OK, I admit it. My favorite new line came from these clips. I laughed out loud for 20 minutes the first time I watched the first vid below. What can I say, I'm a finance geek! These are very informative, yet very funny. Enjoy!
If you have a Google account, you can view the power point presentation below. Power point not needed on your personal computer!
Subprime Works
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
What the FED!?!?
The Federal Reserve. What, exactly, is the Federal Reserve? I asked myself this question a few years back after watching Greenspan lower interest rates to nearly zero (deja vu!). A move that helped spark the largest housing boom in our countries history. What I found shocked me to my core. I felt devastated that someone who has a finance degree, has followed the markets since the age of 17, and worked for a mutual fund could be so unaware that the Federal Reserve is not what it says it is. It is not Federal. There are very little (if any) reserves, and it is a bank in only the loosest of terms. My research into the history of central banking sent me on a journey that exposed the true rulers of the world: International Bankers. It showed me that the markets are not truly free. That a small group of ultra-wealthy, uber-powerful families control all banking. All markets. All resources. The finding was so traumatic I quit my research mid-stream. It made me have a thought progression something like this, "Could it be that all I was taught about the free-market system is just a scam? Could it be that I paid several large state universities a total of $40K to be lied too? Could they have indoctrinated me with a bunch of crap so that I would go out and defend and strengthen the status quo? Could it be that those who benefit the most from my desires to be a multi-millionaire were also the ones who subsidized my student loans? Oh shit..." That day I closed down my computer, went to the LQ, and bought a big bottle of vodka. The illusion had been shattered, and I was faced with the same red pill/blue pill decision that Neo faced in the Matrix. I could easily have said, "Fuck It" and went about my life pursuing money, money, and more money. Thankfully, I did not. I got drunk, wallowed in my sorrows for a while, but eventually sobered up and realized what I must do. I must understand the TRUE nature of the banking system and relay my findings to as many people as I could reach. The implications of what I found were nothing short of revolutionary. The words I use could be regarded as heresy, treason, or worse. Both are serious. One deadly. However, the power of those who control the financial markets is nothing compared to the power of an educated public. The Powers-That-Be make decisions based on hate and fear. If we make decisions based on love and compassion, we will be infinitely more powerful than any banker in history. Move over decedents of Mayer Rothschild, the world is about to turn your families centuries-old cartel on it's ear. The time for a global financial awakening has arrived...are you ready?
A Brief History of the Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System (the Fed) came in existence on December 23, 1913 with the passing of the Federal Reserve Act (it was later signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson). The act gave power to the newly created central bank to oversee all commercial banks and set monetary policy. The planning for the Federal Reserve Act took place in secrecy. In 1910, a group of bankers and politicians took a private rail car from New Jersey to Brunswick, Georgia, ultimately staging their meeting at a private resort on Jekyll Island. Interests from the Rockefeller's (Senator Nelson Aldrich - Senate Banking Committee and Frank Vanderlip of National City Bank of NY), the Morgan's (Henry Davidson and Charles Norton - both presidents of Morgan owned banks in NY), and the Warburgs (Paul Warburg-family member of the European Warburg families who control banking interests in Germany and Holland) all met to discuss the formation of the federal reserve system. (A.P. Andrew - Assistant Treasury Secretary was also in attendance). Why would a group of the worlds most powerful banking families, as well as members of the senate and treasury, make a secret trip to a private island in the middle of no-where to discuss the establishment of a central bank? Maybe it is because they knew what they were doing was in their best interests, and not in the best interests of the citizens of the United States. Maybe it is because they knew it would give them a vehicle to control the power structure of the country, simply by controlling it's money supply. How was this not collusion? How was this not treason?
