Repost: Michael Hudson - US Black Debt Hole

I am reposting this as it is time to keep what Dr. Hudson's analysis in full view. CONgress is back in session and the storm of fighting is about to take off again.

It will appear to be Obama versus the Republicans (backed up by Democratic Party support) - but the fight is much, much larger. It's the ability to maintain a middle class without everyone having to join the military to have money versus bank$ter$ and very infantile economics understanding.

The new excuse for Obama's failure to rein in the military over WAR CRIME is that he was afraid of a coup by the military. Personally, I cannot see anyway we are going to see one anyway as the military brass is not so stoopid as to NOT understand the effects of #austerity on the American population. The military has no interest in giving up basic American resources to foreigners.
Instead, the US plan has been to quietly and roughly, fold Canada into being the next neoliberal colony. Canada has been militarized exponentially.
Barry and Co. have trotted the globe trying to prop up the sagging dollar for over a year. They've taken over Canada behind the scenes for the resources there and driven Mexico into a hostage for drugs and Big Corporative rule. But they are far from having built-in stability.

Watch what is happening in the Eurozone which should have given Robert Rubin and his pathetic economic coup pause for thought! Banks are going to need recapitalization. We are headed swiftly toward #GFC2 (global financial/fiscal crisis 2) and there is not much to be done about it. Sueing 17 banks isn't going to "cut it."

The global fight back is ON. Egypt, Tunisia, (no, NOT Libya), Israel, Syria, Yemen, Greece, Spain, Bahrain, Ireland, the UK - the list is very long of those who aren't "having it" anymore. Merkel is about to be thrown out of office; she's lost her business base.

I could rabbit on about the military "culture" of America which is not an attractive portrait. Instead of creating China into the new monster to be fought after Osama bin Laden, we were given Libya - a country in which Chinese cooperation with Khaddafi was in full swing. Losing their resources, bought and paid for, in Libya is not going to make the Chinese leadership "happy." Talk about disequalibrium!

Anyway, I post this an important backgrounder. Bear what he is saying in mind. This is not "stale" - it's

simply the TRUTH.

How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War

By Stephen Lendman

How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War

by Stephen Lendman

ISBN: 978-0-9833539-4-2 192 pp. $16.95 2011

SYNOPSIS 

The 1913 Federal Reserve Act let powerful bankers usurp money creation authority in violation of the Constitution's Article I, Section 8, giving only Congress the power to "coin Money (and) regulate the Value thereof...."

Thereafter, powerful bankers used their control over money, credit and debt for private self-enrichment, bankrolling and colluding with Congress and administrations to implement laws favoring them.

As a result, decades of deregulation, outsourcing, economic financialization,
and casino capitalism followed, producing asset bubbles, record budget and national debt levels, and depression-sized unemployment far higher than reported numbers, albeit manipulated to look better.

After the financial crisis erupted in late 2007, even harder times have left Main Street in the early stages of a depression, with recovery pure illusion. Today's contagion has spread out of control, globally. Wall Street got trillions of dollars in a desperate attempt to socialize losses, privatize profits, and pump life back into the corpses by blowing public wealth into a moribund financial sector, failing corporate favorites, and America's aristocracy.

While Wall Street boasts it has recovered, industrial America keeps imploding. High-paying jobs are exported. Economic prospects are eroding. Austerity is being imposed, with no one sure how to revive stable, sustainable long-term growth.

This book provides a powerful tool for showing angry Americans how they've been fleeced, and includes a plan for constructive change. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Dirty Secrets of the Temple
Capitalism and Freedom Unmasked

Greenspan's Dark Legacy

A Short History of Government Handouts to Bankers and Other Corporate Favorites

Quantitative Easing: Elixir or Poison?

Fraud in Washington

Obama's Anti-Populist Budget and Deficit Fix

The Recession Is Over, the Depression Is Just Beginning

Manipulation: How Markets Really Work

Goldman Sachs: Master of the Universe

Financialization: The Rise of Casino Capitalism

Class Warfare Jeopardizing American Workers' Security

Waging War on America's Workers

Permanent Debt Bondage from America's Student Loan Racket

On the Chopping Block: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid

The Federal Reserve Abolition Act

Public Banking: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.

