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  • Quotes from Greece

    " brushing aside warnings that the state could run out of cash within 10 days. “These stories are exaggerated."
    "the economy minister, said the government still has hidden reserves to keep operations going for a few more weeks, "
    These hidden reserves mean raiding the pension funds.
    “We think the funds are already down to €1.8bn. If they draw on this, how are they going to meet their pension bills next month?” said one banker.
    Greece eyes last central bank funds to avert IMF default - Telegraph

    Then, there is the question of NATO in Greece AND a deal with Russia.
    "The Western security system would the face turmoil in the Balkans. It would have to deal with an embittered state - hostile to Nato, and willing to play the Russian card - along an arc of instability stretching from Ukraine, though the Levant, to North Africa. That is why US President Barack Obama has intervened, pleading with Chancellor Merkel to avert the worst. The stakes are too high for finance ministers. "
    Humiliated Greece eyes Byzantine pivot as crisis deepens - Telegraph an arc of instability stretching from Ukraine, though the Levant, to North Africa. That is why US President Barack Obama has intervened, pleading with Chancellor Merkel to avert the worst. The stakes are too high for finance ministers. "

    LEAP 2020 in the GEAB report says that the end of march will be a very important time. Europe is trying to throw out the old system. Obviously, America is trying to throw Europe into war to continue the old system.
    NATO, QE, Siriza, the Ukraine, Israel: Highways towards « tomorrow’s world » on the horizon | GEAB
    America has sent 10 A-10 thunderbolts to Germany, conducted exercises 100 yards from the Russian border and is sending 600 paratroopers in to Ukraine. It is stirring up other States like Poland to try to get a war going. If the Europeans can't get their act together VERY soon, America may very well get very desperate and pull off some kind of false flag to get the party started.
    Last edited by Danny B; 03-05-2015, 03:01 AM. Reason: More info

    Comment


    • France, next at bat

      " manufacturing output in France contracted at a faster rate than Greece"
      French factory decline even worse than Greece - Telegraph

      Comment


      • Work til you drop

        Social Security was originally conceived as a tool to support widows and orphans. It wasn't really meant to take care of old people. That was the province of the nuclear family. SS supplemental income kicked in for old people at age 65 when life expectancy was about 57. It was supposed to be supplemental only.
        "Retirement is recent development. The authors explain that until the end of the 19th century most people worked as farmers or shopkeepers until they could no longer manage it. “Well into the nineteenth century, about half of all 80-year-old men in America still worked.” If they did stop working it was because of poor health and they didn’t live long after retiring. My father is a good example, self-employed as a barber until the day he died."

        “Retirement saving did not seem necessary because penalties for not saving were not obvious.”

        It was private business that began offering pensions in the 1930’s and then the federal government started social security. Industrial and union pensions took the form of defined benefit plans, which are lifetime annuities. Employees didn’t contribute and didn’t have to make investment decisions. Whatever percentage of final salary the plan called for is what the retiree received.

        The Great Depression depleted many of these plans and they were nationalized. Along with wiping out pension plans, the Depression “undermined Americans’ confidence in the historic tradition of self-reliance and the virtue of individual thrift.”

        While social security began with a resemblance to private insurance, in 1939 amendments were made transforming the program “into a family-based economic security program and significantly weakened the link between lifetime contributions and benefits.”

        The authors of Falling Short say those who retired in the 1980’s and 1990’s enjoyed a “golden age” in retirement programs. Half of private sector workers had defined benefit programs and Social Security replaced 40% of pre-retirement income with full benefits available at age 65."
        GOV promoted itself as the ultimate "security blanket". BUT, all the SS funds are gone as GWB said so clearly. The SS fund holds non-negotiable IOUs from Treasury. They can't be exchanged at any other agency.
        http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-0...ement-end-rope

        Proff. Kotlikoff said that unfunded GOV liabilities amount to $ 212 trillion. Assuming that GOV somehow managed to create hyperinflation, there might be some way for GOV to meet the numerical demands of retirees for support but, There would be no wealth attached to the numbers.

