Mad Statists

Bill Bonner: Fed’s QE has not created one single extra job

"Our central banks are engaged in a breathtaking program of activism. We don't know where it will lead. But, from the historical record, activism and central banking go no better together than drinking and driving. Keep it up long enough and you're bound to have an accident. But the accident hasn't happened yet. So most people have stopped worrying about it. They smell the liquor on the driver's breath. But they get on the bus anyway. The most reckless driving in central bank history...raising the footings of the US financial system by a factor of 5 times...from $800 billion to $4 trillion...and it has not resulted in one single extra job." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Fed’s QE has not created one single extra job

Colorado legislator wants to treat ‘High Times’ magazine like porn

"A Colorado Senate committee is considering putting marijuana-themed publications like High Times behind the counter. 'It’s analogous to the pornography example,' Rep. Bob Gardner (R-Colorado Springs), who proposed the idea, explained to The Associated Press. Gardner’s legislation was offered as an amendment to a larger marijuana regulation bill. If approved, stores accessible to those under 21 would be required to place marijuana-themed magazines behind the counter with other adult publications like Playboy. David Holland, a lawyer for High Times, told the Associated Press the magazine would sue the state if it enacted such a law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado legislator wants to treat ‘High Times’ magazine like porn

NYC To Hike Cigarette Age To 21 in Apparent Effort To Boost Black Market

"Let's say you're an official in a jurisdiction that has raised cigarette taxes so high that the majority of smokes consumed in the state come from the black market — either smuggled in from lower-tax jurisdictions or else outright counterfeits sold as the real deal to consumers trying to avoid being mugged as they enjoy their chosen vice. Assuming that your goal is to get everybody to go to the black market, what else can you do to nudge retailers and smokers to deal with the guys selling off the back of trucks? Well, how about raising the smoking age — effectively imposing prohibition on some existing smokers so that they have to go underground to get their smokes?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYC To Hike Cigarette Age To 21 in Apparent Effort To Boost Black Market

Madness of a Stimulating Fed

"It would be nice to read a real evaluation of central banking in the modern mainstream press. But perhaps this is as close as we can expect to get. The author explains that low interest rates and money manipulation have given rise to wild economic swings and questions about the current monetary easing. In fact, he does more than question it. He actively questions the central bankers' mental health. Of course, the Fed will set off another destructive boom and bust cycle. In fact, it's already a given. The trouble with central banking is that it simply doesn't yield up rational conclusions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMadness of a Stimulating Fed

Is the Fed Blowing a New Housing Bubble?

"Over the past year, the Federal Reserve has ramped up its policy of quantitative easing, with the result being new stock market highs and surging bond prices. Moreover, housing prices jumped 8%, the biggest annual gain since 2006. The result is that more than a trillion dollars have been added to the market value of single-family homes. Homeowners are now wealthier and according to what economists call the 'wealth effect,' they should be willing to spend more, helping the economy. But recent data released by FHFA suggest that the increase in house prices is not being driven by a broad-based improvement in the economy's fundamentals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs the Fed Blowing a New Housing Bubble?

Germany will think twice before saving France next time

"The Franco-German axis that has driven EU affairs ever since Schuman and Adenauer in the early 1950s is collapsing before our eyes. This was inevitable. Their interests have become incompatible under monetary union. The currency that was supposed to bind them is turning them into enemies, as this newspaper long warned. The latest argument gaining traction – advanced by Prof Bernd Lücke and the German eurosceptic party AfD among others – is that the only way to save the Franco-German relationship and therefore the EU is to break up the euro before it does more damage. Interesting twist." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany will think twice before saving France next time

20 Signs That The Next Great Economic Depression Has Already Started In Europe

"The truth is that Europe is a lot like the United States. We are both drowning in unprecedented levels of debt, and we both have overleveraged banking systems that resemble a house of cards. The reason why the U.S. does not look like Europe yet is because we have thrown all caution to the wind. The Federal Reserve is printing money as if there is no tomorrow and the U.S. government is savagely destroying the future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have by stealing more than 100 million dollars from them every single hour of every single day. But the alternative scares the living daylights out of our politicians." Continue reading →

Continue Reading20 Signs That The Next Great Economic Depression Has Already Started In Europe

Congress proposes adding $4.5 billion to historic highs spent on border security

"Federal spending on border security is at an all-time high -- and it would get even higher under the Gang of Eight’s new plan. The Senate immigration proposal, released last week, would allocate $4.5 billion in the next five years to tighten control of U.S. borders. The U.S. spent nearly $18 billion dollars on immigration enforcement agencies last fiscal year, more than all other law enforcement agencies combined. The bill requires buying as many drones as needed to have 24/7 surveillance of the Southwest border. The U.S. has already purchased 10 border drones, which cost $18 million a piece and roughly $3,000 an hour to operate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress proposes adding $4.5 billion to historic highs spent on border security