Showing posts with label scapegoats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scapegoats. Show all posts

12 August 2010

China's Cunning Plan to Destroy the US Dollar


This economic paper might have been funny if it had appeared in The Onion, or on Fox News, and not in a serious journal of economic thought.

This rather clever argument proposes that China is 'destroying the dollar' because they are jealous and hate the US for its happiness and freedom. It is not completely new, but I have not seen it in print. Someone that I know who sometimes spreads spin and stories which they get from highly placed contacts in the banking cartel told me about this diabolical plot about five months ago as I recall.

There reminds me of a long standing corporate tactic that says if you have been doing something underhanded to someone and the shit is about to hit the fan, accuse them of doing the same thing to you first. This was standard management procedure at the multinational where I worked for many years, as it tottered towards its eventual self-destruction.

The theory promoted by this paper is funny because I did not know that Ben Bernanke is Chinese, or that the Federal Reserve is a Chinese state agency. Are the Chinese the cabal of international bankers we hear so much about? How cleverly they disguise themselves.

But it would not surprise me if a portion of the Congress is in on China's payroll. They will take money from anybody and everybody. And after all, the Chinese military were campaign contributors to Bill Clinton (remember that scandal the Clintons tried to pin on Al Gore?) just about the time he opened up trade with them despite their recent 40% currency devaluation and continuing currency peg. And China owns Wal-Mart, and Goldman Sachs, Citi, and JP Morgan there rube, don't ya know. And W doubled down on the deal and went along with this commie plot. Maybe Putin hypnotized him while the Chimp was staring into his soul.

I would file this one under "prospective scapegoats to blame when the dollar currency crisis hits" and everyone in charge denies they could have foreseen it coming. After all, the dollar is as a god, all powerful and immortal.

So this must be an economic sneak attack, a conspiracy of crafty foreign devils. Therefore it's time for a pre-emptive strike on (Venezuela/Iran/some weaker country that has something we want preferably oil). After all, the mighty dollar could NEVER fail because of pernicious abuse by a banking cartel conceived in Georgia and ratified in 1913 by a Congress anxious to go on its Christmas vacation.

Here is another clever plan for the people of the US to consider, when the puffed up dollar finally hits the wall and the Congress and Banksters deny all involvement and responsibility.

* admit that one cannot control one's compulsion for debt and fraud and rule by crooks and idiots;
* recognize a greater power that can give strength and guidance, that most definitely does not work for Goldman Sachs;
* examine past errors with the help of a sponsor (the Constitution and probably the IMF);
* make amends for these errors by cleaning up your corrupt financial system and jailing the white collar criminals involved;
* learn to live a new life by honoring a code of behavior (the Constitution), a hard currency, and give up the idea of empire;
* help others that suffer, as a benevolent US did many years ago before it was hijacked by a group of irresponsible sociopaths.
The dollar has been in the process of self-destruction since that clever Chinese agent Richard Nixon defaulted on the US gold obligations in 1971.

And of course that Sino-Soviet agent Ronald Reagan who convinced the nation that 'deficits don't matter' if it involved tax cuts for the wealthy. And the coup de grâce has been delivered by Wall Street and their crony capitalists in the government as collateral damage in the reckless promotion of self interest, corruption and fraud.

The sad truth, America, is that you were sold out by your own people for their own personal gain. And the crony capitalists and oligarchs are still leading you around by the nose, and telling you what to think, which is whatever is good for them. And this goes double for the UK.

Economic Policy Journal
Is China Executing a Cunning Sun Tzu Strategy to Destroy the Dollar and Cause an Upward Price Explosion in Gold?
By Elizabeth Brinsden
August 12, 2010

Could China be coveting the role of the next economic superpower, thereby supplanting the USA? If so, is China planning to do this by design or is it simply awaiting this result by default as a result of the total collapse of the American economic system?

Whether we like it or not, China has already become the 800 lb Gorilla in the dining room, economically speaking. We ignore this fact at our peril. Thus it may be advisable to reorientate our thinking from that of the rationalist, pragmatic thought processes which arose out of the Enlightenment and complement our thinking with something more akin to that of the Chinese.

In order to accomplish this, it is constructive to take a closer look at the ancient Chinese philosopher, Master Sun Tzu. In an earlier article , based on a book by Harro von Senger on this theme[1], I have attempted to do this in connection with the Special Drawing Rights[2], as advocated by the Chinese earlier this year. However, I will now examine this idea in the context of the the Chinese possession of US Bonds, a subject not only of relevance to these two countries, but also for the stability of the entire international economic system.

At a superficial level, it may appear to the onlooker that China has been sucked into a giant malinvestment by purchasing these bonds, but a closer look at Master Sun’s stratagems may reveal a well conceived and even cunning plan...

Read the rest of this paper here.

18 March 2009

The Hypocrisy of Barack Obama, Tim Geithner, Henry Paulson, and Christopher Dodd


This issue of the AIG bonuses raises concerns about conflicts of interest since the Financial Products Division of AIG was a large contributor to both President Obama and Senator Dodd.