        Somebody is going to go bust as a result in the economic slowdown. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation guarantees many thousands of pension plans that cover about 44 million Americans. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp - PBGC Protects America's Pensions
        It is a GOV agency. Like the FDIC, it has minimal funding.
        In the nuclear family, Granny could spend her last days rocking away on the porch. She would eventually catch pneumonia and that would be the end.
        Nursing homes and Medicare are a much more expensive story.
        Too many people have no savings and plan to survive on the supplemental income from SS.

        Congress allows the banks to sweep all accounts every night and invest the resting money. Originally, you had to agree to have your account swept. Not any more. There is a good chance that bank accounts are as empty as the Social Security fund.

        Comment


        • I've been Duped!

          I have come to realize just today that my 401k is a suckers bet.

          Put all your extra earnings you can scrape together and send it to be gambled with at Wall Street. But if you think it's time to get out of the gamble, too bad. You are locked into the fall/fail/crash/dip. Your savings are gone, but don't worry it will get back to the hay day and beyond, then it will crash again, probably worst than before. You are still are locked in of course. You really aren't making anything off your 401k. But those speculators that are "free playing" the market CAN dump their stocks and my retirement fund is buying them up. They are taking my savings when the market crashes and I can only watch it fall. I can take it out of the 401k with a 45% penalty (loss) on the dollar.... I'm soooo pissed .

          WTF? Why haven't I seen this before now?

          Geez I'm stupid.

          Comment


          • No cash to be found

            Ruphus, don't feel like the Lone Ranger;
            Wall Street Has Its Eyes on Millennials' $30 Trillion Inheritance - Bloomberg Business

            During the 2008 crash, the banks had NO liquidity except for all the drug money that they were laundering. Apparently, that is the case here and now,,, again.

            Because there is ZERO liquidity for any of those investments. None. Zero. Zip.
            Because the only thing worse than a market with collapsing valuations is a market with no valuations and no liquidity. If stock in a company is worth what somebody will pay for it, what is the stock of a company worth when there is no place to sell it ?
            http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-0...ch-bubble-2000
            "UNITED States of America – It can now be reported that a massive worldwide liquidity crisis looms as cash has disappeared at a rate of velocity unprecedented in the history of world financial markets."
            "P.P.S. At this hour, the lack of liquidity aka real cash in the world financial markets has created a scenario where algorithms have to trade against algorithms."
            "This is algorithm derivative fraud of the highest order and, accordingly, is direct evidence of the looming Black Swan and the worldwide banking system ponzi scheme collapse."
            "Note: These hybrid algorithms will absolutely collapse the Japanese stock market as well as the U.S. market within seconds."
            Yup, that is what the "H" is in HFT. High frequency trading.
            EXPLOSIVE Breaking News : Black Swan 2 Looms Tonight | Alternative

            As Alfred E. Neuman always said, What? me worry?
            Alfred E. Neuman Quotes
            Sooooooooooo, who is worried???????????????????????
            Lord Rothschild Warns Investors of ‘Most Dangerous Geopolitical Situation Since WWII’
            Lord Rothschild Warns Investors of ?Most Dangerous Geopolitical Situation Since WWII? | Alternative

            Comment


            • corrupt people = corrupt system

              Power corrupts and attracts the already corrupted.
              “This is why the solution has to come from within, as every system will simply corrupt again. Philosophers and great thinkers have warned us continuously for thousands of years. The manifestation of inner dysfunction and imbalance will always be represented physically as dysfunction and imbalances in the systems man develops.”
              "When we consider the global economic situation, it is crucial to understand we are living in the midst of a long-running script that was hammered out long ago by European banking houses. CFR archivist and historian Dr. Carroll Quigley laid all of this out in his 1300 page work, Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time, admitting that both world wars and economic crises, as well as so-called “leftist,” “communist,” and “fascist” movements have been the creation of international banking elites."
              CONJURING: The Alchemy of Synthetic Finance & Global Governance
              The article has a couple of good vids embedded. It goes off on a different theme that; the net and social media is a teaching tool for AI.

