, probably within a year or so.  Mnuchin (Treas. Sec.) says it's good to have a little inflation..."We want wages to increase."  Better hope inflation doesn't exceed the increase in wages; and sorry, but most likely it will.  It's almost there already...only .5% away from the last wage increase numbers.

So much for fiscal responsibility.  Those in the Congress and the White House who claim to be "Conservatives"...aren't.  NeoConservatives are a horse of an entirely different color.

Try as they may, the Establishment (including Trump & Crew) cannot avoid the metrics of the overdue Economic/Financial Crash on the horizon.  According to a study by Deutsche Bank, countries that don't properly manage their Debt experience a huge increase in Financial shocks, shocks that can severely damage the economy.  That has been our path every 7-12 years since the 1973-1975 Recession.  You can thank the Fed, the Mega Bank Casino Capitalists, and most of our DC politicians.  It should be obvious that the bombastic Trump & Crew are not significantly changing anything for the better.  They aren't draining the swamp; they're draining the country of a decent future.  Take a look at USDebtClock.org ...not just the upper left corner, but the entire table/chart.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

p.s.  Another reminder:  I'm not a Democrat or a Republican.

We Deserve Corporatism, and Notes on Fed Income Taxes, & on Banking

Most Americans today appear to know very little History, Geography, American Government, & Logic, and pretty much zero about the Constitution.  Never mind knowledge of how Propaganda works, or anything at all about Corporatism, or the significance of gerrymandering, or how political candidates really are selected.  And worse, they don't see the relevance of any of it to their lives.  They don't care that they don't know.  But most of them know the really important stuff, such as when the new I-Phone will be coming out and whether or not it will be able to fry eggs, or perform some other mundane or silly function.  The whole situation is an utter disgrace...on all of us.

In this country, we deserve the Corporatist Clinton (both of them), the Corporatist Bush (any of them), the Corporatist Obama (the Fake Populist), and the Corporatist Trump (the doubly Fake Populist)... along with Global Private Rule.  We all deserve it all...because we all have let them (the Elites) get away with egregious, rampant Edward Bernays style Propaganda---the molding of the public mind---and with blatant violations of the U.S. Constitution.

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Notes on Fed Income Taxes & on Banking---

In 1946, the Chairman of the New York Fed Reserve, Beardsley Ruml, presented a paper to some auspicious group or another.  The thesis of his paper was this:  the idea of Fed Income Taxes for government revenue is obsolete.  I don't have the time or energy to explain his reasoning, so if you're interested, Google/Bing the topic.

I do have the time for this much.  A good deal of his reasoning was centered on the central planning of monetary issues by the Fed Reserve, and on the changing of the Gold Standard by FDR.  A fairly recent example of Ruml's thesis is as follows.  Between the times when Congress voted down the 2008 Bailout package for the Mega Banks and then fairly quickly afterward approved it (about $700 billion), the Fed Reserve felt it had to do something, so it made TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS available to the Big Boys in the form of loans at essentially zero percent interest.  Not one cent of those trillions was from taxes.  Nor was any of it from government "savings".  [There are no gov't savings; the National Debt is $20 trillion...an amount impossible to repay in full.]  The Fed simply added a bunch of digits to its balance sheet; it created the "money" out of thin air.  That's entirely possible with a fiat currency.

Banks do it every day.  For example, let's say you deposit $100 into your bank account.  Because of the obscenity known as fractional reserve banking, your bank is required to keep only $10 of that $100 on deposit.  It loans out the other $90 to someone else.  So now, you have $100 on your account and the other person has $90.  That's $190 from your $100..."money" created out of thin air.  This is all possible because only 3% of the "money" in circulation is actual paper or coin.  The rest of it is nothing but digits on a computer.  In a nutshell, that is our goofy "money" system.

The point of all this is:  Ruml was correct; Fed taxes (NOT State & Local taxes) are unnecessary for revenue.  That's especially true ever since Nixon took us completely off the Gold Standard in 1971.  The Fed Gov't never will "run out of money"; to get more, all it has to do is add digits to its balance sheet.  Some people counter this argument by saying that the Fed Reserve doesn't just add to its balance sheet; instead, it buys Bonds (T-Bills)...which means the Fed loans "money" to the Gov't.  Yes, it does that...but it doesn't hand over a wad of cash to the U.S. Treasury.  It simply adds digits to its balance sheet.

