CEO & Partner, Parisian Family Office. Began Wall Street career in 1982. Founded investment firm, Native American Advisors, 1995. White Earth Chippewa, Tribal Member. Raised on reservations. Conservative. NYSE/FINRA arbitrator. Pureblood, clot-shot free. In a world elevated on a tech-driven dopamine binge, he trades from Ghost Ranch on the Yellowstone River in MT, TN farm, Pamelot or CASA TULE', their winter camp in Los Cabos, Mexico. Always been, and will always be, an optimist.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
It's coming and you won't stop it.
The U.S. government is borrowing about 8 trillion dollars a year, and you are about to see the hard numbers that prove this. When discussing the national debt, most people tend to only focus on the amount that it increases each 12 months. The U.S. national debt has increased by more than a trillion dollars in fiscal year 2014. But that does not count the huge amounts of U.S. Treasury securities that the federal government must redeem each year. When these debt instruments hit their maturity date, the U.S. government must pay them off. This is done by borrowing more money to pay off the previous debts. In fiscal year 2013, redemptions of U.S. Treasury securities totaled $7,546,726,000,000 and new debt totaling $8,323,949,000,000 was issued. The final numbers for fiscal year 2014 are likely to be significantly higher than that.
So why does so much government debt come due each year?
Well, in recent years government officials figured out that they could save a lot of money on interest payments by borrowing over shorter time frames. For example, it costs the government far more to borrow money for 10 years than it does for 1 year. So a strategy was hatched to borrow money for very short periods of time and to keep "rolling it over" again and again and again.
This strategy has indeed saved the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars in interest payments, but it has also created a situation where the federal government must borrow about 8 trillion dollars a year just to keep up with the game.
So what happens when the rest of the world decides that it does not want to loan us 8 trillion dollars a year at ultra-low interest rates?
Well, the game will be over and we will be in a massive amount of trouble.
I am about to share with you some numbers that were originally reported by CNS News. As you can see, far more debt is being redeemed and issued today than back during the middle part of the last decade...
2013
Redeemed: $7,546,726,000,000
Issued: $8,323,949,000,000
Increase: $777,223,000,000
2012
Redeemed: $6,804,956,000,000
Issued: $7,924,651,000,000
Increase: $1,119,695,000,000
2011
Redeemed: $7,026,617,000,000
Issued: $8,078,266,000,000
Increase: $1,051,649,000,000
2010
Redeemed: $7,206,965,000,000
Issued: $8,649,171,000,000
Increase: $1,442,206,000,000
2009
Redeemed: $7,306,512,000,000
Issued: $9,027,399,000,000
Increase: $1,720,887,000,000
2008
Redeemed: $4,898,607,000,000
Issued: $5,580,644,000,000
Increase: $682,037,000,000
2007
Redeemed: $4,402,395,000,000
Issued: $4,532,698,000,000
Increase: $130,303,000,000
2006
Redeemed: $4,297,869,000,000
Issued: $4,459,341,000,000
Increase: $161,472,000,000
The only way that this game can continue is if the U.S. government can continue to borrow gigantic piles of money at ridiculously low interest rates.
And our current standard of living greatly depends on the continuation of this game.
If something comes along and rattles this Ponzi scheme, life in America could change radically almost overnight.
In the United States today, we have a heavily socialized system that hands out checks to nearly half the population. In fact, 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that gets direct monetary benefits from the federal government each month according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And it is hard to believe, but Americans received more than 2 trillion dollars in benefits from the federal government last year alone. At this point, the primary function of the federal government is taking money from some people and giving it to others. In fact, more than 70 percent of all federal spending goes to "dependence-creating programs", and the government runs approximately 80 different "means-tested welfare programs" right now. But the big problem is that the government is giving out far more money than it is taking in, so it has to borrow the difference. As long as we can continue to borrow at super low interest rates, the status quo can continue.
But a Ponzi scheme like this can only last for so long.
It has been said that when the checks stop coming in, chaos will begin in the streets of America.
The looting that took place when a technical glitch caused the EBT system to go down for a short time in some areas last year and the rioting in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri this year were both small previews of what we will see in the future.
And there is no way that we will be able to "grow" our way out of this problem.
As the Baby Boomers continue to retire, the amount of money that the federal government is handing out each year is projected to absolutely skyrocket. Just consider the following numbers...
But the same thing could have been said about 2007. The stock market was soaring, the economy seemed like it was rolling right along and people were generally optimistic about the future. Then the financial crisis of 2008 erupted and it seemed like the world was going to end.
Well, the truth is that another great crisis is approaching.
So why does so much government debt come due each year?
Well, in recent years government officials figured out that they could save a lot of money on interest payments by borrowing over shorter time frames. For example, it costs the government far more to borrow money for 10 years than it does for 1 year. So a strategy was hatched to borrow money for very short periods of time and to keep "rolling it over" again and again and again.
