Mailbag Q & A -- 2-17-12

Well its Friday afternoon.. a 3 day weekend approaching with the US market closed on Monday to honor Presidents Day , a holiday we celebrate with sales at department stores and... well, really that's it.

So time for another wonderful, exciting installment of 'Mailbag' where we try to answer questions as concisely and truthfully as possible.. ~rubs hands together..  let's just delve in...

Q:  I disagreed with your last posting on 'Hope'.  I think Hope is wonderful and vitally important.  Without it, I probably would not have won election and I think we all can agree we're much better off for it.   Speaking of which, how do you see my chances in the upcoming election? -- B.O.  Washington, DC

A: Well B.O., "Hope" is a wonderful thing when a child possesses it.  The innocent naivete they demonstrate to the realities of the world is quite sweet and precious.   In an adult, its simply repugnant.

As for your chances at re-election, under normal circumstances, it should be a slam-dunk that you'd be a one-term President.  You are fortunate that the Republican party does not have a single candidate who's genuinely in touch with economic Reality, nor ethical enough to be trusted to be any different than you've been. Let's admit it Mr President, with the exception of gay rights and abortion, your policies are truly no different than George W Bush.

You really do not deserve that 'D' next to your name.

~ Andrew Jackson (7th President)-- vetoed the Bank of the United States in 1832 because it hurt the farmer and everyday man at benefit of the banker & financier; a great President

Q:  So tired of all the non-stop doom and gloom coverage about Greece and how you attack the stock market.  Today we almost reached the 13,000 mark which is the best in nearly four years.  Its going to keep climbing and nothing you can do about it.  How do you like dem' apples?  -- Gree D. Fooker, New York City

A:  Perhaps you could bring those 'apples' over here so I could take a mallet and smash them into applesauce.   Oh, I kid, I kid..   Anyways, where to begin--  if not for the Fed Reserve spending Trillions to prop up the most evil, soulless vile people's means of making a living (people like you Mr. Fooker), the Dow would be around 6,000.  That would accurately reflect the True state of the US economy.  Second, we shall see who laughs last by late March when Greece defaults chaotically, the banks & investors take a bloodbath and triggers a much needed market adjustment i.e. crash.

So I 'Hope' you're invested heavily Mr. Fooker... 

~ Pres. John Tyler (10th President)-- vetoed Second Bank of United States in 1841 for same reasons as Jackson, first VP to become Pres. establishing the right of succession, annexed Texas

Q:  I love playing the stock market.. I guess you could say I am addicted to it, much like a junkie needs a fix or alcoholic needs a drink.  I just Have to be investing or I will go nuts.  So if you had to invest in something, and I mean Had to, like as if your life was dependent on it, where would you put your money? -- "Stumpy", Boston, MA

A:  Well Stumpy, that's a difficult question because I can not begin to relate to the addiction you possess.  The need to constantly put your money at risk and always seek out profit, I can not begin to relate to, since unlike you, I am quite content inside and do not have the empty hunger you are consumed with.  But I will indulge you.. if I had to invest, as in Had to, I'd invest in dollar store-related stocks because in this depression, $1 is an attractive amount to spend on greeting cards toiletries and whatever else is sold there. Those businesses are not collapsing anytime soon.

Happy gambling... um.. I mean investing!

~ Teddy Roosevelt (26th President)-- broke the Trust which were large corporations holding too much power such as Standard Oil & 1st Pres. to deal positively with Unions; Great man

Q:  You seem to get down on America in your postings sometimes, and even as a non-American, I get bummed oout.  What's it all aboot?  -- "Ottawa Otto", Ottawa, Canada

A:  Appreciate the Q because it gives me a chance to clarify some things.  I love America.  Very much in fact.  I won't wave a flag, say 'We're #1' and act haughty.. but overall, I love America;  love its history, its land, its spirit.

That said, I deeply dislike America's political leadership-- both in the past and the present.  Hate the two-party system that says only 'A' or 'B' is electable.  Also hate the mindset they brainwash upon people that when deciding a course of action, its 'A' or 'B'... never room for an option 'C' or 'D'.

Also hate its economic system.  They call it capitalism-- its not.  Capitalism is wonderful and is the most democratic means of people getting ahead and making a better lives for themselves and their families.  But like I said, that's not what America practices.  Instead the US applies "uber-capitalism" or ultra-capitalism or 'trickle down' capitalism.  Wealth is held in abundance by the very top 1% and the only way the bottom 99% can benefit and economically grow is if the elite 1% can control or profit from the means.

Think of it as a pizza pie.  The top 1% take 7/8ths of the slices.  The rest have to fight and scratch and claw for a slither of the remaining slice.  And if lucky, the elite will toss down some leftovers for the masses to fight each other over.. like rats.  The 1% control finance.. control the markets... control politicians and control elections.

The bottom 99%  seem to be too busy eeking by a living, trying hard to compete with their family and neighbors to buy/possess the most expensive 'stuff', and/or distracted by sports, entertainment and mindless celebrity gossip to gather together and try to change the system for their benefit.

