The Wake Up Call

Money creation is not wealth creation. Money created must be backed up by new, underlying creation of wealth. Money is a claim on goods. That’s why printing money on a desert island won’t work! Where does the Fed’s $16 trillion fit into all this? The effect of rising interest rates on real estate: fatal. The unemployment statistics are not at all the “wonderful news” described by the mainstream press. The U-6 unemployment statistic, in fact, soared from 13.8% in May to 14.3% in June. Manufacturing jobs posted their fourth consecutive monthly drop in June. Corporate earnings second-quarter projections are not bullish. Huge demand for (untrained) English teachers abroad

The absurdities of the justice system in the U.S. The unfairness of incarceration and the chaos of the prison system. The mindlessness and uncaring attitude of the authorities quite unparalleled in other developed countries. Some horrific statistics. The police, likewise, behave more-and more like wild animals than keepers of the peace. Elizabeth Warren introduces her first bill as Senator. Wall Street, be very afraid! Quick comment on today’s monthly unemployment figures. Nigel Farage talks to the European Parliament about ending the institution, the euro and the new member: Croatia. A book called “The Passage To Europe” , by Van Middelaar criticizes the European project along the lines of Farage. David Stockman says Henry Paulson was totally unqualified to be Treasury Secretary and Bernanke is a ‘totally fake scholar of the Great Depression’. Greece is in deep trouble again. No end in sight (other than bankruptcy – which will follow)

A Nation Of Sheep A survey of attitudes and opinions and basic general knowledge exhibited by the ‘everyday-man-in-the-street’, not an edifying experience. Willful ignorance and stupidity personify the average mortal in the U.S. The lesson here is that hardened social attitudes prevail which are seemingly unshakable. This is accompanied by a cheerful unthinking optimism redolent of the Titanic’s passengers as she was going down – that everything would be OK. People truly have no idea at all of the horrors that are about to overtake them or the encroachments that are being levied on their freedom. The stock market as seen by an associate of Dick Morris. More on the vicissitudes of the American consumer. A quick comment on real estate. Americans have no savings. They live on a diet of optimism. A discussion of the difference between the optimistic “follow-your-dreams” crowd and those who focus on raw determination and discipline

Raw statistics simply show no growth at all in employment. Stimulus has done nothing to alleviate the situation. In fact, it has exacerbated it. Adding debt to debt did not, cannot and will not work, either. The situation is unthinkably grim – and getting worse by the day. Matt Taibbi talks about the rating agencies scandal. America has no idea what is in store for it economically. We are looking at a country basically formulated as a giant, future ghetto of impoverished people dead ahead. The story of the NSA. The Fed has vastly overstepped its mandates. The meaning of the fall in bond prices. Gross fraud by Irish bankers (no arrests or convictions, of course). A new book, Banned Bad Boys, talks about ingredients commonly used in 80% of American convenience food that have been banned by other countries, including azodicarbonamide, commonly found in frozen dinners and yoga mats

Overt fraud, lies and unconscionable behavior from B of A’s mortgage servicing unit. Whistle-blowers are now tumbling out of the closet. Listen to some of their stories. Fred Branfman interviewed about whether the expanding powers of the executive branch protect national security. His conclusions are sobering. How “targets for assassination” are taken out seamlessly. Economic growth still nowhere in evidence (the so-called “statistics of growth” are nothing more than the goosing of the system through the injection of new money ‘out-of-thin-air’). More on the plight of the Millennials. Studying success and failure to ascertain the secret of success

Following Bernanke’s press conference two days ago, we take an in-depth look at the work and success rate of economists and their ‘predictions’. It is a sad and pathetic story. They are worse than useless because if they were just useless, people wouldn’t take any notice. But they are so convinced of their prognoses and solutions that they sucker people into making unwise decisions… and all this despite the ready evidence (which is spelled out here in detail). The problem right now is that Bernanke’s policies are taking the country down the road to ruin – and there’s no longer any turning back. The Fed admits trying to prop up the stock market. But job creation has been non-existent since 2008. The scandal of secrecy behind the Trans Pacific Partnership, a bill designed to blindside Congress at the last moment

The bubbles are all about to burst. No amount of money-from-thin-air can save the system. We are beyond the question of ‘economic recovery’, we are into survival mode at this point. The system will not survive. The banks have learned nothing from the 2008 financial implosion, back to gambling as before – business as usual. Why didn’t the FBI check out the radical mosque where the Boston bombers worshipped? They didn’t even bother to contact the mosque leaders. Homeland Insecurity? The World Justice Report rankings are very sobering for the United States. Detroit bankrupt. A list of the frivolities indulged by the government

