One significant step toward putting the US economy back on its feet would be to for the government to treat borrowers like adults. It’s a novel idea, huh? And one that’s likely to fall on deaf ears up on Capitol Hill. But we firmly believe here at Notes that it is a prerequisite of any real economic recovery in the US.
With its regulatory overhaul of the U.S. financial system, the Obama administration has granted the federal government new powers to take over systemically important businesses, but has done so in a way that may well mask a potentially dangerous drift toward American state capitalism.
One of our favorite underground investors Porter Stansberry of Stansberry & Associates Investment Research has picked up on a chart from the Wall Street Journal that will make your hair stand on end.
Banks aren’t getting out of the TARP as easy as they got in. According to Bloomberg, the feds have demanded that banks “raise specific amounts of new capital before repaying taxpayer funds, applying a more stringent assessment than the stress tests in May.”
What’s the true cause of inflation? Jimmy Carter underrated? Really? And what makes Von Mises right after all these years? Read on to find out…Thank you (once again) for all your excellent responses on the Obama-Carter connection. When your thoughts and comments roll in, my only lament is a lack of space in which to reply.
One of the problems with orthodox economics is it misses the point on human behavior. Orthodox economists build their models around the assumption of rational behavior of large groups of people. There is therefore always a gulf between this type of economic theory and the real world.
There’s a lot of anger towards President Obama. Most of it is misplaced. Obama is a slick young politician with high approval ratings. He replaced a president who had 90% approval ratings at one point – the highest of any president in history. Both have sacrificed the free-market principles America was founded on. Partisan politics mean nothing when both parties insist on spending the country into oblivion.
“GM burns through $10 billion” reads the headline. Surprising no one, “Government Motors” continues to destroy wealth at a record pace.
Economy got you down? Never fear, Ben Bernanke’s here…Why bear market rally might still have room to run… 1 in 5 homeowners “underwater”… 2 data points suggest the worst is yet to come…As stocks climb, dollar falls… one currency that will continue to outperform the greenback…Chris Mayer on China’s fuel of the future: “It may surprise you”…
I heard comedian Drew Hastings on the radio the other morning. Actually, I should say I heard Drew’s alter ego Jack Freeman on the radio the other morning. Drew does a parody of success gurus with the character of Jack Freeman.
