Black Monday

[Len Colby]

A very high percentage of Americans believe that this nation was founded under the rubic of Adam Smith's "Free Trade" doctrine. This is false. America was founded under the "American System of Political Economy". Lincoln, FDR and JFK were all practitioners of the American System. So we havent had any economic growth in physical terms since the mid 1960's. Monetary values have exploded but there has been no increase per capita in the physical wealth of the nation.

And Don I don't subcribe to our problems being the result of a few bad leaders. The problem lies with the population, they are the real problem.

I’m not sure what Ms. Larouche defines as “physical wealth” the two most important “physical” assets for most Americans are homes and cars.

Homeownership rates in the US varied in the mid 40 percentiles 1900 – 1940 reached the low 60’s by the 1960’s and reached 68.9 by 2005 (an increase of about 10% from the 60’s) but of course the value of real estate has increased way beyond inflation.

Motor vehicle ownership rates have shown a far more dramatic increase since the decade since which there has been “no growth”. In 1965 there were 90 million motor vehicles for 194 million residents (1 per 2.16 people) by 2004 there were 237 million cars for 293 million people (1 per 1.24 population) a 74% per capita increase.

Homeownership rates

- for years ending in 0 1900 – 2000 http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/cen...oric/owner.html

- 1996 – 2005

http://www.danter.com/statistics/homeown.htm

Motor vehicle ownership 1960 – 2004

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908125.html

"I don't subcribe to our problems being the result of a few bad leaders. The problem lies with the population, they are the real problem"

Terry if you so dislike your countrymen (and women)? Why don't you move?

[Terry Mauro]

http://www.freeople.com/blog/financial-cri...nday-ahead/1483

In Australia, I've read that some churches and charities have exposure to Lehmans' neatly bundled 'assets'. St. Vincent de Paul in particular. A bit surprising for them to have been such eager capitalists, imo.

The latest plan is to bail out the speculators and dump the cost of the derivatives bubble on the taxpayers.

This is treason.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Inves...id=money_080918

[Terry Mauro]

http://www.freeople.com/blog/financial-cri...nday-ahead/1483

In Australia, I've read that some churches and charities have exposure to Lehmans' neatly bundled 'assets'. St. Vincent de Paul in particular. A bit surprising for them to have been such eager capitalists, imo.

The latest plan is to bail out the speculators and dump the cost of the derivatives bubble on the taxpayers.

This is treason.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Inves...id=money_080918

The financial collapse is spreading. Russia has shut down their financial markets. What's ironic is that Russian President Vladmir Putin is an admirer of Franklin Roosevelt. The Russian's have been studying FDR and American System Economics. I think Russia held a big celebration on FDR's 100th birthday. We did not celebrate his birthday here in the USA.

But imagine if this were 1998 instead of 2008. You would have FDR admirers, both Vladmir Putin in Russia and Bill Clinton here in the USA to deal with the crisis. I could definitely see these two leaders getting together and enlisting both India and China to join them in a call to place the international monetary system into bankruptcy, to create a new system based on the best features of the old Bretton Woods system of FDR. A USA, Russia, China, and India power block would give them a force large enough to thwart the Dutch-Anglo financiers. They might just be able to pull it off.

I know that President Clinton came within a hair of putting the system into bankrutpcy re organization back in September 1998. The bankers attacked him unmercifully trying to drive him from office with the Lewinsky scandal. Now the crisis is magnitudes greater and much more dangerous than 1998.

There will also be the war mongers who will likely try to "blow up" Russia, China, India in order to prevent such an alliance from occuring.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/014d5ac0-84e2-11...00779fd18c.html

{{Lyndon LaRouche:}} ``There {is} no possibility of a

non-collapse of the present financial system--none! It's

finished, {now}! The present financial system can not continue to

exist {under any circumstances, under any Presidency, under any

leadership, or any leadership of nations.} Only a fundamental and

{sudden change} in the world monetary financial system will

prevent a general, immediate chain-reaction type of collapse. At

what speed we don't know, but it will go on, and it will be

{unstoppable}! And the longer it goes on before coming to an end,

the worse things will get.''

