What Obama Can Learn From Mugabe that Ron Paul Did

Hard to imagine it was just four years ago that pundits across the globe were slinging harsh and vilifying attacks against Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. They asserted that Mugabe under the banner of populism and black sovereignty had run and was continuing to run the country's economy into the ground. Inflation's was at an unimaginable rate of 100,000 percent which eventually grew to 231 million percent.The shelves of many stores were almost empty and prices were constantly increasing due to hyperinflation. For the general population, it was estimated that four out of five people were unemployed and that the situation was so bad that about 3,000 people a day were reported to be crossing Zimbabwe's borders into neighboring countries.

This no longer is the case, thanks namely to policies put in place and established by the same supposedly villainous Robert Mugabe. No longer does the African nation suffer with the highest rate of inflation in the world. Now just a few years’ latter goods are back on the shelves of local stores. Why, because of the government's decision to replace the Zimbabwe dollar with the South African rand and the US dollar.

The Zimbabwe's economy has produced economic growth for two successive years due to positive policies and strong commodity prices, and this according to the International Monetary Fund. Although this southern African country's economy was beaten down by hyperinflation (drops in value) which reached 500 billion percent in 2008 and grew 5.7 percent in 2009, now as it stands, Zimbabwe has a budget surplus and demonstrates additional signs of improvement. The economy of Zimbabwe grew close to 8 percent in 2010 is expected to grow near 10 percent this year.

The question for many remains how did this happen after being vilified by the United States and Europe just 5 years ago for not doing enough to improve the economy and the nation’s policy for land redistribution from Europeans to native Zimbabweans? How is this possible when once the rest of the world was saying that the people of Zimbabwe were not capable of self-government? First higher gold and platinum prices have boosted exports and government revenues in 2010. In addition, not being the victim of severe droughts as other African nations around the horn have resulted in conditions contributed that have led to increase in agricultural output. The policies of Mugabe targeted several areas including but not limited to reducing rigid labor market constraints, establishing security of land tenure, clarifying ownership requirements under the indigenization legislation, and addressing concerns about governance in the diamond sector. They also implemented other reforms including actions that have resulted in a more than 50 % increase of livestock folds across the country. Last but not least, there were the strict reforms imposed in the banking system.

Given all of the aforementioned, I often wonder why have these occurrences in Zimbabwe and imposed by President Mugabe received vapid coverage in mainstream western media and not openly discussed and acknowledged by President Obama? After all it was just last year when the nation‘s central bank introduced a $50 billion note (at the time enough to buy just two loaves of bread). It was implemented to avoid cash shortages because like our dollar, theirs was virtually worthless. The simple lesson for the President should be to learn from what we observe transpire in Zimbabwe, but he will not. Some economist have suggested that with the Federal Reserve Bank incessant use of quantitative easing (printing fiat money willy nily), that the U.S. economy will enter “hyperinflation” similar to what we saw in Zimbabwe. Why because no matter what, the artificiality of the US economy will be subjected to the reluctance of the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. We are already seeing large increases in everything from commodities to basic goods and with government debt growing so much, inflation has to start to accelerate at a dangerous rate.

From a policy approach it is obvious that Obama doesn’t comprehend, understand or believe the aforementioned as being a tenable outcome. Dr. Ron Paul does since he understands and states that “a thriving economy is not the but the result of a free people.” The actions of the President and a House that currently only serves to manage economic forces in an effort to mandate how business should be conducted, fail to egage the larger picture. Although not completely flawless, Dr. Paul’s economic principles rest on the idea that humans have the right to choose how to interact with one another. The clearest example concerns how we conduct foreign policy as nation and how these actions inherently impact our potential for economic growth negatively. For him, there is no reason to provide $3 billion to Israel annually while at the same time give their Arab neighbors and enemies and $12. Paul is the only current politician who has stated the reality of the US economy being considerably in worse shape than Europe.