So in summary Otto, I love America & love capitalism.  But i deeply dislike American political leaders, hate the bastardized form of capitalism which is in play and feel great frustration that so many people choose to be self-centered ostriches.

~ FDR (32nd President) -- his 'New Deal' policies got millions back to work at fair wages; instituted social safety nets; popular enough to win four terms in office; a super-Great Pres..

Well, that's all the time we have for mailbag...  a long weekend awaits...

WWII history- Bank for International Settlements

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an intergovernmental organization of central banks. It fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves basically as a bank for central banks.  It is not accountable to any national government and provides banking services, but Only to central banks, or to international organizations like itself.  It is based in Basel, Switzerland.

Its origins and history are interesting and quite disgraceful...

The BIS was formed in 1930, established between Montagu Norman the then-Governor of The Bank of England,  and Hjalmar Schacht, his German counterpart who later served as Adolf Hitler's finance minister. The Bank was originally intended to facilitate reparation payments imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War.

~ Montagu Norman, Governor- Bank of England

During the period 1933–45, the board of directors of the BIS included Emil Puhl and Walter Funk, a prominent Nazi official, who were both convicted at the Nuremberg trials after World War II.  In addition was Herman Schmitz the director of IG Farben and Baron von Schroeder, the owner of the J.H.Stein Bank, the bank that held the deposits of the Gestapo.  It is alledged that the BIS had helped the Germans loot assets from occupied countries during World War II.

As a result of these allegations, at the Bretton Woods Conference in July 1944, Norway proposed the "liquidation of the Bank for International Settlements at the earliest possible moment". This resulted in the BIS being the subject of a disagreement between the American and British delegations. The liquidation of the bank was supported by other European delegates, as well as the United States but opposed by John Maynard Keynes, head of the British delegation.

~ John Maynard Keynes

The dissolution of the BIS was eventually approved. however the liquidation of the bank was never undertaken.  The British delegation did not give up trying to prevent the bank's dissolution and still had not yet been accomplished when Roosevelt died in April 1945.  New president Harry S. Truman and the British agreed to suspended the dissolution and the decision to liquidate the BIS was officially reversed in 1948.

Currently, the BIS is composed of 60 member central banks or monetary authorities.

~  Makes one wish FDR had lived...

Obama's Grand failure: ignoring FDR's achievements

When I look at Obama's handling of the current recession, now in its 3rd year, it is remarkable how a liberal Democrat has refused to take any pages from the Franklin D. Roosevelt 'playbook' as to how to turn around the economy and ease the suffering of millions of Americans who's lives are being destroyed through little to no fault of their own.

Roosevelt was very pro-active in his desire to help the poor and suffering during the Depression. In 1934, in a radio address, FDR basically said, that if the private sector can not or will not provide jobs to Americans willing and able to work, then there is no alternative but for the government to do it.  

And so he did... It is called "the New Deal"  And these programs enlisted millions of Americans eager and willing to work, and while it gave back pride and dignity back to people who were now able to pay their bills, make their mortgage payment and put food on the table, the New Deal programs also assisted in making great contributions to strengthening and improving the fundamentals of this nation.

Some of FDR's most successful programs included:

CCC - Civilian Conservation Corps- This work relief program had the desired effect and provided jobs for many Americans during the Great Depression. The CCC was responsible for building many public works and created structures and trails in parks across the nation.

CWA - Civil Works Administration- Created in create jobs for the unemployed. Its focus was on high paying jobs in the construction arena 

FHA - Federal Housing Administration- Agency created to combat the housing crisis of the Great Depression. The large number of unemployed workers combined with the banking crisis created a situation in which banks recalled loans. The FHA was designed to regulate mortgages and housing conditions.

FSA - Federal Security Agency- Had the responsibility for several important government entities. Until it was abolished in 1953, it administered social security, federal education funding, and food and drug safety.

HOLC - Home Owner's Loan Corporation- Created in 1933 to assist in the refinancing of homes. Between 1933 and 1935 one million people received long term loans through the agency that saved their homes from foreclosure.

PWA - Public Works Administration- A program created to provide economic stimulus and jobs; was designed to create public works and continued until the US ramped up wartime production for World War II. 

SSA - Social Security Act- Designed to combat the widespread poverty among senior citizens. The government program provided income to retired wage earners. The program has become one of the most popular government programs and is funded by current wage earners and their employers. 

TVA - Tennessee Valley Authority- Established to develop the economy in the Tennessee Valley region which had been hit extremely hard by the Great Depression. The TVA was and is a federally owned corporation that works in this region to this day. It is the largest public provider of electricity in the United States.

WPA - Works Progress Administration-  As the largest New Deal Agency, the WPA impacted millions of Americans. It provided jobs across the nation. Because of it, numerous roads, buildings, and other projects were completed. It was renamed the Works Projects Administration in 1939. It officially ended in 1943.

~  It doesn't matter your political persuasion, who you voted for, etc.. and yes we all know both parties are rotten to the core, but ask yourself this one question and really think on it..  What specifically has Obama done to improve the lives of everyday Americans, particularly the unemployed in the fashion that FDR did 70years ago?