This strategy has indeed saved the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars in interest payments, but it has also created a situation where the federal government must borrow about 8 trillion dollars a year just to keep up with the game.
So what happens when the rest of the world decides that it does not want to loan us 8 trillion dollars a year at ultra-low interest rates?
Well, the game will be over and we will be in a massive amount of trouble.
I am about to share with you some numbers that were originally reported by CNS News. As you can see, far more debt is being redeemed and issued today than back during the middle part of the last decade...
2013
Redeemed: $7,546,726,000,000
Issued: $8,323,949,000,000
Increase: $777,223,000,000
2012
Redeemed: $6,804,956,000,000
Issued: $7,924,651,000,000
Increase: $1,119,695,000,000
2011
Redeemed: $7,026,617,000,000
Issued: $8,078,266,000,000
Increase: $1,051,649,000,000
2010
Redeemed: $7,206,965,000,000
Issued: $8,649,171,000,000
Increase: $1,442,206,000,000
2009
Redeemed: $7,306,512,000,000
Issued: $9,027,399,000,000
Increase: $1,720,887,000,000
2008
Redeemed: $4,898,607,000,000
Issued: $5,580,644,000,000
Increase: $682,037,000,000
2007
Redeemed: $4,402,395,000,000
Issued: $4,532,698,000,000
Increase: $130,303,000,000
2006
Redeemed: $4,297,869,000,000
Issued: $4,459,341,000,000
Increase: $161,472,000,000
The only way that this game can continue is if the U.S. government can continue to borrow gigantic piles of money at ridiculously low interest rates.
And our current standard of living greatly depends on the continuation of this game.
If something comes along and rattles this Ponzi scheme, life in America could change radically almost overnight.
In the United States today, we have a heavily socialized system that hands out checks to nearly half the population. In fact, 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that gets direct monetary benefits from the federal government each month according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And it is hard to believe, but Americans received more than 2 trillion dollars in benefits from the federal government last year alone. At this point, the primary function of the federal government is taking money from some people and giving it to others. In fact, more than 70 percent of all federal spending goes to "dependence-creating programs", and the government runs approximately 80 different "means-tested welfare programs" right now. But the big problem is that the government is giving out far more money than it is taking in, so it has to borrow the difference. As long as we can continue to borrow at super low interest rates, the status quo can continue.
But a Ponzi scheme like this can only last for so long.
It has been said that when the checks stop coming in, chaos will begin in the streets of America.
The looting that took place when a technical glitch caused the EBT system to go down for a short time in some areas last year and the rioting in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri this year were both small previews of what we will see in the future.
And there is no way that we will be able to "grow" our way out of this problem.
As the Baby Boomers continue to retire, the amount of money that the federal government is handing out each year is projected to absolutely skyrocket. Just consider the following numbers...
Yes, things seem somewhat stable for the moment in America today.-Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, more than 70 million Americans are on Medicaid, and it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.
-When Medicare was first established, we were told that it would cost about $12 billion a year by the time 1990 rolled around. Instead, the federal government ended up spending $110 billion on the program in 1990, and the federal government spent approximately $600 billion on the program in 2013.
-It is being projected that the number of Americans on Medicare will grow from 50.7 million in 2012 to 73.2 million in 2025.
-At this point, Medicare is facing unfunded liabilities of more than 38 trillion dollars over the next 75 years. That comes to approximately $328,404 for every single household in the United States.
-In 1945, there were 42 workers for every retiree receiving Social Security benefits. Today, that number has fallen to 2.5 workers, and if you eliminate all government workers, that leaves only 1.6 private sector workers for every retiree receiving Social Security benefits.
-Right now, there are approximately 63 million Americans collecting Social Security benefits. By 2035, that number is projected to soar to an astounding 91 million.
-Overall, the Social Security system is facing a 134 trillion dollar shortfall over the next 75 years.
-The U.S. government is facing a total of 222 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities during the years ahead. Social Security and Medicare make up the bulk of that.
But the same thing could have been said about 2007. The stock market was soaring, the economy seemed like it was rolling right along and people were generally optimistic about the future. Then the financial crisis of 2008 erupted and it seemed like the world was going to end.
Well, the truth is that another great crisis is approaching.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
And you win peace prizes for this?
Since winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama has now bombed 7 predominantly Muslim countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Iraq, and now Syria.
Oslo, October 9, 2009
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."
Oslo, October 9, 2009
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."
Sunday, September 21, 2014
McCain and the MIC must be fuming.............
Since it is almost impossible to win against guerrillas by only attacking from the air, "boots on the ground", as The Pentagon and military have advised, are needed to effectively fight IS.
Obama and the American people - as a result of the Afghanistan and Iraq debacles — vehemently veto that idea. However, inserting U.S. military personnel for fighting or training locals likely would be also be counterproductive and would once again paint a big, red bulls-eye on the United States.
The best option is for the U.S. government to do nothing.
