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- Ron Paul: It’s Going to Get Much, Much Worse (Peak Prosperity, June 10,2013):

Dr. Ron Paul has long been a leading voice for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, sound money, civil liberty, and non-interventionist foreign policies.

His last term in the U.S. House of Representatives ended earlier this year, so we caught up with the former Congressman to get his latest perspective on how successfully our national leadership is dealing with America’s economic challenges.

In Dr. Paul’s assessment, Washington is too committed to deficit spending and the debt-based economy – both operationally and philosophically – to expect it to embrace a more fiscally-responsible model without a forcing crisis (which he believes is coming): Continue reading »

Tags: Ben Bernanke, Bonds, Bubble, Collapse, Debt, Dollar, Economy, Fed, Federal Reserve, Global News, Gold, Government, Keynesianism, Paul Krugman, Politics, Quantitative Easing, Ron Paul, Silver, Society, U.S.

From the article:

“Since Mr. Krugman tells us all this spending and debt issuance/guarantees are not only good and necessary but in the long run, painless, why are we bothering with personal income taxes?

The US government will collect approximately $2.0bn this year in Personal Income and Payroll taxes.  But why?  Why are we even bothering with this when today’s leading economists and politicians are telling us that debts/deficits don’t matter and running up astronomical debts is a long-term painless process?  It’s practically patriotic.  So why shouldn’t we just add our tax burden to the list of items the Fed should be monetizing?  Seriously.  Why not relieve the burden on every tax paying citizen in the United States (about 53% of us according to Mitt Romney)?  You want an economic recovery?  Reduce my taxes to zero and see how fast I go out and start spending some of that extra income.”

Submitted by Lucas Jackson

Thought Experiment: Why Do We Bother Paying Personal Taxes?

“Stupidity combined with arrogance and a huge ego will get you a long way.”
- Chris Lowe

I will admit right up front, I am not a fan of the views of Paul Krugman.  If Paul Krugman was to be given his way – and by and large he is being given his way – my children and grandchildren will be burdened in the future with paying back untold amounts of public debt just so his life and the lives of countless other Boomers can remain comfortable and embarrassment free today.

This is the essence of his grand plan for a US recovery – MOAR and MOAR debt.

Wow.  Genius.  Why I didn’t I think of that?  Just keep borrowing and printing, borrowing and printing.  Got it.  Now that I understand it, do I get a PhD?

Who’s going to pay the money back?  How will it effect future generations?  How will it effect the markets?  What will this do to civil society?

Continue reading »

Tags: Barack Obama, Bonds, Debt, Economy, Fed, Federal Reserve, Government, Keynesianism, Paul Krugman, Politics, Quantitative Easing, Society, Taxes, Taxpayers, U.S.

You can’t make this stuff up!

- Paul Krugman: “We Should Kick The Can Down The Road. It’s The Responsible Thing To Do” (ZeroHedge, Feb 9, 2013):

The below article, recreated in its grotesque entirety, is a real, serious Op-Ed written by a supposedly real, non page-view trolling, Nobel-prize winning economist, in a serious paper, the New York Times. It can be classified with one word: jaw-dropping.We can only hope that some time in the next five years, when the global economy is in ashes following the implosion of the final central bank bubble, that the US department of injustice will prosecute authors of such drivel (and all those sell-side analysts who have had Buy recommendations in the 2009-2013 period) with the same ferocity it has demonstrated toward those US-downgrading rating agencies, which are now supposed to be solely accountable for the Second Great Depression and the $30 trillion or so in misallocated capital in the past five years.

Kick That Can

By Paul Krugman

John Boehner, the speaker of the House, claims to be exasperated. “At some point, Washington has to deal with its spending problem,” he said Wednesday. “I’ve watched them kick this can down the road for 22 years since I’ve been here. I’ve had enough of it. It’s time to act.”

Continue reading »

Tags: Barack Obama, Economy, Government, Keynesianism, Paul Krugman, U.S.

FYI.

From the article:

“The US annual budget deficit has almost tripled under Obama, from $450bn in 2008 to $1,200bn this year.”

“America’s national debt is now around $16,000bn, two-thirds higher than when Obama was first elected. In 2008, US government debt was 70pc of GDP. Now it is 102pc.”

“Debt growth at that pace simply cannot go on.”

…

“If fiscal and monetary stimulus worked, Japan wouldn’t have spent the past 20 years in and out of recession and now be shouldering a debt to GDP ratio of 250pc.”

“If printing money worked, Zimbabwe would be in the G7.”

- The US ‘cliff’ – one small part of a huge debt crisis (Telegraph, Dec 29, 2012):

So here we are, at the turn of the year, with the global economy tottering on the edge of America’s fiscal cliff.

