Above is a chart of the price of silver over the past 10 years showing the move from $4/oz. to $26/oz. We call to the attention of Ben Bernanke that silver has been going up. Prices going up are not “deflation.â€
Www.bloomberg.com reported:
“The U.S. central bank’s decision to buy $600 billion of government debt has drawn scathing comments from a host of nations who contend it is generating global instability by ramping up their currencies against the dollar, inflating asset bubbles ;and stoking inflation in their economies.
“’With all due respect, U.S. policy is clueless,’ German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in Berlin.â€
Bloomberg.com, By Pedro Nicolaci da Cost, Nov. 5, 2010, 4:29; pm EDT
Bernanke defended his actions:
“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday defended the U.S. central bank’s bond-buying against beggar-thy-neighbor criticism, saying it was ‘critical’ for global stability that the U.S. economy regain its strength.
“Doing so, he suggested, would bolster a dollar whose weakness has sparked cries of foul from Bogota to Beijing.â€
Ibid.
America is in very big trouble because the inmates are in charge of the asylum. Bernanke, for example, thinks that he is boosting the U.S. economy.
How is it possible to improve the nation’s economy by counterfeiting money?
Members of the paper aristocracy measure the nation’s economy by a statistic called Gross Domestic Product. Gross Domestic Product was invented in the 1930s by a Russian national who worked his way into the New Deal and devised the formula for GDP. He presented this without proof that it actually worked and measured the real economy. Hardly any American can pronounce his name.
For example, if a man invents a thermometer, he is obliged to show that it actually does measure the real temperature. If he takes it outside in January and it measures hot and in July measures cold, then his thermometer does not work, and he is a failure.
This is the case with GDP. For example, a very poor period in the American economy was the early 1940s. This should not be a surprise because the world was at war, and everyone was engaged in the destruction of goods. One could not buy a new house in the early 1940s because none were being built. One could not buy a car for the same reason. Gasoline was rationed to 3 gallons a week. Butter and many food items were also rationed. You would walk into a store and find that it did not have the item you wanted to buy. But real GDP rose sharply during this time. This is the thermometer which reads hot in January.
We can contrast this with the period of the 1930s. Here are the facts. Virtually everyone saved in America at that time (because the Fed had not yet lowered interest rates to 0), and from 1930-33 the real value of the average person’s savings rose by 30%. People were thus able to live off the increase in value of their savings, and this is part of the reason that unemployment was high. (The other part is that real wages were high.) People had the resources to hold out for a better job. From 1929 to 1934, annual per capita consumption of meat rose from 129 lbs per person to 144 lbs per person. (Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Dept. of Commerce, series G881, p. 330.) People switched from margarine to butter, and they gave more to charity. This is the period called the Great Depression by the paper aristocracy to deceive the American people into thinking that they were poor. In reality, during the early 1930s the paper aristocracy took it on the chin. Their stocks went down. The real wages they had to pay went up, and they were hurting badly. But it would not have played well in the media for rich bankers and Wall Streeters to complain that they were poor. They had been making money hand-over-fist during WWI and in the 1920s. Now they were giving some of that back, and they knew that the country would not be sympathetic to their plight. So they could not say, “We bankers and Wall Streeters are hurting. Feel sorry for us.†Instead they said, “The whole country is hurting.†That was the lie of the Great Depression. The period of the early 1930s was one of the best (economic) times in American history, and the paper aristocracy did not want you to know that. This was part of the motivation for the invention of GDP as it provided an argument for saying that the country was poor in the early 1930s.
In words of one syllable, almost everything you have been taught is a lie, and almost every prediction made in the country’s newspapers proves false.
Bond buying by the Federal Reserve is accomplished by the Fed printing paper money and using it to buy U.S. Treasury bonds. The Fed does not create any wealth on its own. It does not receive tax money. It has no source of money except counterfeiting. This is illegal because the Constitution of the United States bans paper money (as was decided at the Constitutional Convention in mid-August 1787) and only allows gold and silver coin to be legal tender. This means that Ben Bernanke and his fellow members of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee are criminals, and their crime consists of robbing from the poor and average American and giving to the bankers and Wall Street.
To get away with this crime, the economists of the paper aristocracy tell a series of lies, but Bernanke’s is a whopper:
“Doing so, he suggested, would bolster a dollar whose weakness has sparked cries of foul from Bogota to Beijing.â€
See above.
What Bernanke is saying is that bond buying by the Fed would bolster the U.S. dollar. In other words, if the Fed counterfeits dollars out of nothing, the dollar will go up.
All right, Mr. Bernanke. Do you want to bet?
