Ricapitoliamo la situazione riguardando il grafico del debito mondiale

Tutto è andato più o meno bene fino agli anni 80 quando il debito ha cominciato a diventare esponenziale. La scossa più grossa agli equilibri la dette Nixon con la dichiarazione che il dollaro non era che carta straccia e con la conseguente reazione dei petrolieri che con i dollari venivano pagati.

La crescita esponenziale dei debiti dagli anni ’80 segnò la fine dell’economia e l’inizio della depredazione, infatti Reagan e la Thatcher iniziarono l’era delle privatizzazioni e del liberismo sfrenato. Niente più vincoli ne confini e così si permise lo sfruttamento dei molti squilibri che il sistema del debito aveva già creato, senza contare il colonialismo sfrenato.

Un approfondimento della cronistoria della globalizzazione la potete rileggere in questo articolo http://www.centrofondi.it/articoli/dittatura_commercio.htm

e in questo http://www.centrofondi.it/articoli/commercio_anima.htm .

L’euforia degli anni 80 lasciò il posto alla globalizzazione degli anni ’90 e l’abbattimento delle barriere finanziarie fece il resto.

Noi abbiamo iniziato il processo con un po’ di ritardo grazie alla ritrosia di politici con un senso spiccato dello stato anche se avevano il vizietto del magna magna. Non volendo spartire il ricco piatto con gli altri (potentati finanziari esteri) sono stati spazzati via nel 1992, con quel colpo di stato silenzioso si è dato vita alla maggiore svendita dei beni italiani, negli altri paesi è avvenuta la stessa cosa.

Spartitesi le italiche ricchezze si aggrediscono i servizi in monopolio da cui trarre ricchezze perpetue.

Nel 1999 Prodi ci fa sudare lacrime e sangue per entrare in un marco mascherato da euro e il suicidio si compie con un declino industriale mostruoso.

Intanto cresce il debito e la crisi del 2000 non riesce a far crollare la torre. Veramente se ne fa crollare addirittura due innescando la miccia della guerra religiosa creando fantomatici sceicchi, ma quella del debito però rimane ben salda, anzi aumenta ancora.

Addirittura si innesca ancora una crescita economica nel 2003 grazie a innovazioni finanziarie ed effetti leva mascherati da assicurazioni contro i rischi.

Finalmente nel 2007 sembra che la torre inizi a scricchiolare ma una poderosa immissione di denaro (debito) senza precedenti, riesce ancora a mascherare e a mantenere il morto con una parvenza di vita finanziando i creditori (incredibile, ma vero) e poi si mascherano i debiti pubblici con artifici finanziari e per questo ci si fa pagare cifre astronomiche, poi si spalmano i prodotti tossici, altro che sub prime, in altri stati e in altre realtà pubbliche (vedi la regione Lombardia che salterà se salta la Grecia). Intanto i comuni iniziano a fallire e i soliti noti si accapigliano per spartirsi le proprietà pubbliche messe in svendita per ripianare debiti formati illegittimamente.

Intanto Usa e Inghilterra hanno debiti enormi (pubblici e privati), ma il loro rating è sempre AAA il massimo possibile, mentre i paesi piccoli arrancano, l’Islanda fallisce del tutto e cade in depressione feroce, la Spagna si sveglia dalla sbornia del debito degli ultimi anni e la Grecia scopre che si è fatta infinocchiare da JPMorgan e Goldman Sachs.

Le società di rating hanno un potere enorme e lo stanno usando tutto. Abbassano il rating e automaticamente il debito diventa insostenibile e si strizza così il povero debitore fino allo stremo delle sue forze, si riducono stipendi e pensioni e si aumentano le tasse per ridurre un debito impossibile da restituire e guarda caso i creditori sono sempre i soliti……

Questo fino a quando si innescherà la paura, ad arte montata, e allora si farà finalmente crollare la torre del debito, ma costerà molte vite e molte risorse ai popoli, gli unici che pagano…SEMPRE!!!

Poi si cambiano le regole, ma il timone rimane sempre in mano ai soliti gruppi….e così ancora e ancora per altri 70 anni e un altro giro di giostra….io mi sarei anche stancato…voi no?

Pierluigi

SCOPRITE LE DIFFERENZE.....

Una volta erano i giovani operai a scioperare per ottenere qualcosa di più...... http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/img_db/bcf/2w020/3/l/2277_2277.jpg Oggi sono i pensionati a protestare per cercare di mantenere quel poco che hanno.... In sintesi: l'usura al potere ha usato il falso mito della crescita economica infinita per indebitare a dismisura....ed ora che il mito è caduto (ma nessuno lo sa ancora) resta il debito da pagare rinunciando ai "privilegi" ottenuti nel passato............ meditate gente..... meditate.... z.

CONTROEMIGRAZIONE

CRISI: PRECARI TORNANO AL SUD, A GENNAIO 2009 40.000 RIENTRI (ANSA) - ROMA, 4 MAR - Niente piu' lavoro neanche lontano da casa: cosi' giovani e donne, in 40.000 gia' a gennaio 2009, hanno raccolto le loro cose e sono tornati a casa, al sud. La crisi colpisce gli emigranti precari, piu' esposti degli altri ai cicli economici: lo ricorda uno studio della Svimez (l'Associazione per lo sviluppo dell'industria nel Mezzogiorno), spiegando che a partire dallo scorso anno molti meridionali - soprattutto giovani tra i 24 e i 34 anni e donne - hanno invertito la rotta e, dopo aver perso il lavoro nel nord o centro Italia, sono tornati al sud. Nemmeno l'elevata scolarizzazione li ha protetti, anzi: tra gli emigrati al nord - si legge nel libro - sono i laureati a pagare di piu' il prezzo della crisi. Il testo propone poi una serie di confronti che sembrerebbero confermare la celebre frase del principe di Salina (bisogna che tutto cambi perche' tutto resti uguale): a partire dal Pil, che nel 1951 era il 23,95% del totale nazionale, per diventare del 23,8% nel 2008, per passare al numero degli emigrati meridionali dal sud al nord: 300mila agli inizi degli anni 60, 295mila nel 2008. Le due Italie appaiono ancora evidenti nella percentuale dei lavoratori in nero del 2008 (9,1% al centro-nord, 19,2% al sud), in quella di lavoro perso tra giugno 2008 e giugno 2009 (0,6% al centro-nord, e 4,1% al sud), e negli stessi stipendi: nel 2008 il 50% di chi era rimasto al sud e aveva un lavoro guadagnava fino a 1.000 euro, mentre il 63% di chi era andato al nord tra i 1.000 e i 1.500 euro. (ANSA).

Economic Downturn hits Lenders and Borrowers Alike

Bob Chapman

We are not going to go into the lurid details regarding residential and commercial real estate, but we are going to give you some highlights. We began telling subscribers to sell real estate in June of 2005, long before anyone else. We picked the top just as we did in September 1988 at the top.

Residential real estate won’t hit bottom until 2013 and who knows how long it will bump along the bottom. At the end of the year we have a whole new generation of sub prime and ALT-A mortgages coming due for reset. In addition there are the pick and pay loans that are in trouble, and 52% of problems lie, if you can believe it, in prime loans. Residential real estate countrywide is off 32% with a number of areas off 50% or more. In the next two years that national figure will show losses of 45% to 50%, and the former 30 hot city markets will be off 50% to 70%. We predicted this in November of 2004. All the savings of America for three generations of Americans will be lost, and these same Americans will be saddled with horrendous amounts of debt spawned by our Wall Street controlled Treasury and the Federal Reserve. These are the bankers who have robbed you and will continue to rob you until you are destitute and enslaved.

Over the next four years $1.5 trillion or more in commercial real estate loans will come due. About 50% are in deep trouble. From the top in 2007 their values are off 35% to 40%, so they only have 30% to 35% to go. Losses could be as high as $700 billion. The fallout will affect all banks big and small. The reality of losses will be devastating.

Lenders, mostly banks, already broke, are going to get hit very hard and many will go under. All debt in real estate is in serious trouble. That is why we believe more than 2,000 banks will go out of business over the next 1-1/2% to 2 years. That is why you should have no CDs and only three months expenses in the bank for operating and 6 months for businesses. That money should be in gold and silver related assets.

The only word to describe what has been and is continuing to happen in real estate is catastrophic. By way of comparison the losses in the Lehman collapse were piddling. If you include the derivatives it was about $775 billion. In real estate we are talking trillions. The result was that stock markets lost between 10% and 50% of their value after Lehman collapsed. Irrespective of stimulus, government and Fed loans and bogus earnings, once the effect of losses are realized, the Dow will again test 6,500 to 6,600 and in all likelihood break that level and fall to 4,000 to 4,500, with probably some way to go on the downside. The Lehman and Bear Stearns affairs forced the Treasury and the Fed to feed $12.7 trillion directly into the system with a total commitment of $23.7 trillion says our US inspector general. Not only did the US provide a rescue but so did members of the G-20, all of which are presently trying to withdraw the stimulus that kept deflationary depression at bay. The financial elites, particularly of London and NYC, have been temporarily saved, but that game is not over yet.

