Edwards And SEC Chiefs Embrace Obama

May 14, 2008

Elaine Meinel Supkis

I had to suffer through watching tons of propaganda on ABC to see the Obama/Edwards lovefest. Not only has Edwards now embraced Obama, not only has Obama embraced Volcker, but three retired SEC chiefs who worked for both Democratic and Republican Presidents endorsed Obama today! This is VERY important: they feel he is possibly the only one around who can bring some sanity to our finances. Also, Hillary and her husband both saw their incomes climb the most in the Senate this year! The number of multimillionaires in the Senate is striking. And many of them gained this via political smoozing. Stocks shot up today on the news that there is 'no inflation' even as gasoline shoots upwards at the pumps by some more pennies today! The hope is, Bernanke will drop rates to near 0% and everyone will live in that happy, happy land where there is no interest charged, no money down and you don't pay off the principal. The Pentagon and the White House reduce the capture reward for top Al Qaeda people supposedly because the Arabs don't understand zeros and think $100,000 is better than $5,000,000. Even Hillary's voters aren't that stupid. Much less, Arab chiefs. And last, we look at China and India to learn some harsh lessons.

Edwards to endorse Obama

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will endorse Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, according to Obama's campaign.
*snip*
He told NBC last week that Obama, the Democratic front-runner, is the party's likely nominee. Both Obama and the his rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, had sought Edwards' blessing.

Edwards said last week that it was "fine" for Clinton to continue making her case but expressed concern that a continued campaign could damage the party's prospects in November.

Obama is on a roll. Yes, he didn't win the white worker, the hard workers of West Virginia. But then, these people are often ill-informed thanks to our insane media which specializes in propaganda cranking rather then honest news reporting. Example from today, ABC News said, 'The soldiers in China unceremoniously dump bodies on the sidewalk...' while seeking some way of exploiting the massive tragedy there. Of course, the soldiers, overwhelmed by thousands of dead, were carefully lining them up where others could pick up the bodies, all of which they strove to cover in some way. Which is hard to do when everything is in chaos. But I remember New Orleans when it took months and months for the bodies to be taken in. In many cases, people had to complain bitterly and strangers covered the dead as best they could. And a hurricane gives lots of warning, unlike an earthquake! The soldiers, of course, were keen on saving any living souls, the care of the bodies came second. But ABC had to score points and point fingers even though our own rulers in the past have been are far more cruel than the Chinese communists.

ABC didn't linger on the Obama/Edwards love-fest because they had to go to China to mock the heroism there. And then they ran off to New Orleans....oops...Burma to talk about the Superdome and...oops again. It is hard to not be bitter and cynical. I can't wait to have someone who at least can pretend to care! But the Edward's endorsement didn't make me happy, it is the people Volcker pulled into the Obama camp:

Three Former SEC Chairmen Endorse Obama's Presidential Bid

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama picked up the endorsement today of three former chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission, two of whom were appointed by Republican presidents.

Arthur Levitt, who was appointed by Bill Clinton; William Donaldson, who was appointed by George W. Bush; and David Ruder, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan, issued a joint statement saying Obama can provide the best leadership during times of ``monumental economic challenges.''

``We believe Senator Obama can provide the positive leadership and judgment needed to take us to a stronger and more secure economic future,'' they said. The statement also was signed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who previously endorsed Obama.

The four men said they appreciated Obama's support for ``balanced regulatory reform. We believe that such a constructive approach can be extended broadly in the economic area as well as elsewhere.''

Levitt, in an interview today on Bloomberg Radio, said their backing was prompted in part by Obama's opposition to a summer gas-tax holiday advanced by Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain. Obama called the idea a ``gimmick'' because it would save the average driver less than $30.

