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-- Uncle Sam Needs YOUR Children To support Its Growth and Waste
Uncle Sam Needs YOUR Children To support Its Growth and Waste
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Leaders Who Won't Choose In Washington, it's business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe. By Fareed Zakaria Newsweek Sept. 26, 2005 issue - Adversity builds character," goes the old adage. Except that in America today we seem to be following the opposite principle. The worse things get, the more frivolous our response. President Bush explains that he will spend hundreds of billions of dollars rebuilding the Gulf Coast without raising any new revenues. Republican leader Tom DeLay declines any spending cuts because "there is no fat left to cut in the federal budget." This would be funny if it weren't so depressing. What is happening in Washington today is business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe. The scariest part is that we've been here before. After 9/11 we have created a new government agency, massively increased domestic spending and fought two wars. And the president did all this without rolling back any of his tax cuts�in fact, he expanded them�and refused to veto a single congressional spending bill. This was possible because Bush inherited a huge budget surplus in 2000. But that's all gone. The cupboard is now bare. Whatever his other accomplishments, Bush will go down in history as the most fiscally irresponsible chief executive in American history. Since 2001, government spending has gone up from $1.86 trillion to $2.48 trillion, a 33 percent rise in four years! Defense and Homeland Security are not the only culprits. Domestic spending is actually up 36 percent in the same period. These figures come from the libertarian Cato Institute's excellent report "The Grand Old Spending Party," which explains that "throughout the past 40 years, most presidents have cut or restrained lower-priority spending to make room for higher-priority spending. What is driving George W. Bush's budget bloat is a reversal of that trend." To govern is to choose. And Bush has decided not to choose. He wants guns and butter and tax cuts. People wonder whether we can afford Iraq and Katrina. The answer is, easily. What we can't afford simultaneously is $1.4 trillion in tax cuts and more than $1 trillion in new entitlement spending over the next 10 years. To take one example, if Congress did not make permanent just one of its tax cuts, the repeal of estate taxes, it would generate $290 billion over the next decade. That itself pays for most of Katrina and Iraq. Robert Hormats of Goldman Sachs has pointed out that previous presidents acted differently. During World War II, Franklin Roosevelt cut nonwar spending by more than 20 percent, in addition to raising taxes to finance the war effort. During the Korean War, President Truman cut non-defense spending 28 percent and raised taxes to pay the bills. In both cases these presidents were often slashing cherished New Deal programs that they had created. The only period�other than the current one�when the United States avoided hard choices was Vietnam: spending increased on all fronts. The results eventually were deficits, high interest rates and low growth�stagflation. Bush is not the only one to blame. Congressional spending is now completely out of control. The federal coffers are being looted for congressional patronage, and it is being done openly and without any guilt. The highway bill of 1982 had 10 "earmarked" projects�the code word for pork. The 2005 one has 6,371. The bill, written by the House transportation committee, is called the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or TEA-LU (in honor of chairman Don Young's wife, Lu). This use of public office for private whims would seem more appropriate in Saudi Arabia than America. Perhaps next year's bill will include a necklace for Mrs. Young. The U.S. Congress is a national embarrasment, except that no one is embarrassed. There are a few men of conscience left, like John McCain, but McCain's pleas against pork seem to have absolutely no effect. They are beginning to have the feel of a quaint hobby, like collecting exotic stamps. Today's Republicans believe in pork, but they don't believe in government. So we have the largest government in history but one that is weak and dysfunctional. Public spending is a cynical game of buying votes or campaign contributions, an utterly corrupt process run by lobbyists and special interests with no concern for the national interest. So we shovel out billions on "Homeland Security" to stave off nonexistent threats to Wisconsin, Wyoming and Montana while New York and Los Angeles remain unprotected. We mismanage crises with a crazy-quilt patchwork of federal, local and state authorities�and sing paeans to federalism to explain our incompetence. We denounce sensible leadership and pragmatism because they mean compromise and loss of ideological purity. Better to be right than to get Iraq right. Hurricane Katrina is a wake-up call. It is time to get serious. We need to secure the homeland, fight terrorism and have an effective foreign policy to advance our interests and our ideals. We also need a world-class education system, a great infrastructure and advancement in science and technology. For all its virtues, the private sector cannot accomplish all this. Wal-Mart and Federal Express cannot devise a national energy policy for the United States. For that and for much else, we need government. We already pay for it. Can somebody help us get our money's worth? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9379241/page/1/ |
I have been hearing about the ridiculous spendings of Bush for quite some time, and this just seem to be another editorial in the line. Therefore, my question is this: When will we see the effects that the doomsayers are promising? When will the US have to disband the first platoon of soldiers stationed in Iraq, due to troubles paying their salaries? When will the first retired person suffering from starvation be committed to a hospital? If the "cupboard" is really "bare", why don't we see any effects?