Obama and the American people - as a result of the Afghanistan and Iraq debacles — vehemently veto that idea. However, inserting U.S. military personnel for fighting or training locals likely would be also be counterproductive and would once again paint a big, red bulls-eye on the United States.
The best option is for the U.S. government to do nothing.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Your Weekend Reading Assignment..............
What has happened to America? Please show these numbers to anyone that does not believe that the United States is in decline. It is time for all of us to humble ourselves and face the reality of what has happened to our once great nation. For those of us that love America, it is heartbreaking to watch the foundations of our society rot and decay in thousands of different ways. The following are 45 facts that show how far America has fallen in this generation, but the truth is that this list could have been far, far longer…
#1 According to a survey that was just conducted, only 36 percent of all Americans can name the three branches of government.
#2 Only 25 percent of all Americans know how long U.S. Senators are elected for (6 years), and only 20 percent of all Americans know how many U.S. senators there are.
#3 Even if you include same-sex couples in the numbers, the marriage rate in the United States is at a 93 year low.
#4 For the first time ever, single Americans make up more than half the U.S. population.
#5 31.1 percent of American young adults in the 18 to 34-year-old age bracket are currently living with their parents.
#6 One out of every ten teen girls in America engages in “self-harm”. Cutting and burning are the most common forms that this “self-harm” takes.
#7 One survey found that 85 percent of all young men in America and almost half of all young women in America watch porn at least once a month.
#8 A different survey discovered that 64 percent of American men of all ages view pornography at least once per month.
#9 The Internet can be used for great good, but it can also be used for great evil. It is being reported that 83 percent of U.S. boys and 57 percent of U.S. girls have been exposed to group sex while on the Internet.
#10 One survey discovered that 25 percent of all employees that have Internet access in the United States visit sex websites while they are at work.
#11 There is an epidemic of porn watching among federal employees. For example, one Treasury Department worker said that he viewed 13,000 pornographic images within the span of six weeks because he did “not have enough work to do“.
#12 An astounding 30 percent of all Internet traffic now goes to adult websites.
#13 Right now, 30 million Americans are on antidepressants.
#14 Americans account for about five percent of the global population, but we buy more than 50 percent of the pharmaceutical drugs.
#15 Americans consume a whopping 80 percent of all prescription painkillers.
#16 According to a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic, nearly 70 percent of all Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and 20 percent of all Americans are on at least five prescription drugs.
#17 Approximately 60 million Americans have a problem with alcohol addiction.
#18 Heroin traffic in New York City is at a 20 year high.
#19 Of all the major industrialized nations, America is the most obese. Mexico is #2.
#20 Back in 1962, only 13 percent of all Americans were obese, but it is being projected that 42 percent of all Americans could be obese by the year 2030.
#21 70 percent of Americans do not “feel engaged or inspired at their jobs”.
#22 40 percent of all workers in the United States actually make less than what a full-time minimum wage worker made back in 1968 after you account for inflation.
#23 Small business ownership in the United States is at the lowest level that has ever been recorded.
#24 It is hard to believe, but 56 percent of all Americans now have “subprime credit”.
#25 The United States has the most lawyers per capita in the entire world.
#26 The United States has the highest incarceration rate and the largest total prison population in the entire world by a wide margin.
#27 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the U.S. national debt has grown by more than 7 trillion dollars.
#28 During the Obama years, sexual assaults in the U.S. military have soared to an all-time high, and most of the assaults have been male on male.
#29 According to one absolutely shocking study, 22 military veterans kill themselves in the United States every single day.
#30 The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives is Nancy Pelosi. The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives is John Boehner. More often than not, they seem to be working together. Is this really the best that America can do?
#31 There are more than 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States every single year.
#32 At this point, approximately one out of every three children in the United States lives in a home without a father.
#33 18 percent of all women in the United States say that they have been raped at some point in their lives.
#34 According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately two-thirds of all Americans in the 15 to 24-year-old age bracket have engaged in oral sex.
#35 Approximately one-third of the entire population of the United States (110 million people) currently has a sexually transmitted disease according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
#36 Every single year, there are 20 million new STD cases in America.
#37 America has the highest STD infection rate in the entire industrialized world.
#38 Americans in the 15 to 24-year-old age group account for about 50 percent of all new STD cases each year.
#39 It costs our nation approximately 16 billion dollars a year to treat our sexually transmitted diseases.
#40 According to one survey, 24 percent of all U.S. teens that have STDs say that they still have unprotected sex.
#41 In the United States today, more than half of all couples “move in together” before they get married.
#42 For couples that have children that are just “living together”, two-thirds of them split up by the time they have a child turn 10 years of age.
#43 For women under the age of 30 in the United States, more than half of all babies are being born out of wedlock.
#44 It is estimated that one out of every four girls will be sexually abused before they become adults.
#45 Suicide has now actually surpassed car accidents as the number one cause of “injury death” in the United States.
#1 According to a survey that was just conducted, only 36 percent of all Americans can name the three branches of government.
