History Repeating

Putin was wrong: The exceptionalism of the United States is alive and real

"Exceptional can also mean exceptionally bad in some or all respects. And here I would like to enumerate a points on which I can easily affirm the concept of American exceptionalism: The United States enjoys the highest obesity rate among 28 major nations. This is due in large part because of the government sponsored carbohydrate bubble. The United States has killed thousands of people through unmanned drones; the ratio of innocent to terrorists is perhaps 50 to 1. The United States is running the biggest budget deficit and borrows over 40 cents for every dollar it spends. It must borrow more money to be able to claim that it is not a banana republic. [..]" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin was wrong: The exceptionalism of the United States is alive and real

Mark Thornton on “Government Shutdown”

"Mark Thornton presents a Misesian commentary on why politics is to blame for the impending U.S. government 'shutdown,' and how a gold standard could provide real fiscal discipline. Thornton is a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute. For more information, visit the Mises Institute online at mises.org." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMark Thornton on “Government Shutdown”

Shutdown: ObamaCare (No) and the Federal Government (No)

"So, how long will House Republicans continue to take a stand? Until the polls indicate that they will lose in November 2014. On October 1, enrollment in the exchanges is to begin. But hardly anyone knows how to enroll yet. The computer programs are not ready. The confusion has not yet hit. The sense of betrayal has not yet hit Obama’s poll numbers. If Republicans can hold out long enough for resentment against the program to spread, they win politically. They can hold out longer. But at some point, they will capitulate. That’s what the uncertainty is all about. It’s about the timing of their capitulation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShutdown: ObamaCare (No) and the Federal Government (No)

Quantitative Easing Worked For The Weimar Republic For A Little While Too

"Like any addict, the Fed is promising that they can quit at any time, but this month they refused to even start tapering their money printing a little bit. The behavior of the Fed is so shameful that even CNBC is comparing it to a drug addict at this point. Sadly, what very few people seem to understand is that what the Fed is doing is going to absolutely destroy confidence in our currency and in our financial system in the long-term. Yeah, many investors have been raking in huge gobs of cash right now, but in the long run this is going to be bad for everybody. We have now entered a money printing spiral from which there is no easy exit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingQuantitative Easing Worked For The Weimar Republic For A Little While Too

Subprime lending execs back in business five years after crash

"Five years after the financial crisis crested with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., top executives from the biggest subprime lenders are back in the game. Many are developing new loans that target borrowers with low credit scores and small down payments, pushing the limits of tighter lending standards that have prevailed since the crisis. Some experts fear they won’t know where to stop. The Center for Public Integrity in 2009 identified the top 25 lenders by subprime loan production from 2005 through 2007. Today, senior executives from all 25 of those companies or companies that they swallowed up before the crash are back in the mortgage business." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSubprime lending execs back in business five years after crash

Debt: Still Cheap, and Getting Looser

"The industry is clearly rebounding. Guy Cecala, publisher of the trade magazine Inside Mortgage Finance, says, 'You're going to see a little more risk coming into the system' as lenders permit smaller down payments and finance more investment properties. 'Five years down the road and we're back in the thick of it again. It's a weird place to be,' says Cliff Rossi, who was a high-level risk management executive at Countrywide, Washington Mutual, and Freddie Mac before the crisis. 'In that intervening 20 years, we forgot what we learned in the '80s,' he says. 'I fear right now, human nature being what it is, that downstream we could find ourselves in the same situation.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDebt: Still Cheap, and Getting Looser

The Taper Caper

"Under normal conditions, you'd be smart to assume that the Fed won't taper until unemployment falls below 7% and inflation rises above 2%. But there's a curveball: Bernanke will almost certainly step down as head of the Fed in January 2014. Rumors say that he wants to begin tapering before he leaves, for obvious reasons. Such action would increase the odds of history viewing him favorably. If Bernanke tapers, he can take credit for putting the US on a responsible path before handing the reins over to the next guy or gal. Whatever happens after that is Janet Yellen's problem (or whoever-replaces-Bernanke's problem)." Continue reading →

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Too Big To Fail Is Now Bigger Than Ever Before

"Ever since the financial crisis of 2008, our politicians have been running around proclaiming that they will not rest until they have fixed 'the too big to fail problem', but instead of fixing it those banks have rapidly gotten even larger. We are witnessing a consolidation of the banking industry that is absolutely stunning. Hundreds of smaller banks have been swallowed up by these behemoths, and millions of Americans are finding that they have to deal with these banking giants whether they like it or not. These banks have been unbelievably reckless, but when they fail, we will all pay the price." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingToo Big To Fail Is Now Bigger Than Ever Before

How Heartless, How Cold Is Lindsey Graham?

"Does Senator Graham understand what the war on Iraq did to that country and its people? Does he even care? This site has some before and after photos. How can a man propose the destruction of Iran? I’ve written about him at length before. I consider him an ignorant, sadistic, religious and political wacko, lacking in any feeling for the peoples he is destroying. Quite possibly he hates them or has some problem that manifests itself in his callousness toward these particular peoples. His unswerving support of Israel is simply astonishing, but he shares that with a number of other U.S. politicians, at least in their public personae. I doubt very much they feel that way in private." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Heartless, How Cold Is Lindsey Graham?