I’m just not sure why the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee), after having been wrong on multiple assessments of the economy in the not so distant past, would be so quick to say we’re now on the fast -track to recovery when the stats and the history of past crises does not lend us that kind of optimistic conclusion. From Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (Archive):
Tag: Economics
I have no idea if these things will come to pass. It’s merely conjecturing and forecasting, so don’t stake your emotions in this and get all worked up. However, at the same time, this particular trends forecaster, Gerald Celente, has been dead-on in predicting major market crises and global events since 1980. He correctly predicted the ’87 crash, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the dot com bust, amongst a host of other things.
As it was said on the Naked Capitalism blog entry pertaining to this testimony, “Bernanke basically stonewalls and refuses to offer reasonable explanations. Not sure if he is treating the Congress as stupid or not entitled to know, but he backs himself into a real whopper with his non-defense defense (see 2:55 to 3:20).”
In answer to the Congressman’s question about who gave the Federal Reserve the authority to lend a half a trillion dollars to foreigners, Bernanke responds that it was enacted in the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Basically what he’s saying is we can do what we want, lend money to whomever we please, and all this without any true approval from the Senate, which is exactly what has been happening since the fall and even before that.
Basically, when you get down to it, if you are of the persuasion that we’ve just recently lost our economic rights, you’re mistaken. We lost those rights almost a century ago through the groundwork that was laid in the Federal Reserve Act. It gave power to this super bank, or Bank of banks, who could then later use that power in any way it deemed fit. Bernanke’s rebuttals make that clear. They are acting without the authority of the people, in contradiction of the Constitution.
- Big government spending programs are turning out to have the opposite effect – AP – What a shocker!
- Ford to Face Tougher Rivals Following U.S. Rescue – WSJ – Example of government intervention stifling competition which leads to less incentive to buy, sell and invest and leads to less wealth creation overall.
- US Unemployment Rate Gallops Ahead of Expectations – voanews.com – All that money, gone, and nothing to show for it.
- US to Propose Wider Oversight of Compensation – NYTimes.com – When companies take from the government, even a little, they are wholly dictated to about how to run operations.
- Kennedy’s Healthcare Bill Will Increase Expenses, Decrease Employment and Encourage Outsourcing – Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis – The title says it all.
Why has the economy collapsed? The real, fundamental issue? “When you really get down to it, it’s the lack of ethics, the lack of morality that’s seeped into our society in the last decade that has largely brought us to this point.” – Eric Hovde.
R.C. Sproul on the Redistribution of Wealth, Voting and Christianity
By David Westerfield
On October 30, 2008
In Business, Christian Culture, Culture, Economics, Politics, Theology
It is, of course, the American way. But we Christians should not be involved in that sort of thing. Rather we should be voting for what is right, what is ethical. And our consciences on that score need to be informed by the Word of God, not by our wallets. And so I plead with you: When you enter the voting booth, don’t leave your Christianity in the parking lot. And be bold to speak on these issues, even if it means somebody picks up a rock and throws it in your head. Because it is through tribulation that we enter the Kingdom of God. I pray for you, beloved, and for our nation in these days to come.”
Taken from this excellent article: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/2008/10/pr … -text.html