Now this makes the deal! Anyone voting for Ron Paul can rest easy: Ron himself, said, Obama is the best choice. This news is the cherry in the cocktail. The goofy pandering to semi-literate people concerning the gas tax was the final straw. Of course, our media never, ever, ever mentions wars as a cause of high oil prices. Nor do they point out the obvious, the more the US hammers Iran and prevents them from selling oil, the higher the price of gas. In Congress this week, hysterical multi-millionaires begged Bush to stop filling the national reserves for oil. They desperately want lower gasoline prices for this election. Speaking of a chamber of screaming demons, look at who is a multi millionaire:

Clinton's wealth rose fastest among lawmakers, report finds

Propelled by her husband's post-White House earnings, Sen. Hillary Clinton's average net worth soared from red ink to $30.7 million between 2000 and 2006, the fastest financial climb among members of Congress who arrived without assets, a watchdog group reported Tuesday.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, reported a $27.6 million surge in his and his wife's average worth from 1995 to 2006. Their worth rose over that 11-year period from an inflation-adjusted average of $8.9 million to $36.4 million, the ninth-biggest rise in Congress, the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation reported.

The Sunlight Foundation posted on its Web site the first-ever comparison of the 535 House and Senate members' latest available net worth with their earlier disclosure statements. The forms don't require any explanation for shifts of fortune.

Many members of Congress have added significantly to their wealth while in office, such as Sen. Edward Kennedy's jump from an average net worth of $7.1 million in 1995 to $102.8 million in 2006. But because lawmakers are allowed to list their assets in wide ranges and exclude homes that can be worth millions of dollars, the foundation acknowledged that the data may create misimpressions.

Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama's average net worth rose from $328,442 in 2004, when he was elected to the Senate, to $799,006 in 2006. But counting Obama's and his wife Michelle's pricey Chicago home, he almost assuredly has joined the Senate's ``Millionaire's Club.''

So, of all the mulitimillionaire wealthy, Obama is strictly from the 'hood. He might as well be picking up bottles for the 5¢ returns! Ouch. And note the propaganda about him, of all the Senate, being 'elitist'. HAHAHA. Not to mention, all the military/industrialist sticky fingers in the Senate. Arrest them all. No wonder they all vote for more and more money wasted on more and more wars! It is making them filthy rich. A warning to pro-Democrats: this is YOUR party doing this! And this is why reaching out to people like Ron Paul is so important. The anti-war, anti-corruption people are NOT any particular party. They are all individuals and we must take care to go after all the corrupt people and obviously, Hillary is #1 on that list not to mention dear old McCain, the other guy who is ready to answer the 3am phone call to bomb, bomb, bomb someone so the Senators can get richer.

If we make a list of all these clowns, you can bet, the huge rise in their joint incomes from 1995 to today run directly from the pirates and hell hounds who have utterly destroyed our banking system and our economic futures. These tax cheats are now in charge of our key political offices for the Senate has veto power over the House so if the House goes after these pirates and hellish hounders, the Senate can kill any bills that reform this corrupt and dangerous system. And there are only 51 who have to be bribed which is tons cheaper than the House, per vote. Then there is the ultimate bribe: the White House has great powers of veto which is why these financiers who are often thieves, are very generous with their donations and help. Let's look at the state our nation is in thanks to all this:

U.S. Stocks Advance on Consumer Price Report; Freddie Mac Gains

U.S. stocks advanced for a third day after consumer prices climbed less than forecast and Freddie Mac's results bolstered speculation the worst credit-market losses are over.

Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage-finance company, rallied the most in six weeks after reporting a smaller loss than analysts estimated. Macy's Inc. spurred gains in retailers on sales that topped projections. Nine of ten industry groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose as the Labor Department's April inflation report gave the Federal Reserve more leeway to stimulate the economy.

Whoopee. The investors and financial bankers are hoping the Fed will drop interest rates below 1% yet again. Then it is party time, dudes. Anticipating this shower of easy wealth via easy money, stocks are struggling to get back to where they were over a year ago. The joint agreement between the Fed and these pirates is simple: they will all discount inflation. For example, the magic inflation figures saw gas go up 'only' 2.5% this last month. Since they guessed it will rise even HIGHER, they are saying inflation is dropping since it was 'only' 2.5%. Whoopee. This sort of higher math has only one purpose: to hide the truth. Also, the prices of all other things are definitely dropping due to everyone spending every penny on food and fuel. Who would have guessed? Instead of saying, 'Oh my god, this is the Seventies Show all over again!' and hammering a nail in the forehead, they say, 'There is no inflation! We can have cheap loans again!' But there is someone who is saying the right thing, as usual. Volcker.

