The Crisis Is Contained: “No Major Risk to U.S. Financial System or U.S. Economy”

by | Mar 22, 2013 | Headline News | 199 comments

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    At this juncture . . . the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime markets seems likely to be contained.

    Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman
    March 28, 2007

    At the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), Ben Bernanke assuaged fears of a potential government confiscation of depositor holdings in America by suggesting that such an event is “unlikely” to take place.

    When asked whether the government of the United States could implement a “depositor tax”  similar to Cyprus, Bernanke downplayed the possibility. Citing depositor insurance programs maintained by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), which insures bank accounts up to $250,000 in the event of a bank failure, the Fed Chairman indicated that the crisis taking hold in Cyprus and the Euro Zone poses no risk to the U.S. financial system.

    By all expert analysis the situation is contained, just as it was in 2007…

    I don’t think that the impact has been enormous… we are monitoring very carefully, but at this point we are not seeing major risk to the U.S. financial system or the U.S. economy.

    I don’t think that these issue… have direct implications for the U.S. economy. The only way they would create a problem would be if the runs became contagious… if depositors in other countries lost confidence.

    At this point I’m not aware of any evidence that is, in fact, the case.

    In terms of the United States, the FDIC was founded in 1934 and insured deposits and are very proud of the fact that no one’s ever lost a dime in insured deposits…

    So, I consider that to be extremely unlikely in the United States.

    Of note is that the question posed to Bernanke regarding a “tax” on depositor accounts has nothing to do with FDIC insurance. Are we to believe that should the US government implement a Cyprus style “tax” (aka theft) of personal bank accounts, that the FDIC will then step in to compensate account holders for the loss of that money?

    Bernanke’s claims are ridiculous.

    Not only does the FDIC not insure deposits against government theft, but even if it did, there is not enough money in the insurance program to cover any serious losses. As noted just a few days ago by Zero Hedge, the FDIC currently has $25 billion in reserves available to cover depositor losses, however, some $9,283 Billion dollars are currently on deposit with US banks:

    DepositsvsReserves

    Thus, the notion that the FDIC could cover any sort of serious bank run in the U.S. is laughable.

    In any case, according to Bernanke, this can’t happen because the situation is contained. There is no mass panic in Cyprus, and there will be no loss of confidence by the people of Europe.

    It’s contained!

    Move along, Doomers.

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      199 Comments

      1. “The crisis is contained.” = “This ship can’t sink.”

        I feel much better now.

        • Whew!!!!!!

          That was a close one. I guess we can all go and dig up our #10 cans of crisp $10.00 bills and start investing in the market without fear again. B.B. has spoken, Happy days are here again. Time to party like its 1929.
          Woo Hoo!!!

          • @ Highspeedloafer…… Yea ,I guess I can dig up my BAG of PENNIES now !! Why did I have to bury them FOUR FEET DEEP ??? DUH!! mm……~NOMI~

            • Bernanke said:
              “unlikely” which does not mean “never”
              “FDIC ensures accounts against bank failure” but not a word about taxing bank accounts as a form a seizure of funds while the bank is functioning.
              Cypres also has bank account insurance by the IMF that is very similar to our FDIC insurance. But it was the IMF and EU that wanted the seized money for debts owed to them. So that is just like our situation here with the Fed, US Gov debt and FDIC.

              • Yes, just him saying the word “unlikely” really bothers me. I mean a straight forward “heck no” I wouldn’t have belived but to say unlikely leaves the possibility that the real answer is “Yes”. Well lets face it if they think the can get away with it they will try it.

        • While I agree in general with the article, the math is wrong.

          FDIC insures up to $100k (back down from $250k) per account, so one needs to multiply the $100k*# of accounts, not the total amount on deposit.

          It’s still a big #, and I’d bed that it exceed FDIC reserves, so the question is if a “haircut” (wealth tax) were implemented here, would they even touch the amounts below $100k and leave everyone further out in the cold?

          • FDIC reserves to cover deposit losses amounts to a little more than a quarter of one percent (.26%)of supposedly covered amounts in US banks.

          • I was under the impression that the 250,000 limit didn’t expire until Dec 2013.
            Do you have a source that confirms it already expired?

              • There a number of commentors on here that say get you money out of the bank but no practical advise on how to accomplish this (aleast not practical for a significant proportion of the population to do so at the same time)

                So how could 20% of the population defund their bank accounts without causing a bank run?

                I recall listening to a podcast where Franklin Saunders made a comment that there is only enough physical paper money for each person to hold about $1000 in cash. I have no way to verify the numbers but that implies that it would only take about 1 or 2% of the population to cause a bank run.

                From the limited amount of time I have spent at some of the coin dealers in town, they don’t appear to have that many transactions on an average day and any sizeable transaction cannot be completed on the same day as they just don’t keep enough inventory on hand. If there was a sudden rush of new paniced customers, they certainly will not be able to accomodate the increased business without delays.

                So the whole FDIC “promise” seems to do a fantistic job of stopping people from emptying their bank accounts.

                • You are assuming 20% of the population knows what you know. They don’t. Bottom line Screw the other 20% and take care of you’re own.

                  • I had always heard that there is no specific timeframe in which FDIC had to make good on the “insurance”. I have also heard figures like 99 years, which for all reading this would mean NEVER. We would all be in our graves long before anything was paid.

                    I have also heard that no bank can (will) articulate a policy on access to safe deposit boxes. I have even heard that a few banksters have asserted that the banks have the final say on the disposition of contents of these boxes (duuuh! The boxes are in THEIR possession).

                • “it would only take about 1 or 2% of the population to cause a bank run” U R EXACTLY RIGHT

                  “So the whole FDIC “promise” seems to do a fantistic job of stopping people from emptying their bank accounts.” BINGO, EXACTLY RIGHT AGAIN

                  “There a number of commentors on here that say get you money out of the bank but no practical advise on how to accomplish this. Simple, ask for it but keep withdrawls under 10K, do it now, and keep only enough to cover electronic payments, and maybe a little bit to avoid an overdraft fee.

                  Better yet, pay cash for your bills, use cashiers checks if your bank issues them for free to pay other bills, get out of debt and you’ll really reduce the worry about getting bills paid on time. I make all of my electronic payments on line within 3 days of getting paid and hopefully I will never get caught by the bank shutting down before the payments clear.

                  • …it’s not like your money is earning a whopping amount of interest anyway. Might as well bury it in a can in the yard.

          • Doesn’t go back to why there’d be a bank run here?

            If you have a half mil in the bank and the most you’re gonna get when the bank shenanigans culminate in a bank holiday is 100K, aren’t you gonna try and get some of that money put somewhere else?