Edited September 19, 2008 by Terry Mauro

[John Simkin]

"What is the crime of robbing a bank, compared with the crime of founding one?" Bertolt Brecht (Happy End)

[Terry Mauro]

"What is the crime of robbing a bank, compared with the crime of founding one?" Bertolt Brecht (Happy End)

James D. Hamilton has a similiar profile and background to the notorious Myron Scholes. They both live in the un real world of statistical analysis. Scholes won the Nobel Prize in economics for his Black-Scholes formula. Scholes formula was used by hedge funds in the trading of derivatives. Scholes became notorious in 1998 when his formula was responsible for taking down "Long Term Capital Management" after the Russian GKO crisis.

Hamilton is not fit to be an economist and he certainly doesnt understand FDR and the American System.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myron_Scholes

[Mark Stapleton]

I saw a market dealer on TV today who described this week as capitalism's Armageddon.

He's right, imo. The massive debt burden which the US taxpayers have inherited from this and the subsequent lowering of living standards will destroy the US capitalist paradigm once and for all.

But capitalism isn't going down without a fight. It's fanatical wing has just opened a new front targeting 'Soviet aggression' against freedom loving democracy. Connie Rice has come out breathing fire:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ing-itself.html

Great stuff---and right on cue.

[Terry Mauro]

I saw a market dealer on TV today who described this week as capitalism's Armageddon.

He's right, imo. The massive debt burden which the US taxpayers have inherited from this and the subsequent lowering of living standards will destroy the US capitalist paradigm once and for all.

But capitalism isn't going down without a fight. It's fanatical wing has just opened a new front targeting 'Soviet aggression' against freedom loving democracy. Connie Rice has come out breathing fire:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ing-itself.html

Great stuff---and right on cue.

They must attempt to destroy the potential for partnership between the US, Russia, China and India. Otherwise these four countries represent a potential power block to thwart the Dutch-Anglo financiers who's financial system is collapsing before their very eyes.

This proposed bail out of the banking system is insane! http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2008/09/19...e-medvedev.html

Edited September 19, 2008 by Terry Mauro

[Don Jeffries]

The reaction of our fearless leaders to this huge financial crisis is predictable, and bound to not improve things for the vast majority of citizens.

Under our fractional lending system, all banks basically engage in counterfeiting. I try to explain to people, when I'm feeling especially long-winded, about how this system works. They usually give me that "when's the next reality show coming on" look in response. Because banks are only required to have about 10% reserves on hand in order to make a loan, 90% of every loan that comes into existence is created out of thin air. When you then add in all the interest on every loan- which is, of course, 100% imaginary- then it's easy to understand how impossible the whole situation is. Just imagine having the power to lend a friend $1000, when you only have $100 to your name, and then charge him interest on top of that. That's the power that banks have under this insane system.

Larouche is certainly right- this system has to collapse. There's only a fraction of funds in existence to pay back our accumulated debt, if all loans were ever called in. The "solution" our corrupt and incompetent leaders have devised will help the Goldman, Sachs of the world, and ease the concerns of foreign investors, but do little to cause average Americans to feel more confident about their savings and retirement funds.

The reaction of both McCainiac and Obama to our frightening economic situation is hardly comforting. Where's the concern about poor and working class people? Why no questions about where the estimated trillion dollars for this bailout will come from, and the significant impact it's bound to have?

I'd like to hear the Democrats invoke the memory of Huey Long, and demand that the wealthiest people in our society be forced to share with their less fortunate brothers and sisters. I'd like to hear the Republicans, or someone on the religious right, bring up the biblical tradition of the Year of Jubilee. It's been well over 2000 years now, and I think we're just a bit overdue for the next Jubilee. Funny how they think every word in the Bible is to be taken as the literal truth, but this part always seems to slip by them.

Thomas Edison once said that "If the American people understood how our banking system works, there would be a revolution tomorrow." Words of wisdom.

[David G. Healy]

...

I'd like to hear the Democrats invoke the memory of Huey Long, and demand that the wealthiest people in our society be forced to share with their less fortunate brothers and sisters. I'd like to hear the Republicans, or someone on the religious right, bring up the biblical tradition of the Year of Jubilee. It's been well over 2000 years now, and I think we're just a bit overdue for the next Jubilee. Funny how they think every word in the Bible is to be taken as the literal truth, but this part always seems to slip by them.

