This GS settlement should push everyone over the edge. I mean everyone. The big guy always gets off. Will anyone ever get prosecuted and thrown in jail? I can't wait for Denninger's comments. I bet he has a coronary over this one. This is bullshit. More on this later when I get the details. Omission? Woops, I forgot to add this to the disclosure that was really important. WTF? The double standard is absolutely fucking ridiculous.Listenimg to MB cheer lead this settlement is sickening.
FinReg, Oil spill fixed and GS slap on wrist - what a great day for America! Well, one out of three ain't bad the way things are going these days. Barry pimping FinReg now. LOL, Wall Street reform, what a joke. More on this farce later.
The best post I found today was Guest Post: The Dangers Of A Failed Presidency on ZH. It is basically a summary of many of my past posts drilling down to the core problems that face us. This is required reading for all my viewers.
"Ok, so what do I mean by “The Dangers of a Failed Presidency.” I mean that it is July of an election year and Obama’s magic spell that held sway over the American people and the world for about three months has completely washed away. I mean that the printed money mirage recovery that we have had to tragically watch is ending and we have no job growth to speak of other than a few hundred thousand census workers. The public has no appetite for more spending and Bernanke has no cover to print more money (yet). As such, if people think things are in freefall now for this administration just wait and see how the next several months pan out. This then brings me to the following quote:
The bottom line here is that Americans don’t believe in President Obama’s leadership,” says Rob Shapiro, another former Clinton official and a supporter of Mr Obama. “He has to find some way between now and November of demonstrating that he is a leader who can command confidence and, short of a 9/11 event or an Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of how he could do that.”"
The bottom line here is that Americans don’t believe in President Obama’s leadership,” says Rob Shapiro, another former Clinton official and a supporter of Mr Obama. “He has to find some way between now and November of demonstrating that he is a leader who can command confidence and, short of a 9/11 event or an Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of how he could do that.”"
prag cap has NO V-SHAPED RECOVERY IN STATE TAX REVENUES which highlights (with a picture) the fact that, "Despite the constant chatter of v-shaped recoveries and “green shoots” states have experienced anything but a v-shaped recovery. Budgets remain a disaster and state tax revenues are far from recovering. Many view state tax revenues as one of the purest indicators of economic health. Although lagging, it’s clear that this recovery is anything but v-shaped"
No comment is necessary here. Now go read the full post and come back.
Following that, then what Mish has been harping on for months starts to make more sense. You see when Oldest Community in Colorado Puts Entire Police Department Out to Pasture OR Oakland Lays Off 80 Police Officers in Budget Crisis; What's the Real Solution? then reality really starts to sink in. Police being let go in a depression when we have record numbers of unemployed that are falling off the government payrolls. OK - I get it. This is the safest time to let the coppers go. Bottom line is that this is not the time to fire the police, but they HAVE to cause the cities can NOT AFFORD THEM. Let that sink in while the markets put on another ramp job. City governments are being stripped of everything and some are filing for bankruptcy.
Mish has created a nice niche covering the recession/depression from the state angle and we're blessed to have him exposing this angle of the truth. One thing I have mentioned often is what is going to happen to the municipal market. This extremely large, yet undiscussed, problem is staring us in the face. You see the states can no longer belly up to the bar and borrow to fill their entitlement deficit chest. Sadly they have promised more than they can deliver, but the golden goose died and they now find themselves behind the eight ball.
Please read Municipal Bonds Benefit as States Kick the Can Down the Road; How Long can it Last? from Mish where you find, "For now, the municipal bond market seems placated with states not running out of money simply because they have stopped paying bills and/or have temporarily expedited income tax collection. I do not know how long that can last, but the second-half is likely to be quite telling." For those of you that have parents that own and count on munis for their savings and income, I highly suggest you look into what really backs those bonds and possibly scuttle those that do not have specific revenue streams that are sure fire backing them. Remember thoseBAC and stock dividends they used to get? Well their muni interest payments might take the same path. Shanky, what about the AAA ratings? LOL, WTF good is a AAA rating these days when the ratings agencies are what they are and states are taking measures like these to make ends meet -
- Illinois let $5 billion of bills go unpaid.
