(Robert Sinn) “When the economic data and financial markets soften the Fed strikes a more dovish tone, and as we saw yesterday when things improve the Fed Chairman does not mention the idea of additional stimulus and acknowledges the potential for a short term spike in inflation due to higher gasoline prices.”

Bernanke says, “Since these projections were made, gasoline prices have moved up, primarily reflecting higher global oil prices – a development that is likely to push up inflation temporarily while reducing consumers’ purchasing power.” And despite the fact that Bernanke didn’t mention “quantitative” once — here or anywhere else in his testimony — the media was quick to hype the Fed’s mere acknowledgement of “potential inflation” as a change in stance.

Full Story: Bernanke’s Poker Game (RobertSinn)

However, the majority of the mass media conveniently overlooked the real story of the day…

(WSJ) “The European Central Bank handed out €529.5 billion ($712.81 billion) in cheap, three-year loans to 800 lenders, the central bank’s latest effort to arrest a financial crisis now entering its third year.

Wednesday’s loans were on top of the €489.2 billion of similar loans the ECB dispensed to 523 banks in late December. The ECB’s goal is to help struggling banks pay off maturing debts and to coax them to lend to strained governments and customers. The takeup of this week’s loans was roughly consistent with what bankers, investors and analysts had expected.”

Full Story: ECB Gives Banks Big Dollop of Cash (WSJ)

WOW! So the same day Bernanke is noticing some possible inflation, most news sources completely overlooked one of the greatest liquidity injections ever on the very same day… And in hyping up the wrong story to “help” cover it all up, the media also gave these same banks the opportunity to park their free cash right back into the stock markets at a short-lived “NO QE3″ discount.

(Jim Sinclair) “Because of the volatility you experienced in gold today, and the absolute fact that it was an MSM cover operation of today’s covert operation, which was one of the largest injections of QE liquidity into the Euro banking system ever, you must know the facts.”

“If, in fact, what Bernanke attempted to tell the investment world today, that QE may not be necessary because of a modest improvement in the statistics of unemployment, if that was truly to be believed, then the stock market should have been off 800 points while gold was gold was down $100.  Because the same thing moving the stock market is what’s moving the metals and that is pure liquidity.”

Full Story: Today was a Cover-Up By the Fed & Mainstream Media (JimSinclair)

So for those of you worried about an end to quantitative easing, alleviate your fears. QE and cheap easy money for the well-connected kleptocrats is alive and well and not likely to end all that soon…

(MartinArmstrong) “Politicians everywhere are sitting on their hands because they believe that if they do nothing and maintain the status quo mixed with austerity to save the bankers somehow we will grow our way out of this one as before. The problem is they fail to distinguish between a private generated financial crisis and a Sovereign Debt Crisis where they are the problem.

The people are just not to be given a right to vote on any of this and if the system can grow out of it, in two years everyone will forget about it – that’s the plan. To clarify why I have been critical of the austerity in Greece and the property taxes, Schumpeter describes the Business Cycle as a force of Creative Destruction. These are periods of tremendous economic transition. It is one thing to impose property taxes and insist upon government reducing its work force that sound like solid conservative economic advice for Greece. However, that presumes there are private sector jobs waiting in the wings.  What is taking place in Greece is that there is no private sector alternatives at this time. Laying people off is one thing. To impose then property taxes that are due irrespective of income then subjects those same people to massive waves of foreclosures for failure to pay the tax. The US Great Depression was so bad NOT because of the stock market crash, but (1) the sovereign debt crisis that wiped out savings and reduced capital in the USA contributing to over 3000 bank failures, and (2) the Dust Bowl that eliminated agrarian jobs when agriculture accounted for 40% of the civil work force resulting in the ‘hobo’ lifestyle.  It was WWII that provided the  ‘transition’ reducing unemployment and transformed farmers into skilled labor. The Great Depression after the Panic of 1857 was followed 4 years later by the US Civil War, which was also the ‘transition’ at that time relieving unemployment.