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| Originally posted by Trancer-X |
Is it any surprise that some rich kid whose idea of hardship is a bad hang-over after a night of too much booze and coke paid for by his daddy's no limit credit card would have a problem with spending money?
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| Originally posted by trancaholic I have been hearing about the ridiculous spendings of Bush for quite some time, and this just seem to be another editorial in the line. Therefore, my question is this: When will we see the effects that the doomsayers are promising? When will the US have to disband the first platoon of soldiers stationed in Iraq, due to troubles paying their salaries? When will the first retired person suffering from starvation be committed to a hospital? If the "cupboard" is really "bare", why don't we see any effects? |
Well shit, when I said we'd start seeing slow ripples in the economy, I didn't think the next day ...
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U.S. Economy: Consumer Confidence, Home Sales Plunge (Update6) Listen Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer confidence fell by the most in 15 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and pushed gasoline prices to a record this month. The consumer confidence index dropped to 86.6, the lowest in two years, from 105.5 in August, the New York-based Conference Board research group said today. New home sales sold in August at the slowest pace since November, falling 9.9 percent to a 1.237 million annual rate, the Commerce Department said in Washington. ``We may now see a pullback in spending,'' said Quincy Krosby, who helps oversee $293 billion in assets as chief investment strategist for The Hartford in Hartford, Connecticut. ``This winter and this Christmas shopping season are going to be the test case, and we're going to see if this is the tipping point for the consumer.'' Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday a marked slowdown in the housing market, if one develops, may result in an ``adjustment'' in spending by consumers. Higher energy costs are also leaving Americans less to spend on other goods, hurting sales at companies such as Avon Products Inc. Greenspan, in a speech today, said asset prices often fall after long periods of stability and ``euphoria,'' echoing warnings he's issued over the past year that investors may be too complacent about risk. ``History cautions that extended periods of low concern about credit risk have invariably been followed by reversal with an attendant fall in the prices of risky assets,'' he said in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics. Expectations U.S. two-year Treasury yields rose to a six-week high after the speech by Greenspan did little to alter the view that the central bank will continue raising interest rates. The two-year note's yield rose almost 3 basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 4.08 percent at 4:20 p.m. in New York. Fed Bank of San Francisco Janet Yellen said earlier today the economy will see a ``significant dip'' in growth through the rest of the year and central bankers won't allow inflation to reach ``unacceptable'' levels as oil prices surge. While a report yesterday showed near-record sales of existing homes in August, new homes may be more of a leading indicator because they count purchases when contracts are signed, not when transactions close. The average price of a new home rose last month to $220,300 from $215,000, today's data showed. The confidence index was forecast to fall to 95 from 105.6 previously reported for August, based on a Bloomberg News survey of 62 economists. New homes were predicted to sell at a 1.35 million annual rate from the 1.41 million previously reported for July. July's rate was revised today to 1.373 million. Confidence Drops ``It's important to stay focused on the interplay between the consumer and the overextended housing market and sharp increases in energy prices,'' said Stephen Roach, chief global economist at Morgan Stanley in New York, in an interview. ``That will be key as to whether or not the U.S. economy will sustain itself in 2006.'' The decline in confidence was the biggest since October 1990, when oil prices were rising after Iraq invaded Kuwait and the U.S. was preparing for war. The Conference Board's mail-in survey of 5,000 households was completed Sept. 20, after Katrina damaged drilling rigs and curtailed fuel shipments and pushed up energy prices. The survey was ending as Hurricane Rita crossed the Florida Straits and headed for the Gulf Coast. Regular-grade gasoline, averaged nationwide, touched a record $3.057 a gallon on Sept. 2, according to the AAA, the nation's largest motoring organization. While the average pump price fell to $2.755 by Sept. 22, it was still 48 percent higher than a year ago. Jobs and Inflation ``The increase in gasoline prices and the prospect of a long, expensive winter is depressing sentiment,'' said Joseph Abate, a senior economist at Lehman Brothers Inc. in New York, before the report. New York-based Avon Products, the world's largest