#2 Only 25 percent of all Americans know how long U.S. Senators are elected for (6 years), and only 20 percent of all Americans know how many U.S. senators there are.
#3 Even if you include same-sex couples in the numbers, the marriage rate in the United States is at a 93 year low.
#4 For the first time ever, single Americans make up more than half the U.S. population.
#5 31.1 percent of American young adults in the 18 to 34-year-old age bracket are currently living with their parents.
#6 One out of every ten teen girls in America engages in “self-harm”. Cutting and burning are the most common forms that this “self-harm” takes.
#7 One survey found that 85 percent of all young men in America and almost half of all young women in America watch porn at least once a month.
#8 A different survey discovered that 64 percent of American men of all ages view pornography at least once per month.
#9 The Internet can be used for great good, but it can also be used for great evil. It is being reported that 83 percent of U.S. boys and 57 percent of U.S. girls have been exposed to group sex while on the Internet.
#10 One survey discovered that 25 percent of all employees that have Internet access in the United States visit sex websites while they are at work.
#11 There is an epidemic of porn watching among federal employees. For example, one Treasury Department worker said that he viewed 13,000 pornographic images within the span of six weeks because he did “not have enough work to do“.
#12 An astounding 30 percent of all Internet traffic now goes to adult websites.
#13 Right now, 30 million Americans are on antidepressants.
#14 Americans account for about five percent of the global population, but we buy more than 50 percent of the pharmaceutical drugs.
#15 Americans consume a whopping 80 percent of all prescription painkillers.
#16 According to a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic, nearly 70 percent of all Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and 20 percent of all Americans are on at least five prescription drugs.
#17 Approximately 60 million Americans have a problem with alcohol addiction.
#18 Heroin traffic in New York City is at a 20 year high.
#19 Of all the major industrialized nations, America is the most obese. Mexico is #2.
#20 Back in 1962, only 13 percent of all Americans were obese, but it is being projected that 42 percent of all Americans could be obese by the year 2030.
#21 70 percent of Americans do not “feel engaged or inspired at their jobs”.
#22 40 percent of all workers in the United States actually make less than what a full-time minimum wage worker made back in 1968 after you account for inflation.
#23 Small business ownership in the United States is at the lowest level that has ever been recorded.
#24 It is hard to believe, but 56 percent of all Americans now have “subprime credit”.
#25 The United States has the most lawyers per capita in the entire world.
#26 The United States has the highest incarceration rate and the largest total prison population in the entire world by a wide margin.
#27 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the U.S. national debt has grown by more than 7 trillion dollars.
#28 During the Obama years, sexual assaults in the U.S. military have soared to an all-time high, and most of the assaults have been male on male.
#29 According to one absolutely shocking study, 22 military veterans kill themselves in the United States every single day.
#30 The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives is Nancy Pelosi. The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives is John Boehner. More often than not, they seem to be working together. Is this really the best that America can do?
#31 There are more than 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States every single year.
#32 At this point, approximately one out of every three children in the United States lives in a home without a father.
#33 18 percent of all women in the United States say that they have been raped at some point in their lives.
#34 According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately two-thirds of all Americans in the 15 to 24-year-old age bracket have engaged in oral sex.
#35 Approximately one-third of the entire population of the United States (110 million people) currently has a sexually transmitted disease according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
#36 Every single year, there are 20 million new STD cases in America.
#37 America has the highest STD infection rate in the entire industrialized world.
#38 Americans in the 15 to 24-year-old age group account for about 50 percent of all new STD cases each year.
#39 It costs our nation approximately 16 billion dollars a year to treat our sexually transmitted diseases.
#40 According to one survey, 24 percent of all U.S. teens that have STDs say that they still have unprotected sex.
#41 In the United States today, more than half of all couples “move in together” before they get married.
#42 For couples that have children that are just “living together”, two-thirds of them split up by the time they have a child turn 10 years of age.
#43 For women under the age of 30 in the United States, more than half of all babies are being born out of wedlock.
#44 It is estimated that one out of every four girls will be sexually abused before they become adults.
#45 Suicide has now actually surpassed car accidents as the number one cause of “injury death” in the United States.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Home Depot stench
The delay in admitting a data breach is what is wrong with this management team.
Delay, obfuscation, B.S., call it what you want.
Admitting the breach right off the bat is what is right.
I can smell Robert Nardelli all over again.
Delay, obfuscation, B.S., call it what you want.
Admitting the breach right off the bat is what is right.
I can smell Robert Nardelli all over again.
Bankster theft by the numbers................
Fed balance sheet increases by $28.2 billion in past week to new record: $4.45 trillion
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Milk in the land of milk and honey...............
The price of milk - that staple of the American diet - just hit an all-time high.
Nope, no inflation here. The Fed will tell you so.
Nope, no inflation here. The Fed will tell you so.
Mikko Brisker of the Milton Eagles Football team in action
Over the past 10 years I have been privileged to watch a great number of football games where my son was a participant. It has been a good run of great games.
