Controlled by Propaganda and The Money GPS

Video: Peter Schiff explains how a US depression can cause a global 'death spiral'

Banned Commercial on US Debt: Are You Scared Yet?

When Clinton Let the Foxes Run the Hen House

Imagine if I told you that during sometime in the first ten years of the twenty first century that a savvy plutocrat from a southern state would get this country on a path to economic collapse by implementing laws that would allow banks to run amuck. If I asked you to name this person, this public relations officer in chief of the most powerful nation in the world, would you concede that he would be a democrat names William Clinton?

Yep, Bill Clinton. Too me, the two most egregious actions against our economic prosperity was put in place by him. And what makes this so bad is that he was smart enough to know better, being vehemently more competent and astute as President in comparison to his replacement; for he should have known that Wall Street Bankers were merely a monopoly. Albeit they fly different flags – a pirate is still a pirate.

The first was the commodities Futures Modernization act, which II have written extensively about in past years. Although put in place in the late 1990s and the brain child of Senator Phil Graham of Texas, this is not what I am targeting, but rather Clinton’s abrogation of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Sure there were inordinate acts signed into law before and after the great depression including the Underwood Tariff Act, the Robinson-Patman Act and the Sherman Anti-trust. All were relatively ineffective, especially the last one. Glass-Steagall is (or was) the most instrumental and effective of all the banking or anti-trust laws implemented after the great depression. Politicians were always aware of the powers of the big banks, especially since the times of the Greenback. But as early as 1911, politicians were aware of the amassed power the Wall Street Banking Cartels had and is why Woodrow Wilson at the time called the “money monopoly.”

Prior to it becoming law, the Pujo Committee noted that the concentration of credit in the hand of a few on Wall Street was both a threat and danger to the nation. In particular since bankers were both capital users and capital supplying entities that made their loot using the loot of others (sounds familiar?) Practices that had been growing since the 1890s with the proliferation of investment banks and finance capitalism. By finance capitalism investment banks were both responsible for the selection and issuing of stocks and setting their prices. Meaning for the investment banker, a guaranteed return on invested capital was more important than national economic progress.

In essence, Glass-Steagall was a means to liberate credit systems from Wall Street control and end the perceived special privileged enjoyed by this sect via a rigged credit system. It was also an attempt to address the massive maldistribution of wealth and engaged reckless speculation of Wall Street investment houses. Moreover, the insider trading, pyramid schemes, speculation, unloading worthless securities and the fact that the general misuse of buying power had been responsible for the economic meltdown put a bright light on the obvious criminal practices of the banks such that laws had to put on the books to keep it from happening again. More importantly, it assisted in ending the incessant discrimination against small business in terms of access to credit, especially if they were outside of New York or Washington, D.C.

Glass-Steagall was signed into law in June of 1933. We have to give both Carter Glass and Henry Steagall of Alabama big props for this. Especially Steagall – who was responsible for instituting the FDIC into law to insure customer deposits? Strange is like today, Republicans who described insuring deposits as “socialism.” I would also have to give props to Duncan Fletcher and Sam Rayburn for their bill to regulate Wall Street and thee stock market. Here two, republicans and bankers argued that Wall Street could police itself.

Glass-Steagall prohibited commercial banks from collaborating with full-service brokerage firms or participating in investment banking activities. With one deft stroke of a pen, Clinton actions would proffer to show how Keynesian economic theory was wrong: that trying to obtain maximum employment was good and that liquidity, profit expectation and consumption are not enough to propel economic growth. Why, because equilibrium and underemployment are incompatible theoretical suppositions when conjoined. Clinton ended Glass-Steagall in essence letting the fox guard the hen house,

Yet we still act as if such is the Michael Jordan of economic jump starts, when we ignore the truth that no matter how much loot the government drop as stimulus, folks just gone buy stuff made in other nations, creating jobs over there, because we do not make anything that we or any other nation wants to buy – what we do make (movies and music) can be bootlegged (LMBAO).

US Economy to African Americas Says "Once a Slave Always a Slave

Listening to all of this discussion inside the beltway on the deficit, our national debt and raising the debt ceiling should get some folk to investigate their personal and individual connection with all of these events we too often define as having nothing to do with us. But what is missed is how all of the bickering and indecisiveness hurts African Americans more than any other racial/ethnic groups. Now this is not to assert that other folks are not hurting economically, just that the history is incessant and well verified to this observation.

It has been reported that the current national economic recession that officially began in December 2007 and said to have ended last year, continues to take a major toll of workers, in particular black males. In theory the back and forth between the Whitehouse and House Republicans is to deal with creating an environment, via budget cuts to improve the economy and grow jobs. But jobs for whom? Not African Americans.