direct seller of cosmetics, last week cut its annual profit forecast for the second time in three months, in part because the hurricane and higher fuel costs will hurt demand in the U.S. The percentage of consumers that saw jobs as hard to get rose to 25.4 percent from 23.1 percent. The percentage who saw jobs as plentiful fell to 20.1 percent, compared with 23.6 percent in August. The component of the index that tracks consumers' expectations for the next six months dropped to 71.7 from 93.3, also the biggest decline since 1990. A gauge of optimism about the present situation also fell, to 108.9 from 123.8. Home Purchases ``The destruction wrought by Katrina and Rita may reduce growth somewhat in the short run, but the longer-term growth trajectory remains in place,'' Ben Bernanke, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a speech in Chicago to the National Association for Business Economics. The storm likely will trim growth by 0.4 percent percentage point in the third quarter, to a 3.5 percent annual pace, according to 43 economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics. ``It will be a few more weeks before we get a clear idea of the costs of these disasters,'' said James Heckman, professor of economics at the University of Chicago and a Nobel Prize winner in 2000, in an interview. The proportion of consumers planning to buy a home in the next six months held at 3.5 percent, according to today's survey. The proportion of people expecting to buy a car in the next six months fell to 5.8 percent from 6.2 percent. Sales of new homes may have plateaued and will slow in 2006 after setting a record this year, economists said. ``It's the early signs of some cooling in this super-heated market,'' David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York said. ``Fewer people qualify for loans and sales at these prices.'' The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark U.S. interest rate a quarter-point to 3.75 percent last week, saying the U.S. faces only a near-term setback from Katrina instead of a ``persistent threat.'' The increase suggested the Fed is more concerned about inflation than slowing growth. To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Richter in Washington [email protected][/email]; Courtney Schlisserman in Washington [email][email protected] http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/new...efer=news_index |
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UPDATE 1-Greenspan to French finmin:US lost deficit control Sunday 25 September 2005, 8:59pm EST Printer Friendly | Email Article | Reprints | RSS By Paul Carrel WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told France's Finance Minister Thierry Breton the United States has "lost control" of its budget deficit, the French minister said on Saturday. "'We have lost control,' that was his expression," Breton told reporters after a bilateral meeting with Greenspan. "The United States has lost control of their budget at a time when racking up deficits has been authorized without any control (from Congress)," Breton said. "We were both disappointed that the management of debt is not a political priority today," he added. Ministers from the Group of Seven rich nations on Friday called for vigorous action around the world to curb rising imbalances in international trade and investment accounts. A decrease in the U.S. budget deficit were cited by the G7 as one way to ease those imbalances. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said the U.S. administration was still committed to halving its budget deficit by 2009. Breton spoke as International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said U.S. plans to cut its government expenditures now looked ambitious in the light of huge reconstruction costs to be borne in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Breton said: "The situation that is creating tension today on the currency market ... is clearly the American deficit." The United States needed to address its budget deficit, he said, adding: "It seems to me that my counterpart John Snow is completely aware of this, he wants to harness the problem, but it seems to me he doesn't have the room for maneuver." Breton added that after hearing Greenspan talk about inflation: "One has the feeling -- though he didn't say so -- that interest rates will probably continue to rise slightly until his departure." Greenspan is due to step down as Fed chairman in January after 18 years in the post. Asked if G7 finance chiefs would meet as usual in February next year as well as gathering for an extraordinary meeting in December this year -- partly to pay tribute to Greenspan before his departure -- the French finance chief said: "Yes, yes. Next February as well." He said France was "not against" the idea of enlarging the Group of Seven, a notion that has gained impetus at these meetings. http://today.reuters.com/business/n...4&imageid=&cap= |
So much for proponents of "small government" 
Is anyone still in disillusionment at just how freaking dumb our government is? Christ, my dad was right when he told me stay in the private sector.