              Comment


              • Too much oil,,, not enough money

                Well, oil is back in the news. The West is debt saturated and has cut back on it's consumption of oil. This set off a crash that drove crude down, way down. It is slowly climbing back up BUT, there is still too little demand. This has led to storage problems. Storage dearth may drive oil prices to $30 - MarketWatch
                Every time that oil drops, some bank has a coronary.
                "The oil bust of the 1980s took down 700 banks, including 9 of the 10 largest in Texas. But this time, it’s different. This time, bondholders are on the hook."
                “Default Mondayâ€: Oil & Gas Companies Face Their Creditors | Wolf Street
                This article doesn't even mention energy derivatives;
                "but many of the big (oil) players in the industry have already locked in high prices for their oil next year through derivatives contracts. The companies enter into these derivatives contracts for a couple of reasons. Number one, many lenders do not want to give them any money unless they can show that they have locked in a price for their oil that is higher than the cost of production. Secondly, derivatives contracts protect the profits of oil producers from dramatic swings in the marketplace. These dramatic swings rarely happen, but when they do they can be absolutely crippling. So the oil companies that have locked in high prices for their oil in 2015 and 2016 are feeling pretty good right about now. But who is on the other end of those contracts? In many cases, it is the big Wall Street banks, and if the price of oil does not rebound substantially they could be facing absolutely colossal losses.

                It has been estimated that the six largest “too big to fail” banks control$3.9 trillion in commodity derivatives contracts. And a very large chunk of that amount is made up of oil derivatives.

                By the middle of next year,(2015) we could be facing a situation where many of these oil producers have locked in a price of 90 or 100 dollars a barrel on their oil but the price has fallen to about 50 dollars a barrel."
                503 Service Unavailable
                Think of that; Oil sells for $ 30 a barrel,,, the banks kick in an extra $60--$70 for every barrel.

                Comment


                • Ingo Bischof, the role of the central bank

                  I'm posting another comment from Ingo Bischof. The guy really knows the "nuts and bolts" of financial history. The comment is written about a post from The Daily Bell regarding transparency at the central bank.
                  The Daily Bell - More Central Bank Transparency Is Inevitable

                  The creation and circulation of money-stuff is of primary importance and when a culture is built around a process that is significantly deceptive, then gradually society itself begins to rot. This is because the finest minds and most successful individuals eventually come to understand that their societies are being perverted by a false system. It is a poison that infects each part of the body-politic over time: education, the media, industry, commerce and, of course, the political process itself. As a result, the most gifted people of each generation realize that to succeed, they must lie compulsively. They must never tell the whole truth. They must temporize. In the 21st century, this is evident in what we call "directed history" – the idea that technocratic experts can manage entire cultures. The cult of the expert, as we have pointed out, is an integral part of the larger deception.

                  Paper certificates providing credibility must be handed out routinely via a corrupt educational system that supports the only thing that matters: the meme that monetary officials can see into the future with enough accuracy to entrust them with the power to guide multi-trillion dollar economies. The emperor has no clothes."

                  The above repeated comments by the Daily Bell staff captures the cognitive dissonance that lies at the heart of modern Western civilization perfectly. There is nothing to be added to make it any clearer.......it's a beautiful statement.

                  As regards the continuance of the analysis by the DB in saying....."There is no possible way to justify giving a small group of good, grey men the day-to-day power to "fix" the price and volume of money going forward based on backwards-looking financial data".

                  I would state the analysis thus ...."There is no possible way to justify giving a small group of good, grey men the day-to-day power to "fix" the VALUE and VOLUME of legal tender currency going forward based on backwards-looking financial data." The reason is that the FED is not in charge of MONEY. It is in charge of creating "legal tender" CURRENCY. It decides the VALUE of that CURRENCY, not the PRICE of MONEY. It is impossible for the FED to fix the price of money, because money has no price.

                  Furthermore, with regards to the DB comment..... "In the modern era, central banks including the Fed have consistently held rates lower than they ought to be within the current fiat environment. In turn, this creates tremendous asset bubbles that eventually collapse, causing economic carnage. People lose their jobs, their homes, their marriages and their families."

                  I would state this analysis thus....."In the modern era, central banks including the Fed have consistently held interest rates lower than they would be in a market environment in which the interest rate is established by the willingness of savers to part with their gold savings in return for interest earnings. Instead, the lowering of interest rates, while benefiting the valuations of banks' loan portfolios in a fiat currency environment, it increases the liquidation values for borrowers. The detriment of lowering interest rates by the FED below "free" market rates is mostly suffered by capital intensive industries. It results in the destruction of capital, causing untold bankruptcies. People lose their jobs, their homes, their marriages and their families in the process."

