Arkady's Thoughts

Not funny ha-ha, but funny oh-crap.   Below is a clip of Jon Stewart eviscerating The Ben Bernank with his own words.   Recently Bernanke gave a 60 minute interview which he blew smoke up people's asses and got away with it.  Since we no longer have any real journalists left in this country, Stewart decided to tackle the subject by himself.  Now there are a few problems with this clip, but overall Stewart is on the right track.  First, it is possible that Bernanke is actually telling the truth about the latest round of bond purchases as not actually having to print money.  This is because the reserve bank holdings are gigantic, they are now exceeded over a trillion dollars.  This is money that is collectively shared within the Reserve system among the 12 regional reserve banks.  Normally when the economy is humming along and credit is being dispensed liberally (think dot com bubble, real estate bubble) the reserve moneys are under ...

With the deadline approaching rapidly our esteemed representatives must act quickly to decide the fate of millions of Americans that are one month away from a tax increase.  Yes, it is quite fair to call it a tax increase despite the levels returning to pre-Bush levels because Americans will be paying more in taxes come 2011.  As ABC reports the details of the compromise are as follows : extending lower Bush tax rates for EVERYONE for 2 more yrs; extending 99 weeks’ worth of unemployment insurance benefits for an additional 13 months for approximately nine million Americans – without being offset by spending cuts; one year payroll tax reduction for employees -- from 12.4% to 10.4%  ($120 billion worth). This is instead of the “Making Work Pay” tax credit in the stimulus bill – an administration officials says this will “will have more than twice the economic impact next year as a one-year extension of Making Work Pay.” It also will be more noticed than that tax cre...

Earlier this week the House passed a bill that would extend all Bush cuts for those making under 250k and the bill was passed knowingly full well that it would fail in the Senate - it did.  Liberals refuse to extend cuts for the super rich on the count that deficits are crushing this nation. I agree the deficits and the total debt is America's first and foremost issue, but blaming the deficits on tax cuts is less than honest.  There is certainly a correlation, but regardless of what political stripe you are - do you really believe deficits are rise from tax cuts or from spending?   It is illogical to assume that a central authority can spend money that does not belong to them on someone else better than the actual owner of the money.  Illogical.   Still, instead of cutting spending this bill is about fairness and distribution.   AP reports :  ""Do we want to extend those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires at a time of huge defic...

A short video that you might find interesting.  Tom Coburn delivers a somber speech about the tough choices America has to make in order for our country to hand over a better life to the next generation.  He is unhappy with the current proposal, but believes that despite it's flaws the proposal must move forward.  His primary idea is rooted in the knowledge that so far in America no one has actually proposed a legitimate solution or even the start of a solution to our impending crisis. The crisis as he sees it actually is quite simply the ability to service our debt in the short term future as interest rate payments rise.  He is correct.  At the moment we spend about 200 Billion a year in interest payments alone, with the rate of borrowing happening today and the extremely high probability of bonds selling off the rate payments by 2015 will double or triple.  If the employment situation does not improve and taxation is unable to mop up the deficits then A...

With this bill just having passed the Senate, but running into a technical challenge by House Democrats there is something every American should be aware in terms of how Congress operates.  There is no reason to delve into the specifics here because plenty of reputable organizations have already done the work.  One excellent resource that illustrates the danger of granting the FDA more power and some of the specifics of the Senate bill can be found at the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund .   I want to just briefly touch upon the typical Congressional bait and switch tactic that has allowed so many damaging pieces of legislation to control aspects of our lives under the pretext of safety or 'common good'.   For starters, the name of the bill is designed as a marketing ploy.  Anyone who now opposes this bill will at the surface be opposing safety and why would any rational individual oppose safety?  Modernization is also a wonderful keyword and this i...

Color me not impressed please.  In a move set to appease the angry middle class the Obama Administration has announced a salary freeze . The freeze, which requires congressional approval, applies to civilian federal employees -- including non-military personel serving at the Department of Defense. The White House says the move will save $2 billion during the rest of the current fiscal year and $28 billion over the next five years. So not giving raises to federal employees while the private sector is experiencing austerity across the board will save us money?  Recognize the sheer absurdity of the statement.  It is the equivalent of a teenager coming up to his parents and demanding praise and recognition because he decided that he will not borrow any additional money from the parents.  Is this really what America's political accomplishments are being reduced to? Of course Obama and now the infamous 'jobs saved' mantra has taken political spin to an entirely new l...

Below is by far the most honest and refreshing thing you will ever hear coming out of Europe.   Nigel Farage  of the UK Independence Party delivers a very passionate plea to stop the madness of the bailouts and slow down the path of inevitable destruction. There is not much to comment here other than "BRAVO".  This speech took place yesterday at the European Parliament at Strasbourg.   " Just who the hell do you think you people are.  You are very, very dangerous people indeed" P.S. Do observe the reactions of the other politicians in the chamber.   P.P.S.  I have nothing to do with the creepy Russian music