Since winning the Division Championship in the 6th grade, my sons teams have lost very few games. I think you can count on one hand the number of losses that Jordan was part of when he was a starter.
As parents of these young guys we have come to support the programs in a variety of ways and for that we are thankful to have that opportunity. Great programs aren't born, they are built.
Our last game against the #3 ranked team in Georgia was a thriller and here is a brief clip to watch of our great running backs get it done. This young man is Mikko Brisker. If you go to YOUTUBE and type in his name you will see that he holds national records for his age class in powerlifting. He will literally freight train you on a head on collision. Jordan says that it "just hurts" to tackle Mikko in practice.
https://vine.co/v/OuF5Yz9j7hF
It is a treat to watch Mikko and his teammates on Friday nights under the lights.
If Jordan doesn't go on to play at the college level it will all be over. I'll have more time on my hands for sure but dang, I'll miss the excitement of high school ball games.
Since winning the Division Championship in the 6th grade, my sons teams have lost very few games. I think you can count on one hand the number of losses that Jordan was part of when he was a starter.
As parents of these young guys we have come to support the programs in a variety of ways and for that we are thankful to have that opportunity. Great programs aren't born, they are built.
Our last game against the #3 ranked team in Georgia was a thriller and here is a brief clip to watch of our great running backs get it done. This young man is Mikko Brisker. If you go to YOUTUBE and type in his name you will see that he holds national records for his age class in powerlifting. He will literally freight train you on a head on collision. Jordan says that it "just hurts" to tackle Mikko in practice.
https://vine.co/v/OuF5Yz9j7hF
It is a treat to watch Mikko and his teammates on Friday nights under the lights.
If Jordan doesn't go on to play at the college level it will all be over. I'll have more time on my hands for sure but dang, I'll miss the excitement of high school ball games.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Ebola and Golf. Logic in America
The Golfer-in-Chief rolled into the ATL again today to do what he does best.
Snarl traffic worse than it normally is.
He wants to send American military troops to fight EBOLA but he won't send troops to defend our borders and protect all of America.
That's PAR.
Snarl traffic worse than it normally is.
He wants to send American military troops to fight EBOLA but he won't send troops to defend our borders and protect all of America.
That's PAR.
5 years later, NOTHING has changed
Dear Partners,
As we start the last quarter of
2009 we have increased our cash position.
The market looks vulnerable and Treasury bonds are suspect. Why you ask?
Plenty of reasons. Here’s a few.
The recovery is not real. Deep structural problems have not been solved
and it’s unclear how we will create jobs and get the economy growing
again. It is very hard to build consumer
confidence when employment prospects and job markets are shrinking. Governments do not create income or wealth
and current stimulus equates to future tax liability.
It may seem like common sense that you can't
borrow your way out of debt because we apply that principle to our
household budgets. But, since the financial crisis began, many states increased
their spending despite the plain evidence that stimulus packages have done
nothing to ward off the recession. On
any measure, it hasn't worked. The
trouble is that, politically, stimulus packages take on their own momentum.
Leaders cannot go back to their voters and sheepishly admit that the money has
been wasted. They have to pretend that they are almost there, that another few
billion dollars will do the trick. And so, like rogue traders, they end up
doubling up and doubling up in an attempt to save themselves.
We still have massive state government
implosions poised to tip over. Bank balance sheets are shrinking by
hundreds of billions every quarter.
Georgia bank failures lead the nation. Budget holes are starting to gape
again, infrastructure is crumbling and all the while tax revenues are
dropping. These stimulus projects do not generate revenues for these
starved states. They can keep dispensing sugar shots to the economy, but
I fail to see how we keep from drifting lower. The highest taxed states are the
“most” bankrupt if anyone cares.
The scale of fraud is
immense. I see failed bankers giving
advice to failed regulators on how to deal with failed assets. The only result can be failure. The truth is we have a multi-trillion dollar
cover-up by banks which amounts to felony fraud on a massive scale. To me, the biggest obscenity was the
bail-outs to the European banks via AIG and of course the $13 billion that
Goldman Sachs received in AIG counter-party payments. The Ken Lewis, Bank of America fiasco says a
lot and the SEC won’t address naked short selling and Wall Street fraud. And today only 2 people are in jail, Ponzi
Madoff and Sir Allen Stanford. Go
figure.
It certainly feels to me like we
are starting to undergo a major shift and am positioning accordingly, but this
market has consistently punished anyone who dares to question it. The market has ignored the negatives and did
a great job of embracing some very shaky positives. Is the strength of
the market based on solid fundamentals or from dark pools, high-frequency
trading and robots trading algorithms at nearly the speed of light? We will find out soon enough, maybe this
quarter.
We’ll also find out if America can
take personal responsibility and work our way out of this quagmire. We have become a country of blamers and
excuse makers and it’s amazing that we’ve gotten away with it as long as we
have. I am still amazed the public has
any money left from the salesmen they entrust their serious retirement assets
too. Our approach provides honest intellectual analysis, straightforward
risk management and independent perspective.