Legal status of the Federal Reserve System
THE FED IS NOT A BRANCH OR DIVISION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT! It is a private institution (although they call themselves quasi-public). In Lewis v. United States the US Court of Appeals finds that "The Reserve Banks are not federal instrumentalities...but are independent, privately owned and locally controlled corporations." While this case deals with the Reserve Bank of San Francisco, it is indicative of the system structure. The Fed has also never been audited, does not answer to Congress except through direct testimony, regional bank heads are nominated by member banks (i.e. the heads of Wells Fargo, US Bank, Citi, etc.), FOMC meetings are held in secret, with minutes surfacing weeks after...WTF? If no one else can print US Dollars but the Fed, yet it is a collection of privately held corporations, then what would you call this organization? A monopoly or a cartel? Now we know why it is illegal to counterfeit money...the Fed doesn't like competition!
How the Fed affects the money/credit supply, interest rates, etc?
The Fed's largest task is the supervision of the buying and selling of Government securities in the open market. This becomes interesting as we will see in a minute. If the Fed needs to loosen monetary policy (i.e. increase liquidity; increase the money supply; print money) the Fed buys Government securities from a short list of hand-picked firms (see current list of primary firms). If the Fed needs to tighten monetary policy (i.e. contract money supply) they can sell these same securities at their own discretion. If the Fed is responsible for the supervision of the buying/selling of these securities, but also may sell them at their own discretion, is there not a possibility for a conflict of interest arising somewhere?
Another way the Fed can control the money supply is through interest rates. The Fed sets a rate called the Discount Rate. This is the interest rate that the Fed charges banks who borrow from them, who then in turn make loans to people like you and me. By increasing the discount rate, it increases other rates such as the Prime Rate. When interest rates increase it sparks savings and slows down lending. The opposite is true when you lower rates. People will save less and borrow more. We have had very low interest rates for over 6 years now, and that is a big part of the problem we see in the markets today. Everyone borrowed and no one saved for waaaaaay too long...now we're F@$%ed!
Inflation. What is it? How is it controlled by the Fed? Is there anything backing the dollar to help with inflation?
Inflation is NOT the increase in prices of goods, it is actually the devaluing of our currency. We constantly get inflation because we are constantly increasing our money supply. Look at it like this. Say I have 10 apples and you have 10 oranges. We want to trade, and since we both have the same quantity of fruit, we decided that it will be 1 apple for 1 orange. Now, lets say the next time we meet I have 20 apples and you again have 10 oranges. We decide to trade again, but this time it is 2 apples for 1 orange. What happened? Did the value of the oranges go up, or did the value of my apples go down? We could argue both sides, but the right answer is that the value of the apples went down. Why? Well, you still had the same number of oranges, so there is no "scarcity" in oranges. What changed was my number of apples. Since I had a lot more than the last time we traded, the value of them has diminished. The same is true with our dollars. Since we have continually created more and more dollars we will continually pay more and more dollars for the same goods. WTF you say? Wait, it gets better!
At the end of WWII, the leaders of the effected countries got together in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to hammer out a new international economic frame work. What they decided was; 1) The US Dollar would be the global reserve currency; 2) That specific foreign governments and central banks could redeem dollars for gold at $35 an ounce, and; 3) That other countries currencies valuation would be tied to the dollar and that those currencies could be easily converted into dollars at anytime. This was a monumental agreement that helped foster the rebuilding of Europe and Japan physically, socially, and of course economically. Flash forward to the 1960's. The US is fighting an unpopular and expensive war in Vietnam, the costs of social programs are sky-rocketing, and the economy is sputtering. Raising taxes wasn't an option, so what was LBJ to do to pay for it all? His answer - print money! This caused a lot of inflation here in the US, and made foreign governments and banks very uneasy about getting their gold back. So the foreign leaders started redeeming their dollars for gold. By the end of LBJ's reign the outstanding dollars that could claim gold was $36 billion, but only $18 billion in gold was available. In comes Richard Milhous Nixon. Instead of stopping the printing presses he suspends the convertibility of dollars to gold "temporarily". That temporary measure was never lifted. Nixon basically abolished all remnants of the gold standard. Good-bye sound money supply, hello perpetual inflation! Just think about the difference in home prices between November 1971 ($25,700) and November 2008 ($220,400). That's an increase of 758%!!! Even though median wages have increased 456% for the same period, you can see that the common man is losing his shirt in this fight.
