RANT: It’s not a “financial crisis”; it’s a moral crisis!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/16171/


Glenn Beck: What happened?

October 6, 2008 – 13:01 ET
Glenn’s letter to his family explaining how we got into this economic crisis…
Yes, another email letter from your crazy brother. You raised a lot of questions in your last email and I am going to try to answer all of them.

I think all of your questions fall into three areas: (1) how did we get here; (2) what’s coming; and (3) what can I do to prepare myself and my family.

Consider this email as my answer to your first question, “how did we get here?”. I’ll be sending you 2 more emails answering your other two questions. Since there’s a lot of misinformation out there I will document each of the facts in my emails so you know where I pulled the information from and where you can go to read and learn more.


{Article Continues}

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A well-reasoned well-documented apolitical (there’s a lot of blame to go around!) piece. Clearly, there are a lot of people who deserve some tar and feathers. Clearly, it ain’t going to change anytime soon. Clearly, not only will NEITHER prez candidate be ABLE to DO anything about it. So what’s some one to do. (1) Get rid of incumbent politicians. Good start. (2) DownsizeDC dot org to slow them down and put them under a microscope. (3) Get ready for a “japan decade” of low growth tight times and look at the stagflation of the Carter years. Morose, yes. Realistic, yes. We need to summon up the Dead Old White Guys for government reform, the courage to start making hard political choices, and good old American ingenuity. We have to THINK our way out of this mess. And, “thinking” is not Washington’s strong suit. Spending is. We have to follow the lead of Andrew Jackson and kill the FED. It’s the root of all evil in that the inflation tax allows COngress to spend money it doesn’t get from taxes. We need them to run an honest set of books. You want a war, pay for it. You want welfare, pay for it. You want spending, where is the tax to cover it. Painful, yes. Necessary, yes. Unavoidable, yes.

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MONEY: Why not deal directly with the Treasury?

Monday, October 6, 2008

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/023366.html

October 06, 2008
A Question
Posted by Charles Featherstone at October 6, 2008 01:59 PM

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Some years ago, I signed up for U.S. Treasury press releases regarding bond and note sales. I don’t remember why I did this, and generally I never bothered to read the e-mails.

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Once upon a time, Treasury debt, specifically T-Bills, were only available in 10k$ denomination. Once upon a time, FDIC insurance was only available up to a very limited amount. (I remember it as 10k. But that was a long long time ago.) Obviously, there was some payoffs — legal campaign contributions or illegal graft — and “insurance” was raised to 100k.

Why do we need FDIC?

Small depositors can deal directly with the Treasury via Treasury Direct!

So, explain to me again WHY we need any FDIC insurance?

Is it a payoff to banks who make contributions? Or is there another scam going on?

Sigh!

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POLITICAL: You’re Going To Guarantee A Depression!!! Ron Paul

Sunday, October 5, 2008

POLITICAL: You’re Going To Guarantee A Depression!!! Ron Paul

Ah the congress critters vote to enslave us with the chains of debt and inflation.

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RANT: Wooden arrows?

Sunday, October 5, 2008

http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/03/1489413.aspx

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Tucked into pages 262 and 263 of the bill, for example, are provisions that will aid the manufacturers of “certain wooden arrows designed for use by children.” The bill will exempt the arrows from an excise tax of 39 cents. There are also tax breaks for race-track owners, for rum imported from Puerto Rico, for worsted wool makers, Hollywood film and television production companies and on and on.

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Maybe this will be a wake up call to Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians (GRIP)?

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RANT: Ditto; Gooferment go home!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig9/fairfax3.html

No More Help, Please by Stephen Fairfax

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My so-called representative voted for the Billionaire Bailout. It’s easy to understand why; he’s collected $732,629 from the Securities & Investment industry alone. My firm has paid far more than that in taxes, but taxes don’t buy congressional votes the way campaign contributions do. The 7 Massachusetts “representatives” who voted for the Billionaire Bailout have collectively gathered more than $11,785,000 from investment, banking, real estate, law, lobbying, and building industries. No wonder they support the Billionaire Bailout despite overwhelming public opposition.

