Wall Street is in the midst of a huge rally, primarily sparked by two recent occurrences.
The first was the “surprising” announcement that Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America — major “zombie” banks laden with “toxic assets,” on the verge of collapse, and the recipients of billions in government (US taxpayer) bailout money — mysteriously posted profits this year. Wells Fargo, regarded as one of the healthier big banks, and a recipient of $25 billion, also reported a profit last week, rallying the stock markets again before the Easter holiday.
We now know, based on insider reports from securities traders, that a massive fraud and manipulation by AIG funneled “bailout” funds (US taxpayer money) to AIG’s counterparties, the very same big “toxic” banks that are now posting profits: Exclusive: Big Banks’ Recent Profitability Due to AIG Scam?
The second big event occurred when the Obama administration and Congress threw out the “Mark to Market” rules. Banks and financial institutions, which by law were previously obligated to price, or “mark,” the toxic holdings to the current market price (honestly take huge losses), now have carte blanche to magically erase all of these losses, and price these toxic assets however they wish.
In other words, Wall Street has been given the green light to lie — with the full blessing of the Obama administration and Congress. “Toxic assets”? Gone, just like that.
In yet another example of collusion and cover-up, federal regulators have told the nation’s largest banks to “keep quiet” about their performance in the Obama administration’s “stress tests”: Feds tell banks to keep quiet on outcome of stress tests
This blatant cover-up, ordered at the top, prevents negative news from spoiling the bogus Wall Street rally. Obama himself will announce the results later, after he and his economic minions have had a chance to “manage” the data.
So much for accountability. So much for transparency and disclosure. So much for the populist hot air and propaganda gases spewing from the Obama administration, Ben Bernanke’s Federal Reserve, Tim Geithner, and Larry Summers.
The momentum from the latest fabrication and the latest fraud must not be broken. The worst is over, according to the new noise, and the constant “are we there yet?” yammering from CNBC. No, it’s already time for The Recovery, despite the fact that the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression began mere months ago, and despite the fact that the “toxins” — the magnificent bubble of derivatives, leverage, hedging and other interlocking Ponzi finance schemes that began the crisis to begin with — are still out there, still unpopped.
The books are cooked and the numbers are faked anyway. Why not? Who’s going to know?
So while the US auto industry is strong-armed into massive restructuring, and the common people of Main Street are told to get used to the suffering, Wall Street is not only given a free pass, but the additional gift of back-door swindles and a massive cover-up.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Higher Ground – Live at woodstock 94
“Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.”
~Abraham Flexner
Who’d a thunk it? I mean, at almost $5.5 billion (August 2008 ) and counting the Iraq War ain’t cheap. From the National Priorities Project http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home we get the following numbers:
$4,681 per household.
$1,721 per person.
$341.4 million per day.
You know, it looks like I wouldn’t have needed a stimulus check this year. I mean, I’m glad they printed up some new money without raising taxes. What’s a couple of billion deeper in the hole when the national deficit is $9 trillion? My great-grand kids ain’t afraid of no stinking deficit! However, I realize the stimulus check wasn’t for me, it was supposed to be spent at Walmart (the U.S. Company Store) to keep the communist Chinese economy going, ‘cause we were going to need them to bail out our banking system. After all, we wouldn’t want to have to competently manage our banks on our own, would we? But I digress.
That’s cool. I mean, let’s look at this objectively. The Iraq war is costing us over 340 million a day. So, for example, lets just check in on the state of the state I’m living in.
For FY 2008-2009, over $3.3 billion, or 49.5% of the General Fund, is appropriated for educational initiatives in South Carolina.
The K-12 education General Fund appropriation is $2,441,044,733 for FY 2008-2009. In addition to the General Fund appropriation, one cent of South Carolina’s sale tax (or $644,714,375) is earmarked for K-12 education.
The FY 2008-2009 General Fund appropriation for South Carolina’s colleges and universities totals $891,429,884.
Other educational agencies in South Carolina are appropriated $75,648,395 from the General Fund.
(I didn’t include the state lottery which I consider to basically be a tax on the poor, and we already have too many under educated poor people around here.)
The S. Carolina school budget is $3.3 billion. If Uncle Sam would give S.C. just 10 days worth of Iraq War funding we could double our school budget this year. It’s not like we need it, considering:
• One-third of South Carolina students reading below state standards in eighth grade (in 2002).
• The third-highest adult illiteracy rate in the United States.
• Illiteracy rates higher than 40 percent in five counties — Allendale, McCormick, Williamsburg, Clarendon and Lee.
In South Carolina in 1999, 6.5 percent of the population for whom poverty status is determined was severly poor, with incomes below one half of their poverty threshold (a ratio below 0.5).
While 14.1 percent of the population in South Carolina was below poverty in 1999, and additional 4.6 percent were classified as near poor, with incomes at or above their poverty threshold, but below 125 percent of their threshold (a ratio of 1.00 to 1.24).
In other words about 1 in 5 South Carloinians are poor, but since I can’t find more current numbers I just have to believe things are just getting better and better around here. Especially since unemployment hit 7% last month (July).
With sales taxes down South Carolina’s State Comptroller Richard Eckstrom said the state ended the last fiscal year with a $250.4 million budget deficit. It’s been bad, it is bad and the forecast is for it to continue to be bad. the Budget and Control Board voted 3-2 to order all state agencies to cut their spending plans by 3 percent, for a total of $188 million. So like, we could use alittle help here.
Now imagine this going on in states all over this country.
You know, I like Ike. He’s sorta forgotten now except in old war movies, but there was a time – back before the dinosaurs maybe, when almost everyone liked Ike. Eisenhower said something very true and very profound:
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech, American Society of Newspaper Editors, 16 April 1953
Do I have any idea where this train wreak of thot is going? Not a clue, but I do have a couple last thots for you.
People have said the Gulf War and Iraq War were/are necessary. Perhaps since we’ve forfeited our initiative and allowed other countries to dictate our foreign policy to us they were/are necessary, but we didn’t have to go. Ever since the oil embargo in the 70’s, like a shot fired across our bow, we knew that oil would be the ring through our nose hostile nations would use to lead us around.
The government knew about wind power back then, what did they do? What have they done since?
The government knew about solar power back then, what did they do? What have they done since?
The government knew about tidal power back then, what did they do? What have they done since?
The government knew about nuclear power back then, what did they do? What have they done since?
The government knew about electric motors back then, what did they do? What have they done since?
The government knew about ethanol back then, what did they do? What have they done since?
Because the government – and We the People are the government, because we did nothing to correct course after the oil embargo our children fought in the Gulf War over oil and our grandchildren are fighting in Iraq over oil. If that sounds a little blunt, then ask yourselves what are – We the People – doing so our great grand children won’t be fighting over oil?
What are we doing about that $9 trillion dollar deficit? Are we leaving that for our great grandchildren too?
I.O.U.S.A. Movie Trailer
“Where there is no vision, the people perish,” Proverbs 29:18