We may not know how to make money at times, but more importantly, we
know how not to lose it. And one thing
is certain, hope is not a strategy. Yet,
there’s a bull market ahead. Some day.
Enjoy your fall,
Monday, September 15, 2014
Yo Adrian Peterson............
Please take whatever professional mental health help the NFL will dish out to you eventually.
And get yourself a box or two of condoms. You surely have enough kids by now.
And get yourself a box or two of condoms. You surely have enough kids by now.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
University of Minnesota Football
Born in Minnesota and going to school there in the 1970's it's hard not to root for "the home team".
The Minnesota Gopher TCU mismatch yesterday indeed met my expectations for Gopher football.
What an ugly display of tackling and coaching.
In my lifetime will it change? Can I live as long as Moses did?
The Minnesota Gopher TCU mismatch yesterday indeed met my expectations for Gopher football.
What an ugly display of tackling and coaching.
In my lifetime will it change? Can I live as long as Moses did?
Some strategery for America on Sunday morning
More terrorism means more weapons spending. For the lucky few, Pentagon connected, it’s
a self-perpetuating stairway to riches. Yet for wider society it means spending
time, money and effort on war, instead of on domestic prosperity. It means the
constant threat of terrorism. And it means the loss of our liberty, as the
security state adopts increasingly paranoid anti-terrorism measures.
We should
do to others as we would have done to ourselves. That means — unless we are
comfortable with the idea of ourselves living under military occupation and
drone strikes — getting out of the Middle East, and letting that region solve
its own problems — forget another costly and destructive occupation in Syria.
Slash the war and occupation spending, and redirect the money to making America
independent of middle eastern energy and resources.
Don't forget, the beheadings will continue with us or without us. The savages will see to it.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Better at Solving Problems than Playing Football
- Address: North Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30332
- Enrollment: 21,557 (2012)
- Mascot: Georgia Institute of Technology Buzz
- Acceptance rate: 33% (2014)
Fire Thunder and Bird Bear
Cecilia Fire Thunder should be playing a central role in the administration of the Pine Ridge Indian reservation. A smart, savvy manager she is. I had the opportunity to work with Cecilia years ago in California and she leads from the front.
Joletta Bird Bear, a classmate in elementary school in Mandaree, North Dakota on the Ft. Berthold Indian reservation would be a huge asset to any administration who might be able to effect positive change there.
Two traits that both women share are brains and a tremendous work ethic.
It's still hard to fathom that leaders of their caliber aren't running their respective tribes.
Joletta Bird Bear, a classmate in elementary school in Mandaree, North Dakota on the Ft. Berthold Indian reservation would be a huge asset to any administration who might be able to effect positive change there.
Two traits that both women share are brains and a tremendous work ethic.
It's still hard to fathom that leaders of their caliber aren't running their respective tribes.
Peterson, Rice, Hardy, ad nauseum
Haven't been to a pro football game in years. No interest. I don't care for tats and prefer watching little league and high school football to professional games. I especially don't like to watch owners parading around the sidelines.
This Adrian Peterson cowboy is a hell of a running back. Must be fairly good at impregnating women too. His track record at siring children isn't bad for one his age.
The indictment speaks for itself.
There's a sickness in this guy.
Lets see if there's another felon running loose on Sunday afternoons in the NFL.
It's just another reason to stay home.
I wish the NFL had a policy where season-ticket holders were screened to make sure they weren't getting EBT or WIC funds from taxpayers as well.
Here is a very well written piece on the Ray Rice saga as well.
http://deadspin.com/the-only-thing-unusual-about-ray-and-janay-rice-is-that-1633583402/+dmoskovitz
This Adrian Peterson cowboy is a hell of a running back. Must be fairly good at impregnating women too. His track record at siring children isn't bad for one his age.
The indictment speaks for itself.
There's a sickness in this guy.
Lets see if there's another felon running loose on Sunday afternoons in the NFL.
It's just another reason to stay home.
I wish the NFL had a policy where season-ticket holders were screened to make sure they weren't getting EBT or WIC funds from taxpayers as well.
Here is a very well written piece on the Ray Rice saga as well.
http://deadspin.com/the-only-thing-unusual-about-ray-and-janay-rice-is-that-1633583402/+dmoskovitz
Friday, September 12, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
9.11.2001
This morning I drove to the place I was standing where I was first told that a small plane had crashed into a World Trade tower. I don't know why I went there, 13 years is not that long, it seemed like standing there it was only yesterday.
I wish we could come together as a country and work for a better America but it won't happen. The greed and graft of the 1% will insure continued dependency. No one wants to work. Look at Europe today. Look around America. The FREE SHIT ARMY playing golf with ENTITLIST clubs is on the take. They only get fatter and more reliant on the hind tit.
Wherever this woman is today I hope she is healthy. God Bless America.
