Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Things to be Thankful For

I just finished Stephen King's new book "Duma Key" and I must say, in my opinion, the book is King's best work in a long time. Novel storyline, tension, surprises, and great writing make for a powerful novel. highly recommended!

Another Day, Another Pep Talk
As written last night, today was the THIRD DAY in a row president Elect Obama held a press conference to assure the folks of America that "Help is on the way." What kind of help he did not mention, but some help nonetheless.

What was a good sign was that advisor Paul Volcker has been assigned to an advisory committee and seems that he will indeed have a hand in crafting policy. Three cheers for the Obama camp for this addition. Mr. Volcker is a solid, stand up kind of guy and he has some real world brains.

Still, one has to wonder how much influence Volcker is going to have unless he has taken a big drink from the Keynesian Kool Aid Bowl. Calculated Risk has excerpts of a 2005 Volcker speech that would seem to both correctly identify the underlying economic issues and be in direct opposition to current "more spending" plans to fix things. Excerpts from Calculated Risk:

"Altogether, the circumstances seem as dangerous and intractable as I can remember."
"Boomers are spending like there is no tomorrow."
"Home ownership has become a vehicle for borrowing and leveraging as much as a source of financial security."
"I come now to the heart of the problem, as a Nation we are consuming and investing, that is spending, about 6% more than we are producing. What holds it all together? - High consumption - high leverage - government deficits - What holds it all together is a really massive and growing flow of capital from abroad. A flow of capital that today runs to more than $2 Billion per day."

How he is going to square this with bailouts galore and forced consumption will be intellectual gymnastics.

Things to be Thankful For
On this Thanksgiving eve I would like to write a list of things I am thankful for. Some will be pretty basic, others sarcastic, and others insightful (I hope anyways!). Up front I am thankful for Blogger which allows me to make this site without any charge to me and to the readers for taking the time to check out my own little piece of the web.

Things to be Thankful For
-The New England Patriots never giving up
-The 2008 Infiniti G35X; The sweetest ride I have ever been in
-The 2008 election results were clear and known very quickly (No Florida 2000)
-Iran has no way to effectively deliver a nuclear bomb should they have one
-The Argentinian Prime Minister is a complete babe
-That unemployment during the biggest crisis since the GREAT DEPRESSION will reach only as high as 8%
-That the US can fund bailouts of any amount because the world can't do a thing about it
-For the freedom to print money without the whole currency devaluation problem
-Calculated Risk, Minyanville, and Mish
-A chance to shatter the bullshit gold COMEX market
-That our children and not us will have to pay for all of our mistakes
-Harvard Business School for all the great minds they turned out that have ruined America
-That there is no accountability in America
-Due to the recession, illegal immigration will slow down
-There is a whole new generation in their formative years that will believe the government will solve all their problems
-Prime Rib
-The bottom is in for stocks
-Inbev has stated they will not change the Budweiser formula (big one!)
-That 90% of the US population is brain dead, otherwise we are in the midst of a revolution
-Reserve Currency Status
-That banks deemed "too big to fail" are merging with as many banks as possible to become "too huge to have a bad quarter"
-Soon you will buy your electronics from Best Buy and everything else from Walmart as they are the only two retailers left
-You have less freedom of choice on all levels and that saves you from thinking for yourself
-Now that Democrats hold the White House and both houses of Congress the mainstream news and newspapers will be decidedly upbeat on everything

That's all I have for now. Add your own in the comments section.

For all the readers, enjoy your holiday. Thanks for reading.

Have a good night.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

@ GYSC
I noticed that your site is listed on Michael Panzner's new website "When Giants Fall"
http://tinyurl.com/6f7mqf

I'm thankful for my family and friends, plus the people who come here and share their viewpoints.
What an incredibly boring world this would be if everyone thought exactly alike.

Anonymous said...

Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.

First Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/
subject_menus/inaug.asp

Obama isn't even close.
Kevin

EconomicDisconnect said...

Watchtower,
Thanks for letting me know I am on that Blogroll. A little while back Michael Panzer himself visited this site and left a comment. That was very exciting. Have a great holiday.
Kevin,
Quite a speech from FDR. Seems that before TV you really had to bring the goods with your words. Have a great thanksgiving.

Anonymous said...

I am thankful for this Blog.

G

PS: Be safe everyone!

Anonymous said...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for the internet!