"Over the last thirty years, the United States has been taken over by an amoral financial oligarchy, and the American dream of opportunity, education, and upward mobility is now largely confined to the top few percent of the population. Federal policy is increasingly dictated by the wealthy, by the financial sector, and by powerful industries. These policies are implemented and praised by these groups’ willing servants, namely the increasingly bought-and-paid-for leadership of America’s political parties, academia, and lobbying industry.
If allowed to continue, this process will turn the United States into a declining, unfair society with an impoverished, angry, uneducated population under the control of a small, ultrawealthy elite. (fait accompli - Jesse) Such a society would be not only immoral but also eventually unstable, dangerously ripe for religious and political extremism.
Thus far, both political parties have been remarkably clever and effective in concealing this new reality. In fact, the two parties have formed an innovative kind of cartel—an arrangement I have termed America’s political duopoly, which I analyze in detail below. Both parties lie about the fact that they have each sold out to the financial sector and the wealthy. So far both have largely gotten away with the lie, helped in part by the enormous amount of money now spent on deceptive, manipulative political advertising. But that can’t last indefinitely; Americans are getting angry, and even when they’re misguided or poorly informed, people have a deep, visceral sense that they’re being screwed.
The real challenge is figuring out how the United States can regain control of its future from its new oligarchy and restore its position as a prosperous, fair, well-educated nation. For if we don’t, the current pattern of great concentration of wealth and power will worsen, and we may face the steady immiseration of most of the American population."
Charles Ferguson, Predator Nation
"The business interests of the US-companies that dominate the global IT business and payment systems are an important reason for the zeal of the US-government in its push to reduce cash use worldwide, but it is not the only one and might not be the most important one.
Another motive is surveillance power that goes with increased use of digital payment. US-intelligence organizations and IT-companies together can survey all international payments done through banks and can monitor most of the general stream of digital data. Financial data tends to be the most important and valuable.
Even more importantly, the status of the dollar as the worlds currency of reference and the dominance of US companies in international finance provide the US government with tremendous power over all participants in the formal non-cash financial system. It can make everybody conform to American law rather than to their local or international rules."
Norbert Haering, A Well Kept Open Secret
Stocks were on a short-squeezing tear higher today, with tech valuations reaching 'new era' levels.
Gold and silver traded weakly, but managed to regain most of the early losses.
VIX ticked higher.
The Dollar chopped sideways to nearly unchanged again.
The big story this week is going to be the Fed interest rate decision on Wednesday, and all that leads up to it including CPI tomorrow.
A 'pause' is widely expected, and in particular any phrasing around that in terms of future expectations will be watched closely.
And then as you know we will have a quad witch option expiration on Friday.
The Fed news *might* be sold, if it fails to live up to the market's inflated expectations.
The young man came home late last night, after having spent a week on an island in Greece at a technical conference with his fiancee. A family heirloom ring was delivered to great delight, and the backdrop was very romantic with a Mediterranean flavor.
The fiancee visa problems between the US and China remain almost childishly obtuse and unnecessarily difficult, as a sign of the times. But now at least the one month on each side of a trip quarantines due to Covid are no longer in the mix.
Have a pleasant evening.