This is B.S.! Let's make some changes!
Well, not so fast. In 1993 Texas Representative Henry Gonzalez (Head of the House Banking Committee) proposed several changes to the Federal Reserve System. 1) Conduct an independent audit of the operations of the Fed. 2) Video tape all FOMC meetings and release those tapes after every meeting. 3) Make it so the President appointed the heads of the regional banks, and not the member banks within the region. Then President Clinton and Fed Chairman Greenspan both fought these changes, and thus none of the suggestions were implemented. Clinton went as far as to say it would undermine the confidence in the Fed. Why? Is it because the Fed is a giant Ponzi scheme, and we are the ones at the bottom of the pyramid getting hosed? No, that couldn't have anything to do with it...
Unfortunately there is only one way we can get ourselves out of this. We must abolish the Fed, and not allow another central bank to take it's place. Only with a currency that is 100% backed by gold can we get back to firm ground with our money supply. Having it under the control of international banking interests is a great way to ensure that we all stay work-a-day slaves to the system. I don't know about you, but I see no purpose in working my butt off all my life in order to make something that is worth less and less every year. Why is it that someone who builds houses and makes $35,000 a year is getting paid less and less every year due to the "hidden tax" of inflation? Is it because he builds things of real value, while being compensated in worthless paper? Or even better, worthless digits in a banks computer data base? You probably already know the answer.
I believe we are at a cross-roads. We can keep the status quo and end up paying $100 for a cheeseburger, or we can develop a more sane system for the exchange of goods and services. It was Albert Einstein that said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". I am tired of acting insanely, how about you?
Here is a link to a great video from the Mises Institute that talks about the Federal Reserve System. I used the video in my research so you may see some similarities in the information.
A Brief History of the Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System (the Fed) came in existence on December 23, 1913 with the passing of the Federal Reserve Act (it was later signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson). The act gave power to the newly created central bank to oversee all commercial banks and set monetary policy. The planning for the Federal Reserve Act took place in secrecy. In 1910, a group of bankers and politicians took a private rail car from New Jersey to Brunswick, Georgia, ultimately staging their meeting at a private resort on Jekyll Island. Interests from the Rockefeller's (Senator Nelson Aldrich - Senate Banking Committee and Frank Vanderlip of National City Bank of NY), the Morgan's (Henry Davidson and Charles Norton - both presidents of Morgan owned banks in NY), and the Warburgs (Paul Warburg-family member of the European Warburg families who control banking interests in Germany and Holland) all met to discuss the formation of the federal reserve system. (A.P. Andrew - Assistant Treasury Secretary was also in attendance). Why would a group of the worlds most powerful banking families, as well as members of the senate and treasury, make a secret trip to a private island in the middle of no-where to discuss the establishment of a central bank? Maybe it is because they knew what they were doing was in their best interests, and not in the best interests of the citizens of the United States. Maybe it is because they knew it would give them a vehicle to control the power structure of the country, simply by controlling it's money supply. How was this not collusion? How was this not treason?
Legal status of the Federal Reserve System
THE FED IS NOT A BRANCH OR DIVISION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT! It is a private institution (although they call themselves quasi-public). In Lewis v. United States the US Court of Appeals finds that "The Reserve Banks are not federal instrumentalities...but are independent, privately owned and locally controlled corporations." While this case deals with the Reserve Bank of San Francisco, it is indicative of the system structure. The Fed has also never been audited, does not answer to Congress except through direct testimony, regional bank heads are nominated by member banks (i.e. the heads of Wells Fargo, US Bank, Citi, etc.), FOMC meetings are held in secret, with minutes surfacing weeks after...WTF? If no one else can print US Dollars but the Fed, yet it is a collection of privately held corporations, then what would you call this organization? A monopoly or a cartel? Now we know why it is illegal to counterfeit money...the Fed doesn't like competition!
How the Fed affects the money/credit supply, interest rates, etc?