What’s kept springing to my mind over the holiday season is the final scene of The Italian Job – the iconic 1969 original, not the tacky 2003 remake.

“Hang on a minute, lads,” says heistmaster-in-chief, Charlie Croker, as he and his merry band of crooks balance precariously in a bus on the edge of an Alpine cliff. “I’ve got a great idea.”

The Italian Job’s cliff-hanger finale is all make-believe. A brilliant film ends, we marvel at Michael Caine’s acting genius, the credits roll and then we get up and make some tea.

Real-world predicaments aren’t so easy.

Continue reading »

Tags: Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, Bonds, Debt, Fed, Federal Reserve, Global News, Government, Keynesianism, Mitt Romney, Obama administration, Paul Krugman, Quantitative Easing, U.S.

- Top Ten Reasons Why Fiat Currency Is Superior To Gold (Or Silver) Money (The Daily Capitalist, Dec 27, 2012):

By John Butler, on December 27th, 2012

In the spirit of the holidays and hope for a more prosperous 2013, I thought my readers might appreciate a little humour to partially offset the relentless doom and gloom associated with the Amphora Report. So please, don’t take this edition too seriously. But if you happen to stumble across a ‘paperbug’ or two over the holidays, perhaps you could share some of the points made here. Humour sometimes helps people realise just how hopelessly misguided they are. Cheers!

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Number 10: There Is Not Enough Gold (Or Silver) In The World To Serve As Money

Let’s begin with the obvious. We know that central banks the world over have printed money at exponentially growing rates for years. There is now so much paper and electronic money floating around the world that gold (or silver) can not possibly be expected to keep up. You can’t print gold, after all, you need to find it, dig it out of the ground, refine it, etc, a hugely expensive and time-consuming process which practically ensures a stable rather than exponentially growing supply of the stuff. Continue reading »

Tags: Bonds, Central Bank, Debt, EU, Europe, Fed, Federal Reserve, Funny, Germany, Global News, Gold, Government, Great Depression, Greece, Keynesianism, Milton Friedman, money supply, Paul Krugman, Politics, Quantitative Easing, Silver, U.S.

Japan is doomed on all levels:

- The Cost Of Kidding Yourself: Proof That The US Has Been In Recession 9 Of The Last 10 Years – Japan Is Even Worse:

The more they “fixed” it, the more it broke. 17 years later, the only thing Japan has proved is that smart Japanese economists are about as real as Godzilla.  Time and time again, the country has chosen collapse over admitting failure. On November 19, 2012, Bloomberg reported, “The Japanese government will spend 1 trillion yen ($12.3B) on a second round of fiscal stimulus as it tries to revive an economy at risk of sliding into recession.” It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.

Prepare for collapse.

- Japan unveils $11bn stimulus package (CNN/Financial Times , Nov 30, 2012):

Japan’s government has approved its second round of stimulus in a little more than a month, as prime minister Yoshihiko Noda tries to pep up a flagging economy in the run-up to December’s elections.

On Friday the cabinet announced that it would tap reserve funds to spend Y880bn ($10.7bn) on a variety of measures, including rebuilding areas hit by the March 2011 earthquake, employment support and aid to cash-strapped small businesses. The plan is roughly double the size of a package announced in late October, which was also drawn mostly from reserves and aimed at reconstruction efforts.

The stimulus comes as Japan hovers on the brink of a technical recession, its fifth of the past 15 years, as manufacturers cut production amid a steady worsening in their sales and profit outlook. Falling exports were the main contributor to a 0.9 per cent contraction in gross domestic product between July and September, and economists are braced for another in the three months to December. Last week the government slashed its quarterly assessment of business sentiment in all 11 regions of the country — the first clean sweep since February 2009 — blaming sluggish output and consumption.

Continue reading »

Tags: Collapse, Economy, Global News, Government, Japan, Keynesianism, Politics, Yoshihiko Noda

Related article:

- Montana Lawmaker Asks To Be Paid In Gold Coins (Politico, Nov 13, 2012)

Flashback:

- Movie ‘Rollover’ (1981): World Economic Collapse – ‘The Great Depression Will Look Like Kindergarten’ (Video)

- Montana GOP Rep.: “Pay Me In Gold Before Dollars Have No Value” (ZeroHedge, Nov 24, 2012):

Jerry O’Neil, six-term GOP state representative in Montana, has asked to receive his salary (which at $10.33 per hour is around $1800 per month) in gold or silver. The long-standing legislator was driven to this decision by his constituents’ concerns about the nation’s massive debt-load and fears of our country’s collapse as “only so many dollars can be printed before they have no value.” The long-time Ron Paul supporter, according to Time, cited Article 1, Section 10 of the US Constitution, which says, in part, that “No State shall… make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” State administrators have denied his request and added that “a bill could be introduced to accomplish this result.” O’Neil, like many other, believes “The Keynesian era of financing government with debt appears to be close to its demise.”

