Independance Day

I thought I would take a minute to post some snapshots taken in some of the mountain towns a few years back on the 4th of July.  And these are just snapshots taken on a day of fun, not my professional work.

I actually feel a bit sad this coming Independence Day.  It seems as a nation we have lost our way, forgotten what our forefathers fought for and have come to embrace the very forms of oppression we fought to become free of.   Taxation without representation was the cry.

Sound familiar?  I thought so.

I won’t get involved in the issues here, we all know them and have our positions on them.  And we all know things aren’t right.  But I do ask that you take a moment this Independence Day to reflect on what it was we fought for and why we fought for it…. and what will we do when it is gone?  There is no new land to run to.

Take a moment this Independence Day to write your elected officials and remind them who they work for.  YOU.

Have a great holiday.

Mark

Streets of Georgetown Colorado and Grand Lake Village Decorated for Independance Day – Copyright Mark Stout Photography

Creative 4th of July Decorations near Grand Lake Colorado – Copyright Mark Stout Photography

Uncle Sam doing what he does best, taking your money! (donations for the fireworks display) – Copyright Mark Stout Photography

Where did the money go?

If you are like most of us, you are wondering where the bailout money went.  And explanations such as “market correction,” “the bubble bursting,” “reckless consumers” lack the substance to explain the economic collapse.

I have known some of the key elements of what caused this for some time, but I recently found a book that fills in the missing questions, such as with $1.2 Trillion printed and put into “circulation” why can’t a business get a loan?  Why does there still seem to be less money than before this new money was created?  Where did it go.

That answer is found in a book called Crisis by Design: A Look Behind the Wizzard’s Curtain.

A very shortened version of the series of steps that crashed the economy follows:

1.  Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, held interest rates ” artificially low resulting in an orgy of borrowing and toxic side effects for the entire economy.”

2.  The Community Reinvestment Act was rewritten in 1994.  This combined with Greenspan’s easy money policies to create a wealth of toxic assets by creating a wave of mortgage’s written to those who did not have the income or credit ratings to pay them.

3.  After the great depression, Congress enacted the Glass-Steagall Act to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again.  Greenspan pressured Congress to repeal this act and succeeded in 1999, opening the door to more of the same activities that destroyed the economy in the late Twenties.

4.  “In April of 2004, a group of five investment banks met with the regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and convinced them to waive a rule that required the banks to maintain a certain level of reserves.”  Banks were now not only allowed to lend far more money for every dollars of assets than was wise, they were actively pressured to do so.

5.  “The final nail in the coffin—and this was really the wooden spike through the heart of the financial markets—was delivered in Basel, Switzerland, at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).” The BIS is the bank that presides over other Central Banks, one of which is our Federal Reserve.  They answer to no one but largely dictate the financial policies of the world.   The BIS created an accounting rule called Basel II which required banks to use Mark to Market accounting to value their assets.  This rule went into effect at the same time as the damage done by the sub-prime mortgage lending was first becoming evident.  Though the majority were still making their mortgage payments each month on time, banks were force to mark the value of their assets to the market and trillions of dollars of assets vanished from the balance sheets.  They were no longer able to lend.

6.  In comes the Federal Reserve in the white hats with $1.2 Trillion in bailout money, much of which went to the banks to bail them out.  When then with all that money are they still unable to lend?  Because the Basal II accounting rule still forces their balance sheets below a level where they have sufficient assets to do so.  Why with that much money put in circulation is the economy still contracting?  Because much of it did not go into circulation.  A provision of the bailout called TARP created the means for the Federal Reserve to pay interest on money deposited with it.  Many banks who are unable to lend due to artificial restrictions imposed by Basal II simply deposited the bailout money back with the Federal Reserve to earn the interest until it “all blows over” .

This is a very shortened version.  Please take time to read the full version of these step by the original author at: Crisis by Design.  Then take a moment to write your elected officials and ask them to stop blaming the “reckless consumers” and go after the real culprits.  Just as it is illogical to blame the mail room clerk for the financial crimes of Enron, so it is to blame consumers for the destruction of the American economy.  It can be fixed, but it takes directing the attention of our lawmakers to the correct target… those that worked to collapse it in the first place.

The Scarcity That Isn’t

Inflation occurs when there is too much money in circulation in relation to the goods and services produced.

Deflation (recessions, depression) occurs when there is too little money in circulation for consumers to buy the goods and services produced.

The amount of money in circulation goes up ONLY when someone makes it go up.  The amount of money in circulation contracts ONLY when someone makes it contract.

