2013-01-09

4X4 musing
 four horsemen
  four apocalypses

This article is a *stub*, and may be extended some time on or after 4Feb'13. If you spot an error or anything missing, queue a comment; I'll consider it.

colour white red black pale
wiki Conquest War Famine Death
world militarisation murdering for spoil rip-off economics sham democracy, lies xs-CO2-c*4 ecosphere destruction
economics banksters' rip-off neoliberalism globalisation privatisation
politics dumbed-down sheople MSM + PFBCs' lies corrupt intellectuals traitorous rep-'leaders'

Ref(s):

[1] deceive  v. (-ving) 1 make (a person) believe what is false; purposely mislead. 2 be unfaithful to, esp. sexually. 3 use deceit.  deceive oneself persist in a mistaken belief.  deceiver n. [POD]

[2] lie2  -n. 1 intentionally false statement (tell a lie). 2 something that deceives. -v. (lies, lied, lying) 1 tell a lie or lies. 2 (of a thing) be deceptive.  give the lie to show the falsity of (a supposition etc.). [Old English] [ibid.]

Abbreviations:

ELO/Os = hapless erstwhile legal owner/occupiers

I/J/Z-plex; illegitimate IL squats on genocidally ethnically-cleansed = improperly alienated, mainly Palestinian ELO/Os' land/property = IL is an un-remedied crime-scene and *all* I/J/Z-plex (except any actively opposing) are guilty; sole remedy = reparations = revest where possible, adequate = acceptable recompense where not + *sincere* apology

M/I/C/$4a†-plex = military, industrial, Congress (US-speak for parliament); $ = banksters, 4 = 4th estate = MSM + PFBCs,
'a' = academia including think-tanks, † = the churches.

MSM = mainstream media (print and broadcast), aka 'corrupt&venal'

neoliberalism = 'economic rationalism,' 'supply-side,' (wicked) privatisations, 'small govt.' = minimised to no égalité etc. + globalisation = wage arbitration etc. = <1% rips off 99%+

PFBCs = publicly-financed broadcasters, like the AusBC

ppp-dd'd = pushed propaganda paradigm dumbed-down

PRopaganda = PR + propaganda, usual qualifier: 'lying'

SQSHsO = snivelling quisling sycophantic hangers-on

the Enlightenment well summarised by liberté, égalité, fraternité

US-MMH = Media (aka press, radio + TV), Madison Ave., Hollywood

US&/Zs = the US of A and/or Zionists; sometimes indistinguishable

xs-CO2-c*4 = excess CO2 climate-change catastrophe *cliff*

Zionism (latest post-Jabotinsky, '23) = permanent, aggressive war

2013-01-08

alternative title
 the four horsemen of
  the economic apocalypse [see PPS]

.. the only real difference is ...

  .. from 1939 the world stopped the 3rd Reich ...

    .. in 2013 most of the world is cowed by the US/Zs' warring villainy

-=*=-

Thesis/Subtitle: the operative word is 'outlaws'

Concomitant: murdering lawbreakers at large

Corollary: active un-remedied crime-scenes

-=*=-
 
 [update, 8Jan'12, 08:15]

-=*=-

Executive summary: *We* are in trouble. Starting with any 'self' (as a totally random sample of one), the *we* extends to the immediate family, then community, town or city, state then country and ending with the entire world.

We are plagued with wars, illegal wars (of aggression, murdering for spoil) - vast numbers of innocents are being slaughtered, infrastructure blasted into ruins - all effectively pointless - except for the wicked human vultures who 'harvest' profits from the whole ghastly process.

Our economies are crashing - *being* crashed, austerity being forced at every opportunity, meaning govt services cut to the bone when not outright killed off. Neoliberalism is 'working as designed,' transferring wealth 'up the tree.' Globalisation ditto, transferring jobs 'into the sticks.' To add insult to injury, the banks are ripping us off.

Mini-update to add: The 3rd horseman of the economic apocalypse is the wicked privatisation of public utilities (electricity, water etc.) and other objects (like parking meters[!]), all to be turned into a) 'investment vehicles' but worse, b) toll-booth rip-offs. (The 4th horseman but longest established being the bankster swindle.)

Of the burgeoning population, the poorest survivors of high and climbing infant-mortality scratch a living as best they can, while at the other extreme, the well/better/best-off consume luxuries at an increasing rate, almost all enabled by burning ever more fossil-carbon (coal, oil, gas), running atmospheric CO2 content 'up through the roof' = well past what our once jewel-like planet's comfortable-life supporting ecosphere can handle. (Proof: More, and more destructive 'storm events.' Worse, the polar/glacier ice is melting. CO2 content *must* be brought down.)

It seems that the best 'brains for hire' have traded in their integrity for fistfuls of $s - nothing else I can imagine can explain this rush to disaster, without effective resistance.

Gotta be stopped; we - the non-corrupt - must stop the vicious vultures and their hired handmaidens. Action required; all hands to the pump!

As my part, I do what I can = this blog; end executive summary.