Without a Gold Standard to restrain spending, any Gov't with a fiat "money" system can "print" (97% of the currency never gets "printed") as much currency as it needs...and anytime it so desires.  Some people counter that argument by saying:  in such a scenario, people would lose confidence in the Dollar.  Hello!  All around the world, that's exactly what's happening right now.

Finally, during the Reagan Era, the Grace Commission did a two-year study and found that 100% of Fed Income Taxes goes toward paying the interest on our National Debt.  Not one cent goes for Gov't services.  And who gets those interest payments?  Primarily they go to Central Banks around the globe, other Mega Banks, and other Mega Corporations...the really Big Bond Holders.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

War is a Racket

"As I look back on my 33 years of service in the Marines---from Second Lieutenant to Major-General---I realize that I've been nothing but a thug for Bankers and Big Corporations."  ~ General Smedley Butler

See brainyquote.com for more quotes by General Butler.

Only people who don't know what's going on still believe that our brave & well-meaning military folks are fighting for freedom, democracy, etc.  In actual fact, they are the unwitting enforcement arm of our Fed Reserve Bank and other Western World Mega Banks, as well as other major Corporations whose leaders believe they are the real rulers of the world.  Butler clearly pointed that out in his book, "War is a Racket".

Now (& for some time) that both Repubs & Dems in DC pretty much ignore and/or violate key parts of the U.S. Constitution, the Corporatists are free to complete their establishment of Global Private Rule.  Public Governments still will exist, but only as window dressing.  By the way, none of this is a "grand conspiracy"; to the Powers-That-Be, it's simply "good business practice" and "the best thing for the world".  It's also important to grasp the fact that Corporatists are NOT Free Market Capitalists; instead, they are Fascists.  The very last thing they want is a Free Market.  They prefer a series of Monopolies supported by their puppet governments.

To those who believe Trump is fighting all this, and is the champion of the Common Man, you are sadly mistaken.  Trump is the quintessential elitist, Corporatist, Establishment, Crony Capitalist...the worst kind of capitalist.  He's a serial liar, a Super-Rich snob, a gaslighter, and doesn't care at all about the bottom 90-99% of the USA citizens.  He's just telling you what he thinks you want to hear.  His whole history proves all the above.  Study it, and then you'll see.  A good start is the documentary, "Meet the Trumps:  from Immigrant to President"; it's found on Netflix and elsewhere.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Economic and Financial Crash is Just Around the Corner

Best guess--- The Crash probably will be anytime before the end of next year.  No one can predict exactly when.

Today I saw an ad for blue jeans; the price of the britches---$60.

In 1961, similar jeans were $3.95...I know because I remember buying a pair for that price in Ft. Collins, Colorado while I was a student at Colorado State U.  [You remember the damnedest things when you get old:]  So, about four dollars versus sixty dollars; to me, that's hyperinflation...it's already here.  It may be a bit anomalous for hyperinflation because of the long span of time involved, but nevertheless, it seems to me it IS the beast.

Decades of monetary policy from the Fed Reserve have reduced the value of the Dollar from 100 cents in 1913 to about 3 or 4 cents today.  They've purposely debased/devalued the Dollar in order to be able to afford the interest payment on our massive National Debt (ever since that Debt doubled or tripled---can't remember which---during the Reagan years).  They can pay it with ever cheaper dollars.  That's why the Fed is always shooting for 2% inflation... per year. 

Imagine what an ounce of gold would be worth if all the beaches of the world consisted of grains of gold instead of grains of sand.  Whenever the amount of some item is increased in the Market, the price/value of each unit of that item goes down.  Through institutionalized deficit spending, the Fed being the main purchaser of T-Bills (monetizing the Debt), and the horrendous QE for the last 8-9 years, the Fed has made the Dollar almost worthless...by creating huge amounts of it out of thin air.  That's why some jeans are $60 now.  That's why the Fed Budget is in the trillions instead of millions or the low billions.  The Dollar is worth less...a lot less.  One even might say that it's almost worthless.  Of course, the Propaganda from the Powers-That-Be says the Dollar is strong.  What that really means is:  it's the best of the worst.  It's the cleanest dirty shirt...and even that characterization is questionable.

