Bernanke Backlash
(Conspiracy Nation, 09/22/07) – It is a sign of the times that Sir Walter Scott's novels and poems are hard to come by. Interested in a complete edition of Scott's works? Forget it. Out of print.
(“The woodland brook he bounding cross'd, And laugh'd, and shouted, 'Lost! lost! lost!'”)
It is one more sign of decay: Plenty of Alan Greenspan books available; but the Scott books have to be ordered and “it may take weeks.”
(“Thy land's, thy children's wrongs to feel, And witness woes thou couldst not heal!”)
But Scott is an antidote for these troubled times. He is an island of sanity in a sinking economic sea. Why not cling to something as the ship sinks?
(“Some mossy bank my couch must be, Some rustling oak my canopy.”)
Various backlashes are occurring in reaction to Ben Bernanke's startling decision to lower rates by a half percent this week. Conspiracy Nation had felt confident the “Federal” Reserve would leave rates unchanged. (“2:15 To Booma,” http://www.shout.net/~bigred/Booma.html)
Look for higher gas prices soon, according to John Wilen of the Associated Press. Oil prices have been driven into record territory “by a combination of the Federal Reserve's half-point interest rate cut, the falling dollar,” and concerns about tropical storms. Gas prices have not been keeping pace with oil prices, but that is about to change. "That's over now," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. "From now on, every $1 a barrel advance in crude has to be accompanied by a 2 1/2 cent increase in gas prices." (“Oil dips, but gas prices set to rise,” AP, September 21, 2007)
Immediately following the “Fed's” surprise rate cut of September 18th, economist Lyndon LaRouche concurred with Conspiracy Nation's analysis: “A soaring interest rate is the worst possible thing for the system, but lowering the interest rate is the worst possible thing for the system—so, the only thing that can be done is the firewall. There is only one answer: freeze the worthless paper.” (“LaRouche: The Only Thing Worse Than Raising Interest Rates Is Lowering Interest Rates,” http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2007/09/18/larouche-only-thing-worse-raising-interest-rates-lowering-in.html)
By rates standing pat, the market could have sorted itself out. Instead, dramatic interest rate change has inflated the stock market, for now postponing the inevitable day of reckoning and making that day worse when it comes.
The “Federal” Reserve, privately owned, has had the gall to stop publishing its M3 statistics. We no longer definitively know the quantity of “our” money supply. The Mogambo Guru (Richard Daughty, quoted frequently in Barron's) reports “M3 in the USA is growing at almost 14 freaking percent a year now! Fourteen freaking percent!” (http://www.dailyreckoning.com/Writers/Mogambo/DREssays/MG091907.html)
The Mogambo Guru had earlier reported “roaring inflation in food prices.” They are reportedly up 4.1 percent for the year, as of June 2007. “I was so busy battening down the hatches at this horrible inflation news that I almost did not catch the details, which are frightening. For example, whole milk was up 13.3% (to a new record high price!), egg prices are 19.5% higher, chicken was up 10%, dried beans were up 11.5%, and white bread rose by 9.6%!” (http://www.dailyreckoning.com/Writers/Mogambo/DREssays/MG082807.html)
This somber grocery news is reflected by a boom in wheat futures, going sky-high. It is all in league with “commodities,” which signifies anything, anything, for God's sake, but the U.S. dollar.
Also paperback books are selling at astonishing prices, almost $20 for a quality paperback! When you finally get the Walter Scott book, your joy is contained by a lighter wallet. Used book stores are a possible alternative, but happy hunting. As for the library, if you are lucky they might be able to order “Marmion” through inter-library loan. (Plenty of Greenspan books available, however.)
In the movie “Borat,” the Kazakhstan national anthem is sung:
“Kazakhstan greatest country in the
world
all other countries are run by little girls
Kazakhstan
number one exporter of potassium
other countries have inferior
potassium”
That movie is not about Kazakhstan! It is about the USA!
“USA is greatest country in the world
all
other countries are run by little girls
USA number one exporter of
greenbacks
other countries have inferior currencies”
Dollar domination is fading fast. Lower rates mean Red China, Saudi Arabia, and other nations might invest elsewhere than U.S. bonds. Balooning M3 money supply makes the dollar worth less, and translates into higher gas prices and higher food prices – but those aren't counted in the inflation statistics. Those are “volatile,” they say, except they never “volatile” down. The stock market also is not counted in the inflation statistics.
Congressman Ron Paul has reportedly “slammed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for deliberately depreciating the value of the dollar to artificially bail out Wall Street.” Activists have reportedly confronted Alan Greenspan, furious about his “deliberate attack on the U.S. dollar -- which has already resulted in further devaluation and asset seizure by foreign entities...” (Rumor Mill News reading room). We are told to “save,” but “save” what? Save dollars?? M3 inflates at 14 percent while a bank CD yields 5 percent or less. Then the 5 percent CD interest get taxed by the IRS. So why “save”?
Conspiracy Nation
http://www.shout.net/~bigred/cn.html