                  Comment


                  • Second comment from Ingo

                    Danny B
                    What will take down the Fed is its manipulation by the Wall Street Money-Center Banks.
                    Warren Leads Charge Against the Federal Reserve & Wall Street Banker’s Days R Numbered? | Armstrong Economics

                    Ingo Bischoff

                    "Ironically, in 1910, Senator Aldrich met with Frank Vanderlip of National City Bank (Citibank), Henry Davison of Morgan Bank, and Paul Warburg of the Kuhn, Loeb Investment House secretly at Jekyll Island, a resort island off the coast of Georgia, to discuss and formulate banking reform, including plans for a form of central banking that would accomplish the role of J.P. Morgan played during the Panic of 1907. So Citibank (now Citigroup) has been at the center of the game from the beginning."

                    The Panic of 1907 was just another depression in a line of recessions and depressions since the end of the Civil War. Though the 1907 Panic was an extra serious economic depression, all these periodic recessions and depressions had their origin in the misuse of "idle" currency (currency which should have been held out of circulation required under RBD banking procedures).

                    J.P. Morgan, the undisputed leader in banking circles at the turn of the 20th Century, arranged to save the banking system in 1907. Unlike the picture painted of J.P. Morgan as a ruthless, greedy banker only out for himself, the reality was that J.P. Morgan died not nearly as wealthy as everyone assumed. He tried to get bankers to tow the line for the good of the country. He succeeded partially, but the job proved to be as difficult as herding a bunch of cats.

                    The people gathered at Jekyll Island wanted to listen to Paul Warburg who advocated the institution of "liquidity creation" in the banking system, an idea which the German central banking system had implemented. It amounted to providing "liquidity" in the banking system by selling government gold bonds in secondary markets. (IOW circumventing the RBD requirements for redeemable currency).

                    At Jekyll Island, the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate, Senator Nelson Aldridge from Rhode Island was asked to explore the possibility of passing legislation to create a "central bank" under the auspices of the big New York banks with exclusive authorization to create a national currency which also would provide "liquidity", when needed. The states would have none of such exclusive franchise.
                    The battle in Congress over the legislation sought by the big NY banks raged for some time, until the power in the U.S. Senate shifted and the Democrats took over Being unable to push trough legislation favorable to the big NY banks, Senator Aldridge suggested to the NY banks that they support the Progressive Movement of the early 1900s in their demands for the ratification of the 16th and 17th Amendments.

                    In the meantime, the Congress debated the franchise for the creation of a "national currency". The Congress decided that instead of an exclusive franchise to a central bank run by the big NY banks, the franchise should be extended to twelve regional, separate, private reserve banking associations, and making them subject to oversight by a congressionally constituted Board of Directors.

                    While Senator Aldridge and his allies in the U.S. Senate could no longer pass legislation after 1911, they could hold up the states' legislative version of a national reserve banking system made up of twelve regional reserve banks until the 16th and 17th Amendments were ratified in early 1913. Subsequently, the states' version of reserve banking legislation entitled "Federal Reserve Act" passed Congress in late 1913. It was signed into law by Woodrow Wilson on Christmas eve 1913.

                    Why were the NY bankers interested in the ratification of the 16th and 17th Amendments....??? It becomes clear in hind sight. Without the Income Tax Amendment, the selling of government bonds in secondary markets would not have been possible. With the ratification of the 17th Amendment, the big bankers insured themselves against the interference of their central banking scheme by the states. Popular elections of U.S. Senators gave them the opportunity to "buy" U.S. Senators. Nothing has changed to this date.

                    Following the turmoil of the Great War (WW I) in 1918, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, one of the twelve new, regional, separate, private banking association formed under the FRA of 1913 started to inject "liquidity" into the banking system by engaging in the illegal sale of U.S. government gold bonds (all U.S. government bond at that time were "gold bonds") in secondary markets. The FRB NY kept doing this until the late 1920s when in 1929 the bubble created by the illegal open market operations collapsed with the stock market crash.