The Gov't always can get more "money".  All it has to do is type digits in a computer.  That's what it does when the Fed Reserve buys Bonds/T-Bills.  Actual currency isn't printed up and handed to the Treasury by the Fed; the Fed simply types the amount onto its Balance Sheet.  It never will "run out".  The problem is that the world is fast losing faith in the value of the Dollar.  We all should be, too.  Countries are dumping the Dollar and bypassing the Dollar right & left.  Those Dollars then come home, which means more inflation, but this time it will be much faster than that from 1961 to the present.  International players such as the IMF and Bank of International Settlements already are looking into replacing the Dollar as the world's reserve currency.  Can you blame them?  I think not.

No politician can stop this...it's too late.  We'll survive, but the cost of that survival & recovery will be high.

Don't believe the Elites' current Propaganda.  They're telling bald-faced lies because they're afraid the truth would result in massive panic...including a monumental exodus of capital from the USA.  [To those who think the public & private Powers-That-Be never would lie about such things---please, are you kidding me?  History says otherwise.]

Be Prepared (see previous posts), and Hang in There
p.s.  Your degree of comfort during the real recovery will depend upon your degree of preparation.  And, no, you don't need a bunker & hand grenades; there won't be a massive Mad Max scenario.  The Powers-That-Be would institute Martial Law on a monumental scale before allowing that to happen.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

A Warning About So-Called Crypto-CURRENCY

First, let me state clearly that I'm in favor of alternative currency.  It should be obvious that the U.S. fiat Dollar is crashing...and it's not the only one doing so.  Nevertheless, it's important to note the misrepresentations and falsehoods regarding all crypto-currencies...as follows.

1.  The implication coming from crypto people is that Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc. can be used legally in "money" transactions, and that the crypto-"coins" are not regulated (or barely so) by the Feds.  False.  The first law that applies to them is the Legal Tender Law, Section 5103 of Title 31 (U.S. Code/USC), which delineates exactly what is acceptable as currency.  Guess what?  All the listed items are issued by some portion of the Gov't or the Fed Reserve.  Crypto-"currency" is not Legal Tender.  The Cryptos also fall under several regulations having to do with commodities...because that's what the Feds have designated them as---commodities, not currencies.

2.  Another implication is that because of "blockchain" technology, crypto people will be able to be anonymous, have their own "banks", and avoid the IRS.  All I can say to that is don't be naive.  DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (founded in 1958), created the High Tech world.  If they can't master "blockchain", all they have to do is offer $500,000 (or a million) to some independent contractor or two to do it.  The line of applicants will be a mile long.

3.  Finally, there's a strong implication (sometimes an outright claim) from crypto promoters that not only is the Crypto-World anonymous, but it's also safe.  False.  There is a War on Crypto-Currencies being waged by the Feds and others.  Currently, it's a quiet war.  If need be, though, it will get loud and nasty.  Don't think for one minute that the Powers-That-Be simply will roll over and watch their fiat Dollar be replaced by some private alternative.  [Japan appears to be an exception to that.]  If push comes to shove, they will designate all crypto people "financial terrorists" and a threat to national security.  With current laws already in place, you then will be subject to arrest without a proper warrant, being held incommunicado, and being held indefinitely without a trial.

The Elites already are emphasizing the "criminal money-laundering" aspect of Cryptos.  In addition, it's becoming more & more difficult even to access crypto websites.  None of this is a coincidence.  The war is on, and if you're attempting to use Cryptos as CURRENCY, you are a target.  Lastly, anyone who believes that he/she can do any type of electronic transaction deemed by the Feds to be undesirable, and do it anonymously, is behind on the learning curve relative to what the NSA & other Fed agencies are doing.

The only way Cryptos ever will be Legal Tender in the USA is if only the Fed Reserve produces and distributes them.  The Elites won't allow anything else...and they will fight tooth & nail to make certain the Dollar (or its official replacement) remains King.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Let's All Take Our Heads Out of the Sand and Stop Drinking the...