          • In response to math_guy….

            As scheduled, the unlimited insurance coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts provided under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ‘EXPIRED’ on December 31, 2012. Deposits held in noninterest-bearing transaction account are now aggregated with any interest-bearing deposits the owner may hold in the same ownership category, and the ‘COMBINED TOTAL’ insured up to at least $250,000.

            Ann Barnhardt

            • And if the amount was kept at $250,000, who gets reimbursed first??
              Go by alphabet?? DUH!!
              And those with deposits over $250,000?
              Deposit bank to bank..will that work??

          • @math_guy

            Another point to consider is that NO ONE has said just exactly how long it will take for the FDIC to make you whole again. A week? A month? A year? Two years?

            Better hope you’re healthy and eating all your veggies; otherwise, there’s the strong possibility you’ll fucking DIE before they get you your money back

        • FDIC “protects” against BANK loss
          not FED theft

          • all in the wording…just like everything that comes out of any gub douches mouth…

            They have perfected transparent bullshit…for our benefit.

            Reckoning day is close at hand…Hope I get to stay long enough to see justice for the “real” working/productive human being.

            • Yep
              If they want it, they’ll come after.

              Been said before, “If it ain’t in your possession, you don’t own it.”

              What you do between now and that day is up to you.

              Be smart. Be safe.

              • @ Cowboy45,

                Yup,

                It USED to be that,

                ..Possesion was “9/10’s of the Law”,

                …..NOW it’s “10/10’s of the Law”.

                ‘NUFF SAID,

                JOG

              • Ignore that man behind the curtain, the Great and Powerful Oz has spoken ! !

            • HA!!! this is like jerry jones saying “he’s my coach for life and there are no plans to replace him”…

          • Exactly!! Why would the government take it out of our bank accounts and then give it to the FDIC to put back in. That just doesn’t make sense. Of course our gubberment can just pull a Corzine and disappear the money and say it is too confusing to put it back. They are very creative.

            • How it works is, they take it out of YOUR account and put it in THEIRS.

        • the titanic was already on fire before it left port .the coal gas (iceberg) blew the side right open. So , everythings alright go down stairs and take a nap

        • As scheduled, the unlimited insurance coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts provided under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ‘EXPIRED’ on December 31, 2012. Deposits held in noninterest-bearing transaction account are now aggregated with any interest-bearing deposits the owner may hold in the same ownership category, and the ‘COMBINED TOTAL’ insured up to at least $250,000.

          Ann Barnhardt

        • Here in New Zealand the government has pushed through a proposal called the Open Bank Resolution, that basically allows banks to close one day, and reopen the next and overnight to “shave” all depositors accounts to cover their losses.

          All banks have been told to have their systems up and ready to comply with this OBR by the 1st June.

          In other words, exactly what they are proposing to do in Cyprus, only they can already do it here. Thank heavens we haven’t got any money!

        • ….Reposted,

          @ Walt,

          Thanks God…we’re SAFE!…

          “This ship can’t sink.”

          But….didn’t they say that about the Titanic?! 😉

          JOG

        • Yes, WE had the collapse. Why would there be a bank run today? The people who fear a bank run are the same people who do not have any money …. meaning the 90% of the American people who had the same amount of wealth as the top 1% ….. in 2007, BEFORE the crash, when the Middle Class loss 40% of its wealth.

          The bottom 90%? let’s see … that represents the 50% of Americans now on food stamps, the 16% unemployed, and the 51% of all Americans making $27,500 or less.

          Bank run? Those people drain their accounts every month. People with money have income, are diversified, and not afraid of losing their accounts in a “bank run”.

          During the “collapse” did any American Depositor lose a single dime? Why would any now when Helicopter Ben can print money to replace bank loses as quickly as they occur, and is doing so? IE QE, 1, 2, 3, 4.

          Nothing to see here. Move along. Next! 🙂

          • hmm 50% on foodstamps ? I think its like 46 million which divided by population of 360 million is not 50%.
            16% unemployed prolly a little higher also .
            51% under 27.5 k ? very unlikely unless you are using stats that reflect age groups like under 16 which have very limited employment options .
            ie QE 1,2,3,4, etc every depositer lost money thru inflation , basically dollars devalued by a good bit .
            if you are not getting a real return of 30% AFTER taxes u lost purchasing power .
            hmm ,slightly beering here not sure if your post is irony or what u actually think >?
            in my industry are sales are higher year over year but our customer count is way lower /the only reason our sales are higher is 40% increase in base price so it is an artificial improvement /it is an actual 40 % decrease
            it just looks like we are making money / peace out no offense intended .

        • Yeah, that life preserver that says “H.M.S. TITANIC” on it? Just turn it over with the white side out—problem solved.

      2. Me have no job,
        Me have no food,
        Me have no money,
        Me have no future.

        Why didn’t anybody warn us?

        • You can not borrow 42 cents out of every dollar and not have to pay the piper at some point. All the talk is just that, talk. I don’t know when the piper will come calling or how the piper will call but calling will happen.

          But then again, there’s a saying “You can sheer a sheep many times but you can only skin it once”. Maybe there’s an elite’s formula for the continued sheering of the sheep. I guess as long as we keep growing our wool our muttons won’t get served.

          • Inflation,,,
            that is how the fed is screwing the peeps of the USA
            it is already happening,, whats the difference between them metaphoricly printing money (they dont actually print anything) and devaluing the dollar by 2-3% every month or quarter, and the eu outright taking up to 9%+ of the deposits from member nations bank deposits,,,
            no difference, we are already there, its just that our people who are “in charge” are much more sneaky and conniving that the various eu bureaucrats.

            • @ Kulafarmer

              I often think what would be the worse thing that could happen to me.

              Being shot in the ass with an arrow.

              • Owwww

            • Kula….its not really inflation that is grabbing us and ruining America. It is deflation.

              The dollar is deflating and losing value fastly. The crash will come when the dollar is not the World’s Reserve and no longer a big item on the petro-dollar. The World will suffer inflation through the dollar’s deflation. Then collapse.

              PS. I am disappointed in your comment below. I was hoping you had some Roundup Ready Pineapples with Flavr Savr technology. Damn?

              • The dollar is being devalued that is for sure. We do have some deflationary aspects to the quaqmire we find ourselves in that consumer and small business lending is at low levels which is deflationary. The velocity of money is also at historical lows.

              • I quit trying to figure out how I’m getting screwed a long time ago. INflation, DEflation, CONflation it’s all the same to me.

                Now I just try to figure out WHO is stroking me and what am I going to do about it.