                    The American people became suspicious of the value of their Federal Reserve Notes and wanted to redeem them as promised on their face. By the early 1930s, banks were no longer able or willing to redeem. Despite his promises to the contrary, FDR nationalized the gold savings of the American people in 1933. He also prohibited Americans from holding gold in the future. This relieved the banks from facing endless law suits of fraud for failure to redeem. With the National Banking Acts of 1933 and 1935, the Congress totally changed the original provisions of the FRA of 1913 which created a system of private, regional reserve banks, but it kept the name "Federal Reserve System", ostensibly to fool the public.
                    With the NBA of 1935, the twelve regional, separate, private reserve bank associations were nationalized as regional Federal Reserve District banks, and against credit, their gold reserves were transferred to the vaults of the new federal government central bank agency, aka "The Federal Reserve" with headquarters in Washington, DC.

                    So much for history.....

                    I don't think Elizabeth Warren has the slightest idea about what the modification of Section 14 of the original 1913 FRA with the NBA of 1933 did to the U.S. monetary system. Furthermore, I don't think Senator Warren has the slightest idea about the consequences that followed from the ratification of the 17th Amendment.

                    Firstly, Section 14 of the original FRA was modified to include authorization for the monetization of sovereign debt.

                    Secondly, the 1935 NBA dissolved the Board of Directors as the congressional oversight body of the Federal Reserve System, in favor of a governing body for a federal government central bank, with the name of Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, together with the establishment of a Federal Open Market Committee to set "prime" interest rates.

                    Thirdly, it is the President of the United States who nominates members to the Board of Governors, but by law the nominees must come from the banking profession.

                    Fourthly, it is the U.S. Senate which confirms the nominees, but thanks to the ratification of the 17th Amendment, at least 50% of the U.S. Senate, regardless of party affiliation, is beholden to the bankers. It is those bankers with their campaign contributions who see to it that at least 50% of U.S. Senators are "bought".

                    Then, I bet that Elizabeth Warren has not the slightest idea about our present monetary system. I don't think she understands that we don't have a monetary currency since 1971. What we have since 1971 is a monetized debt currency. IOW, all we are passing around are debt obligations. Nothing, but simple IOUs.......

                    I don't think that Senator Warren has the slightest idea that the debt currency is created through government deficit spending turned into U.S. government debt obligation, which are then sold in secondary markets to bring irredeemable currency into circulation. The U.S. government debt instruments sold in secondary markets necessitates the payment of interest by the tax payers. Unless the interest is paid promptly and not instead rolled over year after year, the interest due and not paid incurs an interest expense with exponential dimensions which will destroy the currency all together, unless that practice is stopped before a certain point. Sadly, that point has passed in 2008. Now, unless the "legal tender" protection is removed forthwith from the irredeemable Federal Reserve Note currency to allow the restoration of redeemable currency, the economic outlook for this country is down right abysmal.
                    ...and then again, maybe Senator Warren is knows all this, and she is devious enough to go forward with her antics to give the federal government central bank and the central bankers cover. We have seen a similar scenario in Russia in 1905 and later in 1917......

                    Watch, if she gets campaign contributions from the central bankers, we'll know what's what.....

                    Comment


                    • FED funds interest rates

                      There is much yammering from the FED about raising interest rates. It's all BS, of course.
                      The Federal funds rate FOLLOWS the market. It does not lead. CAPEX is crashed, The Baltic is crashed. International capital flows have crashed. Productive GDP has crashed. Investment drives the rise in interest rates. If CAPEX and consumption are crashed, what is going to drive interest rates? Answer,,, NOTHING. After previous recessions, investment drove interest. NOW, http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../fredgraph.png
                      Want a closer look? http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...redgraph-2.png

                      http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-0...r-fomc-minutes
                      Interest rates are at a 3,000 year low and debt is at an all time high. Debt and GDP are diverging ever further apart. The mega-pea-brains keep thinking this is a liquidity problem. It is an insolvency problem.
                      Then, there is the ever-present spectre of interest rate swaps At one time, they amounted to $ 441 trillion,,, give or take a $ trillion here and a $ trillion there.