Edward Bernays style Propaganda Kool Aid.  In addition to the National Debt numbers, the online "U.S. National Debt Clock" (in real time) has a wealth of other information.  [A small portion of it is listed below.]  As opposed to what Janet Yellen and many politicians are saying, that info gives us a genuine dose of reality...instead of propaganda.

Since the end (sometime in the early 1960's) of the Golden Age of American Capitalism, here's what Republican & Democratic politicians, the Fed Reserve, Financialization, Globalization (of a certain type), Crony Capitalism, and Corporatism have all brought us to---

1.  Our public National Debt is almost $20 trillion.  [We are now among the world's top debtor nations.]
2.  U.S. Total Debt (public & private) is now a bit over $67 trillion.
3.  42.6 million Americans are living in poverty.
4.  31.4 million Americans are without insurance (the Debt Clock doesn't specify whether that's health insurance or all types of insurance).
5.  The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is about one trillion dollars less than the public National Debt.
6.  The Median Income in the U.S. is now $30,123.
7.  The Median New Home Price in the U.S. is now $311,015.
8.  The "Official Unemployed" number is 7.616 million.
9.  The "Actual Unemployed" number is 14.949 million.
All the above is only a tiny fraction of the valuable info found on the Debt Clock.
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Glenn Greenwald, who was on a Team that shared a Pulitzer Prize, has pointed out that the Financial Sector in the USA essentially has captured our government.  Financialization and the revolving door between Mega Banks and high Gov't positions have contributed greatly to the hollowing out of the Middle Class in this Land.  We now have a President & Executive Branch Administration who want to roll back the paltry regulatory protections of Dodd-Frank, thus giving the Financial Sector even more freedom to practice Casino Capitalism... which will further put our financial and economic systems at risk.

The rationalization for such action is that jobs will be created.  History says otherwise.  Starting with the elimination of the Glass-Steagall Act during the Bill Clinton Era and right through to the lack of prosecution of crooked bankers during the Obama Era, it's clear that:  banking needs strict regulation (enforcement and prosecution); and the Mega Banks need to be broken up.  Casino Capitalism does not create jobs for the Lower & Middle Classes; it simply enriches the Super-Rich.  That's what Trump is pushing/peddling.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Financial/Economic Crash Update

1.  The Bond Market already is crashing.

2.  That eventually will burst the Stock Market Bubble.

3.  The Dollar is temporarily "strong", but only in terms of being the best house in a really horrible neighborhood.

4.  We currently have the lowest number in years of people with a full-time permanent job.

5.  The current Real Estate Bubble is on the cusp of bursting.

6.  Mega Bank fraud continues...especially in terms of gold & silver price manipulation... because that makes the Dollar appear "strong".

7.  Many countries (especially emerging markets) continue to bypass the USA by forming their own Trade & Finance agreements.

8.  The second largest economy in the world, China, is in deep financial & economic trouble.  Their Crash would affect the entire world.

9.  Italy's financial system is on the verge of collapse.

10.  Though they should bite the bullet, the Fed Reserve most likely will not raise interest rates beyond one time in 2017.  That means more QE is coming, which means Bubbles.  All financial & economic bubbles burst; there hasn't been a single time in human history when that wasn't true.  The longer the Fed waits to bite the bullet, the bigger the Crash will be.

11.  Deutsche Bank is in deep trouble.  Their derivatives portfolio alone could crash them.

12.  Price inflation in the USA already is edging up.

13.  USA sovereign Debt as of tonight is just under $20 trillion... and increasing rapidly.

14.  US Debt held by foreign countries is a bit over $6 trillion, and decreasing rapidly.  Countries are dumping the Dollar.  Those Dollars are coming home; that will decrease the value of each dollar, and that will cause an increase in price inflation.

[See the online "US Debt Clock" for the two items immediately above.]

15.  Various analysts say to look for a continued expansion of the Wall Street Stock Market Bubble in early 2017, and then a massive correction later in the year.  [That massive correction could well become a complete Crash... especially given what's going on in the Bond Market.]

