The American Spectator

Steve| 8.25.10 @ 6:49AM

Ah, friend Gannon, like so many Americans you still don't get it. A brutal class war is already underway and gathering steam and there you sit, carping about a symptom instead of the disease.

In this corner, ladies and gentlemen, in the blue trunks, Team Left: welfare hacks, teachers, public union thugs, and corrupt banksters.

And in this corner, in the red trunks with both hands tied behind his back, Team Right: savers, private sector employees, small businessmen.

The fight is anything but fair; the object is to strip and transfer ALL the wealth from Team Right to Team Left; anything goes for Team Left but Team Right is literally tied down for the beating....

Ding-ding!!! We're already in the third round, Mr. Gannon, anf Team Right is taking an awful beating.......Where's Lou Duva and the Fight Doctor?

Dan Hirsch| 8.25.10 @ 8:15AM

Problem for the 'blue trunks': Since only the 'red trunks' make real products and real profits, both sides have to live off of the red trunks production. Since the red trunks cannot make enough to support the ever increasing demands of the blues, the blues will necessarily fight amongst themselves to get "theirs."

If the red trunks don't starve to death, they should re-emerge on top, if they'll only recognize this situation and convince the crowd outside the ring of the veritable reality of this seemingly inane allegory.

Actually, Steve's right!

Nolite me conculcare!

Alan Brooks| 8.25.10 @ 8:32PM

"Since only the 'red trunks' make real products"

So do the Chinese-- doesn't mean there is anything virtuous about China. It's all business, as Michael Corleone said.

"nothing personal, Tom"

ds80| 8.25.10 @ 4:13PM

Steve, Gannon was not writing about class warfare. Why don't you write a cogent 660 word article on class warfare? Then we can blast you for not talking about rising deficits, ballooning national debt, unlimited money-printing, high unemployment and no reward for saving or investing.

buddha8| 8.26.10 @ 11:36AM

Mr Gannon & Steve:

It's much more simple what's going on: A Grand
Shakedown of all white and Asian affluent & rich
(industrious class) Americans:A Grand Theft in
the name of a Black Liberation Theology's "Justice" of "take from the haves and give to the have nots so everyone has an equal piece of the pie--viz. crumbs!!

Greg Hack| 8.26.10 @ 1:39PM

Gee, an unenlightened, racist Buddha. Who would have expected that?

charlie909| 8.26.10 @ 4:25PM

low interest rates are part of social justice

erp| 8.25.10 @ 7:22AM

Steve, you are absolutely right, but at least here in Florida, Republican primary voters are fighting back by voting out incumbents who've done nothing to stop the lefties from destroying our economy.

Low interest rates in a sane world would mean and upsurge of small businesses taking advantage of cheap loans, but this administration has made starting a business many times riskier than it is in normal times.

November can't come soon enough.

Old Oak Tree| 8.25.10 @ 10:12AM

January can't come soon enough.

Alan Brooks| 8.25.10 @ 8:28PM

What? you mean January 2021?
You can't change things just like THAT.

Reply in Kind| 8.25.10 @ 7:36AM

Speaking of drop dead...JFK took on the FED when on 6/4/1963 the president signed an executive order authorizing the Treasury Department to start printing debt free US treasury notes in lieu of debt ridden/borrowed Federal Reserve notes. The amount printed coincided with the value of silver in the US vaults. It almost worked, then came 11/22/1963, subsequently all US treasury notes were removed from circulation. Maybe just maybe the new Congress can restart Kennedy's initiative and end the FED's economic grip on this country. JFK had it right constitutionally speaking and the existence of the FED is unconstitutional.

SpiralArchitect| 8.25.10 @ 4:01PM

>> The Fed IS a Terrorist Organization

John Schuh| 8.27.10 @ 4:31PM

I had forgotten about this. You are right on.

Shamus| 8.25.10 @ 7:49AM

Low interest rates are a big problem for pension funds. Pension funds are often managed with the expectation of earning 7% on investments, but this return has proved elusive due to the stock market break and current low rates. Fed efforts to hold down interest rates necessitates more money go into pension funds so they may meet future obligations. This in turn forces states and municipalities to lay off workers.