Myself and my subscribers have been betting against you for the past decade. The chart above shows a comparison of my Model Conservative Portfolio with U.S. Diversified Equity Funds (the country’s average mutual fund). This past week the Katz Model Conservative Portfolio raced to a new high at $284,846, up 184% (past 11 years), as compared with Equity Funds, which were up 13%. We, however, have an unfair advantage. We know economics.
And this is the good news for commodity speculators. Bernanke may be destroying America, but he is giving us (literally) a golden opportunity. He thinks that by printing money he is creating real wealth and that this additional wealth will prevent a rise in prices. I have heard this theory again and again and again. IT HAS NEVER WORKED. The problem with Ben Bernanke is that HE HAS NO COMMON SENSE.
Any human being can be wrong. But it takes a certain type of stupidity to be wrong, ignore the fact that one is wrong and REPEAT THE SAME MISTAKE OVER AND OVER. After QE2 has been completed, the U.S. money supply will have tripled since mid-2008 (although the current day Fed is lying about the money supply, counting demand deposits as time deposits). The Fed’s expansion of Federal Reserve credit is taking longer than normal to get into the money supply, but this is a small matter. Already commodities have begun their rise, and they have a long way to go. The rise in commodities will pass through into producer prices, and that will pass through into consumer prices. My guess is that by 2-3 years prices in America will be well on their way to a triple (from current levels).
Bernanke’s essential characteristic is that he gets a theoretical idea in his head, and when it proves false, he absolutely refuses to admit it. As consumer prices in America go to the moon, he will make excuse after excuse to deny this fact and refuse to admit reality. This means that the moves in the precious metals (and other commodities) are going to be astounding. This is your opportunity. The train is leaving the station. GET ON BOARD.
The One-handed Economist is my fortnightly newsletter which predicts the financial markets, with special emphasis on silver and gold. It is written fortnightly (every other Friday) and mailed the next day. You may subscribe by visiting my web site, www.thegoldspeculator.com and pressing the Pay Pal button ($300) or by sending $290 ($10 cash discount) via U.S. mail to: The One-handed Economist, 614 Nashua St. #122, Milford, N.H. 03055.
And thanks to Ben Bernanke for helping us to make all this money.
# # #
“And thanks to Ben Bernanke for helping us to make all this money.”
I’m always amazed at guys that rant on about inflation, and the destruction of the fiat dollar ( of which I agree ), and then end with a statement like the above.
As gold goes up, you’re not “making money”…..hopefully, you’re staying even, which is more than the fools with their total savings in paper can say, but you’re NOT getting ahead.
Silver, on the other hand, you probably ARE making money at this point….but not due to Bernanke, more likely due to lawsuits being filed and the notion the CTFC might FINALLY get around to enforcing the laws against the couple big banks that have controlled the silver market for years. Silver is going to seek it’s rightful plateau, and get close to the 15/16-1 ratio it has been for centuries rather than the manipulated 60-1 it has been for years. That means the true price of silver will go north of 75/oz with today’s gold price……maybe overshoot some to 100, and settle back to 80. From there, I would expect it to track gold on upward.
Per shadowstats.com, inflation adjusted highs for Gold and Silver are $7,600 and $450 respectively. I think we have a long way to go before this party is over.
Bernanke and company know full well what will result from their actions. Â But it comes down to a choice of crash now or crash later and they will always choose crash later. Â Whichever we are toast.
I’d agree egore…..the social ramifications of a crash of the depth that is coming is something they would like to delay as long as possible…..which of course, will make the crash worse.
Making money is a relative thing. Yes, the value of your gold/silver does not change over time in relation to fixed goods. But it will take far fewer coins in the future to pay off that car or home loan than it does today. Saving money is therefore equivalent to making money.
In addition, as the dollar price of gold/silver rises, it will outstrip (at first) the ability of wholesalers and retailers to hike their own prices. Again, those who take advantage of this timing will actually make money.
Note, the above is only valid while the country continues to use FRNs and before it is completely worthless. Timing is everything.
It is not that Bernanke has no common sense. I think he knows exactly what he is doing, or more aptly what he has been told to do. This is all planned to make it look like they had no idea their actions could lead to complete destruction of the dollar.
You have to understand where this man comes from and from where he speaks. When he says we have deflation, he is referring to those large ticket items that you need debt notes to pay for, you know… his kind of currency – the worthless kind. Being a rich man himself, he is most concerned with the value of his three of four homes, his four or five cars, his stock funds, etc. Those things are his life blood.
He does not have food, energy, and other real commodity-based limited supply items in mind when he says this. These things are not important to him because he does not struggle constantly like the other 99% on the planet to provide these things.
He is merely worried about the debt system itself. Not those things whose value is not derived from debt notes.
