FIRE UP THE MONEY PRESSES!
The latest government jobs report – like the one before it – is terrible.
So why are stocks suddenly climbing after experiencing their worst week in several years last week? Easy: Investors believe the secretive U.S. central bank – the Federal Reserve – will now be left with no choice but to continue printing money in an effort to artificially prop up the flagging economy.
That means easy access to capital for bankers and select corporations (and cheaper borrowing costs for the government) … but a ticking time bomb for the rest of us.
To recap, the first round of money-printing (a.k.a. quantitative easing) – known as “QE1” – took place from November 25, 2008 through March 31, 2010. Over that period, the Federal Reserve added $1.7 trillion to its balance sheet ($300 billion in Treasuries, $1.2 trillion in mortgage backed securities and $175 billion in agency bonds). The second round, dubbed “QE2,” took place from November 3, 2010 through July 1, 2011. Over that period, the Fed added $600 billion in Treasuries to its balance sheet.
Another so-called “stimulus plan” offsetting longer term securities with the sale of short-term debt (a.k.a. “Operation Twist”) began in September 2011 – and was extended in June of 2012.
And of course in September 2012, the Fed began its latest and greatest round of money printing – an open-ended commitment to create $85 billion in new assets each month. That commitment was finally scaled back to $75 billion a month in January and $65 billion a month in February – a process known as “tapering.”
Armed with back-to-back disappointing job reports, though, anti-free market voices (and Wall Street crowd) are demanding the spigot be left on …
“The fact that bank lending remains weak is another sign of a need for more monetary stimulus,” writes Fortune editor Stephen Gandel. “The housing market recovery also appears to have stalled.”
Wait … the housing market recovery that we’ve been calling out for months as a fraud?
Gandel isn’t done …
“January’s job growth was nearly half what it was for the same month a year ago, which was down by a third from the year before that,” he writes. “Ask anyone who is looking for a job how hard it is to find one. Ask the former executive who has now settled for a part-time consulting gig about the job market. Ask the people who just lost their unemployment insurance. It’s pretty clear to nearly everyone that the economy is weak.”
Exactly …
Government “stimulus” has not worked … yet Gandel repeatedly says that the Federal Reserve should “keep its foot on the gas?”
There’s a quote about insanity and doing the same thing over and over that comes to mind. And a metaphor involving a cliff. And Charlie Brown and a football.
“Quantitative easing … is fundamentally a regressive redistribution program that has been boosting wealth for those already engaged in the financial sector or those who already own homes, but passing little along to the rest of the economy,” Anthony Randazzo wrote for Reason recently. “It is a primary driver of income inequality formed by crony capitalism. And it is hurting prospects for economic growth down the road by promoting malinvestments in the economy.”
We concur … the only real “stimulus” the American economy needs is government getting the hell out of the picture.
108 comments
Government can’t fix your problem. Government IS the problem. Truer now than when RR first said it.
Today my problems are the bridge down the road from my house is about to collapse cutting me off from my place of business, there are pot holes in the street, I think someone is operating a crack house in my neighborhood, and people are driving 90 miles an hour in the wrong direction on the one way street in front of my house.
Will you solve those problems for me?
Obama+Ohaley=Oshit
Cut taxes for the 1 Per Centers!
That will take care of Everything!
Cut taxes for the 1 Per Centers!
That will take care of Everything!
——
Bail them out first. *then* give them everything!
But aren’t
they the “job creators”?
Yes, that’s why we should trust them with everything.
So you favor Obama, an unemployment creator?
Workers pay taxes. Liberal @$$-sitters take taxes.
Those were liberals, friends of Obama’s that got bailed out. He’s propping up the stock mkt. to the tune of $85 billion a month for them now.
I know… let’s invade Iran!
Obama has already F^*#ked up too much to trust him w/ the lives of ANY American personnel. (See Benghazi, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan.) He cares more for the right of Muslim Jihadists (see Ft. Hood shooter) than he does Americans…so NO, absolutely NOT!!!
Don’t worry… you can trust the Christians in government to decide who lives and dies because of capital punishment, and who we go to war with.. and to reverse Roe vs. Wade.
See you at the ballot booth!
I just now realized that you are Dutch and used to play chess.
Beat Alekhine when he was drunk on his ass!
…but it still counts!!
Bullshit. Alekhine died long ago.
But if you actually play, let’s have a game! You down?
Bullshit. Alekhine died long ago.
——–
Gotta stay in character for the fans.
But if you actually play, let’s have a game! You down?
—–
I’m jiggie wid it!