Forcing interest rates to artificially low levels is quite harmful to the economy, but central banks fail to learn their lesson. The US central bank is following the Japanese model and will probably get the same results.

inspectorudy| 8.25.10 @ 3:03PM

Not to worry about the union pension funds. We, tax payers, will bail them out now so that when and if the economy ever recovers they will really be fat. Did I hear you say they might pay us back? Oh, I guess I have a hearing problem because we all know they will cry poor mouth and we will eat the bill.

TennesseeVolunteer| 8.25.10 @ 7:59AM

An Economic Status Report From Fly Over Country:

Banks are asking all small businesses to make substantial down payments on loans in order to keep them (how do you pay a loan down 15-20% when your sales are down 50-80%)

Reports from all sectors are that the 4th quarter looks anemic at best (My CPA firm who has 200+ customers is reporting none of its customers are seeing growth in the 4th quarter.)

Public projects, many fueled by stimulus money are paying 90-120 days after being invoiced..How in the world can a business supply product for a customer who says they will pay in 30 days and then pays in 100? I have three projects myself who are acting this way!

There is more but you get the picture. The great slowdown is here. Call it a depression or whatever you want. Small business has downsized all it can. American families have taken huge financial hits and are now eating up valuable seed corn. Everyone is getting out of the market for preservation. Friends of mine who have never even mentioned the word gun are considering going for training and buying a weapon to defend their family if (shudder) the worse comes to worst.
We not only have to take this Republic back at the ballot box but hose who are in office will have to take the strongest action possible to give Americans a sign that we ware going to return to a smaller government, let people keep more of their own money and allow people the individual freedom to say a mosque should not be built at Ground Zero and not be accused by the President, his administration, the MSM and so called moderate Muslims that we are racists, phobes of some sort etc. Our tipping point is here. God bless.

Fairbanks99| 8.25.10 @ 3:42PM

Front Sight in Nevada is THE place to go for firearms training.

http://www.frontsight.com/

Drew| 8.27.10 @ 5:20AM

Front Sight - Run by a criminal, lying Chiropractor who has never fired a shot in anger in his worthless life.

TomInTexas| 8.25.10 @ 7:17PM

Optimistically, our return to a Constitutional Republic is what will happen.

Pessimistically, we're headed for some form of Chavez style dictatorship (if where not there already) and maybe, if we're lucky, there'll be a military coup that returns the Republic to us.

Going back to the days of Caesar, though, not too many military coups, if any, have gone from benign military dictator back to a republic or democracy ... just more benign dictatorship - if the nation's been lucky (e.g. Augustus - and he ruled only after a civil war. And then came Tiberius where it all started going down hill. And then things really heated up the corruption gauge under Calligula.).

Steve A| 8.25.10 @ 8:15AM

How about this prime argument from the Left: " The Bush tax cuts destroyed the economy." That is my favorite. So let's say we have a truck driver who scraped some $$ together 20 years ago & bought his own truck, added another, picked up some routes & deliveries, hired a few guys & now has 30 drivers & a fleet & makes 500K. The American dream, the American way. Bush comes along & lowers his taxes by 4%. DISASTER for the economy that this guy keeps more of his $$ says the left. He will surely bury it in the backyard. How the hell did he get there?? Not by burying it but by re-investing in the business, hiring another guy, buying more equipment, a vacation home, a jet ski, furniture. ALL of this activity stimulating the economy, creating jobs & adding to the net total of funds collected in taxes. Multiply this times 1 million people like our truck driver & this is the economy. The suggestion that letting our hero keep 4% more of his OWN $$ ruined the economy is pathetic to anyone with an IQ over 50. I guess Chris Matthews does not qualify for over 50 as this is what I heard on his show last night. Unreal.

FastJohnny| 8.25.10 @ 8:40AM

I saw the same thing while flipping the channel past Keith Olberman. I couldn't believe it, that they were saying how the Bush Tax Cuts helped put us in debt. Then I thought about it: yeah, of course they are denying a over bloated and over spending government extra funds to start payinbg the debt. That is like blaming someone for your overspending debt because they wouldn't give you the money to spend in the first place. Wierd how these lefties manage to figure out a way to throw the blame somewhere it is not.

Shamus| 8.25.10 @ 12:38PM

Spending put us in debt.