First we owe Japan more than a trillion dollars, not to mention we are in worse shape than Japan, even after their natural disasters since they do have major exports to lean on and higher rates of savings available. The question should be why are US politicians from the President on down not addressing the citizens of this nation honestly about our economic conundrum? What are we doing to maintain our competitive edge in the world while all other nations are acting? Nothing, we fuss and bicker and Obama doesn’t show the will or ability to work on this from a serious purview and neither do Republicans. While Zimbabwe is going through with their plans for a gold-backed currency and China Becomes World’s Largest Gold Buyer, our economy is slowing down and we applaud an artificial stock bubble like it means we are back on track. Things that Paul openly supports.

As opposed to trying to solve our problems, our federal government only attempts to spends, borrow, and print money our-way out of debt so much that the dollar is null. Why, because our politicians figure the best way to grow (which isn’t growth) our economy is by printing new money to pay its debts, and borrows hundreds of billions abroad in the form of Treasury obligations that someday must be paid. All of this even when they know such is in contradiction to the laws of economics. From what has been said and written, it is pellucid that Dr. Paul understands this as well as Robert Mugabe. The query is does or can President Obama and can he learn from them both?

Normal for the New Middle Class

Fact: The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased by 46% since 2006.

FACT: There are 44 million Americans on food stamps.

There are Tens Of Thousands Of Formerly Middle Class Americans homelesss now and On The Streets

preparing america for hyperinflation

handle your business folk

While many of us walk around oblivious too the serious economic conundrum our country is in, and remain inattentive to the world around us and feel secure in our little niche with our weekly pay checks, it is really a troubling time in our beloved country. The trouble from the way I see is multifaceted yet all inter-related. First the wild west financial entrepreneurship of recent years that lead to the creation of the derivatives, credit default swaps, collateralized debt instruments, and the new boy on the block cap n trade futures. The reason they became so popular is because they allowed Wall Street banks to get around financial regulations because they were kept of banks balance sheets. Then they were packaged and sold for many times the values of the actual loans and when the housing market crashed they became basically worthless.

My question I guess is why do we keep on doing the same dumb stuff? In the 1980s, we observed the Texas real estate bust; what we saw then is what we see happening now - folks taking government money and basically gambling with it to make a profit that the US citizen would have to take the loss for. My concern is that the Treasury and the FRB under the Obama administration are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. First by not trying to examine this economic crisis holistically(letting the Feds and Treasury examine this in the open) and rock us to sleep with the story line that all is well and will be happily ever after.

Then there is the fact that our stagnant economic growth is also a function of lower tax revenues which means we as a nation will have to borrow more and more money. As of now, the proposed Obama activities including Cap N Trade and Health care reform will only stagnant growth more given their considerable cost. Even the Chinese government has stated publically their concerns with the US government debt since China holds a major portion of such debt. China owns US government bonds and Treasury notes at or approaching the $700bn of the bonds at the end of 2008.

Now the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, based on 2009 data stated that 702 banks with a combined $402 billion in assets are at risk of failure this year. With all of this overt information, they to me are getting it all twisted again. They say they want to stimulate lending but this can’t be done by throwing money at banks. The reason banks are not lending to each other is not because of a lack of loot to go around but because banks have no faith in the ability of borrowers to repay their debts for none of us know what institutions are solvent or on solid ground. In the great depression, banks failed because folk took their money out during the runs on banks. Today it’s due to the strange financial investment tools that financial institutions keep off of their books and we don’t know what their value is or if they are worth anything at all.

Obama as his predecessor George W. Bush lean toward a jobless recovery but have taken no steps to stop the increasing levels of unemployment. After reading his 2,585-page, $3.8 trillion document 2011 federal budget it is obvious that we will continue to go father into debt and that the brunt of this will be felt by us the average citizen. In his State of the Union Address he said that he would have a 3 year freeze on non discretionary spending but one cannot tell from reading his budget nor see how this will help our economy.