Do you wanna play online? I use Chess.com. Or we could play correspondence on FITSNews. You know, for the fans!
What’s your moniker on chess.com?
Saoquim. Hit me up.
I play chess because it’s a battle of wit, a beautiful meeting of the minds. Every game tells a story, but it’s impossible to tell the whole story. The sub plots, the what ifs… it’s an artistic, competitive roller coaster of emotions.
..so you don’t like to crush the opponent’s ego?
Work has taken a huge chunk out of my free time lately, but five minute live is perfect. I’m ready tonight if it’s not too late. Friend request me
Let’s do it on Saturday.. that way you won’t have to compromise your free time for a bullshit 5 minute game on the internets.
Gameday! You ready for this??!?
sure, let’s rock! what time?
Half hour from now, I’ll be on
Make it an hour. I’m stuffing my face
I opened it so I can accept challenges from anyone. Try again!
Standard ChessChess960 Days Per Turn: 123571014 I Play As RandomI Play As WhiteI Play As Black Rated: YesNoTakeback
Only choice is days per turn, apparently I have to pay to play live by challenge.
That’s online chess, which should actually be called correspondence. Get on live chess!
my only options are online and 960.
Mouse over Play at the top, click Live Chess, then click Play Live Chess. No need to pay
I issued you a challenge, you should be able to accept it
On December 15, 1935 after 30 games played in 13 different cities around The Netherlands over a period of 80 days, Euwe defeated Alekhine by 15½–14½, becoming the fifth World Chess Champion. Alekhine quickly went two games ahead, but from game 13 onwards Euwe won twice as many games as Alekhine. (See Wikipedia)
No shit. But like I said, I’ll bet Alekhine was drunk on his ass from game 13 onwards.
Euwe was a real gentleman. Probably the most sane world champion that ever lived. He gave Alekhine a rematch and lost the title… by comparison – Alekhine wouldn’t dare give Capablanca a rematch.
Alekhine played 45 simultaneous blind fold chess games while sitting on the deck of a boat looking out to sea, without sight of pieces or boards – a page ran up and down to the lower deck where his opponents were… he didn’t lose a single game… and they weren’t weak players either!
We’re supposedly close to having flying cars. Broken bridges and potholes won’t matter for owners of those. :P
Good point. Leave it to the contributors (private sector) and keep idiot gov’t out of it..and someone will figure out a way around the Dumb@$$#$, like Obama, in DC. You are right…
Turn the arrow the other way, no more wrong direction.
a frown is just a smile turned upside down
Libertarians would only charge you a few million per problem, and take to privatized courts that they’ve bought.
You might be the most Ignorant Mother-f*#k#r on Earth. Liberals are pretty stupid in general, but you are extraordinary. (Bet no one ever called you that)….
You might be the most Ignorant Mother-f*#k#r on Earth.
——
That puts me at the top of your desired leadership. Bow down and worship me.
Top tier of the democrat party…you are right. But we cannot afford any more “leadership” like you…
I’m not a leader – I’m one of the 98% like you. The only thing that divides us is I don’t *like* getting fucked in the ass by who you vote for.
“The only thing that divides us is I don’t *like* getting fucked in the ass by who you vote for.”
That should make you a libertarian.
:)
like Greenspan?
…or like Ron/Rand Paul?
Yeh Greenspan.the guy who spent his early years hanging around with Ayn Rand,and the said ,after Wall Street almost brought down the entire economy that he was
“Surprised” by Wall Street “greed!”
Yeh Greenspan.the guy who spent his early years hanging around with Ayn Rand,and the said ,after Wall Street almost brought down the entire economy that he was
“Surprised” by Wall Street “greed!”
——–
That sudden shock that all libertarians feel when they find they have to shell out money to a bulldozer operator to clear the wrecks off the unmaintained freeway they use to get to work… or to the mercenaries that stand guard with military-style light armor and small arms over the tiny little plot of land they’ve built their shack on, after buying it from the warlords that now own it.
“Yeh Greenspan.the guy who spent his early years hanging around with Ayn Rand,and the said ,after Wall Street almost brought down the entire economy that he was
“Surprised” by Wall Street “greed!”
Now, now Max. You’re not playing nice.
You forgot to mention that not only did Greenspan sell out(and cash in!) by rejecting the gold standard, but as a result sold her value system down the river as well.
Not that I’m a total Ayn acolyte, I can appreciate some of her ideas, then again I can also appreciate some of the ideas of Marx, making me a total outcast in society.
Howie Richs Neighbor made that comment.