Agreed CC.
bernanke is a genius. he is providing a platform for those of us who understand the real economy to become multimillionaires. for instance, today i made 33% in one day on my call option portfolio. i will use these profits to buy crisp new ten dollar bills to put away for a rainy day. you know, like a pension.
moral of the story -don’t fight bernanke and the other geniuses like rubin, summers, geithner and blankfein. join the bubble parties they are throwing and retire a multimillionaire. stop bitchin and start pitchin.
your friend.
mushroom…
Hi Hoe silver – 2.56% north. The other white stuff.
The market must be nervous about #1 dancing. I know I am. Junk is 20 x face.
Look at this just out today on Newsmax. Comments ??? What does this mean for gold & silver investors mid to long term ????
World Bank Chief Calls for Return to Gold Standard
Leading economies should consider adopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency rates, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Monday in a surprise proposal before a potentially acrimonious G-20 summit.
Writing in the Financial Times, Zoellick called for a “Bretton Woods II” system of floating currencies as a successor to the Bretton Woods fixed-exchange rate regime that broke down in the early 1970s.
The former U.S. trade representative, who served in several Republican administrations, said such a move “is likely to need to involve the dollar, the euro, the yen, the pound and (a yuan) that move towards internationalization and then an open capital account.
“The system should also consider employing gold as an international reference point of market expectations about inflation, deflation and future currency values,” he added.
Analysts were cautious. “Going forward that would be something that we could look towards, but it’s not going to happen within a short period of time,” said Ong Yi Ling, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore, adding that gold prices barely reacted to the comments.
Gold briefly hit a record high of $1,398.35 an ounce in early trade on Monday on concerns of a continued weakening dollar trend after the U.S. Federal Reserve last week acted to resume buying Treasuries.
SUMMIT ACRIMONY?
That policy has fed acrimony among leading economies in the Group of 20 in the run-up to their summit in Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday.
China and Germany, major exporting nations, have both decried the Fed’s quantitative easing — effectively printing money — which is weakening the dollar.
Investors are pumping dollars into emerging markets in search of higher yields, and the potentially destabilizing impact of this, along with big current account deficits and surpluses as well as China’s reluctance to let the yuan appreciate faster, are set to dominate the G-20 debate.
France, which takes over the G-20 chair after this week’s summit, says it plans to work on a new international monetary system to bring greater currency stability.
Beijing’s central bank chief has suggested an alternative monetary system based on using the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights, a notional unit of value based on a basket of major currencies, instead of the dollar as the sole global reserve currency.
Zoellick was a senior official in the U.S. Treasury at the time of the 1985 Plaza and 1987 Louvre Accords on rebalancing currencies among major industrialized nations. He noted that that phase of currency coordination helped launch the Uruguay Round of world trade liberalization negotiations.
While his opinion article in the Financial Times did not represent either U.S. or World Bank policy, it may reflect a greater openness in Washington than in the last two decades to some form of international currency cooperation.
“The dollar is losing its relevance especially with the emergence of Asia economies, so a more neutral benchmark may be required. Gold, amid all the recent uncertainty, is proving its worth,” said ANZ’s senior commodity analyst Mark Pervan.
Gold retreated to around $1,390 an ounce by 1000 GMT as speculators booked profits.
Zoellick said a new monetary system would take time to develop and should be part of a package approach including possible changes in IMF rules to review capital as well as current account policies, and linking IMF monetary assessments to World Trade Organization obligations.
The dollar rose sharply on Monday as unwinding of dollar short positions that began with solid U.S. jobs data snowballed, pushing down the euro to its lowest level since the Fed embarked on fresh easing last week.
© 2010 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved
Wow Mushroom is a genius…
Comments….. Bernanke is a liar or forgot what he said in Feb 2010, that the Feds would not monetize the debt. Just because someone has a Phd (piled higher and deeper) in economics does not mean that he does know what he is doing. We are in unchartered waters here. I’ve read in recent days many economists who are saying that what Bernanke is doing is suicidal for America. Bernanke has run out of playing cards, can we say “trump?”
Here Bernanke said no monetization of debt. And there’s no one to stop him either, not even Ron Paul, it’s too late.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/25/bernanke-delivers-warning-on-us-debt/
t6
thank you. i get compliments like yours every day. actually, however, i’m really not a genius -i was just educated in the best universities in the country while i was dodging the draft…
best wishes,
mushroom..
Howard: I would just like to point out that counterfeiting US money has been very profitable for Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Just saying.
Comments…..it has been said and written that bernanke is a “student” of the depression years so therefore he should know what he is doing…uh huh, ummmhmmm. he obviously studied the wrong things and is currently scratching his head in disbelief because everything he has tried has failed…and he is probably wondering where he is gonna hide in the near future.