America is capable of fantastic levels of production.  We have printed more money in the last year than at any time in history.  Yet somehow, this money has not made it into circulation and we are still being told there is no money – none of the pieces of paper that are rolling off the printing presses at break neck speed – available for us to buy any of the goods and services available.  Factories stand empty.  Store fronts bear for lease signs.  Homes are being foreclosed on… all because there is supposedly no paper in circulation to buy the products they produce… even though most people are in need of them.

How then do we stimulate job growth and economic health?  By locating the groups and individuals who are activity working to prevent the natural principals of exchange by manipulating the money supply and removing them.

This is the simple and basic truth of economics.  Exchange, and only exchange is what drives an economy.  I do something for you, you give me something in return for it.  Money entered in as a less cumbersome solution to barter.  Unfortunately, it was soon identified as a means of control by those with ill-intent who created fantastic layers of complexity that they could hide their activities behind.  A two year old child can understand economics and does so… yet the central banker and international banker tells us it is too complex for us to understand.

Truth is simple, always.  When an area becomes complex it is only because someone has something to hide.  More money has been printed in the last year than ever before… we should be in a screaming period of inflation… yet we are headed for the next great depression.

The question, and the only valid question right now is “Who is working to make the money appear scarce?” Locate the individuals and groups doing this, expose it and the economy will magically repair itself.  It’s that simple.  The rest is merely part of the smokescreen of complexity designed to keep us looking in the wrong direction.

Money is the one of the most abundant substances on the face of the earth right now.  Anyone who tells you that you can’t have any of it has told you a lie.  Question their motives.  Demand transparency from the Federal Reserve, a full audit.  Now!  Demand to know the crimes of anyone who tells you this information cannot be made public.  Demand the right to earn a living and keep the rewards of your own production.

Economic Explosion - photo by Mark Stout

Cap and Trade – A Message to Congress

Nothing quite illustrates how upside down Congress has its priorities quite like Cap and Trade.  On two different occasions while running errands, I brought my camera with me and snapped the for lease signs below.  It took less than 20 minutes total time.  Often as many as 1/3 to 1/2 of the offices on a given block bore for lease signs.

Congress meanwhile tells us that the economy is “improving” and pats themselves on the back.  Sure, Colorado lost another 6,000 jobs last month.  But that is less jobs lost than the month before.  Sorry that is NOT an improvement.  It is a failure.

Meanwhile, they devote their attention to “clean energy” (read, more taxes) and seek to mandate what type of energy efficient light bulbs we use in our homes.  This isn’t exactly an issue that needs to be solved.  It has, most unfortunately, already been solved. None of these businesses use ANY energy at this point.  That’s as energy efficient as you can get.  And the number of empty offices and industrial facilities that stand empty is staggering.  You have already accomplished your goal here.

You don’t need to worry what type of light bulbs their former employees use.  They can’t afford them… if they still have a home to place them in.

There comes a time when all the fluffy political rhetoric can no longer conceal the painful truth.  This is one of them.

Each of these business owners knows you failed to do your job.  Each of their employees knows you failed to do your job.  Perhaps you feel we should listen to you, when you should be listening to us…  Perhaps you believe your constituents’ voices are of lesser importance than those of the vested interests.  Perhaps you feel the government knows best…

Well, take a look at where that thinking led your state.  And stop to think for a moment.  Do you honestly believe ANY of the individual’s who once worked in the facilities behind these signs are going to re-elect you if you continue to ignore the real situation?

Don’t take my word for it.  Take off your blinders, and take a drive through the shopping centers, the business districts and the industrial parks and look for yourself.  Then please ask yourself, “Am I really doing my job? Have I really looked out for what is best for my constituents and the nation?”

Your job could well depend on the conclusion you come to.

Why Cap and Trade is not needed - photo copyright Mark Stout, permission granted to use for non-commerical uses that keep with the spirt of the image

Please feel free to enlarge the image by clicking on it, download and send to your elected officials.  Maybe they will “get the picture.”

Tea Party Express Comes to Denver

I have long observed with considerable interest that whenever a person or group speaks out for freedom, basic human rights, or against injustice, they come under a snarling, baseless attack.

Having heard the Tea Party Protesters called everything from Astroturf by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, to religious nuts, to mentally ill, I decided they must be up to something good and dropped in to check out the rally.

After speaking with those attending the rally and listening to the speeches I concluded that anyone who could attack these individuals must also believe that it was a tragic mistake to found this country in the first place… or they are simply insane.