Thomas Edison once said that "If the American people understood how our banking system works, there would be a revolution tomorrow." Words of wisdom.

Excellent comment.... both the above...

[Len Colby]

I saw a market dealer on TV today who described this week as capitalism's Armageddon.

He's right, imo. The massive debt burden which the US taxpayers have inherited from this and the subsequent lowering of living standards will destroy the US capitalist paradigm once and for all.

But capitalism isn't going down without a fight. It's fanatical wing has just opened a new front targeting 'Soviet aggression' against freedom loving democracy. Connie Rice has come out breathing fire:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ing-itself.html

Great stuff---and right on cue.

The Dow was up 3.35% today* and closed 200 points over Monday’s open**. The Market is back where it was a few months ago and parts of 2007 and above where it was anytime before that***. So Chicken Little like predictions of impending economic Armageddon to borrow a line from Mr. Clemens seem to have been greatly exaggerated.

* http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=INDU&time=1dy

** http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=INDU&time=5dy

*** http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=INDU&time=5yr

I’m not sure what Mark is going on about declining living conditions most Americans are better off know then they were before Clinton. IIRC be has been predicting a financial China Syndrome for quite a while and each time the market takes a dip (through this was quite big one) thinks his suspicions have been confirmed.

I'm no fan of Bush or his foreign policy but I saw nothing in the article that smacked of extremism, in this case Rice seems to have gotten things pretty much right. Russian armor crossed into S. Osetia the morning BEFORE Georgia 'attacked'. The Russians claim it was peace keepers on rotation. A rather remarkable 'coincidence' eeh?

[Terry Mauro]

The reaction of our fearless leaders to this huge financial crisis is predictable, and bound to not improve things for the vast majority of citizens.

Under our fractional lending system, all banks basically engage in counterfeiting. I try to explain to people, when I'm feeling especially long-winded, about how this system works. They usually give me that "when's the next reality show coming on" look in response. Because banks are only required to have about 10% reserves on hand in order to make a loan, 90% of every loan that comes into existence is created out of thin air. When you then add in all the interest on every loan- which is, of course, 100% imaginary- then it's easy to understand how impossible the whole situation is. Just imagine having the power to lend a friend $1000, when you only have $100 to your name, and then charge him interest on top of that. That's the power that banks have under this insane system.

Larouche is certainly right- this system has to collapse. There's only a fraction of funds in existence to pay back our accumulated debt, if all loans were ever called in. The "solution" our corrupt and incompetent leaders have devised will help the Goldman, Sachs of the world, and ease the concerns of foreign investors, but do little to cause average Americans to feel more confident about their savings and retirement funds.

The reaction of both McCainiac and Obama to our frightening economic situation is hardly comforting. Where's the concern about poor and working class people? Why no questions about where the estimated trillion dollars for this bailout will come from, and the significant impact it's bound to have?

I'd like to hear the Democrats invoke the memory of Huey Long, and demand that the wealthiest people in our society be forced to share with their less fortunate brothers and sisters. I'd like to hear the Republicans, or someone on the religious right, bring up the biblical tradition of the Year of Jubilee. It's been well over 2000 years now, and I think we're just a bit overdue for the next Jubilee. Funny how they think every word in the Bible is to be taken as the literal truth, but this part always seems to slip by them.

Thomas Edison once said that "If the American people understood how our banking system works, there would be a revolution tomorrow." Words of wisdom.

Don,

LaRouche was indeed right, the system has already collapsed. Now they're trying to bail out the banking system and it wont work. And people who point to the market uptick today as a reason for sticking their head in the sand are missing an important piece of the puzzle. They just "banned" short selling meaning the market can only go up, they've outlawed selling. This shows you clearly just how "rigged" the financial market is.

This is an existential crisis, this ain't no cyclical market correction.

[Mark Stapleton]

The Dow was up 3.35% today* and closed 200 points over Monday’s open**. The Market is back where it was a few months ago and parts of 2007 and above where it was anytime before that***. So Chicken Little like predictions of impending economic Armageddon to borrow a line from Mr. Clemens seem to have been greatly exaggerated.

