We're running out of Boogie men

                 

Saddam is long gone, Bin Ladin a faded memory and now Assad is loosing his luster. Yes there was the ray of hope that chemical weapons would step in and save the day but really what are we going to do send in fighter jets to try some strategic air strike of some unconfirmed target?

There's always the economy that gelatinous mass of incomprehensible statistics that permeates ever facet  of our lives. What better boogie man could be found? Undefinable and unseen yet scary enough to keep the rubes in a perma- freeze of fear. Forget Dracula this beastie will keep the strongest awake at night just considering the possible consequences. Was that a pink slip I saw in the cubicle next to me? And what's with all the foreign interns showing up this early before school's out? No worries there's always the investments that golden parachute of psychic comfort neatly tucked at the back of the file cabinet. Is that investment house still in business? Something about a merger with a Nigerian outfit. Better check it out later. Read the prospectus when first acquired but that was years ago and things have changed. Wouldn't want to be caught with worthless paper now would we? Might land up pretty expensive toilet paper.

Now if only there was a pill for desperation you could make a killing. Oops perhaps some better term is in order for that. Or maybe we could have a commodities market for murder and mayhem. Picture it now. Robberies were up this week as the economy continues to remain flat. Air strikes took a beating when jet fuel prices sky rocketed. Rapes and murder hold steady but are expected to rise with the coming warm weather. Embezzlements continue to hold steady with a cut back in audits. That sector is expecting a positive growth outlook in the near future. Beatings took a bit of a beating with an increase in security camera sales. Torture and mutilations will be the topic of discussion at the upcoming Mayhem summit.

Ah the perverse things to think about when there's too much time on ones hands. Think there's a soap for that, wonder if they sell stock?     

Economy cat is on to you

They're at it again busy fudging the numbers. (Mmm fudge). But all seriousness aside it sure looks like the bean counters are busy trying their best to put a happy face on the economy. Couldn't have anything to do with the fact that people are near to starvation in europe where unemployment is at 25% with youth unemployment at over 50%? And neatly hidden has been the austerity cuts or at least some actual figures or details. Lame stream media wouldn't want to panic the job creators while their busy selling worthless paper to each other.

Headline reads 'U.S. grows at faster pace', I'll believe that when pigs fly or maybe they're talking about homeless camps. Just the day before yesterday it was reported that durable goods sales were in negative territory and from an anecdotal perspective you could roll a bowling ball down the aisle of a grocery store and be lucky to hit anyone. Mcdonalds is now offering home delivery. Wonder if that has anything to do with the cuts to 'meals on wheels'. Grandma might still have enough pocket change for a happy meal that is if they didn't raise her Medicare costs.

"Jobless claims fall". That's because those that ran out of unemployment are no longer counted and there are a lot of us out here. And those that were fortunate to get jobs took massive pay cuts just to try and have an income. Cheery news no? So while the real money (make that debt) (or is it all fake?) is busy being passed around like a dead corpse the rest of us suffer. Never seen so much shuffling of the deck chairs on the Titanic in all my life. And while the media brings up WMDs for the umpteenth time maybe that would be a kinder death. It'd sure beat being starved to death.   

Friday beaver and economic growth

                      

It's interesting how one country can view a .03% growth rate as a positive sign of a nations' economic well being. Then there are the real numbers that always seem to disappoint. We are at a very odd juncture when it comes to financial conditions. We saw the entire financial system freeze up in 08 only to be bailed out with a massive  influx of cash courtesy of the American taxpayer. Did any of this money go for benefit to those who gave it? Of course not, it went to the gamblers who had just lost their shirts betting that some poor sucker in another country would buy their worthless hand. And they did but just like a back room game complete with markers people soon ran out of chips and nobody could cover their markers. Then it became a new game of selling markers and betting against those who ever body knew couldn't pay up.

