"According to a recent Fairleigh-Dickinson poll, nearly half of all Republicans believe that we might need an armed revolution in the near future to protect our liberties and a fifth of Democrats think the same thing." Continue reading →
"I am disappointed, but not surprised, that the Federal Reserve decided to hand the American people more of the same failed policies that caused and then perpetuated our current financial crisis. Chairman Bernanke may believe there is no inflation, but try telling that to seniors who are on a fixed income, students trying to save for college, and the millions of other Americans who are contending daily with rising prices. If the problem was the Fed not printing enough, and Congress not spending enough, why have the trillions of dollars in monetary stimulus only benefited big banks and corporations?" Continue reading →
"Graeber carefully shows that everything from the ancient work of law and religion to human notions like 'guilt,' 'sin,' and 'redemption,' are deeply influenced by ancients debates about credit and debt. It is no accident that debt continues to fuel political debate, from the crippling debt crises that have gripped Greece and Ireland, to our own debate over whether to raise the debt ceiling. Debt, an incredibly captivating narrative spanning 5,000 years, puts these crises into their full context and illuminates one of the thorniest subjects in all of history." Continue reading →
"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 →
"The G20 has fully endorsed the plan, and its implementation is complete or underway in member jurisdictions. The US is a G20 member, so don't kid yourself into believing it can't happen in America. It can and will. The Cyprus event has been carefully framed as an anomaly when in fact it is part of a well-orchestrated script. Americans are just one financial crisis away from triggering the provisions of the G20-backed FSB financial resolution regime. And that almost certainly will include restrictions on the movement of capital. Once your money is trapped inside the US, any type of concocted emergency 'tax' can be imposed on your wealth." Continue reading →
"Bank of Cyprus (BoC) said on Sunday it had carried out a conversion of uninsured cash deposits in the bank into equity, one of the conditions of international lenders to offer the cash-starved island financial aid. The process, known as a 'bail-in', made depositors in the bank pay for its recapitalisation, after the institution was hit by massive losses from its exposure to debt-crippled Greece. It converted 37.5% of deposits exceeding €100,000 on March 26, into 'class A' shares – nominal value €1 -- with an additional 22.5% held as a buffer for possible conversion in the future. Another 30% would be temporarily frozen and held as deposits." Continue reading →
"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 →
"Mainland Chinese purchasers have been ferocious. First, they emptied stores in their own country. Caibai, Beijing’s largest gold merchant, had a queue 30 feet out the door on the morning of the 19th. 'So many people in line,' remarked a customer in Nanjing, where one person splashed out 2.9 million yuan on ten gold bars each weighing a kilogram. Retailers ran out of stock in Guangzhou. The China Gold Association reported that on the 15th and 16th retail sales of gold tripled across China. Daily sales soared to five times the usual level at one retail chain. As Chinese emptied the shelves in their own country, they also went south and swarmed shops in Hong Kong." Continue reading →
"Financial privacy should not be viewed in a negative light, as it is often portrayed. The Swiss view it as a fundamental human right to preserve dignity, akin to medical privacy. How would you feel if the government snooped into your medical records and automatically shared those records with foreign governments? While it would appear the primary objective of this new 'global standard' is to rake in more money for bankrupt governments, it seems another motive is at play here. The optimistic estimate for FATCA is that it will bring in around $9 billion over 10 years or $900 million on average per year. It appears the primary motivation here is control." Continue reading →
"As any student of American history can tell you, one of the reasons behind the American Revolution was 'no taxation without representation.' Since then, America has striven to ensure that the government is responsive and fair. Until now. Sadly, the United States seems to be straying from her heritage, as millions of unrepresented American expats are being subjected to extra reporting requirements simply because they live overseas. To add insult to injury, the American government isn't the only body discriminating against Americans living overseas. Banks (both foreign and American), insurance companies, and credit/debit card companies are joining in." Continue reading →