                      Comment


                      • London Gold Pool,,, LBMA

                        In 1961, several States formed the London Gold Pool This was an attempt to control gold, and therefore, currency.
                        The London Gold Pool - 1961 to 1968 :: The Market Oracle :: Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting Free Website
                        By 1968, the pool had crashed because of too much currency printing. Neither GOV nor banks want any store-of-value outside of their control.
                        Fast-forward to today and we have the London Bullion Market Association The LBMA makes all the rules. It heavily promotes electronic gold to keep investors and savers from buying physical gold. The major electronic trading fund ETF is called GLD. The custodian for GLD is HSBC.. Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank of China.
                        It was just announced that HSBC is closing ALL 7 of their gold vaults in London.
                        Andrew Maguire – Who Smashed Gold Today And Why As HSBC Shocks Clients By Closing All London Gold Vaults! | King World News

                        There is a problem though.
                        "Within a few weeks this will change the way gold is traded as we witness large migrations of unallocated LBMA position holders unwind from high counterparty risk unallocated positions and then allocate into secure vaulted kilobar accounts outside of the LBMA bullion banking system. "
                        The Bullion banks admitted that they sell every ounce of gold 100 times. These holders of UNallocated accounts don't even have a (fictitious) bar number to call their own. When they try to ship their? gold to a physical-only vault, 99% of them are going to be quite upset.
                        This article is VERY tongue-in-cheek talking about counterparty risk. There is NO counterparty fro non-existent gold.

                        Comment


                        • Greece, the lynchpin of Europe and NATO

                          The West is very close to WW III. The Germans are horrified at the bellicose demands of the neo cons. A full-on collapse of the world economy would be a better state than WW III. The MAJOR hub of physical gold trading is the Shanghai gold exchange. The rug was just pulled out of the gold market by the Hong Kong and Shanghai bank of China.
                          Some quotes on Greece.
                          " But if the Germans and the other Greek creditors don’t agree, you could see an alliance between the Greeks and the Russians."
                          "So if these countries see that Europe will not ameliorate the hardships that have been imposed on them by these austerity programs, and these countries turn to Russia, China and India — the BRICS — you would then see a total breakdown in the EU system."
                          "So if these European countries realize that all they are just being looted, they will then accept Putin’s offer and turn to the Russians and the Chinese. The BRICS can easily assist the Greeks.

                          These countries would then abandon Germany, Washington and the IMF, who are imposing all these hardships on them and also looting their countries. So there is the potential for the ultimate disaster here if the West is stupid and arrogant enough not to bend. That would mean the unraveling of the European Union and of NATO — the ultimate black swan.”

                          “Dr. Roberts, what we are seeing unfold right now has ramifications far beyond Greece. You are talking about an aggressive chess move by Putin and a massive sweep by the Russians and the Chinese into Europe — through the back door of Greece, and then eventually into Spain, Italy, Portugal, and possibly even Ireland. You are talking here about the total destruction of the EU and the euro.”

                          Dr. Roberts: “That’s exactly right. You see, Eric, the EU is telling the Greeks they won’t change any conditions and if the Greeks don’t agree they may simply expel the Greek government out of the EU and the euro system. Well, if they are that stupid, then Russia and China will enter — that’s the opening. If that unfolds, then yes, the Chinese and the Russians can unwind NATO.”
                          “Greece is battleground being fought between the East and the West. Whoever wins that battle will end up in a power position in Europe. What you are seeing play out right now is a major battle in a new World War between the East and the West. "

                          "What we are talking about here is World War III. You have a battle for worldwide economic hegemony. This war over Greece is incredibly important. Whoever wins control of Greece will have a huge tactical advantage in Europe. The West is at a distinct disadvantage here because the Russians are planning to put in the pipeline that will extend all the way up to the Balkans — the same is true for the planned Chinese high-speed rail system."

                          "A victory for Russia and China would have disastrous ramifications for the European Union. It would also be a warning to the United States and Europe that aggression works both ways. That would leave the U.S. and Europe with a disaster in Ukraine and a catastrophic loss in Greece — the strategic crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa.”
                          Sprott Makes One Of The Most Dire Predictions Of 2015

                          “I don’t know when it (the next Lehman moment) happens, but we are standing in front of a (global) financial tsunami. We know it’s going to land — everybody knows that. The earthquake was long ago and now the tide is going to come in here and people have to be prepared for that because there is no mathematical way out of this.”
                          7 Terrifying Warnings That The Greek Disaster Is Now Set To Catapult The World Into A Global Meltdown | King World News

                          Comment


                          • devaluation vs inflation

                            I am having trouble understanding the difference between devaluation of a currency and inflation. When some of the writers in various links talk about it they appear to be two different things but are they not the same?