            • Dude,
              What happens when you get both things?

              • @ Munford,

                The term used is “STAGFLATION”.

                At least that’s what they call this sh_t over at the ‘Hedge…

                JOG

                • Who is “Just One Goy”?

                  • @ Rick:),

                    “Just Me!” 😉

          • Those well paying factory/manufacturing jobs, those paying $18 – $25 an hour with a full benefit package and some sort of a pension plan ……. they are sorely missed here today in the United States. Since there is nothing in the way of a manufacturing/industrial sector in our economy anymore, what’s a young high school graduate to do for a job? Their only options include some sort of a minimum wage service sector job or the military, if they manage to qualify.

            But what the government and their corporate masters didn’t seem to understand at the time, is that while they were destroying the American Middle Class; they were also destroying their tax base. Now they collect a lot less in taxes and pay out a lot more in social assistance than they ever used to. It’s all finally caught up with these really greedy people.

            They didn’t just bleed the animal and then allow it to heal up so that they could bleed it again ….. the ignorant assholes went ahead and killed the poor cow! (cow = US manufacturing/Industrial Base)

            Anyone else noticed how it seems to be getting increasingly ‘bat-shit’ crazy out there in the world around us? People are really starting to loose their composure and control of their emotions. Please be very aware of your surroundings when you are out there in public with your family.

            Good luck & God Bless to all who post here.

            • {But what the government and their corporate masters didn’t seem to understand at the time, is that while they were destroying the American Middle Class; they were also destroying their tax base.}

              TPTB don’t need taxes -they have stolen enough in decades to justify destroying the world’s economy–it has NEVER been about money–it’s about control.
              And depopulation.

            • But on the up side, women can now serve in any combat role. Wait till the feminists realize their daughters will soon have to register with selective service.

              The MIC is elated–twice as much meat for the grinder.

        • UG
          That sums it up as well as it could be said!
          The folks on SHTF and other reputable prepper/survival
          sites have been warning/coaxing people for a decade now
          about what is happening and how to take the steps to
          avoid the coming crapstorm.

          It’s now to the point of no return. We should be taking
          our own advice, prep like there is no tomorrow(?), and
          don’t worry too much about throwing a life-preserver to
          those that refuse to be saved. They are on their own now

        • Me forgot to warn you. Check’s in the mail…..

      3. 15,000 pigs dead in Shanghai!

      4. bernny is a liar.

      5. “Move along, Doomers” — lol.

      6. Preppers, do not worry. We can buy seeds from Monsanto! And we can do it again next year. And then again, the following year. And then again. And then again. And then again. And then again….

        Its kind of like the dollar. Once you play the game, you are stuck with the game.

        • Don’t forget the Monsanto fertilizer and weed killer too.

          • That stuff is like farmer crack,,,
            once you start using it you cant wean yourself off of it without it being a painful and degrading experience,,,

            • ..its worse than that….once you take it it destroys your ability to farm…once the seed is compromised you cant go back…poorguys who use it actually believe theyre still farmers…all they are is monsantos “hoe” with no future.

            • I read a study concluded that the soil using these Monsanto insecticide poisons consecutively, shows a depletion of all nutrients in that soil.
              Let that sink in.

              • Say what you will about the new seeds and pesticides etc, just in my lifetime average yield in wheat, corn etc have almost doubled; and the average life expectancy has gone up, Go back to the wheat and methods of two hundred years age and you will starve 80% of the people on the planet. Fix that before you complain about Monsanto

                • First off you gotta remember GMO is NOT a breeding method it is an unnatural manipulation of genetics that cannot and would not EVER take place outside a laboratory…it is NOT a form of hybridization as some like to argue… it is the injection of animal/insect/bacteria DNA into the DNA of a given plant species,it is totally unnatural and is proving by the year to be unsafe and to contribute to more serious problems… not less.
                  Gmo corn was introduced in about 1990…cotton and soy as well as wheat since then…even the USDA now admits that GMOs have NOT resulted in increases in crop totals…the only ones out there saying they do are monsanto and groups that support monsanto…
                  In some areas of the Midwest, the best conventional varieties sold by seed companies produced yields that on average yeild 10 percent or more higher than comparable Roundup Ready varieties sold by the same seed companies.
                  The lack of independent research on the ecological, agronomic and plant defense consequences of GMO crops, until way after regulatory approvals and widespread market penetration,has blindsided regulators and has heightened the vulnerability of farmers.
                  Research done last year by a company called Spectrum Genetics found that non-GMO corn outdid GMO corn by nearly five bushels per acre….add that to the savings of not having to spray the roundup on everything and that adds up to a major difference…not to mention the cost to the enviroment!In about 1910 corn yields averaged 32 bu/per acre…by 1979 they had reached 110 and by 2000 were around 140 BPA… so the largest increase by far occured in those 60 years from 1910 to 1979 due mainly to closer planting densities and the advent of chemical fertilizers after WWII.
                  As one example against the pro GMO increased crop arguement,a Mr. Naylor, a corn and soybean farmer in Iowa, says his non-GMO corn yielded 141 bushels per acre in last year’s drought conditions compared with a neighbor whose GM corn yielded 100 bushels… thats a major difference.
                  Ive been involved in a lot of research into this GMO controversy because I often have to talk to groups on the subject,Ive talked to alot of farmers who grow it and alot who dont and the growing concensus is we have been lied to by a few greedy corporations and govts bent on control of the seeds!I dont just have some knee jerk reaction to GMOs…if they were a much better product than the older open pollinated seeds or even the hybrid seeds then I would say so and support them but the proofs in the pudding as they say and this pudding isnt any good!
                  As a lifelong farmer I had never seen animals turn down corn/wheat/soybeans to eat….never saw hogs lose weight on corn,chickens nearly starve to death on a corn diet…not to mention odd looking lesions on the livers/organs of everything from rabbits to hogs fed GMO corn AND the exact opposite on all counts when fed old non GMO grains…UNTIL NOW!…there has been little if any gain from GMO seeds if even initially and a lot of evidence in the last dozen years showing a lot of loss/hurt…add to that the fact that monsanto and its allies have spent millions to make sure you as a consumer can not know on a label that it contains any GMO(but they dont allow it in their own cafeterias) because they say you dont need to know and you begin maybe to understand why many countries around the world BAN or heavily regulate GMOs…it aint rocket science that something is very wrong with these crops!
                  And if folks check it out youll find that the increases in crop yields got the most increase using non gmo seeds in the time since WWII…not since 1990…no real increase since gmos were introduced,sorry!