As of April 2009, the recession had already abrogated about 6 percent of all employed men and about 10 percent of the jobs held by black men at the time. Since the onset of the recession overall black unemployment rate increased at a faster rate than whites. And after the recovery started in June of 2009, the unemployment rate for blacks increased two percentage points above 16 percent while white unemployment has returned to its rate prior to the recover (8.7%). African Americans have been the hardest hit during each of the past recessions. For example, during the 1990-91 recession Asians and Hispanics gained 55,104 jobs and 60,040 jobs, respectively, but blacks lost 59,479 jobs, especially in states with the highest immigration.

A recent study by Andrew Sum, professor of economics and director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., called “The Impacts of the 2007-2009 National Recession on Male Employment in the U.S. through January 2009; noted that Black male employment fell by 6.4 percent (482,000), compared to overall Black employment at almost 3 percent (463,000); and that the unemployment gap between Black men and women increased with Blacks the only group where the gap favors women. Currently, a third of blacks live in poverty with employers tending to fire blacks while retaining and hiring people of other ethnicities during a recession.

What makes all of this worse is the seemingly endless onslaught of republican legislation outside of Washington that impacts if not intentionally, brazenly accrues more harm with those traditionally at the bottom of the economic totem pole. In Alabama, U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) whose district was one of the hardest hit by the recent plague of Tornado’s across the south, prior to this tragedy along with other Alabama Republicans, voted against funding for satellites that are critical for accurate storm forecasting.

Strange how Karma works, Bachus, Martha Roby, Mo Brooks, Robert Aderholt, Mike Rogers, and Jo Bonner--voted against a bill that would save lives in rural areas via more accurate weather information and warning systems suggesting that they were a waste of money and unnecessary. Lamentably they were more interested in protecting the $5.5 billion in subsidies and foregone royalty payments for Big Oil.

In Florida, GOP Lawmakers have just approved deep cuts in unemployment benefits. Legislators have just passed a measure that would cut maximum state benefits to 23 weeks from 26 when the state has a jobless rate near 11 percent. The rate for African Americans in the state is near 20 percent.

Across the nation, April’s unemployment figures display how African-Americans are suffering. Along with increased cost for gas and other staples, it is no wonder household participation in food stamps continues to steadily luxuriate. Data reported by the Department of Agriculture for February of this year evince that an additional 11,517 recipients were added, representing a household participation rate of about 14 percent nationally.

Now something has to give. Either folks become proactive and recognize how dire these circumstances are for the masses, and take the time to learn more about economics, saving and global economics as a function of the value of the dollar or either we continue to lag behind. Too many folk think and worse, believe that President Obama has the ability to do something about this or that he actually cares. The reality is that actions speak better than words.

Under Obama’s current budget, federal prison spending will rise from $6.2 billion to $6.8 billion. His budget also desires to reduce $5.1 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program to $2.57 billion. Last year he cut spending for Food stamp programs.

We need to look at this troubled period with objective eyes, for the way I see it, Republicans in the house and Congress, as well as the Democrats under the leadership of the current administration, do not have the interest, or best interest of our community at hand and both seem content to let us suffer most of the burden of this faltering economy. For they understand, live practice and through their actions know that when it comes to Money, credit, and debt: Once a slave always a slave.

China vs the USA

Who is the real madoff: African Americnas Still Display Scant Signs of Economic Improvement

By definition, to improve is to enhance in value or quality — to make better. Yet more than 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, there is still no noticeable improvement in the quality of life in the African American community.

A new report suggests that a large corpus of the African American community has made very little progress when compared to whites over the past few decades. According to a survey given to African American adults, seven out of 10 adults view today as very tough times for their children and perceive poor black youth as falling further behind. Yet, unlike adults, two out of three African American youth perceive current times as being “very good or OK.”

In addition to survey data, the report also provides economic data on opportunity trends. Four out of ten black children are born into poverty compared to less than one in ten for whites. Less than 40 percent live with two parents versus 75 percent for whites. African American children are statistically more likely to die before their first birthday or become obese in school.

More startling is the finding that 85 percent of African American children in the fourth grade cannot read or do math at their grade level, and almost half eventually drop out of school. A young African American male born over the past decade has a 1 in 3 chance of going to prison in his lifetime.

It is essential that we remember that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was more than a dreamer; he was a catalyst. We cannot think we have it made, since the numbers show us otherwise.

In 2010 the unemployment, underemployment and hidden unemployment rate for black 16 to 29-year-olds was 40 percent and 43 percent for black males. The large number of young black adults not working full-time jobs will severely limit their future employability, earnings and ability to support their families.

It was Dr. King who said, "It’s all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps."

Target Marketing: Black folk make less so sell them dolls at higher prices

Note: I first wrote this story for a weekly I write for but they did not run it because Target advertises with them.