Steve A| 8.25.10 @ 8:50AM

Hey Fast, The kicker is this: The FACT is that lowering the rate actually ADDS net revenue to the treasury as a result of the economic activity generated. I mean, it's simply a reality proven over & over again; Reagan, Bush lower rates, net funds increase to treasury. They (congress) just freakin spend more is the problem. When Obama was confronted with this fact in an interview prior to the election, he aknowledged it was true but said he would STILL RAISE THE RATES as an issue of "fairness." Check it out.

George True| 8.25.10 @ 10:15AM

I remember that interview. I believe the interviewer was Matt Lauer, who was one of the few (only?) to ask BHO an actual substantive question. His question was to he effect of "How can you justify your proposal to almost double the capital gains tax rate from 15% to 28% when over 100 million Americans who invest in stocks and mutual funds would be affected? Obama's reply was chilling in its' combination of economic ignorance and coldness. He said in effect that the top 50 hedge fund managers were making hundreds of millions of dollars, but not paying their "fair share", so we have to raise the capital gains tax as a matter of "fairness".

Unfortunately, Lauer did not follow up with obvious question. Namely, "So you are telling me that you plan to almost double the tax on 100 million middle-class Americans just to make sure that these 50 guys and a few others like them pay their fair share?".

TennesseeVolunteer| 8.25.10 @ 8:59AM

Either the words of Chris Matthews, Olbermann et al are the last flailings of a dead horse or we are in real trouble. Per my post above, methinks we are in real trouble economically. The only thing that could save the Dems would be a cataclysmic, orchestrated calamity on their part. For instance: a terrorist strike, a racial incident of great proportions or another downturn like in Sept of 2008 which still hasn't been explained to me. What did Bush and all of our officials see that produced TARP and the election of Obama?

Tom Osterman| 8.25.10 @ 9:10AM

Don’t give them ideas!

TennesseeVolunteer| 8.25.10 @ 2:59PM

Thanks for a good laugh, I needed it!
The fourth idea is they could make permanent tax cuts! I still wouldn't vote for them.

1stcav| 8.25.10 @ 9:25AM

Tennessee Vol and Steve A. Both of you are on target. I'm a Viet Nam Vet. (Infantry) who has never held a weapon since I left Viet Nam, up until last 2008. When it became apparent that Lefty was going to win the Presidency, I got the eerie feeling that a fight was brewing. I purchased my first pistol (from a Pastor by the way, he has several more) and pray that I will never have to use it. My generation (I just turned 63) has sat around and let socialists and communists take our country. Remember Kruschev's threat???

Steve A| 8.25.10 @ 2:17PM

1stcav, Thank you for your service. The only thing holding back Kruschev's prediction is the will & efforts of people, like yourself, who have taken the time to study history & contrast it vs. current events. I am REALLY reluctant to state this, but if they come for my ammo one day it is game over for whomever is assigned that task. Hope to God we never see it.

joli| 8.25.10 @ 11:21PM

This is the key: they won't come for our (your--I don't have any--yet) firearms; they will instead make the use of lead in ammo illegal, and cause shortages on ammo far greater than what happened after 0 got elected.

Clinton nee Publius| 8.25.10 @ 9:26AM

The issue here is that the monetary policy and central banking system of the U.S. is neither self-sustaining nor self-regulating in nature and the result is a constant source of corruption to the commercial banking system that impacts every level of our economy. This brings us to an important point in our journey to the personal pursuit of economic freedom and happiness. We have to decide what is necessary to the operation of our banking systems, what is expected and what can actually be done if we were to adopt other measures, structures and systems.

To get to these issues we must first come to an epiphany and that fundamental realization is that what we are doing (i.e.: the continued use of The Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913) is not working and is not even close to being useful for our needs. Until we reach this level of understanding and commitment for change, all of these discussions about Fed Policy amount to a tacit endorsement of the status quo, an acknowledgment that recessions can continue to happen in the future even when they can be prevented from ever occurring the first place and the concentration of wealth in the banking industry and its allied ruling class institutions is the best we can hope for in our economy.

Like the alcoholic, until we admit there is a fundamental problem with our banking systems that must be completely jettisoned from our lives in order to change the misery of our daily existence, the outcomes will continue to be disappointing for everyone who is not a banking industry insider or member of our ruling class.

