Land Of The Flea

Bailout Banks Made Riskier Loans: Study [2011]

"The government bailout made banks appear safer but actually caused them to take on more credit risk, according to a University of Michigan study released Wednesday. According to a working paper by finance professors Ran Duchin and Denis Sosyura of the university of Michigan's Ross School of Business entitled Safer Ratios, Riskier Portfolios: Banks' Response to Government Aid, banks participating in the government's Capital Purchase Program as part of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, 'significantly increased their investments in risky securities,' by 10%, 'displacing safer assets, such as Treasury bonds, short-term paper, and cash equivalents.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBailout Banks Made Riskier Loans: Study [2011]

U.S. Gov. Gets $2.6 Billion In Credit Suisse ‘Money Laundering’ Case

"Credit Suisse is the largest financial company to plead guilty to the non-crime of 'money laundering' in 20 years. The plea marks the end of an era. One of the shell entities implicated, according to the government, dated back a century – or just after the creation of the federal tax code and the income tax. Of the $2.6 billion fine, The Department of Justice will receive $1.8 billion and New York State's top financial regulator, Benjamin Lawsky, will receive $715 million of the stolen loot. With the FATCA coming into full effect on January 1, 2016, and the US government actively prosecuting banks, only savvy Americans will be able to find financial institutions abroad to service them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Gov. Gets $2.6 Billion In Credit Suisse ‘Money Laundering’ Case

Former Fed Employee Charged With Felony For Threatening To Kill Boss

"After reading an article about the psychotic behavior of a former Federal Reserve employee, I would be reluctant to criticize the Fed in the presence of an employee of the world’s most powerful banking cartel. Zero Hedge has some stellar coverage about a former San Francisco Fed employee, and current employee at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), that threatened to kill his boss and then take his own life. Richard Hornsby, Chief Operating Officer of the FHFA, was arrested and charged with a felony for threatening to kill Edward J. DeMarco. Mr. DeMarco was Hornsby’s superior at FHFA. The death threat was supposedly the result of a poor job performance rating." Continue reading →

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FinCEN: Cloud Mining, Escrow Services Aren’t Money Transmitters

"The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued new rulings indicating that digital currency-related cloud mining and escrow services should not be considered money transmitters. The two releases came via what appear to be responses to requests from businesses seeking to better understand FinCEN’s policies. FinCEN, the bureau of the US treasury that collects and analyzes financial transactions, has previously released influential decisions regarding how consumer bitcoin miners and bitcoin investors should be regulated under money transmission laws." Continue reading →

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Federal Reserve’s Bitcoin Policy Begins to Take Shape

"On Friday, May 9th, 2014, the Federal Advisory Council and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve met for their quarterly meeting in Washington D.C. This meeting was historically held in secrecy until Bloomberg News 'won' a Freedom of Information Act request requiring the Fed to make the meetings minutes available to the public. The Fed is pro Bitcoin regulation: 'Regulation is advisable; considerations include protecting consumers, addressing illicit use, and avoiding Balkanization.' In this regards they recommend, 'Regulatory oversight to ensure that exchanges invest in appropriate cyber and other security measures. This includes fully secure storage of Bitcoin wallets.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Reserve’s Bitcoin Policy Begins to Take Shape

Federal Reserve’s Bitcoin Policy Begins to Take Shape

"On Friday, May 9th, 2014, the Federal Advisory Council and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve met for their quarterly meeting in Washington D.C. This meeting was historically held in secrecy until Bloomberg News 'won' a Freedom of Information Act request requiring the Fed to make the meetings minutes available to the public. The Fed is pro Bitcoin regulation: 'Regulation is advisable; considerations include protecting consumers, addressing illicit use, and avoiding Balkanization.' In this regards they recommend, 'Regulatory oversight to ensure that exchanges invest in appropriate cyber and other security measures. This includes fully secure storage of Bitcoin wallets.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Reserve’s Bitcoin Policy Begins to Take Shape

The DOJ’s “Operation Choke Point” Has Driven 30 Industries To Bitcoin

"The DOJ is targeting 30 high-risk industries, as labeled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2011. BitPay has proven to be an incredible ally to the porn industry and has led Bitcoin’s charge into the high chargeback industry. Porn.com and now Verotel both accept Bitcoin using bitpay; both are able to charge lower fees without the risk of chargeback. OKCupid has been using Bitcoin for over a year now… Almost as long as the DOJ has been unintentionally pushing these industries towards Bitcoin. Every industry in the world can benefit from Bitcoin Blockchain technology; it’s just that these 30 have been given a forceful push by the government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe DOJ’s “Operation Choke Point” Has Driven 30 Industries To Bitcoin

Wendy McElroy: First They Came For The Porn Stars…

"The Department of Justice (DOJ) program is called Operation Choke Point. The choke point is America's payment infrastructure through which an estimated $5 trillion in consumer purchases flow each year; more than eight million merchants use it to process credit and debit card payments. The DOJ is targeting banks and payment companies, such as PayPal, with a tsunami of subpoenas and other expensive legal demands. The demands go away if the institutions refuse to do business with people whose activities are deemed 'objectionable' although they are legal. The DOJ is imposing its own moral criteria on who can participate in the market place." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWendy McElroy: First They Came For The Porn Stars…

Why I Sued the U.S. Government 28 Years Ago and What I Learned

"My name is Will Bonner. In 1986, at the age of seven years old, I took the US Secretary of the Treasury, James A. Baker, to federal court over the US national debt. When I was seven years old, I took James A Baker, former US Secretary of the Treasury, to court... over the US national debt. I wasn't looking for a big cash payday. I was asking the court to prevent Mr. Baker and the United States Treasury from getting away with the biggest rip-off in history... a policy most people don't understand or like to talk about... but one that I believed would ruin this country... And I wish I was writing to you to tell you that I had been successful... that I had stopped it. But it didn't turn out that way." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy I Sued the U.S. Government 28 Years Ago and What I Learned

Suit Goes To Bat For Future Taxpayers [1986]

"A lawsuit supported by the National Taxpayers Union and two state attorney generals has been filed on behalf of 60 million children, charging that deficit spending benefits today`s adults at the expense of youth who will have to bear the future burden. The novel suit names Treasury Secretary James Baker as the defendant, and it seeks to enjoin Baker from issuing any new instruments of federal debt except in certain instances and to compel the establishment of a schedule to reduce the deficit. It also argued that by forcing children to assume responsibility of debts now incurred by fiscally irresponsible adults, children are being denied equal protection of the laws under the 5th Amendment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSuit Goes To Bat For Future Taxpayers [1986]