16.  The unmitigated Propaganda here in the USA continues:  "The Recovery is doing fine..."; "The Fed has it under control..."; "Our economy is improving..."; etc., ad nauseam.

17.  50% of American workers have a yearly income of only $30K or less.

18.  The top 1% in America has more wealth than the bottom 95% combined.

19.  The 400 wealthiest individuals here have more wealth than the bottom 150 million individuals combined.

Yes, everything is fine... for a few people.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

"Fool Me Once, Shame on You; Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me", OR, More on the Shadow Gov't

"It is this power structure which the Radical Right in the United States has been attacking for years in the belief that they are attacking the Communists."
Carroll Quigley
Citation:
Carroll Quigley. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2016. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/carroll_quigley.html, accessed September 22, 2016.
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Quigley understood (and stated) that the International Financial Coterie (his phrase) was the real controlling force in the world.  Way above political groups, they often would use/manipulate various institutions (whether on the Right or Left) to attain their goals.  Edward Bernays, the Father of the Public Relations field, gave them a massive boost in 1928 with the publication of his book, Propaganda:  Molding the Public Mind.

To the Coterie, none of this is a "conspiracy"; rather, it's merely "private", and "good business practice".  [In essence, they have little or no ethics.]  Today, it's fairly obvious that world central banks (especially the Fed Reserve System), the IMF, the World Bank, the Bank of International Settlements, the Financial Stability Board of the G-20, about thirty Mega Banks (e.g., JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, etc.), and a few others essentially control world Finance and Economics...regardless of political Parties.  He who controls the purse, controls it all.

As an international banker of long ago once remarked, "Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws." – Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild, 1744-1812.

Unfortunately, as recent headlines affirm, mega banking today is rife with fraud and wealth transfer schemes.  On top of that, world central banks create massive Asset Bubbles which skew the Free Market...and eventually destroy economies.  The dynamite documentary (now online at Netflix.com & elsewhere), Money for Nothing, explains it all.  If you're at all confused by what's going on in Finance and Economics, that film is a Must-See.  It's right on the mark.

Banking should be a public utility.  [The Fed is a cabal of private banks.]  At the very least, a public bank should be an option...much the way it is in North Dakota.  That bank, by the way, outperforms Wall Street.  Google/Bing:  Ellen Brown public banking.  She's the leader of that movement, and has written numerous brilliant pieces on the subject.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

So Where's the Economic Crash?

It's unfolding before our eyes.  Despite the Dead Cat Bounce (a horrible term) after the disastrous dip in January, the Crash is proceeding...and worsening...and it's worldwide.  Below is a portion of a Reply I sent to my son, his family, and others regarding a piece he sent me from Greg Hunter's "USA Watchdog.com".  That clip had Ron Kirby of Kirby Analytics in his very latest guest appearance on "USA Watchdog".
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The dollar reset could be right around the corner.  Especially telling was that series of meetings the Fed had, and the meetings with the Pres & VP with the Fed.  Add to that the admission of silver & gold price fixing by the Mega Banks, & the new China Gold Exchange, & the IMF SDR situation (especially involving China), & how the highest levels of our Fed Gov't are trying their damnedest to provoke a war, & how Obama has been working for almost 8 yrs having us construct tactical nuclear weapons (as opposed to strategic), & the fact that the Financial Stability Board of the G-20 approved Bail-Ins for 29 Mega Banks (worldwide), & the fact that the TPP will further deregulate the Financial Sector (both high-level Dems & Repubs support that Agreement), & the fact the War on Cash is accelerating, & the fact that the vast majority of the public appears to believe just about anything the Corporate Media tells them... with all that & more, we're ripe for a disaster.

Nevertheless, I still believe the Oligarchy somehow will pull off preventing it from happening until after the election.  As Kirby puts it, they've been holding together this criminal, fraudulent financial system with "...paper clips & bungee cords" [:)] for a long time.  Maybe they can do it a bit longer.

I see the Oligarchy in America as having 3 main options:

1.  Get us into a major, major war.  As Kirby accurately points out, historically that's what the Ruling Class does when the Financial System is in really deep trouble.  The Bush-Obama Perpetual War has not been enough...it's not big enough.  This, of course, is not a wise option, but that doesn't mean they won't do it.