I have always thought that many of us are not too astute when it comes to economics. Spending habits aside and the general lack of understanding of micro- and macroeconomic theory, we often accept and buy things without question. Take the Target store in North Miami.

On Sept. 15, Ketrina Brown approached the cashier with two boxed dolls. Both dolls were of the Baby Alive variety, the dolls that digest and release food in the form of excrement. The only difference was that one doll was white and one was black. Both dolls were priced on clearance at a reduced price. However, the white doll was on sale for $22.48, and the black doll was priced at $31.48.

Brown wanted to know why the two dolls, which do exactly the same things and the only difference being color, had a 10 dollar gap in price.

Her answer was that the prices were set by the corporate headquarters. The store manager also attempted to suggest that the difference was due to "different items" going on "clearance at different times." The official statement from Target spokesperson Tara Schlosser was that items are put on clearance based on their popularity and sales.

Until we actively accept and manage our purchasing power, African Americans will always be on the short end of the stick. I cannot say if there was any racial intent in the pricing, like many stores do when they sell items at higher prices in black neighborhoods, but it does beg the question, how frequently does this occur and what's the logic behind this type of intentional pricing?

i aint mad - maybe i should b a whitehouse servant

$172,2000 – Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF)

$140,000 – Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)

$113,000 – Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY)

$102,000 – Johnston, Camille Y. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY)

Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

$90,000 – Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

$84,000 – Lelyveld, Catherine M. (DIRECTOR AND PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)

$75,000 – Starkey, Frances M. (DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND ADVANCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

$70,000 – Sanders, Trooper (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)

$65,000 – Burnough, Erinn J. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)

Reinstein, Joseph B. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)

$62,000 – Goodman, Jennifer R. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)

$60,000 – Fitts, Alan O. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVANCE AND TRIP DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)

Lewis, Dana M. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND PERSONAL AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)

$52,500 – Mustaphi, Semonti M. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)

$50,000 – Jarvis, Kristen E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR SCHEDULING AND TRAVELING AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)

$45,000 – Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

Tubman, Samantha (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,SOCIAL OFFICE)

$40,000 – Boswell, Joseph J. (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

$36,000 – Armbruster, Sally M. (STAFF ASSISTANT TO THE SOCIAL SECRETARY)
Bookey, Natalie (STAFF ASSISTANT)

Jackson, Deilia A. (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

no such thing as a jobless recovery

Ok, let me get this out the way, I am sick and tired of this wagging the dog health care debate. A few weeks ago, I pointed out that 80 banks had failed. As of yesterday 91 had fallen victim to poor fiscal responsibility and lack of federal and state over sight.

I still see no real change or attention focused on our economic quandary. Seems to me even the general public doesn’t care. I mean I suspect most folks are employed so really do not have a vested interest in the issue, unlike me who has to pay himself as a small business owner and one who sees business after business around me close and vacant retail space amass like bubbles in bath water. I have patiently been trying to give the current administration a chance to show some balls and actually take this bull by the horns and make some real structural reforms such to get our financial system stabilized and to squash this problem. How ever, Obama has done much to do about nothing from my objective prism. I mean, I’m tired of this “to big to fail argument” that is recanted like some type of witches spell without defining what to big to fail means or describing the process by which such a determination is made. We have had 9 big bail outs over the last score of years and yet our current president still replicates the stupidity of a man who said that he was “suspending the principals of free market to save free markets” – George Bush. Obama has made no structural changes with respect to what has gotten us in this position and even worse, has the same minds over the problem who contributed to this problem.

I know that health care reform is his baby, but who needs or can afford health care if one is broke? Not me, gimme some loot and the ability to make loot. All the money you gave to big banks cant be accounted for and isn’t doing what the present administration described it would – restore credit and lending and remove toxic assets off the books of banks who got our loot. This incessant focus on health care is not as essential as focusing on the economy and anyone who disagrees can kick boulders barefooted. Unemployment is at a 26 year high and all I am hearing is shit about a public option and illegal aliens. Teen unemployment is at 25 percent and speaking of toxic assets, we still don’t know what is on the books of these banks we gave our loot too. I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I can speculate that toxic assets in the form of retail commercial real estate that has lost maybe half their value and credit card receivables that I am sure have declined due to folks loosing their jobs or houses, have decreased as well.

Folk, I was born here and this descendent of slaves cares more about me being able to feed my kids than getting a H1N1 vaccine. We cannot bail out folk with non performing assets yet over look us at the bottom of the food chain. I do not know if Obama really cares more about health care or the bank lobby is really that strong. What ever the case, I know that credit markets are still frozen and that the artificial bubble we see in the stock market may be a function of the poorly thought out “too big to bail” mantra. Please show me some or at least one new regulatory reform. Mr. Obama your administration aint done jack, nada. I want you to succeed but your inactivity and bush economic copy catting aint gone do nothing because we will see more bank failures due to commercial bank failures for the next few years. Ones, don’t give the FDIC more of my money if you do not take this seriously, for I firmly believe that I do not need health care if I cant pay my mortgage, feed my kids, and I am broke. Aint no such thing as a jobless recovery mane.