The withdrawal of trillions of dollars from the world economy will collapse it and the Illuminists are well aware of that. The goal has always been the pauperization of the multitudes worldwide in order to implement world government and the new world order. The enslavement of mankind. That is what this is all about and you had best come to grips with what they intend to do. These people have bankrupted almost every country in the world in this deliberate process. That is why sovereign debt is the next area they have zeroed in on as one of the last main cogs of stability to be destroyed along with the devaluation of most currencies.

Greece in Crisis

That brings us to the deliberate destruction of Greece. Greece has been the leader in the global shipping industry and so has suffered as global trade has fallen. It has killed their balance of payments. The drop in tourism has also badly hit their economy. This is their part of the price to be paid for the phony war on terrorism. The elitists found Greece to be easy prey along with hedge funds and the likes of Goldman, Morgan and Citi. Their moves set up the initial stages for what will be the deflationary takedown of the world economy financially and economically.

Greece’s debt to GDP is estimated to be 120%, far worse than Russia’s debt when they defaulted 12 years ago – some $430 billion. German banks hold a great deal of the debt for not only Greece, but for Spain, Ireland and Portugal, some $700 billion worth. As you know all of these countries are in trouble financially, as well as England, which will sell more than $300 billion in bonds this year, all of which will be monetized. This will create more British inflation to be added to the current 3.5% official inflation now in place. Real inflation is double that and it is going to get much worse. It is no wonder British interest rates are 1% higher than German rates. Last year the Bank of England monetized almost all the liquidity they injected into the British market. As the year wears on liquidity will get tighter as borrowed liquidity is to be returned to lenders. For all eurozone banks that number is about $600 billion, which came from the Fed, although they won’t admit it. This is one of the main reasons Ron Paul wants to audit the Fed. That is to expose the Fed’s illegal role in US foreign policy. The weakness in the pound, as we pointed out in previous issues, along with the dollar and other currencies, has lost 2/3’s of its purchasing power, as we pointed out again and again for 6-1/2 years. That measurement is versus gold. How much longer do you believe others will hold pound, euro and US dollar paper, not long? Dollar Forex holdings have dropped from 64.5% to 60 ¾% in just the last year. Global monetary and fiscal problems worsen every day and there is no end in sight. We know there is something very big underway when Warren Buffett, who’s firm recently paid a $100 million fine for accounting fraud is dragged out frequently to tell the people things are going to get lots worse. Charlie Munger said the same thing last week as further warnings are fed to the public.

Germany is playing a key role in all of this, particularly in Europe. Germany never saw a bubble in its stock market nor in its housing market. Germans have been frugal doing what any sane society should have done. They never had cheap credit, soaring salaries or big government goodies like those countries on the edge; Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Italy. It must be said though that part of German success was exporting to theses bubble countries. The cry now from purchased economists is Germany must buy in order for the rest of Europe to economically survive. Others are envious of Germany’s trade surplus, which is the second largest in the world after Saudi Arabia. That surplus is what is used by the rest of the eurozone nations to stay solvent. Definitely a 2-edged sword. Is it any wonder 67% of Germans have for 11 years wanted to dump the euro. Germany was forced to take on Greece and Italy knowing they did not qualify and Ireland was subsidized into the zone and should have never been allowed to join. Germany is being penalized holding down salaries to the point of stagnation and cost cutting, whereas the other players simply ran economically and fiscally wild. Germany will not join the culture of debt and cannot be expected to pay for others profligacy.

In a recent poll German banks said they will not buy more Greek sovereign debt. Greeks are demonstrating in the streets because the party is over and they want it to continue forever. Greece’s problems are somewhat similar to those of the states in the US. An economic depression, large budget deficits and giant falls in revenues. Costs have to be cut and people have to be laid off. Like in Greece, California, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other states are running out of money. Greece wants Germany to help and now 67 years after the war wants its gold returned, some $70 billion. Germany couldn’t deliver the gold if it wanted too, because the US refuses to return their gold, probably because they secretly sold it to suppress gold prices. At the same time the states in the US are selling municipal bonds like mad to stay afloat with yields of only 3%. The problem is we have an unsound credit system. Last year the Fed bought 80% of Treasury debt and monetized it. In addition, they bought $1.2 trillion in MBS and Agencies at least half of which was monetized. The system in the eurozone and in the US is impaired and nothing is being done to fix it. It’s one band-aid after another. All these nations can think of is reflation. The wrong path and example still exists. Trillions in deficits as far as the eye can see to underpin the stock and bond markets and make it appear that there is economic recovery, when in fact the world is going deeper into the hole. The stability of asset prices, incomes and corporate cash flow and revenues for government are a mirage. It is a classic Ponzi scheme. Markets are trying to lead us to believe that Treasury, the Fed and Wall Street will use credit effectively to lead us out of our current depression. In Europe the weak countries within the eurozone continue to suffer the inability to create money and credit to try to extricate themselves. They are in a far different kettle of fish. Now that M3 in the US and Europe and M4 in England have been brought to almost zero levels any possibility of recovery is remote. Some academics believe inflation should be acceptable at higher levels, in particular the IMF. Of course that idea is akin to giving matches to arsonists. Grossly negligent doesn’t even begin to cover this kind of insanity. Governments want higher inflation to cover their debt and let the public pay for it through reduced purchasing power. This does not bring prosperity and growth, only a temporary fix. Much akin to what a drug addict goes through. The elitist bankers and Wall Street want monetization because it keeps the game going. Neither the players or the media think the European sovereign debt crisis is a disjointing event. The lack of foreign participation in sovereign debt offerings doesn’t seem to phase them as well. Just another trouble to be dealt with. If trouble ensues they will just call in the Fed to monetize the problem. Contagion never enters their minds. This is why gold continues to rise in value in every currency. Foreign governments are well aware that the Fed is monetizing debt. We can see that in the drop off of indirect participation. Can you imagine the stupidity of use of the household category to state purchases? Since when do housewives buy millions of dollars worth of treasuries? There are 17 nations that are on the verge of bankruptcy. We do not know when the Brotherhood of Darkness will decide to bring this charade to an end, but it should be before the end of next year and perhaps lots sooner. The dollar may be stronger against the euro, but that status will soon show up in a drop in exports and a worsening of the balance of payments deficit. For every action there is a reaction. That will kill any possible economic recovery. Europe may export more, but they will face higher inflation. The only solution for the US and Europe is tariffs on goods and services and until that happens neither will be able to compete. Needless to say, many problems and challenges lie ahead. We cannot expect any help from the current Congress. The answer is vote out of office as many incumbents as possible in November. If you do not there will never be a recovery and you will end up enslaved by Wall Street and banking.

theinternationalforecaster.com

No Golden Fleese and No Silver Bullets

Peter Souleles B. Com. LLB

"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Walt Kelly

The U.S. is no doubt still a very powerful nation. At the same time however it is facing a challenging set of economic headwinds which threaten to lead to a chaotic unwinding of the financial system not only within the nation but also worldwide. There are many angles from which to examine this erosion. In this brief essay it is my intention to briefly focus on the demise of the U.S.'s financial position by comparing the gold and silver holdings of the USA between 1940 and 2010. The comparisons are startling as they are devastating.

In 1940 the United States Treasury held 19,543 tonnes of gold in its Treasury, 183,514 tonnes of silver (1942) in its strategic stockpile and had a population of 132,164,569 people. It had therefore 4.753oz of gold and 44.641oz of silver per person.

In 2010 the United States Treasury now has only 8135 tonnes of gold, virtually no silver and a population of approximately 307,212,123 people. This equates to only 0.8513 oz of gold per US inhabitant.

Let us examine what the US Treasury would have held in its Treasury and strategic stockpile had it maintained the same physical holdings of precious metals per person in 2010 as it did in 1940.

HYPOTHETICAL POSITION

Current estimated population: 307,212,123

Gold holdings at 4.753oz per person 45,417 tonnes =$1.663 trillion @$1139/oz

Silver holdings at 44.641 oz per person 426,572 tonnes =$ 235.3 billion @$16.17/oz

TOTAL HYPOTHETICAL VALUE =$1.8983 trillion (1)

ACTUAL POSITION

Gold holdings 8,135 tonnes = $297.89 billion

Silver holdings NIL

TOTAL ACTUAL VALUE =$297.89 billion (2)

(1) - (2) = $1.6 trillion

The math is simple for everyone to see. Had the United States continued to top up its gold and silver holdings so as to maintain the 1940 holdings per person, it would not only be sitting on much larger holdings of precious metals, but would also have additional wealth of $1.6 trillion on its balance sheet.

This is the result of investing in paper promises instead of a true store of value. Is anyone still in any doubt what the outcome would be if the government is allowed to "baby-sit" your 401(k)'s and IRAs?