2.  QE-4...print even more currency.  The Fed buying back the bonds being dumped by China & other Asian countries hasn't been enough.  The Fed might even send checks to individual households...to the People, not just make it available to Mega Banks.  [If that happens, buy every necessary household commodity you can get your hands on...because if that happens, the culmination of the Crash is imminent.]

3.  After the election, bite the bullet & gradually raise interest rates to where they should be.  This will burst the Asset Bubbles & put us into a deep Recession and/or Depression.

I'm sure there are more options, but I see the above as the main ones.

Unfortunately, nothing above will stop the worldwide economic mess from worsening.  We're in a global Economic Crash.  There's been nothing like this since the Great Depression, and prior to that, the Fall of the Roman Empire (which was largely economic).  What's sad is that so many Americans seem to be so tied up in the tribalism of the election cycle that they either don't see the Crash unfolding, or they don't think it's very serious.

I hope Kirby is wrong regarding his time frame, but what he said certainly is possible.

Love,  Dad    p.s.  Don't take on any major debt.  When all this stuff culminates, your income & purchasing power will go down...but debt payments won't.  That's how people in the 1930's were wiped out financially.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Financial Coup in the USA is Almost Complete

First, again I must state that this Coup is not any kind of massive, dark "conspiracy".  It's more like a bunch of greedy control freaks, a few of whom probably are well-meaning, working mostly independently toward a mutual goal---Global BIG Business as the governing force in the world.  Their tools are Edward Bernays style Propaganda, so-called "Free Trade" Agreements, and institutions such as the WTO, the IMF, the Bank of International Settlements (owned by national Central Banks), Central Banks, the G-20, the G-20's Financial Stability Board, numerous mega multi-national corporations, and the like.  Some of their members have referred to the rest of us as "the little people".  Such is their mindset.

Since the 1970's at the very least, this Juggernaut of Crony Capitalists has been shifting our economy from one of manufacturing to one of Financialization.  In that ongoing process, Middle Class jobs have evaporated, their replacements have been lower-paying & less secure, the incomes of the Super-Rich have increased exponentially, the dollar has been debased to an obscene degree, the Poor have become poorer, and our great Land has rushed at great speed toward NeoFeudalism.  The minions of the Crony Elites, the DC politicians (of both major Parties), have become millionaire "public servants".  A few exceptions to that do exist...but not enough.

These Crony Capitalist Elites make up what Bill Moyers and others refer to as the Shadow Government.  Their footprints are everywhere...all you have to do is look.  For example, CitiGroup (CitiBank) lobbyists wrote the draft of an Amendment to the last big DC spending bill that essentially rolled back some of the Dodd-Frank protections against the illegal & unethical practices of the Financial Sector.  The legislative banking "reforms" wound up being window-dressing...a joke.  Another example--- not long after the 2008 Financial Crisis, the Fed Reserve made available (in virtually zero-percent loans) to several mega banks the same total amount of money as was spent by the Fed Gov't from the Revolutionary War up to the 2008 Crisis.  Think about that for a moment...trillions of dollars.  One estimate is twelve trillion; another is $13.1 trillion.  Did those banks then use that money to make loans to small businesses, or help the economy in other ways?  Essentially, no.  Some of the windfall was loaned back to the Fed Gov't...the banks bought U.S. Treasuries (bonds) & are receiving at least quadruple the amount of interest that they are paying for the loans.  Some of the windfall was used to buy physical precious metals which now are stockpiled in mega bank vaults.  Some of the windfall was used to continue placing gambling bets on bizarre financial derivatives.  Some of the windfall was simply "banked".  None of the foregoing produced any jobs for the economy.

So now in 2016, we're basically in the same boat as we were in 2007.  The difference is that the Asset Bubbles and the Debt Bubble all are much larger than in 2007.  Plus, crude oil is tanking.  Plus, China is deflating.  Plus, the Fed Reserve essentially is out of ammo.  Plus, the Derivatives Bubble is estimated to be $1.5 quadrillion.  Plus, wages basically still are stagnant.  [51% of American working families make $30K per year or less.]  Plus, mega companies are buying back their own stock, thus posting phantom earnings in order to prop up their stock prices.  Plus, the real unemployment rate is estimated to be somewhere between 20% and 43%.  And on & on.