PS – will deal with them racist over the weekend

Crack’s evil twin

Over the past few years I have provided warnings as well as proffered my personal view of how this current economic mess started. It was a terse recapitulation of some of the historical events I have personally considered to be the root at the problem. By doing so, it reminded me of the crack epidemic that started in the 1980s. As you may or may not know, Crack cocaine is a form of cocaine derived from powder cocaine. Since it would result in the form of a rock and could be smoked providing a quick high, it dramatically increased the numbers of Americans addicted to cocaine. Based on what I know about crack and substance abuse in general, the effects of Crack are similar to those of another C-word, CREDIT.

Now I am the first to talk about the massive debt, accrued via credit with respect to our US Government, both at the federal and State level. In fact, as of 2008, our total GDP was near or around 13 trillion, however our combined credit market debt was about 53 trillion. This is foul, but even worse are the habits that we regular old citizens practice. America has gone into debt unlike any other country.

It seems that we are no longer citizens, but rather consumers. Looking at credit cards alone, on average we owe about $971 billion. This is about, $3,100 of credit card debt per person, or $8,299 per household. This doesn’t even include non-revolving debt, like loans for auto, and other things. Our non-revolving debt is estimated to be $1.617 trillion, or about $5,200 per person ($13,800 per household).

To put it simply, we spend more than we save and in fact, our savings nationally have declined and at a negative level (about 2.0%) for the first time in our modern era of government. This means that if as a country we have negative savings, that we supplement what we don’t have from the surplus savings other nations have abroad, for other countries save more than we do in general. This is a result of several factors, namely folks living beyond their means. Just as our government borrows to hold lavish wars and purchase debt from big Wall Street banks, so do we the American people.

I can say the debt that we have amassed collectively has seemed to increase at a staggering rate since we came off the gold standard in the 1970s and again because of poor behaviors practiced across all segments of our economy. From credit cards, to the collateralization of debt, complex swaps and derivatives and other toxic papers.

At this point in time, at the corporate level alone, we have the most corporate-debt defaults, by dollar amount, in history. Some have even speculated that companies are poised to default on more than $500 billion of corporate bonds/bank loans over the next few year’s years. And why? Well I know no one asked me but it is simple due to people at all levels as stated earlier not being economically responsible. In 1991 we saved on average 7.3% of our income per household. As of 2007, this had declined to about 0.6%. We cannot continue this behavior for it means we will be living off of the surplus saving of other nations the likes of China and Japan. Politicians can only do so much, if anything about our current economic prospectus. Again it is on us. Because the way I see it, we may as well be smoking crack, for credit to me is its evil twin, and just as damaging and addictive. So Mr. Obama, you too need to put that pipe down, or at least tell me who and where you borrowing all this money we dont have from.

No strings attached.

Just want to say for the record, yea, I tend to harp on shit, in particular if it is what is on my mind. Butterah you know, such is just the way things are with me. Found out today against my dismay, that folk up on Capitol Hill finna give away some more of my loot. I was against it with Wall Street and I still maintain the same position respect to the automobile industry.

I still don’t get what the bailout will accomplish, but I won’t get into that. Let alone the massive number of Insurance companies purchasing Bank holding companies so they can get some of the loot too. I believe that one cannot rescue a person or institution that wont rescue they self. And a stock market that hit 89k mark over the past few days don’t mean jack to me for there is still no liquidity in the market, world borrowing is down nearly 80% and money still being withdrawn from Hedge fund accounts (1.5 trillion in Hedge funds world wide), tells me that these aint the average folks investing or making calls on stocks. Not to mention yesterday, from a few newspapers alone, I counted more than 12 thousand jobs lost (in one day). Just in Jan. this year the DOW was at 13k, and im posed to be happy with 8.9k?

So today, something new, instead of Alexander Onealing (critisizing), I am gonna offer a few suggestions that I would put in place if I was like a senator, a president or an economist. The first I know can’t occur, but may be used in the future when folks wanna give loot away all willy nilly.

