The next couple pieces all come from LibertyBlitzkrieg.com
Posted on June 28, 2012
Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.
Common sense is not so common.
I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: “O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.” And God granted it.
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another.
The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice.
All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
- All Quotes by Voltaire
Where Food Stamps Go to Die
We all know the economy sucks. We all know we are headed in the wrong direction. We all know our leaders are corrupt, immoral, greedy and violent. You don’t need me to tell you that. One thing that I have noticed recently while watching the financial markets is that despite the fact most stocks charts I pull up look awful, the major indices continue to hang in or grind higher. While it is not new news that a few large cap stocks are holding the major averages up, I want to focus on one in particular. Wal-Mart. Yes we all know Wal-Mart. Everyone has an opinion; whether you love it or hate it. In this instance, I’m not so much interested in the company itself, the stores or disturbing images of some of the people seen shopping there. No, in this case I want to take a look at the stock and ponder what it tell us about the state of affairs in both the U.S. and the global economy as a whole.
Wal-Mart’s stock is up 14% YTD, which is triple the return of the S&P 500. The stock also packs a dividend yield of 2.3%, so the total return is even better. In the last month or so the stock has become a real powerhouse as you can see in the chart below. Crushing any and all shorts under the weight of its rapid appreciation.
Wal-Mart Three Year Chart
I think the above chart, in particular the move in the past month or so, speaks volumes to what is happening on a macro level. First, from a purely flow of capital perspective, the U.S. economy was the last one to hit recession (most money managers still have no idea). With Europe in a situation where monetary and political chaos appears likely here and now (and inevitable ultimately) and the BRICs in total free-fall, we have seen a rush into perceived safe havens. We all know about treasuries and bunds, but at some point people don’t want to continue to funnel money to instruments yielding negative real returns. So what has apparently happened is global money managers have been allocating more dollars to very large cap U.S. shares as an alternative to treasuries and bunds.
There’s more to it of course. Nothing exemplifies the ghetto status of the U.S. economy more than the success of Wal-Mart in the face of the ongoing destruction of what was once a vibrant and strong middle class. In case you missed it, Marion Nestle, Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at NYU, came out with some interesting tidbits regarding the food stamp program. One of them… Read more here http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/
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I saw this picture on a different site right after reading the above piece. I couldn't stop laughing.
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Thoughts on Obamacare from a Surgeon and Friend
Posted on June 30, 2012
Over the past six months, I have had the distinct pleasure to become acquainted with Dr. Dave Janda, orthopedic surgeon and the Director and founder of the Institute of Preventative Sports Medicine based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Shortly after recording my first radio interview with him, he sent me his book, The Awakening of a Surgeon, which has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey show. This book was a real eye opener for me since it demonstrated clearly how all of the corruption and unethical behavior I witness every day in the financial services sector is just as rampant in the healthcare industry. I don’t do things like this lightly, but I suggest everyone go out and read this book. It is well worth your time and will really enlighten people in finance that do not get healthcare and how truly screwed up the system really is.
I haven’t talked that much about Obamacare and I don’t plan to in the future. The main reason is that it is not my area of expertise and we already have enough blowhards out there spewing garbage on topics they know nothing about. That said, I do know that this bill was written by and for the insurance companies. The analysis I have done on it, from activists on both sides of the political spectrum makes this perfectly clear. Anyway, without further ado, here is what Dr. Dave Janda recently penned to his email list.
Mike
Friends,
The Supreme Court has spoken….. it should have never come to this. Was i surprised…. yes and no. I have learned to NEVER trust the judicial system when it comes to common sense and the rule of law….. so a 5-4 decision didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was a supposedly “strict Constitutionalist”, Roberts, decided to invent a legal argument that Obama’s lawyers did not and were not able to make during the hearing.
Both parties are to blame for this mess. In truth we have only one party, The Republicrats. I have been involved in health care reform since the late summer of 1988 when Ronald Reagan became aware of my work in Prevention and health care cost containment. An approach which Empowered patients by putting the decisions back in the hands of patients and their treating physicians and NOT government bureaucrats, HMO’s or insurance executives. The approach Reagan embraced, that I advocated, was also based on the implementation of Health Savings Accounts, which puts the finances back in the hands of the people as well as a focus on Wellness and Prevention.
As I have mentioned a number of times on my radio show, Reagan’s embrace of my approach was subsequently shunned by Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2 and of course Obama. If Romney becomes President…. it will also be shunned by him.
If what I have advocated, and Reagan embraced, is such a great plan why have these “giants of freedom” rejected the approach ? They reject the approach because they ALL are owned and operated by the insurance, HMO, pharmaceutical and international banking industries. This fact has been “conveyed” to me by a number of “advisors” in the past 4 administrations. With the exception of Reagan, health care reform has been about control and political contributions, it has NOT been about more affordable, more available or more quality oriented care. All you need to do to confirm this fact is to read Hillarycare, Obamacare and Romneycare…. it becomes very apparent.
Of further note, I had the opportunity to help dissect Hillarycare back in the ’90′s and present the information to Senator Dole and his staff. When Hillarycare was defeated, I was told that health care reform based on a “Big government takeover was done forever.” I told members of Congress and their staffs that this was a small battle victory and if they did not advance meaningful health care reform a more virulent and oppressive version would come to the battlefield. I was shown the door by those in The White House and Congress.
