Bernanke Inserts Gun In Mouth

Market Ticker ^ | 03/19/09 | Karl Denninger

[TigerLikesRooster]

Bernanke Inserts Gun In Mouth

I'm not at all sure I believed what I read today.  (my comments in italics, indented)

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January indicates that the economy continues to contract.  Job losses, declining equity and housing wealth, and tight credit conditions have weighed on consumer sentiment and spending.  Weaker sales prospects and difficulties in obtaining credit have led businesses to cut back on inventories and fixed investment.  U.S. exports have slumped as a number of major trading partners have also fallen into recession.  Although the near-term economic outlook is weak, the Committee anticipates that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, together with fiscal and monetary stimulus, will contribute to a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth.

The economy is screwed, and although we have made statements for the last year that our actions would solve the problem, we've been wrong.  Exponents (that is, compound interest) are a bitch and its unfortunate that you were too stupid to call us on this two years ago.

/snip

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Elizabeth A. Duke; Charles L. Evans; Donald L. Kohn; Jeffrey M. Lacker; Dennis P. Lockhart; Daniel K. Tarullo; Kevin M. Warsh; and Janet L. Yellen. 

We've all stuck guns in our mouths and are now threatening to blow our brains out.  Oh, and each of us is holding a dead-man's switch to a thermonuclear weapon, strategically placed somewhere in the United States economy.  If one goes, we all go, and so do you - this is a murder-suicide pact, and you're the potential homicide victim.  Have a nice day.

[Zeddicus]

I know. Doesn’t give me the warm-fuzzies. Guess I ought to be grateful that at least we don’t live in a city.

[blam]

Here's Denninger's previous piece that ties in with this piece.

What's Dead (Short Answer: All Of It)

"Civil unrest will break out before the end of the year. The Military and Guard will be called up to try to stop it. They won't be able to. Big cities are at risk of becoming a free-fire death zone. If you live in one, figure out how you can get out and live somewhere else if you detect signs that yours is starting to go "feral"; witness New Orleans after Katrina for how fast, and how bad, it can get."

"The bad news is that you won't have a job, pension, annuity, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and, quite possibly, your life."

[mysterio]

More alarming than gold is the USD sinking more against the EURO this morning

Probably because they invented another trillion of them a few days ago.

[dennisw]

Probably because they invented another trillion of them a few days ago. 

I'll bet that when the Wall Street geniuses cooked up all these credit default swaps they had plenty of jokes about the US dollar being monopoly money

[reformedliberal]

Those cash reserves will be devalued so fast, that even though we are preppers, we are not confident at all. We have no mortgage, but inflation is already annualized at 5%, or so I read this morning, although I have seen 30% increases in Walmart's house brand foods, 7% in my Direct TV bill, and property taxes increased here by 33%.

My angst is driven by this feeling of total helplessness. This is the first time in my life that I cannot see a way around the airtight prison zerO and his global buddies are constructing.

IMO, only, I would venture that if you can cut your visible, taxable income and earn off the books or in the underground economy, you could make enough for the taxes and and utilities while applying for mortgage relief as the programs to exempt the rapidly increasing poor are accelerated.

Horrid advice and I feel some shame for suggesting it, but they have changed the rules and we need to adapt, ASAP.

[JDoutrider]

Like those investors that have been waiting for the "bottom" in the market to jump back in, I in turn, have been waiting for the flag to go up hailing the start of hyper inflation while sitting on a pile of cash. This type of news gets my motor started.

My visits to the local military commissary and exchange reveal inflation on foodstuffs that have our military families tongues a wagging. On the commissary side, the banner at the entrance that proclaimed 30-40% savings has changed to 20-23%. There were folks at the tobacco counter loudly bitching about the huge increase in price of a carton of cigarettes... whereas what $40 dollars (that's right! At a Military post!) it costs $67 a carton for Brand name smokes! You should have heard them howl when I pointed out that loose tobacco is scheduled to rise 2000% on April 1st!!!