                            Comment


                            • Currency devaluation and inflation

                              Ruphus, there is a lot of sloppy writing everywhere. Communication is very important. My Dodge does not have motor mounts. It has engine mounts.
                              Decimate, tinker's dam, moot point, et al. People are uneducated or just sloppy.
                              Inflation is properly defined as an increase in the currency supply. This definition has been modified as; an increase in the supply of currency and credit. The whole idea is hard to nail down because, our currency is now a debt note. When money was gold, it was an asset by itself. Therefore, credit was debt,, the opposite. Since currency and credit are both debt, how can one call them an asset? As GOV inflates the currency, it is creating greater debt. This debt only has value if the underlying productive economy can create the goods and services to be redeemed by the debt notes.

                              Walter Burien shows GOV as having $ trillions stashed away. CAFR1 Home Page
                              What would happen if the various holders of all these debt notes tried to redeem them for goods and services? The money supply has been inflated for decades. Now, it can only be saved,,,, it can't be spent. The 1% may have all the nominal wealth but, what can they do with it? Historically, great wealth imbalance has always destroyed an economy.
                              As we slide towards a global mean wage, the uber-wealthy hold an ever-increasing pile of debt notes that can't be paid off from the fruits of labor.
                              Treasury bonds are being repaid by the printing press. After the productive economy crashed, the FIRE economy held itself up with the printing press. This can only be temporary.
                              Devaluation of a currency and inflation are generally closely connected. Much depends on where the new currency goes. Is it locked up in bonds? Does it flow into wages. Does it stay internal? Does it move to other States? America exported most of it's inflation and has very little internally. Japan has high inflation but, most of it has circulated internally. Is the inflation eaten up by taxes? Japan: 43% of tax revenue spent to cover interest on debt
                              There are a lot of variables.
                              Edit; There is another possibility to take into account. Often, currency inflation causes price inflation. More money chasing the same amount of goods. Suppose that GOV prints more money but, It does NOT chase goods? Suppose that these dollars go under mattresses around the world. Most $ 100 bills are outside America. Being the reserve currency allowed America to send cash and bonds around the world without causing domestic inflation. This exported our inflation.
                              When gold was money, GOV had to pay miners for their gold. There was no profit from minting money. Now that it costs just a few cents for a paper note, GOV gains the difference between cost and (assigned) value. This is called seigniorage.
                              Seigniorage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
                              The unbacked paper-money business is quite lucrative.
                              The FED printed $ trillions that it gave to the banks to hold. Then, it paid interest on those $ trillions because the banking business was bust. Those $ trillions were not chasing goods. Part of them moved into the commodities markets and caused temporary price inflation. The cure for high prices is ,,, high prices. Commodity prices crashed because they eventually rely on consumption. About $ 9 trillion moved into emerging markets and brought them price inflation. Now, there is a shortage of dollars to service those dollar loans.
                              The FED printed a lot of currency. It caused minimal price inflation in America because we were already debt saturated AND our wages were falling. Every time that a price went up, falling consumption reflected the price rise.
                              There was a lag of time between price inflation and price crash.

                              Much of the wet ink money flowed into the stock market. The time lag is much longer in the stock market because assets are not connected to consumption as firmly as commodities. As asset prices go up, the price-to-earnings ratio goes down unless consumption rises drastically.
                              Most of the current action in stocks is buybacks. This bumps up the price of outstanding shares and creates bigger bonuses. The market staggers along without earnings.
                              We exported a LOT of our inflated currency supply when people demanded it for a store of value. The world has financed our wars against them. They are quite tired of this and bringing it to an end.
                              23 Countries Now Abandoning US Dollar | Truth And Action
                              Last edited by Danny B; 03-12-2015, 02:42 AM. Reason: more info

                              Comment


                              • Ok point taken.

                                CAFR will take a while to digest, interesting info there I see.

                                "Much depends on where the new currency goes."..." Does it move to other States?"

                                What do you think of the Euro QE starting up at the point that US interest rates increase?

                                I also don't understand how a country can "inflate their debt away" as I have read many, many places. Can you also write about that please?

                                I would think that contracts between countries would have inflation language built in.

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