Volcker says current economic situation resembles early 1970s

The US economy is not now in the kind of stagflation crisis it had been in, in the late 1970s, former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker told Congress today, but it's not impossible.

'I think there is some resemblance now to inflation in the early 1970s,' he warned the Joint Economic Committee. The economy obviously does not have the full-blown, double-digit inflation crisis that finally appeared, but he said, 'there is an underlying tendency to inflation.'

Volcker also told the committee that the Consumer Price Index may understate the actual rate of inflation. For example, during the real estate boom, the housing component of the CPI rose only slightly.

Someone give Volcker a cigar except that is a Cuban commie cigar. No, give him a loud cheer! Wow! Someone sees the obvious! Thank the gods, he is Obamas' economic advisor. It is wonderful that this candidate has a sane courtier. I want Volcker to be in charge of all our financial data. I want him to bring back the M3 numbers. I want real inflation statistics, not lies. I want him...back! Yaahhh! He knows, like myself, that we need savers if we want a sane banking system. He knows that savers have been ravaged this last 15 years and he knows the elderly are being cheated. And I know that he is the best choice for Treasury Secretary.

US Navy resurrects Fourth Fleet to police Latin America

Washington announced at the end of last month that it is resurrecting the long-ago moth-balled Fourth Fleet to reassert US power in the Caribbean and Latin America. Created at the time of World War II to combat German submarines attacking merchant shipping convoys in the South Atlantic, the Fourth Fleet was seen as no longer necessary after the Second World War and was disbanded in 1950.

The Pentagon’s a statement on the revival of the fleet gave a far vaguer indication of its new duties, saying it would “conduct varying missions including a range of contingency operations, counter narco-terrorism, and theater security cooperation activities.”

“Rear Admiral James Stevenson, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, said the re-establishment of the Fourth Fleet will send a message to the entire region, not just Venezuela,” AHN news reported.

And we now are ruling the Seven Seas with four fleets we cannot afford! Isn't that loverly? And it is fatal. The US has been carrying a big stick and using a very big mouth and the stick is owned by the Chinese and the Venezuelans know this, they are good buddies with Hu and Wen as well as where and what. They aren't fooled by this latest attempt at projecting power we can't own. Our oil prices are shooting upwards due to the US not being able to buy Venezuelan oil, China gets it, not us. Thank you. End of story. It should be on TV but none of this makes the news in a comprehensive way. This is why my news service survives. Hooray.

The U.S. Quietly Slashes the Reward Posted for the Leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq

he U.S. government has quietly withdrawn a $5 million reward it was offering for the killing or capture of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, named by Pentagon officials as the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
*snip*
Officially, defense sources say that rewards have historically been reduced for a number of reasons. "When they have reduced rewards in the past, some of the discussion has been to devalue them [the terrorists], to not hold them in such high regard," says a senior defense official. It's psychological warfare of sorts: "It may cause them to do things that say, 'Look, I'm important,'" says the official—and in so doing, perhaps do something that makes it easier for them to be captured. The reasons in the past have also been more pedestrian, adds the official. "Sometimes the rewards are set so high that for some people maybe $100,000 is more tangible than $1 million."

And if the fools running our empire think even the dumbest desert Arab can't add and subtract, they are nuts. Modern numbers came out of the Islamic world! And the Indians invented zero. And the ancient Chinese invented computer systems to calculate large numbers quickly! While we were in the Dark Ages, counting fingers and toes and coming up with 19 due to the finger cut off by a sword in last summer's raiding expeditions. The truth is, the reward has been reduced because no Senators can claim the $5 million if they turn in al Qaeda CIA agents. And Bush can't collect it, either. He won't turn on his useful buddies.