I head to my family's personal "Galts Gulch" this coming weekend... I'm closely monitoring events to see if this is indeed the time to spend some most of that monopoly money on goods that I've been holding off on...

[April Lexington]

I cannot see a way around the airtight prison zerO and his global buddies are constructing.

They have been planning this since the 1930s. We are just now waking up to the fact that the socialist revolution in in full swing. We have lost our Individualist republic and we are becoming the Europe our ancestors left behind. Europe has NEVER liked the American ideal of individual over the state. From feudal king to statist regime, the state is all powerful and the people exist to serve the state. The American dream of individuals being more important than the collective is dying as most Americans are too lazy to be individuals. They want to be fed, wiped and entertained.

[April Lexington]

You should have heard them howl when I pointed out that loose tobacco is scheduled to rise 2000% on April 1st!!!

Wow! Thanks for the hot tip. Instead of taking the risk of growing marijuana which is currently illegal, one could just grow tobacco and sell it on the side. Its not a controlled substance yet so one can sell untaxed tobacco and make a fortune!!!!!

[April Lexington]

Galt’s Gulch works in a stable socialist economy because there is social stability. In an economic collapse, Gulching can land you on a park bench! It may be getting to be time to emerge from the Gulch and position for the future.

[An Old Man]

"The bad news is that you won't have a job, pension, annuity, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and, quite possibly, your life."

Things are not good.

[blam]

Rush Limbaugh, on his radio program today, predicted probable civil disturbances this summer over amnesty/illegal alien issues.
The Democrats are already pushing to legalize the 13-20 million illegal aliens in the country and get them into labor unions.

He said it would get ugly...this on top of everything else.

[JDoutrider]

Yep!

I've ordered and received my heirloom tobacco seeds! Thar's Gold in them thar hills!

[blam]

"I'm closely monitoring events to see if this is indeed the time to spend some most of that monopoly money on goods that I've been holding off on... "

Let me know what you decide...I'm pretty much in the same boat.

[Lancey Howard]

If we get hyper-inflation in America, then people who are drowning in credit can be joyful. That $50,000 they owe the credit card company will be worth about three eggs. In other words, they can sell three eggs and pay off their credit card company. I wonder if the Fed will put Dumbo’s face on the new trillion-dollar bill?

[April Lexington]

This program would appear to be low risk but really isn't, as Fannie and Freddie (where this paper is mostly coming from) are both bleeding money like crazy, and as such one has to wonder whether these notes being bought are really "money good" or not. The answer is almost certainly "not", which in turn strongly implies that there are monstrous hidden embedded losses that will appear down the road.

From the article. I simply do not understand how the Fed can buy $1.5 trillion in junk bonds and then issue new dollars. Do these bonds just sink into a black hole? How does this work???

[dennisw]

From the article. I simply do not understand how the Fed can buy $1.5 trillion in junk bonds and then issue new dollars. Do these bonds just sink into a black hole? How does this work???
____________________________

The logic goes that the Fed is backed up 100% by the Federal gov’t. Thus it is bulletproof and so strong it can carry that crap on its books with out harming itself

[April Lexington]

But, the problem is that the United States Government doesn’t have the power to create currency. It can mint coins but Federal Reserve Notes are created by the Fed. The Treasury needs the Fed to create money. So, how can the Fed buy junk (never mind its enabling charter prohibits such a purchase) and issue US currency? I’m really troubled by this development. If the rules as to how money is created collapse, then can the money be far behind?

[Sarah D.]

Worried? Urban Survival Excellent write up of what happened in Argentina, and how to survive it.

[ottbmare]

After the demise of everyone’s 401K and other investments, I can’t imagine how a person who is not otherwise rich could assemble two years’ worth of money to live on. I live humbly, but that’s because my earnings are humble. If this goes down as Denninger warns, I guess my children and I will simply not survive. You can only burn your furniture for so long.

[Centurion2000]

If the rules as to how money is created collapse, then can the money be far behind?

Nope. About 6 months to go.