The co-chairmen of President Barack Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform — former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson and University of North Carolina President Erksine Bowles — have called for increasing taxes and cutting spending in order to trim some $4 trillion from the nation’s budget over the next ten years.
[Read more...]Bernanke Clips the People’s Coin – From Bakersfield to Burma
November 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
“Ben Bernanke: The Chauncey Gardiner of Central Banking” examined the Federal Reserve’s November 3, 2010, decision to save the economy by inflating the asset markets. Chairman Bernanke shared his unpardonable rationale for QE2 in the Washington Post, on November 4, 2010. His deadly cruise missiles, QE1 and QE2, were described in “Chauncey Gardiner.”
[Read more...]The Fed’s Teenage Temper Tantrum
October 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Notwithstanding overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Fed remains steadfast in its refusal to accept any blame whatsoever for the near collapse in 2008 of the financial system it regulates. That said, the Fed is quick to take credit for having saved the system from disaster and for getting the economy back on track. On track? Well, over a year ago, Chairman Bernanke was talking about how the “green shoots� of recovery were increasingly evident. We’re not sure exactly what was green, other than the colossal amounts of freshly printed dollars being thrown at the economy, but just as young plants don’t always survive and thrive, the US economy is clearly struggling again of late, with the broad unemployment rate U6 having risen again to 17.1% in September.
[Read more...]Central Bankers are Paid to Lie – Buy Corn
October 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment
“I assure this committee that, if I am confirmed, I will be strictly independent of all political influences and will be guided solely by the Federal Reserve’s mandate from Congress and by the public interest.�
-Prospective Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, confirmation hearing, 2005
Congress Needs a New Pair of Eyeglasses
August 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Sky-high spending has become commonplace in the US Congress, among Democrats and Republicans alike, and it’s the taxpayer that foots the bill. It’s time for a budgetary check up.
And, if it’s not an ordinary vision problem, the big spenders may be colorblind… unable to tell the difference between the black and red ink. 
[Read more...]Typical Family Mired in Debt, Like the US
July 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Uncle Sam’s talking the talk, but not walking the walk when it comes to the blackhole of debt. It’s not just the highest level of government… the nation is overwhelmed by debtors at the household, municipal, and state levels, as well. Following the federal example, we assume.
[Read more...]An Economy Not Built on Solid Ground
July 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Faced with crisis, the White House and Congress turned to fiscal stimulus that’s not only itself unsustainable, but that’s also unable to provide a firm foundation for lasting recovery.
Sooner or later, the US will have to pay the piper in the form of reduced government services, some more needed than others, and substantially higher taxes for households and businesses. This is one trillion-plus-dollar beast that could stand to benefit from a leak.
[Read more...]4 out of 5 Americans Aren’t Buying Financial Reform
July 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Bloomberg just completed a poll this week which finds four out of five Americans have little to no confidence in new financial reform legislation likely to be approved by Congress. The bill includes additional Wall Street oversight, a new consumer watchdog housed within the Fed (where it’s bound to be as secretive as other Fed activities), a new procedure for winding down “too big to fail” institutions in the process of collapsing, and other such programs.
[Read more...]
The $12 Billion — No, Make That $24 Billion — Tax Increase
“I have some concern about the legislation,” says House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte.
Not that it’s stopping him from supporting an Internet sales tax. Not when it could raise $24 billion for state and local governments. (Where do they get these figures? It was only half that when we covered the issue in depth in late 2011.)
[Read more...]Click for detailed story