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Economic Wake Up Call


HauteHippie

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Well, when economic growth and thereby consumption, personal and national, becomes the only yardstick by which the success and failure of nations are measured, and control, oversight and regulation is fought against tooth and nail at every junction, it's no surprise that the resulting pile of financial manure is hard to sift through.... That said, her performance really was astoundingly lame.

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Well, when economic growth and thereby consumption, personal and national, becomes the only yardstick by which the success and failure of nations are measured, and control, oversight and regulation is fought against tooth and nail at every junction, it's no surprise that the resulting pile of financial manure is hard to sift through.... That said, her performance really was astoundingly lame.

Well, it's not the only yardstick by which the economic health of nations are measured. The growing nations clearly measure their savings and are now looking for reserve alternates to the dollar (see China). The growing nations measure their positive current account balances. Etc. Consumption is just the yardstick that our politicians buoyed by Wall Street want us to use. Our economy is 3/4 consumption, most of which is financed by borrowing, and we're to be conned in to believing that's just how modern economies work - modern economies don't need to produce and save, just borrow and spend. Much like we were supposed to believe in the late 90s that tech companies with nary a penny of profit and obscene multiples were simply a component of the new economy. Much like we were supposed to believe more recently that sudden sharp increases in housing prices that created massive disparities with wages and were supported by artificially low interest rates and a total lack of risk assessment in lending was just a normal component of the new economy. But people are starting to see the reality: it's all a house cards. And, further, we need to separate oversight and regulation of private enterprise with that of the Federal Reserve. Because with all pretense aside, the Fed is simply a branch of the Federal Government whose officials are appointed, not elected, and are acting recklessly with impunity. And that its going-ons are shrouded in secrecy is no mistake. M3 reporting ceased 3 years ago, and clearly the so-called oversight and audits that lawfully authorized are but a ruse, which should be a huge concern to every citizen because we can not expect to return to economic prosperity through printing money, and yet we do not have any visibility in to the operations of the Fed. Off-balance-sheet transactions have apparently soared (but we're not allowed to know to what extent) at a time when we need more debt, more dollar debasement, like we need a hole in the head. Something needs to be done before it's too late... if it's not already. At the VERY least, we need to know how and why our fiat currency is being managed (destroyed) in this time of crisis.

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I shouldn't have said the only one, but rather the only one which in reality is paid any attention to whatsoever. The UN, the EU, the WHO and more all publish lists and national rankings based on all manner of criteria every year, but only the ones detailing economic growth actually matters. The remainder at best make it to a tiny notice on page 17 in the newspapers.

It's not going to change either, crisis or no crisis. A modicum of new regulations will be halfheartedly designed and put in place, which at first will be overseen, only to be gradually loosened, ignored and circumvented in new and creative ways as time goes by and we put the bad times behind us. Until the next meltdown, when the process is repeated. After all, it has always been basic human nature to brush all things uncomfortable and threatening under the carpet once things are stable and go back to just letting things slide. That's been our base strategy since we first came down from the trees, formed communities and came up with civilisation. Hence, we have the exact same same types of crises every 20-30 years, although comprised of somewhat different components each time as technology and social structure changes and moves forward.

Personally I firmly believe that we, as a species, are fundamentally incapable of learning from history and past mistakes.

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The rest of us are all doing the same thing though, or rather our countries are. That's not insanity, it's just a tacit admission that the folks up top have no idea how to solve the problem and, in addition, are entirely unwilling to address the actual root of the problem - the sad fact that the economies of all developed nations are based on the unsustainable premise that economic growth is the one and only measure of success, prosperity and advancement.

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The fact the fed is privately owned and run is a utter joke... It doesn't serve the country it serves its owners... Can this be sorted? I doubt it, as the people who own it fund presidents.

When asked what he would do to solve the economic crisis if appointed as Federal Reserve Chair, Jim Rogers responded "Abolish the Federal Reserve, and then resign."

Here's to hoping he gets appointed! :D

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When asked what he would do to solve the economic crisis if appointed as Federal Reserve Chair, Jim Rogers responded "Abolish the Federal Reserve, and then resign."

Here's to hoping he gets appointed! :D

:notworthy: Good answer

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When asked what he would do to solve the economic crisis if appointed as Federal Reserve Chair, Jim Rogers responded "Abolish the Federal Reserve, and then resign."

Here's to hoping he gets appointed! :D

Ha, yeah before he gets assassinated and replaced with somebody who'll reinstate it... I certainly wouldn't want to try and sort out this mess.

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Ha, yeah before he gets assassinated and replaced with somebody who'll reinstate it... I certainly wouldn't want to try and sort out this mess.

Well, there's sorting out this mess, and then there's sorting out this mess in such a way as to ensure your reelection... The two do not go hand in hand, and so it'll be a while before this actually does get sorted out because it'll take being in very dire straights. But I remain convinced that at some point even the politicians will be forced to consider whether or not a system that, since its inception, has caused the dollar lose 95% of its purchasing power is the best possible of all systems and then act appropriately, ironically, in order to remain in office.

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it almost makes you want to cash out and move overseas to costa rica... :o

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If we began to educate US citizens that the Federal Reserve system in our country is similar to the US Dollar equivalent to OPEC and crude oil, maybe some people would begin to realize the severe consequences of the system we decided to implement in 1913. Put simply, each regional Fed bank is like a member of OPEC with Bernanke and the FOMC being the 'Saudi Arabia' of the group. I ask any voter in our country...is this how you want YOUR money supply managed (manipulated)?

We sit in front of televisions like crack addicts awaiting Fed interest rate decisions. And when the Inspector General is asked about inquiries into their decision making process all we get is "We do not have the authority to conduct audits on Federal Reserve banks"

There is a bill in congress gaining a lot of steam, as people are becoming fed up (pun intended). I strongly urge you to read up on H.R. 1207 - The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 - and contact your congresspeople to support if you agree.

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When asked what he would do to solve the economic crisis if appointed as Federal Reserve Chair, Jim Rogers responded "Abolish the Federal Reserve, and then resign."

Here's to hoping he gets appointed! :D

We can only pray

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