First, by December 31, 2010, most of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), that comprised the Obama stimulus package, will expire. This will leave states in even worse position than they were before. Last year even with the stimulus money, 48 states already had significant budget gaps. In Hawaii, folk may not get their tax refunds until August and in California, they have been giving out IOU’s. Across the country we see lay off is in Police departments and schools not to mention the closings of entire police departments and many schools. In San Francisco they plan to lay off more than 900 school teachers, administrators and staff. Des Moines Public school officials plan to cut almost 500 jobs and here in Georgia, Fulton County plans to cut 1000 jobs and DeKalb County anticipates closing a dozen schools over the next two years. In Massachusetts, they are considering eliminating funding for a program providing housing vouchers to homeless families. California has proposed $1.5 billion in reductions to kindergarten through 12th grade education and community college funding. In Arizona, the state trust fund that pays for jobless benefits is expected to run dry this week meaning that if they will continue to pay unemployment they will have to borrow $250 million from the U.S. Treasury in 2010. About 30 states have had to borrow federal money to do the same thing

Yet still with all of this, there are no proposed political reforms to deal with bankers who will likely see any attempt for a new independent agency to protect consumers as a threat to their business; and there is still norealistic effort to deal with job loss and creation. Truth is needs to generate an estimated 1.5 million new jobs each year simply to keep up with new workers entering the job market annually. Not to mention we will need to create 600K jobs a month to reduce unemployment to 8.5% to make his budget practical.

All I am saying is that before things get better, they will get worse. Our solution is not to flood the market with money for this is not a liquidity issue but rather one of jobs, accruing debt and banks not know the value of other banks. All the Obama policy is doing is transferring risk from private banks to government which aint good. And instead of trying to restore trust in our financial system, Summers, Geithner, Bernanke and the boys have tried to sweep the problems under the rug while at the same time telling us there is no need for reform.

Just be honest you inside the beltway folk. The government has committed to give trillions to the financial industry but the way I see it will only lead to inflation and never reach the small businesses like mine who are going out of business every day. Truth is most of the loot has gone to states to help tryt and keep unemployment rolls open, medicare payments and teachers employed – but this has not worked. All I suggest is that you work on the economy and leave this healthcare alone for now – handle your business folk before we become the next Greece.

this aint Zimbabwe

Ok, you know me, its all about the economy folk. I have been looking over the back of Geithner and Obama, at least as much as I can suppurate from their statements and documented economic proposals. My problem remains the same – it cannot work with increasing unemployment, inflation, believing that some corporations are too big to fail and more importantly, having no policy designed to stabilize and or empower the US dollar.

The future I see is one of massive government-debt defaults and increased poverty. Yep, poverty. Especially since the debt we have amassed as a nation will eventually be passed on to the US Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank and us regular folk. You can call me crazy if you like but logic and reason remains. Firstly, 1% of Americans own more than 90% of the nation’s wealth, not to mention our debt over the past two years has moved from 11 trillion dollars to almost 25 trillion dollars.

This years annual report on hunger released by the United States Department of Agriculture reported 49.1 million Americans in 17 million households lacked dependable access to food in 2008. This is close to 17 percent of the US population. This tells me more people are below the official poverty level – maybe about 80 million folk. This is not impractical an estimate since the US Census Bureau announced last September that real median household income in the United States fell about 4 percent between 2007 and 2008 alone.

True, I am not an economist but I am no idiot either. The declining state of the US economy is regressing as so at the pace of an avalanche. I suggest we start to watch oil and commodity prices as the real indicator of what is anticipated for the future. I mean you think we don’t have jobs now, there will be less and less if inflation continues to rise, which means prices will increase and folk will be spending less. I hope the President is on to of this, I mean I know he was just in China meeting with our debtors to ensure them that they can keep lending us money. Don’t know if he discussed the dollar for at this rate it will be virtual worthless. This means inflation will only continue as indicated by the recent consumer price index. This suggest to me that if we keep adding to the debt, folk may loose faith in the markets and stop investing all together making this current recession palpable in comparison what may follow. Maybe we need to consider ending floating exchange rates in this country. It is worth a try because in simple terms, money is only worth what folks are willing to exchange for it. This aint Zimbabwe but we may be soon.