-=*=-

Musing: I started blogging well before the Iraq imbroglio of 2003-/+. Back then, it was 'letters to the editor' of the local rag, and lead-topics were barkers, bikers & bull-bars. In the run-up to the illegal invasion of Iraq, I started to learn lots, like "All politicians lie!" - Thanks, but "No, thanks!" to JWHoward. The Nuremberg-class war crimes against Iraq were based on lies, there can't be too many left who don't acknowledge that, one proof = "... the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" = the Downing St. memo. Yellow-cake, spinning the tubes, "that Saddam Hussein had the means of delivering biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction by UAV drones that could be launched from ships off the Atlantic coast to attack U.S. eastern seaboard cities," Saddam's rockets could reach London in 45 minutes ('About 148,000 results'); lie after filthy lie, each one worse than the other. Some mistakes were made on the way (rare for me), one of which was to beseech: "Leave it to Blix!" Well, I'm a bit wiser now.

End musing.

-=*=-

Trigger article 1:

Pope calls for end to Syria slaughter
Posted January 07, 2013 22:39:16
  «Pope Benedict XVI has urged the international community to end to the "endless slaughter" in Syria before the entire country becomes "a field of ruins."» 
[AusBC/Pope Benedict XVI (represents all Catholics)]

Comment 1: Too late (see photo below).

Comment 2: Too little, should add "or else!" (Like, all war-participants will be condemned/excommunicated unless they immediately cease killing to steal, and make full, acceptable recompense.) There must be more to the churches than mealy-mouthed pieties.

Comment 3: Too corrupt, should mention actual *known* aggressors by name, specifically the US, UK, F, D, TR etc. regimes, arms suppliers Saudi Arabia & Qatar, and imported Al-Qaeda mercenaries from Libya, Iraq etc.. OR, the AusBC could list the same perpetrators, as part of their 'honest, full & fair' reporting? Haw.

Comment 4: The Pope represents the '†' in M/I/C/$4a†-plex; *none* of those effectively oppose war, often *exactly* the contrary; even those who do nothing to oppose assume some guilt, for crimes *must* be opposed/stopped, the victims rescued if possible, and always fully = acceptably recompensed.

-=*=-

Trigger article 2:

UK Chilcot Inquiry: “The Iraq War Was Unlawful”. Unanimous Legal Opinion of Foreign Office Lawyers
Cameron government is blocking publication of their “official” report
By Carl Herman
January 04, 2013
  «Perhaps this delay is in part because the Blair government was advised before the war by all 27 attorneys in their Foreign Affairs Office that war on Iraq was unlawful. That would mean armed attack on Iraq would be an unlawful War of Aggression, with identical criminal implication on US armed attack on Iraq.
...
All the lawyers in the UK’s Foreign Affairs Department concluded the US/UK invasion of Iraq was an unlawful War of Aggression. Their expert advice is the most qualified to make that legal determination; all 27 of them were in agreement. This powerful judgment of unlawful war follows the Dutch government’s recent unanimous report and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s clear statements
 
[globalresearch/Carl Herman]

Comment 1: Well, not actually news to those paying attention, but ...

Comment 2: Article (current) cited for any still with doubts (about 'back then'), and ...

Comment 3: Bravo for all still pursuing the B,B&H crooks; there can never be peace without justice.

-=*=-

Trigger article 3:

Noam Chomsky: The Gravest Threat to World Peace
Friday, 04 January 2013 09:05 By Noam Chomsky, Truthout | Op-Ed
  «Last month, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Israel to join the NPT, 174-6. Voting no was the usual contingent: Israel, the United States, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.
A few days later, the United States carried out a nuclear weapons test, again banning international inspectors from the test site in Nevada. Iran protested, as did the mayor of Hiroshima and some Japanese peace groups.»
 
[antiwar/truth-out/Noam Chomsky]

Comment 1: Chomsky is worried about nukular weapons, quite a 'worthwhile' worry - especially the Samson Option; what may very well be the absolute, ultimate, non plus ultra terrorist threat of *all* time. But not the whole story.

Comment 2: The whole story includes our so-called 'Western democracies;' IF our so-called 'representatives' were doing their jobs 'as defined,' THEN they'd be working *for* us, not *against* us - as the results we are seeing prove.

Comment 3: The whole story also includes the M/I/C/$4a†-plex which itself contains the corrupt&venal MSM + PFBCs and the I/J/Z-plex - and all those people who are either a) too dumb to realise what's really going on, OR b) all those people who realise what's really going on *and do nothing*, especially doing nothing *effective* - to counter the criminals.

-=*=-

Fazit: Dear reader, assuming you've read all of the above; then think about this: *nothing* will change without *effective* action, proof = "Newton’s first law of motion." Time to get organised; start building groups planning effective, countervailing actions.

This is a moral battle; the crooks have got all the biggest guns, but peace through truth and justice seekers have the high moral ground - time to use it, and get the world back on track.

-=*end*=-

^
Update, 8Jan'12, 08:15 PS Of course, we try to look on the bright side; here it means looking forward. But in order to improve, we must identify what went & continues to go wrong = looking back. Recalling it's not who says what, but what is said, nevertheless villains must be named; I thus name Fraser&Co for the putsch against Whitlam in 1975 = a convenient place to identify as where the Aus-rot started (although Fraser did not accomplish much more than the vandalism of reversing some of Whitlam's work. Think "Razor Gang.") Then Thatcher's TINA, Reagan's 'voodoo economics,' Hawke/Keating's and Howard/Costello's neoliberalism. They all did damage, Costello's ½CGT being particularly cynical (house prices quickly doubling as a result = handing so much more % to the banksters).