Ryan| 8.25.10 @ 11:22AM

All systems - even your pet theory that you alone seem to post about on the internet - have recessionary tendencies.

Depressions can be prevented. Recessions can't. It's the nature of any economic theory.

Clinton nee Publius| 8.25.10 @ 2:48PM

If only you were correct, we could watch the planet heal together and the oceans recede while we thanked the Messiah for rainbow-power and unicorns and green jobs for all.

Your nature of economic theory is the same as every other corrupt elitist - steal what you can and then run and hide from the damage and try to justify it on a mountain of b.s. But when it comes to getting real solutions, we know where you'll be - on the side of stealing money because the idea of real competition is anathema to your pathetic existence.

Ryan| 8.25.10 @ 4:23PM

Prove that those are my beliefs. Read my past postings.

You are wrong about me, and your ATTITUDE in no way convinces me that you are right.

You're just as elitist as the people in DC. You have a pet theory or position and you look down upon anyone who dares to question you.

You're just as big a part of the problem.

1stcav| 8.25.10 @ 9:31AM

Started to say last year but remembered it was 2008 but didn't correct it. You get the picture though.
One last thought that keeps going through my mind about the media. George HW Bush and George Bush are two good Christian men who gave stability to our country and our psyche. I didn't agree with some things they good but there was never a doubt that they were good men.
Then Bill Clinton and the one we have now (can't stand to say his name) come along. The far left wing media overflowing with athiests hated the Bushes and love the other two. If that doesn't smack you right between the eyes, there's no hope for anyone.

Houston Rao| 8.25.10 @ 9:58AM

"The Fed's policy is geared to making unlimited amounts of money available to banks and other lenders at almost no cost, to encourage lending and to swell bank profits. It is doing a marvelous job swelling big-bank profits and a lousy job of increasing bank lending".

The only purpose of this policy is to allow bank to earn profits that they can use to re-capitalize themselves.

The point I am making is that banks CANNOT lend today (even if they had credit worthy borrowers) simply because they don't have the capital. The Fed can create reserves and make loans to the banks, but they can't create capital. Since banks have to meet minimum capital requirements on loans, in their current undercapitalized state, they can't lend. So they are borrowing at 0% from the Fed, investing the T-bonds and re-capitalizing themselves on the taxpayers backs.

Houston Rao| 8.25.10 @ 10:00AM

The more 'living' the constitution has become, the less the quality of our 'living' has become.

Andrew| 8.27.10 @ 9:28AM

well said

Au Contraire| 8.25.10 @ 10:25AM

"A few days ago I received my monthly statement from Fidelity Investments, where I keep some of my retirement savings. It told me that the cash I keep in a money market account there is earning an annual rate of interest of 0.01%."

Sounds like you need to find a new bank/brokerage.

Shamus| 8.25.10 @ 12:41PM

It's the Fed's Zero Rate Policy. No one pays interest anymore.

Au Contraire| 8.25.10 @ 6:03PM

My savings account pays 2%, and CDs pay a bit more. It's not much, granted, but still not zero.

CopyKatnj| 8.25.10 @ 10:25AM

"those who work, pay taxes, restrain their spending and put away some savings -- feeling like suckers being conned in a political shell game."

Exactly

Mimi| 8.25.10 @ 10:26AM

We have to...Just take this country back. Thats all there is to it!
The best way is to get the Non-voter, to the polls! The numbers are there for a giant rejection of the Demo-majority. The out of the wood-work crowd will overwhelm them. HELP GET THEM REGISTERED...call your Board of Elections...To get the appropiate dates for your state..They will gladly send you 100 or so registration forms. You can fold them and even put stamps on them. GO GET THE NON-VOTER..registered and to the POLLS.

TennesseeVolunteer| 8.25.10 @ 3:02PM

Mimi, you are sooo right. Af friend of manie had a great idea. He, his wife and two sons of voting age are going to vote AS A FAMILY.
What a wonderful way to educate our children and live up to the greatness of a sovereign nation.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.25.10 @ 10:34AM

Ludwig Von Mises theory was that all easy credit ends badly.

Our society is living it but hasn't learned any lessons yet.

In the meantime failure is hailed as success by the MSM, Obama , Biden, Geithner and Bernanke.