Ah, my bad.
William – The ones who are against everything have NO solutions and have NO fixes – they just know that they are against it.
Let’s raise minimum wage, hand out EBT cards, Obamaphones, and Medicaid to every one… if we’re going to go down let’s do it in a fashion to have the rest of the world saying, “what were they thinking”.
Let’s say no to everything – including investing in our own country and infrastructure. Let’s prattle on with all the EBT card and Obamaphone nonsense in just about every post we make on this site regardless of the topic. Let’s go bat-shit crazy just because a Black man was elected President.
Holy Shit, there’s racists everywhere!
Every single person bashing Obama is a racist!
Many ARE, some aren’t. Holy shit.
Step 1: Bitch about high taxes that are lower than they’ve been in decades.
Step 2: Give the rich tons of money, via tax cuts, shelters, loopholes, and other methods.
Step 3: Give the middle class an extremely small tax break so they don’t complain.
Step 4: Cut
government spendingany government spending that doesn’t help the rich and corporate interests, especially targeting the middle class and poor, because “we can’t afford it anymore.”Step 5: Bitch about high taxes that are lower than they’ve been in decades.
Extorting the Earnings from the producers is NOT an INVESTMENT…no matter what Obama and Clinton tell their Dumb@$$ voters…
When you give welfare away, to people who will NEVER give Anything back…you are wasting money, and teaching poor character, to people already lacking honesty and integrity.
If you raise minimum wage, maybe people won’t need so much food stamps.
We cut EBT.
Obamaphones were started by Bush, not Obama.
Medicaid covers mostly children and old people.
You, sir, are fucking retarded.
Make sure I get free housing and all-day babysitters, too, so I can hang out at the crack house all day, and da club all night….
You left that out.
Don’t you already? We assumed as much. I’m guessing retired military, disabled, on Medicaid and SS disability living in a mobile home. Big free market tea bagger who doesn’t realize everything he has is thanks to everything he is against.
Am I right?
I see he do not answer you. I think you hit the nail on the head.
excuse me “did not”.
You’d have to be a Dumb@$$, not to be against paying 3 times as much inferior service (see Obamacare)…
That’s government’s ONLY answer….Tax much, deliver nothing, except to those too lazy or unwilling to EARN it…
“Will you solve those problems for me?”
Have you ever considered solving your problems yourself?
I know, it’s drastic, but maybe you can get your neighbors together and do something yourself instead of waiting for government to do it.
Then again, if you bitch to your rep and go to public meetings for 5 years or so I’m sure government will eventually do *something*.
Pretty sure attempting to fix potholes on public roads yourself would be highly illegal, even if we assume the person in question is actually good at it.
Pretty sure attempting to fix a bridge yourself in this day in age will result in a police standoff and terrorism charges.
Maybe the “solution” is simply avoiding them, car pooling, etc.
My point is I can think about a million ways to solve my problems without trying to reverse the gears of government. If someone can’t, they shouldn’t expect others to do so.
You mean like the Libertarian paradise of Somalia?
You teafucks are THE most ignorant mother fuckers on the face of the earth!
Yeah, go pave your own road. For fucks sake, you are one monumental dumbfuck. Do you think before you open your stupid fucking mouth?
You are a big talker aren’t you? Maybe the reason you can’t find a job is that no one wants to be around someone with a potty mouth?
That’s probably not the only reason though, you generally are probably as lacking in skills as you are in couth.
By the way, did anyone say to “pave your own road”? No. That’s something you came up with on your own, which demonstrates how poor your problem solving skills are, yet another reason you can’t find a job.
By the way, did anyone say to “pave your own road”?
——
yes… johnq dd. It’s in his final paragraph in the message just preceding yours.
I run a business. I work about 60 hours a week. Somehow in my schedule I cannot find time to take engineering class and learn how to do bridge and road repair.
Regarding my traffic problem, I suppose I could take my gun and stand in the middle of the road in front of my house and threaten to shoot the speeders, but something tells me the outcome may not meet with my desires. I guess I could buy one of those tire puncture devices and put that out there. But seems I could get in trouble.
Regarding the crackhouse, (that parts not real by the way, but the rest is) they seem to have a lot of well armed large men. Are you sure taking my hand gun there and politely asking them to leave is the way to go?
All of these self help ideas seem to have some significant legal obstacles, at the risk of being accused of not helping myself If I do those things and end up in jail can I look to you to pay my legal fees. Of course I guess in your world I would not be in jail. The speeders and the crack dealers would just kill me. Which I guess is ok. They were just solving their own problems without the help of government.