From O’Neil’s Letter (via HuffPo):

It is very likely the bottom will fall out from under the U.S. dollar. Only so many dollars can be printed before they have no value. The Keynesian era of financing government with debt appears to be close to its demise.

If and when that happens, how can we in the Montana Legislature protect our constituents? — The only answer I can come up with is to honor my oath to the U.S. Constitution and request that your debt to me be paid in gold and silver coins that will still have value when the U.S. dollar is reduced to junk status. I therefore request my legislative pay to be in gold and silver coins that are unadulterated with base metals.

Via Time:

A GOP state representative in Montana who asked to receive his salary in gold and silver coins has been rebuffed by the state’s Office of Legislative Services. Rep. Jerry O’Neil, who hails from the small town of Columbia Falls in the northwest corner of the state, sent a letter earlier this month requesting that his salary from here on in be paid in coins. Continue reading »

Tags: Bonds, Debt, Dollar, Economy, Fed, Federal Reserve, Global News, Gold, Government, Hyperinflation, Inflation, Jerry O’Neil, Keynesianism, Montana, Politics, Quantitative Easing, U.S.

- Kyle Bass: Fallacies Such As MMT Are “Leading The Sheep To Slaughter” And “We Believe War Is Inevitable” (ZeroHedge, Nov 17, 2012):

Below are some of the key highlights from Kyle Bass’ latest, and as usual, must read letter:

On central banks and the final round of global monetary debasement:

Central bankers are feverishly attempting to create their own new world: a utopia in which debts are never restructured, and there are no consequences for fiscal profligacy, i.e. no atonement for prior sins. They have created Potemkin villages on a Jurassic scale. The sum total of the volatility they are attempting to suppress will be less than the eventual volatility encountered when their schemes stop working. Most refer to comments like this as heresy against the orthodoxy of economic thought. We have a hard time understanding how the current situation ends any way other than a massive loss of wealth and purchasing power through default, inflation or both. Continue reading »

Tags: Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, Bonds, Collapse, Debt, Dollar, Economy, EFSF, ESM, EU, Europe, Fed, Federal Reserve, Global News, Government, Hedge Funds, Japan, Keynesianism, Kyle Bass, Obama administration, OMT, Politics, Quantitative Easing, Society, U.S., War

- The Tremendous Economic Benefits Of Superstorm Sandy (ZeroHedge, Oct 31, 2012):

The public relations propaganda campaign to convince the ignorant masses that Sandy’s impact on our economy will be minor and ultimately positive, as rebuilding boosts GDP, has begun. I’ve been hearing it on the corporate radio, seeing it on corporate TV and reading it in the corporate newspapers. There are stories in the press that this storm won’t hurt the earnings of insurers. The only way this can be true is if the insurance companies figure out a way to not pay claims. They wouldn’t do that. Would they?

It seems all the stories use unnamed economists as the background experts for their contention that this storm will not cause any big problems for the country. These are the same economists who never see a recession coming, never see a housing collapse, and are indoctrinated in Keynesian claptrap theory.

Bastiat understood the ridiculousness of Kenesianism and the foolishness of believing that a disaster leads to economic growth.

Bastiat’s original parable of the broken window from Ce qu’on voit et ce qu’on ne voit pas (1850): Continue reading »

Tags: Corporate Media, Economy, Global News, Hurricane, Hurricane Sandy, Keynesianism, U.S.

‘The Bernank’ is just a meaningless puppet.

David Einhorn knocks it out of the park with his very first statement during today’s Buttonwood Gathering, in a segment dedicated to one thing only: explaining how the Fed’s policies are not only not helping the economy, they are now actively destroying this country.

“Sometimes you have to look at what is the base assumption. because sometimes you have a groupthink around the base assumption and everybody agrees to the same thing and acts reflexively and doesn’t really challenge what is going on. I think we have reached that point with the monetary policy. The assumption is that if you want the economy to improve, if you want more jobs, if you want more consumption, what we need is ever-easing monetary policy. My point is that if one jelly donut is a fine thing to have, 35 jelly donuts is not a fine thing to have, and it gets to a point where it’s not a question of diminishing returns but it actually turns out to be a drag. I think we have passed the point where incremental easing of Federal policy actually acts as a headwind to the economy and is actually slowing down our recovery, and I am alarmed by the reflexive groupthink of the leaders which is if we want a stronger economy, we need lower rates, we need more QE and other such measures.”

And that, in a nutshell is it: everything else follows. Continue reading »

Tags: Bank of England, Ben Bernanke, Bonds, David Einhorn, Debt, Economy, Fed, Federal Reserve, GDP, Keynesianism, Paul Krugman, Quantitative Easing, U.S., Unemployment