• If you give ANY loot out, don’t ask folks to bring you a plan, you give them your plan with a "take it or leave it” caveat.
• For the Banks and wall street: Mandate they use the money to erase the balance of all outstanding student loans. This would be one way to foster consumer spending.
• As opposed to buying toxic assets and injecting capital, for banks, next time you may consider really attempting to stop home foreclosure rates by buying 35% of are the mortgages in America. You don’t have to purchase the entire mortgage for that will only assist 4 to 5 million of the 50 million across the country. This would make payments manageable, improve equity in said homes. And please just don’t use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; make them for all home lenders. All one would need is a standard agreement (as the Treasury made with Banks) for people to apply. This would be the best foreclosure mitigation approach from my view.
• Never let the Treasury department be in charge of stimulus or bail out programs because they don’t attach any strings. The Treasury “expects”, not know or has mandated, for banks to start lending and making credit available when in fact they did not state the manner in which funds received will be used. They say they “want” to work with congressional oversight committees and the Comptroller, but didn’t write it in so it is not a prerequisite for getting any of that massive sums of loot.
• Instead of giving money, buy shares in exchange for my loot so these banks can own up to their share of the debt in actual cost.
• If you are doing an infrastructure development/stimulus plan, don’t just focus on Urban areas. Be even handed with rural areas as well. It don’t sit right with me when I give money for Urban development and the bus stops at the end of the city boundary.
• Try and structure economic preparedness in our budgetary policy like they do in India, where the work from the construct of deficit confinement. As such all the do from growth to stimulus to tax efforts are designed to manage deficit growth to 2.5% or less.
• Study some these other stimulus packages being placed on the table around the world. I know China is putting one out worth $581 billion US/ And say study, not copy, because from what I can tell about the Chinese effort – it is lacking and don’t focus on human capital development – a no-no to me. So be sure to invest in human capital, this will increase social spending. One way would be to give 40 to 50 thousand dollar grants to people desiring to attend college for the next 4 to 5 years. Again this is an investment and not a give away. And I would be remised if I did not say jack up the investment in scientific research at the university level as well.

Now these are just a few ways I think we may see this economy swing around, it’s not about top down or trickle down - it is about bottom up. So Mr. Obama, I know your hands are tied, but you got to stop being so politically correct and think outside the box. Don’t be asking for no plans, or waiting for GM to give you no plans, make your own plan folks and tell them fools to break themselves or go home empty handed. Don’t be a pasty and stop shelling out our loot with no strings attached. Five to one the Big three gone roll through this loot and be out of business still before next Spring.

public jones

Point of order: cant wait to chris cox bich azz out of the SEC

Dear Mr. Paulson and Mr. Bernake:

It is both with great pain and pleasure I pen this letter to you. I am extremely disappointed in the manner in which you have brazenly attempted to deal with the economic consternation that confronts us all. It is not as if you two are ill-informed over the subject matter that you attend to on a daily basis, on the contrary, you both are learned men of letters in the disciplines of both finance and economics. With that said, I must advance the premise that your intellectual prowess with respect to problem solving is severely lacking.

As laymen, I have come to the conclusion that all of this is the result of marketing and selling materials/papers that have no value, or if it does, it maintains a negative value – debt. The support you have purported towards the collateralization of debt, mainly as accrued in the financial services section is what seems to be the root of this recessive evil folks such as I are confronted with. In addition, it appears that your math does not take into consideration that this could be obviated when home devaluation stops. Which could be instantly dealt with if the money was given to home owners and mandated fixed rated advocated across the board for all mortgage compaines, holding companies and banks would adopt or be forced to close their door. It says in the constitution we the people and not we the corporation.

Instead, your approach has been abstruse – difficult to understand. First you basically block the short paper exchanges, which from my limited understanding of economics, is how most money markets function, not to mention if you would have injected capital into Lehman Brothers, which you did not, the DOW would still be in double figures. It is bazaar that you said you had no authority to save this financial behemoth, yet when your folk from Bear Stearns and AIG called – you were quick to stick out your necks and my loot without hesitation.

Moreover, your approach never includes a serious evaluation of dealing with fractional banking systems as we have in America, or else you would consider a reduction in the reserve requirements for banks. This may or may not free up credit but it would be an approach that would not require any of my loot. But still, it is housing valuation that is the concern via the mortgage backed securities you seem to so dearly love. Not to mention from my purview, the issue is not going to be solved by massive injections into banks (for which you have no way to tell where the money has been spent) from my louction, but morso with respect to conforming loans. Yet I recant again, I am not an economist.

The aforementioned are intellectual deficiencies that I can understand. What I cannot tolerate is the disdain for the general public for you speak to me as if I am rich and I have money and you don’t. I wonder if you really ever had to struggle a day in your life, or live with friends, or even ever loss a job. In your tone there is no empathy nor compassion for what the average person experiences and lives.

So sirs, I recant, I am very disappointed and even offended by the lack of professionalism, and understanding you evince with respect to economics, the understanding of the problem, problem solving skills and lack of comprehension towards the general public. For slaves would have been lynched for lessor offenses. Yet I bid you a good day.

