Media Begin Orchestrating the Celebration: the FED’s 100th Birthday

"We are beginning to see a coordinated media celebration of the Federal Reserve System. This is in preparation for the 100th anniversary of its creation just before the Christmas holidays in 1913, when the bill was passed by a handful of Senators and signed into law within two hours by President Wilson. The Establishment media’s objective with this media blitz is clear: to praise the FED’s independence from the federal government, despite the fact that it possesses federal sovereignty. No other organization possesses federal sovereignty, yet is beyond federal control. It is unique in this respect." Continue reading

Continue ReadingMedia Begin Orchestrating the Celebration: the FED’s 100th Birthday

Autonomy of the Federal Reserve Is Praised by Media

"With the 100th birthday celebration of the FED coming in late December, the media have begun serving as the FED’s 'Amen corner.' This Associated Press article on Janet Yellen is typical. Her main qualification is said to be her independence of the President. Is she liberal? Yes. Is she a dove on inflation? Yes. No matter. No other institution of our government gets a free ride the way the Board of Governors of the FED does. No other agency with its URL ending in .gov has such autonomy. No, not even the CIA. The CIA still must be funded by Congress. The FED funds Congress." Continue reading

Continue ReadingAutonomy of the Federal Reserve Is Praised by Media

Washington Post Article Identifies FED Chairman as #2 in Power

"No Establishment author comes out and says this: 'The Federal Reserve System possesses complete federal sovereignty, yet is beyond the power of any branch of government. It is legally more independent than the CIA. This is a great thing. Democracy has its limits, and should not be defended as a universally legitimate system of government.' This is in fact what the entire American Establishment believes, but never, ever says in public. The Establishment says 'independent,' not 'anti-democratic.' They figure that the rubes — voters — will not catch on. They assume correctly." Continue reading

Continue ReadingWashington Post Article Identifies FED Chairman as #2 in Power

Will Congress heed the warning on their Obamacare exemptions?

"The poll data is clear and cuts across party lines: 92 percent of the public does not think it is right that Congress and their staff are letting the Obama administration exempt them from the costs of Obamacare. Yet it seems many in Congress still want to dismiss these findings in hopes that these sentiments won't translate into actual voter preferences. Incumbents facing reelections shouldn't fool themselves. A recent real-world deployment of the issue shows it can powerfully impact candidates’ prospects." Continue reading

Continue ReadingWill Congress heed the warning on their Obamacare exemptions?

Obamacare ‘SHOP’ Web Based Sign Up Won’t Be Ready Until 2014

"A senior lobbyist at a medical association informs EconomicPolicyJournal.com that 'the SHOP exchange for small businesses to purchase insurance for their employees will require employers to sign up using paper forms. The ability to sign up using an electronic or web-based form will not likely be ready until January 2014 at best. The industry was informed of this limitation one week ago.' EPJ's source also says that WaPo has it right when quoting Joel Ario, the former Director of Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, 'nobody is going to say we’re not starting on October 1, but in some situations, you may see a redefinition of what ‘start’ means.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingObamacare ‘SHOP’ Web Based Sign Up Won’t Be Ready Until 2014

The Big-Picture Economy, Part 3: Scarcity, Risk and Debt

"Scarcity of credit is the source of sound risk assessment and the discipline of aligning interest rates to risk and inflation. Manipulating rates to near-zero and opening the credit floodgates has incentivized everything sound economic policy avoids: moral hazard, speculation, leverage and reliance on marginal credit expansion for profits and 'growth.' 'Growth' that depends on manipulated interest rates and easy credit is a sand castle awaiting the rising tide; its destruction is assured." Continue reading

Continue ReadingThe Big-Picture Economy, Part 3: Scarcity, Risk and Debt

Some traders got Fed ‘no taper’ decision news early

"The Federal Reserve says it is contacting news organizations to discuss the rules surrounding lock up procedures and the release of market moving information from the Federal Reserve's headquarters in Washington. But the leading expert on millisecond level trading says he is focusing his attention on a certain type of news organization – those that offer so-called 'low latency' services to feed market moving data at high speeds directly into computerized trading systems. A key question is whether or not any organization transmitted information out of the lockup room and into its own computer system before 2 p.m." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSome traders got Fed ‘no taper’ decision news early

And the money trail leads to…

"A case in point is the Dodd-Frank Act. Wall Street was officially horrified by this law, which officially sought to end some of the practices that led to the financial collapse and big bailouts of leading U.S. investment firms in 2008-2009. But buried in the bowels of this 2,319-page law was a provision targeted squarely at 'foreign investment managers.' Simply put, the new rule forced every foreign bank, brokerage, or financial advisor with 15 more U.S. clients to register with the Securities & Exchange Commission. One Swiss-based investment manager who went through the process told me he spent more than $100,000 in legal fees to do it – not to mention hundreds of hours." Continue reading

Continue ReadingAnd the money trail leads to…

Ron Paul: Internet Sales Tax Could Crush Small Businesses

"It is amazing that some of the same conservatives who rightly worry over Obamacare’s effects on job creation and economic growth want to impose new taxes on the most dynamic sector of the economy. The main proponents of this bill are large retailers and established Internet business. Big business can more easily afford to comply with a national Internet sales tax. In many cases, they are large enough that they already have a 'physical presence' in most states and thus already have to collect state sales taxes. These businesses are seeking to manipulate the political process to disadvantage their existing and future small competitors." Continue reading

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Internet Sales Tax Could Crush Small Businesses

Obamacare Navigators Won’t Have To Pass Background Checks

"Ben Swann takes a look at HHS navigators and the massive amounts of private and personal information they will collect and store in the Federal Data Hub under Obamacare. Plus, we ask the question, does private information even exist anymore?" Continue reading

Continue ReadingObamacare Navigators Won’t Have To Pass Background Checks