The Fed's largest task is the supervision of the buying and selling of Government securities in the open market. This becomes interesting as we will see in a minute. If the Fed needs to loosen monetary policy (i.e. increase liquidity; increase the money supply; print money) the Fed buys Government securities from a short list of hand-picked firms (see current list of primary firms). If the Fed needs to tighten monetary policy (i.e. contract money supply) they can sell these same securities at their own discretion. If the Fed is responsible for the supervision of the buying/selling of these securities, but also may sell them at their own discretion, is there not a possibility for a conflict of interest arising somewhere?
Another way the Fed can control the money supply is through interest rates. The Fed sets a rate called the Discount Rate. This is the interest rate that the Fed charges banks who borrow from them, who then in turn make loans to people like you and me. By increasing the discount rate, it increases other rates such as the Prime Rate. When interest rates increase it sparks savings and slows down lending. The opposite is true when you lower rates. People will save less and borrow more. We have had very low interest rates for over 6 years now, and that is a big part of the problem we see in the markets today. Everyone borrowed and no one saved for waaaaaay too long...now we're F@$%ed!
Inflation. What is it? How is it controlled by the Fed? Is there anything backing the dollar to help with inflation?
Inflation is NOT the increase in prices of goods, it is actually the devaluing of our currency. We constantly get inflation because we are constantly increasing our money supply. Look at it like this. Say I have 10 apples and you have 10 oranges. We want to trade, and since we both have the same quantity of fruit, we decided that it will be 1 apple for 1 orange. Now, lets say the next time we meet I have 20 apples and you again have 10 oranges. We decide to trade again, but this time it is 2 apples for 1 orange. What happened? Did the value of the oranges go up, or did the value of my apples go down? We could argue both sides, but the right answer is that the value of the apples went down. Why? Well, you still had the same number of oranges, so there is no "scarcity" in oranges. What changed was my number of apples. Since I had a lot more than the last time we traded, the value of them has diminished. The same is true with our dollars. Since we have continually created more and more dollars we will continually pay more and more dollars for the same goods. WTF you say? Wait, it gets better!
At the end of WWII, the leaders of the effected countries got together in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to hammer out a new international economic frame work. What they decided was; 1) The US Dollar would be the global reserve currency; 2) That specific foreign governments and central banks could redeem dollars for gold at $35 an ounce, and; 3) That other countries currencies valuation would be tied to the dollar and that those currencies could be easily converted into dollars at anytime. This was a monumental agreement that helped foster the rebuilding of Europe and Japan physically, socially, and of course economically. Flash forward to the 1960's. The US is fighting an unpopular and expensive war in Vietnam, the costs of social programs are sky-rocketing, and the economy is sputtering. Raising taxes wasn't an option, so what was LBJ to do to pay for it all? His answer - print money! This caused a lot of inflation here in the US, and made foreign governments and banks very uneasy about getting their gold back. So the foreign leaders started redeeming their dollars for gold. By the end of LBJ's reign the outstanding dollars that could claim gold was $36 billion, but only $18 billion in gold was available. In comes Richard Milhous Nixon. Instead of stopping the printing presses he suspends the convertibility of dollars to gold "temporarily". That temporary measure was never lifted. Nixon basically abolished all remnants of the gold standard. Good-bye sound money supply, hello perpetual inflation! Just think about the difference in home prices between November 1971 ($25,700) and November 2008 ($220,400). That's an increase of 758%!!! Even though median wages have increased 456% for the same period, you can see that the common man is losing his shirt in this fight.
This is B.S.! Let's make some changes!
Well, not so fast. In 1993 Texas Representative Henry Gonzalez (Head of the House Banking Committee) proposed several changes to the Federal Reserve System. 1) Conduct an independent audit of the operations of the Fed. 2) Video tape all FOMC meetings and release those tapes after every meeting. 3) Make it so the President appointed the heads of the regional banks, and not the member banks within the region. Then President Clinton and Fed Chairman Greenspan both fought these changes, and thus none of the suggestions were implemented. Clinton went as far as to say it would undermine the confidence in the Fed. Why? Is it because the Fed is a giant Ponzi scheme, and we are the ones at the bottom of the pyramid getting hosed? No, that couldn't have anything to do with it...
