Free Republic

China, Russia, et al. are talking about shifting their monetary reserves out of U.S. dollars. Gold has hit $1000 per ounce, even though wholesale and retail prices exhibit a deflationary bias. The United Nations has called for a new world currency to replace the dollar. What’s going on? All of these phenomena are early death throes of Federal Reserve notes. I balk at saying “the U.S. dollar,” because a “dollar” is still defined in law as a certain quantity of silver or gold, whereas the U.S. currency that now circulates here and around the globe consists of nothing more than...

The Cause of the Disaster: Are governments doing enough to fight this financial and economic crisis? Is it a good thing that central banks have cut interest rates essentially to zero and have increased the base money supply dramatically to support the financial sector? Will depression be prevented if governments across the world run up huge deficits in an attempt to strengthen demand, production, and employment? To answer these questions truthfully, we need to diagnose the causes of the debacle and then formulate the proper way out of it. The diagnosis can be stated in just one sentence: Governments have...

"The fed is planning moves that would more than double its balance-sheet assets by September to $4.5 trillion from $1.9 trillion. Whether expressing approval or concern over the fed’s move, most commentators fail to understand the real magnitude of the projected expansion of the US monetary base because they don’t take into account the amount of dollars circulating abroad......................The fed’s planned balance sheet expansion results in a 15-fold increase in the base money supply. 262 Billion = US monetary base as of September 2008 (minus dollars held abroad) 3,818 Billion = projected US monetary base in September 2009 (minus dollars...

Is a Central Bank, governed by “The People” the answer to our country’s financial woes? “If we scrap the current monetary model, the Federal Reserve System, and re-establish the Bank of the United States we can not only get out of debt but we can also generate enormous revenue while not levying any federal taxes.”

See Link for Youtube Video. His name is Mike. Good information on latest UK and other countries economic problems.

AugustReview.com [Editor's note: members of the Trilateral Commission and companies with Commission representation appear in bold type.] Since 1973, this writer has made inquiry as to the location and ownership of the vast stores of monetary gold (400 oz., .999 pure bars) in the world. There has not been a formal audit on Fort Knox, for instance, since the Eisenhower administration. Official statistics on gold holdings are often contradictory. Getting plain answers from any Central Bank in the world, including the Fed, is virtually impossible. This paper points out a pattern of manipulation that has been clearly observed by many...

More than two years after the October 1929 stock market crash and in the depth of the ensuing depression, a commission originally established by the Republican-chaired Senate Banking and Currency Committee to prepare the party's official defense for the upcoming presidential election finally began in March 1932 to examine the causes of the market crash and to recommend reforms to prevent future recurrences...SNIP... The implosion of Rubinomics It was Robert Rubin, special economic assistant to Clinton and later Treasury secretary, who worked out what has come to be known as Rubinomics, the strategy of dollar hegemony through the promotion of...

Mr. Chairman, A topic that is on the lips of many people during the past few months, and one with which I have greatly concerned myself, is that of moral hazard. We hear cries from all corners, from politicians, journalists, economists, businessmen, and citizens, clamoring for the federal government to intervene in the economy in order to forestall a calamitous recession. During the boom, many of these same individuals called for no end to the Fed's easy credit. Now that the consequences of that easy money policy are coming home to roost, no one wants to face those ill effects....

<p>A top Federal Reserve official said Wednesday that recent financial turbulence has undone some of the improvement seen in previous weeks, and repeated the need for "nimble" monetary policy to address economic risks.</p> <p>The remarks, by Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn, suggest that interest rate reductions remain on the table even though policymakers adopted a neutral view of growth and inflation risks at their last meeting.</p>

An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense - perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire - that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument of laissez-faire and that each implies and requires the other. In order to understand the source of their antagonism, it is necessary first to understand the specific role of gold in a free society. Money is the common denominator of all economic transactions. It is that commodity which serves as a medium...

Senate Panel Indicates Readiness to “Squeeze China” Over Currency “A country builds its military strength on the back of its economic development.  The West has dealt China a hand with all aces.”By John E. Carey Peace and Freedom July 27, 2007On the eve of a landmark visit to China by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the U.S. Senate’s Finance Committee voted 20-1 to force China to raise the value of its currency.The Bush Administration opposes the legislation.But that is no matter.The president is weak, with some of the lowest approval ratings for any president, and the 20-1 committee vote indicates that...

Europe is in crisis. It is depopulating because of birthrates well below replacement. Weighted down by oppressive taxes and onerous regulations, the economies of the major European nations are barely growing. Pessimism reigns. Yet there are the little flickers of light in the form of bright and energetic young people pushing constructive change, and increasing public recognition from some European leaders that the present course is unsustainable. In times of crisis, some nations find a Ronald Reagan, a Winston Churchill or a Margaret Thatcher. If one looks closely at the increasing political divisions in France, Germany and Italy, it is...

In the fifth tightening of US monetary policy in as many meetings, Alan Greenspan and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the Federal Funds Rate target 25 basis points to 2.25%, as expected. More...

In the fourth tightening of US monetary policy in as many meetings, Alan Greenspan and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the Federal Funds Rate target 25 basis points to 2.00%, as expected. More...

...[I]f John Kerry rolled back President George W. Bush's tax cuts, as he has promised, would more jobs be created? ...Tax policy can play a significant role in encouraging -- or discouraging -- entrepreneurial risk-taking. It is startling how many entrepreneurs starting a business are subject to the individual income tax (as sole proprietorships, partnerships, or S corporations). Because entrepreneurship is a risky undertaking, prospective entrants evaluate possible after-tax returns from success and failure in deciding whether to start a business. The income tax weighs in because the government is not an equal partner in success and failure. While the...

In the second tightening of US monetary policy since May of 2000, Alan Greenspan and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the Federal Funds Rate target 25 basis points to 1.50%, as expected. More...

Second thoughts. After more than a year, Kobe Bryant's young accuser is now rethinking her decision to seek criminal prosecution of the NBA superstar, at least according to her lawyers, who appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday. Who can blame her, and what took her so long? From the outset, the evidence available for a criminal trial against Bryant has been underwhelming at best. His accuser isolated him by room assignment, snuck around to his room knowing he was more than a little interested in her, and then willingly participated in activities more appropriate to longtime lovers than to new...

In the first tightening of US monetary policy since May of 2000, Alan Greenspan and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the Federal Funds Rate target, from its 46 year low, 25 basis points to 1.25%. More...

<p>WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT those two white knights of economic intervention known as Monetary and Fiscal Policy?</p> <p>Monetary Man, in service to Alan Greenspan's Federal Reserve Board, has lowered the overnight interest rate to such a point that short-term credit is practically being given away. And with exquisite timing, Fiscal Man, first knight to the federal government's power to tax, spend and borrow, has cut taxes to get us all to buy more, while the government is helpfully pitching in by spending a lot more on its own.</p>

WASHINGTON — The chief executive of Freddie Mac and the corporation's general counsel are being replaced at the request of federal regulators as an investigation continues into the embattled mortgage giant's accounting practices. Armando Falcon, the head of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise, said yesterday that based on a review of the conduct of senior Freddie Mac officials, he had recommended the removal of Freddie Mac Chief Executive Gregory Parseghian and General Counsel Maud Mater. Falcon said in a statement that he had concluded that the two officials "should be replaced." He said federal regulators would work with the...