Today, there is no plan. There is no transition, only austerity. The politicians are doing NOTHING whatsoever for any reforms they reject because it would change the way they have been doing business since WWII. Italy’s debt is bigger than Spain, Portugal, and Greece combined.  It is too big to be bailed out and there is no PLAN B to even address what happens if sitting on their hands blows up in everyone’s face? Stay away from ALL government debt! This is a wave of Creative Destruction. We are in a transition to a completely new world ahead.”

Full Story: Italian Head of State Pledges to Resign Schumpeter’s Creative Destruction? (MartinArmstrong)

(MartinArmstrong) “Government Is Living in a State of Denial.  They speak, see & hear nothing of a debt crisis. .. Italy is the third largest bond issuer and nobody in government has figured out that this a Sovereign Debt Crisis yet?  What Government FAILS to understand is they are the PROBLEM!

Because government is the PROBLEM, they live in a state of denial and cannot correct the situation for they cannot objectively look at themselves. Instead, they attack the people. Fannie Mae asks for $7.8bn as losses continue. Morgan Stanley has been accused over mortgage bond issues and MF Global goes bust exposing the truth that SEC & CFTC never audit the NY banks and are incapable of detecting that they may be trading with client’s money.

.. the whole theory upon which the banking system has been constructed is unsound. Banks take short-term and demand deposits and lend long-term. When a financial crisis unfolds, a run on banks emerges because people want their money. Since the bank’s obligations are short-term to demand but their assets are loans of medium to long-term, they don’t have the cash and fail.  For you see, banks were not supposed to lend out your money.  ..  Banks began as merely a place to store your assets. They were not intended to lend your money out to someone else. When they realized they could make profit doing so, the scam eventually became the standard operational procedure. Formulae were then devised to calculate at any one time how much ‘reserves’ did they have to retain for normal operations. That was worked out with experience settling on 6%. So if they retained 6% of deposits as cash, they could cover normal business withdrawals with no problem. The problem became during a crisis and everyone wanted their cash and the bank simply does not have that cash and you end up with a bank run. It is ironic that what began as a scam simply became institutionalized. This is WHY the entire financial system is dependent upon CONFIDENCE!

What is unraveling even more quickly is the fear that banks will be hit with panic runs because of their holdings in sovereign debt. After a 50% haircut in Greek bonds, now it has become trendy not only to sell Italian bonds but also to publicly announce they have done so to try to maintain CONFIDENCE of their depositors.  The very reason politicians have suppressed the right of the people to vote and have forced austerity upon the people, has been to maintain the confidence of their bankers. But in the end game, the bankers exist based upon the confidence of the people in their sound management of their deposits.

.. The people may be shut out of the polls denied democracy when it is needed most, but the FREE MARKETS will respond as capital votes in its own self-interest that does not match the political nonsense.

SEQUENCE OF AN ECONOMIC PANDEMIC

At first blush, how capital responds depends entirely upon the (1) monetary system and (2) the freedom of capital movement. In a closed economy, the first reaction is to buy ALL tangible assets. These tend to be everything from durable commodities (metals), art, coins, stamps, and gold (assuming it is not a gold standard of some sort). This is the category I refer to as  ‘moveable assets’. The second tier of assets tend to be real estate that I refer to as ‘fixed non-movable assets’ meaning their value is limited to the territorial jurisdiction of the nation. In a non-communist nation, stocks and corporate bonds will also attract capital as a safe place to park funds.  In an open-economy where capital is free to leave, then the first blush is to FLEE to a different land in which case the local assets, including stocks and corporate bonds, will initially crash. This is typically indicated most pronouncedly in the collapse of the local currency against world currencies or in this case rise in the dollar vs decline in euro. They eventually swing back ONLY after the crisis manifests in a new currency or a debased/devaluation of the local currency takes place. The capital-flows will the swing back in the opposite direction.

Under today’s circumstances, the first blush response will be for capital to flee Europe and run to the United States as a safe port parking in US government paper. This is likely to further the deflationary effects within the United States by ensuring interest rates remain low as they did during the Great Depression for the same reason. However, banks are living off of the largest spreads perhaps in modern history so while rates of interest on cash will decline further and move in real terms NEGATIVE after inflation, banks should NOT be expected to lend money more easily. They will maintain their huge profit margins. Therefore, the first blush of the  Sovereign Debt Crisis in an open society tends to be currency based rather than even movable assets.