              • Ive dug into soil that has used ROUNDUP for a spell and theres no worms…no wigglies…very very little of anything moving around…compare that to a forest floor or a manure/compost pile or a field/garden thats had manure/compost/green manure crops plowed back in ect…absolutely teeming with life…a complete 180…theres no arguement as to which way is best 🙂

      7. This is the time when the head doesn’t know it has been severed from the body.

      8. Believing in the FDIC to insure your deposits during an economic crisis/collapse is like believing your home or auto insurance will cover your items after a natural disaster that takes out half the United States.

        However Benny Boy doesn’t think this is possible either, so technically in his own little world he is probably correct.

      9. Well consider who the top holder of derivatives are: JP Morgan, BOA, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citi– some of whom are basically the Fed and collectively represent 80% or so of derivative exposure risk. You think they are going to let themselves get wiped out? A haircut won’t even be discussed. We will wakeup to the news that x amount was taken for national security reasons which unfortunately our gov’t thinks it has the right to do.

        • Why should this be so alarming when they do it to us all the time? How about the payroll deduction that took about $100 out of your pay. There is a fee for everything the GOV. imposses and then is past onto the consumer. Higher property taxes. Car registration increases. Well, you get the picture.

          All I can say is that they are going to suck all the life out of us.

          How many of you are living payday to payday with an underwater mortgage, a few credit card or school loans.

          • Yea, I love that, you work and pay fica, medi, social security, your employer contributes as well on your behalf, and then the government because they have been squandering it and giving it away to every bleeding heart down and out con artist tells us we are not entitled to any of the money we contributed,,,
            Atlas is shrugging, I know I have, why continue to expand production and hire employees when at every turn you are penalized for being successful, forget it, Im going in a different direction, sustainability is different for me than it is for anyone else, my idea of sustainable is I dial my production down to a level to feed me and a few others, and reduce my exposure or expenses to a level that I can just turn everything off and say eh, Im good,,,

            • …and that is how you do it Kula. Starve the beast.

              Those that can’t figure it out, end up being the beast.

              Many of us will never relent…and when it is over, we will stand in the sunshine, free, once again.

              “don’t go down without one helluva fight.”

            • Many business have all ready done that.. many small store all ready have the owners back at the counters.

              • Kula, Lastman, Facebook….that is true. The only way to survive and ‘somewhat’ win is to play their game much, much, much less. It is a sad day coming for all of us, but much more sadder for those that are ignoring the warning signs.

                I am buying as much locally as possible, from local beef to farmers markets to mom-and-pop restarants.

                Does anyone out in cyberland have anything positive to say about the future? Other than you are very positive that it is collapsing.

                • Hey Ug,
                  I am positive that I will be enjoying every second I have with my kids. I’m positive that when I get home tonight, i’ll fire up the grill, grab a cold one, turn on some tunes, and just relax. I know that wasn’t the response you were looking for but you have to enjoy the little moments when they happen. Sometimes they get overlooked.

                • They used to laugh when I walked away from the system decades ago…now Im chuckling as they and their kids ask me how to do it(get self sufficent) in two weeks or seven easy steps 🙂

            • Welcome to The Gulch, Kula. Glad you made it.

              • Its kinda nice, just walk away

            • ~~~Atlas is shrugging, I know I have, why continue to expand production and hire employees when at every turn you are penalized for being successful~~~

              Start giving great deals to consumers buying with cash!!!
              (wink-wink)

              I got a top-rated body man coming to get my car and fix the two little dents that make my low-mileage car not so great.
              Things like that will spread and nothing BIG BROTHER can do about it.

              • I bought ‘Atlas Shrugged’ over 40 years ago. I quit the 8 hour grind almost 9 years ago. I don’t have as much money, but I feel more relaxed. It snowed yesterday, but the sun was out today, so I mowed the front yard using gas I bought last year.

                • Yep, read the book, stuff started coming into focus, concentrate on what i enjoy about the path that has chosen me, when everything falls apart my position will be primo.

            • Roger that. Likewise.

            • I understand… it hurts to look at fields and facilities sitting/laying empty(or underutilized) remembering all the hopes and dreams they represent and wondering how it is that food and those who really grow it are considered of no value in this day and age…has this ever been the case in human history when the people who eat just dont give a rip?…guess they think monsanto and cargill are where food comes from… Ive farmed all my life…never made any money at it but tried hard not to lose any at it either…and thats whats starting to happen way too often( as far as growing stuff for sale is concerned…I make out well on my own eating)…so for now its back to the homestead size operation for me and mine…cant afford to grow food and critters and then have to beg and apoligize to get people to buy it…you know,the ones who tell you they can get it cheaper at walmart,but for 10% or for free theyll do you a favor and take it off your hands,you know the kind…itll rot in the field before I give it to those types…actually the hogs will eat most of it before I give it away like that…but the obvious choice has now become why grow it in the first place?…I hope things will get better and folks will learn to appreciate real farmers and quit acting like walmart and the 10,000 head feedlot are where food comes from…food which by the way they have no qualms buying at the marked price…sheesh!

          • Payday to payday yes, at present.

            Old school credit card… just a little bit left.

            Then (when it’s likely too late) I prep like there’s no tomorrow. Crash program.

            I just can’t do the debt thing for preps. Before it all goes kersplat there’s going to be an interim period in there where they try to collect on you. This will likely devolve into debtor’s prison before it all goes plop.

        • CL: And they share that exposure with EACH other as they hold 96% of those derivatives between themselves. A bit incestuous to say the least, but they are not going to put themselves out of business deliberately.

          To my knowledge, and I may be wrong about it, those derivatives are merely credit enhancements to support their own credit ratings as triple A while the credit ratings of loans that they are making are less than that, and it is done to protect the credit rating of their portfolios.

          When Uncle Ben has the ability to print excess reserves to replace any losses from repos, or buy them directly, there is a floor under the system.

          No collapse. WE had the collapse folks. WE are in recovery. Can’t you feel it? I love the smell of money being printed in the morning! 🙂

      10. Who was it that recently said (Juncker maybe?)something like when it gets really serious is when you have to lie. The more they reassure us, the more confident you can be that things are reeaaalllly bad.

        • PuppyPrepper-
          I believe that is exactly what happened in Argentina in 1999 and in Mexico in 1994. There are probably numerous other historical accounts (since history tends to repeat itself) e.g. Weimar Germany.

        • pp
          when someone from the goverment (or in this case the private federal reserve ) tells you not to worry, then its time to worry
          as someone posted a couple of storys back:
          avoid the rush, panic now

          nomi

          • The truth always lays about 180 degrees out of phase. Only time you get the truth is by accident and then they deny it.