This $1.6 trillion figure is in fact a gross underestimation of what the current figure would have been for several reasons. Some of these include:

  • The tremendous run-down in central bank gold stocks by feeding them into the market has had a dampening effect on price.
  • The deleterious effect of hedging over many years.
  • The unknown quantities of gold leased by central banks which have subsequently also been sold into the market.
  • The unknown effect of ETF's if they do not in fact hold the gold they profess to hold.
  • The possibility of widespread fraud by the introduction of tungsten-filled gold plated bars into the market.
  • The possibility of some sort of foul play through the COMEX. To this end I commend EVERYONE to read the excellent article by Adrian Douglas titled, COMEX Gold and Silver Inventory Data Reveal an ALARMING Trend".
  • The increasing purchases by the USA would have put serious upward pressure on the price.

By diverting social security contributions to purchases of additional gold and silver the USA would not only have augmented its wealth by a substantial amount, it would also have a Social Security Trust Fund that is based on the reality of a hard asset rather than Treasury Notes of dubious value. Rather than follow this strategy it instead chose the course of siphoning off these contributions to use them predominantly for the conduct of wars and providing pork for politicians to distribute in their electorates. These wars gave the USA very little and instead made the military-industrial complex grow hungrier and more powerful thus requiring an ever increasing number of dollars to be satisfied.

Anyone who doubts the power and influence of the industrial-military complex only has to remember that the President wants to freeze only non-security federal discretionary spending for the next three years.

Furthermore, the figure of $1.9 trillion would have been more than enough to remove the economic threat that the Chinese have hanging over the American nation. In fact the existence of a $1.9 trillion stockpile of gold and silver would have been so daunting to China that it would not even think of making noises against the US government.

The end result is that over-investment in guns and war instead of gold and silver, have left the nation sitting on a financial precipice, exposed to the fiery breath of an emboldened Chinese Dragon, and with an unsustainable fiscal policy at home.

The vast majority of the people in the USA have been diddled as they now have only a remnant of their original gold holdings (assuming that it also has not been sold), a Social Security Trust Fund full of worthless IOU's and an investment in military adventurism that has paid very little if anything in dividends. One wonders then what the purpose of this strategy has been. Perhaps it has something to do with amassing tremendous wealth at the expense of the nation and its people. The increasing concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands seems to support this contention.

The detail of the financial motivations behind the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan are still largely hidden from the public's view. The role of banks in whittling away the gold and silver stockpile is also hidden from site in the absence of an audit of the nation's stockpile. What is known to a far greater degree is the extent of corporate America's involvement in, support and supply of Hitler's regime as well as the Government turning a blind eye to such activity at the time. In other words, the pursuit of tremendous wealth has more often than not no qualms of conscience.

The bottom line is that America finds itself with no golden fleece with which to clothe itself from the cold gusts of the global financial crisis and no silver bullets in the form of coinage with which it could underwrite continued economic activity within its borders under all conditions.

The leaders of the United States must remember that the United States is not just a geographical, political and economic entity. More importantly it is an idea in much the same way that Ancient Greece was an idea in its own time and even beyond its time. The distortion of this idea has led to economic, moral and political erosion whilst it seems to have amassed only enemies, debt, empty factories and corrosive unemployment. This is a dangerous development that must be stopped and reversed otherwise the world is in danger of capsizing into a sea of red ink and blood.

A return to honest money is an inescapable part of the reversal and the longer it is avoided the less chance the American nation has of reclaiming the high ground. The coinages and power of Ancient Athens and the Byzantine Empire lasted for over 8 centuries in total. It is perhaps no coincidence that they had gold and silver coinage recognised and valued by friend and foe alike.

PETER SOULELES B. Com LLB Sydney Australia 4 March 2010

Investing in Gold: Protection from Runaway Inflation

Bill Bonner

Since the feds can't grow their way out of debt...they'll have to try to inflate their way out.

Trouble is, first...central bankers don't have that good a grasp of inflation. They can control the amount of money in the monetary base at the Fed. But they don't really control what happens to it next. For a long time, prices don't necessarily react...because, in a depression, the velocity of money slows down to a crawl. The banks don't lend; the money doesn't get around...and it doesn't feed into consumer prices. Then, all of a sudden, people realize that there dollars are losing value...suddenly, they are eager to send them on their way. Velocity increases - fast. It is as if they had put cash in a particle accelerator. Instead of 6% inflation, the CPI goes to 12%...or 25%...or 100%.

The other problem is the 'bond vigilantes.' You remember them. They're the ones who so impressed Bill Clinton that he said that if he died, he wanted to be reincarnated as a bond trader. Because those guys are the ones with the real power, he noticed.

America is going to need to borrow an additional $1.6 trillion this year. And then keep borrowing $1 trillion-plus for years and years to come. There are no surpluses - ever again - in any plausible budget forecasts.

But what will the bond vigilantes make of this? What if they see inflation increasing? What if they no longer want to lend? What if yields on the 10-year notes (which go up when bond prices go down) rise to 5%, or to more than 15%, as they did in the early '80s?

Then, instead of a deflationary depression we will have an inflationary depression. How it will play out exactly is beyond the scope of today's Daily Reckoning. Besides, we don't know. But one thing is almost certain - that gold will go up.

Gold is what people buy when they fear a crack-up in the monetary system. As the day of reckoning draws near, gold will shift from being a means of storing wealth...to a hedge against inflation and/or a monetary crisis...to a speculative play.

Currently, you see ads for companies that offer to buy your gold - in exchange for paper dollars. The public still has no idea; if they knew what was coming they'd want to hold onto every piece of gold they own.

Sometime in the future you'll see ads with the opposite message. Companies will want to sell you gold - at prices far higher than those today. Then, cab drivers will give you tips on which is the best penny mining share to own...and hair dressers will opine on their favorite gold coins.

When that happens, we will have to remember to sell. But that is still way in the future...

Bill Bonner for The Daily Reckoning

Since founding Agora Inc. in 1979, Bill Bonner has found success and garnered camaraderie in numerous communities and industries. A man of many talents, his entrepreneurial savvy, unique writings, philanthropic undertakings, and preservationist activities have all been recognized and awarded by some of America's most respected authorities. Along with Addison Wiggin, his friend and colleague, Bill has written two New York Times best-selling books, Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt. Both works have been critically acclaimed internationally. With political journalist Lila Rajiva, he wrote his third New York Times best-selling book, Mobs, Messiahs and Markets, which offers concrete advice on how to avoid the public spectacle of modern finance. Since 1999, Bill has been a daily contributor and the driving force behind The Daily Reckoning.

dailyreckoning.com

Will the US Devalue the Dollar?

Darryl Schoon

The ability to wage war on credit gave the West an insurmountable advantage over the East. The West’s credit, however, has now turned to debt and the West has lost its advantage. But the return to parity will not be easy.

The three hundred year economic expansion fueled by debt-based capital markets is coming to an end and with it, the hegemony of the West over the East. During that period, debt-based paper money propelled first England then the US to world dominion because of the ability to wage war on credit and to print money ad infinitum.

That era is now ending because the critical balance between credit-driven expansion and debt-driven contraction has now shifted significantly in favor of the latter; and in 2010, both East and West now find themselves on the edge of a growing deflationary sinkhole created by the sequential collapse of two large US bubbles, the dot.com and US real estate bubbles.

The US caused the 1930s deflationary depression and is again cause of the current contraction; and although similarities exist between the two, the differences between them insure a far more consequential outcome today than in the 1930s.

Global demand is again falling as credit contracts, a sign that debt-driven deflation is back but, today, there is an additional danger as well. Since 1971, because of the US default on its gold obligations, money no longer possesses intrinsic value and the consequences will soon become apparent. Deflationary depressions and a collapse in the value of fiat money have happened before but never simultaneously. Soon, they will.

We are in what Stephen Roach, Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, calls the end-game, the resolution of past monetary excesses and imbalances, excesses and imbalances that reached never-before-seen heights in the last decade. The long awaited day of reckoning has arrived.

THE PROBLEM

Capitalism cannot function unless its constantly compounding debt is serviced and/or paid down. Today, the US, the world’s largest debtor, can no longer pay what it owes except by rolling its debt forward and borrowing more, what the late economist Hyman Minsky called ponzi-financing, financing common in the final stages of mature capital systems.

The amount of outstanding US debt has now reached levels that can never be paid off:

... the United States government and its agencies have, by far, the largest pile-up of interest-bearing debts ($15.6 trillion), the largest accumulation of unsecured obligations (over $60 trillion), the largest yearly deficit ($1.6 trillion), and the greatest indebtedness to the rest of the world ($4.8 trillion). Martin D. Weiss, www.moneyandmarkets.com

The unpayable levels of US debt are not just the problem of the US. Because the US dollar is the lynchpin of today’s fiat money system, US debt is everyone’s problem. The US dollar is the world reserve currency and a default by the US will have far-reaching consequences, especially in China, its largest creditor.

INFLATE, DEVALUE AND TAX

Bill Gross, co-founder of PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund and an expert in matters of debt, wrote in 2006, the way a reserve currency nation [such as the US] gets out from under the burden of excessive liabilities is to inflate, devalue, and tax.