2005: CHINA AND INDIA IN THE WORLD ECONOMY

Paper presented to the International Conference of Commercial Bank Economists

From a long-term perspective, the prospect of China becoming the world’s largest economy, and India the third largest, within the next 10-15 years, represents a return to the order which has prevailed throughout most of human history. According to calculations by Angus Maddison5, from at least the beginning of the common era until the early 19th century, China and India accounted for around half of global GDP (see Chart 1). For much of this period China and India were intact polities, had the world’s largest populations and were technological leaders.

As Jared Diamond notes, “until around AD 1450, China was technologically much more innovative and advanced than Europe”6. Chinese inventions before or during this period included the wheelbarrow, gunpowder, matches, cast iron, porcelain, magnetic compasses, sternpost rudders, paper, printing, paper money and a meritocratic civil service.7 Indian inventions from this period include the decimal system (and the concept of zero), the water-wheel, cotton-ginning, cloth dyes, brass and the extraction of crystalline sugar from cane8. The decline in the relative importance of China and India between the early 18th and late 20th centuries resulted from, inter alia, the industrial revolution in Western Europe; the formation and rapid expansion of the United States; China’s retreat from engagement with the global economy beginning during the Ming Dynasty and subsequent decay under the Qing dynasty; the impact of colonial rule on India, and ‘gunboat diplomacy’ and ‘unequal treaties’ on China; nearly fifty years of warfare and social disorder in China in the first half of the 20th century followed by another quarter-century of chaos and misrule under Mao Zedong; and forty years of growth-stultifying Nehruvian socialism in India from independence until the financial crisis of 1991.

A good pdf read. The charts show clearly, the world order is shifting back to Asia. Asian farmers and inventors in China in particular, were incredible in the past. Many inventions like printing of books, books with pages, numbers, algebra, paper money, fire power, integrated farming methods, unitary organization of villages, cities and the government, intensive farming techniques, fertilization, silk weaving, high-fired pottery, astronomy, etc: this is from the great civilizations of the East. The Olympic torch is moving to Asia. No matter what we say or how much we complain. This is what we must talk about, not making gas cheap. But how to swim with this tidal change and not drown in bankruptcy, drown in red ink.

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Comments

[GK]

How many of these multimillionaires made their fortunes investing in factory farming?

Horrific.

http://www.mercyforanimals.org/CAEggs/

A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation takes you behind the closed doors of one of California’s largest egg factory farms, exposing the hidden cost of egg production - cruelty to animals.

Hidden camera video recorded in early 2008 at Gemperle Enterprises in Merced County, California, a supplier to NuCal Foods Inc. - the largest distributor of shell eggs in the Western US - reveals:

* Rotting carcasses in cages with live hens still laying eggs for human consumption.
* Birds suffering from untreated broken bones, open wounds, infections and prolapses.
* Workers brutally killing sick hens by grabbing their heads and swinging their bodies around to break their necks, or through neck-twisting, often resulting in a prolonged, torturous death.
* Workers roughly and forcefully handling birds, resulting in injuries, such as broken bones and blunt trauma.
* Hens covered in excrement, confined five to seven per cage the size of a file drawer, unable to stretch their wings, move freely or exercise.
* Crippled hens left to languish in cage aisles without access to food, water, or veterinary care.

The findings of MFA's new investigation are similar to those documented at numerous egg farms across the country in recent years - illustrating that animal neglect and abuse are the egg industry standard, not the exception.

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

GK, all my long life, even in the city, I raised chickens for their healthy eggs. I only eat home reared chicken eggs. The happy hens are all very, very tame and follow me around like puppies. They come when called and if I ask them to squat for me, i can pick them up. They have a house to live in and run loose late in the day to eat bugs. Yummy bugs!

I HATE FACTORY FARMS WITH AN ABSOLUTE PASSION.

They are utterly disgusting. And raising chickens, for example, is easy. If you have 20 hens you have enough good eggs for an entire neighborhood, for example!

