Here in the Berkshires we're at least partially shielded from the financial desperation that people feel in other parts of the country. For example, Walmart's CEO just confirmed that
crowds of individuals, no longer employed and existing (as opposed to living) week to week, overwhelm Walmart stores throughout the country as midnight approaches in order to buy what they absolutely must have i.e. groceries, baby formula etc. The magic hour of midnight is when their "assistance cards" turn over and allow them to purchase the necessities of life for another week. The lines at Walmart's check out counters are the "bread lines" of what can only be called the Second Great Depression.
Suddenly, the endgame is becoming more transparent. With countries purposely weakening their currencies and threatening (legislation pending) to institute import duties, the always inevitable currency crisis appears to be underway. By attempting to gain export advantage while being able to repay their debts with cheaper currencies, the race to the bottom in fiat money is accelerating.
Just the hint that the Federal Reserve may shortly begin another round of quantitative easing (which is spinmanship for money printing), has sent wheat, corn, soybeans, coffee, sugar and cotton prices through the roof in the last few weeks. Soon those in the 2010 bread lines, along with the rest of us, will be paying a lot more for food and clothing while wages, if you're lucky enough to have any, remain flat. Can the cost of energy be far behind?
As the ongoing debasement of the U.S. dollar by our government and the Federal Reserve, a private consortium of bankers, gains speed, Americans, always the last to figure these things out, will finally notice that their dollars buy less and less. They will lose confidence in their currency. When that happens, the game will be over. Social unrest are polite words for what may follow.
This is serious stuff, folks. Look up from your reality shows and video games. Instead, focus on the barometer of economic chaos. Gold tells you all you have to know. The rest is up to you.
September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
INFLATE OR DIE
Observing the economy over the last three years is like watching a slow motion train wreck. But to this writer the country is fast approaching an inflection point. The Federal Reserve, now more powerful than ever, is nonetheless being squeezed ever tighter between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Frightened to the point of psychosis at the prospect of deflation, yet worried to the core by the consequences of inflation, the Fed, propaganda aside, really doesn't know what to do.
Deflation and gold are the twin enemies of the Federal Reserve. The "D" word is unthinkable, as it brings back horrendous memories of the Great Depression. Gold, because it is real money, has been going up for ten straight years. That means the Federal Reserve's money and that of all the world's central banks have been going down. After all, they're just pieces of colored paper backed by absolutely nothing. So what's Gentle Ben (Bernanke) to do?
With the country and most of the states basically bankrupt, the nation turns to its politicians for wisdom. What they get is a Right Wing whose rhetoric has become so over-the-top that it approaches outright insanity. On the other side of the aisle is a president who still thinks he can do business with Republicans and has no stomach for a good old fashioned fight. He remains passionless, professorial, cerebral, above the fray. Yet, somehow, the American people still believe what the corporations and the government tell them. And they do as they're told. Other than the Tea Party lunatics, most everyone else remains firmly glued to their couches.
Finally, when the you know what hits the fan, both the Federal Reserve and the politicians will go the way they've always gone: print money and lots of it. So, if you had to place a bet, it would be inflate or die.
August 5, 2010
Deflation and gold are the twin enemies of the Federal Reserve. The "D" word is unthinkable, as it brings back horrendous memories of the Great Depression. Gold, because it is real money, has been going up for ten straight years. That means the Federal Reserve's money and that of all the world's central banks have been going down. After all, they're just pieces of colored paper backed by absolutely nothing. So what's Gentle Ben (Bernanke) to do?
With the country and most of the states basically bankrupt, the nation turns to its politicians for wisdom. What they get is a Right Wing whose rhetoric has become so over-the-top that it approaches outright insanity. On the other side of the aisle is a president who still thinks he can do business with Republicans and has no stomach for a good old fashioned fight. He remains passionless, professorial, cerebral, above the fray. Yet, somehow, the American people still believe what the corporations and the government tell them. And they do as they're told. Other than the Tea Party lunatics, most everyone else remains firmly glued to their couches.
Finally, when the you know what hits the fan, both the Federal Reserve and the politicians will go the way they've always gone: print money and lots of it. So, if you had to place a bet, it would be inflate or die.
August 5, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
WHERE HAVE ALL THE TROPHY DEER GONE IN MAINE?