*** end quote ***

You really couldn’t have forgotten the three rules of politics: (1) feather your own nest; (2) reward your friends; and (3) punish your enemies.

The Bailout does all three! But not for thee or me.

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MONEY: “Silent” Bank Run

Thursday, October 2, 2008

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/226799.html

Wachovia faced a ‘silent’ bank run; FDIC forced sale
Fearing a loss of funding over the weekend, the FDIC forced the sale.
By Rick Rothacker and Kerry Hall
CharlotteObserver.com Business
Posted: Thursday, Oct. 02, 2008

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Starting Friday morning, Evans said, businesses and institutions with large accounts started withdrawing money to lower their balances to below the federally insured $100,000 limit. They weren’t closing accounts, he said, adding “they were very apologetic in saying they love the service they get from Wachovia and they weren’t leaving Wachovia. They were just moving their money until things settled down.”

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Clearly, for us little guys, you should never have anything close to the FDIC limit.

Even with that, you can’t have all your eggs in one basket.

Paper money is just that paper money. When panics start, they develop a life of their own. Clearly, depending upon one bank is absurd. Even if FDIC comes in and saves “your bank”, I can only imagine the ‘fun’ while things, like deck chairs, get rearranged.

It would seem that us little guys need several banks or credit unions pre-set up and funded, ready to go at a moments notice.

I’d go so far as to suggest that FOUR might not be excessive. With web bill pay, printed checks, and direct deposit all energized ready to go.

Fore warned is Fore armed. “Be prepared” It ain’t just for Boy Scouts.

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POLITICAL: FDIC Insurance higher?

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080930/pl_bloomberg/ar8q_hit0nyi

Obama Proposes Increasing Federal Deposit Insurance to $250,000 Nadine Elsibai 1 hour, 58 minutes ago

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Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) — Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, today proposed increasing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. limit to $250,000 from the current level of $100,000.

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Sorry, I disagree. The taxpayer is not supposed to be an insurance company. The limit when it was raised led to the Savings & Loan problem. There’s no reason in today’s marketplace to have FDIC Insurance at 100k. I can understand wanting to protect small savers. But let them use Treasury Bills, just like the big boys. In the “old days” those were not available to the  little people. They are now!

No, no need for a larger FDIC, unless you want to insulate the bankers.

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POLITICAL: The bailout is a vague pos!

Monday, September 29, 2008

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/023141.html

September 27, 2008

Don’t you love representative government?
Posted by Michael S. Rozeff at September 27, 2008 08:37 AM

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Don’t you love representative government? We take potshots at the bailout bill and send e-mails to Congress. Meanwhile, basically in secret, they introduce various plans. We are clueless as to what these plans are or mean. We do not know the details, only vague hints. We are totally unable to follow the debate much less influence it. Half the time or more, most Congressman likewise are clueless. A great deal of haste is involved (Haste makes Waste, remember?) We mainly get promises that, yes, a deal will be reached by Sunday, as if we actually wanted a deal. A deal before Sunday makes it easier to appear on talk shows. Then, suddenly, a bill will appear and be passed. We the people will then have spoken. Don’t you love representative government?

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We know they don’t read what they pass. Why should we be expected to pay for it?

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MONEY: Are we going to be left with a banking oligarchy?

Monday, September 29, 2008

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080929/wachovia_citigroup.html?.v=1

Citigroup to buy Wachovia banking operations
Monday September 29, 9:24 am ET

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NEW YORK (AP) — In the latest byproduct of the widening global financial crisis, Citigroup Inc. will acquire the banking operations of Wachovia Corp. in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

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Doesn’t anyone think that banks are becoming too big?

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RANTING: Estimates? Gooferment estimates? ROFL!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2008/09/24/a_political_solution_part_ii

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Thomas Sowell :: Townhall.com Columnist
A Political “Solution”: Part II
by Thomas Sowell

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Estimates of how much money a government program will cost are notoriously unreliable. Estimates of the cost of the current bailout in the financial markets run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, and some say it may reach or exceed a trillion.

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Estimates are always wrong. In this case, we have no idea of the liability the congress critters are signing your children up for!

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