ink and paper

Now I really wanted to call this post “Uncle Tom’s Dollar”, but I wanted to show I am not as uncouth, incorrigible and uncultured as I really am. Plus, If I did, I would have to point out how dumb and stupid and ill informed the folks many who may read my blog get they news from (folks on Fox and CNN) really are and I did not want to insult their ill informed and poorly readness (yep I made the word up). Besides I’m sure folk on TV have to spend their time looking at the cathode ray tube unlike me who would rather read a coupla few books and newspapers a week – especially when I don’t have to have a person select and pick what they think I want to hear or worse need to know. Now I have learned from my prior post that folks don’t like reading, even if it is between a page or two in length, and have limited knowledge of history. Well really, I have observed such and have not learned anything whatsoever for I am about to do the same thing again.

I have an affinity for loot, money, the dollar bill. But slowly I am loosing that affinity for it is not able to buy as much as it used too. Frankly I am afraid for if it keeps loosing its ability to get me the things I want, or if I have to use more of them to get what I want, then I speculate we will miss no longer being on a gold standard. I could go back to the Romans, or Hungary or even Serbia to explain what I see from what I know has happened in the past, but I wont. But I will say that what we are experiencing is eerily similar to what happened in Germany before the rise of Hitler and even more recently what has been going on in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is the first country in the 21st century that I know of to suffer from hyperinflation. On one extreme, which is extreme, we may find ourselves in the same position of Zimbabwe with respect to their hyperinflation. True, we aint taking land back from white farmers and giving to poor folks who don’t know how to run large farms and end up mismanaging them. But Obama is dead set on this redistribution of wealth as was (is) Mugabe. In Zimbabwe (a place I have been and surprisingly makes great wine also) put so much into spending on printing loot. Why, because the demand for cash was so great. Here, just like there, the depreciation of assets is way greater than investment, which led the to import capital from abroad.

This is very scary for a few reason, namely because they had to replace the Zimbabwe dollar with a foreign currency that was fully backed by a foreign reserve currency freely convertible at a fixed rate on demand. It was so bad there that commercial banks maybe in a position to issue their own private notes without government regulation (as was the case here before the civil war prior to Lincoln issuing the Greenback).

The Germany situation is a lot more closer because the devaluation of the Mark they suffered was the result of waging a war they loss (can you say Afghanistan and Iraq). After WW 1, Germany had to make reparation payment as well as keep its industrial economy running. Problem was that they were no longer on the gold standard. When mark lost value, corporations cut jobs, paid workers less and produced cheaper goods for exports. This is especially true when there is in an economic crisis or a war, the pressure to inflate becomes overwhelming.

Now I don’t THINK we are or will be experiencing hyperinflation. But I do several things I have observed now and before in history. One, that as in Germany, retailers shelves are not selling and are not as stocked as before the recession, meaning its hard for us to make a profit. Two, I see more empty commercial real-estate. Three, the government has no adequate income thus I think will be forced to raise taxes (which they will not collect given the present climate and will have to print more money or worse borrow more abroad).

In essence our government will monetize debt. I mean what else can you do when we build a big azz deficit. All the Federal Reserve does is buys bonds trying to stabilize the market, which means they just printing loot on the invisible security of these bonds. If history teaches anything, it is that government cant be trusted to manage loot as this clock shows with respect to the US. When currency is not redeemable in gold, its value depends entirely on the judgment and the conscience of the politicians. All money is a matter of belief and the Obama administration shows a willingness to tolerate a weaker currency in an effort to boost exports and the economy as long as it doesn’t drive away the nation’s creditors. Problem is that world wide folks getting rid of dollars with the quickness. Even here in the states. Banks are increasing foreign currency holdings and since 1999, holdings in US Dollars have dropped from 63 percent in 1999 to 37 percent currently. Yep, the dollar is almost worthless, but why shouldn’t it be, after all its just paper and ink.

Body Blow, Body Blow, Body Blow

Yo, I must admit, in grad school I played video games, Madden and this boxing shit. What I remember about the boxing game was that when u would hit folk, it would say stuff like “body blow, body blow, head shot, body blow.” I like-ed that shit.