To the Editor:
Has it occurred to anyone that the reason there are no more trophy deer in the state of Maine is because you've shot them all? As usual, the blame is placed squarely on the predators i.e. the hated coyote when the predator-in-chief is Boobus Americanus a.k.a. demented hunters.
Throughout the history of mankind, hunting was the means to obtain food to get families through the long cold winter. Pursued in this manner, hunting culled the weakest individuals amongst the deer just as the coyote has always done. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand Darwin. Survival of the fittest has always worked if only left alone to do so. But then enter the trophy hunter. Going against nature he/she culls the herd by shooting the fittest and letting the weaker specimens reproduce. So, if you're trying to figure out what happened to all those trophy deer, just look on your wall.
CHARLES STEINHACKER
P.S. Don't tell anyone, but there are a few magnificent specimens left. BUT THEY ARE ARMED WITH SHOTGUNS, RIFLES AND AK-47s. They are waiting in ambush to turn the tables on the mentally-challenged trophy hunters. And these deer have access to the very best taxidermists in the state.
July 22, 2010
Has it occurred to anyone that the reason there are no more trophy deer in the state of Maine is because you've shot them all? As usual, the blame is placed squarely on the predators i.e. the hated coyote when the predator-in-chief is Boobus Americanus a.k.a. demented hunters.
Throughout the history of mankind, hunting was the means to obtain food to get families through the long cold winter. Pursued in this manner, hunting culled the weakest individuals amongst the deer just as the coyote has always done. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand Darwin. Survival of the fittest has always worked if only left alone to do so. But then enter the trophy hunter. Going against nature he/she culls the herd by shooting the fittest and letting the weaker specimens reproduce. So, if you're trying to figure out what happened to all those trophy deer, just look on your wall.
CHARLES STEINHACKER
P.S. Don't tell anyone, but there are a few magnificent specimens left. BUT THEY ARE ARMED WITH SHOTGUNS, RIFLES AND AK-47s. They are waiting in ambush to turn the tables on the mentally-challenged trophy hunters. And these deer have access to the very best taxidermists in the state.
July 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
AMERICA'S FUNDAMENTAL EQUATION
What is the essential equation that every American citizen should memorize? It is the collusion between Big Business and Big Government. So long as this conspiracy is allowed to flourish, the ongoing bear market in America will continue to accelerate.
For example, anyone with a functioning brain cell knows that to have meaningful health care reform, there must be a public option in order to create competition. That we were even debating this issue made it crystal clear that the Administration and Congress were putting the desires of the health insurance companies ahead of the people they were supposed to represent.
When Wall Street went nuts and tried to emulate Las Vegas, the casino they created was protected by government regulators and rating agencies until the whole thing came crashing down on the perpetrators themselves. When they cried out that no one saw this coming, the fact is that here, once again, anyone with common sense knew how it was going to end. Having practically taken down the global financial system with their self-serving greed, they were rewarded with trillions of taxpayer dollars, all courtesy of their many friends in government. Now they're back in the saddle, so don't even entertain the thought that Congress will legislate any meaningful regulations that might materially change the game. By the time an embarrassment in the form of a bill reaches Obama's desk for signing, he will gladly put pen to paper in order to say he did something as opposed to nothing when we all know it won't make a bit of difference just as it didn't in health care.
When we can even bear to look at the horrific tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, we can't help but focus in on the same bed that was shared, sometimes literally, by Big Oil and the Minerals Management Service, a division of the Department of the Interior. When BP presented its partner, I mean regulator, with a generic plan for dealing with a possible oil spill in the Gulf that included how to save the walruses and seals, the MMS obviously never even read the copied document that originated back in Alaska's Exxon Valdez days some 21 years ago. And when the same governmental service, charged with regulating offshore oil exploration, helicoptered out to Gulf Horizon and to the other various deepwater rigs, instead of inspecting what they found out there, they just accepted the so-called inspections that were done by the companies themselves. Deregulation had morphed into self regulation. BP and its cohorts, the real Axis of Evil on the planet, could care less about the environmental and economic damage their lust for profits have ravaged on the world at large. Their tunnel vision is squarely on the bottom line. And it's all done with a little help from their friends up on the Hill and in the Administration. 1000 lobbyists for 535 members of the Senate and House of Representatives, and a President who surrounded himself with a corporate Cabinet, have let the American people down. Instead of the eloquent rhetoric of change we heard on the campaign trail back in 2008, we got, instead, a reinvigorated Establishment.