The best I can remember, their objectives and beliefs are simple and intrude only on those who wish to oppress:

• They believe our government is overstepping its bounds and want limited government, one of the principles the country was founded on.
• They state this is not a Democratic or Republican issue… or any type of partisan issue.
• They are angry that our elected officials no longer listen to or represent us – and it should be noted that our Senators and Representatives were not there to learn what so many of their constituents want.
• They do not blame our elected officials for the mess the nation is currently in.  They blame themselves, you and me, for not keeping a close watch and demanding our rights be protected by those we elect.
• They do not hate President Obama.  But they do hate the socialist agenda he is pushing in.
• They are greatly concerned that over a trillion dollars of money that the taxpayer is expected to make good has gone to bail out insolvent banks that contributed heavily to the financial mess in the first place, that this money has been used to nationalize private corporations and businesses, and that this spending has served only to increase unemployment and worsen the economy.
• They oppose the healthcare legislation not because they do not believe health care is perfect, but because of the massive intrusion the health care legislation will cause in the lives of the American citizens who will find more of their choices regulated.  Same with Cap and Trade where the government will even be able to dictate what type of light bulbs we use… and somehow consider this more important than repairing the economy.
• They oppose the hate campaigns
• They believe the American public has a right to know what role the Federal Reserve Bank and other banking institutions have played in creating the collapse of the economy.  And honestly, any elected official who would oppose a fearless and thorough audit of the Federal Reserve Bank when the finances of every business and individual are subject to an audit by the government should be in a prison, not a political office.

What is at stake here is not “clean energy” or “healthcare” or “saving jobs with bailout money”, it is freedom.  A quick scan of recorded history tells you just how dear that is.  It is as if the woof and warp of the universe itself demands conditions in which man is not free to create, to keep the rewards of his labors, to make his own choices, speak his own mind and choose his own path.  The true irony is that it is not only the oppressors who demand servitude… those who are in chains themselves are often the first to object if someone suggests man could be free.  Need an example?  Abraham Lincoln, freed the slaves and was shot for having done so by John Wilkes Booth, a starving actor who believed he was “helping the south.”

I have seen statements that those who insist our government should be accountable to the people of this nation are mentally ill, quacks, zealots.  I ask you to do your own investigation.  Who is the madman?  The person who fights for his rights… and yours and mine in the process… or the person who shoots him for having done so?

Trust a politician to not see what is right under his eyes. Most have pretended not to notice the Tea Party Rallies, yet htey are occurring right under the shadow of the Capitol.

Crowds and signs stretch as far into the darkness as you can see

Organizer of the Tea Party Express

Denver Tea Party Organizer - who will be delivering copies of the shredded healthcare bill to our Senators

Women on the front row shredding copies of the health care bill

These children will be paying for the bailouts of 2009

As I mentioned above, our elected officials seem to prefer to cover their eyes and ignore the swelling ranks of citizens who are demanding that, once again, our elected officials represent us. This is never wise.  While Washington DC is attempting to dismiss somewhere between 1 and 2 million people from the Tea Party who marched on DC a couple months ago – perhaps the largest march in DC in the nation’s history – ignoring numbers of that magnitude is a sure fire way to be voted out of office.  And this rapidly growing group intends to do just that – Republican or Democrat, if you failed to listen and take action, you are out.

A Tale of Two Presidents

The greatest stain on the “land of the free” was the practice of slavery by a nation who professed the right to be free.  On January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclimation which declared forever free those who had been enslaved by the Confederacy.

Unfortunately, the impulse to enslave man seems to be as old as the universe itself, which history reveals.  Now unable to buy and sell man and shackle him which chains, the South resorted to the Black Codes which both prevented the black man from working and made it a crime punishable by sentence to prison labor camps as a sentence.

Hard fought and won human rights campaigns have helped to eliminate slavery by discrimination in the United States.  However, it has been replaced by economic slavery in which the CEO, International Banker and the politicians they have bought and paid for are the modern day plantation owners… and all men, regardless of race, creed or color are the slaves.

Clearly the right to remain free is a battle we must always fight.

Abraham Lincoln vs. Barack Obama

Why the economy is failing

This video on YouTube is more revealing than the media.  After printing 1.2 Trillion dollars on the pretext of saving jobs and the economy, the Obama Administration bails out Chrysler motors, nationalizes it by becoming its “owner”, then saves our jobs and economy by closing the Chrysler plant in St Louis, leaving the area in economic devastation and shipping the equipment to Mexico where the automobile will most likely be manufactured now.

This is a crime of magnitude on the part of our elected officials.  Write your congressmen and the president and DEMAND they return American jobs to American soil.

Government stimulus and bailout money used to move Chrysler jobs to Mexico

Obama economics uses stimilus money to move Chrysler jobs to Mexico

Some thoughts on our government….