Inflation destroys the value/cost of liabilities by eroding the value of money. Debts are paid back with inflated currencies, a process which benefits the debtor and injures the creditor. This is why reserve currency nations usually inflate their way out of debt by printing what they owe.

Devaluation is another option afforded reserve currency nations. By devaluing the value of their currency, the value of what they owe falls relative to other currencies. Again, the benefit is to the debtor at the expense of the creditor.

Taxation is another option but is no longer available to the US, as its liabilities are now too high. It would be like forcing the elderly and morbidly obese to engage in strenuous exercise to regain youth. Of the three, inflating away debt is by far the preferred option but it is one the US can no longer choose.

Managing Director and Chief US Economist at Morgan Stanley, Richard Berner, recently discussed the reasons in We Can’t Inflate Our Way Out, February 24, 2010. http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/index.html#anchor6647bf63-2073-11df-978b-bbc960980e46

It's tempting to think that the US can inflate its way out of its fiscal problems. A faster, sustained increase in prices would erode the real value of past debt, and higher future inflation would - other things equal - reduce the real resources needed to service and pay back the promises we are making today.

However, inflating away US debt won’t work because as Richard Berner points out nearly half of federal outlays are [now] linked to inflation, meaning that increments to debt would [also] rise with inflation.

Inducing monetary inflation would also raise aggregate US debt resulting in a self-defeating cycle of higher prices and higher debt. However, there is also another more fundamental reason why inflating away US debt won’t work, to wit: Inflation is almost impossible to induce during severe deflationary contractions.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke understands this difficulty quite well. Bernanke’s late mentor, Milton Friedman, theorized the Great Depression could have been prevented by sufficient monetary stimulus and so in 2008, faced with the possibility of another deflationary depression, Bernanke put Friedman’s theory to the test. It failed.

1 http://jutiagroup.com/2010/01/27/looking-over-into-the-abyss/

Unfortunately, when tested, Friedman’s theory didn’t work. Despite Bernanke’s massive monetary expansion, global credit is still contracting and lending is drying up.

The Telegraph UK reported on February 17, 2010: lending has fallen by over $100bn (£63.8bn) since January, plummeting at an annual rate of 16%. "Since the credit crisis began, $740bn of bank credit has evaporated. This is a record 10% decline," he [analyst David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff] said. The article continues: The M3 broad money supply – watched by monetarists as a leading indicator of trouble a year ahead – has been contracting at a rate of 5.6% over the last three months. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/7259323/US-bank-lending-falls-at-fastest-rate-in-history.html Inflating away debt is virtually impossible in the presence of deflation, but if US monetary expansion is sufficiently large, it could result in the hyperinflation of the US money supply, which would destroy both US debt and the US economy as well.

DEVALUING THE US DOLLAR

Devaluation is the US’ only remaining option. But, on February 25th, Comstock Partners’ special report, The Cycle of Deflation, Impediments to Debt Relief, pointed out the major impediment to a US devaluation to reduce debt - China.

...there is a stumbling block to the normal competitive devaluations that typically take place. In the past, a country that incurred too much debt just did what they could to devalue their currency in order to export their way out of the dilemma by exporting their goods and services to their trading partners. ..[But]The Chinese have linked their currency to ours, so as we debase our currency, one of our major trading partner's currency is also declining and China becomes the major beneficiary of the debasement of our dollar. - http://www.comstockfunds.com

The China peg to the US dollar thus prevents the US from altering its trade deficit by currency devaluation, but it does not prevent the US from devaluing the dollar for other reasons. If the US does devalue the dollar, it will not be to reduce debt - it will be to maintain its advantage over the world in general and China in particular.

YESTERDAY JAPAN TODAY CHINA

In 1985, when Japan was challenging the US for economic dominance the Japanese economy was in danger of overheating and Japan signaled the US its intent to raise interest rates.

The US responded by threatening Japan with trade sanctions, cutting off Japan from US markets. During the 1980s, the US badly needed Japanese savings to fuel Reagan’s multi-trillion dollar debt-based military buildup; and if Japanese rates were raised, Japanese savings would stay at home.

Threats of US trade sanctions forced Japan to keep interest rates low but at a perhaps fatal cost to Japan. Low interest rates combined with inflows of burgeoning trade profits ignited a speculative frenzy in stocks causing the then largest stock market bubble in history; and when the bubble collapsed in 1990, Japan fell into a deflationary trap from which it has never fully emerged.

Today, US dominance is again being challenged, this time by China. While it is not possible to know what the US will do, it is naïve to believe the US will do nothing; but whatever happens, US debt and the US dollar will be affected.

China has now significantly reduced its buying of US debt leaving the US with growing deficits and a virtual boycott by China of new US IOUs. This will impact future US/China relations.

The tentative but mutual benefits of the past are being replaced by self-interest as US spending and consequent debt is increasingly perceived as being out of control by China. That perception is correct. Since the 1980s, America’s focus has been on borrowing more, not spending less and the implications are clear.

2

U.S. government borrowing, percentage of outstanding U.S. Treasuries owned by China (2002-2009) – Sources: US Treasury, Haver Analytics, New York Times

With China moving away from increasingly risky US debt, the US is now far more likely to treat China as a challenger than as a needed creditor; and, while devaluing the US dollar would have minimal impact on overall US debt, it would have a significant impact on China.

In December 2009, total foreign holdings of US government debt equaled $3.29 trillion. With total US obligations now close to $100 trillion, a 30 % devaluation of the US dollar would impact only that debt held by foreigners - but the losses to China would significant

China currently owns at least $1.7 billion in US dollar denominated securities; and, if the US devalued the dollar by 30 %, China’s losses on its investments would be in excess of $500 million.

As stated earlier, it is not possible to know what the US will do. But since WWII geopolitical considerations have always outweighed economic factors in US policy decisions and there is little reason to expect this to change - even as the end-game approaches.

THE END GAME AND SOVEREIGN DEFAULT

The US is trapped. Caught between rising expenditures and the need to borrow more, outstanding US debt is incapable of ever being repaid and should the credit rating of the US ever reflect its actual state, sovereign default, not devaluation would be the result.

In 2008, Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart in This Time Is Different: A Panoramic View of Eight Centuries of Financial Crisis reviewed the history of sovereign defaults concluding the then dearth of defaults was in actuality a warning of more to come. They were right.

Then, Rogoff and Reinhart mistakenly described the US as a "default virgin", belonging to a small group of nations that had never defaulted. But on February 26th Rogoff said that the US had, in fact, defaulted during the Great Depression by changing the price of gold from $20 to $35 per ounce.

While technically a default, the US action was actually a currency devaluation. The real default occurred in 1973 when the US officially reneged on its gold obligations under Bretton-Woods, leaving other nations holding US paper dollars that could no longer be converted to gold.

Professor Antal Fekete noted the significance of that default when he wrote in 2008,

Thirty-five years ago gold, symbol of permanence, was chased out from the Monetary Garden of Eden, replaced by the floating irredeemable dollar as the pillar of the international monetary system. That’s right: a floating pillar. The gold demonetization exercise was a farce. It was designed as a fig leaf to cover up the ugly default of the U.S. government on its gold-redeemable sight obligations to foreigners. The word ‘default’ itself was put under taboo even though it punctured big holes in the balance sheet of every central bank of the world, as its dollar-denominated assets sank in value in terms of anything but the dollar itself.

As the end-game progresses it is impossible to know what the US will do. It is likely the US doesn’t know itself. What the US does know is that it is now trapped by increasing levels of mounting debt from which there is no easy exit.

NO EXIT

What if – to put it simply – you couldn’t get out of a debt crisis by creating more debt? - Bill Gross, PIMCO, March 2010

3

The question, What if you couldn’t get out of a debt crisis by creating more debt? will, in fact, be answered in some way by Mr. Gross himself. As Managing Director of PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund, Mr. Gross is in the business of buying debt and betting on the outcome, an avocation that increasingly resembles Russian roulette.

Spreads on sovereign debt are rising and credit default swaps reflect the higher premiums being charged to protect against default. Investors such as Mr. Gross compare risk to reward in regards to debt and when the reward is believed to compensate for the risk, the bond is bought and the bet is placed.

As we enter the end-game, the odds, as in Russian roulette, exponentially increase making previous yield curves irrelevant. The trigger event may be Greece, Spain, the UK, the US, Latvia, Japan or some other nation. But, one thing is certain, when someone takes a bullet, all bets will be off. No one can cover what can’t be covered.

THE END GAME AND HUNGARY

Professor Antal E. Fekete grew up in Hungary during the most virulent period of hyperinflation in the world. Perhaps the experience made the good professor more sensitive than most about the possibility of its reoccurrence in America but he is not alone in believing so.

The possibility of a US hyperinflation was raised by Professor Laurance Kotlikoff in the July/August 2006 Review, published by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank: ...The United States has experienced high rates of inflation in the past and appears to be running the same type of fiscal policies that engendered hyperinflations in 20 countries over the past century.