[calvino]

The gas tax charade was a clincher for me as well. Obama rejected the pathetic pandering at the expense of passable roads. Maybe not momentous, however in a time submerged in unadulterated lies, the slightest stand on truth and principle is all the clue I need. Of course Volcker's endorsement is very heavy. Chris Cox, you pathetic spectator to the dismantling of the last integrity of our finance, don't let the door hit you on the way out. You wimpish clown.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Speaking of Obama....you may want to research S.2433

Here is a start, in case you missed it.

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=5152

[blues]

Here in Western Massachusetts, most towns are littered with abandoned brick factory buildings. A big tomato at a mom and pop store could cost $2.00. The cracked sidewalks and bridges look like they have not been refurbished for 200 years. Our sort-of liberal governor wants to spend $3 billion for some repairs. He thinks the revenues from three big gambling casinos would be helpful. Phooey.

The horror of Burma's cyclone and the Chinese earthquake is too much for me to contemplate. At least it seems that China can afford to provide help.

I too have been watching the crackles and pops along the Ring of Fire. The entire West Coast is severely threatened, though California looks the scariest. I am asking myself, what if the West Coast gets pounded like a cookie under a sledgehammer? Can our disintegrating economy repair it? Remember New Orleans. We have actual refugees from there here in Massachusetts! The snow and coldness must have messed them up big time.

Suppose the West Coast crumbles? (About on the day our dear leaders attack somebody, and oil goes up to $15 a gallon.) We will not be able to afford to fix that, so everybody in California will migrate to the East Coast! I suppose people here will be asking why these folks ever stayed in a place where new faults are discovered every week.

Lyndon LaRouche says the British are out to destroy the US by getting us involved with disastrous conflicts. Maybe. When will the propaganda media organs acknowledge that half of us are basically operating in disaster mode already? Terrorists? We are terrorizing ourselves by not addressing our own awful problems!

[rockpaperscizzors]

Perhaps this info belongs under "funny money":). I wonder how many of the pending provisions will be removed prior to approval.

Highlight of war spending bill
(today) hours, 40 minutes ago | AP Online

Highlights of a House bill to pay for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into next spring. The bill would set aside $183.7 billion and provide an additional $62.9 billion over 10 years to extend unemployment benefits and bolster the GI Bill. Lawmakers will cast separate votes on three components: war money, Iraq war policy restrictions and unrelated domestic add-ons......
http://www.newser.com/article/1A1-D90LU7AG0.html

And onto the discussion of the possibility of a California earthquake. I remember back in the 70's there was great fear of this happening as well. Is there a collary between energy spiked recessions and generated fear of the "big one" in California? If California, one of the top 10 largest world economies, did have a gigantic earthquake what would be the impact on the US economy, ports, food productivity and availability, resources, etc...? Just wondering how interwoven a disaster of great magnitude would affect other regions of the US and World.

High-Tech Quake May Shake More Than Silicon Valley (April 17, 2008 )
Analysts Believe Temblor Could Spell Financial Trouble for Troubled U.S. Economy
There is a major earthquake lurking in Silicon Valley's future, and when it hits, the aftershocks will be felt far beyond California.
(AP/ABC News)The San Andreas Fault, which runs along the western edge of the Silicon Valley,....
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4672858&page=1

And the next big question is the availability (or lack thereof) of the National Guard per state. I'm unsure when this article was printed whether GWB absconded with larger percentage of National Guard for his last surge.

How ready is your state's National Guard?

Most representatives from National Guard units across the USA say they are ready to handle whatever domestic disaster comes along. Some, however, are concerned about equipment missing due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the need to replace aging equipment.
Correspondents from across the USA spoke with governors, National Guard commanders and public affairs officers to determine each unit's equipment and preparedness levels for dealing with national disasters. The highlighted percentages listed are the estimated percentage of domestic equipment available to the National Guard in that state, provided by those sources.....