- Minnesota is delaying corporate and sales-tax refunds, postponing school and medical aid and setting up a $600 million bank line of credit.
- New Jersey is planning to refinance about $250 million of general-obligation bonds to push $202.5 million of debt-service costs into future fiscal years.
- Illinois, is selling $900 million of bonds for capital projects this week.
- 22 states put staff on temporary leave.
- Arizona sold its House of Representatives and Senate buildings.
- California solicited bids for 11 of its office complexes.
Denninger had to retract a retraction in an article posted this week addressing earnings fraud and Repo 105. You see Oops - Citibank DID "Misclassify" Repos yup, they did. "Citigroup Inc Citi and AIG report to the SEC that they classified more than $25B in repos and securities lending deals as sales since 2007 (update)" But only $25 BILLION. No big deal. Nothing to manipulate earnings to juice stock values. No fraud or misrepresentation here. Ha, what a joke all of this is becoming. Following the GS settlement, what control do the cops have over the inmates? None, cause they own the cops. The financilal institutions can do anything they want and know nothing will come of it. Sadly the ultimate result of this will be capitulation as they suck all the blood out of the turnip, eventually begin to canibalize on each other (this is already happening (bear Sterns and Lehman) and that is the ultimate sign the end is near.
Every night I simply deliver the news. Every night it gets more and more unrealistic (if that is even possible). Every day the Ponzi/fraud case is perpetuated as the banksters try to hide their mistakes and faults as their balance sheets rot in the closet with all those marked to fantasy assets and shadow inventory while they continue to rape the public via the Treasury and Fed of all their assets. This is INSANE! That Jefferson quote in my header is there for a reason.
This is just nuts and is on the verge of getting out of control. Maybe not this year, but by the end of next year or in 2012 there is a real possibility of the posse comitatus act being dead and martial law being enforced. Seriously, bankrupt states and cities can no longer rely on the federal government to pay the unions and overpriced pensions. Austerity and mass layoffs come. Without a police force in force, then who the hell keeps order? That's right, the National Guard and the Army. You have to consider this as a real possibility. Now ask yourself if you ever thought it would get that far? This is really screwed up stuff.
Listen to Charles Nenner: "Long-Term Investors Should Wait Until Dow Hits 5,000" "I expect the bear market rally to continue for 4 more years, with big upswings like in Japan before coming down again. I don't expect the market to totally fall out of bed. It is going to be very difficult few years to make some money. We will test the lows of 2009 to be tested over the next couple of years. I don't expect the economy to pick up until 2020." Do you all remember how I used to end posts with "konichiwa BITCHES"? It will be a traders wet dream, but an investors nightmare. You can see a chart of the Nikkei HERE. I don't think it will actually be that nice. Add a big crash at the beginning. Some are actually recommending going to CASH as the safest alternative. CASH! Cash! Like in the mattress or buried in the backyard.
Good luck out there. Get involved in these elections and remove all incumbents. We must have change and change this time will only come from a total overhaul of the representative body. You also need to seriously consider what to do with your investments and retirement funds. The pension issues are ASTOUNDING. Look at this for just one example Kentucky Retirees May Soon Outnumber Pension Contributors. If you think your retirement paycheck is safe of if your retirement funds are even yours you need to think again (thus all cash in the mattress where they can not touch it). The great consumer is dead. This will shut down the whole global economy (did I mention the banksers were robbing us blind?)
WAKE UP! and get involved. We the people are needed now more than ever. It is time to stop being we the sheeple. We have to put our differences aside and come together as one or we lose (if we have not lost already).
In spirit of this post's title - this from ZH - Artist's Rendering Of Tim Geithner's Desktop "As America slowly digests the empirical evidence that both our judicial (SEC settlement) and legislative (FinReg farce) branches are now dead and buried (we all know how the executive branch is faring), the only thing left is humor." AMEN TD, Amen! (NOTE: The total debt liability per taxpayer is $1.094 MILLION AND GROWING! That means YOU! That should scare the shit out of you and bitch slap you into reality if nothing else does.)
Thanks for the views and GL!