All we can expect now is another round of bad endings, more sneaky lying politicians who will say anything to get elected, and few inside the beltway who give a damn about anything other then their earmarks.

By the way, if you bury that money in the back yard, at least you know where it is other then being used to support more CRA loans. It's still going on with no end in sight.

Ryan| 8.25.10 @ 11:26AM

The more that we propogate that we HAVE to buy on credit is probably a theory that needs to be dispelled.

I deal with bad commercial debt all day long. From what I see, if your business is living off of debt, you need to be out of business. If you continually NEED debt to regularly operate - particularly in a long term - you're hurting the rest of us as well.

I'm starting REALLY small. If I ever have a true small business, it's going to work because I won't go get a loan to pay for something if I can't fund it with the cash flow.

Steve A| 8.25.10 @ 1:32PM

Ryan, You have offended Pres. Obama with your take on this. He & Biden have told me, as a small business owner, that I need to go get a loan so I can increase payroll. Please get on board with this DEEP, brilliant economic thinking & hop on the dunce train.

Clinton nee Publius| 8.25.10 @ 2:50PM

Hypocrite.

Ryan| 8.25.10 @ 4:23PM

How?

Ryan| 8.25.10 @ 4:26PM

We're low-end commercial debt buyers. We sometimes pay cash for what people have owed for years, or we leverage it properly with people who can afford to take the risk to grow their business - not tread water to pay everyday bills.

We make deals so people can get a debt load off of them and get back on their feet faster, and make us some money as well.

How is what we do hypocritical?

David| 8.25.10 @ 12:47PM

I have often wondered why it is, that the conservatives are called the "right" and the liberals are called the "left."

Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)
"The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left".

That was surely evidenced last night in Arizona. How could people who most Americans admired over their "common sense" approach to illegal immigration vote for Juan McAmnesty again. Don't they recall just 2 years ago he was calling, along with Jorge Bush, people who wanted to enforce immigration laws bigots, racists, etc. Have they forgotten all of his compromises and liberal votes in recent years.

Sorry people of Arizona, but it is because of morons like you that I still think Bam Bam has a good chance of being re-elected in 2012.

JP| 8.25.10 @ 1:24PM

With whole sale prices in oil and certain grain commodities falling, we could actually see "rea" negative price increases in all goods and services. Consumers, banks, and corporations are keeping things as liquid as possible (ie they are hoarding cash and paying down debt). Interest rates set by the Fed are in the negative range. which equate to near 0% dividends on savings. However, if defalation does set in, Cash will be King. But, banks balance sheets will go into the red as asset prices spiral downward (assets in most cases are real estate and inventories). Banks will find themselves with not enough cash to operate on a day-to-day basis. Those share holders in the know will begin pullng out thier cash, which will compound the problem. Once word gets out, other shareholders will also pull out thier savings and hoard it. It will litterally be "to the mattresses". The FDCI covers accounts up to $100,000. But the Treasury cannot cover all banks in the event of a national banking crisis. There's lies the danger.

The Fed has done about all it can do. But the problem isn't the Federal Reserve Banks; the problem lies with Congress and our President, and those people and groups who demand the continuation of prolifigate spending. Our Federal Government is litterally destroying wealth (negative GDP growth is a function of deflation).

Ryan| 8.25.10 @ 4:30PM

Minor correction - the FDIC is guaranteeing $250k.

Steve A| 8.25.10 @ 1:42PM

JP, Well stated. It is exactly how you portray it. If I am not mistaken though, the FDIC guarantee was bumped to 250K in January thanks to Barney / Dodd & co. This simply guarantees that the Fed. will crank up the printing presses & helicopter Ben Bernanke gets to try his cash dump if need be to perpetuate the illusion of real $$.

Howard| 8.25.10 @ 2:29PM

I am afraid Bernanke is repeating his 2003-2005 mistake of keeping money loose. once they started tightening money in 2005, to bring rates to a realistic number, it exposed the dry rot in the economy. I'm afraid once they slam on the brakes, it will expose all of the idiocy of current monetary policy. "Oops, I did it again" should be Bernanke's theme song.

