Danny B: Financial services reached a point where they represented 19% of GDP. That is a VERY good trick for an industry that doesn't produce anything.
There was no profit to be found so, they originated liar loans to keep an income stream.
That blew up so they sold the loans to GOV.
Still looking for income, they took free money from GOV and re-deposited it with the FED at interest.
Still looking for income, they forced the FED into ZIRP in the hopes that they could find "spread" SOMEWHERE.

Very good!

"The phony left-right paradigm is giving way to something else." - D. B. above

Exactly correct! The left-right paradigm is phony because it includes big government loving Progressives on both sides. What voters desperately need is a choice between a big government Progressive & a small government Constitutionalist... between crony capitalism (or socialism) and true level playing field capitalism... between sound money (gold/silver) & fiat paper money. Sadly, even "Tea Party" politicians fall back into the big government, Progressive trap. After carefully listening to the "Third Party Presidential Debates", only the Libertarian Party & the even smaller Constitution Party are basically on the correct small government path. Other 3rd Parties are also for big government.

Here's something strange. Monti said that Britain should vote on leaving the Eurozone.
Click to view link
"I spent 20 years on the London Metal Exchange"
But, now the London Metal Exchange belongs to China :)
"£47bn a year, 80 per cent of the entire EU take."
Why do I find this hard to believe???

The fact is; a bank is just an information clearinghouse. They don't produce wealth. They don't store wealth. As the information-age streamlines all businesses, banking will shrink enormously. Banks are tasked with ACCURATELY dispensing credit.
Bankers took on the task of hoarding wealth. They generated loans and fees that were not an accurate representation of risk. The banking industry had become so overcrowded that banks became profit-constrained.

Financial services reached a point where they represented 19% of GDP. That is a VERY good trick for an industry that doesn't produce anything.
There was no profit to be found so, they originated liar loans to keep an income stream.
That blew up so they sold the loans to GOV.
Still looking for income, they took free money from GOV and re-deposited it with the FED at interest.
Still looking for income, they forced the FED into ZIRP in the hopes that they could find "spread" SOMEWHERE.

9 banks hold derivatives with a notional value of $ 228 trillion.
Click to view link
So, why are they lusting for a measly $ 2 trillion sitting on the sidelines?
Generating derivatives was an obvious declaration that profit was not to be found in normal bank business.
Way too many banks with way too little honest profit available. The lifeline that keeps giant zombies alive has drained the producing economy. The golden goose has been starved.
The TBTF banks are kicking and clawing their way to the surface at the expense of the little people. The enabler is the central bank.

The banks aren't the only entity that jumped on the money bandwagon.
Hegel, Marx, Keynes and D.C. have had one hell of a party. The bill is coming due.
"When the accrued expenses of the government's entitlement programs are counted, it becomes clear that to collect enough tax revenue just to avoid going deeper into debt would require over $8 trillion in tax collections annually"
Click to view link

Damn, I seem to have gotten sidetracked from UKIP. Just the same, GB has similar problems.
Default will come in good time.

Hi DB,

May I suggest you take a look into mr. Farage and his links to the London City. Here a good start http://dont-tread-on.me/?p=10691

Some quotes;
'UKIP is urging campaigners to remember that the City of London generates thousands of jobs for those outside of the financial sector.'

'my grandfather and father were both stockbrokers and I spent 20 years on the London Metal Exchange. Indeed both of my sons are now in the City, and I want to fight to defend it.'

'This tax {proposed EU Financial Transaction Tax} could cost the City of London an estimated £47bn a year, 80 per cent of the entire EU take.'

'UKIP has just launched its campaign to protect the City of London'

Though I love him bashing the EU there seems more to the man then meets the eye.

Reply from The Daily Bell

We are well aware that Mr. Farage despite his eloquence has a variety of reasons for enunciating various freedom-principles so forcefully.

And that is why we hedged our analysis at the bottom of the article by writing the following:

"But the trend away from bigness remains intact, in our view. UKIP and the US Libertarian Party, no matter how compromised or controlled, are telling us something about the mood of the electorate."

A recommended reading for those who stopped learning after government schools!


'Free Market Revolution will raise the ire of every statist, socialist and crony capitalist. Rand understood-as do the authors of this all-too-timely book-that free markets are, indeed, moral while Big Government is manifestly not.' -Steve Forbes

'A powerful and unapologetic case in support of capitalism. For those who think more government will solve our nation's problems, Free Market Revolution will open your eyes. For those who can already see the light, it will sharpen your vision.' -Peter Schiff

The rise of the Tea Party and the 2010 election results revealed that tens of millions of Americans are alarmed by Big Government, but skeptical that anything can or will be done to stop the growth of the state. In Free Market Revolution, the keepers of Ayn Rand's legacy argue that the answer lies in her inspiring philosophy of capitalism and self-interest-a philosophy that more and more people are turning to for answers.

American Fossil-Fuel Boom is linked to Global Prosperity by DAVE BANKS on NOVEMBER 27, 2012

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