To change a system so entrenched and powerful usually requires an out and out revolution. But since our military is currently in the act of training an entire army division down on a huge Texas base to be used, if necessary, against American citizens who get out of hand on their own soil, perhaps I can suggest three less drastic ideas that might help to make the aforementioned "relationship" a little less cozy without the shedding of blood. I should warn you in advance that none of these suggestions will ever see the light of day.
1. Establish white collar crime as a felony. In China, when a trader screws things up, they take him out in back and shoot him. If these crooks on Wall Street knew that they would be prosecuted with the same vigor that is applied to a teenager with half a joint in his car, things might actually change. Wall Street's greed still wouldn't produce anything, but its self interest might take on a different perspective.
2. Campaign Reform. If we accomplished only one thing in this country, it would be to inspire American citizens to demand campaign reform. Every candidate for office will receive the same amount of public money. All private donations by individuals, corporations, unions, non profits and lobbyists will be prohibited, and yes, considered a felony. By utilizing only a fixed amount of public money for election campaigns, politicians, who always congratulate themselves for all their years of "public service," will actually be able to serve the public. Public financing of campaigns, along with the elimination of private donations, is the only way to cut off the relationship between the "suits" and the "politicos."
3. End "Buyer Beware." We live in a system where for some reason it is the responsibility of the buyer to make sure he isn't being taken to the cleaners. Sellers of products and services seem to feel that they have almost an inalienable right to profits. I reread the Constitution the other day just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. And then I perused the Bill of Rights. No mention of this buyer beware philosophy in either document. To my way of thinking, a profit is a bonus available to the sellers only if they can provide their employees with safe working conditions and some degree of health and pension benefits, produce products that are safe for consumers and do so without harming the air, water or land, advertise said products or services without lying to the public, and, finally, pay their full share of taxes like the rest of us. If they can do all this in the manner just described, then they are eligible for a profit. We've tried it their way. It hasn't worked. Time for a little "Seller Beware."
In any case, do not forget for a moment what the basic equation is. Corporate America makes the rules, and our politicians are on their team, not ours. As long as this conspiracy lasts, America is on a slippery slope. Any other ideas, anyone? Anyone? Anyone?
June 21, 2010
For example, anyone with a functioning brain cell knows that to have meaningful health care reform, there must be a public option in order to create competition. That we were even debating this issue made it crystal clear that the Administration and Congress were putting the desires of the health insurance companies ahead of the people they were supposed to represent.
When Wall Street went nuts and tried to emulate Las Vegas, the casino they created was protected by government regulators and rating agencies until the whole thing came crashing down on the perpetrators themselves. When they cried out that no one saw this coming, the fact is that here, once again, anyone with common sense knew how it was going to end. Having practically taken down the global financial system with their self-serving greed, they were rewarded with trillions of taxpayer dollars, all courtesy of their many friends in government. Now they're back in the saddle, so don't even entertain the thought that Congress will legislate any meaningful regulations that might materially change the game. By the time an embarrassment in the form of a bill reaches Obama's desk for signing, he will gladly put pen to paper in order to say he did something as opposed to nothing when we all know it won't make a bit of difference just as it didn't in health care.
When we can even bear to look at the horrific tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, we can't help but focus in on the same bed that was shared, sometimes literally, by Big Oil and the Minerals Management Service, a division of the Department of the Interior. When BP presented its partner, I mean regulator, with a generic plan for dealing with a possible oil spill in the Gulf that included how to save the walruses and seals, the MMS obviously never even read the copied document that originated back in Alaska's Exxon Valdez days some 21 years ago. And when the same governmental service, charged with regulating offshore oil exploration, helicoptered out to Gulf Horizon and to the other various deepwater rigs, instead of inspecting what they found out there, they just accepted the so-called inspections that were done by the companies themselves. Deregulation had morphed into self regulation. BP and its cohorts, the real Axis of Evil on the planet, could care less about the environmental and economic damage their lust for profits have ravaged on the world at large. Their tunnel vision is squarely on the bottom line. And it's all done with a little help from their friends up on the Hill and in the Administration. 1000 lobbyists for 535 members of the Senate and House of Representatives, and a President who surrounded himself with a corporate Cabinet, have let the American people down. Instead of the eloquent rhetoric of change we heard on the campaign trail back in 2008, we got, instead, a reinvigorated Establishment.