The story of bad decisions following the 2008 financial crisis which will have repercussions for many years to come. The Fed is behind the entire, sorry episode. The rebound in GDP was almost entirely due to fiscal stimulus which did nothing to stimulate the economy. New bubbles have been blown and previously thought-to-be-dead bubbles have been gloriously resurrected. Meanwhile, a depression was born. David Stockman interviewed about the dangers of government intervention in the economy. “Obamacare” will leave millions uninsured, incredible though it may seem. Recent real estate price gains are almost all the result of cash purchases (by wealthy institutions). Secrecy at the highest level of government is similar to that experienced in many third-world countries

A primer on banking and ‘money-from-thin-air’ and how your deposits get processed. How the interbank system works. How banks create the money they need to make loans. How the government obtains the money it needs for its operations. Lending money to the public. Why the banks get the juicy rates from the Fed and the public…doesn’t! Foreign outrage at the U.S. government snooping into international communications

Suicide now outpaces the rate of death on the roads and is now the leading cause of ‘injury death’ in America. The annual rate has risen every year since 1999. Suicide led death from heart disease at last year’s annual rate of 107,536 to 98,374. The American has turned out truly to be his/her own greatest danger today. I discuss the relevant details of the current, appalling, economic crisis that has led to this dire situation. A few words on the immense damage that Ben Bernanke has wrought on America – and much of the rest of the world. The unintended consequences of his mad experiment with money and the singular lack of recovery are more and more in evidence as time goes by

The policies of the U.S. government and the Fed are useless and destructive. They are just creating poverty. They have no idea what they are doing. The world economy is careening downhill. Everywhere you look things are unravelling. Even the E.C.B. (European Central Bank) is warning of a renewed banking crisis. The duct tape of credit is all that’s holding things together at this point. Average student loan debt: $35,200. Teacher threatened by authorities after informing his students of their constitutional (5th Amendment) rights. How the Baby Boomers have stolen from future generations. A list of the top ten countries rated by ‘happiness’. Guess which country did not even make the list

The horrors of health insurance. The inability of “Obamacare” to confront this. Costing and billing by the healthcare industry. The profound corruption of the entire endeavor. I explain the process in some detail. The outrage is unspeakable. The economy is not only not ‘in recovery’, it cannot recover, mathematically-speaking. The lies from the BLS disguise the extent of the problem with unemployment much, much higher than the officially-stated rate. Interest rates are soaring in Japan and that is creating a knock-on effect in the U.S.  The bubble is bursting. More on Japan which has already painted itself into an economic corner from which it cannot escape. They are printing money furiously, which will create a massive financial upheaval. Obama wants to tax air travel more than the crushing taxes already levied on hapless tourists and businessmen. Former IRS Commissioner Shulman visited the White House 157 times during the first Obama administration, including 118 times while the IRS were focusing on Obama’s dissenters. Number of times the previous IRS incumbent visited the White House: 1. George Carlin on what happens when one event kicks off a series of “mishaps”

A very hard-hitting, in-depth look at the educational system, rife with stupidity and waste. It is hard to comprehend the collapse in standards which afflicts all walks of life in the United States but education is perhaps the most egregious because so much money goes to support a monstrous program. The disintegration of the educational system must offer one of the world’s most fascinating studies in how national decline plays itself out. The problems of education go hand-in-hand with the collapse of the entire social system of the country. The scandal of the hunger-striking detainees in Guantanamo. The story of Japan, another economic terminal case. The Dutch economy is now hitting the skids. Obama’s lie about cheaper premiums to come as a result of Obamacare

Some commentary to help you understand where the MSM is coming from. Various facts that explain their bias and slavish support of the status quo. Observations on what will happen when the economic bubble pops. Fear and intimidation growing in the United States. Police brutality administered to a motorist filming police with her telephone camera. Another citizen snapping photos at 3 a.m. arrested but never charged. Dramatic increases in suicides in the U.S. More on Americans’ historic obsession with homeownership at any price and mortgage. Update on Japan. A comment from Judge Andrew Napolitano. Another citizen arrested with no charges laid against him (a libertarian activist speaking at a rally)

A new study shows that homeownership can actually increase unemployment in that it is inhospitable to innovation and job creation. Being tied to a home you cannot sell severely crimps your ability to find a new job. Home interest deductibility is inherently unfair to renters. Yet homeownership’s reputation has not taken much of a beating despite the price declines of recent years. The recent 60 Minutes segment on those returning from war with head injuries. Doug Nolan’s take on the euphoria overwhelming the stock market today. The effect of the recent rally on corporations. Bill Bonner’s humorous take on suicide