Gill O’Teen ✝✡$| 8.25.10 @ 2:52PM

I completely sympathize with those who, like Mr. Gannon, think “I might as well have the cash buried in a coffee can in my back yard.” I wish I could claim I foresaw the wanton and deliberate destruction of our country in time to protect all my retirement funds, but I didn’t. However, once I began to have a clue, I closed each and every retirement fund I had and sold all my stock assets - what was left of them. While the coffee can has lots to recommend it, its numerous fans fail to account for the devastation wrought by the inevitable inflation which helicopter beanie’s using the power of the fed to buy treasury debt will cause. Yep, he plans to use OUR money to buy OUR money. You would be far better off today wasting your money on a really good time in Vegas, checking off items on your bucket list or simply paying down personal debt than simply hiding it in a hole in the ground. Even better is to buy stuff that will retain at least some value no matter what. I bought gold, silver and a lead delivery system. I am also heavily invested in distilled liquids. When all else fails I will have the option of pleasantly drowning all my sorrows. If, as others posting here unencouragingly point out, we are headed into a deflationary spiral, which just might turn out to be the inevitable result of gum’mint’s massive stupidity, I will still have the option of pleasantly drowning all my sorrows. I will not, however, toast the respoobly-kon voters of Arizona who bought into that new improved “Fight with me, fight with me” political pacifist’s “he was (lying) to get elected” sales pitch. When will we ever learn that a person’s track record is a better indicator of future performance than all the pleasing promises he makes?
Gill O’Teen ✝✡$
Don’t Tread on Me.
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
“I don't mind going back to daylight saving time. With inflation, the hour will be the only thing I've saved all year.” - Victor Borge
Only 879 days to go

Old Soldier| 8.25.10 @ 2:58PM

My wife and I had the same conversation last week with our investment adviser. We have some cash that will be needed to pay tuition over the next few years. The stock market is far too risky right now for short-term savings. The banks and bond funds are little better than cash - and inflation is probably around the corner.

Thanks Bernie, thanks Barry.

Old Soldier| 8.25.10 @ 2:58PM

My wife and I had the same conversation last week with our investment adviser. We have some cash that will be needed to pay tuition over the next few years. The stock market is far too risky right now for short-term savings. The banks and bond funds are little better than cash - and inflation is probably around the corner.

Thanks Bernie, thanks Barry.

Jeamar37| 8.25.10 @ 3:40PM

Amen, Mr. Gannon. Savers are taking it in the shorts. Interest on savings should in some proportional way be tied to credit card interest rates. Ever hear of a politician proposing such a policy?

Claire Solt| 8.25.10 @ 3:41PM

We have experienced a very lot of inflation in my lifetime. China and other emerging markets see no reason to strive for price parity for goods or labor. If a car costs $2,000 new in India, will Americans pay ten times that much. Such is some of the deflationary pressure we are experiencing.

Pat| 8.25.10 @ 4:01PM

Never letting a good crisis go to waste, the Democratic Party National Committee has come up with a brilliant (their descriptive term) idea for new legislation. Called the National Consumer Spending Initiative, or as one Dem nicknamed it “ObamaSpend”, this new law would severely penalize those Americans who put their family’s personal welfare ahead of the nation’s welfare by reducing useless personal savings and encouraging consumers to spend on a massive scale (which on the Democrats’ traditional spending scale always begins at “massive” and proceeds in increments to “OMG”). The idea to immediately end the recession through opening the spending floodgates by progressively taxing your savings, taxing your attempts to pay down your mortgage and imposing penalty fines on those frugal idiots who carry zero balances on their credit cards. The New York Times and all members of the “Journolist Group” have been instructed to refer to many of you in the future as “Selfish Savers” (the SS for short) - opening the first round of a low key propaganda campaign to support passage of ObamaSpend, a clever campaign designed to nudge you into the malls, the auto dealers, the beauty parlors and the nail salons.

