JPMorgan Steals and Gets a Slap on the Wrist

 It crazy!  Again and again these big banks rip off individuals, companies and the government—everyone!  The latest one is bid rigging in the municipal bond market and it cost taxpayers millions of dollars.  So what's the punishment for JPMorgan?  A very small fine of $200 million and a promise to not do it again.  And of course, no criminal prosecution and no corporate accountability for JPMorgan!  It just keeps happening again and again!

Great Summary of U.S. Debt and World Economy

See the whole post here.

U.S. Debt Crisis

On May 16, 2011, the U.S. debt exceeded $14.3 trillion, the legal debt limit. This burden originates from the 1980s, the Reagan administration, low interest rates and the laissez-faire mantra of deregulation, privatization and liberalization.

With the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, private sector losses were shifted to the public sector, and U.S. debt soared again. When Barack Obama arrived in the White House, it was already 84% of GDP. By the end of the year, it is expected to exceed 100% of U.S. GDP.

In 2009-2019, the U.S. debt will amount to some $20 trillion. The Bush tax cuts and the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya account for almost 50% of the total. As the costs of the medical services are soaring, the retirement of the large boomer cohorts in the mid-2010s will make the situation much worse.

Through “extraordinary measures,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has been able to extend the technical debt limit until August 2. So far deep political polarization has made it difficult for the two dominant parties to agree on a new debt limit.

And even when the two will agree on the new limit, they must urgently develop, launch and execute a credible long-term fiscal adjustment program.

Winston Churchill once said that “you can always count on Americans to do the right thing – but only after they have tried everything else.” That, however, was amidst World War II, when the U.S. still spearheaded the world economy and the public debate in Washington was led by the likes of Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower.

Extreme political polarization between and within the two leading parties will complicate any potential for actionable compromises.

Great Interview on Investing

Republican Demogogues + Texans = Idiocy!

Those Texan Republicans have got some serious issues.  The federal government would like to phase out energy burning incandescent bulbs and replace them with LED bulbs to save energy.  These LEDs pay for themselves over time and it's really a no brainer that we would switch, but leave it to Texan Republicans to oppose something as sensical as saving energy.

Republicans Hope for U.S.'s Failure

The last thing Republican's want is a recovering economy or real headway on the deficit before the 2012 election.  Never before has the debt ceiling been used in the extortionist way it's being used now.  President Obama called their bluff and offered even more deficit reducing spending cuts, but that is not what the Republicans actually want—what they really want is a bankrupt U.S. until the election thinking that that will enhance their chances of recapturing the White House.  Well they are wrong.  People are seeing through their ruse and it will come back to kill them in 2012!  I just wish democrats wouldn't stop playing politics of old and start swinging with the same cynicism that the GOP has honed over the last 20 or 30 years.

Welcome to Nazi U.S.A.

The U.S. has totally lost it since 9/11.  You couldn't imagine a better outcome if you are Al-Qaeda when looking at the fiascoes in Iraq, Afghanistan and when you enter the country with Homeland Security (nice Soviet ring to that name!) grabbing your crotch, asking for your papers, searching your computer and just keeping it for days.  It's seems like a bad joke that the U.S. even actually still has the constitution and the 4th amendment.  Fortunately, someone is challenging this self-defeating policy and standing up to wave the constitution in the face of the Homeland Security Nazis!  See here.

Big Banks Are Fundementally Corrupt

These big banks are like parasitic leeches that should just be cut out and discarded from society.  Banks like JP Morgan should be boycotted.  It just doesn't make sense any longer to support institutions that look for any way possible to leech off society.   JP Morgan doesn't offer anything of value that can't be found  at a local credit union.  Boycott JP Morgan and support your local credit union or local bank.  We'll all be better off without JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs!  The government should let these banks fail next time as their greed will destroy them and they will come to the tax payers again in the future.

Facebook's Overhyped Bubble is the New AOL

I'm not buying the hype that is  being fed to us by parties, Facebook itself and investors like Goldman Sachs, that have an interest in perpetuating the myth that Facebook will change the world forever and it's worth north of $50 billion.  It will wear off and fade just as AOL did in the 90's.  Also, those inflated numbers are as phony as phony can get.  I myself would account for 7-10 users and I just signed up to see what the buzz was about—it wasn't much!  Wall Street can't get away with pumping up every business with a flaky business plan like it did 10-12 years ago, but I guess they're thinking they can get a away with pumping up a few here and there like Facebook, Linkedin and Groupon before everyone catches on, but by that time they'll be long gone having cashed out leaving an empty bag for their usual victims.

China's Bubble Coming to an End

The whole Chinese expansion feels so much like the Japanese experience from the 80's and early 90's.  Week after week we hear another revelation that it's not as rosy as it's been portrayed.  The latest revelation is Chinese local government debt has been understated by U.S. $540,000,000,000.  This is just the latest one; the whole bubble has been financed and orchestrated by the government through the banks—massive credit expansion.  It will come to an end and it won't look pretty!

Missing $18 Billion in Iraq!

If this doesn't warrant an investigation, I don't know what would.  Apparently the Bush administration flew in $20 billion into Iraq without a system to keep track of it.  That by itself should land someone behind bars, but the press is just silent on the issue except for here and there.