AUTHOR 

Stephen Lendman is a writer and broadcaster. His work is exceedingly widely distributed online, with his articles carried on numerous listservs and websites such as OpEd News, Cyrano's Journal, Information Clearing House, Countercurrents, Rense, AltNews, Uruknet, Global Research, Counterpunch, and more.

In early 2007, he began regular radio hosting, and now hosts The Progressive Radio News Hour on The Progressive Radio Network.

He's the co-author with J.J. Asongu of The Iraq Quagmire:The Price of Imperial Arrogance.

He holds a BA from Harvard and an MBA from Wharton.

Available directly from Clarity Press, amazon.com, amazon.co.uk or our distributors in the USA, UK/Europe/ Middle East, Malaysia/Singapore, World Clarity Press, Inc.
http://www.claritypress.com. ;

REVIEWS 

"Stephen Lendman has been tireless in exposing the hidden forces behind the news, on everything from political economy and human rights to social justice and workers' rights. His writings draw from a wealth of knowledge and deep conviction. I'm delighted to see him tackle the problem of private banking and government collusion and what I believe is the key to the solution--public banking."

ELLEN BROWN, Web of Debt

"Steve Lendman is one of America's leading critics,whether it involves exposing collusion between Wall Street and Washington, the Obama regime's support of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, or the frame-up of Muslim citizens by the attorney general. Fearless,thoroughly documented and judicious in his judgement, Lendman's essays are a major contribution to the struggle for social justice in America." 

JAMES PETRAS

"I think this text is terrific, just what is needed, very clear, informative beyond most people's ken, easy to read, and of ultimate importance to steering economic and political recovery. The Capitalism and Freedom chapter is right in biopsy. The book just keeps on going with brilliant full exposure." 

JOHN McMURTRY

Unequal Freedoms: The Global Market as an Ethical System

"A comprehensive understanding of Wall Street's manipulations of markets, money and power to the detriment of working people everywhere is badly needed. Stephen Lendman's new book 'How Wall Street Fleeces America,' is the answer."

PETER PHILLIPS
President Media Freedom Foundation/Project Censored 
 

"Stephen Lendman has written a brilliant, passionate, and humane analysis of the current economic disarray in which we now live. Picking up where Thorstein Veblen left off, Lendman links our catastrophic economic situation to the robber- baron mentality in corporations and the failure of government to act as the enforcer of morality. His analysis is full of concrete illustrations of this latter-day barbarism, and is accessible to the everyday person, as well as intellectuals. This book should be required reading in business schools as well as  Congress." 

STJEPAN G. MESTROVIC 
Professor of Sociology, Texas A&M University

"Stephen Lendman's latest work covers a great many interconnected subjects that affect not only the United States but everyone in the world. The aspect of investment in America today is shown to be nothing less then the robbing of the American people by a criminal syndicate, known as Wall Street, banking and the Federal Reserve. A good deal of this is based upon the Federal Reserve Act and the ability of major private banks to control American society. The players have turned the financial world into one vast casino and when the players lose large amounts of money the public is allowed to bail them out. This book digs deeply into many of the contributing parts of what is wrong with the financial system of America and the world today. Stephen Lendman has a great gift for writing and research and all his readers are the 

BOB CHAPMAN 
Editor of the International Forecaster

"Stephen Lendman has a breadth and depth of understanding of world and national affairs virtually unmatched among other public intellectuals today. With this exceptional collection of reflections upon our financial and budgetary crises, he clarifies and illuminates the dark and obscure recesses of policies and programs that, although ostensibly intended to promote the interests of the people, all too often have the opposite effect, enriching and strengthening the wealthy at the taxpayer's expense. Let us hope this book will be followed by many more!" 

JAMES H. FETZER 
McKnight Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Duluth

""Stephen Lendman is a true citizen journalist and scholar. After a long and successful business career, Lendman took it upon himself to use his retirement as a springboard for a new career as an analyst of political economy. With great acumen, Lendman calls out economic charlatans and cuts straight through the core of so-called bull markets to tell the truth about how the powerful fleece the public on a daily basis. Lendman not only traces the history of the current financial calamity, he offers common sense advice on what we can do about it. A solid, fact-based read for anyone trying to make heads or tails of what's happening in today's economy." 