Unfortunately there is only one way we can get ourselves out of this. We must abolish the Fed, and not allow another central bank to take it's place. Only with a currency that is 100% backed by gold can we get back to firm ground with our money supply. Having it under the control of international banking interests is a great way to ensure that we all stay work-a-day slaves to the system. I don't know about you, but I see no purpose in working my butt off all my life in order to make something that is worth less and less every year. Why is it that someone who builds houses and makes $35,000 a year is getting paid less and less every year due to the "hidden tax" of inflation? Is it because he builds things of real value, while being compensated in worthless paper? Or even better, worthless digits in a banks computer data base? You probably already know the answer.
I believe we are at a cross-roads. We can keep the status quo and end up paying $100 for a cheeseburger, or we can develop a more sane system for the exchange of goods and services. It was Albert Einstein that said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". I am tired of acting insanely, how about you?
Here is a link to a great video from the Mises Institute that talks about the Federal Reserve System. I used the video in my research so you may see some similarities in the information.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Reading List
I have compiled a list of some on-line journals, newspapers, blogs, etc. that I feel are good places to get information. Please send me some idea's of your own. There is lots of good stuff out there! Personally, I read one article on the subject, then glance over 1 or 2 more to make sure numbers, dates, names, and the like are consistent. I have found that foreign newspapers are better information sources, even for domestic events, than American newspapers (big surprise, I know). Most of these are of a left-leaning nature. More due to my personal preference than anything. If you are right leaning, and can find right leaning sources that don't compromise factual integrity, hit up those. Matters not in the end. The core facts and truths are what we are looking for here. OK, here are a few sources for you:
Raw Story and Drudge Report: A left and a right leaning source of headlines. Good places to start for a headline scan. Always good for a helpful link or 2.
Raw Story
Drudge Report
Newspapers: A few from several regions. It is quite entertaining to read the Russia and American accounts of interactions between the 2 countries. The British papers are much like ours (you can see that they are obsessed about sports just like we are!). Others are from a bunch of places. No time to read them all everyday, but great to scan all the headlines on days of global events (The tsunami, the current economic panic, the Iraq invasion, even our last election).
Russia: Pravda.ru RT Moscow Times
England: Telegraph Times Guardian
Asia: Asian Times Online Japan Times
These are just a few of my favorites. You can find any newspaper in the world (theoretically) at this like the link below. Find your own favorites!
World Newspapers
Some good on-line magazines you might like:
In These Times
Slate Magazine
The Nation
The Progressive
The Economist
A few blogs:
Huffington Post
Daily Kos
Business and Economics:
Bloomberg
Financial Times
International Energy Agency (IEA)
Kitco
Mises Institute
Political News:
Democracy Now
Raw Story and Drudge Report: A left and a right leaning source of headlines. Good places to start for a headline scan. Always good for a helpful link or 2.
Raw Story
Drudge Report
Newspapers: A few from several regions. It is quite entertaining to read the Russia and American accounts of interactions between the 2 countries. The British papers are much like ours (you can see that they are obsessed about sports just like we are!). Others are from a bunch of places. No time to read them all everyday, but great to scan all the headlines on days of global events (The tsunami, the current economic panic, the Iraq invasion, even our last election).
Russia: Pravda.ru RT Moscow Times
England: Telegraph Times Guardian
Asia: Asian Times Online Japan Times
These are just a few of my favorites. You can find any newspaper in the world (theoretically) at this like the link below. Find your own favorites!
