TruthSavvy. - Government Bailouts

Are "Free Markets" Really Free Without Morality?

Dr. B. — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:09:02 +0000

If the truth sets people free, why is America becoming less free on the heels of twenty-five years of “free market capitalism”? Granted, banks could not do every last thing they pleased (although hedge funds pretty much could). But banks did receive enormous breadth of latitude for self-regulation. The theory was that the free market profit motive would facilitate naturally functioning checks and balances. Instead, the whole world got a taste of what happens when virtue sits on the sidelines while greed is empowered as the referee.

marketwatch.com article: "Rand Paul's brand of finance reform", by David Weidner

EU Has Greece, US Has California; Will We Learn Perils Of Moral Hazard?

Dr. B. — Sat, 15 May 2010 16:08:16 +0000

How much time will elapse until California becomes America’s Greece? If the EU thinks it necessary to bail out one of Europe’s most profligate state economies, will the U.S. face the same perceived necessity with one of our wayward state governments?

marketwatch.com article: "Greek debt bailout makes no sense in any language", by Jon Markman

What Do Elena Kagan And The European Bailout Have In Common?

Dr. B. — Wed, 12 May 2010 01:25:26 +0000

Dr. B. draws an important link between the recent nomination of Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court and the European Union's latest proposal to bail out the debt-ridden Greek economy.

President Obama’s nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court is, essentially, the same type of governing act as the EU decision to bail out European banks vulnerable to the Greek crisis. In both instances political leadership serves the interests of financial elites — plutocracy advancing while veiled by supposedly democratic institutions. In both cases the power of government grows as it defends the critical interests of financial policy overlords.

marketwatch.com article: "Bailout across pond will flood Wall Street", by David Weidner

What Does The Return Of Dow 10,000 Really Mean?

Dr. B. — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:00:00 +0000

In this painstakingly detailed and annotated analysis, Dr. B. shows why he predicted that the Dow would return to at least 10,000 back in March 2009, how it has come to pass, and what the future may hold as a result.

It pays to look at where we’ve been if we’re to understand where we’re going. The U.S. stock market bottomed in the first week of March 2009, beginning a vigorous bounce in the month’s second week. By late March a breeching of the midterm downtrend line suggested significant changes in store. Nevertheless, most members of the general public thought the March rally was nothing more than a dead cat bounce.

marketwatch.com article: "Dow at 10,000? Wake me up when its 14,000", by David Callaway

Obama's Health Care Plan: Way Too Good To Be True

Dr. B. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:00:00 +0000

President Obama’s national health care agenda is big, bad, and bold. It is also better in various important respects than what we have currently. However, it is fatally flawed. The seriousness of the flaws outweighs the plan’s efficacies and virtues. As a result, the U.S. Congress should reject this legislation and address the fact that the nation consumes too much expensive but ineffectual health care.

marketwatch.com article: "Obama backs public plan in high stakes health speech", by Robert Schroeder

Market Rally May Boost General Economy Until New Debt Creates Real Crisis

Dr. B. — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Dr. B. shows why the US stock market may be manipulated in the positive direction for a time, temporarily boosting the US economy. However, the enormous debt incurred by the US government will cause a much more significant crisis over the next few years.

A massive amount of quantitative easing (money supply inflation) is underway in the U.S. and around the world. The Bank of England, for example, has committed 75 billion pounds ($111 billion U.S.) to purchase government bonds and corporate paper.

marketwatch.com article: "SEC regains control of market ship", by David Callaway

Could U.S. Government Mishandling of Economy Fuel International Conflict?

Dr. B. — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Dr. B. comments on Paul Farrell's Marketwatch.com article about the potential for new international enemies, fueled by adversarial U.S. economic policies.

All right, not everything in today’s Farrell commentary is erudite or even proportional. Nevertheless, he does make some valuable points. It is apparent that America is setting up various disgruntled interests in the world to make war with us. The U.S. decision to monetize debts in the face of a deepening recession is problematic. Quantitative easing (as it is called) will expose our international friends, competitors and enemies to economic complications as our U.S.

marketwatch.com article: "Axis of upheaval poses unseen threat", by Paul Farrell

Why the US Government Should Have Allowed AIG To Fail

Dr. B. — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Congress ought to blush about the AIG situation as should Fed Chair Bernanke. The amount of money spent defending AIG’s bad bets is incredible. But there is something else at stake here. At issue is the question of whether the government knows what it is doing. People need evidence that the Fed and U.S. Treasury are operating a “best practices” recovery plan.

marketwatch.com article: "Bernanke feels heat over AIG bailout", by Greg Robb

Why A Deeper Recession Now Would Be Better Than the Consequences Of Overwhelming Debt

Dr. B. — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Dr. B outlines why the United States should accept a more serious recession now instead of propping up the unsustainable debt-dependent economy with more unsustainable debt. He calls for a viable third party to replace both incompetent political parties and bring real, needed, sustainable reform.

The goal of sustainable ecology means little without a commitment to sustainable economics. In economics the biggest issue of sustainability ought to be the right-sizing of an economy. An unsustainable economy is one that booms through the provision of debt additions, the health of the capital markets themselves becoming conditioned on the speculative idea of growth. Our unsustainable economy will in a few years produce unsustainable environmental policies, both coalescing to put us in worse circumstances than we find ourselves now.

marketwatch.com article: "Outlook for global economy seen to be worsening", by Polya Lesova

Oh, What Might Have Been Without TARP, Stimulus, Or Other Government Bailouts?

Dr. B. — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:00:00 +0000

This article is almost a lament to the great, lasting, and sustainable recovery America could have realized, had U.S. leaders not given in to Wall Street's threats and the mantra: 'too big to fail'.

If the economy is weakening should we do everything in our power to get it moving again? As explained in Rex Nutting’s Feb. 22 article, “No end in sight for recession” an unprecedented amount of fiscal and monetary stimulus is being injected. What is not explained is how this beckons unprecedented inflation, heavier taxation and further weakening of the U.S. dollar.

marketwatch.com article: "No end yet in sight for recession", by Rex Nutting