To change a system so entrenched and powerful usually requires an out and out revolution. But since our military is currently in the act of training an entire army division down on a huge Texas base to be used, if necessary, against American citizens who get out of hand on their own soil, perhaps I can suggest three less drastic ideas that might help to make the aforementioned "relationship" a little less cozy without the shedding of blood. I should warn you in advance that none of these suggestions will ever see the light of day.
1. Establish white collar crime as a felony. In China, when a trader screws things up, they take him out in back and shoot him. If these crooks on Wall Street knew that they would be prosecuted with the same vigor that is applied to a teenager with half a joint in his car, things might actually change. Wall Street's greed still wouldn't produce anything, but its self interest might take on a different perspective.
2. Campaign Reform. If we accomplished only one thing in this country, it would be to inspire American citizens to demand campaign reform. Every candidate for office will receive the same amount of public money. All private donations by individuals, corporations, unions, non profits and lobbyists will be prohibited, and yes, considered a felony. By utilizing only a fixed amount of public money for election campaigns, politicians, who always congratulate themselves for all their years of "public service," will actually be able to serve the public. Public financing of campaigns, along with the elimination of private donations, is the only way to cut off the relationship between the "suits" and the "politicos."
3. End "Buyer Beware." We live in a system where for some reason it is the responsibility of the buyer to make sure he isn't being taken to the cleaners. Sellers of products and services seem to feel that they have almost an inalienable right to profits. I reread the Constitution the other day just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. And then I perused the Bill of Rights. No mention of this buyer beware philosophy in either document. To my way of thinking, a profit is a bonus available to the sellers only if they can provide their employees with safe working conditions and some degree of health and pension benefits, produce products that are safe for consumers and do so without harming the air, water or land, advertise said products or services without lying to the public, and, finally, pay their full share of taxes like the rest of us. If they can do all this in the manner just described, then they are eligible for a profit. We've tried it their way. It hasn't worked. Time for a little "Seller Beware."
In any case, do not forget for a moment what the basic equation is. Corporate America makes the rules, and our politicians are on their team, not ours. As long as this conspiracy lasts, America is on a slippery slope. Any other ideas, anyone? Anyone? Anyone?
June 21, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
WALL STREET BACK ON THE ATTACK
The hedge funds and the proprietary traders of the banks too big to fail smell big money once again. They are back on the attack. Instead of the debt of mere companies, this time it is the debt of the countries themselves that they are going after.
This was made possible by government and central bank bailouts of private debt. Now that the debt has gone public, the countries have become ground zero for the bloodthirsty money shufflers from Wall Street.
The important thing to understand is that we're dealing with criminals vs. fools. And the criminals can put on the shorts faster than the fools can print money. Wall Street will pick off country by country, paper currency by paper currency.
This strategy has provided the pathetic U.S. dollar with a reprieve. In reality, it is an opportunity to get out of U.S. dollar investments while you still can. The debt dilemma of the United States is so drastic that it is merely a matter of when and not if. When the bad guys are through with Europe, Great Britain and Japan, they will come after the reserve currency of the world. When that happens, confidence will be lost in all paper currencies, and the financial system as we know it will cease to exist.
May 30, 2010
This was made possible by government and central bank bailouts of private debt. Now that the debt has gone public, the countries have become ground zero for the bloodthirsty money shufflers from Wall Street.
The important thing to understand is that we're dealing with criminals vs. fools. And the criminals can put on the shorts faster than the fools can print money. Wall Street will pick off country by country, paper currency by paper currency.
This strategy has provided the pathetic U.S. dollar with a reprieve. In reality, it is an opportunity to get out of U.S. dollar investments while you still can. The debt dilemma of the United States is so drastic that it is merely a matter of when and not if. When the bad guys are through with Europe, Great Britain and Japan, they will come after the reserve currency of the world. When that happens, confidence will be lost in all paper currencies, and the financial system as we know it will cease to exist.
