QE2 or you get a 20% pay cut

[dirkterrell]

From one of only two politicians that I actually respect in this country.

First, the Social Security system has been enormously effective

All Ponzi schemes are... until the collapse happens. The even worse thing about SS is that all of the money taken in so far, all those surpluses, are gone. IOUs don't mean shit when the backer is bankrupt. And in case you hadn't noticed, all of the current income for the Federal government goes to paying entitlements, everything else is being financed as debt at an almost unbelievable level. We're now at four times the level it was just a few years ago and suddenly all the Democrats who were bitching about deficits are clamoring for more deficit spending. The Republicans gave nothing but lip service to deficit spending. And until we decide that dealing with this impending disaster is more important than the petty political bickering that goes on, we're only worsening the pain that has to happen.

Dirk

[dirkterrell]

Denninger has some insightful commentary on this quantitative easing nonsense today:

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=171176

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=171216

We need to fire Bernanke and hire Karl.

Dirk

[Shea]

I love how the government plays with their numbers in order to paint a rosier economic picture. Their dutiful toadies in the media report it and we are none the wiser. Unemployment at 9.6%? Well sure if you just remove some possible jobs from the equation and eliminate those that have given up looking. Add those actually out of work and it's 16-22%, but that would be bad for whatever administration in charge.

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate...loyment-charts

Inflation is under control? Well if you massage HOW you calculate it, which changed in 1990. We're closer to 10% inflation then the tiny 1.5%-ish which gets reported.

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate...flation-charts

Even using the government numbers, you've lost 15-20% of you buying power in just the last 10 years.

[Canuck]

^ Agreed.

[*GSXR~SNAIL*]

....I'm scared.

[Ghost]

Viva la resistànce!

The Resistance that "resists" by posting diatribes on obscure forums with no intention/ability to actually effect change?

La résistance est morte mon ami.*

*(though the idea still manages to sell a lot of Che shirts to college kids who think it'll get them laid)

[Ghost]

Truth is perception, numbers lie, lies are truth, this truth is a lie.

I love how the government plays with their numbers in order to paint a rosier economic picture. Their dutiful toadies in the media report it and we are none the wiser. Unemployment at 9.6%? Well sure if you just remove some possible jobs from the equation and eliminate those that have given up looking. Add those actually out of work and it's 16-22%, but that would be bad for whatever administration in charge.

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate...loyment-charts

Inflation is under control? Well if you massage HOW you calculate it, which changed in 1990. We're closer to 10% inflation then the tiny 1.5%-ish which gets reported.

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate...flation-charts

Even using the government numbers, you've lost 15-20% of you buying power in just the last 10 years.

MiniTrue: the Ministry of Truth is a misnomer and in reality serves an opposing purpose to that which its name would imply, being responsible for the falsification of historical events; and yet is aptly named in a deeper sense, in that it creates/manufactures "truth" in the newspeak sense of the word.

Sound familiar?

[TinkerinWstuff]

following the government model, I figure I can live a pretty nice life for a couple years on credit cards before the sheriff shows up at my door.

problem is, I'm held responsible for my debt. The elected representatives are not held responsible for the dept they pass other than to be fired from their job in the next election. No one seems to believe they will be left holding the bag. In private business, if you spend the company into the ground and cook the books to make the shareholders believe they are living the good life - you go to JAIL.

[Shea]

Sound familiar?

"FYI man, alright. You could sit at home, and do like absolutely nothing, and your name goes through like 17 computers a day. 1984? Yeah right, man. That's a typo. Orwell is here now. He's livin' large. We have no names, man. No names. We are nameless!" - Cereal Killer

[Ghost]

"FYI man, alright. You could sit at home, and do like absolutely nothing, and your name goes through like 17 computers a day. 1984? Yeah right, man. That's a typo. Orwell is here now. He's livin' large. We have no names, man. No names. We are nameless!" - Cereal Killer

Heh. One of my favs.

Along with:
There is no right and wrong. There's only fun and boring.

[Canuck]

The Resistance that "resists" by posting diatribes on obscure forums with no intention/ability to actually effect change?

La résistance est morte mon ami.*

*(though the idea still manages to sell a lot of Che shirts to college kids who think it'll get them laid)

touché.
Thanks for the acute accent correction on the first 'e'. I'm an Anglophone Canandian. No Québécois for me. But I'm trying.

[Ghost]

touché.
Thanks for the acute accent correction on the first 'e'. I'm an Anglophone Canandian. No Québécois for me. But I'm trying.

Once you're over your VW craze we'll worry about your accent marks.

[Canuck]

Thanks Jenny

[Ghost]

Thanks Jenny

While I may be channeling her for that comment, I must admit that I don't look as good in leathers.

[= Buckeye Jess =]

....I'm scared.

And I'm unhappy that I took my head out of the sand long enough to read this thread... damn you Shea for posting more sobering reality! lol

[Shea]

And I'm unhappy that I took my head out of the sand long enough to read this thread... damn you Shea for posting more sobering reality! lol

Sorry, go back to American Idol, nothing to see here

[= Buckeye Jess =]

LMAO..shuddit Shea!
On a serious note, I had not heard about this whole thing. Lovely

[Ghost]

nothing to see here

Sadly true.

[Ghost]

On a serious note, I had not heard about this whole thing. Lovely

We don't hear about much on purpose.

Then, even if we do, we can't do anything about it anyway so...yeah...American Idol might be the best bet.

[= Buckeye Jess =]

And thus the whole sarcastic "head in the sand" comment.

[Shea]

LMAO..shuddit Shea!
On a serious note, I had not heard about this whole thing. Lovely

You have to be pretty boring and dull (ie me) to care about what the "man behind the curtain" is doing and it's impact. That and they love to create these beautiful euphemisms for this crap. Most people don't understand "debt monitzation" let alone "quantitative easing".

Meanwhile, some others are watching and saying "Nein!"...and whatever the Chinese equivalent is:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE6A301Q20101104

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39968918

Read between the lines and this is the last arrow in the quiver that the Fed has. Our T-bills aren't selling, they can't lower interest rates any more and we are out of options, and probably time. Merry Christmas and a Happy...well shit I'm moving to Belize.

[= Buckeye Jess =]

I don't find it boring at all Shea. I find it distressing and sad that one does have to seemingly spend a good deal of effort to uncover a lot of this type of thing or sorting through fluff news and editorial commentary to get to the simple facts.
I have honestly missed a lot of the posts and viewpoints you've offered in the past - welcome back!

[Ghost]

Our T-bills aren't selling, they can't lower interest rates any more and we are out of options, and probably time. Merry Christmas and a Happy...well shit I'm moving to Belize.

Belize? I've not read up on their situation enough to know if they're better, I was thinking Finland (6th happiest country in the world, still solvent, highly educated population, and top producer of winning rally & F1 drivers).

And thus the whole sarcastic "head in the sand" comment.

And, of course, as the world is as it is, the sand's probably full of toxins and highly carcinogenic.

Once you start looking into things it's like being in a bucket of shit up to your neck and having someone else throwing shit in your face.

Whether you do something or not, you're still eating shit and you're still trapped in the bucket.

[Shea]

Belize? I've not read up on their situation enough to know if they're better, I was thinking Finland (6th happiest country in the world, still solvent, highly educated population, and top producer of winning rally & F1 drivers).

Lowest population density, tropical climate, natural resources. I'll take the occasional hurricane over cold tundra (and sleeping next to a resurgent totalitarian bear)