To look forward, we need to replace the dysfunctional erring-ideology of neoliberalism etc. with a properly functioning, equitable economics; to revive the Enlightenment with the help of some bright young geniuses (where are they all, doing what whilst Rome burns? Apart from this blog I can't help much more.) Inspiration could be found in the best bits of Gandhi, Keynes, Marx and perhaps JKGalbraith, who knows?

-=*=-

PPS Originally posted as:

jan'13 = sep'39
 Palestine = Czechoslovakia
  Syria = Poland, and the US/Zs = 4th Reich

[4th Reich]: I justify the use of this because that's what the US/Zs look like. Too bad such 'mature words' seem to scare some readers off. But note this: The wicked wars and associated mass-murdering and rapine are *not* improving this world, in fact quite the opposite: Bombs and bullets destroy life and infrastructure, and the wars-to-steal process has the US/Zs' jackboot on the world's neck - preventing any possibility of progress towards saving our planet's delicate ecosphere. That's why.

[«back»]

-=*=-

Ref(s):

[1] deceive  v. (-ving) 1 make (a person) believe what is false; purposely mislead. 2 be unfaithful to, esp. sexually. 3 use deceit.  deceive oneself persist in a mistaken belief.  deceiver n. [POD]

[2] lie2  -n. 1 intentionally false statement (tell a lie). 2 something that deceives. -v. (lies, lied, lying) 1 tell a lie or lies. 2 (of a thing) be deceptive.  give the lie to show the falsity of (a supposition etc.). [Old English] [ibid.]

[3] outlaw
noun a person who has broken the law, especially one who remains at large or is a fugitive
[The NEW OXFORD Dictionary OF ENGLISH]

Abbreviations:

ELO/Os = hapless erstwhile legal owner/occupiers

I/J/Z-plex; illegitimate IL squats on genocidally ethnically-cleansed = improperly alienated, mainly Palestinian ELO/Os' land/property = IL is an un-remedied crime-scene and *all* I/J/Z-plex (except any actively opposing) are guilty; sole remedy = reparations = revest where possible, adequate = acceptable recompense where not + *sincere* apology

M/I/C/$4a†-plex = military, industrial, Congress (US-speak for parliament); $ = banksters, 4 = 4th estate = MSM+PFBCs, 'a' = academia incl. think-tanks, † = the churches.

MSM = mainstream media (print and broadcast), aka 'corrupt&venal'

neoliberalism = 'economic rationalism,' 'supply-side,' (wicked) privatisations, 'small govt.' = minimised to no égalité etc. + globalisation = wage arbitration etc. = <1% rips off 99%+

PFBCs = publicly-financed broadcasters, like the AusBC

ppp-dd'd = pushed propaganda paradigm dumbed-down

PRopaganda = PR + propaganda, usual qualifier: 'lying'

SQSHsO = snivelling quisling sycophantic hangers-on

the Enlightenment well summarised by liberté, égalité, fraternité

US-MMH = Media (aka press, radio + TV), Madison Ave., Hollywood

US&/Zs = the US of A and/or Zionists; sometimes indistinguishable

XS-CO2-CCC = excess CO2 climate-change catastrophe

Zionism (latest post-Jabotinsky, '23) = permanent war

2013-01-06

JKGalbraith
 always abstruse
  but always correct

.. when I say "all" ...

  .. I usually mean "most" ...

    .. pettifoggers please take note

-=*=-

Thesis/Subtitle: there is a bankster conspiracy

Concomitant: 'hidden' in plain sight

Corollary: proof of perfidy

-=*=-

Note: This compliments my "bankster swindle" article.

Musing 1: We (in Aus, EU, UK, US - 'the West') live in so-called democracies = "of, by, for the people" arrangements, whereby we 'freely' (absent lying propaganda, say) choose representatives to govern for us - on the understanding that such representatives work in ours, we the people's *best* interests.

IF not the case THEN watch out!

End musing.

-=*=-

Trigger article:

Clarke and Dawe discuss the market meltdown
Broadcast: 02/10/2008
  «BRYAN DAWE: Well can you explain how it works?

JOHN CLARKE: How the economy works?

BRYAN DAWE: Well, yeah. What's the problem at the moment, for instance?

JOHN CLARKE: Well what we’ve got at the moment is an international credit crisis at the moment.

BRYAN DAWE: Yes, how does that happen?

JOHN CLARKE: Well, I'm a bank Bryan, and I borrow money and lend it out. And I charge more to the people I'm lending it to than I pay the people from whom I'm borrowing?

BRYAN DAWE: Well who do you borrow money from?

JOHN CLARKE: Well, you know, from depositors Bryan. Have you got a dollar?

BRYAN DAWE: Well yeah, sure.

JOHN CLARKE: I borrow your dollar, and I give you, you know, there's your bank balance.

BRYAN DAWE: $1?

JOHN CLARKE: $1.

BRYAN DAWE: Right, OK. And you pay interest to me on that?

BRYAN DAWE: I do, but I also charge you fees.

JOHN CLARKE: Well why do you charge me fees?

BRYAN DAWE: Well because Bryan I'm looking after your money. Your money is secure with me, I'm a bank. I mean, this is a very important amount of money; this is probably your nest egg, it's safe with us.

JOHN CLARKE: How much interest do you pay me?

BRYAN DAWE: Approximately the same as I'm charging you in fees.

JOHN CLARKE: Oh good deal for me.