May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
FINANCIAL HURRICANES HAVE TWO EYE WALLS
Complacency got a wake up call on Thursday. But will the 1000-point intra-day drop on Wall Street bounce off of complacency without education taking place?
We are dealing with a financial hurricane. The first half of the storm hit us hard in late 2008 when the banks hit the wall and deleveraging in the private sector led to a form of gravity rarely seen on planet Earth.
Next came the eye of the storm with its calm winds and tranquil blue skies. The eye is formed by a combination of money printing and propaganda. Well, that wasn't so bad. After all, Wall Street and the Federal Government are telling us we're in a recovery. And we believe what the authorities tell us. I guess the trillions in bailouts for the criminals must have worked. Everything is going to be all right.
But a hurricane is a two-sided animal. Just when you think it's safe to go out and party again, the second eye wall hits with a vengeance. Only this time it's public deleveraging coming at us. Greece is but a brief gust of wind. Think Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain and Japan. And then there's China whose real estate bubble is searching gamely for a pin. If it finds one, better get into your bunkers
Thank God for the good old USA, right? Wrong. Just compare inconsequential Greece to California, the seventh largest economy in the world. California is broke. So is New York, Illinois and New Jersey. Europe has its broken states, so does America. Our municipalities, our states and the Federal Government itself are bankrupt. All of the parts of the global storm will have to be bailed out with freshly minted pieces of paper. And as for the U.S. Government, it's inflate or die.
So let's hope that complacency learns a lesson from Thursday's stock market. When the hurricane finishes its business with Europe, it has the United States squarely in its sights. So batten down the hatches and do what you must to protect yourself from what's coming down the road.
We are dealing with a financial hurricane. The first half of the storm hit us hard in late 2008 when the banks hit the wall and deleveraging in the private sector led to a form of gravity rarely seen on planet Earth.
Next came the eye of the storm with its calm winds and tranquil blue skies. The eye is formed by a combination of money printing and propaganda. Well, that wasn't so bad. After all, Wall Street and the Federal Government are telling us we're in a recovery. And we believe what the authorities tell us. I guess the trillions in bailouts for the criminals must have worked. Everything is going to be all right.
But a hurricane is a two-sided animal. Just when you think it's safe to go out and party again, the second eye wall hits with a vengeance. Only this time it's public deleveraging coming at us. Greece is but a brief gust of wind. Think Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain and Japan. And then there's China whose real estate bubble is searching gamely for a pin. If it finds one, better get into your bunkers
Thank God for the good old USA, right? Wrong. Just compare inconsequential Greece to California, the seventh largest economy in the world. California is broke. So is New York, Illinois and New Jersey. Europe has its broken states, so does America. Our municipalities, our states and the Federal Government itself are bankrupt. All of the parts of the global storm will have to be bailed out with freshly minted pieces of paper. And as for the U.S. Government, it's inflate or die.
So let's hope that complacency learns a lesson from Thursday's stock market. When the hurricane finishes its business with Europe, it has the United States squarely in its sights. So batten down the hatches and do what you must to protect yourself from what's coming down the road.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
A RECIPE FOR GETTING OUR COUNTRY BACK
While Wall Street conspires with the U.S. Government to lie to the American People about the fantasy economic recovery through their public relations firm, the mainstream press, the facts tell a very different story. I beg the public to come out of denial and understand that this country is heading down a slippery slope towards bankruptcy, a currency crisis and brutal inflation that will inevitably lead to social unrest. We can nolonger even entertain the absurdity that the Democrats or the Republicans, who are bought and paid for by the banksters, will do anything meaningful about the oncoming storm. It is up to us individual citizens to fight for our own future and that of our children by taking matters into our own hands. It is time to fundamentally change the evil system that is threatening the end of America. The following are just some of the proposals that need to be implemented before it is too late.
1. We must start with a campaign finance law which mandates the use of a fixed amount of public money and eliminates all private individual, corporate, union or non-profit campaign contributions.
2. We must break up the big banks and establish a maximum asset limit of perhaps $100 billion. This will put an end to "too big to fail."