I am reminded of this because I feel that it is the perfect introduction to our economic concerns as we are all citizens of the united states of America, now true, I was gonna post on something I wrote this morning called “WORK HARD AND DONT COMPLAIN.” But after reading the comments to the previous post by the scholarly Jay MidNite, Kelso (and he has interest) and No slappz, I digress. Again, blame my pons, and throw in the sulcus of my medulla oblongata and my subsequent Glossopharyngeal nerve anatomy (in picture) while u at it.

Mane, Jones here love him some loot. And as a person that has adapted capitalism for his own well being, I take pride in using brain cells to do such, just as much as I do showing love to others. But it seems as if my economy don’t got no love for folk no more. I have personally documented several contusions to my efforts to accrue capital albeit I will not be denied.

First, the housing market is basically a bust, and it aint been this bad in 70 years. As of date houses prices have dropped maybe 15 to 20 percent in real terms and its only just beginning. Before it is all over, if you pate 100 stacks for a crib, it may end up being worth 70 stacks. Add to that the credit crunch which I figure is the worse since the post war period thanks to Sir Alan green hornet, I mean Span – which I wrote about a few weeks ago. I mean when folk loose a trillion dollar globally, it makes me think that one is in serious trouble; and don’t trust what am mother fucking bankers say. Then there are oil prices coupled with equity dropping like its jumping out an airplane. Just tell me that we got to work a lot longer to buy gas, let alone a barrel of oil. So as jay said, it dont matter, Europe at 10$ a gallon and we gon finally reach the rest of the developing world -yawl aint ready though.

The strange thing to me is that households are paying interest rates no different than in the past. Sure we just got some stimulus checks, but they will only last and benefit one quarter – the second. Yep, it is good; I mean a 100 billion for one quarter but when it is gone what happens next?

All I am saying, and Jones here aint no economist, but rather a single man that like saving and counting money, for money is to make money and not to spend. We don’t even contribute to global GDP growth, but rest assure, the rest of the world does when we cant and will move alone.

The US has weakened for past to years when the rest of the world has shown increased growth and in most cases accelerated economic growth. Europe, Japan, China, and don’t add Arab countries. Not to scare yawl living like life is all that, my query is if the rest of the world can find economic growth, why cant we folk? Cause all I’m seeing and feeling is body blow, body blow, head shot and body blow.

Yuan Ton Soup

Addendum: Pic to rt.

Point of order: If u dont know y this blog is raw dawg buffalo, u will now. I dont melt under rain nor word.


I am an optimist true, but I have denied inside, that we can make it if we try, for I have failed to acknowledge that we aint EVEN trying. I am putting down what I am reading now to write what I’m finna (im country) write now. I only had about 45 pages of Pursuit: the chase, capture, persecution & Surprising Release of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Really I have finished the text, I am just going through the 40 or so pages and 270 sum odd footnotes, to check the authors (Clint Johnson) interpretation of the events depicted - great read. In fact checking the footnotes is the best part of reading to me cause you find out about other books. Any who, im finna stop because my blog rounds lead to such. And forgive me if I don’t know when to stop because Im listening to Chuck Brown and the Soul searchers “Midnight Sun.” Appropriate cause I hope I can make some of yawl search yawl souls, which in my case is integrated with time, thought and the ability to reason.

We got to get out shit together folk. I mean, I went around the blogoverse over the last few days and all jones hear saw and read was either about Jesse Jackson, The cover of the New Yorker or Mr. Obama. Like dang folk, are we that myopic, limited in our intellectual sphere to consider such to be super important, as if these topics are all we can think about? Or as if they (these issues) were like melanin – super ferrous magnetic. Shit jones, folks could be about to start slavery back in affect and we on the hook, line and sinker tip still. What gives? When will we value free thinking and look for ourselves as opposed to respond to what other dangle in front of us. They say the Bass is a smart fish, but I never figured he was smarter than us. They don’t bite at anything, even if it right in front of their face.