Respectfully,

Public Jones


Addendum: shouts to Lovebabz for giving me the Uber Amazing Blog Award and Ivory for the post she did on her daughter and mine.

shoulda, coulda, woulda

I feel like im playing the drums. I know I may harp on things a bit too much, but I write about what I think. I aint trying to get no brownie points or shit, just trying to see if folks think along the same lines as I do about an assortment of topics. Now back to loot.

Ass backwards, these folk finna buy 100 big ones of Citibank, when they say all is good, everything is fine. I just don’t see why the feds gone buy now, what they said they were gone buy at first, when they didn’t. I just want to say BO, don’t bail out folk when there is no transparency to the assets they hold.

Applied probability of default is all im asking because all these folks is doing is week by week stabilization. Somebody has to restore order – confidence. Buying bad assets aint the ticket. We got to handle this shit from the bottom. Shit, should have injected loot into the student loans or gave grants of 25K to all small businesses with caps under 250k. But what I know? I just know how to count and make money.

Aint no market for anything toxic, assets included and im talking derivatives as well. Don’t nobody want nothing they don’t know the value of, that’s why I still say Obama, like the rest of the poly-tricksters is stupid – giving loot for shit one don’t know the value off.

Barack can’t do jack (hands were tied from jum street), for we still gone loose at least a million jobs next year. That’s why I know he can’t keep his campaign promise, what he lied to folks about on raising taxes or giving tax breaks. But the supple are just that and believe what anyone will tell them. That’s why I said Bernake and Paulson was just throwing loot in the wind. And I was right, but I aint saying it just to say I was right – dumb fucks.

And I aint gone get into the g21 (albeit they say 20). I had to read the word ensure about 22 times in their statement they released November 15^th at the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy. Add to that I couldn’t the word should used more than 60. This says to me or really confirms that these folks really shooting from the hips and fail to realize that nobody can monetize assets if we don’t know the value, if any said assets have. Banks will continue to lead the decliners - I say invest in mines and chips (computer)

Common share holders are the critical aspects of a bank but we make these equity injections above the common share holders, and we wonder why they don’t work. Why, because we talking about trillions of dollars and they just making sure folk got enough loot to pay themselves. No wonder things are getting worse - the approaches being used seem to be azz backwards and the answers aint nothing but should a, could a, would a. So Mr. President Elect - hit us with the up and up and dont fall for the okie doke - they setting you up, thank god u a thinker.

Bich do your job

The bottle of Partida blanco is empty and no more hot sauce, but the effervescence remains. Been thinking lately (not like that is nothing new), and I really would like to know where is the Attorney General and where that mutha fuca been for the last 8 months to start? I would not be surprised if a lot of folk don’t know who the current Attorney General is or even what Department of the government they work out of.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the Office of the Attorney General. They are supposed to be the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal Government. Michael Mukasey is the acting US Attorney since 2007 I think. But I have yet to hear his named mentioned at all this year. That is strange to me given the massive amounts of fraud and manipulation that has reared its head in this age of collateralizing debt and massive financial fraud. Yep I said it fraud,

A lot, not all, but a significant segment of what had happened to our financial services sector has been the result of negligence, incompetence and greed – and for lack of a better phrase – criminal behavior. From the very bottom of accepting mortgages with no money down to the manner in which securities and commodities have been traded in unregulated and a seemingly black market fashion, there is enough criminal behavior to go around. Even Henry Paulson, who said we would use the bail out loot for capital injection to supposedly buying troubled and toxic assets (which now he is doing neither) borders on criminal behavior to me.

I think instead of making a fat salary, Mr. Mukasey needs to re-read the constitution and start seeking out all these crooks from Wall Street to the Capital Hill, and start prosecuting folks. He can start if he scared, with the hedge fund industry and work his way left and right. The hedge fund industry is estimated to control about $US2.5 trillion of assets, most which are beyond regulatory supervision. This is one sector of the financial sector that can be blamed for volatility in stock markets as well as destabilizing our banking sector. The main or one what they have done such is by the short selling of stocks of companies that has resulted in reducing the values and even bankrupting said companies.

George Soros, who testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last week suggested that hedge funds will be hit hard and maybe even destroyed by the global financial crisis to such an extent that possibly 75 percent of the money they manage may be lost.

I know some of the folks in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, UBS and Bear Stearns have some foul folks doing some foul things, and I would suggest that the AG start to investigate, if not, I hope the President Elect will hold the folks responsible and send these folks to jail, so what the contributed to your campaign, fair is fair and such will go a long way to restoring confidence in the market and responsible financial behavior in such institutions. So as me and my folk sang in 1996, Bich do yo’ job.

bank of America

It seems as if some don’t really live recession or if it really exist as others say does not. I know for me it is hard and recession is felt daily in my pocket. Ironic to me is how fiscal conservatism (the word as uttered by Republicans and not the actual practice) leads it seem to this mess and even to our greatest financial disasters the way i see. Coolidge, Harding (depression), Keating (Bush/Regan) and now this. I really don’t think it is the responsibility and that there can exist NO reason for the government to bail out the result of presupposed free market activity, if such is self corrective? I mean they seem to be a bit willing to me and not arduously trying to discern of it as if it is wise to spend MY loot on such without my permission.