3. White collar crime shall be treated as serious felonies which can lead to long prison sentences. The time has come to place this kind of fraudulent behavior that destroys peoples' lives over and above that of a teenager caught with an ounce of marijuana in his car
4. We must drastically alter the institution of the American lobby system by allowing only one lobbyist per organization, whether it be a corporation, union, non profit etc. A law must be passed to prohibit any monies to be given by these lobbyists to sitting members of Congress or those running for office.
5. We must insist that all current regulators from such entities as the SEC, CFTC, FDA, EPA etc. be fired. Then those, who pass a test that indicates they understand the industry they're going to regulate and are willing to take an oath that they will protect the public from any and all abuses emanating from that industry, will be given positions as regulators. Violation of that oath will be considered a crime and will be punishable by incarceration. No money can be given to these regulators by any entity wishing to influence them. At the same time, regulators who expose wrong doing in their respective industry shall be rewarded with bonuses. This will at last assure that regulators will be intelligent, ethical and incentivized.
6. We must also fire all current personnel in rating agencies. They must be replaced with knowledgeable individuals who, like the regulators above, will take an oath to protect the public by aggressively looking at corporate balance sheets and making sure that ratings favor investors and not corporations. It will be a crime for a rating agency or any of its personnel to take money from a corporation for any purpose.
7. President Obama must fire anyone working in his Cabinet and in lower positions, as well, if they were in positions of responsibility during the lead up to the financial crisis of 2008. For starters that would include Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geitner, Larry Summers, Gary Gensler along with anyone else who came to the administration from Goldman Sachs.. These are all friends of Wall Street. They sat idly by or looked the other way as the financial implosion struck. You cannot expect these individuals, who were partially responsible for causing the crisis, to do anything meaningful to change the regulations or the enforcement policies governing their pals in Wall Street.
8. In order to eliminate the mindboggling complexity of our financial system and the explosive danger it poses to the public, all over-the-counter derivatives must be banned.
9. Above all else, we must abolish the Federal Reserve and return to sound money backed by gold and silver as was mandated by our Constitution. If we do not make this fundamental change, our faith-based currency, which is nothing more than pieces of colored paper, will be debased until people lose confidence in its value and a full-fledged currency crisis becomes inevitable..
10. Since both political parties serve their corporate masters and not the people who elected them and pay their salaries, the Democratic and Republican parties must be abolished and replaced by new independent parties who will abide by the new campaign laws and take an oath to represent the American people and not special interests. Failure to honor this oath will also be considered a crime punishable by imprisonment.
11. Additional Wall Street regulations must include position limits on all stocks and commodities to prevent manipulation in order that we can once again have free markets in this country. No government entity may interfere in free markets by buying or selling in those private enterprise bourses. All market participants, including banks, must have all assets marked to market at the end of trading each day. No more holding of assets of any kind off balance sheets. No more holding of assets in dummy corporations offshore. No more fantasy marked-to-model valuations. Strict accounting procedures must be mandated and enforced under penalty of the law.
12. Specific accountability will be enforced throughout the financial and commercial systems. Incompetent or fraudulent behavior will no longer be rewarded or tolerated. Shareholders of a public company will determine their CEO's salary. Bonuses for employees will be based on performance and again will be determined by the shareholders, who, after all, own each company.
13. A Consumer Protection Department must be created. No one cares about the fat cats on Wall Street. They'll be just fine, I can assure you. It is the American people who need protection from the real axis of evil in this world.
14. Laws must be enacted making it illegal to wire tap Americans without a warrant, delve into their financial affairs in secret or hack into their emails without asking permission. The police state must revert back to good old fashioned freedom.
15. The so-called "wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan must be ended at once. All Americans occupying those two countries must return home immediately. (Can you imagine if another nation occupied the USA)? Our uninvited presence in their world is the inspiration for terrorism. Getting out is politically and economically the right thing to do.
16. We have lived too long in a caveat emptor (buyer beware) system where the buyer comes up empty. Part of taking back our country is to recognize that so-called consumers are human beings. From now on it's a seller beware nation.
The steps outlined above may appear extreme and perhaps a bit "far out," but they are crucial to America's survival as a leading nation in what otherwise will be Asia's century.
April 18, 2010
1. We must start with a campaign finance law which mandates the use of a fixed amount of public money and eliminates all private individual, corporate, union or non-profit campaign contributions.
2. We must break up the big banks and establish a maximum asset limit of perhaps $100 billion. This will put an end to "too big to fail."