It also gives fuel to the speculation that the retnention bonuses being paid to the AIG executives, some of whom have already left, are 'hush money' over the details of the payments of enormous sums of bailout money to politically connected businesses such as Goldman Sachs, who are also substantial contributors to both parties.

True or not, the failure of the Treasury Department to execute in this matter is alarming, and the lack of transparency by the Obama administration and the Democratic leadership is discouraging, if not appalling.

McCauley's World

Senator Christopher Dodd’s office recently announced that, “Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, demanded a full briefing from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury on why clauses weren’t attached to the four various AIG bailouts to halt bonuses.”

Yet the Senator well knows that while the Senate was constructing the $787 billion stimulus last month, Dodd added an executive-compensation restriction to that very bill. The provision, now called “the Dodd Amendment” by the Obama Administration, provides an “exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009” — which exempts the very AIG bonuses Dodd and others are now seeking to tax.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/dodd-cracks-aig—time/

Obama & Dodd Were Friend’s Of AIG Before AIG Was Their Enemy

Obama may be grandstanding about AIG’s bonuses now, but it’s worth noting that Obama himself is the second biggest benefactor of AIG political contributions. Second only to Senator Chris Dodd, who is quietly trying to tip-toe away from legislation he inserted into Obama’s “stimulus” spending spree that protected AIG’s bonuses.
http://www.kxmb.com/News/Nation/346030.asp
Key Congressman tried to alert Treasury about the AIG bonus issue "six or seven times" in the past weeks.

Kanjorski: Treasury and Administration Knew of AIG Bonuses for Weeks

Edward Liddy is the government appointed Chairman of AIG during its bailout phase.

Edward M. Liddy is currently the chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG), where he succeeded Robert B. Willumstad in September, 2008. Upon taking the position of CEO at American International Group, Mr. Liddy had to resign his board position at Goldman Sachs.
This September meeting was the key decision point on bailing out AIG. As we have reported earlier, the ONLY non-official present was Lloyd Blankfein, the Chairman of Goldman Sachs, a major counterparty at risk with the AIG Financial Products Division.

And lastly, we ought not to overlook The Real AIG Scandal - Slate

17 March 2009

Congressman Proposes 60% Income Tax Surcharge on AIG Bonuses


Interesting development indeed.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Gary Peters introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to impose a 60 percent surtax on bonuses over $10,000 at any company in which the U.S. government has a 79 percent or greater equity stake.

This is in addition to the usual income tax rate.

Its directionally not bad, but the level of ownership by the Federal government should be 51%, not 79%. And stiff penalties for management bonuses at any institution receiving TARP funds or FED support above a certain level are needed.

The reason that the Obama Administration is in this box over the contracted bonuses is that Geithner and Summers refused to take AIG into bankruptcy reorganization.

Why?

Perhaps it has something to do with the enormous exposure that Goldman Sachs had to AIG. Lloyd Blankfein, the chairman of Goldman Sachs, was the only non-government or Fed official who was at the meeting at which this bailout was decided.

Yes, the AIG bonuses are an enormous, shocking scandal.

But it is only the tip of the iceberg. Recall that we predicted early last year that the patsies and scapegoats would be thrown off the back of the getaway truck to try and satisfy the angry mob once the magnitude of the frauds became apparent even to the average person.

Well we are there, and they are throwing patsies out the window with greater noise and flourish, because, in short, the angry mob is getting louder, and they are afraid.


Reuters
Congress eyes bonus surtax amid AIG outrage
By Kevin Drawbaugh
Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:17pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some members of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday proposed slapping a surtax on bonuses paid to executives at American International Group Inc, amid outrage over the large payouts.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Gary Peters introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to impose a 60 percent surtax on bonuses over $10,000 at any company in which the U.S. government has a 79 percent or greater equity stake.

"Currently, AIG is the only company that meets this threshold," Peters said in a statement. "The legislation I'm proposing will get taxpayers their money back.

President Barack Obama on Monday expressed "outrage" about $165 million of bonuses to employees of AIG, once the world's largest insurer, now being bailed out by the government.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Peters' approach was "worth pursuing as an idea."

California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, a House Financial Services Committee member with Peters, said he favors "a tax law to impose a substantial surtax on excessive compensation paid to executives at bailed-out firms, especially AIG."

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has said he will subpoena AIG for more information about the bonuses, including the names of the recipients.

Peters said it was "beyond outrageous that the very people who brought AIG to its knees and helped create the current financial crisis are scheduled to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses while tax dollars keep their company afloat."

Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley and Connecticut Rep. Joe Courtney, both Democrats, released a letter signed by 90 members of Congress to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urging that planned bonuses to AIG executives be stopped.

Braley also said in a statement that he introduced legislation "to increase the tax rate on any bonuses awarded by businesses receiving government TARP funds, including AIG."

New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer warned AIG employees to return the bonuses they are receiving or face being slapped with a major tax on those payments.

"They should voluntarily return them (the bonuses). If they don't, we plan to tax virtually all of it," Schumer said.