Currently our government is very busy “giving” us things.  Healthcare, protection from global warming, extended unemployment benefits for those who have lost their jobs, cash for clunkers to buy new, often imported, automobiles, food stamps for workers who have had their hours scaled back to levels that do not sustain their cost of living, mortgage “bailouts” for people who have lost their jobs (usually resulting in co-ownership with the government in your home, or a “balloon” in five years – the very type of financing that contributed so heavily to the mess).  However, it is also turning a deaf ear to the things Americans are saying we really want: jobs, fair pay, the right to keep most of what we earn and pay our own way, the right to provide for our families and the right to make our own choices.

It is no coincidence that the percentage of American jobs offshored in the last decade is equal to the rise in unemployment figures over the same time period.  There is a direct statistical relationship.  Americans have been demanding action be taken to stop this madness for over a decade.  Congress has not only turned a deaf ear, they have worked to encourage the activity.  When the newly jobless Americans had their homes foreclosed on and foreclosure rates began to soar, Congress blamed the “reckless consumers” and loan companies rather than assessing how their own failure to protect our jobs and economy contributed to it.

Why?  What is the motivation to make us jobless and homeless and then “give” us healthcare?  Who are they working for?  It doesn’t seem like it is you or me.

Unfortunately, as more and more Americans are denied the right to work and earn a living, they are finding themselves facing severe hardships and become more  receptive to take what the government is “giving” them, if not actually demanding it.  An individual by nature is self sufficient.  One does not demand “gifts” from the government without first having been denied the right to earn his own way and being forced to believe he can no longer provide for himself.

Therein lies the problem.  The government cannot give us anything without taking it from us first. And when they give it back to us in whatever form that may be – healthcare, subsidized housing, food stamps, etc, fantastic amounts are siphoned off the top to administer the programs, strings are attached to limit our choices and chances are you and me will see none of it at all because they ran of money to fund it before they got to us.

The actual statistics are telling.  Our economy is a mess.  It was the government’s job to prevent this.  The Federal Reserve Bank was created to prevent it.  Both have clearly failed…. repeatedly! Now they are telling us private industry failed and are busy nationalizing private corporations.  I will not defend corporations here, some are guilty of crimes, however, it was the government’s role to oversee the actions of businesses and prevent crimes from occurring that would damage the economy and the American public.  They failed at this miserably.  State governments, which unlike the Federal Government do not have the power to print money at will, are bankrupt and they are leaning harder on the shrinking number of employed taxpayers to cover the loss.  With each job they helped to ship overseas, they lost taxpayer dollars they themselves needed to run the government operations and they are now asking us to bail them out through increased taxes, new taxes, increased fees, more aggressive assessments of punitive fees and more .

Our government has become increasingly involved in healthcare, particularly since the sixties with the creation of Medicare and Medicaid and the thousands of programs since then.  What did they give us?  An industry where costs are inflating faster than any other industry in the country and constantly reduced access to healthcare.  At a time when transparency and accountability are being demanded by the American people, President Obama attempted to push through his healthcare plan without even letting the American public know what the plan was!

We need to get things back on the right track here.  It is far more important that our government work to preserve individual freedoms, rights and most of all our right to earn a living, provide for ourselves, and to make our own choices than it is for them to devise new ways to “give” us things. Government funded healthcare may sound like a solution to a problem, but one must remember that legislative changes of that scope are done at fantastic cost.  Someone is funding the movement, someone expects to make hundreds of billions from the resulting legislation – and they expect to make that money by extracting it from your pocket without your consent. This isn’t just about healthcare.  It is simply the issue at the front lines right now.  This will be found as the common denominator in most legislative activities.  Each time your elected officials decide to “give” you what some vested interest says you “need” they have to take it from you first.  Who benefits?  Not you.

It would have behooved the residents of ancient Troy to look the Trojan Horse in the mouth before accepting the “gift” into the city.  The same holds true with each “gift” we receive from our government.  Beware!  We cannot afford many more “gifts” from the government.  Such gifts only work to line the pockets of the few at the expense of the many.  It is time we demand a few less gifts and a lot more rights, including the right to be responsible for ourselves and make our own choices.

I will say it once again. The government cannot give us anything without taking it from us first.

Take a moment to write your elected officials and remind them who they work for.  They have clearly forgotten that it is you!

No Socialism, No Obama Symbol

This seems to illustrate both the intent of the Obama administration and the feeling of the American public to it well.  We have now seen the unthinkable in America, corporations seized from auto manufactures and banks to small, independent car dealerships.  Whatever happened to Freedom, to individual responsibility?

No Socialism, No Obama

Workable economic relief for the taxpayer

It seems Washington has seen the light and is now willing to offer the private citizen the same rights as it has granted to the Federal Reserve Bank.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve thought I should have my own print-on-demand money system since I was a child.  After all, it’s only paper!