During the inflationary boom into 1929, gold declined in purchasing power for assets were rising against gold. During the collapse, the value of money rose (gold) as assets declined. Under a gold standard, the value of gold in fact DECLINES with inflation and RISES with deflation.

So for now, we are in the first blush mode where capital will fee to the dollar rather than assets and that may confuse the hell out of a lot of people. Therefore, under the current conditions, gold need not rise on the first blush for the bulk of capital will flee to the dollar. On the second swing where capital flees all currency, then we will see the Private vs Public assets manifest meaning they will rise as expressed in terms of currency.”

Full Story: Government is Living in a State of Debt Denial (MartinArmstrong)

Click for Nov 11, 2011 Martin Armstrong Radio Interview (FSN)

Best summed up by this comment by black swan on the BusinessInsider post:

“@Tom Hunter: ‘indicating that they will use additional asset purchases to help bring actual nominal GDP back to trend over time’

translation: this ship is sinking and we want to stick the taxpayers with trillions of dollars more of our impaired financial sewage, like we did with QE1, AIG and the GSEs, before we get stuck with it and go down with the ship. Allow us to sail away in our own ship, loaded down with looted treasure and flying the Jolly Roger, to the land of offshore accounts.”

In his latest US Economics Analyst note, Goldman’s Jan Hatzius offers up his suggestion for the next phase of Fed policy:

“With short-term interest rates near zero and the economy still weak, we believe that the best way for Fed officials to ease policy significantly further would be to target a nominal GDP path such as the one shown in the chart on the right, indicating that they will use additional asset purchases to help bring actual nominal GDP back to trend over time. The case would strengthen further if deflation risks reappeared clearly on the radar screen.”

Full Story: Goldman Advises The Fed To Go Nuclear, And Set A Target For Nominal GDP (BusinessInsider)

Upon speaking with many traders and investors over the years, I found it rather surprising how many of them had almost no clue how the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) really works, or even less how it is calculated.  If you want to succeed, you better know the subtle rules and intricacies of the games you’re playing.  Understanding how an index as critical as the DOW is calculated would certainly fall into that category.  Ironically, it is so shockingly simplistic, you will like have an “aha” moment as you understand why (besides inflation), the DJIA tends to exhibit such a strong upward bias.

While most broadly followed market indices today are “cap-weighted”, such as the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the Wilshire, the DOW is a “price-weighted” index (as are all of the DOW indices).  In a “cap-weighted” index, large price moves in the largest components have a much more dramatic effect on the value of the index.  So, if you have a company such as Apple that now has a market cap north of $300 Billion, you can see how much greater an effect that one company can have on an index over many other components.  However, you can make a point that such size brings clout, huge liquidity, and a huge shareholder base, so this potentially justifies its extra weight.

Regardless of any criticism you may have on the “cap-weighted” approach, the “price-weighted” method used to calculate the DOW will leave you with even more room for question.  Equal importance is placed on all stocks in the index, with each company’s stock price adjusted by a divisor, then added together.  The net effect of this is that share price alone becomes the most important criteria for maximum effect on the value of a “price-weighted” index!  For example, if you have a $10 Million company trading at $200/share, and a $100 Billion company trading at $20/share, the $10 million company will effect 90% of the value of the index, and an equal move in the $100 Billion company will effect a mere 10% of the index value.

The DJIA divisor is updated periodically and adjusted to offset the effect of stock splits, bonus issues, dividend payouts, or any changes in the companies that form the index.  When the DOW was originally created back in 1896, there were only 12 initial components that were simply divided by 12.  In 1928, the number of stocks was raised to 30.  Now, let’s say that our most expensive stock is currently trading at $100 and it has a 2:1 split to $50/share and causes the index to drop by 10%.  The divisor is used to readjust the index to its pre-split level.  This is all well and good, except for the fact that all these changes over the years have reduced the divisor to miniscule levels that now have a HUGE multiplier effect.  This dramatically increases the overall volatility of the index, especially with a large price move in a high-priced component.