California: 50% California's National Guard may be short more than 1,550 pieces of equipment, but the state is still prepared for earthquakes, fires or any other disasters, said Maj. Gen. William Wade. Most of the equipment is 30 to 40 years old, which he says is "typical" for the National Guard nationwide. Any "new" equipment he gets is still 8 to 15 years old. He's also short 800 Humvees, 700 medium tactical vehicles and 50 heavy lifter trucks.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-14-guard-table_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

[Paul S]

I guess what amazes me the most is how the neo-cons and other warhawks are STILL using the same propaganda to justify the war: "Fight them in Iraq or fight them here","Every day an al-Qaida operative wakes up and prays for the destruction of the good ol' US of A"..etc. etc. WHERE is our media in all this? Good question. Congress also has abdicated ITS role in all this too. Meanwhile, profits at Haliburton and KBR are going through the roof.

[rockpaperscizzors]

Last comment on the "what if" California earthquake. Would the US government institute the University of Chicago Milton Friedman's "new world order" economic policies as examined in Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" book?
http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

Friedman's Chicago Boys policies are in full swing in New Orleans. And the current administrations deliberate failure of FEMA was enacted. Bush was sincerely proud of Brown's policy of intentional ineptitude performance; "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job."

GWB's deliberate "failures" are the new world orders successes. Remember what he said and did about social security as he tried to privatize it. In fact, GWB's remarks in 2005 were based on Greenspan's premeditated economic policies, (such as the 1999 repeal of the Glass Steagall Act of 1933). The current financial meltdown and the ramped up dollar devaluation is attributable to Greenspan. The only saving grace of social security is the ongoing soc sec payroll deductions until the job sector declines and unemployment becomes rampant. Maybe it's part of the new world order plan:

Mr. Bush also alluded today to the "so-called security trust," calling it "a bunch of filing cabinets with I.O.U.'s in them" and adding that "it's frankly not a very encouraging sight." In fact, those interest-bearing Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, which has never defaulted on Treasury securities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/18/politics/18cnd-bush.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

OK: The San Andreas WILL blow out some horrid day. The middle section WILL shift northwards by at least 55 feet in one microsecond.

We don't know when.

800 Humvees? HAHAHA. Almost ALL the water keeping LA and all the huge cities around LA alive must cross the San Andreas where it will blow out. There are over 20 million people needing to be saved. And that is around one Humvee per 100,000. I have called the coming tragedy there 'The Death March To Mexico'. People can't walk to Arizona. The desert there is very nasty. I grew up in that desert. Virtually no water unless you are a desert person and know how to produce water [hint: put down plastic in a hole in a dry river bed and collect the dew at dawn].

Also people strip in the desert. Instead of covering up like Arabs. I ran around the desert all my childhood while wearing billowing capes, etc. Tight clothing is death from loss of moisture.

Most people have few hard survival skills. Particularly in the desert. Africans have this perfected thanks to the harsh mistress, the Sahara.

[Judy]

Those hens look like mine...I have Aracana hens. Of course now they call them "Americana" and they have been genetically altered so that some now lay brown eggs instead of the wonderful blue and green eggs that I like. The Aracana chicken is the only chicken indigenous to the Americas. I am angry that they have polluted its bloodline.

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

Yes, my hens are Aracanas. And these chickens came via probably the oceangoing Polynesian people around 8,000 years ago. They are a unique genetic line of chickens coming from the ancient Jungle Fowl who also lay blue/green eggs.

Our customers love our egg colors. They are very pretty. Also, these chickens are famous for their sweet tempers.