      11. When the government tells you not to worry and yet they are preparing for the worst, that is when you should worry the most. it is the same as if you see a cop running for their life. if you see them running for their life you better get the running yourself. the governments around the world are buying gold at a record rate, so it only makes since that we should be buying gold and silver as much as financially possible.

      12. This administration is incapable of giving a straight answer to anything. Saying it is “unlikely” to happen is weasel speak for the “time isn’t right for the takeover”. I wrote my two senators and my representative to request (a polite term) that they make Janet Napolitano disclose the intent behind the purchasing of all the ammunition by DHS. I’m sure I’m already on their list, particularly since I don’t send money to them. However, why is that COW allowed to stonewall congress and make these sinister purchases? I say, defund the bitch!

      13. $146 T as in Trillion : The shocking true size of ZOG AmeriKa’S , our nation’s debt

        The Congressional Budget Office released a new report showing that the federal government’s publicly held debt would top 101% of GDP by 2021, more than the value of everything produced in this country over the course of a year. Think of it like owing more on your credit cards than your entire family income. By 2035, the publicly held debt, CBO says, could top an almost unfathomable 190% of GDP.

        And that was the good news.

        ;0p

      14. The president of Cyprus was just elected THREE WEEKS AGO and he CAMPAIGNED ON THE PROMISE HE WOULD NEVER DO WHAT HE JUST DID.

        Make withdrawls every Friday. If they do anything it will be on a weekend.

        • The IMF said “Alright sticker, this is a f_ckup. Give me your brains or I’ll blow your money out!”

        • Good advice, Eisenkreuz. Thanks.

          “The president of Cyprus was just elected THREE WEEKS AGO and he CAMPAIGNED ON THE PROMISE HE WOULD NEVER DO WHAT HE JUST DID.

          Make withdrawls every Friday. If they do anything it will be on a weekend. The president of Cyprus was just elected THREE WEEKS AGO and he CAMPAIGNED ON THE PROMISE HE WOULD NEVER DO WHAT HE JUST DID.

          Make withdrawls every Friday. If they do anything it will be on a weekend.”

          Let’s make the synagogue’s sayanim work twice as hard for their Israeli Shekels.

      15. what is the difference between having 7-10% of your money taken out one time of an account bearing 6% interest, and having money in the bank drawing .5% interest in an economy with 2.5% inflation, or more, over a period of several years??

        I think give me the one time cut and a realistic rate of interest would look good to me about now after the screwing I have had on by cds

        • It’s basically the same. Most people don’t recognize inflation for what is–theft. So much for the Fed’s job of price stability…

          • “Grind the middle class between the mill stones of high taxes and inflation” V.I. Lenin

        • It’s the same thing except if they take it out all at once and they get away with it they will be back for more real soon.
          Buckle Up!

      16. What a maroon…yardbird…moronic imp. He is merely a sock puppet with a Rothschild fist up his ass. Who is going to call him out when all the central banks are lying and doing the same thing and the .gov is reaping the benefits. The common man doesn’t need liquidity. Let him eat cake. Hang some bankers.

      17. I’m glad they have it on tape and on the internet. They will look mighty foolish when it hits the fan. People will take care of themselves before they take the word of our government. Lets see how FDIC do when it gets crazy!

        • Thats why the chart,,,, fdic account 25 billion, total insured deposits, 9+ trillion were already there,, derivatives hundreds of trillions
          these are all people trying to make something for doing nothing,,,
          the theory of relativity stands true for everything in the universe and in life.
          for every action there is an equal and inverse reaction, so when that pendulum stops swinging up on their inflate side, it will come back with a gradual then fierce swing to the negative side,,, no savings or investments will be worht the paper they are written on, everything will be 000000

      18. “Unlikely” doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzes’

        I would be cautious with “definitely not” from this man

        but unlikely? C’mon!

        We’re screwed!

      19. Mr. Christin of Carnegie Mellon said that he believes Bitcoin’s dominant use right now is speculation.
        “When you have a commodity or currency whose value has grown as rapidly as Bitcoin it makes sense to hold on to it as a speculative instrument,” he said. “It also is commonly used for online black markets or gambling sites.”

        Why does the mainstream financial press know absolutely nothing about economics?

      20. AmeriKa , a CIA Mk-Ultra Prison For Your Mind …

        You feel it don’t you ?

        There is something wrong with the world .

        You’re All Alice tumbling down the Rabbit Hole ,

        Do you take the Red pill or Blue Pill ?

        It’s Your Choice !

        ;0p

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjgE8Lw5YaQ

      21. If you don’t get your money out now and wait, you just my need your BOB with you while you stand in line to get your money latter. If there is any.

        Keep the FAITH
        Watchman

      22. I would not trust that guy to tell me the correct time of the day. I assume that he is lying to the public and his goal is to collapse the US economy.

      23. any time interest rates on money is less than the rate of inflation you are either being robbed by the government or money is being printed faster than the rate of demand.
        Every depositors dollar in the banks in this country has been pillaged way worse than the 10% tax cut that is about to hit Cyprus.

      24. Risk On Baby!!! Helicopter Bernanke to the rescue!

        The charade will continue until it can no longer continue. I wonder what Ayn Rand would be thinking right about now?

      25. The crisis in Cyprus is actually assymetric warfare between the NWO and Russia. The banks have become the new battlefield. War by other means. Get your money out of the banks, now. This is going to spread. Here it comes. We can’t stop it.

      26. One thing’s for sure, that phrase, “that’s like money in the bank” is one for the history books now.

        I wonder if the IRS has realized the 1040 Schedule B forms are becoming few and far between nowadays. For many of us here, there’s no bank interest to claim on the 1040s because most of us took our cha-ching out of the banks and put it into those #10 cans.

        Guess the Feds will soon make a major purchase of metal detectors. Someone needs to invent rubber #10 cans….

        • Guess the Feds will soon make a major purchase of metal detectors. Someone needs to invent rubber #10 cans

          Sterilite!!! the new rubber! (wink-wink)

          • Save all your spent .22 brass, then sprinkle the ground with it. They will be digging until the cows come home.

        • “Someone needs to invent rubber #10 cans…”

          Already happened…..called a plastic bucket. Remove the handle if you’re REALLY worried about metal detectors.

          • Geez, you trying to make me work?? That’s double the digging! 😉

          • Any zize pvc pipe 2in. is cheap holds my water under pressure from getting out I’m fairly sure it will hold water from getting in, not sure about being detectable but fairly sure it’s not made of metal? Works for other things you want to bury and keep dry!!!????

