The Beginning Of History

"The fact is, the markets work, and they are working. And people - some of the big companies obviously - have taken risks. Risk means risk. And there's an upside as well as a downside in some of the choices they've made. We have to be careful not to have this set of developments lead us to significantly expand the role of government in ways that may do damage long-term for the economy. We don't want to interfere with the basic, fundamental working of the markets." Dick Cheney 11/26/07 from: http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/22/magazines/fortune/cheney_news.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007112613 FORTUNE Cheney: No bailouts, no tax hikes...more oil No further comment is needed. The Cunning Realist observes the madness of a country which rewards criminal incompetence: http://cunningrealist.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-sagacious-barber.html ...for fans of accountability, the timing is good. Far better now than after Inauguration Day. This way, at least the responsibility is clear, and the Kudlows of the world won't be able to spend the next few decades blaming the Democrats. In a perfect world, any political party that presided over this sort of debacle would wander in the wilderness for years or be permanently discredited. Instead, the incumbent party finds itself within a few percentage points of being rewarded with a third term in the White House. If Americans decide to give it that third term, they'll deserve everything they get -- not only financially but, as I've said before, in terms of national security/physical safety... ...If people really understood what was going on here -- essentially a system of "soft slavery" in which an ever-increasing amount of one's daily labor subsidizes Wall Street and the speculator class via inflation and the socialization of risk -- they'd be in the street. Of course very few do understand it, which is what policymakers count on. Now, let us back up and look at what has been created by the ruling class: It's clearer than ever that one's after-tax savings are not safe if kept within this system. When two or three unelected statists can decide on a moment's notice that the nation will embark on something as costly as another Iraq -- and then dictate the terms to a cowed Congress -- does that need much explanation? The chances are rising for a sudden and massive dollar devaluation at some point in the future. Moreover, we know now that the system is capable of anything. We've already seen rock-bottom interest rates, new credit facilities, expanded repurchase agreements, unprecedented liquidity, well-timed futures goosing, interventions, conservatorships, and now short-selling bans and bailouts. If all that proves insufficient, expect literally anything: national bank holidays, market shutdowns, restrictions on gold ownership, and capital controls. You really don't need much of a historical perspective to predict this stuff, just a little intuition about what happens when a jingoistic, militarized, increasingly socialistic nation overextends itself and is confronted with the consequences. Evaluate your exposure and plan accordingly. Unless we stop the madness of the rulers, those sanctuaries of Canada and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, are looking better and better in the dark future. Is not George Bush the image of Caligula, little boots, who played at war in his father's camps? Truly, is not the mad McCain an image of Nero in his blustering incomprehension?