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$236 Million Cruise Ship Deal Criticized By Jonathan Weisman Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, September 28, 2005; Page A01 On Sept. 1, as tens of thousands of desperate Louisianans packed the New Orleans Superdome and convention center, the Federal Emergency Management Agency pleaded with the U.S. Military Sealift Command: The government needed 10,000 berths on full-service cruise ships, FEMA said, and it needed the deal done by noon the next day. The hasty appeal yielded one of the most controversial contracts of the Hurricane Katrina relief operation, a $236 million agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships that now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract -- staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties -- has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation. To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person -- and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move. "When the federal government would actually save millions of dollars by forgoing the status quo and actually sending evacuees on a luxurious six-month cruise it is time to rethink how we are conducting oversight. A short-term temporary solution has turned into a long-term, grossly overpriced sweetheart deal for a cruise line," said Coburn and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in a joint statement yesterday calling for a chief financial officer to oversee Katrina spending. Carnival's bid totaled $192 million over six months, plus $44 million in reimbursable expenses, such as port charges, fuel, food and docking costs. To Carnival executives, the contract will ensure only that the company breaks even when it pulls three ships from holiday operations. About 100,000 passengers had their vacations canceled to accommodate the government's needs, said J. Michael Crye, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, who has been answering questions about the deal for Carnival. "In the end, we will make no additional money on this deal versus what we would have made by keeping these ships in service," said Jennifer de la Cruz, a Carnival spokeswoman. "That has been our position from the outset, and it has not changed." Government contracting officials defended the deal. "They were the market," Capt. Joe Manna, director of contracts at the Sealift Command, said of Carnival. "Under the circumstances, I'd say we're getting a pretty good value." Coburn and Obama disagreed. "Finding out after the fact that we're spending taxpayer money on no-bid contracts and sweetheart deals for cruise lines is no way to run a recovery effort," they said in the statement. The Carnival deal is only one of several instances in which a lack of FEMA preparation may have left federal taxpayers with an outsized bill. Despite its experiences with last year's busy hurricane season, FEMA found itself without standing contracts for standard relief items such as blue tarps to cover damaged roofs, according to Thomas A. Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste. "It is ridiculous that they can't have the supply on hand for these basics that you know you'll need in every instance," Schatz said. But the Carnival deal has come under particular scrutiny. Not only are questions being raised over the contract's cost, but congressional investigators are examining the company's tax status. Carnival, which is headquartered in Miami but incorporated for tax purposes in Panama, paid just $3 million in income tax benefits on $1.9 billion in pretax income last year, according to company documents. "That's not even a tip," said Robert S. McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice. U.S. companies in general pay an effective income tax rate of about 25 percent, analysts say. That would have left Carnival with a $475 million tax bill. Carnival's public records boast "that substantially all of our income in fiscal 2004, 2003 and 2002 . . . is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes," largely because it maintains that its operations are not in the United States but on the high seas. Carnival does not want to see that tax status jeopardized just because three major ships are clearly operating in the United States. After it won the FEMA bid, Carnival appealed to Treasury Secretary John W. Snow for a waiver of U.S. taxes. "We do not want to jeopardize our tax exemption, nor do we want to interrupt our relief efforts for failure to secure this assurance from the Treasury Department," wrote Howard Frank, Carnival's chief operating officer. Cruise line council President Crye said the company will reduce its billings under the contract by the amount of income taxes forgiven. The waiver would spare Carnival and its employees the paperwork of filing tax returns. As the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues to unfold, this Web log will track the ways that the Washington community is touched by the tragedy. But critics say Carnival deserves to be treated no differently than a hotel housing relief workers under a FEMA contract. "Carnival should be contributing to the relief effort just like all other taxpayers are," McIntyre said. "Why should they be singled out for special treatment, just because they've been so good at tax avoidance in the past?" Treasury spokesman Taylor Griffin said the matter is under review. But Congress's main focus remains on cost and how the Carnival contract came to pass. After a one-day