        • Another phrase for the history books: “Is the Pope Catholic?”

      27. It’s fairly well known that FDIC only has funding for about 3% of deposits. This would “probably” cover the errant bank that is mismanaged. However in a general collapse, or with government involvement, this figure tells me the American people would only get back 3 cents on the dollar, at best.

        • In reality in more like a quarter.

        • @ Terry, Why worry, Barry can always borrow the $$$ from the Chinese!

          • The Chinese are moving fast to bypass the US currency as a world reserve currency. They just cut a deal with the BRIC countries to use the Chinese currency on all tranactions between them. Upon close review of recent events, I would say that we are definitely in the early stages of WW3. The wars in North Africa and the Middle East needed to be out of the way before the big war starts.

      28. They are already stealing from your bank accounts. Interest rates have been artificially low for the last 4 years or so. Say 1/2% paid now. Historically say 4%. We lost 14% and we didn’t even know it. Thank you savers. We’ll be back for the rest soon.

        • OK, Now you put your money under the mattress. If inflation is 5% your $100 is $95 in a year. Then $90, $85,$80. You get the idea.

          • HN, Good example, but 5% is optimistic. My best educated guess….inflation is running on the high side of 10%. Even if you are making 7% in the market, you still are a looser.

            • Especially AFTER taxes.

      29. The Cyprus Cartoon Catalog

        Sometimes a picture paints a thousand words and with markets treading water ahead of any news out of Cyprus, Russia, or Brussels, we thought some brief levity (if not irony) was in order. Here are a number of excellent cartoons on the Cyprus situation from how we got here to where we are going…

        http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-22/cyprus-cartoon-catalog

      30. if i am not mistaken, did the FDIC say that as of 01 January, 2013 they were NO LONGER going to insure deposits?

        • As scheduled, the unlimited insurance coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts provided under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ‘EXPIRED’ on December 31, 2012. Deposits held in noninterest-bearing transaction account are now aggregated with any interest-bearing deposits the owner may hold in the same ownership category, and the ‘COMBINED TOTAL’ insured up to at least $250,000.

          Ann Barnhardt

      31. Wow I feel so much safer now that I have read this. ‘Cause you know they can’t say it on the internet, or in person, if it ain’t true.

        Thanks Benny ‘Ol Boy!

      32. to me what it sounds like hes saying is we are going 3 steps forward then 2 back then 2 forward and 3 back so ultimately nothing is getting fixed while problems keep coming up

      33. …….. said the guy who said, “their is ho housing bubble” and, “we will not monetize the debt”.

      34. I have to laugh every time I see Bernanke’s name in the news.

        Back in 2007 my Macro Econ teacher swore up and down how this man was a financial genius.

        Look what Genius has gotten us.

        Every thing is ok, no need to fear, we’re from the Fed and we’re here to help you.

        LOL

        • Bernake is simply a puppet ( like all our recent occupants of the White House ) that dances to the string pulling of the real powers behind the scenes.

          They put on a little show for the public, and have almost no real power.

      35. No wonder my beanstalk got so big! I’ve been using Bernanke Brand Fertilizer!!! Its unbelieveable, low grade BS and 90% fairy-dust filler…

      36. Excellent news Ben. Much appreciated. Now I can go buy some Colombian bud and Mexican tequila with the rest of my soon to be worthless USD’s. yeeha!

        • make sure you get the 100% Blue Agave..The best tequilas in the world are ultra anejos that have been aged for years

          You can also check out Don Julio 1942..

      37. Bernanke has lied his way through the last seven years to support the Federal Reserve and the big banks. Every prediction he’s made about the economy improving for the middle class has proved false. The huge increase in wealth and prosperity for the elite, at a time when the rest of the country is declining at an increasing pace, is a direct result of the corrupt and possibly criminal manipulation of the economy by the Federal Reserve and the big banks.

        If Bernanke says something is unlikely to happen, you can bet it’s already happening. Might be time to go cash and carry for awhile.

      38. capital controls to be instituted in Cyprus
        who didn’t know this was coming ?

        http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-22/ecb-set-fair-cypriot-standard-living-capital-controls

        “Freezing Savings – no time-frame (it’s not your money anymore)
        Make bank transfers dependent on Central Bank approval (a money tzar?)
        Lower ATM withdrawal limits (spend it how we say?)”

        wouldn’t it be great if your job was like a bankers ?

        you screw up MASSIVELY
        commit FRAUD
        and someone else has to pay for all your mistakes and crimes

        and all with the government stamp of APPROVAL

        SWEET !!!

        • WTF. This video is just a sales pitch. Give me a break.

        • I’m not involved with this guy in any form, I just thought their were some interesting ideas that we’re mentioned. I pay for a financial advisory group and this was a third party advertisement, but the main company has been pretty good at future forecasting.

          I personally didnt know a few things in this article and in case one of you didn’t, well, I posted the info. This has nothing to do with a sales pitch.

        • I know of a PD in my general area that has a S load of 9mm…problem is a few years ago the entire dept. went to .40 cal..they have no 9mm arms, and they have no .40 ammo..

          got a few friends trying to make a deal with em, and they are too indignant about it, so screw em let them learn the hard way

          you just cant fix stupid

        • Satori–great lesson of the govt’s priorities..PO PO better learn now than later.

      39. Watch Inside Job for some memorable ‘nanke quotes! But the rest of the movie WILL p!$$ you off!

      40. Of course nothing is contained, but the TRUE SHTF is still not in my opinion the financial collapse, it will be much worse than any depression. The last depression brough on World War 2, as this financial disaster can definitely usher in World War 3. Money can be manipulated too much, it is a phantom without borders. There is a ceiling, but even when this is breached, there is something far worse that will bring on mass starvation and widescale suffering.

        Picture this, a certain number of people that have allowed themselves to borrow and borrow and owe much of what they have to someone else. The someone else has something, whatever that may be from land to energy resources, whatever. That money owed is ONLY on paper or some form of agreement. As long as there are still resources, there will be some form of financial adjustments. This can be peaceful and through mutual benefits to everyone, or it can be an uprising like has happened again and again throughout history. It still rebalances itself and times go back to “normal”.

        Here’s the real problem with what is going on right now. It is NOT the financial world of juggling the books, it is the depletion of the natural resources of the world from food, to clean water, to energy that everybody should be gravely concerned over. A country or world with much to be used simply will not be in danger of the end of civilization over those that cannot balance the books. You can always zero out everything with money. You can bet there is a plan to do this and basically people will have to live with this. It stinks to lose value on your dollar, but countries like Argentina, Mexico, and many others have done this without widespread civil wars or the end of society type scenarioes.