BRYAN DAWE: Well your money's secure with us Bryan. And I then lend that money to businesses, and those businesses generate income. And this is how we build the economy.

JOHN CLARKE: And they put the income into the bank?

BRYAN DAWE:
[They] do, of course Bryan. That builds the savings [pool], and we can invest more money.» 
[AusBC/7.30/Clarke and Dawe]

[from the AusBC website: Video

Clarke and Dawe discuss the market meltdown

Windows Media Broadband Dial-up 
Real Player Broadband Dial-up]

Comment 1: The C&D article should go on to discuss the EU-debt crisis, but gets a bit side-tracked into the GFC, namely the international investment market part of it. Unfortunately for both C&D and us, it doesn't explain the real problem... with the GFC, EU or banking, but it does give us a start on money = $s.

Comment 2: The above 'snip' describes basic banking, in a somewhat light-hearted fashion. Of course "It is not simple" - (these modern days, what with derivatives, etc.) - but it's not too complex either; in fact JKGalbraith wrote:

  «"The process by which banks create money is so simple the mind is repelled."» 
[Money, Whence it Came, Where it Went, 1975, p18]

More from Galbraith:

  «"The deposits of the bank ... were ... subject to transfer ... to others in settlement ... The coin on deposit served no less as money by being in the bank and being subject to transfer by the stroke of a primitive pen.
Inevitably it was discovered ... that another stroke of the pen would give a borrower from the bank, as distinct from a creditor ... a loan from the original and idle deposit. It was not a detail that the bank would have the interest on the loan so made. ...
[the loan having been made as a book-entry deposit] ... But there was now also a new deposit from the proceeds of the loan. Both deposits could be used to make payments, be used as money. Money had thus been created."» 
[ibid. p19 [my emphasis]]

Comment 1: And so on, ad infinitum, but ...

Comment 2: My own version follows (based partly on this 47 minute video, as an adjunct to Galbraith's "Money ..."); I will start with 'real' money (gold, silver etc.), not because I favour any sort of 'return to specie,' but because it adds a bit of ¤glitter¤ (in this 'story,' cash = modern-day banknotes would do almost as well as specie):

1. The story starts with a goldsmith, say - someone who had a personal store of gold and/or silver, and a big strong, lockable cupboard = safe, so called for obvious reasons; i.e. to keep the bullion safe from any 'light-fingered Louies' passing by. Neighbours observed this sagacity and agreed, then asked to store their treasures in the 'communal' safe – naturally (incipient neoliberalism) paying some storage fees.

2. The goldsmith (now turning *banker*) lent some of his own specie, charging interest = % (for the service, plus a risk premium; pragmatically disregarding that charging interest was otherwise known as usury - in the old-time religions, and frowned upon = a 1st (minor) banker sin.) He invents the promissory note = 'paper money' as an alternative to carrying large weights of precious metal about (simultaneously avoiding some more risk).

2a. Note that the 'paper money' = promissory note is based on something like this actual promise: 'Redeemable in gold or silver.'

3. He then notices that his neighbours hardly ever take their own specie out of his safe, and gets an idea; he could also make loans based on the neighbours' money, now paying them some compensatory interest (= profit-sharing), as well as still charging them storage fees. So far, so good, and just as per Clarke and Dawe.

4. Next step is for the banker to notice that all (most!) bullion lies undisturbed in his safe - so why not lend out a bit more than there is specie-backing? Ta ra! - The 1st (major) sin of banking!

5. Enter greater greed allied to greater risk: The banker (now turning *bankster*) goes mad, lending sooo much that one day, the neighbours, plus some (perhaps not all but many, not necessarily most) of those holding his notes turn up in a rush (called “run on the bank”), all demanding their promissory notes' redemption. Ooops! - Not enough specie = 1st bank crash. To be followed, down through the years (why no long-term learning?) - by many more such crashes; problem.

6. Galbraith ["Money," '75, ibid., p29] lists 4 possible counter-strategies (my paraphrasing):

6/1. Banks could be audited often, to ensure that they did not over-lend.

6/2. The reserves could be specified, to keep lending within bounds ('fractional reserves.')

6/3. Banks could be assured of rescue ('government guaranteed.')

6/4. Banks could be relieved of having to redeem in specie (Q: What then? Usually, such a refusal = trouble.)

Comment 1: All those or more could be applied, or not - recall recent 'deregulations.'

Comment 2: You, dear reader, may decide if any of the suggested remedies could work and/or are fair, but it's obvious that 'our current system' is not working at all well.

Comment 3: In any case, we now have a GFC continuing, the EU possibly crashing; banking chaos as good as everywhere - *something* is (still) going *very* wrong, so much for banking 'geniuses' and especially 'masters of the (financial) universe!'

7. Some might say 'adding insult to injury,' Nixon put the $US off gold and onto fiat (later oil = petro-$s) on 15Aug'71, effectively declaring the US broke and destroying 'Bretton Woods' which, including 'voodoo' = neoliberal economics plus deregulation and the existing bankster swindle, led us to here = GFC continuing, EU crashing etc.. IF any proof were needed, THEN look only a) to the massive bank-bail-outs (why the hell should banks be given the people's money? The banks are the *creators* of money!!?) and b) to Bernanke + quantitative easing = print, print etc., now in its 4th iteration.