And: McDonald’s ran out of Chicken McNuggets, call the government to fix it. Or: I don’t have a phone, the government owes me an Obama-phone.
Yes, there’s no way private business would fuck us over for a percentage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE5wjbiOsNY
Looks like the insurance companies are doing it through the Affordable Care Act.
lowering costs?
“Fuck us over” legally as an Obama crony.
News Flash: Health care costs are going down.
Were there Bush cronies?
WOW, great come back.
“Health care costs are going down”.
Reality need not apply.
Unemployment is only around 8% too.
Reality need not apply.
——–
you can say *that* again, brother!
I saw some reality the other day, but it was moving fast!
Thanks.
I studied under Rove, mAnn Coulter, Lee Atwater, and Bob Barr.
Not much for original thought are you.
Not much for original thought are you.
——-Oh, boy! That’s my favorite subject!!! Could you give me some examples? I just don’t get enough of that kind of stuff here in Texas…
The last original thought I heard out here is that a day without orange juice is like a fish without a gun.
:)
Original thought?
This from the giver of the Tea Party line of the day?
Hahahahahaha!
Private biz give you a choice to buy or not, you ignorant drone. Gov’t holds a gun to a head to pay for their inferior product…and they jail you if you sayt no.
John Gotti ain’t got nothin’ on Barack Obama…
oh fuck you – clown!
In the face of abject incompetence and daily corruption, most of you commenting here still have faith in government.
That is simply amazing. No Benny Hinn necessary. You make snake handlers look sane.
Who you got confidence in Bruce Wayne?Wall Street?The Oil Companies?Defense Contractors?The Koch Brothers?The Libertarian Party?CPAC?
Ted Cruz?Rand Paul?Halliburton?
Come on Batboy,Share it with us
Of course I have no faith in crony capitalists, they are in bed with the government that is fucking everyone over.
Now, when I go to buy a flat screen TV and I’m looking at the wall of competitors they hold no sway other than who I think gives me the best price for the quality I can afford. But last I hear Sony and Sanyo have to compete unlike GE, Raytheon, etc. et al
One thing you can be sure of – the Japanese and the Chinese governments have *nothing* to do with the corporations that sell to the US!
The interlocking directorships *there* only contain a *few* members of the government.
When *they* engage in dumping, it’s purely fictional.
What do you think funds and exacerbates their dumping?
It’s a fiat currency race to the bottom. But I picked two companies that still have to compete with each other without US gov’t favors for the most part.
What do you think funds and exacerbates their dumping?
——
uh… their government?
I’m was not aware of the recent purchase, but let us assume if you would be so gracious, that 10 days isn’t enough to have changed the market or my point.
“uh… their government?”
Precisely…but it’s THEIR government…not ours…facilitated partially because neither currency has a backing.
If a company wants to go broke or sit mired in no profit by giving away their stuff who are we to stop it? That’s my point…in the market place without government interference & favoritism they(corps) have to compete and the consumer wins.
The Jap gov’t can only prop them up for so long and they don’t have any specific reach into the government here….so it’s $400 42″ flatscreens for us all until we are sick of them with Sony and Sanyo beating on each other.(through in Samsung and a few others too, not Jap)
What’s the alternative look like? They get smart and buy off some pols and start writing trade laws so their competitors can’t import? That’s politically difficult for them…unlike GE, Google, Raytheon, etc.
I’m was not aware of the recent purchase, but let us assume if you would be so gracious, that 10 days isn’t enough to have changed the market or my point.
——–
graciousness is for pussies!
Precisely…but it’s THEIR government…not ours…facilitated partially because neither currency has a backing.
——
nothing like letting a foreign government compete with US corporations… a day without orange juice is like a fish without a gun.,
The Jap gov’t can only prop them up for so long
——-
50 years and counting…
“50 years and counting…”
Fair enough, but we are still getting shit for far less than what we’d pay for it if made here. I can smell the argument coming about lost jobs & wages, etc. But if the cards were that TV’s are still cheaper if designed in Japan and built in Malaysia it doesn’t matter if Japan’s zombie banks prop them up further.
We can’t rewind the clock on some of the lost manufacturing when Joe Sixpack is trying to compete with Malawi living in a grass hut or on the factory floor.
Tariffs only fix the short term, not long.
“nothing like letting a foreign government compete with US corporations”
Come on now, are you really that worried? Did the Trabant’s put the Big Three out of business?
What’s the alternative? A government run website that allows lower income people to get subsidy’s for TV’s and lowers the overall cost of them?