        Now when you have lack of arable land to produce food, marine food sources being fished out, lack of water to irrigate crops, lack of water to even drink, difficult to obtain CHEAP energy resources, you have a big fat REAL physical problem. Much of this financial problem is but the TIP of the iceberg to a much more very critical issue of lack of what human beings need to function and live. World wars start over fighting for the last of anything, especially energy and water sources.

        This is why we go through these fiascoes of some little country going bankrupt as the end of anything, then they get bailed out, and we wait for the next sideshow to develop. All the while most everyone is overlooking the extremely serious issues of that there is just not much to go around like there was 50 years ago. These financial debacles are far easier to recover when you have 500 people per square mile of arable land for the planet, than it is now at around 1450 people per square mile of arable land. A depression is far easier to recover when you can pump oil right out a surplus of wells than have to depend on tapped out wells around the world.

        This is why I personal feel that something physical will have to be the catalyst that bring downs the money world. It has longed been believed IF the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s had not occurred that the Depression would have fizzed out. Right now we have droughts, but not like the 30’s, and there are better means of transporting water. There are also better weather modification technologies. Doesn’t mean that the climate can’t change suddenly. Still likely is the fight over energy, as energy plays in highly to food production, will be the cause of the implosion.

        • BI…This is also my take on the Western economic crash. Lack of cheap oil. Media runs bogus energy independence stories and the banks tank with no growth to cover their compound usury. BTW…I think I overheard NOAA(or some lettered agency) calling for a continuing drought in the Midwest again this year. That may be the crack in the dam.

        • Look at what is going on in China. Thay are short on arable land, some areas the bees have died off so they have to pollinate plants buy hand. They have little if nothing in the way of pollution control, dumping massive pollution into the air and water. Cancer is a big problem although they hide it. China mines a lot of rare earth minerals too. Eventuallt when their land is worn out they will be coming for someone elses. They are already buying farmland in other Asian countries and colonizing Africa. This is a particularly sobering article if true– they won’t nuke us since the want the land. an EMP and invasion and culling a couple milion Americans:

          http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/5-8-8/31055.html

          • This worries me too. China is NOT our friend, no matter how many jobs or how much technology we ship over there. That trend has not slowed at all, especially as India gets more expensive.

            What “good” we’ve gotten in return was very short-term and we’ve certainly set ourselves up for a world of long-term hurt.

            Comparative advantage isn’t as clean and nice as they teach in b-school, is it?

      41. Yea we got our finger in the leak in the dam so don’t worry, be happy. You can sleep confidently tonight knowing your money, your life and your constitutional rights are Guaranteed (and protected) by our government.
        Go Back to Sleep: “Nighty night and good night, sleep tight little baby”. Let me sing you a lullaby to help you go back to sleep, that’s a good little sheeple, back to sleep now.
        When THEY say it’s time to go back to sleep – IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP, SMELL THE COFFEE and the SH_T they been shoveling. Hell on Earth is Coming with a Vengeance
        Pray Hard / Prep Fast / Time is Oh So SHORT

      42. Notice all the advertising in the posts lately.

      43. In other news…
        They tell us this is all being done for our protection. So, no need to be concerned.

        ‘Homeland’ to scan and monitor private web traffic
        http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/news/16420081/u-s-cyber-plan-calls-for-more-scanning-of-private-web-traffic/

        Big Sis Refuses To Answer Congress on Bullet Purchases
        http://www.infowars.com/big-sis-refuses-to-answer-congress-on-ammo-purchases/

        New York State offers cash reward for reporting illegal gun owners
        “This initiative seeks to turn neighbor against neighbor and use their own tax dollars to pay for the $500 reward,”
        http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/21/new-york-state-offers-500-reward-for-reporting-illegal-gun-owners/?test=latestnews#ixzz2OArnmmTl

      44. The Crisis Is Contained: “No Major Risk to U.S. Financial System or U.S. Economy”

        Oh boy are we ever in trouble … when they say shit like this its time to look the hell out..its just like them saying..”This is exactly whats coming”

      45. Keep your bank accounts at the minimum required for some bills and official governmental theft day. The rest should become a small stash of emergency cash ($1000 in small bills is good)and physical goodies. And I don’t mean video games!

        • Just conducted my own small bank run today… Ha!!

          • You weren’t the only one…

            I noticed the bank was a lot busier for a Friday than I have seen lately and most were getting cash or cashiers checks…

            Maybe the bank run is starting…

        • Yeah….1000 dollars..that’ll help ya.

      46. This strikes me as old uncle Benny is trying to head off Bank runs here in the U.S.

        They have got to keep the sheep calm until they take away the guns.

        NOMI-Peace through superior firepower!

      47. Market’s up.
        Market’s up.
        Market’s up.

        I told you so! I told you so! I told you so!

      48. Anytime a govt. official says one thing, you can go to the bank [no pun intended] on the exact opposite happening. As BI stated in a previous article, there has to be a linchpin to bring on an economic collapse. I don’t know HOW it will happen or WHEN it will happen, but the day WILL come when the economy will go belly up. There are too many things which can be SHTF. I prep for all of them and everyone else should too. Went shopping last night and going back shopping over the weekend. braveheart

      49. Oh and remember this: “The fundamentals of the economy are strong,” right before the big crash. Of course, trust the government and the liars at the FED who own this country.

      50. {Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation}

        LOL…I’m so confused..is the operative word ‘Federal’ or ‘Corporation’???

        Either way, we’re so splodydoped!!!

      51. Why do you think obama is living so high on the hog? Do you think someone hasn’t told what the eventual outcome is? he is not that stupid. He is gitin while the gittin is good. Then he thinks his “homeys” will come to the rescue. boy is he in for a surprise.

      52. I did not read all the comments, so I might have missed it, but the FDIC has up to 360 days from the date your bank closes to the day it has to pay you. This is up from the 180 days that it had in the 1980s. That should be all you need to know about how much insurance is really available.

      53. Our Technorats are worse then theirs. If you believe Brother Benny B. then I have some gold colored cement I’ll make you a deal on.

        From what I understand about the problem in Cyprus the banking is such a large part of GDP that it would be like America having 45 banks the size of JP Morgan Chase. In other words the proplem is much larger then a tiny country.

        It really doesn’t matter though. What matters is that deposits are no longer safe in any bank from the government or central banks. Some would have you splitting hairs between insured deposits and uninsured deposits, good bank and bad bank, but the bottom line is its not their money. If they take the money from the Cypriot’s the international banking system will be entering a WROL situation.

        Next stop, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain. But trust me its been contained!!