So your outrage over a satirical drawing or an obsolete former jones who ran for president is unwarranted, I mean is it important? Shole aint interesting. But get outraged while jones her say fck that shit mane. What does it do or what purpose does it serve? Chances are folks who think about Obama that way still and would have if they never did it. That Don’t do jack for me. So yawl go ahead, cause Im more concerned about China, the Juan and global inflation. You see the way they control they currency rates, in concert with how fast their economy is growing may be bad for the world, especially US in the country of the New Yorker magazine.

I mean, in my junior high civics class, we talked about inflation and other stuff a lot albeit I don’t know what Civics is to this day, I do recall the hodge podge of subjects it encompassed. From what I learned, if China keep on growing like they are, they can boost the current level of inflation else where cause the gone need more stuff (raw materials) to feed their growth.

Seeing that we in the US have cut interest rates, its gone be hard for China to raise the value of the Juan – since it is pegged on the dollar. This means if oil don’t come down, an increase in the value of the Juan would mean the stuff they send here that we buy like crack (cellphones, TV’s. Cars, Steel, MP3 players and CDs) will make them a lot more expensive and hard for yawl to purchase. They done had the earth quake and some food shortages too – could be on like pop corn. Cause its already real in the field.

So Jones, don’t think for me mane, or tell me what I am supposed see or feel when I read or see an image. Cause im like, fk that shit, Midwest air lines just laid off 1400 workers and we dont know how many GM finna lay off. Its cool if yawl wanna be outraged over a magazine cover that I doubt many yawl read. Care about what impacts you for real though. So with that said, go find your self some Chuck Brown and get that head right and soul search with the master. Other wise, go and suck down some Juan Ton Soup, oh I mean Won.

poor mr. or mrs. next president

It was my intention to not discuss the caucus results of Iowa and or Barack Obama at all so early in the election. I was hoping after reading a substantial corpus of blogs from around the globe I would see a majority of the implications discussed. Especially after such a "stunning" victory (others words not mine; stunning to me is 50% of the votes).

For the record, your boy here likes to stack a little change. Easy change which means using your brain. Maybe some consulting or statistical data analysis mostly, but also in them markets, precious metals and Forex exchanges. I mean I bought my first stocks when the DOW was at 3500 (which fell today 266.84 to 12,998.28). So one could suffice to say I have accrued and nice sum of chump change.

However, I feel that whoever the next President is, there will be something to deal with that won't be easily dealt with either with the rhetoric of experience or new leadership. This week, an ominous and unfortunate event occurred, the price of oil went over the mythical $100.00 a barrel mark. Although it returned below that level, it did happen.

True, the price is a function of increasing demand, especially from countries in Asia like china and India, but it is also a major consequence of the falling dollar. It is also a function of disruptions abroad due to civil unrest and war. Not to mention, that in America, there is no productivity in manufacturing, we make nothing anymore, no job creation and as noted in 2007, a 40% increase in consumers filing of bankruptcies. The latter itself is the function of another indicator - the increase in foreclosures and the decline of the housing market.

Now I'm no economist, but I think I was taught well by my 10th grade Econ teacher at Hamilton High School in Memphis, Dr, Moyer, but I can say that when Bush came in, we had a surplus and now, by the next 120 day, who knows, maybe inflation. And the Federal Reserve may not be able to do nothing about it. I mean as long as I have been investing, in particular in forex and precious metals, the dollar normally increased proportionally to the price of Gold. Now the dollar goes down as gold (and oil) increases. This scares the fuck out of me and the 300K plus I have saved over the years.

So yep, Obama won Iowa. I do wish him the best albeit I am supporting neither democratic or the republican nominee. Nonetheless, still more states and regardless of whoever wins, I feel sorry for poor Mr. or Mrs. President, whoever they maybe.

[PS: ANY YAWL SEE HOW ROMNEY STOLE THE MESSGE OF CHANGE FROM YO FOLK OBAMA-LOL. THEY STOLE ROCK NOW THIS.]