Category Archives: Debt

UPDATED: Republikeynesians Pretend They’re Not Sidelining Paul

Barack Obama, Debt, Democrats, Economy, Elections, Federal Reserve Bank, Foreign Policy, Israel, Republicans, Ron Paul

Megyn Kelly interviewed Ron Paul about the snubbing he has received from the “mainstream media.” “RepubliKeynesians” have been front-and-center in a concerted attempt to ignore Ron Paul’s showing in the 2011 Iowa Straw Poll. One could say that Paul jostled with Mrs. Bachmann for first place, given the 152 votes that separated the two.

Paul sounded strong in the Kelly clip, which has not come online yet. (And he reiterated these Israel-related points, which was gratifying, of course.)

Here is the often dazzlingly brilliant Jon Stewart “savaging the media for treating Paul like he’s the ‘thirteenth floor in a hotel.'” (Via the NYT)

UPDATE (Aug. 17): Jon Stewart is often brilliant, but he is no classical liberal. He’s an economic ignoramus. Classical liberalism is first and foremost about the freedom to make a living. Stewart knows squat about such freedoms.

Talkers Fear Losing Top-Dog Status

Celebrity, Debt, Democrats, Education, Journalism, Media, Regulation, Republicans

Louis Story of the New York Times is as good as any female fixture on your typical FoxNews panel. Louis loves Uncle Sam and speaks with a sibilance. Like GOP devotee Ann Coulter, Story thinks that investigating and further regulating Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch—credit rating agencies all—is a good idea, as if that act would alter the reality of America’s debt, public and private. (The first amounts to $15 trillion, the last to $50 trillion or thereabout, I believe.)

Isn’t it interesting that so many sinecured commentators, no matter their brand of political whoring (Republican or Democrat), are furious about the downgrading of America from its status as best, AAA borrower? Is it patriotism that powers the fuming pundits? Not at all; Rand and Ron Paul are true patriots.

SAVING FACE VS. FACING REALITY. Here’s what’s a foot: The media talking heads are props to the politicos. They are all paddling as hard as they can to save face, even if it means not facing reality.

The talkers are a mirror image of the political class, reflecting and reinforcing the opinions—and the reality—of the elites. More often than not, the chattering classes are as privileged and protected as their masters. As long as they play to the “Demopublican Monopolists,” and sustain the respective parties’ constituencies, media “mavens” will retain their perches, their pensions, and their sizable salaries.

But what if they lose top-dog status? The Talkers are upset that as the dop-dog country loses its economic prestige and power in the world, so too will they be degraded in the world. Perhaps they fear, instinctively, a world in which we switch on RT or Al Jazeera to hear what their babes are saying? They should.

Considering the US’s economic vital signs, our professional gabbers are up the creek without a paddle.

Day-Time Tripping Over Triple A

Barack Obama, Business, Debt, Democrats, Economy, Elections, EU, Europe

In a world in which the written word is rapidly ceding to sound and images, good luck with finding the transcripts of President Barack Obama’s latest address. I’ve captured some of BHO’s verbal vapors for you. In responding to market madness, Obama, by the way, has said exactly what Bush or any Republican president would have said in his place—and that goes for mega Chris Christie, the Lovable Great Leader GOP devotee Ann Coulter fantasizes about.

Essentially, BHO believes that the downgrading of the US’s credit rating was a function of the country’s mischievous political shenanigans: the leadership’s wrangling over the debt ceiling, and not the debt itself.

Standard & Poor’s, the money market’s mortician, was reacting to our dysfunctional political system—to gridlock on Capitol Hill—and not to any economic reality.

US credit, says BHO, is still among the safest in the world. How does he know this? The rest of the world—Europe, Asia, etc.—are faring worse than we are. This is the sum-total of CNN and MSNBC’s “crayon level thinking”; the mantra John King USA, Ali Velshi (Egghead), Wolf Blitzer and Chris Matthews find persuasive.

But from the fact that the world is in bad shape it doesn’t follow that the US is better off.

BHO further galvanized the opinion of wealthy statist Warren Buffett who claims the USA deserves and quadruple A rating.

Yes, yes, we need to effect long-term changes, confirmed Zero, but we have already done all that can be done on the deficit and debt reduction fronts. The time now is ripe for “tax reform,” and mere “modest adjustments” to the large social programs (referred to for good reason as Third-Rail issues, because their reform is so popular with politicians and the people. The latter don’t ever want to be without the warmth of the government udder; the former don’t want to have to make a living in the real job market).

Reiterating the Matthews and Maddow “crayon level thinking,” Da Man went on to warn that any further cutting in government programs would … would… would—here I invite the reader to complete BHO’s warning with the most horrible scenario he can possible imagine. My choice: Donald Trump gets elected.

The president called on the country’s planners to show good will and promised the country—BEHOLD!—another committee, which, as this wily fox well knows, is one way to bury an issue for good.

Cutting the distribution machine that has crippled America’s private economy would be deadly to this very economy—so claims BHO. Thus, deficit spending on programs such as unemployment insurance must be extended. To be fair to this ass with ears, the president did tout the payroll-tax cut.

The Money Market’s Mortician

America, Debt, Economy, Elections, Europe, Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation

When Standard & Poor’s cut the American credit outlook to negative, one Canadian wag mocked the credit ratings agency’s “special talent for arriving at the morgue and predicting the demise of the deceased.”

Now the money market’s mortician has made it official:

Via the WSJ: “Standard & Poor’s said U.S. Treasury debt no longer deserved to be considered among the safest investments in the world. S&P removed for the first time the triple-A rating the U.S. has held for 70 years, saying the budget deal recently brokered in Washington didn’t do enough to address the gloomy long-term picture for America’s finances.”

Ask Vladimir Putin, who knows a lot more about inflation that does “Zero,” and he’ll tell you that downgrading obligations such as have been incurred by the USA to an AA+ score is still too optimistic.

The mighty USA’s finances “rank below Liechtenstein and on par with Belgium and New Zealand.”