For example, in June, 2009, General Motors and Citigroup were removed from the index, and Cisco and Travelers took their place.  With so many splits and changes over the years, the current divisor value is now a tiny 0.132129493.  In layman’s terms, for every $1 change in the price of a stock in the average, you can expect to see a 7.57 point change in the DJIA index (1 / 0.132129493).  So take a moment to think about this in terms of the 30 DOW stocks.  Most of the movement you see on a daily basis is caused by the top few highest price stocks, which currently include IBM (leading way ahead at $175/share), followed by CAT (at $107/share), and then CVX (at $105/share).  Bank of America is at the bottom of the list at around $10.50/share.

Now think how much easier it is to get a $1 price move on a $100 stock versus a $10 stock, and it’s pretty easy to see how index volatility can explode when a high-priced component exhibits a large change in price.  In addition, the more component stock prices increase, the more volatile the index becomes, and the greater the likelihood we will routinely see moves that average several hundred points a day.

You may have figured that with this technique, the DOW also seems inherently rigged to continually move higher.  For those pundits who’ve called for DOW 1,000 again and again, take a moment to think about this possibility.  Besides the obvious effects of inflation, how could that really ever happen?  Every time a few stocks in the index fall heavily out of favor (or are on the verge of bankruptcy), they are replaced with much more solid companies, trading with much higher stock prices, and generally at a time when the market has already experienced a large correction.  In fact, had you simply bought the DOW after the component-change announcement was made in June 2009 (or even better, a few of its highest price components), you would have fared quite well in the market since then.

“Arithmetic, Population and Energy” may very well be one of the most important videos you’re likely to watch.  While the math behind the exponential function is relatively simple and straight forward, its repercussions in markets, for resources, and for society as a whole are widely misunderstood or outright ignored.  In fact, in relation to population growth alone, the Chinese seem to be the only ones who “get it”.  Ironically, their distasteful “one child per family” population policy has done more to conserve energy, reduce pollution, and conserve resources than pretty much any other, more “politically-correct”, initiatives taken to date.   Lack of understanding of these concepts is also one of the most basic ways politicians and governments (in conjunction with the media) mislead its citizens.  “In Growth We Trust” – All our problems stem from Exponential Growth.  For those who invest in the stock market, it’s also one of the most important key concepts to understand for those interested in generating substantial returns. And of course, its ramifications for our future are immeasurable and incomprehensible if not directly addressed sooner than later.

A few notable quotes:

“It is the nature of the human species to reject what is true but unpleasant and to embrace what is obviously false but comforting.” — H.L. Mencken’s social philosophy

“Thinking is very upsetting.  It tells you things you’d rather not know.” – cartoon

“The Greatest Shortcoming of the Human Race is our inability to Understand the Exponential Function.” — Dr. Albert A. Bartlett

Complete YouTube Playlist for Parts 1 to 8
]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2011-05-14-most-important-video-youll-ever-see-the-exponential-growth-function/feed/ 1 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2011-03-26-why-people-dont-buy-gold-and-why-its-stupid-to-think-for-yourself/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2011-03-26-why-people-dont-buy-gold-and-why-its-stupid-to-think-for-yourself/#comments Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:50:14 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?p=992

Why people don’t buy gold, and why it would have been smart to buy a house at the top of the market, so long as everyone else was doing it, and famous well-known economists like Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and others said real-estate would never go down.   Learn why it’s stupid to think for yourself.  Very funny video, and with our current state of affairs, sadly quite true…

On the other hand, it also helps explain why there is so much opportunity in the markets, as people make the same mistakes over and over again, as they try to avoid “feeling stupid”, or being called “strange and weird”.

Note: Posting this video wasn’t meant to suggest that NOW is the best time to buy gold (alas, it is already up over 6 fold over 10 years), and in fact in the past I’ve suggested that silver would likely be an even better investment longer term (as does seem to be the case so far). However, perhaps for the real point… don’t be one of the lemmings running out to buy it when everyone’s finally talking about what a great investment it is and how it too can’t ever go down. There is a time and cycle for everything. In the meantime, study, research, make up your own mind, and possibly consider picking some up when it’s unfavorable or unfashionable to do so. (You can also check out some of the related links I posted below).