8. As an overlay, so to speak, we now have 'derivatives,' which are ephemera based partly on real objects; MBS = mortgage-backed securities and CDS = credit-default swaps and then a whole weirdo-menagerie, many of which are outright gambles, although one original idea behind their invention was risk-minimisation (haw!) Derivatives will not be further discussed – as not being important to what's coming here next, but 1st...

9. Summary: Absent specie, as in a fiat = our current system, some 'lip-service' is still paid to the 'real money' concept, in that banks are required to maintain some deposit reserves, essentially cash, although as money is fungible, there can be no 'real' distinction. Under fractional reserve banking, 'trading' banks (other sort = 'investing' = mainly gambling, both sorts often now combined) - may loan out some multiple of their deposits (a multiple of 10 say, or perhaps 30 or even beyond), always hoping for no rush of withdrawals. But as both C&D and Galbraith indicate, someone's deposit, 1st lent *as a book entry* to some 3rd, immediately itself becomes a deposit (in same, or other bank) - which may form the basis for another loan, etc., ad infinitum. Basically, after going off specie, *all* money 'out there' is borrowed, excepting the value of the specie before 15Aug'71 (which still exists somewhere, but who knows where? - Doesn't matter much, and not at all in this story - and the books all still 'balance.')

10. Here, an exception to all = most, namely all = all; *all* money 'out there' is now borrowed - and at some % (more on this coming). Even then there is an exception; namely that some central bank may 'print' money (real now = banknotes, virtual = keystroke book-entries) - but that is only exceptional because it requires no underlying reserve, and the money doesn't go (directly) into circulation. Some central bank 'printed' money may be used to purchase govt. bonds or be borrowed by trading banks (these days at minimal to zero, even -ve interest), thus 'pumping up' trading banks' reserves. OR, as in the US, 'the Fed' may purchase otherwise worthless MBSs, say, thus bailing failed gamblers out, and loading up 'the people's bank' (except the US Fed = private) with toxic rubbish. But to emphasise, *all* money is now borrowed - and at some %.

-=*=-

Argument 1: Well, so what? That's the way things work, OK?

Me: Nooo, not at all OK. I went looking for some figures; here's what I found:

  «Broad money is defined as ".... M3 plus other borrowings from the private sector by AFIs, less the holdings of currency and bank deposits by RFCs and cash management trusts." (it's in the Notes tab of the spreadsheet below [refer cited article])
...
This shows that the Australian money supply, as defined in 'broad money' terms, has doubled in the last 7 years:
Dec 2003: $667.4 billion
Dec 2010: $1329.4 billion»
 
[hardly matters where/who; just interested in the magnitude]

Comment 1 (aside): M3 is a technical term and may have problems (see here, say); the US ceased publishing M3 statistics some time ago, due, one supposes, to the fact that the graph was tending asymptotically to the vertical [!!?] Perhaps their statistics were being 'polluted' by some new-fangled derivatives?

Comment 2: If we take 10:1 as a conservative estimate of the 'reserve ratio,' take 3% as the savings return and 7% as the loans rate [these values as sample only; they do vary, often and by lots], money supply doubling in 7 years = 10.35% p/a 'growth' gives $1466.9bio in 2011 and $1618.7bio as the money supply in 2012; 9/10 @ 7% = $102.0bio - 1/10th @ 3% = $4.9bio gives $97.1bio nett, being the cost to the economy of 'renting' our money. Aus GDP estimated at $1,603bio, gives ~6% as the 'banking skim-off' for 2012. This ~6% 'leak' goes on, year upon year... essentially *unearned* income = economic rent to the banks. Must it be so? Ellen Brown - and I - think not, and recall that Aus' biggest bank, now CBA, actually belonged to us, we the people, before a) having the central bank functions stripped out (RBA created by Libs in 1959), and b) being privatised (between 1991 and 1996) by the economic vandals running the country (this time it was Lab, but Lib is just as bad; both try to privatise like the traitorous fools that they are; bipartisan = un- & anti-democratic.) Perhaps my estimate is *far* too conservative:

It’s the Interest, Stupid! Why Bankers Rule the World
By Ellen Brown
November 08, 2012
  «In the 2012 edition of Occupy Money released last week, Professor Margrit Kennedy writes that a stunning 35% to 40% of everything we buy goes to interest. This interest goes to bankers, financiers, and bondholders, who take a 35% to 40% cut of our GDP. That helps explain how wealth is systematically transferred from Main Street to Wall Street. The rich get progressively richer at the expense of the poor, not just because of “Wall Street greed” but because of the inexorable mathematics of our private banking system.
This hidden tribute to the banks will come as a surprise to most people, ...»
 
[globalresearch/Ellen Brown]

Comment: What I said - but *much* worse; not ~6% but more like 35% to 40% of everything we buy - a true shocker.

Q: Can I explain this difference? A: Perhaps; although my ~6% is my estimated gross cost of money, a) it may be on the low side; if the 10:1 is higher towards 30:1 and/or if my 7% loan interest estimate is too low, say, and b) since most products go through several stages, like 1) Initial production, 2) Distributor, 3) Wholesaler, with 2 and/or 3 involving 4) Transport then 5) Retail, some of my ~6% could be added multiple times. Here, some confirmation of (b):

  «... Tradesmen, suppliers, wholesalers and retailers all along the chain of production rely on credit to pay their bills. They must pay for labor and materials before they have a product to sell and before the end buyer pays for the product 90 days later. Each supplier in the chain adds interest to its production costs, which are passed on to the ultimate consumer. Dr. Kennedy cites interest charges ranging from 12% for garbage collection, to 38% for drinking water to, 77% for rent in public housing in her native Germany.» 
["It’s the Interest," ibid.]