[Michael]

Elaine,
FYI, the actual monthly increase in the price of gasoline Y-O-Y was 7.5%. They subtracted 5% of that as a "seasonal adjustment" (an arbitrary, but annually repeated ritual), to get a "net" inflation of "only" 2.5%.
Regarding Volcker: I agree he's the best Fed chairman we had during my lifetime (starting 1943). This is because he did take the courageous action in 1980 to raise interest rates above the rate of inflation (it took 20% rates to do so by then!) at the cost of a massive recession in 1981-1982 that "reset" the economy for positive growth at a lower rate of inflation. I also admire that he is openly criticizing destructive Fed action now. HOWEVER, it is a mistake to characterize Volcker as different from Greenspan and Bernanke regarding bailing out corrupt banks with taxpayers money. Do some research into the Continental Illinois mess and other Volcker bailouts. In fact, the practice of REGULARLY bailing out banks that mismanage their affairs has occurred since the origin of the Fed (including during the Great Depression), and was one of the primary reasons for the creation of the Fed as a "banker to the banks" or "lender of last resort" (you have pointed out many times that the Fed was created BY THE BANKS, OF THE BANKS, AND FOR THE BANKS). The main difference pre-1960 and post-1960 in Fed bailouts is the number of them (greatly increased), the depth of the bailouts (much greater inflation-adjusted taxpayer money involved), and the many new kinds of institutions being bailed out (Long Term Capital Management hedge fund, Mexico, etc). It is this novel extension of Fed bailouts to non-banks that Volcker is now complaining about - specifically the extension of bailout privileges to investment houses in addition to traditional commercial banks. He's right, of course, it's a bad idea and barely legal. As Minsky pointed out back in 1986, EVERY new extension of the bailout priviledge has become a permanent part of our government free insurance policy for irresponsible risk-taking (in the lust for profit) by capitalists, with the inevitable acceleration of future irresponsible risk-taking. And that pattern includes Arthur Burns, Paul Volcker (he extended Fed bailouts to the overseas non-FDIC insured accounts of U.S. banks - all those bad loans made with petrodollars), and Alan Greenspan. Helicopter Ben is just maintaining the capitalist system for the benefit of the capitalists, like all his predecessors.

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

You are correct, Michael. I simply use Volcker as a standard to show how far we have fallen.

Volcker saved those banks but he also saved SAVERS. Since his days, savers have VANISHED. We are net non-savers. Except for the Great Depression, have we ever gone this deep into the hole.

This is why the banking system is collapsing. And dropping interest rates while creating worse inflation hammers savers. To death.

This cannot go on! They MUST raise rates to a level that attracts savings. Right now, savers tend to hoard since saving in a bank means losing value due to inflation.

[norcalkid]

An 8.0 earthquake will certainly make life here more "interesting". I wonder what effect it might have on our local volcanoes? At least we are far above sea level, 1325', so we won't get soggy. I don't plan on going anywhere in the meantime.

Love the chicken photo. I have a pet Aracana hen who lives in the house (with hard-surface floors). She is a great friend, and used to lay green eggs. She is mischievous- she has "tp-ed" my house, and once swallowed part of a roll of white plumber's tape, and had a gleeful look when I found her - the result was not fun.

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

Chickens are very attracted to things that look like white worms. My hens always try to get into the house. They will fly up onto the deck and poke their heads in the door.

I used to have ducks, They used the cat door to get in by sliding on their bellies which were very slick and slippery. The cats did not like this at all. The ducks would run into the kitchen and beg my son for goodies. He always gave them something, he being a kid back then.

[Paul S]

About the wealth of our honorable Congresspersons--and others: don't you folks know this stuff is put in "blind" trusts??HAHA!! Note the free pass our objective media gives Hillary. She won't release her tax returns. What if anything is she hiding? We'll never know. Re Califorinia: I was wondering why those commercials are on the air telling us to move to California. You know the ones where 'Ahnold' says at the end, "When can you start?" I'm thinking, hopefully you'll start BEFORE the Big One hits. I also recall seeing a bumper sticker last time I was in Montana and Wyoming visiting Glacier Natl Park and Yellowstone. It read: "Californians: enjoy your visit, but please don't move here."

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

Yellowstone is by far and away, the most geologically dangerous and unstable and deadly spot on earth. I have written about it in the past. It heaves and snorts and struggles underground: the mightest volcanic dragon on earth!

It will utterly annihilate everything within a 500 mile radius if it explodes again and it has exploded many times. The damage can reach for over a thousand miles, by the way. It can trigger ice ages.