When everyone is thinking the same thing – no one is thinking. Before you bet against a strong dollar, you might review the following charts:
Â
http://www.planorperish.com/?p=2885
TnAndy: Good analysis. ChrisC: You are right about one thing: Bernanke knows exactly what he is doing. Geithner even had the gall the other day to say the US supports a strong dollar, ha,ha! Nobody believes that! Especially not him! He knows better and so does everybody else.
Look, its all part of the NWO plan for the central bankster gangsters to dominate world finance under the World Bank for the trilateral axis of evil aka the NWO. See SHTF Times Epitaph for the analysis.  (http://www.shtftimesepitaph.blogspot.com )
TnAndy: Sarah targeted 20 dems. She got 18 of them. 30 patriots were elected to office. The Obummer socialist experiment is over!
That is the value of voting, laura!
Gutter Econ; I’ve seen the charts, but the Germans and Chinese are not bitch’n for nothing. Short the dollar.
@Durango Kidd – Those are not 30 patriots. They’re the exact same as who they replaced. All politicians are owned, but not by the people. Don’t forget the Tea Party started off quite left wing until the Republicans took it over. And The democrats and Republicans/Tea Party are two heads of the same beast.
Doesn’t matter who you elect, the government always gets in.
There will be no change until everyone of them are thrown out and the constitution is restored. President Obama has broken every big promise he made during his campaign. He didn’t kill NAFTA, he added to the Patriot Act (ironically named), shoves bills through without letting the people see them, etc.
MikeL; The Retards didn’t take the tea party movement over and it was not left wing or right wing to start with. And it is not now. The Lame Stream Media likes to label it right wing to try to undermine it.
It is grassroots America demanding ” a government of the people, by the people, and for the people” once again.
What are you smoking Mike?
Durango Kidd – I could ask the same of you. All the tea party members speaking on TV I’ve seen seem quite right wing. I also read a few small town (guess they’re liberal media you’ll say? lol) papers back East where the tea party was “founded”. Seemed more center-left people. Not left wing enough to be Democratic but not relating to the center-right either. Yes I wrote they were left-wing instead of center-left.
But it is all the same, in a lot of cases the Republican party ended up funding tea party candidates that eliminated Republican candidates. So explain how they’re not related again?
I won’t believe it until I see massive, proper changes not just surface changes. I also don’t hold my breath waiting for change either. Once I see constitutional changes being made, I’ll change my tune. Once the Executive Orders are repealed I will be a lot happier for a good starter. Removal of the Patriot Act would be a great starter also!
Until then, I’ll stick to water (from my well, no sodium fluoride there), instead of any parties Koolaid 🙁
I appreciate your sentiment Mike, the proof of the pudding is always in the eating of eat. We will have to wait and see to be sure, but its a start. And its better than the status quo.
Revolutions take time. This one could take 12 years and six elections before the tea party movement controls government at every level, and are therefore in position to roll government back and give America a new burst of freedom.
http://www.shtftimesepitaph.blogspot.com Tea Party Victorious!
@Durango Kidd – Thanks and I agree. Though the problem I see, in that time frame the world elites can easily influence these people. I’m sure the Republican/Democratic parties started off with good intentions too.
I like to be positive but when it comes to the government I do not hold my breath, at any level. I feel it may be too late or people will wake up too late. They’ll be enslaved sheeple and then want out after the collar is around locked around their neck.
In that time frame We The People can take America back! The political and financial elite are afraid, very afraid, and they should be: Americans are awake. Americans are aware, and Americans are fighting back. Their exploitation of American taxpayers is over!
That is why the NWO has been pushing their agenda so hard lately. They want to seal our fate before we can organize and react.
Too bad! Too Late! Their party at our expense is over and “Big Mo” is on OUR side. The tide has turned. Read Washington’s Vision of the future of America and you will understand that we are entering a period where Americans reclaim their heritage; where America fulfills its destiny; and the WHOLE WORLD cannot prevail against US. That is the promise of Divine Providence to Washington.
That is the Destiny of America. Coming to a theatre near you later in this Century!
Anonymous above was me… I swear I typed in my name. *shrug*.
Yes, Americans are waking up. But with 20% unemployed (or more, we’re not even counting those that have just left high school/college and cannot get a job. Might be 25%+? All those no longer counted. And all those on food stamps but still “working”. They cannot afford to bite the hand that feeds them. I figure that is about 30% of the population. Then we look at the fact that more then 50% of Americans pay nothing in overall tax to the Federal government, they’re basically getting services for free (military protection of the rights we have left).
So even if half the country wakes up, the other half don’t want the status quo to change and that is scary. Not saying it cannot happen, but it will take a while I fear.
Later this century? Hell no, I’ll be dead (I’m early 30s now). Next 5 years would be good and I think that is our time frame.