History Repeating

Let Us Go A-Wassell-ing

"Mr. Wassell has become rapidly and widely known as 'The First Victim' of Guano's-sorry, Cuomo's unconstitutional SAFE Act. I was pleased to read in the Buffalo News that friends of freedom and of the Wassells 'crowded' the courtroom. We have historical precedence for such a tactic. In 1786 and 1787, patriots sick of the State's depredations and tyranny surrounded courthouses in Massachusetts to prevent courts from sitting since each time they did, more poor farmers lost their land to rich and corrupt rulers. That same tactic can work today." Continue reading →

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You thought the whole ‘EUSSR’ thing was over the top? Have a look at this poster

"For three generations, the badge of the Soviet revolution meant poverty, slavery, torture and death. It adorned the caps of the chekas who came in the night. It opened and closed the propaganda films which hid the famines. It advertised the people's courts where victims of purges and show-trials were condemned. It fluttered over the re-education camps and the gulags. For hundreds of millions of Europeans, it was a symbol of foreign occupation. Yet here it sits on a poster in the European Commission, advertising the moral deafness of its author (I hope that's what it is, rather than lingering nostalgia)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYou thought the whole ‘EUSSR’ thing was over the top? Have a look at this poster

Housing: Addicted to Fiat Money

"We are told that the housing recovery is strong. Then why is the best-performing new home building stock losing money? The Federal Reserve is buying about $40 billion worth of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds every month in order to sustain the present housing recovery. How is this market going to be sustained when the Federal Reserve finally stops creating half a trillion dollars a year worth of fiat money in order to goose the housing market? This is clearly the most manipulated market in the history of the United States. Bernanke and his associates have decided that it is the Federal Reserve’s job is to subsidize housing in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHousing: Addicted to Fiat Money

Jim Rickards: Forget Cyprus, Nobody Is Stealing from Depositors More than Bernanke

"'At this stage of a recovery normalized interest rates should be around 2-3%,' says Rickards. 'Apply that 2-3%…to the entire multi-trillion-dollar deposit base of the United States of America and that’s a $400-billion per year wealth transfer from savers to bankers so they can pay themselves bigger bonuses or make crazy bets.' Over time, Rickards says, that wealth transfer could reach $1 trillion. Rickards says zero interest rates are just one way the Fed is fleecing depositors. Others include increasing inflation, which Bernanke is trying to do, and taxing deposits like Cyprus is pushing for." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Rickards: Forget Cyprus, Nobody Is Stealing from Depositors More than Bernanke

Bank of Japan vows ‘all means available’ to smash deflation

"The new team is much closer to the Fed and the Bank of England, but critics say the bank risks becoming a mere branch of the finance mininstry -- where Mr Kuroda spent much of his careers. The great fear is that Japan will lurch from stable deflation to an unstable price spiral that suddenly causes investors to question the integrity of the country's 23 trillion public debt, the world's largest. The IMF says Japan's gross debt will reach 245pc of GDP this year. It has been possible so far because banks have gobbled up government bonds worth 100pc of GDP but this makes the banking system ever more vulnerable to a sudden rise in rates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of Japan vows ‘all means available’ to smash deflation

Peter Schiff: Cyprus Lifts the Curtain

"The decision to inflict pain on both large and small depositors was almost universally described as a historic blunder. But the mistake was to do so in a manner that was not camouflaged by financial smoke and mirrors. In truth, rank and file depositors have been paying, and will continue to pay, for all manner of bailouts and stimulus. Whether it's through lower interest payments on deposits, inflation, higher taxes, higher borrowing costs, or the accumulation of unsustainable sovereign debt, Cypriots will bear the burden of past profligacy. But the new plan for Cyprus was far too transparent, simple, and direct to survive in a world dependent on deceit and obfuscation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: Cyprus Lifts the Curtain

Argentina Turns To Gold As Inflation Tops 26%

"In the country Paul Krugman hailed as a Keynesian success story, the people are fleeing the government's currency. Banco de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina’s only bank offering gold bullion coins and bars to investors and savers is negotiating with mining companies to purchase gold direct as surging demand depletes the scrap supply. The bank began marketing gold to clients after Argentina tightened currency controls in October 2011. Banco Ciudad is the only bank left that trades in gold after Fernandez banned the purchase of certified 99.99% pure gold for savings in July. The bank sells it at 99.96% purity." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina Turns To Gold As Inflation Tops 26%

The No-Name European Committee That Made the $13 Billion Guarantee to Cypriot Banks

"The Eurogroup held a teleconference this evening to take stock of the situation in Cyprus. The eurozone's decision-making institution on the euro is an informal committee of finance ministers. The committee has no official name. It has no official power. It is not voted into office. In the Lisbon Treaty, which went into effect on January 1, 2009, this no-name informal committee at last got its legal status. This no-name Committee promised Cyprus banks $13 billion worth of euros over the weekend, on its own authority, and answerable to no one in any European parliament, including the European Union. This is called democracy in Europe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe No-Name European Committee That Made the $13 Billion Guarantee to Cypriot Banks

Driver’s Taxes and Other Money-Grabbing Schemes Throughout History

"Did you know that you need a license in Japan to be a sushi chef? It’s true. In Japan, you need a license to slice raw fish. You can bet that if the sushi restaurants in the USA were to become so popular that they stood on every street corner, the government would increase taxes on them by requiring a special license to slice fish; and why not? They tax you to go out on the water to catch them! Throughout the history of man there have been all sorts of ridiculous taxes levied on people by their overlords. The government claims they are doing it for the good of society, but it’s all a money scam. Here’s a short list of some of my, er, 'favorite' taxes through time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDriver’s Taxes and Other Money-Grabbing Schemes Throughout History

Junk Bonds Soar in Price as Investors Seek Higher Rates

"Junk bonds are high-risk bonds. They are rated CCC — barely above default status. They pay higher interest rates because there is risk of default. You may not get your money back. The rush to buy junk bonds indicates desperation on the part of investors to get something like a decent return on their money. But to get less than 6%, an investor must put his money at risk — high risk. Investors are saying that they trust Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve. They are saying that the FED can create $1 trillion in fiat money from now on, and prices will not rise -- long-term rates will not rise -- the economy will recover." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJunk Bonds Soar in Price as Investors Seek Higher Rates