3. White collar crime shall be treated as serious felonies which can lead to long prison sentences. The time has come to place this kind of fraudulent behavior that destroys peoples' lives over and above that of a teenager caught with an ounce of marijuana in his car
4. We must drastically alter the institution of the American lobby system by allowing only one lobbyist per organization, whether it be a corporation, union, non profit etc. A law must be passed to prohibit any monies to be given by these lobbyists to sitting members of Congress or those running for office.
5. We must insist that all current regulators from such entities as the SEC, CFTC, FDA, EPA etc. be fired. Then those, who pass a test that indicates they understand the industry they're going to regulate and are willing to take an oath that they will protect the public from any and all abuses emanating from that industry, will be given positions as regulators. Violation of that oath will be considered a crime and will be punishable by incarceration. No money can be given to these regulators by any entity wishing to influence them. At the same time, regulators who expose wrong doing in their respective industry shall be rewarded with bonuses. This will at last assure that regulators will be intelligent, ethical and incentivized.
6. We must also fire all current personnel in rating agencies. They must be replaced with knowledgeable individuals who, like the regulators above, will take an oath to protect the public by aggressively looking at corporate balance sheets and making sure that ratings favor investors and not corporations. It will be a crime for a rating agency or any of its personnel to take money from a corporation for any purpose.
7. President Obama must fire anyone working in his Cabinet and in lower positions, as well, if they were in positions of responsibility during the lead up to the financial crisis of 2008. For starters that would include Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geitner, Larry Summers, Gary Gensler along with anyone else who came to the administration from Goldman Sachs.. These are all friends of Wall Street. They sat idly by or looked the other way as the financial implosion struck. You cannot expect these individuals, who were partially responsible for causing the crisis, to do anything meaningful to change the regulations or the enforcement policies governing their pals in Wall Street.
8. In order to eliminate the mindboggling complexity of our financial system and the explosive danger it poses to the public, all over-the-counter derivatives must be banned.
9. Above all else, we must abolish the Federal Reserve and return to sound money backed by gold and silver as was mandated by our Constitution. If we do not make this fundamental change, our faith-based currency, which is nothing more than pieces of colored paper, will be debased until people lose confidence in its value and a full-fledged currency crisis becomes inevitable..
10. Since both political parties serve their corporate masters and not the people who elected them and pay their salaries, the Democratic and Republican parties must be abolished and replaced by new independent parties who will abide by the new campaign laws and take an oath to represent the American people and not special interests. Failure to honor this oath will also be considered a crime punishable by imprisonment.
11. Additional Wall Street regulations must include position limits on all stocks and commodities to prevent manipulation in order that we can once again have free markets in this country. No government entity may interfere in free markets by buying or selling in those private enterprise bourses. All market participants, including banks, must have all assets marked to market at the end of trading each day. No more holding of assets of any kind off balance sheets. No more holding of assets in dummy corporations offshore. No more fantasy marked-to-model valuations. Strict accounting procedures must be mandated and enforced under penalty of the law.
12. Specific accountability will be enforced throughout the financial and commercial systems. Incompetent or fraudulent behavior will no longer be rewarded or tolerated. Shareholders of a public company will determine their CEO's salary. Bonuses for employees will be based on performance and again will be determined by the shareholders, who, after all, own each company.
13. A Consumer Protection Department must be created. No one cares about the fat cats on Wall Street. They'll be just fine, I can assure you. It is the American people who need protection from the real axis of evil in this world.
14. Laws must be enacted making it illegal to wire tap Americans without a warrant, delve into their financial affairs in secret or hack into their emails without asking permission. The police state must revert back to good old fashioned freedom.
15. The so-called "wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan must be ended at once. All Americans occupying those two countries must return home immediately. (Can you imagine if another nation occupied the USA)? Our uninvited presence in their world is the inspiration for terrorism. Getting out is politically and economically the right thing to do.
16. We have lived too long in a caveat emptor (buyer beware) system where the buyer comes up empty. Part of taking back our country is to recognize that so-called consumers are human beings. From now on it's a seller beware nation.
The steps outlined above may appear extreme and perhaps a bit "far out," but they are crucial to America's survival as a leading nation in what otherwise will be Asia's century.
April 18, 2010
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