Since Professor Kotlikoff wrote those words, US monetary expansion has far exceeded what preceded it; and, what follows may be more predictable than we want to know.

4

From March 25-29, in Szombathely, Hungary, Professor Fekete will present a seminar on the unfolding financial crisis. Mr. Sandeep Jaitly, along with Professor Fekete will discuss how the basis can be used to predict movements in the price of gold and silver.

Mr. Jaitly is the publisher of The ‘Gold Basis Service’ a monthly subscription newsletter that describes movements in the basis and co-basis along with predictions for the coming month for gold and silver, proceeds will benefit the Gold Standard Institute. For details, see http://bullionbasis.com/index.php?p=1_3_Gold-Basis-Service.

I will also be in attendance and will speak on capitalism’s journey to the East and its mixed reception. The end-game is in progress and I have found few more knowledgeable about its origins and progress than Professor Fekete.

To enroll, contact GSUL@t-online.hu. Those who attend will receive a complementary 6 month subscription to Moving Through The Maelstrom with my monthly commentary and daily news updates, see http://www.drschoon.com/members/join/view_membership_options.asp.

I have always believed the financial crisis to be part of a far greater shift involving more than money and power, although both will be affected. Yin and yang, the universal polarities, are rebalancing.

The return to parity will not be easy.

Buy gold, buy silver, have faith.

Copyright © 2010 Darryl Schoon

"How To Survive The Crisis And Profit In the Process"

www.drschoon.com

Who Poses the Greater Threat?

Walter Williams

Bill Gates is the world's richest person, but what kind of power does he have over you? Can he force your kid to go to a school you do not want him to attend? Can he deny you the right to braid hair in your home for a living? It turns out that a local politician, who might deny us the right to earn a living and dictates which school our kid attends, has far greater power over our lives than any rich person. Rich people can gain power over us, but to do so, they must get permission from our elected representatives at the federal, state or local levels. For example, I might wish to purchase sugar from a Caribbean producer, but America's sugar lobby pays congressmen hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to impose sugar import tariffs and quotas, forcing me and every other American to purchase their more expensive sugar.

Politicians love pitting us against the rich. All by themselves, the rich have absolutely no power over us. To rip us off, they need the might of Congress to rig the economic game. It's a slick political sleight-of-hand where politicians and their allies amongst the intellectuals, talking heads and the news media get us caught up in the politics of envy as part of their agenda for greater control over our lives.

The sugar lobby is just one example among thousands. Just ask yourself: Who were the major recipients of the billions of taxpayer bailout dollars, the so-called Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)? The top recipients of TARP handouts included companies such as Citibank, AIG, Goldman Sachs and General Motors. Their top management are paid tens of millions dollars to run companies that were on the verge of bankruptcy, were it not for billions of dollars in taxpayer money. Politicians preach the politics of envy whilst reaching into the ordinary man's pockets, through the IRS, and handing it over to their favorite rich people and others who make large contributions to their election efforts.

The bottom line is that it is politicians first and their supporters amongst intellectuals who pose the greatest threat to liberty. Dr. Thomas Sowell amply demonstrates this in his brand-new book, "Intellectuals and Society," in which he points out that: "Scarcely a mass-murdering dictator of the twentieth century was without his intellectual supporters, not simply in his own country, but also in foreign democracies . . . Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Hitler all had their admirers, defenders and apologists among the intelligentsia in Western democratic nations, despite the fact that these dictators each ended up killing people of their own country on a scale unprecedented even by despotic regimes that preceded them."

While American politicians and intellectuals have not reached the depths of tyrants such as Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Hitler, they share a common vision. Tyrants denounce free markets and voluntary exchange. They are the chief supporters of reduced private property rights, reduced rights to profits, and they are anti-competition and pro-monopoly. They are pro-control and coercion, by the state. These Americans who run Washington, and their intellectual supporters, believe they have superior wisdom and greater intelligence than the masses. They believe they have been ordained to forcibly impose that wisdom on the rest of us. Like any other tyrant, they have what they consider good reasons for restricting the freedom of others. A tyrant's primary agenda calls for the elimination or attenuation of the market. Why? Markets imply voluntary exchange and tyrants do trust that people behaving voluntarily will do what the tyrant thinks they should do. Therefore, they seek to replace the market with economic planning and regulation, which is little more than the forcible superseding of other people's plans by the powerful elite.

We Americans have forgotten founder Thomas Paine's warning that "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."

Walter E. Williams is the John M. Olin distinguished professor of economics at George Mason University, and a nationally syndicated columnist.

Il secolo cinese - Le pillole rosse del 5/3/2010

March 4th, 2010
  1. “China viewed through two different lenses”, ChinaDaily. Non ci credono più nemmeno loro, cioè gli americani. Il “Washington Post” e la televisione a stelle e strisce “Abc” hanno lanciato un sondaggio che lascia poco spazio ai dubbi. Primo quesito: chi dominerà la scena economica mondiale nel Ventunesimo secolo? Risposta: per il 40%, saranno ancora gli Stati Uniti; ma per ben il 41%, sarà la Cina. Secondo quesito: e politicamente quale sarà la prima potenza mondiale nel secolo che stiamo vivendo? Risposta: per il 38%, di nuovo, gli Stati Uniti; ma per ben il 43%, sarà Pechino a vincere questa sfida. Insomma: in molti sono ancora convinti che gli Usa usciranno vincitori nella gara con il gigante asiatico; ma la maggioranza relativa dei cittadini a stelle e strisce teme un clamoroso sorpasso. Un’ondata di sfiducia che ha una ragione ben precisa: la crisi economica continua a sferzare il Paese guidato da Barack Obama, dove la disoccupazione da mesi è a livelli record; mentre la Cina - che ha visto il suo Pil crescere dell’8 e passa per cento nel 2009 - continua ad andare a gonfie vele. Proprio da Pechino, però, arriva una qualche forma di consolazione. Anche il quotidiano cinese China Daily - unico giornale cinese, pubblicato in lingua inglese - ha riportato la notizia del sondaggio. Ma accompagnato da un ragionamento: è vero, scrive il China Daily, che quest’anno la Cina ha scavalcato perfino il Giappone (per dimensioni assolute di Pil) ed è diventato la seconda economia al mondo. Ma è anche vero che i cinesi sono 1,3 miliardi. E presi singolarmente sono ancora “poveri”: il loro Pil pro capite (il Pil, cioè diviso per numero di abitanti) è addirittura il 96^ del Pianeta. Insomma, conclude il quotidiano cinese: non siamo ancora una vera minaccia. Per ora.
  2. “China still waiting for seat at IMF’s top table”, Reuters. Minaccia per la superemazia degli Stati Uniti o meno, la Cina continua a guadagnare spazio, prestigio e - soprattutto - posizioni. Una decina di giorni fa, Zhu Min, vicepresidente della Banca centrale cinese, è stato nominato “consulente speciale” del Fondo monetario internazionale. Secondo un editoriale pubblicato dall’agenzia di stampa Reuters e firmato dal giornalista Wei Gu: Pechino non sarebbe soddisfatta: per Zhu Min, infatti, la Cina si aspettava un ruolo più elevato e poteri esecutivi. Ma sta di fatto che con questa nomina, la Cina è finalmente entrata anche nella stanza dei bottoni di quel Fondo monetario internazonale che di fatto è la grande cabina di regia - assieme alla Banca mondiale - dell’intera economia mondiale.
  3. “China’s Hidden Debt Risks 2012 Crisis”, Business Week. Ma - e come ci siamo chiesti più e più volte - sarà davvero tutt’oro quel luce sotto i cieli di Pechino? Al coro dei dubbiosi, infatti, si è aggiunto - questa settimana - anche l’economista Victor Shih, professore alla North Western University. Che ha speso mesi a passare al setaccio i conti pubblici cinesi. Ed è arrivato alla conclusione che - anche a Pechino - la polvere sotto il tappeto è davvero tanta. Secondo il Fondo monetario internazionale, infatti, la Cina dovrebbe chiudere il 2010 con un debito pubblico pari al 22% del Prodotto interno lordo. Ma c’è un ma. E di dimensioni gigantesche. Dal calcolo del debito di Pechino, infatti sarebbero esclusa la montagna di debiti accumulata dalle singole province. Che ammonterebbero - secondo i calcoli di Shih - a ben 11.429 miliardi di yuan. Insomma: in realtà il debito pubblico cinese, sempre a fine 2010, potrebbe arrivare al 96% del Pil. Non solo. Ma nel 2009 - proprio per combattere la crisi - la Cina avrebbe spinto proprio sulla leva del debito. Ordinando alle banche di prestare danaro a ritmi da record. Conclusione: secondo l’economista americano, la Cina potrebbe presto ritrovarsi con un debito (pubblico e privato) ingestibile. E il rischio è quello di una crisi che farebbe sprofondare l’intera Asia in una lunghissima recessione.
http://bamboccioni-alla-riscossa.org/?p=5473

Sulla crisi e le proteste in Grecia: come si dice "usura sistemica" in greco?