This is the real war on terror we need to go after. Economic terrorism. You can not just take trillions of dollars from an economy (the Iraq War – both really) and not REASONABLY expect not to have problems. And these fools wanted to privatize social security. If they are, they need to be committed on insanity if not held for criminal liability for corporate felonies –dang that’s right, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 prevents such from occurring. Not to mention whoever thought of giving tax breaks to the rich and suggesting such creates jobs is shootin’ up because the take the loot and invest overseas – not here.

I don’t profess to knowing what has to be done, but something has too, they even sneaky at the Whitehouse, spend all that loot on buying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and not put it on the budget; like 200 billion dollars in any form is of non budgetary status. But I guess it should be expected since folk don’t Articl1 section 8 (To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures) no more. Thank you Woodrow Wilson for the Federal Reserve. Shouts out to Lyndon Johnson for privatizing Fannie Mae. Shouts out to China, that 374 billion you own in all this debt you purchased, meaning my federal tax dollar coming you way; free of charge. And for being the birth place of AIG in 1919 – gotta check for yawl too.

Fiscal conservatism – hum bug. These GOP hoodrats dont practice fiscal conservatism. What’s fiscal or conservative about allowing stuff to be sold when you cannot even calculate the value of the asset, or if it is an asset alone? Don’t know body know how much the paper they buying worth but they buying it anyway. Go figure, I’m through with economic, makes me mad. So I’m gone try and not think about the fact my dollar is .71 cents to the Euro and I aint have nothing to do with that. I would offer some advice, but I only advise self, based on personal thought processes designed specifically for me and mine. I can say learn your money, how to make it work for you, no matter how little you have. Learn investment, learn money, learn the markets.

And not investment the U.S. government way, they say it’s ok for fed debt to grow in short term to maintain a viable economy – maintain dang jones. I don’t know, I just want to know do the government run the banks, or the banks run the government? Bank of America, has a nice ring to it. vote

PS - meant to say me love some Kimmy Cantrell ( in pic).

2 spend or not 2 spend

Point of order:

A] Almost 600$ in sales Thursday – me likes.

B] Got a call from a former woman (would link her blog but that would be foul-lol), she don’t call unless she wants something. Aint talked to her in a while. She asked me to pay for her tuition (gumption) – I said no. Couldn’t figure out why she would ask me instead of the one she is talking to and desires. Guess prior post was prophetic – go figure.

C] Not sleepy, so made a rib eye and fried 3 eggs at 145am. – Yummy. And don’t forget 5 pieces of bread.

D] Babz blessed the shop, and started taking pictures like the blogger she is LMBAO. She partook in vino.

Was gonna have another thought amnesty today since a many folk say i'm deep or that I think to much, or that I just plane ole hate when I go on my thought crime spree’s. I was either gonna put up the speaking Memphisian #2 or Riddle me this #3. But I decided against such. As you read under point of order A, I have a penchant for paying myself. Now that said, I am reminded of how I have been taught what money was, how to use it and more importantly How to save it. Now I have not nor did I have a desire to watch the talking heads CNN producers aggregated for rating purpose, talk out the side of their necks about what I suspect many already know and experience. Not to mention the folks likely didn’t represent me nor my beliefs and that if it is on TV, it will eventually, like in math, be reduced to the least common dominator of Entertainment.

Now of all folk, I know it’s hard for the average person in America. I know that the value of the dollar aint like it used to be. I know that many of us struggle just to keep a roof over our heads – I know I do. But what I don’t understand is how and why folks say it is hard and even difficult to save.

I mean it seems we have loot for what we want, but not what we need. Sure like I said it is hard, but not that hard. I figure that if a person goes out to a club or bar (which is cool) they will spend somewhere between 20 to $30 on the low end. That’s reasonable. But if we do it twice a week or four times a month, that’s about $2080 to $3120 a year in the first example and $960 tom $1440 a year in the second. Believe it or not that is a lot of loot if such habits persist for 3, 5, 7 years – for which many of us do.

Sure you are or may say it is easy for me to talk, I got a PhD. True I do, but even before then I saved my money. Yea I invest, which think a lot more folk should do, and I see the volatility in the stock market, but I did so since high school and my family didn’t teach me that. I aint never need a flashy car or nothing and I have never had a desire to go to a club and covet the VIP section nor make it rain on a stripper. If I did have the urge to make it rain, it would likily be on a homeless person or in homeless shelter.

