Proboards is certainly a lot easier to navigate than Drupal. I really like the interface here. And I like the charts at the top.
Good to see so many familiar posters. In any case, I'll be posting over hear before long on pertinent topics. I think the best post I made today was actually about the disappointing numbers from Philly Fed and the Chicago numbers: Here is the excerpt from the Duffminster Times:
www.duffminster.com/times/node/53entitled:
Jobless Claims Jump, Wholesale Food Costs Surge": Chicago PMI Revised to 66.8 from 68.6 and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index revised to 20.8 from 24.3 - Signs of HyperStagflation to ComeIn my opinion the Fed policies and TARP programs have only truly benefited the too big to fail, who in many cases are now much bigger than before the crisis they caused and with what appears to be the consequence of a major transfer of wealth from the middle and working class to the wealthiest. A policy in which the flow of credit is largely to those who already have the highest concentration of wealth and who profit from the game the Fed plays simply by being too big to fail is one in which there is no free market whatsoever. Insiders continue to sell and the primary dealers sell back virtually all the bonds they buy back to the Fed and make a very large commission in the process. If this is supposed to be a fair and free market operation all I can say is that they must mean "free money" for those who already the most wealth and a fair deal only for those banks.
The result of running a debt so large that a 10% interest rate would require that all US budgetary money go towards paying the interest on that debt is that all roads lead to one place, currency devaluation. If we cut spending among the social programs we drop economic consumption and revenue growth and debt grows faster.
If the Fed stops QE, interest rates spike and the deficit soars. The corner that the Fed and the US government has painted itself into is one in which we can give giant tax cuts to the most wealthy but we will then turn around and take the money that would have otherwise have been directed to those most in need and who will spend it immediately in this country and give to those who will simply by commodities and other stores of wealth.
Again, stealing from the poor to make those who are richer than ever even richer and in the process kick the poor hard in the gut again while doing little to stimulate real economic growth. Is this the America the President spoke of in his speech when he spoke of the little girl's wish that "we take care of the needy?" I think not.
Unfortunately, there is no clean way out of the problem. Without continuing QE interest rates will spike and make America insolvent. With continuing QE the Fed's balance sheet becomes increasingly risky. In either case, it appears to me that there will be currency devaluation. The protective action is to put what wealth we may have into protective assets and real money such as silver and gold in my opinion. Chances are the stock market will also rally for a time but keep an eye on value there as well.
There is no alpha trade to speak of and everything follows the Primary dealers index futures buying. Its a mechanical market and it amounts to a form of banking tyranny. In the mean time the politicians will talk about "taking on public sector unions" and devaluing public and and private pension funds as if the promises made by corporations and governments have no moral, ethical or legal bindings. The rich, who are becoming richer than ever, as the middle class and poor are suffering in way not seen since the great depression, will push the PR campaign to have less taxes for themselves and less services for those who actually need them.
The imbalance in wealth and the power influence allowed by the decision of the far right wing republican supreme court majority to allow unlimited money to influence Congress and for the most part with little transparency ensures that the will of the rich will supersede the well being of the common wealth and in fact in many regards the notion or actions that serve the foundations of the principles of "common wealth" and We The People are being systematically undermined and on purpose in my opinion.
Look forward to catching up with your posts and commenting. I think MSN is making a massive mistake in shutting down their user community this way.
Commenting on articles is far too limiting and it discourages actual debate and diversity of news coverage.
To me, this is the MSN community, but now its the "Not MSN Money" community and that is well with me.
Happy New Year!
Duffminster