4 marzo 2010 (MoviSol) - Atene vuole - qualcuno dice "deve" - adottare misure che potremmo definire spartane, nei termini della sua storia, o naziste, nei termini di una storia più recente.

È il genere di misure che un nemico approva, se intende assistere alla nostra disfatta ed entrare trionfante in città senza perdere i propri uomini.

È il genere di misure che l'usuraio più scaltro preferisce adottare per la sua vittima. Il vero usuraio, al saldo del dovuto, preferisce rimanere creditore a lungo.

Così Atene sembra pronta a per gettare dalla rupe per primi gli anziani e i pensionati, con un "pacchetto di misure aggiuntive" apprezzato dal Fondo Monetario Internazionale (il quale, d'altra parte, ne ha imposti tanti a Paesi in bancarotta morale, prima che economica), dalla Banca Centrale Europea e dall'agenzia di rating Moody's, quindi da Bruxelles e da Berlino.

La riduzione degli stipendi e dei sussidi che si profila ha già qualche precedente recente in qualche angolo di questa Europa dannata, ma i veri precedenti sono quelli, parlando dell'Italia, del regime di Mussolini.

Anche allora, qualcuno più in alto pretese il recupero di crediti in una forma che avrebbe allargato la voragine del debito. Lo schema è lo stesso. Si spera che la risposta non sia già quella sussurrata sull'Aventino, ma una concepita sull'Acropoli, con la potenza intellettuale di un Platone e il coraggio di un Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

http://www.movisol.org/10news046.htm

Kesha Rogers vince le primarie democratiche nel 22mo distretto del Texas

4 marzo 2010 (MoviSol) - La "candidata della NASA" Kesha Rogers vince le primarie democratiche nel 22mo distretto del Texas, superando con le sue preferenze (52,3%) la somma di quelle raccolte dagli altri candidati Doug Blatt (27,7%) e John Wieder (20,0%).

La giovane esponente del comitato elettorale di LaRouche (LaRouchePAC) s'è distinta per aver reclamato il rilancio dei programmi spaziali americani e per il coraggio di sgombrare il campo dalle illusioni su Obama, avendone chiesto l'impeachment.

La sua vittoria ha spedito un messaggio inconfondibile alla Casa Bianca: i salvataggi degli speculatori, il taglio netto e letale del programma "Constellation" della NASA e le misure d'austerità per la sanità, nella forma populista del 'niente a tutti', non saranno più tollerati.

Gli scettici avevano attaccato l'approccio di LaRouche perché secondo loro non funzionale; per essi, nessun democratico avrebbe sostenuto qualcuno che chiedesse l'impeachment del Presidente. A quanto pare gli elettori non sono degli scettici. Rispondendo al Galveston Daily News, che le chiedeva se si aspetti il sostegno dell'apparato del partito democratico durante le elezioni autunnali, Kesha ha risposto: "Sto conducendo una guerra all'Impero Britannico. Non sono preoccupata di ciò che dicono o fanno alcuni scribacchini del partito democratico".

L'arroganza di questi ultimi è particolarmente evidente nelle dichiarazioni dello sconfitto Doug Blatt, il candidato "ufficiale" delle sezioni distrettuali del partito:

"Sono spiacente di informarvi che abbiamo perso. La vincitrice, Kesha Rogers, sta già sostenendo sul suo sito che questo significa che gli elettori del 22mo distretto vogliono l'impeachment del Presidente. Non posso credere che tanti elettori abbiano votato per lei, sapendo quel che vuole fare. Credo che molti di loro non abbiano fatto alcuna ricerca sul conto dei candidati, prima di votare".

Il Sig. Blatt è in errore. Gli elettori sapevano esattamente ciò che avrebbero sostenuto, votando per Kesha. L'hanno vista per strada ogni giorno, affiancata dai giovani del LYM, con un inconfondibile messaggio per loro: questo è il vostro momento per fare la storia, per sottrarre la nostra nazione alle grinfie degli speculatori globali che stanno distruggendo ogni cosa per noi preziosa. Dopo l'impeachment di Obama, adotteremo il Piano di LaRouche, a cominciare da una legge Glass-Steagall globale, e lanceremo a pieno finanziamento una missione diretta alla Luna e a Marte, come volano scientifico essenziale capace di trainare la costruzione delle infrastrutture moderne di cui questa nazione necessita.

Il coraggio e l'immaginazione possono molto, contro lo scetticismo immorale e la codarda capitolazione.

Facciamo seguire una dichiarazione di Lyndon LaRouche.


La vittoria di Kesha Rogers di Lyndon LaRouche, 3 marzo 2010

Questa volta, benché venga usato frequentemente, il termine di "valanga di voti" (landslide) è appropriato. Tipicamente, una vittoria alle primarie democratiche con meno del 55% dei voti non sarebbe da ascrivere ad una vera "valanga di voti"; tuttavia, la selezione di Kesha Rogers come candidata al Congresso rappresenta una completa rottura delle regole. Ha vinto in uno scontro elettorale molto duro, definendo la propria candidatura una campagna di impeachment nei confronti del Presidente Barack Obama.

Così la scorsa notte il presidente Obama ha perso il Texas.

Kesha aveva detto, forte e chiaro, "sottoponiamolo ad impeachment" e il Texas le ha risposto con favore. Oggi la parola "impeachment" comincerà a fare il giro del mondo.

Per un periodo breve ancora, la maggior parte dei rappresentanti al Congresso di entrambi i partiti principali, non capiranno che cosa stia accadendo. Infatti, sono in gioco delle forze che vanno oltre la loro capacità di comprensione.

Le colonne del tempio della politica filistea sono appena state abbattute. In qualche posto si sente la voce del poeta Percy Bysshe Shelley mentre ride di gioia poiché in tempi come questi, le persone, in numero crescente, si sentono "spinte a servire | il potere che siede sul trono della loro anima". In molte parti del mondo si agita un vero "sciopero di massa", più chiaro qui nei nostri Stati Uniti d'America che altrove. Sono in azione delle forze tra noi, delle forze che superano la comprensione di coloro che finora sono stati considerati i rappresentanti dei poteri politici e finanziari, delle forze che Shelley chiamò "i legislatori non riconosciuti del mondo".

Un grosso movimento di massa si sta gradualmente organizzando, rappresentando una grande potenza morale planetaria, nello spirito delle grosse sollevazioni sociali che hanno sempre rappresentato la vera minaccia delle passate tirannie.

I tanti cittadini americani che cominciarono ad associarsi nell'agosto 2009 contro la presidenza di Obama, sono ora disperatamente impegnati a salvare sé stessi e la nazione dai brutti riflessi delle politiche hitleriane che si riconoscono, per esempio, nella potenza finanziaria globale di gruppi come l'Inter-Alpha Group, che sta crollando sotto agli occhi attoniti degli stessi predatori finanziari che lo animano.

Sul paesaggio politico si addensano nubi minacciose: forze che spingono per le dimissioni del presidente Barack Obama. Durante i giorni immediatamente successivi all'attacco di Pearl Harbor del 7 dicembre 1941, il tema proposto per mobilitare la coscienza dei cittadini patrioti fu sviluppato in una serie di documentari dal generico titolo "Perché combattiamo". Tutti i giovanotti che, come me, ricordino l'esperienza di quei tempi, probabilmente l'hanno chiara nella mente, anche se altre cose notevoli sono state dimenticate.

I patrioti più pronti e meglio informati riconoscono che la minaccia di distruzione della nostra nazione e della civiltà è costituita dagli stessi nemici che ci posero in pericolo allora, e che oggi sono riuniti, per esempio, nell'Inter-Alpha Group. Stiamo parlando dei circoli fascisti che da Londra controllano la presidenza di Obama; ovvero dei circoli della finanza internazionale che tengono banco, oggi come allora, quando portarono Hitler al potere e provocarono la seconda guerra mondiale.

Ecco ciò a cui stanno reagendo i nostri patrioti, quando si riuniscono per escludere le persone che percepiscono come inquietanti alieni, attivi nei circoli ristretti che controllano la marionetta Barack Obama, il Nerone alla Casa Bianca. "Vogliamo indietro la nostra repubblica!" è il grido che richiama, nell'essenza, la questione che più preme ai nostri patrioti, oggi.

È sulle nostre spalle, come la fede in Dio

In quanto parte di una minuta porzione di cittadini americani che capì presto quali passioni profonde abbia suscitato nella popolazione il male compiuto dal Presidente Obama sin dalla sua inaugurazione, sono obbligato a spiegare quali forze stiano raccogliendo e gli stiano spingendo contro le masse crescenti di cittadini che, dopo essere state indotte – poco tempo fa - a fidarsi di lui, si percepiscono ora come vittime di un grave tradimento, da parte di un personaggio fraudolento.

Quando una nazione viene tradita in modo tanto mostruoso e rapido come con il presidente Obama, il popolo diventa sede dell'intervento di forze che superano i suoi limiti, capaci di salvarlo dallo spirito maligno che sembra averlo in pugno, sotto il controllo dei poteri in vigore nella società. Il popolo prega il suo soccorritore; reclama giustizia. In un modo o nell'altro, prega Dio.