      54. My mother raised me to be a lady, my father taught me how to shoot pistols and rifles, .45 and an M-16.
        My response to Article is ~ “Bullsh*t.”
        Sorry for the profanity, but I do not buy this for 1 minute.

      55. Ok, everybody; let’s party like it’s 1929…er…I mean 1999!

      56. It all boils down to information, if enough people think and get real news, then you get a bank run/market crash. The Gov/Fed does not want you to have the right information. So they tell you what they want to and most people are happy believing it and then turning on “dancing with the stars ”
        “You take the blue pill, the story ends” None of us will ever know just how deep the rabbit hole is.

      57. Bernanke, ” I consider it extremely unlikely (bank run) in the United States”. Extremely unlikely, hmmmmmm…. but not impossible. How about the “silent running” thats taking place every day due to people raidng their IRAs, 401s, and savings due to unemployment or hours cut back. This guy reminds me of the little baldheaded man on Benny Hill that use to get his head slapped. What a Jackass mouthpiece for this Communistic Cabal!

      58. “better safe than sorry”… who can trust bentyankee anyway..?? wife and i have talked about going cash for everything possible and only depositing enough to float the digital payment boat… we’re out of most all banking come Monday 3/25/13… what doesn’t make the cut, won’t matter wtshtf anyway…

        invest in PM’s – lead is a good start

        pray for the best, prep for the worst…

      59. So, as long as people have confidence in the CONfidence of the system, the systems fine. The problem is, too many people now realize the Banking System is nothing but a world wide pyramid scheme, and the public are at the bottom of the Pyramid, and that means your going to get crushed when it collapsed. The sooner the entire global system crashes and burns, the better. As long as you exit this system with Gold or Silver in your hands.

      60. You know folks I’m watching all the talking heads on conservative and liberal networks and no one seems to care that its not central bank or government money. Confiscation according to all media seems to be okay for Cyprus.

        I just heard Lou Dobbs say it will shake out to be about 1% confiscation and that’s no big deal. I think the people are going to have a lot more to say about this in the coming days, but don’t worry they have already been disarmed.

      61. Whatever happens, it will be exactly as they planned it.

      62. I don’t comment on blogs often but enjoy and have learned much from this and other sites. Being the novice I am I’ve always used the common sense rule of keeping one’s mouth shut/ears open and to listen to those who usually know more. However, B.S. meter has been on high alert for a while since taking the “red pill” and noticed right off that he never answered the question but redirected his answer to something of a similar nature which throws many off what the original question was which was would the Fed Gov institute a tax similar to Cyprus and his answer was bogus about FDIC insurance. You better bet your little cotton socks the Fed would do it in a heartbeat. Actually they are doing it right now through inflation.

        Anyway, I love this site and have learned much. Thanks all!

      63. There is a Chinese saying: To scare a monkey, you kill a chicken. IMF and ECB will let Cyprus implode. Depositors in other countries will then reckon a 10% ” levy ” on their deposits is not the worst deal after all.

      64. Snicker.

        Oops a big glob of snot just driped out of my nose.

        Wipe, blow……… snicker.

      65. POINTS SOUTH

        Florida
        A Florida senior citizen drove his brand new Corvette convertible out of the dealership. Taking off down the road, he pushed it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left.

        “Amazing,” he thought as he flew down I-95, pushing the pedal even more.

        Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a Florida State Trooper, blue lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120. Suddenly he thought, “What am I doing? I’m too old for this!” and pulled over to await the trooper’s arrival.

        Pulling in behind him, the trooper got out of his vehicle and walked up to the Corvette. He looked at his watch, then said, “Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a new reason for speeding – a reason I’ve never before heard – I’ll let you go..”

        The old gentleman paused then said, “Three years ago, my wife ran off with a Florida State Trooper. I thought you were bringing her back.”

        “Have a good day, Sir,” replied the trooper.

        Georgia
        The owner of a golf course in Georgia was confused about paying an invoice, so he decided to ask his secretary for some mathematical help.

        He called her into his office and said, “Y’all graduated from the University of Georgia and I need some help. If I wuz to give yew $20,000, minus 14%, how much would you take off?”

        The secretary thought a moment, and then replied, “Everthang but my earrings.”

        Louisiana
        A senior citizen in Louisiana was overheard saying, “When the end of the world comes, I hope to be in Louisiana .”

        When asked why, he replied, “I’d rather be in Louisiana ‘cause everythang happens in Louisiana 20 years later than in the rest of the world.”

        Mississippi
        The young man from Mississippi came running into the store and said to his buddy, “Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup truck from the parking lot!”

        Bubba replied, “Did y’all see who it was?”

        The young man answered, “I couldn’t tell, but I got the license number.”

        North Carolina
        A man in North Carolina had a flat tire, pulled off on the side of the road, and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it. Then he got back in the car to wait.

        A passerby studied the scene as he drove by, and was so curious he turned around and went back. He asked the fellow what the problem was.

        The man replied, “I got a flat tahr.”

        The passerby asked, “But what’s with the flowers?”

        The man responded, “When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. I never did understand it neither.”

        Tennessee
        A Tennessee State trooper pulled over a pickup on I-65. The trooper asked, “Got any ID?”

        The driver replied, “Bout whut?”

        Texas
        The Sheriff pulled up next to the guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch. The Sheriff asked, “Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don’t you see that sign right over your head.”

        “Yep,” he replied. “That’s why I’m dumpin’ it here, ‘cause it says: ‘Fine For Dumping Garbage.’”

        Y’all Beware! SNP

      66. Bush: U.S. economy is thriving
        The president credits tax cuts with helping the U.S. economy grow.
        August 8 2007: 2:35 PM EDT

      67. Bernanke is a ‘neo-Nazi Zionist bankster whore’ indirectly employed by Rothchild (and ‘Company’). This is not a man to be trusted. Like Henry Kiss-an’-Injure (and other cruel $ociopaths) Bernanke is the sort of fellow who says… ‘I love you!’ with a knife in his hand.

        The Amerikan corn syrup people, and the rapacious ruling class for which they spread their faster poo-food cheeks, are doomed to suffer the terrible karma that they’ve invited to their door. Rome is burning. Old Coyote Knose can smell the $moke.

        R.R.R.

      68. What’s he gonna say? Things are going to sheet? Of course not, he’s got to talk the party line right up until the moment he’s jumps out of the plane with his golden parachute.

        The trick, I guess, is to find out where these insiders are investing their money. Soros is buying a crapload of gold – that speaks volumes more than a bureaucrat like Bernanke shouting “All is well.”

      69. You are allotted 1 life, live it well!

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