A survey of the times from the perspective of a radical independent.
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1996
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Established 1996 |
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May 11, 2008
"These central banks know that holding these low-yielding Treasury bills is just an aid program to the United States, and they want to get out of that business. They are very keen to diversify." ~ Kenneth Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. Another economist raises the question of - Fate of Dollar Dominance "When it comes to understanding the economy, there is little common sense on display. By going even deeper into debt just to make ends meet, American consumers are digging themselves, and our entire economy, into an even greater economic hole and laying the foundation for the next major credit debacle. It’s fitting that just as both Treasury Secretary Paulson and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon declared that the worst of the crisis has past, we are on the verge of kicking the whole thing into a much higher gear!" Peter Schiff is alarmed by the debt bubble that is growing as desperate consumers pile up higher credit card debt to pay for necessities. Will this bubble also pop? Time Bomb Meanwhile, the federal government assures us that inflation is not a worry. "If the current inflation rate is really 6-9 percent instead of the 2-3 percent claimed by government and most U.S. money managers, then Washington's official estimates that the economy still grew at a rate of some 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008 become nonsense. Subtracting a 6-9 percent inflation rate from nominal GDP growth would identify an economy that was deteriorating and shrinking, not growing." Writing in the May Harper's magazine Kevin Phillips explains the dishonesty behind the CPI numbers. Inflation Hoax
The Senate hasn't taken up the measure but probably will go along with it. If it does, the Mint must make the switch to steel cents on January 1st. 2009 is the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent and some design changes are in the pipeline anyway. If it began minting the 2009 coins in copper coated zinc, the present alloy, then switched to copper coated steel a couple of months later, it would create two distinctly different coins carrying the same date. The zinc cents would immediately become sought-after collectibles. Steel Coins From a Bloomberg news survey: Rebates Will Fail to Spark U.S. Economy. The Bush administration's tax rebates won't prevent the U.S. economy from stagnating in the second quarter as soaring food and fuel bills hurt consumers. Oh, my! Washington can't seem to find the right button to push to make all this gloom go away. Maybe another $150 million hand-out will turn the tide?
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Lincoln
- a "man of steel" in 2009? The House of Representatives has voted to
bring back the steel penny, saying it would be cheaper to make. Currently, the
government loses money on every one-cent coin it makes because
of rising metal prices. The bill would direct the Mint to begin producing, within
nine months, pennies made out of copper-plated steel - not the
zinc-copper alloy currently used. The measure also recommends
the phasing in of steel nickels over the next two years. 