competition, Sealift Command had bids from 13 ships, but only four met FEMA's requirements, which included full meal service, between-meal snacks, linen and maid service, medical support, even prescription refills. Four ships -- the Ecstasy, Sensation and Holiday, all owned by Carnival, as well as the ferry the Scotia Prince -- landed the contracts. The ships are not holding nearly the number of people FEMA had expected. Many evacuees said they saw the ships as a dead end, far away from any job or potential new life. The Ecstasy and Sensation have become the homes of New Orleans first responders who have stayed at their posts, said FEMA spokesman James McIntyre. At the peak, the ships did house around 2,000 such workers and their families. The Ecstasy and Sensation had to set sail for safer seas as Hurricane Rita rolled in. They re-docked Monday. By Tuesday morning, 625 were aboard the Ecstasy, a fraction of the 2,544 passengers once registered. An additional 820 were aboard the Sensation, down from 2,579. And those ships have fared better than the Holiday, docked in Mobile, Ala., with 342 on board. FEMA had hoped for 1,800. McIntyre said the ship has been waiting for repairs to the Mississippi port of Pascagoula, where more evacuees are expected to board. FEMA expects the Holiday to steam for Pascagoula this week, McIntyre said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...92701960_2.html |
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| Originally posted by occrider Economic forecasting is probably akin to predicting the weather with 19th century technology. [...] so I�m not sure what we would do ... |
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| Originally posted by occrider Well shit, when I said we'd start seeing slow ripples in the economy, I didn't think the next day ... |
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| Originally posted by occrider Fuck I hope I�m wrong on this. |
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| Originally posted by HardTranceProd So much for proponents of "small government" |
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| Originally posted by trancaholic Me too. Even if Denmark isn't directly dependent on the US economic momentum, experience tells me that eventually we will suffer when it slows down. However, I would like to see some of the homophobic fools that voted for Bush be put in a situation where they would have to sell their mobile home. |
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| Originally posted by MrSquirrel Is a Hummer considered a mobile home in Denmark? Because a large slice of the "morons" drive those. |
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| Originally posted by trancaholic Well, those morons voting for Bush I can sortof understand - you're wealthy if you own a Hummer (I think) and Bush do help the wealthy get even wealthier. The really stupid people are those voting for Bush in spite of their own financial interests, solely to make sure them gays don't marry. |
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| Originally posted by trancaholic Okay, thanks for clearing that up for me. I guess what you're saying is that the US gets by on loaning money from the private sector (through selling bonds)? |
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Me too. Even if Denmark isn't directly dependent on the US economic momentum, experience tells me that eventually we will suffer when it slows down. However, I would like to see some of the homophobic fools that voted for Bush be put in a situation where they would have to sell their mobile home. |
Another economic indicator warns of inflation:
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Inflation warning for U.S. economy Thursday, October 6, 2005 Posted: 0125 GMT (0925 HKT) NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. economy has received another inflation warning, with a survey of industry executives showing that energy costs drove prices higher in September while the services sector slowed. The report, released Wednesday, reinforced expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would continue to raise rates as the economy struggles with rising fuel costs aggravated by Hurricane Katrina. The Institute of Supply Management, which conducted the survey, said its non-manufacturing business activity index was at 53.3 percent in September, down from August's reading of 65 percent. The group's index of prices paid rose 14.3 points to 81.4 percent, the highest level and the biggest jump for the index in the eight-year history of the report. The survey, whose results chipped away at broader Wall Street stock indexes on Wednesday, found that many business executives are concerned about the continuing rise in oil and gas prices after Hurricane Katrina and about the toll rising energy costs will take on the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average skidded 123 points to 10,317 on inflation concerns stirred up by the ISM report. "That is the $64,000 question: if and when manufacturers and businesses decide they have to pass through these rising prices to consumers?" said Jerry Zukowski, deputy chief economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. "A lot of it is energy. We are clearly not out of the woods in terms of these price pressures." While the survey uncovered worries about energy prices, economists cautioned that some of its findings may have been exaggerated by the major storm. "These numbers were