Il Dio che sta pregando, infatti, non è uno straniero proveniente dall'esterno dell'universo, da un paradiso distante inconoscibile dai viventi. I cittadini pregano un Dio vero, che vedono come interno all'universo, regnante in esso, regnante nella stessa porzione che noi sperimentiamo da questa parte della morte. Essi invocano, in sostanza, non un Dio visibile, ma la Sua Presenza, sperimentabile tra noi.

È un Dio ben noto ai grandi intelletti della scienza e della composizione artistica classica. È un Dio noto come presenza efficiente; è, infatti, un Dio che toccò gli spiriti di Percy Bysshe Shelley e del fondatore della scienza moderna Gottfried Leibniz, allorché si riferì al principio della dinamica come a ciò che racchiude l'universo in cui viviamo.

Leggiamo le poche righe del paragrafo conclusivo del saggio "In difesa della poesia" di Percy Bysshe Shelley:

"I poeti sono i sacerdoti delle ombre giganti che il futuro proietta sul presente; le parole che esprimono ciò che essi stessi non comprendono; le trombe che annunciano la battaglia, e che non sentono ciò che [in altri] ispirano; l'influenza che non è mossa, ma muove. I poeti sono i legislatori non riconosciuti del mondo".

Parliamo di dinamica in questo senso, quello con cui il grande fisico Alberto Einstein, nello scrivere della genialità di Giovanni Keplero scopritore della gravitazione universale, espresse la sua conoscenza dell'universo, come di qualcosa di finito, ma illimitato infinitamente.

Qualche volta, nel momento, come ora, in cui la disperazione colpisce le singole sensibilità, la capacità di un popolo maltrattato fino all'estremo di rispondere ai tratti superiori della sua natura intrinsecamente umana lo dota di speranza e di potenza, e come popolo può conferire, come in preghiera, una salvezza dal male incombente.

http://www.movisol.org/10news045.htm

ITALIA IN VENDITA: VENT'ANNI DI PRIVATIZZAZIONI

Data: Giovedì, 04 marzo @ 12:55:00 CST Argomento: Italia DI ALDO BRACCIO cpeurasia

Il documento “ Obiettivi e risultati delle operazioni di privatizzazione di partecipazioni pubbliche” della Corte dei Conti (un corpus di quasi 300 pagine disponibile integralmente nel sito della Corte) presenta un quadro esauriente del percorso di privatizzazioni di beni pubblici in Italia.

Riportiamo – tratto dalla relazione ufficiale – l’ elenco storico dei provvedimenti adottati :

Nella foto: il panfilo Britannia

Tabella 1 - Le maggiori privatizzazioni italiane (1985-2007)
Lo Stadio preliminare (1985 – 1991)

Data

Società Settore Investitore Strategico

Quota venduta

Valore

[mln €]

Tipo di transazione

01/06/85

Sirti SpA*

Telecomunicazioni

---------

40,00

95,14

PO

25/10/85

STET*

Telecomunicazioni

---------

3,10

88,02

PO

01/12/85

Alitalia*

Trasporti

---------

22,00

280,69

PO

01/12/85

Banca Commerciale Italiana*

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

16,00

263,98

PO

18/11/88

Mediobanca*

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

13,30

197,47

PO

30/06/89

Italiana Telecomunicazioni*

Telecomunicazioni

American Telephone & Telegraph

20,00

297,00

PS

11/09/89

Enimont*

Petrolifero

---------

20,00

307,61

PO

29/12/89

CREDIOP*

Finanza & Real Estate

Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino

40,00

818,94

PS

31/01/90

Banco di Santo Spirito*

Finanza & Real Estate

Cassa di Risparmio di Roma

51,00

411,64

PS

31/10/90

Banco di Perugia*

Finanza & Real Estate

BMPS

70,60

81,09

PS

28/06/91

STET*

Telecomunicazioni

---------

7,60

207,10

PO

01/10/91

CREDIOP*

Finanza & Real Estate

Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino

50,00

1.362,49

PS

Totale

4.441,17

12

Il lancio (1992 – 1995)

Data

Società Settore Investitore Strategico

Quota venduta

Valore

[mln €]

Tipo di transazione

01/04/92

Cementir*

Manifatturiero

Gruppo di Investitori

51,78

298,90

PS

24/04/92

Sidermar di Navigazione*

Trasporti

Cie Monegasque Bk Monte Carlo

49,00

86,71

PS

01/06/92

EFIM-Tax Credits*

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

50,00

190,58

PS

12/06/92

STET 1*

Telecomunicazioni

---------

16,00

455,31

PO

18/12/92

Pavesi*

Manifatturiero

Barilla G&R F.lli

41,00

98,36

PS

31/12/92

Ilva - Acciaierie Piombino*

Manifatturiero

Lucchini Siderurgica

60,00

292,01

PS

1993

Elsag Bailey Process Automation*

Manifatturiero

n.d.

39,30

157,85

PO

1993

Finanziaria CBD

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

62,12

160,48

PS

1993

Nuovo Pignone

Manifatturiero

n.d.

100,00

361,00

PS

31/08/93

Italgel

Manifatturiero

n.d.

62,10

222,65

PS

31/10/93

Cirio-Bertolli-De Rica*

Manifatturiero

Unilever NV

100,00

91,16

PS

09/12/93

Credito Italiano

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

54,80

930,20

PO

1994

STET 2

Telecomunicazioni

---------

0,01

609,4

PO

08/02/94

IMI 1

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

27,45

926,78

PO

10/03/94

Banca Commerciale Italiana

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

51,34

1.493,18

PO

25/06/94

INA 1

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

47,25

2.339,79

PO

30/06/94

Acciai Speciali Terni

Manifatturiero

Kai Italia Srl

100,00

309,87

PS

18/12/94

SME 1

Manifatturiero

n.d.

32,00

373,40

PS

31/07/95

IMI 2

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

14,48

471,71

PO

30/08/95

SME 2

Manifatturiero

n.d.

14,91

176,33

PS

01/09/95

INA 2

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

18,37

871,08

PO

13/09/95

Italtel (STET)*

Telecomunicazioni

n.d.

40,00

450,29

PS

20/11/95

Alumix*

Manifatturiero

n.d.

100,00

210,13

PS

20/11/95

ENI 1

Petrolifero

---------

15,00

3.253,36

PO

26/12/95

Ilva Servizi Energia

Utility

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

1.298,22

PS

Totale

16.128,77

25

L’accelerazione (1996 – 2000)

Data

Società Settore Investitore Strategico

Quota venduta

Valore

[mln €]

Tipo di transazione

1996

STET 3

Telecomunicazioni

n.d.

n.d.

121,26

PS

04/01/96

INCA Intl (Enichem)*

Manifatturiero

Dow Italia (Dow Chemicals)

80,00

232,50

PS

20/01/96

Dalmine*

Manifatturiero

n.d.

84,08

148,13

PS

19/03/96

Nuova Tirrena*

Finanza & Real Estate

Toro Assicurazioni

91,14

288,12

PS

28/06/96

INA 3

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

31,10

1.683,90

PS

07/07/96

IMI 3

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

6,94

258,89

PO

04/10/96

Amga*

Utility

---------

49,00

100,13

PO

28/10/96

ENI 2

Petrolifero

---------

15,82

4.582,11

PO

31/01/97

Alfa Romeo Avio*

Manifatturiero

FiatAvio Inc

77,50

115,57

PS

03/04/97

Fincantieri Diesel*

Manifatturiero

n.d.

100,00

83,40

PS

24/05/97

Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

3,36

147,70

PO

30/06/97

ENI 3

Petrolifero

---------

17,60

6.833,01

PO

15/07/97

Aeroporti di Roma*

Trasporti

---------

45,00

289,10

PO

25/10/97

Telecom Italia 1

Telecomunicazioni

---------

28,00

11.871,91

PO

25/11/97

Seat

Servizi

n.d.

44,74

853,74

PS

29/11/97

Banca di Roma

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

14,40

343,96

PO

1998

Finmeccanica*

Manifatturiero

---------

n.d.

1.013,00

PO

1998

Banca di Roma

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

n.d.

182,15

PS

1998

MAC*

Telecomunicazioni

Marconi (Finanziaria Marconi)

50,00

144,00

PS

16/03/98

Saipem

Petrolifero

---------

18,75

742,50

PO

18/05/98

Alitalia

Trasporti

---------

18,38

406,45

PO

27/06/98

ENI 4

Petrolifero

---------

14,21

6.711,34

PO

11/07/98

AEM Milano*

Utility

---------

49,00

667,22

PO

06/10/98

Lloyd Triestino Di Navigazione*

Trasporti

Evergreen Marine Corp

100,00

203,81

PS

21/11/98

Banca Nazionale del Lavoro

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

67,10

3.463,72

PO

1999

Banca di Roma

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

n.d.