President Obama has even instructed his direct reports and cabinet appointees to blow every cent of their kids’ college fund on consumer items such as a new ski boat, a hot tub for both the house and office or maybe one of those revolutionary “green” appliances for your backyard called “Mr. Compost” (sold through Sears and Amazon). Trips to Vegas are discouraged though, Obama is no longer welcome there since he shot his mouth off a year ago about voters wasting their money in Las Vegas – plus, losing money on the slots isn’t considered real spending since it doesn’t “stimulate” anyone, except maybe the Mob - and what gets spent in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Obama’s think tank groupies have even come up with catchy new ObamaSpend slogans such as “I’ve got a credit card and I’m not afraid to use it”, “I came, I shopped, I spent” and in a deliberately unsubtle hint at what’s to come after passage of ObamaSpend: “Spend it or lose it”. Additionally, buried within the 3,000 pages of the proposed bill, ObamaSpend will ban the use of coffee cans by retailers in order to prevent consumers from entertaining nonsensical ideas like burying their life savings underneath their rosebush – consequently, starting immediately after passage, all coffee will be sold only in sacks made from recycled paper, biodegradable and which will automatically begin disintegrating 3 days after your purchase.

Mimi| 8.25.10 @ 6:11PM

PAT....Is this true or a funny post? if true we're in more trouble than I thought!!!

Pat| 8.25.10 @ 7:50PM

Mimi:

Not true - yet. But Obama entered office months after the start of the current recession and who would have ever imagined the recession wouldn't have been long over by the 2010 elections. At least that was the plan. So, don't throw out those empty coffee cans, you might need them to hide your savings from the Spending Police.

Gill O’Teen ✝✡$| 8.25.10 @ 8:21PM

Pat’s post is wonderful satire. However, there is indeed a special dividend tax in the pipeline. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal last April 29,

“Last week the Senate Budget Committee passed a fiscal 2011 budget resolution that includes an increase in the top tax rate on dividends to 39.6% from the current 15%—a 164% increase. This blows past the 20% rate that President Obama proposed in his 2011 budget and which his economic advisers promised on these pages in 2008.” [http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703709804575202481173165478.html ]

Of course what Pat failed to appreciate is that if nobody saves, everybody will eventually depend on the slave masters in dee cee for crusts of stale bread.

Gill O’Teen ✝✡$
Don’t Tread on Me.
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
“Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery.” - Wayne Dyer
Only 879 days to go

Michele San Pietro| 8.25.10 @ 5:32PM

I think it's this Federal Reserve that must drop dead.

aware| 8.25.10 @ 5:58PM

Real economic expansion based on real wealth supplied by real savers who have productive jobs, backed by an honest court system with set ground rules is a complete impossibility as long as the Federal Reserve and the fractional reserve banking system continues to "create" "money" through the incurring of debt. No matter who is running the country.

It is just that simple. It is not possible to get an honest economy at the other end of that sausage factory.
How blatant does it have to be? Financial and corporate profits through the roof(though as usual just "certain" ones) while the unemployed pay the price. Ugly isn't it?
But this is how criminal cartels operate. But they promise to "protect" you next time. Sure...

Jead Dew| 8.25.10 @ 9:57PM

Zyklon B

Marc Jeric| 8.26.10 @ 12:31AM

"It's Bush's fault!" - shout our commies. But the facts are these:
1) Clinton's recession started by the end of 2000; it got worse by the attack of 9/11/2001;
2) Then with Bush's tax cuts the economy stormed ahead for 5 years;
3) The elections of 2006 brought Democrats to power in Congress;
4) Then the cumulative effect of Carter's "Reinvestment Act" reinforced by Clinton and the new Democrat majority (Frank & Dodd combo) using threats of fines and jail forced the sale of 2 million houses to "underserved minorities", pushed by demonstrations, threats, and phony qualifying by the ACORN thugs resulted in the mortgage meltdown. You see - those "underserved minorities" had no money to pay those mortgages.
The entire fault for this enduring recession falls clearly and 100% on the heads of our Democrats, communists, marxists. Well, that wimp Bush was of no help by mentioning "ownership society".

dumberthan| 8.26.10 @ 9:45AM

Writer is a moron in more ways than one:

1) you could earn 1.10% currently in an HSBC online savings account, as I have, and similar amounts from other online only banks, so why are you irrationally fussing around with the Fidelity money market fund at 0.01%? Is it just so you can earn 43 cents and write this op-ed?

2) You deliberately miss all of the secondary aspects of fed policy: encouraging investment, as well as spending, allowing banks to recapitalize (as opposed to earn profits) to make up for massive loan losses.

