Sure, things on the stock market and across the economy seem bleak as the government has promised to spend $7.6 trillion dollars to prevent a 1.144 quadrillion derivatives implosion. Remember, however, that America is the land of opportunity where enterprising minds are always developing new solutions to the problems we face.

It should be well noted that none of these enterprising minds seem to be working on Wall Street, which we might as well call Wal-Mart Street with the current price of stocks, nor are these innovative minds members of Congress. Consider the following playlist of videos, Money as Debt, which shows the error of fractional reserve economics.

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.”
- Albert Einstein

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For some months, I have been writing my thoughts on what has been happening around the world both politically and economically. Surely the motto for the past year must be, “If anything can go wrong, it will.”

The day before Thanksgiving, on November 26th, I warned FallenRepublic’s readers about the dangers of Credit Default Swaps. This, unfortunately, seems only to be the tip of the iceberg. There are many more items out there, with financial dollar amounts making the CDS catastrophe seem small as a mouse in a warehouse. For those who have not read my previous commentary on the dangerous nature of Credit Default Swaps, here is a most useful video explaining the problem and quantifying the CDS portion thereof.

Now, this is not the only problem. As I stated before, CDS were only the tip of the iceberg, tipping in at a whopping $50-60 trillion dollars. You normally would not look at $60,000,000,000,000.00 and find it to be a trivial figure, however; you have not yet seen how large the problem actually is. In the following article, I wish to describe the issues directly facing us financially which do explain Washington, D.C.’s haste to prevent bank failures.

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As we all have seen in recent months, the world has become a cascading wave of financial market volatility with almost every stock market worldwide suffering sizable downward corrections in recent weeks. As these markets lose value, it tells us that investors are pulling their money out of the markets. Traditional trends tell us that most investors, when moving out of stocks move into bonds, therefore; on days when the stock market drops, bonds benefit as money from stocks is placed in bonds.

This is, of course, the traditional model, but there is a historical precedent when both stocks and bonds declined at the same time. That time was the Great Depression. As you watch and wonder what market downturns mean, also keep your eye on many things which can tell you what is coming next. Factors such as drops in stocks and bonds at the same time, which signal wealth being cashed in and removed from the markets, increases in CDS (not CD’s that banks offer, but Credit Default Swaps) which tell us the likelihood of bankruptcy of the issuer of the CDS.

Bloomberg is reporting today that our government has now pledged $7,400,000,000,000.00 (7.4 Trillion) in bailouts to US and Foreign companies and banks. In such a move we have begun to destroy the free market by socializing the entire financial sector.

This means, every man, woman and child alive in the United States at this very moment owes $24,000 in bailout funds to Uncle Scam. $7.4 trillion dollars is roughly equal to one half of everything produced in the United States last year. One half of all energy, goods and services produced last year have been absorbed to bail out banks and other ailing businesses whose leadership has already proven their ability to run a business into the ground.

The next question becomes, “What if all this does not work?”

Should the bailouts fail, which history tells us they most likely will, our government will be in irreparably insurmountable debt, our populace will owe more than it is worth, and our markets will be in shambles with a rapidly inflating dollar within the next 2-5 years. One needs only to read the history of inflation during the Weimar Republic in 1920′s Germany in order to see the direction in which we are headed. Read the rest of this entry »

Some of my friends have begun to question my thinking in my opposition to any government bailouts of any company, industry or economic sector. My thinking is rather simple in this matter, consider the following:

We are supposed to be a free market economy. When a business fails in a free market economy, its competitors and new, smaller businesses take over the market share. This is a healthy process which allows smaller businesses the capability of growth and larger businesses the guarantee of survival of the fittest.

When a business does begin to fail, most often, the cause of that failure is lack of foresight within that business’ leadership. This is why I believe the bailouts we’ve seen are the wrong answer. Since corporate leaders have used all their private funds in ways which have led to their business’ demise, why then, should taxpayers give them more money in order to repeat the same mistakes? We are only throwing good money after bad and preventing the very kind of healthy processes by which small business grows and new opportunity in the market emerges.   Read the rest of this entry »

Thomas Jefferson warned us many years ago, “If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks … will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered… The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

In light of last week’s announcement by US Treasury Secretary Henry Merritt Paulson, Jr. where we were informed that the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) which Congress passed with $350 billion in initial funding and a proposed $350 billion extension in funding, totaling $700 billion would not be implemented in the way Congress was told. While such news should not surprise the average reader of this blog, what will surprise you is what the US Treasury knew and when they knew it. Enter Karl the Ticker Guy, a civilian watchdog and financial guru whose latest video shows the US Treasury has lied to the US Congress and to the American people.

Normally, I would not write about such an item as I am today, however; these indeed are strange times. Perhaps the best way to preface this is to suggest that everyone reading should by now have their tinfoil hats properly affixed.

This weekend, the G20 member nations will be gathering in Washington, D.C. The G20 is comprised of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States, or basically put, the world’s largest 20 economies.

During the Great Depression, an executive order was issued by then president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Executive order number 6102 forbid the hoarding of gold coins, bullion and certificates. Those holding gold were required to deliver all gold they owned to the Federal Reserve by May 1, 1933.

By now, you’re wondering why I mention this, however; this is just the beginning of what happened. Furthermore, it serves as a historical precedent for what could happen now if the economy declines too far or the government needs to pay its debts in short order. Read the rest of this entry »

Back on October 22nd, 2008 I made an ominous prediction, that within 4 years the US Government would bankrupt itself. After reading the news sites that I usually check this morning, and following a few links, it appears that I am not alone in my thinking. Consider the following video, which was made before the economy began to recede:

Of course, this is not my only source for this morning’s writings. Seems we have some additional elements, both economic and social which are pushing us even faster toward the precipice of utter financial ruin and a federal bankruptcy. Read the rest of this entry »

Cicero, whose full name actually is Marcus Tullius Cicero, was considered one of ancient Rome’s most progressive minds. During his political career, he instituted many new things, schools of philosophy, of Greek mythology, and many progressive thoughts.

Cicero has uttered many familiar quotes, such as “The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled.” however, he has issued some we are less aware of, as in the case of the title of this blog entry. “Legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus” translates in English to “We are slaves of the law so that we may be able to be free.” and it is this concept which I believe needs further exploring within the context of our modern economy, political, and governmental establishment.

In order to do this, I believe we need to look at some recent events. Many reading this remember the $700 billion bailout bill. Before its passage, I read all 451 pages and listed the more egregious entries, and it is one of those entries, the passing of a blank check to the Federal Reserve which I see as a major point of contention now, as I did then. I hope to elaborate on the nature, graveness, and consequence of such loopholes and the oversight (or planning) that allowed them to be. Read the rest of this entry »