It's become a new definition of insanity when one country who's in debt thinks it can loan money to another country who has a bigger debt knowing full well that that debt can never be paid back. And now we have the economic gurus telling us that every thing's just fine so keep playing because we have the cops paid off.

There's only one solution to this Alice in Wonderland card game where rational thought has been cast out the window and that would be to void most of the debt and start over. Too simple a solution you say? But it is the only solution. Because if this game of trading debt goes on for much longer the system will freeze up once more. They can pump all the imaginary money into this game they want but if nobody can anti up then it's game over. All the watches rings and titles to the cars have been put into the pot and all the players went bust.

Japan is deflating like an old balloon but if something isn't done to actually get people working then all the yen in the world isn't going to fix it. And the boys in the back room must have had too much sake when they're predicting a 2.9% growth rate for Japan. A system based solely on consumerism can't stand when nobody's spending. And selling more worthless paper won't get you anywhere either. Cutting taxes to near zero isn't going to get things moving as well. Time to clean the slate and start over.

Bank fails later.
UPDATE: Two banks failed this week one in NC and one in GA.

Regulations are for Sissies

          

In just three short weeks we've witnessed what oversight and lack of regulations does for our well being. I realize that we do not live in a perfect world and accidents will happen, however they should be few and far between. There is a balance between a Nanny state and a free for all when it comes to regulating safety issues. I've worked in one of the most regulated industries in the country for over 20 years so I think I know a thing or two. It takes a balance. Too few regulations and inspections is a recipe for disaster. Too many and the job becomes too expensive to profit anyone. No one can anticipate ever hazard but following basic common sense is a good start. That's especially true of things that tend to blow up. Assuming something won't just because "we've always done it that way" is not a great axiom to live by.  It's far better to assume the worst will happen and plan accordingly. At least that's what's kept me alive as long as I have been.

What have we seen the last three weeks? An oil pipeline ruptured in Arkansas. That was bad enough but to add insult to injury there was a subdivision built right over it. Not a smart thing when even if it hadn't burst it might have needed servicing in the future. There was also no mention of it's inspection which would have been easy from the inside with what they call a pig, but then that would involve shutting the line down and that would mean loss of profits. And there's no way to check for exterior deterioration other than to dig up the line right in someone's front yard.

I guess I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Law. "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong". And normally at the worst possible times too. 

Then there was the fertilizer plant in Texas. I'd title that a recipe for disaster when a company flat out lies about what chemicals they have and procedures and safety measures that were not in place. It's not just a matter of more regulations or stiff penalties for their disregard either, this is a criminal matter. So while the Texas legislature and media in that state might try and gloss over this tragedy as some unforeseen accident it was very preventable. And you watch as the federal senators from the state try and blame the regulators or Obama or anyone else they can find as the fall guy. The truth is the oversight of our industries has been diminished at an accelerated pace since Bush took office in 2000. To his discredit Obama has done little to improve the situation.  

Crazy on You

                  

Just found out where this tar sands oil would land up after it's all said and done. Aside from polluting Canada with it's dirty waste water vast stretches of tree removal, the pipelines that would stretch from Canada to the Gulf Coast, this oil would end up providing home heating oil for the Chinese. Once burned that pollution would make it's way back to the U.S. as it drifts over the Pacific. Nothing like selling them the rope to strangle us with eh? 

Gold is falling fast. The stock market is unrealistic and doing more gyrations than a dancing with stars contestant. We've watched as entire countries collapse before our very eyes. Is it any wonder? Even the Walmart workers can't afford to shop in their own store. Low prices indeed when they have to go to the 99¢ store. You do what you got to do I guess.We have mayhem but I guess the merriment has left the station run by a Chinese outfit is the latest. Such is what happens when a company can offshore/outsource or whatever the euphemism it's called. Set up a web page, have the product made in China, ship it the cheapest way possible direct to your door and watch the bucks roll in only without a job all while your customer base left with the train. Who ya going to sell to now sparky? Rural folks in Africa just aren't in the market for cheap plastic products. Giving them a credit card won't cut it. Can't even skin a zebra with that.