Needless to say, they did not listen and the American public was then carpet bombed with Obamacare. A plan, which from the outset, stripped more Freedom and Liberty from every American than any other legislation in our country’s history . In February 2009, with the passage of The Stimulus Bill which contained the rationing and enforcement boards, I voiced my concerns and opposition. There were very few docs who supported me on my analysis. My analysis lead to threats against my life, my career, my family and our safety. Unfortunately, I had endured this same response with my dissection of Hillarycare and my work in Prevention.
My opposition continued with the “second part” of Obamacare…. the passage of the health care bill in March 2010. My opposition was not based on the mandate…. it was based on the heart of Obamacare….. the rationing and denying of care as a means to cut costs. A formula that is the most inhumane and unethical means of cutting costs. Again, I was met with the same threats and lack of support by the medical community. In fact, I presented the case to the public on Glenn Beck’s TV Show 6 months before passage of the Health Care Bill.( http://video.foxnews.com/v/3943915/ )
My “bag” is Prevention…. this entire ” health care war” could have been prevented. If only the past four Presidents and the past 20 Congresses would have taken the time and effort that Reagan put forth. Our country would currently have a health care system that is more affordable, more available, more quality oriented and billions of dollars would have been saved and used to help Americans in a meaningful manner.
The only “losers” with the approach I advocated, and Reagan embraced, would have been the HMO’s, insurance, pharmaceutical and international banking companies…… and of course their puppets : Bush 1, The Clintons, Bush 2, Obama and the corporate global elite’s ”new model” Romney.
History is about to repeat itself…. the headlines will read : “Obamacare has won “ Many will cry, few will cheer. My take is the same as it was in the ’90′s after Hillarycare’s demise….. Obama and his handelers, the global elite international banking criminals, won a battle today in an ongoing war. Until a program emerges that Empowers people and their treating physician about the care Americans receive and a program that puts the finances back in the hands of the people this war will NOT end.
It is NOT time to cry or to celebrate….. it is time to finally do the right thing.
Dave Janda , M.D.
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This is Mike's interview with Max Keiser.
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Thanks Chris Purdy for passing this on.
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It seems to have taken forever for banks to realize that gold is a good asset to hold. Finally...
Breaking News: Regulators to Classify Gold as Zero-Risk Asset
BY JOHN BUTLER06/25/2012
In this Edition
In what might be the most underreported financial story of the year, US banking regulators recently circulated a memorandum for comment, including proposed adjustments to current regulatory capital risk-weightings for various assets. For the first time, unencumbered gold bullion is to be classified as zero risk, in line with dollar cash, US Treasuries and other explicitly government-guaranteed assets. If implemented, this will be an important step in the re-monetisation of gold and, other factors equal, should be strongly supportive of the gold price, both outright and relative to that for government bonds, the primary beneficiaries of the most recent flight to safety. Stay tuned.
Did Anyone Notice?
In an Amphora Report last month, The Canary in the Gold Mine, I made the case that a key reason why gold has not been acting like a safe-haven asset in recent months is because banks are so capital impaired that they are scrambling to reduce their holdings of risky assets in favour of so-called ‘zero-risk-weighted’ assets, against which they needn’t set aside any regulatory capital. As it stands, gold has a 50% risk-weighting. But some government bonds, including US Treasuries, German Bunds and British gilts, are zero-risk-weighted.
However, in the report, I speculated that perhaps that would change in future, and that:
“…if it happens, it will be an important step toward the re-monetisation of gold. Gold would be able to compete on a level playing field with government bonds. While the playing field could be levelled in this way, there would be a gross mismatch on the pitch. On the one hand, you have unbacked government bonds, issued by overindebted governments, yielding less than zero in inflation-adjusted terms. On the other, you have gold, the historical preserver of purchasing power par excellence.”[1]
Well, on 4th June the Federal Reserve, OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) and FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) collectively circulated a memo asking for comment on their proposed changes to the regulatory capital risk-weighting framework. Section 11, ‘Other Assets’, specifies that a “zero risk weight” is to be applied to “gold bullion held in the banking organization’s own vaults, or held in another depository institution’s vaults on an allocated basis…”.[2]
Whoa. There you have it. As it stands now it would appear that, in the near future, banks will not have their regulatory capital ratios penalised for holding gold instead of government bonds as a safe-haven, zero-risk asset.
While the fundamental backdrop for gold is highly favourable and has been for some years, as the supply of money, credit and government bonds has grown dramatically, this technical aspect of the gold market is also clearly bullish. Indeed, as I wrote in The Canary in the Gold Mine, if gold is re-classified as a zero-risk-weighted asset, “the price is likely to soar to a new, all-time high.” I stand by that statement. In about six months we will know whether I am right, or whether I have misread this one.
Given the potential importance for gold, I’m surprised that this announcement has not been widely reported in the financial press, alternative or even mainstream. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, at this point, the re-classification of gold has only been proposed, not implemented. The change is not due to take effect until 1st January 2013.
With interest rates near zero, however, the opportunity cost of sitting on a non-interest-bearing gold position for six months is close to zero. Yes, gold may appear to be in a downtrend and, yes, it might have been unusually volatile of late, but unless the regulators backtrack, I see this as clearly bullish for gold, enabling much catch-up to Treasuries.
It remains to say something about why, perhaps, US regulators are poised to change bank regulatory risk weightings in favour of gold in this way. I do have some ideas about that. However, those will have to wait for a future Amphora Report.
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