3) There is nothing wrong with earning low return on cash for a couple of years if you're investment horizon is long enough. Now is the time for building up cash for further investment later. A 43 cent return this year, and a 100% return five years from now, are equivalent to earning a low percentage return every year. In fact, too, if we are in fact entering a deflationary environment, then earning nothing on your cash is still making you a lot of money, in real as opposed to nominal terms. So stop whining.

86general| 8.26.10 @ 11:27AM

Great article....in answering Steve's comment, there is no disconnect between the premise of the article and the issue of class warfare. They are connected. In any case, monetary policy enacted by Bush at the end of his term (TARP), and all of the Obama administration's monetary policies can be summarized as attempts to counter the market's attempts to re-price assets in accordance with their value. Maybe Obama and Bernanke understand this, but argue that the rapid, violent re-pricing would cause too much economic upheval. I'm not sure they are correct. If Bank of America failed, what would have happened? Rioting in the streets and revolution? I don't think so. I think TD Bank or some other solvent institution would have snapped up BOA's assets, and FDIC would have taken care of whatever the buyer couldn't. The value of housing would be dropping more precipitously than it is now, and foreclosures would maybe be a bit higher. In a year or two, with assets now in line with value, and bad debt wiped clean, there would be no impediment to recovery. Instead, what Bernanke and Obama (and Paulson) are/were trying to do is prevent this ripping off of the bandaid. The problem is, they are exacerbating the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem was that too many US dollars were flooding the world market (enabled by China buying our treasury paper) already, mainly due to government policy on real estate lending (guaranteeing mortgages, holding rates low, etc.). What is needed now is a Volker-type adjustment, with a period of higher interest rates, and a paying down of debt to suck dollars out of the world economy. This would mean higher rates given to savers, which was the point of the article. Eventually, we are going to end up with inflation.

mo| 8.26.10 @ 12:47PM

www.checkfinder.com. 3.01% mon.....ccounts...

RobertK| 8.26.10 @ 7:40PM

they will reap what they have sown upon their judgment by their Creator. trust meee, i would NOT want to be them at their judgment! and the finality of all of our judgments is sobering to say the least, yet realizing what evil they are currently and have been conducting against the people of the world, i know our Creator will be quite fair.

M. Btok| 8.26.10 @ 9:50PM

Out with the Global Elite and the Criminal Government - That Has Performed A Hostile Corporate Take Over of America!
The Government that has taken over America, is not American! Outsiders are running our country!
The reasons why, we must vote out, Establishment Government Representatives, whether they are Left or Right - Incumbent or Candidate!

Make sure the candidates and incumbents, you vote for in November this year and in 2012, do not belong to any of the Global Elitist Organizations: Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Club of Rome, Skull and Bones, Canadian Council of Chief Executives,
Harvard Elite Players, Goldman Sachs, International Monetary Fund, The United Nations, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization.

The reason we must vote out Establishment Government Representatives, whether they are Left or Right, Incumbent or Candidate is explained on this 2 minute News Clip below:

TWO Party Paradyne System News clip:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/.....ra_part_2/

We Americans, who wish to stop the thieving and robbing, of your income and resources in your country, by the Globalist Banksters need to, "End the Fed"! Help Ron Paul out on this one folks! There in lays our freedom!

PS: Please pass this information on to your friends - as - time is getting short, Obama and the Elites are pushing hard to start World war III with Iran, a distraction to save Obama's failing presidency, in an effort to get the sheep rallying around Obama!

Jaysonrex| 8.26.10 @ 9:53PM

The Fed under Greenspan and now under Bernanke, brought the interest to ZERO. Since the inflation is about 2% (or more), this means that all savers are paying a TAX ON ASSETS that is not allowed by the U.S. Constitution.

How does the Fed plead to this hidden and illegal tax?

sdfg| 8.27.10 @ 12:03PM

once upon a time average house prices and average yearly income was 7500 dollars now average household income wage earnings are 54,000 and household prices are way way way beyond the ratio because of manipulations and sheeple manipulations.

Obbop| 9.21.10 @ 11:01PM

"There's class warfare, all right, Mr. (Warren) Buffett said, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."

Christian Louboutin| 6.23.11 @ 5:46AM

I have enough cash in that account to buy a fancy new car or take a glorious long vacation but it earned me the grand sum of 43 cents in interest in the month of July.