World Newspapers
Some good on-line magazines you might like:
In These Times
Slate Magazine
The Nation
The Progressive
The Economist
A few blogs:
Huffington Post
Daily Kos
Business and Economics:
Bloomberg
Financial Times
International Energy Agency (IEA)
Kitco
Mises Institute
Political News:
Democracy Now
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Watch list for my friends
I have compiled a list of YouTube videos that I think are a good starting point for anyone looking to begin to understand the amount and type of change that has been taking place. These are all parts of a greater whole. Some of these are going to push your limits emotionally, spiritually, maybe even in your patience with me! But please be patient. Please reflect on these topics. Most of all do your own research. Don't take my word (or Naomi's, or Peter's, or John's, or Jim's) for it, take a look for yourselves. I am not doing this because I want to, but I feel that I have to. I feel we need to all work together to fix the issues confronting our planet. Once the area of the issue is outlined we should be able to have a better dialogue about solutions. Some of these are 30-60 minutes, so take your time working through the list. Please comment below about what you think.
Love and Peace
Dave
We will have to start with Jim Rogers. He is a funny, stubborn old guy...but you gotta love the bow-tie! Jim is a self made Billionaire, and knows a thing or 2 about markets. I believe this talk was to business leaders at and ABN-AMRO conference. Smart guy giving it to you straight about the Federal Reserve:
Next up is Peter Schiff. He is the President of Euro Pacific Capital. He has been talking to anyone who will listen that things were going south FAST! Here is a video that has over 800K views on YouTube, and is a montage of clips from 1-2 years ago when people were telling him he was an idiot. A side benefit is that most of the clips are from Fox Business News-pound for pound the worst news outlet in the world. (I think I just lost 5 IQ points typing their name) Google/YouTube search his name for a lot of great truth about the current market situation, and what you can do about it.
I am going to move into something that starts to blur the lines between economics and politics a bit. This is Naomi Klein. She is author of the Shock Doctrine and No Logo. This talk is about the Shock Doctrine shortly after it was released. It is easily the most powerful book I have ever read. It will really start to open your eyes to the true actions the federal government takes in the name of freedom. Of Democracy. Of Liberty. Shocking.
This next Clip is of a man named John Perkins. I won't tell you too much about him, I will let him do that himself. Quite an amazing man. This is an interview from Democracy Now and is broken into 2 parts. Not sure what else to say here other than this is a good set-up for our last video. After this John Perkins interview, you will begin to see the framework of the prison that we have built for ourselves.
Naomi Wolf - The End of America. This will have a gigantic emotional pull on you. Just warning you now...but there is also a reason I saved it for last. This might be the most important video on the list.
Love and Peace
Dave
We will have to start with Jim Rogers. He is a funny, stubborn old guy...but you gotta love the bow-tie! Jim is a self made Billionaire, and knows a thing or 2 about markets. I believe this talk was to business leaders at and ABN-AMRO conference. Smart guy giving it to you straight about the Federal Reserve:
Next up is Peter Schiff. He is the President of Euro Pacific Capital. He has been talking to anyone who will listen that things were going south FAST! Here is a video that has over 800K views on YouTube, and is a montage of clips from 1-2 years ago when people were telling him he was an idiot. A side benefit is that most of the clips are from Fox Business News-pound for pound the worst news outlet in the world. (I think I just lost 5 IQ points typing their name) Google/YouTube search his name for a lot of great truth about the current market situation, and what you can do about it.
I am going to move into something that starts to blur the lines between economics and politics a bit. This is Naomi Klein. She is author of the Shock Doctrine and No Logo. This talk is about the Shock Doctrine shortly after it was released. It is easily the most powerful book I have ever read. It will really start to open your eyes to the true actions the federal government takes in the name of freedom. Of Democracy. Of Liberty. Shocking.
This next Clip is of a man named John Perkins. I won't tell you too much about him, I will let him do that himself. Quite an amazing man. This is an interview from Democracy Now and is broken into 2 parts. Not sure what else to say here other than this is a good set-up for our last video. After this John Perkins interview, you will begin to see the framework of the prison that we have built for ourselves.
Naomi Wolf - The End of America. This will have a gigantic emotional pull on you. Just warning you now...but there is also a reason I saved it for last. This might be the most important video on the list.
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