The goal seems to be to destroy our Financial System and our Economy...to be replaced by who knows what.  In the meantime, the Super-Rich are getting richer...and richer...and richer.  Almost nothing is "trickling down".  Also in the meantime, there's a War on Cash...a move to only digital "money".  If implemented, that will be the end of any semblance of privacy.  As to the U.S. Constitution, forget it... for the most part, it's long gone.  DC politicians violate it on an almost daily basis.

For ways to peacefully combat this entire obscenity, see a few of my previous posts.  More ways to come in the near future.  Forget voting at the national level...presently at least, that won't solve a damned thing.  The last forty years or so prove that; Democrats & Republicans have led us to where we are today.  They've both individually held the majority Power at different times.  SSDD.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Wall Street Loves the Iowa Winners

Even though the race between Clinton & Sanders arguably could be considered a tie, technically the multi-millionaire Clinton appears to have won.  Cruz, also a multi-millionaire, won on the Repub side.  [The Clintons, ~ $45 million total net worth; Cruz & his wife, ~ $3.5 million total net worth.]  SSDD.

Wall Street has contributed millions of dollars to both candidates.  Clinton has made more money giving speeches to Wall Street Banks than has husband Bill.  Cruz's wife works for Goldman Sachs.  SSDD.

Does all that prove anything?  No, but it is highly suggestive.  Each of those candidates is working hard to convince voters that he/she is a Populist.  The question arises:  why would Wall Street support a Populist candidate?  I can't think of one good reason.  In both 2008 & 2012, Wall Street gave more in campaign donations to Obama than to the Repub candidates.  Obama, the Corporatist who poses as a Populist.  Wall Street knows who's who...even today.  [I suppose one could argue that Wall Street conceivably could contribute to a Populist candidate in order to attempt to corrupt said candidate.  That was unnecessary in Obama's case; he already was a Corporatist.  His record proves that.]

It's too bad that the Corporate Media talking heads don't/won't ask all current candidates the following.
1.  Will you push for the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall in order to put a stop to Casino Capitalism in which Big Banks use our money with which to gamble?
2.  Will you push for the break-up of the monopolistic Big Banks?
3.  Will you push for stiff regulations concerning bizarre financial derivatives so that Wall Street gambling bets on them won't crash our economy as they did in 2008 and are doing now?  [Presently, massive oil derivatives are on the cusp of crashing the financial & economic systems again.  Never mind the derivatives on most all other commodities.  As a result, many (perhaps most) 401(k)s already have lost a few thousand dollars each.  SSDD.]
4.  Will you make a promise to NOT appoint Wall Streeters to Financial & Economic positions in your Administration?
5.  Will you promise to push for a full audit of the Fed Reserve?  [Wall Street pundits and the Fed itself often say that the Fed has been audited in the past...that's true, but it's always a restricted audit, never a full audit.  Trillions of dollars are unaccounted for.]

Too bad, indeed.  SSDD.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Biggest Bubble of Them All

Please read this piece completely before doing this--- open up a new window on your machine and find:
usdebtclock.org  ...I know, it sounds boring; trust me, it's not.  This is not the old Debt Clock.  This one has many, many categories of both public and private debt...and other important factors.

Take note of the following---

1.  Scroll down to the second to the last line of numbers.  Notice what "Corporation Assets" are doing as compared to "Household Assets".  You have to look carefully and take your time.  Don't focus only on the last digits in the trillions of dollars number; also watch the middle three digits until they change.  Supposedly, this is all in real time.

2.  Go up one line and find "US Debt Held by Foreign Countries"...decreasing relatively rapidly.  They are dumping US dollars.  According to Ron Kirby of Kirby Analytics, the total number of dollars dumped in the last 8-9 months is just a bit shy of one trillion.  Who is "buying" the debt?...probably the Fed Reserve.  That's more monetizing of our debt, which is unsustainable.