Comment: What I said. Figures could be checked by looking at bank profits; often new, higher records being declared. Recall bank profits are *after* the often extreme remuneration/bonus packages, luxury office accommodations & other such etc.s and any taxes they still can't avoid - after all their 'lobbying' = bribes.

Next Q: What can be done? A: Ellen Brown again:

NORTH DAKOTA’S ECONOMIC “MIRACLE” - IT’S NOT OIL
Ellen Brown
 August 31st, 2011
  «If its secret isn’t oil, what is so unique about the state? North Dakota has one thing that no other state has: its own state-owned bank.
Access to credit is the enabling factor that has fostered both a boom in oil and record profits from agriculture in North Dakota. The Bank of North Dakota (BND) does not compete with local banks but partners with them, helping with capital and liquidity requirements. It participates in loans, provides guarantees, and acts as a sort of mini-Fed for the state.
...
Timothy Canova ... writes of North Dakota and its state-owned bank:

The state deposits its tax revenues in the Bank, which in turn ensures that a high portion of state funds are invested in the state economy. In addition, the Bank is able to remit a portion of its earnings back to the state treasury ... Thanks in part to these institutional arrangements, North Dakota is the only state that has been in continuous budget surplus since before the financial crisis and it has the lowest unemployment rate in the country.»
 
[webofdebt/Ellen Brown]

Comment 1: Ah ha! A publicly-owned "mini-Fed" working *for* the people!

Comment 2: One needs to extend the application of this. But before that, this:

-=*=-

Argument 2a: 'A fair exchange is no robbery'

Argument 2b: 'No taxation without representation'

Private banks creating money and charging interest on it is a rip-off.

This is not to say that trading banks do not perform useful functions, or may not charge for their services, nor that loan interest rates should or should not be manipulated, just that charging interest on our entire money supply and putting the proceeds into private pockets is a) offensive since no work is involved = economic rent, outside of the fee-for-service, and b) is a 'stealthy' tax on the economy, disguised as some sort of service charge on the one hand, and a regulator of borrowing on the other.

-=*=-

Musing 2: Money itself is a 'public good' and should obviously be managed responsibly (the issued-volume should be controlled such that inflation is kept at *zero* - IF the RBA can aim at 2-3% THEN it means they are assumed to have some sort of control, and a zero inflation-rate protects savings); and as the money-supply interest acts as a tax = it *is* a tax, it should be remitted to the people directly, or possibly to the people via the government, IF any government can *provably* operate in the people's best interests. The BND-concept shows us the way, which should be extended such that the money-supply interest goes to the people and not the banksters and their shareholders. IF the RBA were to create all the money, THEN the banks could get their money from the RBA as a loan at interest, then act as distributors, for suitable (service-industry, fair) fees.

End musing.

-=*=-

Argument 3: There is still another problem, in that the 'private banks creating money' system creates only what they loan, but nothing for the interest. You should be able to see this for yourself; all money 'out there' results from some loan; when a loan is paid back the debt is cancelled; if any money gets deposited (as savings, say) it may be 'multiplied' up and re-issued as more loans, but no = *zero* money even exists to cover the loan-interest, except for borrowed money. Here again Ellen Brown suggests a workable solution (as in preceding musing 2): IF all the loan interest accrues to the people's govt THEN that govt can spend it back into the economy for *required*, egalitarian infrastructure and services, *then* the interest would be covered and the books can be made to *properly* balance!

-=*=-

Fazit: Private banks creating money and loaning it out at interest is inequitable (wickedly transferring wealth to the rich as a sort of 'free lunch') - but worse; it creates mounting debts which can never be paid off, literally an impossible situation - only kept going by continuous growth, also completely impossible on a finite planet. Something's gotta give, and it's likely to end *very* badly.

Further, the rip-off of us, we the people by the private banks surely has not escaped the notice of the 'supposedly clever,' so-called 'leaders' running the country, in industry and the universities, plus the MSM+PFBCs, all together most of the M/I/C/$4a†-plex; that this iniquitous system a) was ever allowed to arise and (worse) b) be allowed to continue, condemns the whole ugly lot = the 'proof of perfidy' in my intro. Recall also, that what is now the CBA was once almost the BND in function (see here (repeat)) and could have been developed to do it all - but was dismembered and privatised = deliberate destruction by our rulers.

-=*end*=-

PS (16:41) In case you think I didn't notice, my estimate of 'money economic rent' = $97.1bio = ~6% of GDP, IF something like it was transferred, via *honest* representative govt, from the voracious private banking system to required, egalitarian infrastructure and services, THEN such a handsome sum could a) enable a combination of govt 'debt relief' = deficit reduction (although this is mostly furphy, see Keynes, plus the 'missing' fair taxation scenario), and/or b) tax relief for us, we the people. A so-called win-win-win; the 3rd win being for truth & social justice. One really has to wonder, not at the immorality of the wicked ones (we don't have to guess at their motivation = criminal greed), but how they internally compensate for their cognitive dissonance: Oh, so publicly pretending to be doing us, we the people some sort of favour ('only trying to help,' say), whilst all the while in actual fact, so *viciously* ripping us off! But now we can see ...