MICKEY HUFF 
Associate Professor of History, Diablo Valley College, Director, Project Censored

"There are many descriptive, narrative accounts about Wall St. and the current economic crisis available to readers today. But Stephen Lendman's new book takes the analysis far deeper than a simple narrative. Lendman emphasizes and focuses on the connections between Wall St. actions and the political system in Washington. How money operates on both sides of the street -- the banking and the political--is described in detail. The reader is left with a broader, deeper understanding of why the recent crisis happened and where it may well be headed. Most importantly, the author does not shirk from calling the outcomes of the Wall St.-Washington alliance for what it represents: the emergence of a new kind of class war in America. Readers will find of special interest his innovative views on banking and public banking. Lendman's book is definitely one not to be missed."

DR. JACK RASMUS
Professor of Economics, Santa Clara University
Author: Epic Recession: Prelude to Global Depression

Global Recession, Right Here, Right Now:

Global Recession, Right Here, Right Now: Japan

It's time to stop debating whether or not the US or Europe is headed into recession. The facts show the entire global economy is in recession.

Global Recession Supporting Data-Points

• Euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a two-year low of 49.0 in August, down from a preliminary reading of 49.7. (Business Insider)
• PMI’s contractions in Ireland, France, Italy, Spain and Greece. (Business Insider)
• Germany’s manufacturing PMI slowed to its lowest level since September 2009, slumping to 50.9, well below an initial estimate of 52.0. (Business Insider)
• US Manufacturing ISM ex-inventory Growth in contraction (Mish)
• Japan's PMI fell at three-month low (Financial Times)
• PMI Readings in Switzerland, Sweden Drop (Financial Times)
• British manufacturing PMI falls 49, a 26-month low, in contraction (MarketWatch)
• Germany private consumption fell for first time since Q4 2009, Manufacturing growth slowest in 23 months (Reuters)
• Japan Capital Spending Plummets 7.8% In Q2, Expectations were 1% Increase (RTT)
• US Construction Declines 3.5% vs. Same period in 2010 (US Census Bureau)
• China exports to US contract, PMI barely above contraction (Reuters)
• Container traffic at Port of Long Beach drops 3.17% smack in face of normal Christmas season ramp-up (Bloomberg)
• Canada GDP unexpectedly declines led by a 2.1% drop in exports(Bloomberg)
• Brazil Unexpectedly cuts interest rates .5% to combat recession.62 of 62 Analysts Miss Call on rate cut (Mish)
• Taiwan's PMI dropped to 45.2 in August, the lowest reading since January 2009 (Reuters)
• German economy grew just 0.1 percent in the second quarter (Reuters)
• Switzerland, economy grew at its slowest pace since 2009, as a record strong Swiss franc also bites into exports. (Reuters)
• Retail Giant in Australia Warns of Massive Price Deflation and Falling Sales, "Hardest Christmas in Retailer Lives" Coming Up (Mish)
• US Zero Jobs Growth, Unemployment Rate Flat at 9.1%; Charts, Graphs, Details (Mish)

Ten Things to Remember

1. Prior stimulus in the US is dead, having run its full course
2. There is no incentive in the US Congress for more stimulus
3. Austerity measures have yet to hit Italy and France
4. Austerity measures will continue to bite Spain, Greece, Ireland
5. Germany export machine will die without the rest of Europe
6. QE3 will fail much sooner than QE2 as interest rates already extremely accommodating
7. Gold may respond well to competitive currency devaluation schemes
8. The Eurozone is highly likely to breakup although timing is unknown
9. Global equities and commodities are priced for perfection.
10. Perfection is not happening.

Additional Reads

Talk of avoiding recession when the global economy is clearly in one and fundamentals are horrendous is sheer lunacy.

In case you missed them, please consider ....

• US In Recession Right Here, Right Now


• Yes Virginia, U.S. Back in Deflation; Inflation Scare Ends; Hyperinflationists Wrong Twice Over

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

If you were holding your breath waiting for the collapse, you can relax now. It's here...

If you were holding your breath waiting for the collapse, you can relax now. It's here...