What's left? Debt. Debt for sale. Get your debt here. You buy mine, I'll buy his and he'll buy yours' and altogether nothing will get done. Just shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. And slowly ever so slowly the ship of state sinks below the water line. And as the last cabin light flickers out a sole desperate cry is heard from the aft deck "hedge funds for sale!" "Get your last chance for economic survival." "Gold and stock hedge funds for sale!" " Get them before they're (er... we're) gone."

And they say this isn't a depression. 

And don't forget to get your free door prize when exiting the theater. Todays' special is the gun of you choice. Just don't get caught in the crossfire. The theater manager Mr.Tsar Bomba is not fond of the clean up.

Friday beaver MIA

 Sorry the beaver is missing in action today busy picking out a mate or something.

Always try to keep up on things. Aside from the overload of Boston news a few other things transpired while no one was looking. After all what perfect cover to stick it to the people then when they're too busy focused on other things. The thought did cross my mind that I was watching something akin to a modern day gladiator match where the hunted gets a brief head start before the kill. I hope you can see the comparison.

But I digress, this is about the skullduggery not on the streets but in the heart of the nations capital. You may recall the 60 Minutes piece back in 2011 when the old boys of the show pointed out that congress didn't have to follow the same insider trading laws as the rest of us. Congress was quick to pass a law preventing that but just thursday congress passed in the late of night a bill that says basically that  transparency is optional. All done in the name of national security (like the security of their bank accounts). No body even had the time to read the bill (a requirement passed by republicans long ago) but hey which one of them reads anything more than a Gulf Digest these days or maybe it's Travel Magazine. Gee and they wonder why nobody trusts them.

But this post was to be about the economy. While the Wall Street boys continue their poker game (I guess they sold enough hedges to cover the market drop), Main Street continues it's slid with near empty stores, more foreclosures and oh yes a little fact that gets buried on the back pages. Walmart worker are so poor now that they can't even shop where they work. (How's that business model working out for you Sam?). But it doesn't take a financial whiz to figure out that austerity isn't going to make things better. At least not for us underlings. They squawk about the debt that they created and expect to drain our bank accounts to pay for it. Sorry pal I'm not buying it. Their latest is that a 90% debt to GDP ratio is some magic tipping point. Which might be true is you're trying to pay off a mortgage in 10 years but this is a long term issue. Stretch that out to 30 years and see how the numbers stack up. And while you're at it throw in some spending to actually get things moving. Taxpayers with no jobs aren't going to make for the magic bullet to fix this.

Bank fails later as usual.
UPDATE: Three banks failed this week 2 in FL and 1 in KY and I'm not talking about the jelly. That brings the grand total to well over 400 since this started but who's counting? 

They opened the asylum and let these guys and gals out

Alexander (R-TN) Ayotte (R-NH) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Begich (D-AK) Blunt (R-MO) Boozman (R-AR) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coats (R-IN) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) Cruz (R-TX) Donnelly (D-IN)

Enzi (R-WY) Fischer (R-NE) Flake (R-AZ) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Hagan (D-NC) Hatch (R-UT) Heitkamp (D-ND) Heller (R-NV) Hoeven (R-ND) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (R-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lee (R-UT) Manchin (D-WV) McCain (R-AZ)

McConnell (R-KY) Moran (R-KS) Murkowski (R-AK) Paul (R-KY) Portman (R-OH) Pryor (D-AR) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Rubio (R-FL) Scott (R-SC) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Tester (D-MT) Thune (R-SD) Toomey (R-PA) Vitter (R-LA) Warner (D-VA) Wicker (R-MS)

The above is a list of senators who think it's just grand to let criminals and people with mental issues carry guns. Hope you'll take a second to drop them a line to tell them what idiots they are. Title this too pissed to blog.