-=*=-

Ref(s):

[1] deceive  v. (-ving) 1 make (a person) believe what is false; purposely mislead. 2 be unfaithful to, esp. sexually. 3 use deceit.  deceive oneself persist in a mistaken belief.  deceiver n. [POD]

[2] lie2  -n. 1 intentionally false statement (tell a lie). 2 something that deceives. -v. (lies, lied, lying) 1 tell a lie or lies. 2 (of a thing) be deceptive.  give the lie to show the falsity of (a supposition etc.). [Old English] [ibid.]

[3] pettifog  v. (-gg-) 1 practise legal trickery. 2 quibble or wrangle about trivial points. [origin unknown] [ibid.]

[4] conspiracy  n. (pl. -ies) 1 secret plan to commit a crime; plot. 2 conspiring. [Latin: related to *conspire] [ibid.]

[5] perfidy  n. breach of faith; treachery.  perfidious adj. [Latin perfidia from fides faith] [ibid.]

[6] money  n. 1 coins and banknotes as a medium of exchange. 2 (pl. -eys or -ies) (in pl.) sums of money. 3 a wealth. b wealth as power (money talks). c rich person or family (married into money)... [ibid.]

Abbreviations:

ELO/Os = hapless erstwhile legal owner/occupiers

I/J/Z-plex; illegitimate IL squats on genocidally ethnically-cleansed = improperly alienated, mainly Palestinian ELO/Os' land/property = IL is an un-remedied crime-scene and *all* I/J/Z-plex (except any actively opposing) are guilty; sole remedy = reparations = revest where possible, adequate = acceptable recompense where not + *sincere* apology

M/I/C/$4a†-plex = military, industrial, Congress (US-speak for parliament); $ = banksters, 4 = 4th estate = MSM+PFBCs, 'a' = academia incl. think-tanks, † = the churches.

MSM = mainstream media (print and broadcast), aka 'corrupt&venal'

neoliberalism = 'economic rationalism,' 'supply-side,' (wicked) privatisations, 'small govt.' = minimised to no égalité etc. + globalisation = wage arbitration etc. = <1% rips off 99%+

PFBCs = publicly-financed broadcasters, like the AusBC

ppp-dd'd = pushed propaganda paradigm dumbed-down

PRopaganda = PR + propaganda, usual qualifier: 'lying'

SQSHsO = snivelling quisling sycophantic hangers-on

the Enlightenment well summarised by liberté, égalité, fraternité

US-MMH = Media (aka press, radio + TV), Madison Ave., Hollywood

US&/Zs = the US of A and/or Zionists; sometimes indistinguishable

XS-CO2-CCC = excess CO2 climate-change catastrophe

Zionism (latest post-Jabotinsky, '23) = permanent war

2013-01-02

the bankster swindle
 = pushing s**t uphill,
  with a pointed stick

.. no matter which way ...

  .. you try to look ...

    .. it's a rip-off

-=*=-

Thesis/Subtitle: bernanke; print, print, print!

Concomitant: banksters; gimme gimme!

Corollary: too many and too few $s

-=*=-

Trigger article #1:

Flashback - The Eleventh Marble
  «This is the reason why every nation enslaved to a private central bank [is] drowning in unpayable debt. Private Central Banks issuing the public currency as a loan at interest by design create more debt than money with which to pay that debt, to keep us all slaves to debt. They are pyramid schemes that continue to work only so long as ever-larger pools of borrowers can be found. But when everyone is too deep in debt to borrow more, the system collapses which is what is happening now in the US and across Europe. There is no way to pay back the debt, and it is pointless to waste ones life trying.
There is no eleventh marble.»
 
[whatreallyhappened,202868/Michael Rivero]

Comment 1: One should read it all, including following up any links. In particular, note that the cited article points to another one here. (Sadly, the embedded youtube vids no longer work.)

Comment 2: It may seem simplistic, but it describes *exactly* how money = $s are created *out of nothing*, then lent out at interest = %. Note that it's *all* $s, and just who gets the % (except see article #3).

-=*=-

Trigger article #2 (extends #1):

Awaken slaves! - How The Private Central Bank Ponzi Scheme Trapped And Destroyed America
  «The Central Bank knows that those pieces of paper with ink are worthless. But while the Central Bank can just create those paper notes out of thin air (legalized counterfeiting), you may not. In order to pay that ever-growing debt you have to do what you are told to do by those who have some of those pieces of paper to hand out tell you to do. Work long hours. Invade a foreign nation that refuses to have a Private Central Bank. Torture innocent people to death to find weapons of mass destruction that do not exist to justify a war. Compromise your morals and integrity. Perform sexual favors ... » 
[whatreallyhappened,210095]

Comment 1: This is 'more of the same' after article #1; as usual, one should read it all. In particular, note that the cited article points to another one here. (Note that article contains an error; should read "Coinage Act of 1792.")

Comment 2: See how governments, here the US, bow to external influence - to our, we the people's cost; same in Aus etc. = *un- & anti-democratic*.

-=*=-

Trigger article #3 (repeat):

What a government can do with its own bank: The remarkable model of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Ellen Brown, August 4th, 2010
  «The Commonwealth Bank was able to achieve so much with so little because its first Governor, Denison Miller, and its first and most ardent proponent, King O’Malley, had both been bankers themselves and knew the secret of banking: that banks create the “money” they lend simply by writing accounting entries into the deposit accounts of borrowers.» 
[webofdebt/Ellen Brown]

Comment #1; long story short: How a banking system *should* work.