Posted By: Watchman
Date: Monday, 1-Aug-2011 22:05:16

from: http://www.woodpilereport.com/ If you're living in fear of collapse, you can relax now. It's here. All around you. Keep those doomer manuals handy, this is what a slide to disaster looks like from the inside. QE2 has failed to generate any growth in the economy, with both Q2 and Q1 GDP crashing spectacularly to a point where post another revision Q1 will be the inflection point where America re-entered another recession ... the downslope we are already in may convert into a stall from which the global airborne Titanic does not recover. Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge Are you convinced yet? The economy has not only failed, any remnants still able to draw a breath are being ferreted out and looted in detail. Europe is going down too, and it's getting ugly. They've seen this stretch of bad road before and the scramble for good ground is ferocious. For us, things are not as bad as they appear. They're worse. The US passed the tipping point some time ago and nothing's going to change it, a tipping point separates what was from what is. Some analysts—those who are either in the tank for the government or are completely ignorant to the real facts—will claim that while the second quarter GDP is low, it's still positive, which suggests there's still growth. As we have pointed out in several reports previously, this is simply not the case once you factor in price inflation and monetary easing. If it wasn't clear up until today, it should be now. Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan It's been one catastrophe after another, and it's all happening even faster than many tinfoil hats predicted. From here things get really bad. Surely you've noticed the bizarre is the new normal. Look for ever-bigger shocks and failures. They'll arrive closer and closer together because everything is leveraged against everything else and the money's gone. We're financing debt with more debt and paying interest on both. Nothing is actually funded, very little ever was. Government's and Wall Street's—but I repeat myself—guarantees and promises have been revealed for what they are, worthless. The covenant is broken. The citizenry is going into shock. The concentration of wealth is now in so few hands and is so extreme in degree, that the combined liquid financial power of all of those not in this small group is inconsequential to determining the direction of the economy. As a result, we now have the equivalent of centralized planning in global marketplaces... The result was inevitable: gross misallocation across all facets of the private economy. Jon Robb, Global Guerillas Like any other train wreck, the damage is determined by how and where it happens. This one sends us off a high bridge, arcing toward the river. Almost graceful so far. Enjoy the ride. Next comes the real panic and then the real pain. How bad it'll be nobody knows, but a glance through history tells us no "worst case" is ever off the table. The only winners in any of this are government and their employers, it's all about their survival, not ours, which is why citizen involvement has gone from a civic duty to an annoyance to an outright threat. Think not? The Patriot Act, Stimulus Bill, TARP and ObamaCare were all drawn up in secret—"under the radar" they call it. All were loathed and opposed by the citizenry, all were passed virtually unread. We have a secret government which negotiates with itself. Worse, critical parts of some laws are secret, the Patriot Act for one. There's more. Regulatory agencies have been expanding their mandates by acting on extreme interpretations of the law, or by enforcing laws proposed but not enacted, or otherwise going rogue, the EPA and ATF most conspicuously of late. Regulatory agencies have come to abuse us the way a straw boss abuses his field hands. Uppity ones go to the post. The prudent will avoid unnecessary interaction with government but strictly observe the difference between avoidance and evasion. Render unto Caesar. Be prepared to do without basic utilities and services. Ensure your water, food, shelter and security on a long-term basis. Be prepared to do things for yourself you never thought you'd have to. Be prepared for lawlessness and lawless tyranny alike. Expect to be menaced and intimidated and threatened in ways not seen since occupied Europe of the 1940s. Stay in touch with friends. Get in touch with like-minded and reliable neighbors, you're going to need each other. Be alert. Stay away from crowds. Keep your head down. Anticipate. Be aware. Be resilient. Give some thought to documenting everything, especially malfeasance. Don't get in their face about it, it's dangerous even now, malfeasance or not. Hard copy is most durable. Miscreants will have their day of accounting, make a contribution to future prosecutions. And give some thought to rebuilding the Republic. A second Republic could be better than the first. We know where it went wrong. We knew even at the time, or should have. There were voices raised, strong objections were made. But for now it's enough to remember: there's no long term without the short term. We have arrived, ready or not.

Bank Bailouts Explained:

The story of the bank bailouts, and what we've gotten so far in return.

by Omid Malekan

www.omidmalekan.com