:)
Fair enough, but we are still getting shit for far less than what we’d pay for it if made here.
——
Think it has to do with civilization? How about blaming unemployment on our generosity to the poor Chinese working without healthcare or safe working conditions, and living on noodles in a flat with a dirt floor – instead of multi zillionaires racking up a higher score in a Swiss account?
I can smell the argument coming about lost jobs & wages, etc.
——
can you smell the rotting flesh of fish inundated with mercury and toxins from model libertarian corporations operating on foreign shores?
What’s the alternative?
——-
Elect Sarah Palin president and Michele Bachman Vice President?
Usher in another raft of RINO’s and teapartiers?
I’m going to stick to your actual arguments:
” How about blaming unemployment on our generosity to the poor Chinese
working without healthcare or safe working conditions, and living on
noodles in a flat with a dirt floor – instead of multi zillionaires
racking up a higher score in a Swiss account?”
Again, what is the alternative? Are you going to drain the zillionaires of their funds so Malawi can get a few scraps of food for a month or two?
In the world of Malawi, should we feel bad for him working in a factory as opposed to digging through heaps of trash outside all day long?
When Joe Sixpack loses his nut threading job to Malawi should we tell Malawi to go screw himself?
Hmmm….yeah…so far government issuing a “tariff” hasn’t really solved any of the world’s problems, it seems to have made them worse.
I think this problems are too large and complex to be solved by our masters but that doesn’t seem to affect their hubris is thinking they can.
Again, what is the alternative? Are you going to drain the zillionaires of their funds so Malawi can get a few scraps of food for a month or two?
——–
Alternative? Well, let’s see – we can make it easier to use service-related jobs in other countries.. software, call centers and so forth.. we can make it easier to get an H1 visa to come to the United States to compete for jobs… That way, we won’t have to worry so much about outsourcing. Sort of like hitting your hand with a hammer so your headache won’t seem so bad.
But I get your point – until the “natural” laws of economics put Joe Sixpack in a slum with dirt floors and sewers rife with cholera in Montana and Wyoming, there will be a little pin prick, and you’ll feel a little pressure.
I think this problems are too large and complex to be solved by our masters
——-
so we get new masters like Bachmann, Gohmert and Bright.
“so we get new masters like Bachmann, Gohmert and Bright.”
I think the last 100 years has demonstrated pretty well what we can expect. But if you would like to cling to the idea that we just haven’t had the right masters for a long, long time-well, feel free.
You aren’t the first to suggest you know all the right things to do to fix everything for everyone, in fact, that well qualifies you for office no matter which party label you run under.
If you want to be elected in SC, I recommend “R”. If you decide on NY, I recommend “D”.
ok.. ok.. let’s quit pussyfooting around.. you and I both know the right answer is to elect a libertarian who will dissolve his own office on day one.
Screwing around with concepts like “equality” and “fairness” just gets us deeper in the hole while Republicans blow smoke up our ass.
“you and I both know the right answer is to elect a libertarian who will dissolve his own office on day one.”
lol…we both know that 90% of libertarians aren’t doing that. Hope for an anarchist to get elected…the odds of that happening?
Zero.
Yep. So are you an anarchist, or a nihilist?
Yes.
Now, when I go to buy a flat screen TV and I’m looking at the wall of
competitors they hold no sway other than who I think gives me the best
price for the quality I can afford.
With no government, companies can finally price fix like the free market intended.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/electronics-firms-fined-11bn-for-fixing-prices-of-tvs-and-computers-8386437.html
Fucking government, meddling in our lives, trying to stop companies from bilking us! Gawd! We don’t live in a true free market! /s
Personally, I’m putting all *my* confidence in Bachmann!
It’s all a house of cards. It’s just a matter of time before it all comes tumbling down. There is no inkling of reducing spending or the debt, with China’s economic troubles it won’t be long before the come calling for their money back.
It’s all a house of cards. It’s just a matter of time before it all comes tumbling down.
—–
Like Climate Change?
Let’s just realize what the main problem here is; it’s the Fed. We need to repeal the Federal Reserve Act. But no political figures in Washington have the balls to do it. The inflation rate for the dollar is over 2200% since the Fed was originally established. That’s staggering. We need a government run central bank that has transparency.
There are so many problems with having a private bank control your currency. They aren’t looking out for the best interests for this country. Plus with the fractional reserve banking practices by the Fed and other banks, the problem is only going to get worse.
It’s like the old saying goes, “Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank and he can rob the world.”