Comment #2: Note that Aus *had* a publicly owned central bank, performing somewhat as the BND, but it was varied from its successful function (RBA created by Libs in 1959), then later privatised by Labor = *both traitors*. Then since Howard/Costello (ever more traitors; bipartisan = un- & anti-democratic); Aus now has a so-called 'independent' RBA (open to lobbying, say, as other corruption), thus de-coupling central-bank functions (i.e. fiscal policy) from democratic control (as if we, the people had some say - not); and making the way free for ever more external predation, like FDI, say. All to the filthy 'neoliberal' plan, but *nothing* like "of, by, for the people."

-=*=-

Argument #1: The banking system which depends on loaning $s @ % - without creating the $s needed to pay the % - is an outright rip-off. It is a prime example of my 'leaky-bucket' analogy, whereby what leaks out is effectively gone (from us, we the people), and lands in so-called 'private' banks = then mostly into the pockets of the already obscenely rich fat-cats - since (by definition) the rich own most of the shares.

Argument #2: Neoliberalism is variously called 'economic rationalism' and/or some sort of 'free market' system, but there's nothing 'rational' nor 'free' about a failing system - becoming the dominant mode across the 'Western' world (see US, UK, B & PIIGS etc.). (Additionally, it's one of the many *misuses* of the word 'liberal.') One major problem with our current system is this bankster rip-off = leaky-bucket. (Another *huge* problem is 'economic rent' = unearned income, hence the MRRT, say - IF Gillard's version works. Recall 'euthanasia of the rentier' - multiple possible applications.)

Argument #3: In a perfect world, competition could work - it's why the phrase 'level playing-field' is so attractive - but our world is sadly *far* from perfect.

-=*=-

Musing #1; Q: Why is any of this discussion possibly news? A: Because neither the wicked banksters themselves, nor the traitorous governments or the corrupt & venal news 'gatekeepers,' or any swindle-beneficiaries - want you to know. It is such a simple rip-off, but usually 'hidden,' by silence and obfuscation. Proof of malfeasance? You may decide; but then add academics to the list of perpetrators - they, the so-called 'independent thinkers' should be yelling it at us from their 'ivory-towers' - their silence is particularly deafening.

Musing #2; Q: What's about 'too many and too few $s?'

A1: The 'too few' refers to the banks only creating that which they loan out; IF govts took ownership of $-creation THEN the % would accrue back to those govts, to be spent into the community on infrastructure and services, reducing taxes and financing jobs at the same time as *properly* balancing the books. Q: What stops govts doing this? A: Outright corruption.

A2: The 'too many' refers to the perverse, excess printing; *guaranteed* to cause inflation some where/when, at the same time debasing the currency - all central banks' 'inflation targets' should be set to zero, no plus/minus.

Musing #3; Q: What's about 'pushing s**t uphill?'

A: That's us, we the people; recall Sisyphus.

-=*=-

Fazit: One of the biggest problems of all is that a 'deregulated free market' lets the cheats prosper (mainly at ours, we the people's expense) - and just how smart (let alone fair) is that?

-=*end*=-

Ref(s):

[1] deceive  v. (-ving) 1 make (a person) believe what is false; purposely mislead. 2 be unfaithful to, esp. sexually. 3 use deceit.  deceive oneself persist in a mistaken belief.  deceiver n. [POD]

[2] lie2  -n. 1 intentionally false statement (tell a lie). 2 something that deceives. -v. (lies, lied, lying) 1 tell a lie or lies. 2 (of a thing) be deceptive.  give the lie to show the falsity of (a supposition etc.). [Old English] [ibid.]

Abbreviations:

ELO/Os = hapless erstwhile legal owner/occupiers

I/J/Z-plex; illegitimate IL squats on genocidally ethnically-cleansed = improperly alienated, mainly Palestinian ELO/Os' land/property = IL is an un-remedied crime-scene and *all* I/J/Z-plex (except any actively opposing) are guilty; sole remedy = reparations = revest where possible, adequate = acceptable recompense where not + *sincere* apology

M/I/C/$4a†-plex = military, industrial, Congress (US-speak for parliament); $ = banksters, 4 = 4th estate = MSM+PFBCs, 'a' = academia incl. think-tanks, † = the churches.

MSM = mainstream media (print and broadcast), aka 'corrupt&venal'

neoliberalism = 'economic rationalism,' 'supply-side,' (wicked) privatisations, 'small govt.' = minimised to no égalité etc. + globalisation = wage arbitration etc. = <1% rips off 99%+

PFBCs = publicly-financed broadcasters, like the AusBC

ppp-dd'd = pushed propaganda paradigm dumbed-down

PRopaganda = PR + propaganda, usual qualifier: 'lying'

SQSHsO = snivelling quisling sycophantic hangers-on

the Enlightenment well summarised by liberté, égalité, fraternité

US-MMH = Media (aka press, radio + TV), Madison Ave., Hollywood

US&/Zs = the US of A and/or Zionists; sometimes indistinguishable

XS-CO2-CCC = excess CO2 climate-change catastrophe

Zionism (latest post-Jabotinsky, '23) = permanent war