As Benjamin Graham once said, “You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right.”
]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2011-03-26-why-people-dont-buy-gold-and-why-its-stupid-to-think-for-yourself/feed/ 1 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2011-03-19-great-historical-overview-of-currency-failures-and-hyperinflation/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2011-03-19-great-historical-overview-of-currency-failures-and-hyperinflation/#comments Sat, 19 Mar 2011 20:00:51 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?p=978

Great video presented by Timothy Terrell at the Mises Circle at Furman University: “The Coming Currency Crisis and the Downfall of the Dollar”.  For those who are interested in better understanding fiat currencies and reckless inflation from a history perspective, this video provides a terrific overview.

You’ll also gain a better understanding of  the magnitude of damage and theft inflation perpetrates against a country’s people (and especially against its middle and lower classes who least understand its disruptive effects).

Everyone’s thrilled when Apple’s iPad2 provides a greater bang for the buck for less money than the original.  So why do governments and central banks try and convince people that higher prices are good for everything else?

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) recently unveiled a national ad addressing our country’s spending addiction, the dangers of relentless deficits, and the corrosive nature of our national debt.

This new ad, which features a chilling look at one potential future scenario if America continues on its current destructive fiscal trajectory, is a 2010 homage to “The Deficit Trials,” a 1986 ad that was produced by W.R. Grace & Co.  For those who were able to view it, the ad caused a sensation; it was considered so controversial at the time that the networks refused to run it.

J. Peter Grace, CAGW’s co-founder and the chairman of President Ronald Reagan’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (the Grace Commission), was alarmed about what the debt would do to future generations.  The national debt was $2 trillion in 1986, when “The Deficit Trials” ad was denied broadcast time; today the debt stands at $13.7 trillion and is projected to reach 140 percent of GDP in two decades, the time in which the new CAGW ad is set.

The new ad is part of an ongoing communications program in CAGW’s decades-long fight against wasteful government spending, increased taxes, out-of-control deficit spending, and a crippling national debt that threatens the future and survival of our country.   CAGW plans to run the ad on major cable networks throughout the rest of 2010 and into 2011.

“Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell

I had posted this awesome rap video on my facebook page earlier this year, but never got around to making a blog post about it.  Another great video that lays out the craziness of the “boom and bust” cycle in modern economies.  What’s more crazy is that the twisted version of Keynesian economics pursued by governments today would have Keynes himself rolling in his grave in disgust.  Somehow politicians conveniently forgot that key little detail that governments are supposed to SAVE when times are good.  Instead, politicians spend like nuts in good times, and SPEND LIKE MANIACS when times are bad.  Why let such key details interfere with the opportunity for politicians to promote their own agendas…  Enjoy the show!

ps. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out the links below for the sequel!

This awesome and quick video explains quantitative easing in a simple and easy way for everyone to understand, and it’ll keep you laughing (or crying) the whole way through…

One note, granted this video hits heavily on Ben Bernanke, it’s certainly not all his fault – not by a long shot.  Living beyond our means can only go on so far, and politicians are more than happy to take advantage of public sentiment to fulfill their own agendas and help their “friends” through gargantuan spending programs and greater controls enacted under the guise of serving the “greater good”.

]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2010-11-15-quantitative-easing-video-explains-q-e-2-in-terms-everyone-can-understand/feed/ 1 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-11-11-martin-armstrong-on-market-predictions-and-objective-vs-subjective-analysis/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-11-11-martin-armstrong-on-market-predictions-and-objective-vs-subjective-analysis/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:01:52 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?p=567

Martin Armstrong is the author of the Economic Confidence Model based on an 8.6 year business cycle theory inspired by the work of Nikolai Kondratieff.  Two years ago, the cycle once again accurately predicted the peak of the last economic cycle years in advance.  February 26, 2007 yielded some of the tightest credit spreads ever (easy access to credit), and the housing market had already begun its sharp decline.