highly impacted if not distorted by Hurricane Katrina," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at Johnson Illington Advisors. "Many members' comments expressed concern about the continuing rise in oil and gas prices," Ralph Kauffman, chair of the ISM's non-manufacturing business survey committee, said in a statement. Zukowski added that it may be another four or five months before the higher prices are passed on to consumers. "This gives you an idea of why the Fed raised rates in September," he said, referring to the central bank's eleventh consecutive rate increase announced last month. Clear signal Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Fisher warned Tuesday inflation was nearing the high end of the Fed's comfort zone - a clear signal that the Fed's short term interest rate hikes would continue. Further rate hikes would bring higher costs for consumers looking to borrow money for a car or a home. It also will make it more expensive keep an unpaid balance on a credit card. Expectations the Fed will try to snuff out any signs of inflation prompted one Wall Street firm to revise upward its forecast for short term rates to 4-1/2 percent from 4 percent by year-end. In an analysis published hours after the ISM report, Citigroup's Robert DiClemente said "there are hints that the (Fed's) task now has turned to pre-empting a more tangible inflation threat." Hurricane Katrina not only has ravaged numerous facilities involved in the production and delivery of oil, it also promises to create supply shortages because of goods being delivered to the stricken region. Respondents to ISM's September survey in the utilities industry said they were "concerned with possible shortages in utility products in the near future; for example wood poles, electric wire, transformers ... as they may be diverted to the states affected by the hurricane." Executives within business services, meanwhile, expressed "obvious concerns about the availability and prices of raw materials affected by Hurricane Katrina." Hurricane Katrina also slowed deliveries on roads and railroads and this helped to drive higher ISM's supplier deliveries index component, a gauge measuring the performance of suppliers to non-manufacturing businesses. The ISM survey found that commodities hit by price increases included aircraft fuel, beef, building materials, copper, and diesel fuel. The ISM's new export orders index fell 8.5 points to 55 percent, while its employment index dropped 4.7 points to 54.9 percent. According to the ISM, industries experiencing growth included construction, communication, mining, insurance, retail trade and utilities. Industries showing a drop in activity last month included real estate, entertainment, agriculture, business services and finance and banking, the ISM said. Wednesday's report on the services sector of the U.S. economy follows a survey of manufacturers published on Monday by the ISM. That survey also recorded a dramatic rise in its prices paid component. "It is troubling to see so many more purchasing managers, manufacturing and non-manufacturing, paying higher prices to their vendors," said Johnson. "It suggests that the Federal Reserve is faced with an economy which is weaker and inflation which is stronger. That is not a particularly good configuration." Some of the inflation pressures may already be pinching wallets and pocket books. FedEx Corp. said Wednesday it plans to boost rates on air shipments by the largest percentage in at least nine years and carpet and floor maker Mohawk Industries Inc., said last week Hurricane Katrina increased its raw material costs, forcing it to raise carpet prices 5 percent to 8 percent. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/BUSINES...n.ap/index.html |
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| Originally posted by occrider Another economic indicator warns of inflation: Let fiscallly irresponsible spending continue ... |
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| The Federal Reserve Act and the National Bank Act is in its operation and effect contrary to the whole letter and spirit of the Constitution of the United States, confers an unlawful and unnecessary power on private parties; holds all of our fellow citizens in dependence; is subversive to the rights and liberties of the people. It has defied the lawfully constituted Government of the United States. The Federal Reserve and National Banking Acts and Sec. 462 (392) of Title 31, U.S.C. are not necessary and proper for carrying into execution the legislative powers granted to Congress or any other powers vested in the Government of the United States, but, on the contrary, are subversive to the rights of the People in their rights to life, liberty and Property. The aforementioned acts of Congress are unconstitutional and void and I so hold. ... The meaning of the Constitutional provision "No State Shall make any Thing but Gold and Silver Coin a tender in payment of debts" is direct, clear, unambiguous and without any qualification. This Court is without authority to interpolate any exception. My duty is simple to execute it, as written, and to pronounce the legal result. From an examination of the case of Edwards v. Kearzev, 96 U.S. 595, the Federal Reserve Notes (fiat money), which are attempted to be made a legal tender, are exactly what the authors of the Constitution of the United States intended to prohibit. No State can make these Notes a legal tender, are exactly what the authors of the Constitution