3.  Go up two more lines of numbers to "Money Creation" and all the way to the right find "Currency and Credit Derivatives 2016".  Last I looked, the total was well over $478 TRILLION.  That's many, many times more than the entire world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  Derivatives are a type of gambling bet.  Given the numbers, all losses could not possibly be covered...which is what happened in 2008.  That's why things like the Bespoke Tranche Opportunity not only are ridiculous, but harmful/dangerous as well.  Furthermore, they drain money from what could have been investments in means of production...the expansion of factories, or new businesses.

For info on the Debt Clock, scroll all the way down and click on "About" over toward the right side.
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On a different note, there's a MUST-SEE documentary on Netflix (and probably elsewhere online):  "Money for Nothing".  It's a partial history of the Fed Reserve, showing how that institution---along with the Administrations of LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, both the Bush men, and Obama---have contributed mightily to the economic ruination of the USA.  Yes, they all did some bit of good for extremely brief times, but overall their policies and actions have brought us economic disaster... unless you're Super-Rich.  If you don't agree, watch the film.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

A Few More Lies and/or Propaganda From Public and Private Institutions

1.  NBC News recently stated that the Fed interest rate hike (.25%) "...is a sign that the economy is improving.".  Nothing could be further from the truth.  That action is a sign that:  the Fed Reserve is recognizing it is increasingly losing credibility... and it is desperate.  For decades, Fed central planners have been facilitating a massive transfer of wealth from the common people to the Upper Crust.  As a result, the economic situation has been improving overwhelmingly only for the Rich and Powerful.  At the same time, Fed interference in the Money Market has caused the rest of us to struggle mightily simply to keep our heads above water.  The outright falsehoods put out by the Fed Gov't (at the highest levels) and regurgitated by the Corporate Media---regarding the unemployment rate, the price inflation rate, the jobs numbers, etc.---cannot belie the fact that we still are in a deep Recession, and heading for a Depression.  [I've detailed why that's true in several previous posts.]

2.  President Obama claims his ISIS Strategy is working, and that we will eventually "defeat ISIS".  About 9,000 U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria (never mind the airstrikes by other members of the "coalition") seem to have had little effect on ISIS, but plenty of negative effects on others--- the killing of innocent civilians, the creation of both refugees and more terrorists, and the destruction of civilian buildings.  Chaos prevails.  As to attacking ISIS sources of funding, good luck with that.  ISIS is funded primarily by Arab billionaires... billionaires.  If ISIS ever faces imminent "defeat", all they have to do is fade back into the woodwork... and live to fight another day.  Military actions are not the solution to the problem, but they are a great distraction from our imploding economy at home.  That has been done by governments for centuries.  Manipulating a population in this way is nothing new.

3.  A high Gov't official (can't recall who) recently stated that ISIS "has declared war on us".  That may be true, but we should keep this fact in mind:  "we" (i.e., our Gov't) attacked ISIS first, well before they did anything to anyone in the West...and that includes the brutal beheadings of Westerners.  I'm not defending ISIS in any way...but facts are facts.  Our Gov't once again stuck its nose into what basically is a civil war; "we" attacked ISIS in Iraq because they were getting close to some U.S. oil company operations there in the northern part of that country.

4.  Our Gov't is not providing an SS COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for next year because "according to the Consumer Price Index [CPI], there was no price inflation this year"...so say SSA Officials.  I guess those same officials did no grocery shopping or renting of housing this year...never mind the increase in the cost of OTC meds and various other commodities.  It's true we're in a deflationary period now (e.g., crude oil, most metals, & some other commodities have gone down in price), but that doesn't apply across the board.
A side note regarding Social Security---
Since retirement from wage slavery in 2004, my primary source of income has been SS Retirement.  Unlike some Americans (hopefully not a majority), I don't consider SS to be any type of "welfare".  That money was taken out of every one of my paychecks for over 40 years for the express purpose of helping to provide for my retirement; I want it all back...every penny, and I don't want it stolen from me via inflation of the money supply (which results in commodity price inflation).
Some politicians claim there is no SS Trust Fund.  Not true, there is one...since LBJ first did it, every Administration since then has raided that Fund & used the money for other purposes.  Consequently, the SS Trust Fund is full of U.S. Gov't IOUs.  That's why SS supposedly is in financial difficulty... no other reason.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well