He is currently in prison, indicted in 1999 on charges of defrauding Japanese investors.  His trial would have made more sense had it taken place in “Alice in Wonderland”.  Without getting into all the details here, just the fact that he was in jail for seven years for contempt of court should be enough to make any American cringe and wonder how that’s possible in the great ‘ole USA.  He finally caved in and plead guilty in 2007 to the fraud charge.  In return, he was given an additional five year prison term in addition to the seven he had already served!  Now, if this were any ordinary American schmo, perhaps he could be written off for one reason or another as just another guy with a crazy “they’re out to get me” sob story.  However, when you look deeper into the facts, and then consider that Mr. Armstrong was also one of the most respected financial research advisers to scores of powerful figures from central bank executives to heads of multinational corporations to heads of state, it really makes you wonder what’s going on with the “Rule of Law” — the real glue that holds our country together.  Armstrong even authored the most insightful and thorough analysis of the 1929 crash ever assembled on behalf of the Reagan administration in the ’80s.

From his jail cell, Martin Armstrong continues to write some of the most insightful and interesting essays I’ve come across on a variety of topics from market cycles, to rule of law, to the history and cycles of politics and war.  Since he has access to little more than an old typewriter (and no whiteout), you must understandably have a bit of patience with his “what I’m thinking about now” writing style.  Would I be showing my age if I can still recall the nightmare of using a typewriter for school papers?  It’s horrible.

Regardless, I’ve learned more useful knowledge about world history (and our own history) from Armstrong’s essays than I ever learned in school.  And it’s more fascinating than you can even imagine.  Everything’s been done and tried before.  And here’s some food for thought…  in the six thousand or so years of civilized history, can anyone find one example where socialism actually succeeded with a happy ending?  But I guess that’s why most politicians don’t bother to learn any of history’s lessons.  It would just interfere with their agendas and other questionable motives.

The following text is an excerpt from Martin Armstrong’s latest essay entitled “Objective vs Subjective Analysis” (pages 10-12).  I’ve also taken the liberty of making some small corrections here and there to make the text more readable while still hopefully maintaining Mr. Armstrong’s full meaning and intent.

(read more...)]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-11-11-martin-armstrong-on-market-predictions-and-objective-vs-subjective-analysis/feed/ 4 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-09-11-debt-revolt-begins-now/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-09-11-debt-revolt-begins-now/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:54:14 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?p=555

This recently posted video to YouTube by Ann a.k.a. Rockerchic4God describes the public credit crisis dilemma so well I had to post it here. She’s furious that Bank of America would jack up her credit card APR to over 30% despite no change in her credit rating, and no misses in payments. While Bank of America (and MANY OTHER BANKS mind you) were more than willing to accept government largess off the backs of hardworking Americans, they’ve turned around and jacked up rates on middle class debtors across the board to try and make up for all their solid risk management principles based on insane levels of leverage.

Her response is that if Bank of America doesn’t revert her credit card back to its previous rate, they’re not getting one more cent out of her. And she recommends that you do the same, especially if you do not own your own home or other major assets.

This “just walk away” attitude seems to be gaining traction among middle class slavesworkers who are hardest hit by a slithery cocktail of inflation and usurious interest rates that can be changed after the money has already been borrowed, at the whim of the lender without consequence. This attitude could gain traction as more mortgages continue to reset and employment continues to rise (just because people give up looking for a job doesn’t mean that unemployment drops – well, unless you’re the government looking to rig statistics just a wee bit more). The legal system won’t be able to do anything to stop it if tens of millions of people decide to stop paying their unsecured loans. And that’s the ultimate fear of the elite “powers that be” that they don’t want you to realize. If people band together for a just and fair cause against institutions and government that is corrupt to no end, only then can REAL CHANGE ever happen.

If you spent a million dollars a day since the birth of Christ, it still wouldn’t even amount to ONE trillion dollars.  However, a series of bailouts, bank rescues and other economic lifelines could end up costing the federal government as much as $23 trillion, the U.S. government’s watchdog over the effort says – a staggering amount that is nearly double the nation’s entire economic output for a year, with our most recent GDP figures coming in just over $14 trillion.