Then we add to the problem, for we don’t even recognize how our loot is degraded in meaning. We can go to a club and be made to pay valet parking, and pay $20 to get in when on the regular or for lack of a better descriptor – on white night, one can park they car and walk in free. We don’t even complain, we just stand in line and pay. And don’t let it be a party where some rapper or professional athlete gone be claimed to attend, then we just plum loose our fucking minds

I guess what I am saying is that its cool to enjoy life and make money, but it is not as hard as you think to save it. For although my folk aint invest or teach me how to, they did teach me how to save and that money was to make money and not to spend. Are we the only ones in capitalistic America that cant grasp this concept?

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.

$3 ATM

Point of order: Sorry for delay in post, forgot I was still a scientist and had two journal articles to proof and correct for Health Education Journal and Global Public Health

Now since I was finally able to post Recess – is- on and PP (which were written in April), back on the grind, which you know in most cases means loot. I am kind of frustrated with America, I mean we aint got what it takes it seems anymore. I can understand how K street gets politicians in a bind but I can’t understand why regular folk don’t see why things are the way they are economically.

We are big on crying and asking folks to do for us, but we never have a good understanding of first what needs to be done or even what or how serious the problem is. Come this November, after the general election, well really before, I hope we can come to an understanding of the aforementioned.

This country has not been in this bad of shape economically since the 1920s and 1030s. I’m sure some will disagree with me, but this is just my opinion. Right now, at least based on numbers from two years go; our domestic financial debt was more than 14 trillion dollars. Fourteen trillion. Today I suspect it is maybe 4 or 5 trillion more, but there aren’t any real numbers available, just estimates so I made my own.

And although we talk about the housing market as being a major contributor to this problem as well as multiple wars, the truth is that the financial sector is mostly to blame, along with republican and democratic leadership at the legislative and executive level. For as I said before, with regulatory constraints basically removed, this created an environment for this particular sector of our economy to go buck wild. Bill Clinton repealed the Glass –Stegall Act and bam.

Long time ago, there were regulated fees for Credit Cards for example, now they can make up fees and even charge you for paying on time or even if you pay off your monthly balance. Don’t even throw in the outrageous and wide ranging interest rates credit card companies (the financial sector) can charge, that is a whole ‘nother story. But to sum it all up, this is where the problem lies. We didn’t have this type of concern when America made stuff and had a strong manufacturing base. Since the financial sector has replaced manufacturing as our largest industry, our national debt has sky rocketed. This sector alone accounts for more than 30% of all of our national debt. Namely as a result of what is called Securitization or what can be called collateralizing debt obligation

Like I said back in the 20s and 30s when we saw similar problems, the national debt was about 250% of our gross domestic product. Today it is about 350%. What does this mean, well in simple terms, maybe a 10% reduction in the values of our houses for those of us who own one, commodity inflation (as mentioned in a prior post) and a 500 trillion dollar debt, which will eventually come back to bite us in the ass one day. I think that is one of the reasons I don’t have an ATM card. Never had one ever. So they next time you go to an ATM machine, just remember that the $3.00 they charge you to use it, is just adding to our national debt. Three cheers for the financial sector. Hip Hip Hooray.

Addendum: Love the fact folks can come in shop with dogs and kids, lay up and drink wine for free – they always end up buying stuff.

the great unifier

I have been told that ignorance is bliss. I frankly disagree with this, but I have finally come across a case in which such may be factual and the case. We have suffered a rather harsh and disturbing 8 years under the current commander in chief. We have seen high fuel prices, a dwindling economy, namely proffered by a reduced manufacturing base, lowering wages, and decline in the housing market and reduced purchasing power of the dollar. There are more I could add, including a costly war that was implemented for over zealous personal gain and/or fame and lowering academic performance across the board from primary school to college.

Yes, GWB has put his foot in it, basically unknowingly and via the suggestions of advisors that seem to have never had the best interest of folk like us in their hearts. I really feel sorry for the next president. I know it will be better in some form or fashion, but the road traversed will be arduous and difficult. Bumpy even with a many of moguls to avoid.

Yep, GWB, his legacy will be an assorted one. But for me, I will always recognize for his inept outcome regarding the current state of political affairs. For me even with the war and stagflation, I will always remember him as the great unifier. Yep, for this one man in his eight years has managed to do what others, even Martin King Jr. could not do. He has managed to bring together, whites and blacks, men and women, gay and heterosexuals, natural born citizens and immigrants, republicans and democrats. For we all know he must go. He has done all of this believe it or not unwittingly. So George W. Bush, I toast to you, leaving office and unifying America, for with you, your folk and your policies, we would not have been on the verge of this new possibility, of a man of African descent, taking residency in the white House.

Caanan. Good look folk, welcome to the roll scholar.