1.030,00

PS

1999

Mediocredito Centrale

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

100,00

2.036,91

PS

19/06/99

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena*

Finanza & Real Estate

---------

24,30

1.966,17

PO

10/07/99

ACEA*

Utility

---------

49,00

791,55

PO

01/08/99

Società Risanamento Napoli*

Costruzioni

n.d.

58,59

167,04

PS

02/11/99

ENEL 1

Utility

---------

31,74

16.551,64

PO

04/12/99

Autostrade*

Trasporti

---------

51,58

4.192,25

PO

2000

Banco di Napoli

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

13,16

493,60

PS

2000

Banco di Roma

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

n.d.

450,14

PS

09/03/00

Autostrade*

Trasporti

Azionisti Stabili

30,00

2.530,00

PS

11/04/00

Insicem*

Manifatturiero

Colacem

100,00

137,41

PS

03/06/00

Finmeccanica

Manifatturiero

---------

50,55

5.684,03

PO

31/07/00

Aeroporti di Roma

Trasporti

n.d.

51,20

1.328,12

PS

20/10/00

Basictel*

Telecomunicazioni

Albacom

60,00

109,07

PS

24/11/00

AEM Torino*

Utility

---------

26,00

254,41

PO

Totale

79.209,95

40

Lo Stadio di consolidamento (2001 – 2005)

Data

Società Settore Investitore Strategico

Quota venduta

Valore

[mln €]

Tipo di transazione

2001

San Paolo IMI

Finanza & Real Estate

n.d.

0,35

80,17

n.d.

07/02/01

COFIRI

Finanza & Real Estate

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

508,30

PS

15/02/01

ENI 5

Petrolifero

---------

5,00

2.720,83

PO

17/02/01

Acegas*

Utility

---------

41,85

156,65

PO

29/03/01

ENEL– Rete di Roma*

Utility

ACEA

100,00

558,83

PS

10/05/01

Lottomatica*

Servizi

---------

38,80

220,85

PO

24/09/01

Elettrogen (ENEL)*

Utility

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

3.570,23

PS

06/12/01

SNAM RETE GAS 1*

Utility

---------

40,20

1.915,33

PO

09/05/02

Bonifica (Fintecna)*

Servizi

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

285,07

PS

31/05/02

Eurogen (ENEL)*

Utility

Edipower (Edison)

100,00

3.768,83

PS

06/12/02

Fiera di Milano*

Servizi

---------

27,00

103,27

PO

09/12/02

Telecom Italia 2

Telecomunicazioni

---------

4,12

1.434,11

PO

27/12/02

Borsa Italiana*

Servizi

n.d.

10,91

116,34

PS

07/06/03

Siciliacque*

Utility

n.d.

100,00

287,88

PS

21/06/03

HERA*

Utility

---------

38,68

379,55

PO

30/10/03

ENEL 2

Utility

---------

6,60

2.172,80

PO

23/12/03

Ente Tabacchi Italiani

Manifatturiero

British American Tobacco PLC

100,00

2.325,21

PS

30/12/03

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti

Finanza & Real Estate

Gruppo di Investitori

30,00

1.050,00

PS

30/03/04

SNAM RETE GAS 2*

Utility

---------

9,50

638,11

PO

01/05/04

APS*

Utility

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

215,87

PS

23/06/04

Terna 1*

Utility

---------

50,00

1.652,39

PO

15/07/04

New Real (ENEL)*

Finanza & Real Estate

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

1.376,35

PS

22/10/04

ENEL 3

Utility

---------

18,87

7.636,00

PO

15/11/04

AEM Milano*

Utility

---------

8,80

279,23

PO

27/11/04

STMicroelectronics*

Manifatturiero

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti

10,30

1.159,65

PS

22/03/05

F.S. – Portafoglio Immobiliare*

Finanza & Real Estate

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

182,72

PS

30/03/05

Terna 2*

Utility

---------

13,86

591,60

PO

13/04/05

IP (ENI)*

Commercio

API

90,00

174,66

PS

20/05/05

Aeroporto di Venezia*

Trasporti

---------

33,35

138,77

PO

02/07/05

ENEL 4

Utility

---------

9,35

4.101,00

PO

11/08/05

WIND Telecomunicazioni*

Telecomunicazioni

Orascom

62,75

12.059,34

PS

03/10/05

Torri dell’EUR*

Finanza & Real Estate

Gruppo di Investitori

50,00

167,17

PS

Totale

50.027,12

32

Il Declino (2006 – 2008)

Data

Società Settore Investitore Strategico

Quota venduta

Valore

[mln €]

Tipo di transazione

24/03/06

Ansaldo STS*

Manifatturiero

---------

52,17

405,28

PO

31/03/06

Fintecna – Portafoglio Immobiliare

Finanza & Real Estate

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

296,66

PS

06/12/06

Ascopiave*

Utility

---------

40,00

182,58

PO

12/07/07

Enia*

Utility

---------

38,14

377,77

PO

19/11/08

Alitalia (assets)*

Trasporti

Gruppo di Investitori

100,00

1.052,00

PS

Totale

2.314,29

5

Appare evidente l’imponenza del processo di dismissione dei beni pubblici, lo smantellamento dell’apparato produttivo ed energetico dello Stato. Alcune osservazioni contenute nella relazione della Corte sono quanto mai significative, anche quelle espresse “in positivo” sulla storia delle privatizzazioni.

L’Italia è “al secondo posto, dopo il Giappone, nella classifica globale dei proventi”.

Il processo di privatizzazione – che la Corte giudica in declino dal 2006 (vedi la dizione riportata nella tabella) – ha dunque avuto proporzioni gigantesche in Italia, anche se in alcuni casi si è trattato di una cessione di quote che non hanno ancora portato a un completo trasferimento del controllo dal pubblico al privato.

Si registrano “importanti criticità, che vanno dall’elevato livello dei costi sostenuti e dal loro incerto monitoraggio alla scarsa trasparenza connaturata ad alcune delle procedure utilizzate in una serie di operazioni, dalla scarsa chiarezza del quadro delle ripartizione delle responsabilità fra amministrazione, contractors ed organismi di consulenza al non sempre immediato impiego dei proventi nella riduzione del debito” (corsivo nostro).

Dunque, in coda alle criticità, appare chiara la ragione fondamentale di vent’anni di vendite e svendite dei beni pubblici : ridurre il debito, ossia prestarsi al gioco del “debito perpetuo” imposto agli Stati dal capitale finanziario privato rappresentato dalle Banche Centrali (su ciò vedi il precedente articolo del 5 novembre 2009 “Lo specchio degli inganni : ‘debito pubblico’ e distruzione dello Stato sociale”, su www.cpeurasia.org [1]).

Recita la relazione della Corte : “Nonostante le importanti criticità ed i rilievi emersi, si può affermare che il processo di privatizzazione italiano abbia nel complesso sostanzialmente conseguito gli obiettivi di lungo termine previsti nei primi documenti ufficiali, generando valore nelle ex imprese pubbliche, contribuendo a risanare le finanze pubbliche, a sviluppare il sistema finanziario nazionale e ad ammodernare lo Stato. Per quanto riguarda le utilities, c’è tuttavia da osservare che l’aumento della profittabilità delle imprese regolate è in larga parte dovuto, più che a recuperi di efficienza sul lato dei costi, all’aumento delle tariffe che, infatti, risultano notevolmente più elevate di quelle richieste agli utenti degli altri paesi europei, senza che i dati disponibili forniscano conclusioni univoche sulla effettiva funzionalità di tali aumenti alla promozione delle politiche di investimento delle società privatizzate. Considerazioni analoghe possono valere anche per ciò che attiene agli effetti sul livello sia delle tariffe autostradali, sia degli oneri che il sistema bancario pone a carico della clientela, tutt’oggi sistematicamente e considerevolmente più elevato di quello riscontrato nella maggior parte degli altri paesi europei”.

In poche righe la Corte, pur conformandosi alla dominante cultura liberal dei nostri giorni, riesce a chiarire quali sono stati benefici e danni del processo di privatizzazione : utilities dei nuovi gestori/proprietari privati - dovute all’ aumento delle tariffe anche in mancanza di politiche di investimento – e sviluppo del sistema finanziario nazionale (e internazionale, aggiungeremmo) - ossia profitti per gli speculatori - come benefici; aumento delle tariffe (spesso accompagnate da un peggioramento del servizio) come esito per gli “eterni indebitati” cittadini italiani. Se qualcuno avesse ancora dubbi sul bilancio generale da assumere, rilegga il lungo elenco delle società privatizzate : tutto questo, in qualche misura, era anche nostro – apparteneva a noi cittadini; ora non più, e la nostra condizione è quella di clienti, neppure privilegiati.

Aldo Braccio Fonte: http://cpeurasia.org/ Link:http://cpeurasia.org/?read=48694 4.03.2010

Questo Articolo proviene da ComeDonChisciotte http://www.comedonchisciotte.org/site L'URL per questa storia è: http://www.comedonchisciotte.org/site/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6821