I’m not sure what Mark is going on about declining living conditions most Americans are better off know then they were before Clinton. IIRC be has been predicting a financial China Syndrome for quite a while and each time the market takes a dip (through this was quite big one) thinks his suspicions have been confirmed.

I'm no fan of Bush or his foreign policy but I saw nothing in the article that smacked of extremism, in this case Rice seems to have gotten things pretty much right. Russian armor crossed into S. Osetia the morning BEFORE Georgia 'attacked'. The Russians claim it was peace keepers on rotation. A rather remarkable 'coincidence' eeh?

Now you're really showing your ignorance. If you think Friday's stock market bounce means everything is now fine and dandy, then you're forgetting that the US Government has assumed combined corporate debts of about $700 billion, on top of all the other problems in the US economy. That's a lot of debt for US citizens and their future generations to bear.

The rest of the world has stepped in to save the US economy from collapse. The US is still the world's highest energy consumer but remains a net energy importer. The US outspends the rest of the world combined on the military, including 700 or so foreign military bases, while the country is becoming increasingly foreign owned. Economic commentators are predicting the US dollar will slide. Unemployment is rising alarmingly and many thousands are unable to pay their mortgage and will be evicted. The way I see it, living standards will fall sharply. Gravity always wins in the end.

[Mark Stapleton]

It will be interesting to see what genius plan Henry Paulsen and his colleagues come up with to rid the US financial system of its 'toxic debt' problem.

http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/...l=0&sp=true

My spies tell me they plan to bury it deep underground somewhere near New Mexico.

[Terry Mauro]

It will be interesting to see what genius plan Henry Paulsen and his colleagues come up with to rid the US financial system of its 'toxic debt' problem.

http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/...l=0&sp=true

My spies tell me they plan to bury it deep underground somewhere near New Mexico.

Tremonti and Others on the New Bretton Woods

Sept. 19 -- Italian Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti brought

the fight for a new Bretton Woods to the national industrialists

association yesterday. At a conference of Confindustria in Rome,

Tremonti repeated everything he had said about the crisis and the

NBW in the Corriere interview published the same day, adding an

attack against economists. "The intellectual capital of the

category [of economists] has been cancelled", he said. "They did

not understand what has happened, and now they look at the

effects instead of the cause. He used a famous sentence by Carl

Schmitt against jurists who could not see nazism coming, against

the economists. "Today I say: economists, be silent." Currently,

only forecasts "based on large numbers developing on the long

term" have a sufficient margin of credibility. Tremonti's call

for a NBW initiative at the G-8 was endorsed by a spokesman of

the opposition present, former minister Enrico Letta.

The head of the industrialists association, Emma

Marcegaglia, painted a gloomy economic picture, saying Italy is

already in a recession. She supported Tremonti's idea to have the

EIB finance large infrastructure projects. The democratic

party-friendly newspaper Il Riformista freaked out at

Marcegaglia, saying that she speaks like Tremonti.

That same day, the financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore (owned by

the Industrialists Association) ran an article entitled "We need

a new Bretton Woods to change rules", written by an economist at

the neoliberal Bocconi university in Milan, Donato Masciandaro.

Whereas this shows that the establishment is forced to address

the issues posed by Tremonti, the author might have a different

idea of what the NBW should be. Masciandaro writes: "American

finance needs a New Deal: a new set of rules, of oversight, of

the leadership that has mis-governed such a system. The

possibility of this happening depends much on how much the costs

of the current U.S. instability will push other countries to push

in this direction. In sum, we need a new Bretton Woods of rules

and of financial oversight."

Masciandaro says that "The existence of external

[repercussions] of financial instability could unleash mechanisms

of prohibitionism and protectionism. Better, then, [to have] a

New Bretton Woods on rules, to unleash the New Deal of finance."

On Sept. 17, the Swiss daily Corriere del Ticino has an

article by economics commentator Alfonso Tuor, calling for "a new

Bretton Woods to establish the world economic, financial and

commercial rules".

[David G. Healy]

It will be interesting to see what genius plan Henry Paulsen and his colleagues come up with to rid the US financial system of its 'toxic debt' problem.

http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/...l=0&sp=true

My spies tell me they plan to bury it deep underground somewhere near New Mexico.

better than Yucca Mountain, Nevada.... we don't want it!