This is simply a tough video to listen to.
The last words of Kevin Cosgrove
I wish we could come together as a country and work for a better America but it won't happen. The greed and graft of the 1% will insure continued dependency. No one wants to work. Look at Europe today. Look around America. The FREE SHIT ARMY playing golf with ENTITLIST clubs is on the take. They only get fatter and more reliant on the hind tit.
Wherever this woman is today I hope she is healthy. God Bless America.
This is simply a tough video to listen to.
The last words of Kevin Cosgrove
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
IDIOTS LIVING IN AMERICA
1. If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing
without a license, but not for being in the country illegally, you live in a country run by idiots.
2. If you have to get your parents’ permission to
go on a field trip or take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion,
you live in a country run by
idiots.
3. If you have to show identification to board an
airplane, cash a check, buy liquor or check out a library book, but not to vote
on who runs the government, you live in a
country run by idiots.
4. If the government wants to ban stable,
law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines with more than ten rounds, but
gives 20 F-16 fighter jets to the crazy leaders in Egypt, you live in a country run by idiots.
5. If, in the largest city, you can buy two
16-ounce sodas, but not a 24-ounce soda because 24-ounces of a sugary drink
might make you fat, you live in a country run
by idiots.
6. If an 80-year-old woman can be stripped searched
by the TSA but a woman in a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head
searched, you live in a country run by
idiots.
7. If your government believes that the best way to
eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more, you live in a country run by idiots.
8. If a seven year old boy can be thrown out of
grade school for saying his teacher’s “cute,” but hosting a sexual exploration
or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable, you live in a country run by idiots.
9. If hard work and success are met with higher
taxes and more government intrusion, while not working is rewarded with EBT
cards, WIC checks, Medicaid, subsidized housing and free cell phones, you live in a country run by idiots.
10. If the government’s plan for getting people
back to work is to incentivize NOT working, with 99 weeks of unemployment checks
and no requirement to prove they applied but can’t find work, you live in a country run by idiots.
11. If being stripped of the ability to defend
yourself makes you more “safe” according to the government, you live in a country run by idiots.
Monday, September 08, 2014
One EXPENSIVE punch for sure!
The Baltimore Ravens terminated running back Ray Rice’s contract Monday after the emergence of new, more graphic video of him punching his fiancée, who is now his wife, which raised fresh questions about N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell’s handling of the situation. In July, the N.F.L. had suspended Rice for two games. |
The team, which had not disciplined Rice in any way publicly, made the announcement on its Twitter account Monday afternoon. |
The website TMZ published video Monday that shows Rice and his fiancée in an elevator, where Rice punched her. He then dragged her unconscious body from the elevator. |
Filth............
In years forward in classrooms around the world the profs will cover the bubble of money in the system courtesy of the Fed and central banks around the globe.
They will note how access to "cheap money" allowed corporate CEO's to use debt and finance the purchse of shares with shareholder money, hence driving up stock prices and gifting corporate management and boards massive profits.
All done without topline revenue growth.
It's funny this guy at Morgan bank still has a job. Maybe Jamie Dimon will see to it that he doesn't after this week but a good call by this cowboy nevertheless. The filthy bankers who were all on the brink in 2008 and used the American taxpayer as an ATM, gifting themselves hundreds of millions in bonus's are the winners.
"The ECB's quantitative expansion is hitting the financial system at a time when broad liquidity is also very high. The rise in excess liquidity, i.e. the residual in the model of Figure 3, is supportive of all assets outside cash, i.e. bonds, equities and real estate. The current episode of excess liquidity, which began in May 2012, appears to have been the most extreme ever in terms of its magnitude and the ECB actions have the potential to make it even more extreme, in our view.... These liquidity boosts are not without risks. We note that they risk creating asset bubbles which when they burst can destroy wealth leading to adverse economic outcomes. Asset yields are mean reverting over long periods of time and thus historically low levels of yields in bonds, equities and real estate are unlikely to be sustained forever."- JPMorgan
They will note how access to "cheap money" allowed corporate CEO's to use debt and finance the purchse of shares with shareholder money, hence driving up stock prices and gifting corporate management and boards massive profits.
All done without topline revenue growth.
It's funny this guy at Morgan bank still has a job. Maybe Jamie Dimon will see to it that he doesn't after this week but a good call by this cowboy nevertheless. The filthy bankers who were all on the brink in 2008 and used the American taxpayer as an ATM, gifting themselves hundreds of millions in bonus's are the winners.
"The ECB's quantitative expansion is hitting the financial system at a time when broad liquidity is also very high. The rise in excess liquidity, i.e. the residual in the model of Figure 3, is supportive of all assets outside cash, i.e. bonds, equities and real estate. The current episode of excess liquidity, which began in May 2012, appears to have been the most extreme ever in terms of its magnitude and the ECB actions have the potential to make it even more extreme, in our view.... These liquidity boosts are not without risks. We note that they risk creating asset bubbles which when they burst can destroy wealth leading to adverse economic outcomes. Asset yields are mean reverting over long periods of time and thus historically low levels of yields in bonds, equities and real estate are unlikely to be sustained forever."- JPMorgan
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Friday, September 05, 2014
CNBC is CN"BS"
As the stock market goes vertical before it doesn't it just might be close.