That’s more than the total amount spent by the U.S. on all the wars it has ever spent, even accounting for inflation. By comparison, going to the moon in 1969 cost an estimated $237 billion in current dollars, and the entire Depression-era Roosevelt relief program came in at $500 billion (according to Jim Bianco of Bianco Research).

These figures are considered worst-case scenarios, and that’s where we find the most humorous part of this story. According to Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams, “The $23.7 trillion estimate generally includes programs at the hypothetical maximum size envisioned when they were established.  It was never likely that all these programs would be ‘maxed out’ at the same time.”

That’s interesting… I mean, what are the odds that something like this could ever happen?! Somehow the universe likes to test us on the one in a billion odds that everything will likely happen at the same time, especially where money is concerned. Perhaps that’s because when you combine monetary weapons of mass destruction such as huge leverage, unlimited reckless spending, wild levels of borrowing, and a non-stop printing press, history has proven over and over again that there is always a day of reckoning, usually triggered by a single event that causes all the other dominoes to collapse one after the other in a giant waterfall-type debacle.

But once it’s here, watch for all the news stories blaming speculators, or republicans, or democrats, or the rich, or the Chinese, or whoever else would make a good target for finger-pointing away from those who are always responsible.  The real culprits usually include most politicians (democrats and republicans), along with the secret group of people you’ll never hear about who control them through bribes lobbying, favors, or simply because they are too powerful, wealthy, and politically well-connected to risk alienating.

If the democrats screw things up, the republicans will come in and continue the same ‘ole game.  When they screw up, it goes right back to the same few democrats that are once again presented to the public for “consideration”.  And thus the circle of destruction continues, with no one having any accountability beyond their ability to slip past the next election.

Don’t worry, though, the odds that all their shenanigans backfiring on us all at the same time is virtually nil.  Just like when Ben Bernanke flat out told us that he had no doubt the subprime crisis would be easily contained, with little spillover or no to other areas of the economy.  Uh oh, I suppose “virtual nil” still means there is a chance…

With many Americans slowly waking up to the reality that our government and banking system are entirely under the control of a criminal elite of private bankster crooks, Ron Paul has once again taken it upon himself to push for an audit of the Federal Reserve, the outcome of which would likely be so incomprehensibly shocking that the Fed may finally be forced to shut down for the greater good of our country and its citizens.

The Federal Reserve was originally created under the guise of being an “impartial” entity separate from the government that could be called upon to stabilize our economy in times of panic, while protecting and maintaining free market principles.  The sick twisted irony is that the Fed is the precise antithesis of what free markets are really about.  And since the Fed’s inception, it has done nothing but DESTABILIZE our economy with increased volatility by manipulating interest rates, along with leverage ratios used by the banks (in cahoots with those who control the Fed and the SEC).

It still boggles my mind that the SEC implemented the “Pattern Day Trader” rule to “protect the little guy” by forcing more active traders and investors to maintain at least $25,000 in a trading account or face severe trading restrictions.  I guess the SEC also forgot that they came into power largely because a big part of the 1929 crash was caused by the extension of 10:1 credit to investors (which couldn’t have happened without the Fed’s easy money policies).  So to make amends, the SEC goes on to serve and protect “the little guy” some more by allowing ONLY the largest (and most politically-connected) “too big to fail” investment banks pump up their balance sheets with over 40:1 leverage.

(read more...)]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-05-25-join-ron-pauls-drive-to-audit-the-fed-and-shut-it-down-with-hr-1207/feed/ 3 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-05-13-ny-hard-assets-conference-review-2009/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-05-13-ny-hard-assets-conference-review-2009/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 12:48:34 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?p=460

While I didn’t have a chance to get down to the NY Hard Assets Conference in New York City May 11th-12th, Daryl Montgomery of the NY Investing Meetup did attend. Honestly, I counted on him releasing a good summary and review of the conference so that I could focus on trading and managing positions in this crazy market! (did I say that out loud?!) He didn’t let me down, and wrote an excellent summary of the conference on his blog, along with his take of the “experts” in attendance and their “predictions”. It’s definitely worth reading the full article. Some key points are included below:

(read more...)]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-05-13-ny-hard-assets-conference-review-2009/feed/ 1 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-04-22-any-pork-in-this-stock-market-for-me/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-04-22-any-pork-in-this-stock-market-for-me/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:53:54 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?p=425

Video interview and update on the current State of the Markets, as well as the overall State of the Economy with Daryl Montgomery of the NY Investing Meetup (interviewed by Alexander Morris of moMoneyTV and PassMeThePork.com).  Watch NOW to learn if there are any opportunities currently offered by the markets.  We have the answers for what’s on everyone’s mind, “Is there any room in the stock market for it to PASS ME THE PORK??!”]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-04-22-any-pork-in-this-stock-market-for-me/feed/ 43 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-03-26-im-out-of-toilet-paper-hits-10-million-views-on-youtube/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2009-03-26-im-out-of-toilet-paper-hits-10-million-views-on-youtube/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 06:00:45 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?p=344

“I’M OUT OF TOILET PAPER!!!” just reached 10 million views on YouTube – thanks everyone for all your comments and support, we couldn’t have reached anywhere near that level without you!

I.O.U.S.A. is a film that boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. The film has been a huge hit, getting rave reviews from Roger Ebert and others. This is a 30-minute condensed version of I.O.U.S.A. designed specifically for watching and sharing on the web – for free. Learn about the staggering amount of money – $53 trillion – in financial obligations owed by the federal government to foreign investors and to every single American in the form of pensions, health benefits, Social Security and Medicare. Click here to watch on YouTube.
(read more...)]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-12-09-iousa-one-nation-under-stress-understanding-the-national-debt/feed/ 0 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-10-30-obama-wins-2008-election-and-does-hot-pizza/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-10-30-obama-wins-2008-election-and-does-hot-pizza/#comments Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:00:00 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?page_id=190

Barack Obama does hot pizza, and we say keep the change!

With the constant stream of unprecedented Federal bailouts of “AAA-rated” Wall Street companies, this parody of a recent AIG commercial featuring worry-free butterfly watching seems most fitting given the collapsing house-of-cards of one “rock-solid” institution after another… Watch at your own risk, or more prescient, risk your money in these institutional Behemoths at your own peril… When all’s said and done, who’ll be left to bail out the United States of America and its people? Who’s for REAL CHANGE?

Music: “Twinkle” by VannWestfold
]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-09-22-aig-butterflies-commercial-parody-hope-to-still-be-here/feed/ 78 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-03-28-im-out-of-toilet-paper/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-03-28-im-out-of-toilet-paper/#comments Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:00:00 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?page_id=165

With the U.S. dollar’s horrendous decline in value this video gives new meaning to disposable income and going green… At least we finally know what the pyramid on our bills represents, just another ponzi / pyramid scheme managed and operated by the Federal Reserve, and fueled by our government’s incessant bailouts and deficit spending.

]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-03-28-im-out-of-toilet-paper/feed/ 1319 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-03-13-marc-faber-says-fed-and-ben-bernanke-are-like-a-bartender/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2008-03-13-marc-faber-says-fed-and-ben-bernanke-are-like-a-bartender/#comments Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:00:00 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?page_id=163

You would think an individual of Mr. Buffett’s stature would support someone more like Ron Paul, who stands for limited government, sound fiscal policy, and a solid currency. (Congrats to Jim Cramer by the way for his AWESOME 12/14/07 interview with Ron Paul on Mad Money!) – BUT WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD BUFFETT SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON??!!
Music: “KYA” by Paulus
]]> http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2007-12-16-warren-buffett-sucks-up-to-hillary-clinton-go-ron-paul/feed/ 1 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2007-11-05-americas-perfect-little-goldilocks-economy-or-is-it-a-deeper-look-into-government-statistics/ http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/2007-11-05-americas-perfect-little-goldilocks-economy-or-is-it-a-deeper-look-into-government-statistics/#comments Sun, 04 Nov 2007 22:00:00 +0000 http://www.vlogolution.com/hot/?page_id=143