Posted by
M. E. Ward on Sunday, June 14, 2009 8:47:33 PM
“Change we can believe in” was the bill of goods we were sold during the last Presidential election.
So how’s that hope and change working out for you?
Let’s recap, shall we:
· We've seen the biggest stock crash in history...
o ..the biggest property crash in history...
o ..the biggest deficits in history (four times the previous record!)...
o ..the biggest bailouts in history (we can't even count that high)...
o ..the biggest bankruptcies in history...
o ..the auto industry and the finance industry have been largely nationalized...
o ..the President of the United States of America is now making financial decisions for formerly private industries...
So what's left to see?
· Oh yes...the depression...and hyperinflation.
On the bright side, one aspect of the economy that is flourishing is the doom and gloom financial advisory newsletter industry.
Here’s a sampling from this past week (June 7 – 13, 2009):
The Frame of Mind of American Economic Policymakers, Part I & Part II
By Dr. Marc Faber, Hong Kong, China
"I seldom become depressed, but when I consider that prosperity is created by "peace, easy taxes and a tolerable administration of justice" I really think that the U.S. and other Western governments are doing their very best to impoverish their countries."
Bond Bubble Burps Again
By Ian Mathias, Baltimore, Maryland
"...the very day of this highly anticipated bond auction, Russia and Brazil both announced they'd soon be selling $20 billion in U.S. Treasuries in exchange for IMF bonds. It's a smart move...each nation gets to diversify out of the dollar (the IMF will pay these bonds back with a basket of global monies) and send a clear signal to the U.S. government."
Standing at the Gates of Economic Hell
By The Mogambo Guru, Tampa Bay, Florida
"I already told him that the economy is crappy; nobody has any money with which to buy things because all of their money is being used to service a backbreaking load of debt that was accumulated to fuel the booming bubbles in the stock market, the bond market, the housing market and the growth in the size of government that are all bursting, all thanks to Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve creating so, so, so much money and credit, leading us to here, a place I lovingly call, 'The gates of economic hell!'"
The Deflationary Downturn
By Bill Bonner, London, England
"The markets are clearly in a deflationary downturn. No doubt about it. After a long period of credit expansion credit is finally contracting. The smart money is probably betting on lower asset prices...We're also looking at $2.4 trillion worth of Alt-A mortgages that will need to be refinanced or reset. The peak in those resets won't happen until January 2013. So stay tuned...this housing bear market isn't going away any time soon."
Thank God for the weekend and a chance to escape all the negativity.