sanders vs. bernanke

ben bernanke is and has been in an especially important position. to have arrived at the prestigious position of chairman of the federal reserve, while initial privilege may have played a role, he had to have displayed an array of great skills in his arena which would include public relations. here, being questioned under oath by vermont senator bernie sanders, bernanke remains remarkably cool considering the facts of the case.

bernanke may have a sense of entitlement regarding not only the united states tax monies given to his agency to distribute to failing banks but also to the secrecy that has surrounded the transactions. however, he almost does not show it at all as he coolly answers questions as if his answers are respectable, honest and fair to the american taxpayers.

there is the one moment when sanders asks bernanke the names of the banks who received the tax monies of american citizens. bernanke has a moment where you can see his frustration. it is just a moment and it goes by fast but it is there, (for just a second.) otherwise this top banker plays his role and acts as if there are perfectly good reasons why the fed need not be accountable, (which of course is absurd.)

credit default swaps (again)

i've linked an oxdown post to the header, (and here,) by massacio about our financial crisis and specifically, credit default swaps. it is a complicated post, just as it is an especially difficult and complicated issue. that said, i wanted to share my interpretation.

with credit default swaps we had gamblers, (protection buyers and sellers,) betting on publicly traded companies. in gambling one usually expects there to be losers but in this case, it seems henry paulson and ben bernanke are using my ira to pay the losers off.

what massacio points out in the oxdown post is that paulson and bernanke took the bailout money but no one knows how they are spending it. it seems aig and citigroup should have went under, but they did not. what the heck is going on?

i get the feeling the bailout money is being funnelled to entities like citigroup but not affectng their bottom lines because in turn, they are paying off their protection buyers, (on the downlow.)

this is why we the people should be opposed to the financial bailout, because there is no accountability and no transparency and because citigroup should have failed and those who traded in credit default swaps through citigroup should have simply lost.

as it is paulson was in china last week begging their government not to devalue the dollar, despite the fact we're printing money like crazy without any backing. so here is how all this is currently working.

1. our treasury prints money.
2. our politicians hand the money to the banks as if it is blessed by the american people, (which it is not.)
3. the banks skulk around trying to pay off their gambling debts in order to stay afloat all the while trying to keep the wizard of oz's curtain drawn so we cannot see them back there.
4. the american people just go about their daily business without any clue as to the horrifying crisis they will pay later for not paying attention today.

i guess sometime in the summer of '09 we will all wake up one day to discover the american dollaw has either been replaced or devalued by 50%. this is to say each and every dollar, wherever it may be, will suddenly be worth 50-cents. or, put another way, prices on virtually everything will double over night. milk will be $5 per gallon. gas will jump back up to $4 per gallon, (assuming no fluctuation in the interim.) one dozen eggs will also approach $4. put another way, everything in the consumer price index will double. over night.

how will that affect your family?

ian welsh

i have to direct you to this firedoglake blog entry from ian welsh. if you click on his name in the header, you will go to the post.

ian welsh is pointing out that ben bernanke and henry paulson and all the rest are basically screwing us all over. if welsh is correct america will be the land without opportunity for some years to come. those who have administered this economic bailout, have taken great care to ensure those who caused it will not have to pay for the massive amounts of money recently printed by the federal reserve.

the idea seems to be, according to welsh, that the guy's who hold the levers of control are trying to keep things just barely acceotable to the masses so that later as any amount of prosperity returns, it can be gleaned right off the top to pay for the investment that is this printed cash.

it is a great age we live in. the internet affords us a previously unfathomable ability to communicate. so if bernanke and paulson and obama and even krugman, are willing to sell us all down the river by signing off on all this, we are fortunate to have people like ian welsh who blog about it and are able to translate economic facts and theory into layman's terms. hence, why i am sharing this with you.