of the United States intended to prohibit. No State can make these Notes a legal tender. Congress is incompetent to authorize a State to make the Notes a legal tender. For the effect of binding Constitutional provisions see Cooke v. Iverson, 108 M. 388 and State v. Sutton, 63 M. 147. This fraudulent Federal Reserve System and National Banking System has impaired the obligation of Contract, promoted disrespect for the Constitution and Law and has shaken society to its foundations. ... The Court is at a loss, because of the non-appearance of Plaintiff to determine upon what legal theory Plaintiff could possibly claim that the Notes in question are a legal tender. If they have any validity it must come from the Constitution of the United States and laws passed pursuant thereto. Inquiry was made of Mr. Daly as to what laws these Notes could be possibly based upon to sustain their validity. To aid the Court he presented the following: Section 411, 412, 417, 418, 420 of USC Title 12 and Title 31, USC Sec. 462 (392). ... Slavery and all its incidents including Peonage thralldom and debt created by fraud is universally prohibited in the United States. This case represents but another refined form of Slavery by the Bankers. Their position is not supported by the Constitution of the United States. The People have spoken their will in terms which cannot be misunderstood. It is indispensable to the preservation of the Union and independence and liberties of the people that his Court adhere only to the mandates of the Constitution and administer it as written. I therefore hold the Notes in question void and not effectual for any purpose. January 30, 1969 BY THE COURT /s/ Martin V. Mahoney MARTIN V. MAHONEY JUSTICE OF THE PEACE CREDIT RIVER TOWNSHIP SCOTT COUNTY, MINNESOTA |
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| Originally posted by Trancer-X |
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| Originally posted by occrider Heh, while we both may agree on reckless deficit spending issues, I'm rock solid on monetary policy. A return to the gold standard imo would result in massive deflation and recessionary pressures due to the immense liquidity reduction. Put simply, the value of the economy is worth more than all the gold and silver in the entire world. You can't peg a figurative infinetely growing economy to a finite material and not expect there to be financial crises. Plus I shudder to think of an economy attempting to run without any fiscal and monetary policy ... |
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| ...I lived through the conditions which led up to what is known as the crash of 1929. I witnessed what was tantamount to the collapse of the structure of the United States as a whole. Much to my surprise, I was confronted by my superiors in the middle of the panic in which they were immersed. I was confronted with the question: �Norm, what do we do now?� I was thirty at the time and I had no more right to have an answer to that question than the man in the moon. However, I did manage to say to my superiors: �Gentlemen, you take this experience as proof that there's something you do not know about banking, and you'd better go find out what that something is and act accordingly.� Four days later I was confronted by the same superiors with a statement to the effect that, �Norm, you go find out.� And I really was fool enough to accept that assignment, because it meant that you were going out to search for something, and nobody could tell you what you were looking for, but I felt so strongly on the subject that I consented. I was relieved of all normal duties inside the bank and two-and-half years later I felt that it was possible to report back to those who had given me this assignment. And so, I rendered such a report; and, as a result of the report I rendered. I was told the following: �Norm, what you're saying is we should return to sound banking,� and I said, �Yes, in essence, that's exactly what I�m saying.� Whereupon I got my first shock, which was a statement from them to this effect: �We will never see sound banking in the United States again.� They cited chapter and verse to support that statement, and what they cited was as follows: �Since the end of world war one we have been responsible for what they call the institutionalizing of conflicting interests, and they are so prevalent inside this country that they can never be resolved.� This came to me as an extraordinary shock because the men who made this statement were men who were deemed as the most prominent bankers in the country. The bank of which I was a part, which I�ve spoken of, was a Morgan bank and, coming from men of that caliber, a statement of that kind made a tremendous impression on me. The type of impression that it made on me was such that I wondered if I, as an individual and what they call a junior officer of the bank, could with the same enthusiasm foster the progress and policies of the bank. I spent about a year trying to think this out and came to the conclusion that I would have to resign. - Norman Dodd, Research Director of the US House of Representatives' Reece Commission (House Committee on Un-American Activities) http://www.realityzone.com/hiddenagenda2.html |
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| posted I have the video in which this is the transcript of. I suggest that you watch it one day as it's quite revelatory. I could even send it to you if you'd like. |
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