It's game over: whether due to the complete domination of centrally-planned markets by a few central banks, whether as a result of HFTs forcing out all human traders and investors, whether due to volatility plunging to record lows and complacency at record highs, whether viewers simply aren't impressed by the new young, female faces that are increasingly taking over the primetime financial TV slots, because people are tired of Cramer's endless "caffeine" high and endless attempts to justify a record disconnect between manipulated record high "markets" and a stagnant economy in which some 53 million workers are "freelancers", or simply because video game consoles don't watch TV, America's interest with finance and the stock market is over.
Some observations: for the core 25-54 demo, CNBC's Business Day segment is down every month this year compared to last year, with August's 28,000 literally a step in the abyss compared to last year, as viewership plummeted by a near record 30% (with ad revenue following close behind). In fact, the last time CNBC was up in Business Day year to year was over two years ago, in July 2012.
And the punchline: this was the lowest rated month in the core demographic since February 1993! In fact, in CNBC's entire Nielsen-rated history, there is only one month in history when demo viewership was lower, back in November 1992, when demo viewership was just 1000 less at 27,000.
At this rate, in the next month or two, CNBC should make history when Nielsen reports that its viewers have dropped to a never before seen low, paradoxically enough, as the increasingly unwatched financial channel cheers on the very same market-rigging policies that are forcing retail investors to give up on anything finance-related, and crushing the station into ad-revenue and eyeball oblivion.
It's game over: whether due to the complete domination of centrally-planned markets by a few central banks, whether as a result of HFTs forcing out all human traders and investors, whether due to volatility plunging to record lows and complacency at record highs, whether viewers simply aren't impressed by the new young, female faces that are increasingly taking over the primetime financial TV slots, because people are tired of Cramer's endless "caffeine" high and endless attempts to justify a record disconnect between manipulated record high "markets" and a stagnant economy in which some 53 million workers are "freelancers", or simply because video game consoles don't watch TV, America's interest with finance and the stock market is over.
Some observations: for the core 25-54 demo, CNBC's Business Day segment is down every month this year compared to last year, with August's 28,000 literally a step in the abyss compared to last year, as viewership plummeted by a near record 30% (with ad revenue following close behind). In fact, the last time CNBC was up in Business Day year to year was over two years ago, in July 2012.
And the punchline: this was the lowest rated month in the core demographic since February 1993! In fact, in CNBC's entire Nielsen-rated history, there is only one month in history when demo viewership was lower, back in November 1992, when demo viewership was just 1000 less at 27,000.
At this rate, in the next month or two, CNBC should make history when Nielsen reports that its viewers have dropped to a never before seen low, paradoxically enough, as the increasingly unwatched financial channel cheers on the very same market-rigging policies that are forcing retail investors to give up on anything finance-related, and crushing the station into ad-revenue and eyeball oblivion.
Picture of OPTIMISM
Her chances of needing an abortion are the same as mine.
Another example of what is wrong with America.
Another example of what is wrong with America.
Thursday, September 04, 2014
Friday humor........
If you are a bull, the equity bubble won't burst until the Fed starts raising rates, and that will
be never.
If you are a bear, I'd rather have Janet Yellen hike rates than hike up her skirt.
If you are a bear, I'd rather have Janet Yellen hike rates than hike up her skirt.
Monday, September 01, 2014
Celebrity Porn Photo Hack
Why would anyone care if certain "celebrity's" get their naked pictures hacked?
If you are stupid enough to A. take them and B. entrust them to the Cloud you should get whatever carnage comes your way and relish it.
It is sort of like investors who rely on research reports from their friendly stockbroker.
And why would the FBI rush into the fray?
Don't they have like a trillion better things to do with their manpower than hustle up some porn thieves? Hell, the SEC and NSA should have enough porn to keep them satisfied until they all retire.
What a country we live in. Constitutional rights going the way of the DODO bird, criminal invaders flooding into our nation, central bank printing presses whirring at the speed of sound and now celebrity porn theft.
If it weren't true no one would believe it.
If you are stupid enough to A. take them and B. entrust them to the Cloud you should get whatever carnage comes your way and relish it.
It is sort of like investors who rely on research reports from their friendly stockbroker.
And why would the FBI rush into the fray?
Don't they have like a trillion better things to do with their manpower than hustle up some porn thieves? Hell, the SEC and NSA should have enough porn to keep them satisfied until they all retire.
What a country we live in. Constitutional rights going the way of the DODO bird, criminal invaders flooding into our nation, central bank printing presses whirring at the speed of sound and now celebrity porn theft.
If it weren't true no one would believe it.