Fatboy Sez

2010-10-20

The Bottomless Pit that is US Unemployment

The US needs to create approx. 150,000 new jobs every month just to keep pace with the new entrants into the labor force. Over eight million jobs have been lost during the recession. To get the levels of unemployment back to pre-recession levels, 300,000 new jobs would have to be created every month for the next forty eight months. Or over 200,000 new jobs created every month for the next 120 months to return to pre-recession levels
more:
"If you add in discouraged workers, the underemployed, and those working part time who would rather be working full time, the true number of unemployed is closer to 30 million, or about one in five working age Americans. Never mind the statistics that the government pumps out monthly are meaningless. They have been for decades.
The real problem is that the economy is obliterating jobs far faster than anyone realizes."
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/why-nonfarm-payroll-figures-are-meaningless

2010-10-19

Over $26 million paid to doctors in California alone by Big Pharma to promote their drugs

In an earlier post, I provided a link to an article by Dr. Carl Elliot titled "How to brand a disease, and sell a cure." ( http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/11/elliott.branding.disease/) Dr. Elliot laid out the tactics used by Big Pharma to create the conditions for their prescription meds to sell themselves. He compared these tactics to those made popular by Edward Bernays and used by Joesph Goebbels.

Today Pro Publica goes deeper into this subject and lists the amount paid by Big Pharma to states and MD's alike. Not only was $26 million to MD's in the state of California but, according to Pro Publica Dr. Firhaad Ismail of Nevada received $303,558.00 from Big Pharma in 2009 and early 2010 barely beating Dr. Stephen H. Landy from Tennessee who received $302,125.00 for the top spot.

Much more information in the article including a tool to enter your doctor's name to find out if he or she received compensation from Big Pharma to promote, sell their meds.

As Bernays said "In almost every aspect of our lives whether in the sphere of politics or business in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind."

http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/

Treasury Secretary Geithner wins liar of the month. Congrats Timmy!

"Given all the problems with foreclosures, it might seem hard to pick a winner for the lie of the month contest. However, fraud and lies are not the same thing, but even if they were, Geithner is up to the task."

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/lie-of-month-geithner-says-us-will-not.html

2010-10-18

Tim Geithner is a liar

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vowed on Monday that the United States would not devalue the dollar for export advantage

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_usa_dollar_geithner;_ylt=As0Qok3eSsiIQD0d3N7_0Cys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNxcXJwcGJwBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAxMDE5L3VzX3VzYV9kb2xsYXJfZ2VpdGhuZXIEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM3BHBvcwM0BHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDZ2VpdGhuZXJ2b3dz

2010-10-17

I'm a Chiquita banana and I've come to say, we stole the land from Guatemala with the help of the CIA

The last post I touched briefly on the CIA/Chiquita banana/Edward Bernays overthrow of the first democratically elected leader of Guatemala, Jacoba Arbenz Guzman who in 1951 was elected with 60% of the votes. Guzman pissed the Chiquita Banana's off with his program of land expropriation of only uncultivated portions of large plantations. Owners of expropriated land were compensated according to the worth of the land claimed in May 1952 tax assessments. Chiquita banana's had claimed on their 1952 tax statements their vast holdings of uncultivated land were worth $3 per acre. Guzman's government was prepared to pay Chiquita the $3 per acre when Chiquita said "wait a minute, that land is actually worth $75 an acre" but refused to explain the precipitous jump in its own determination of the land's value. Eisenhower, fresh off his successful coup/overthrow of Iran's Mossadegh was convinced by Chiquita and Bernays to aid in the overthrow of Guzman.

In 1954, Operation Washtub was launched by the CIA at the behest of the Chiquita banana's and the assistance of Edward Bernays. Operation Washtub was a plan to plant phony Soviet arms in Guatemala, linking the Guzman government to the commies to therefore show an imminent threat to the US southern borders from the Guzman government. But, a shipment from Czechoslovakia with a falsified manifesto containing WW II era, barely functional arms was discovered and Washtub was scrubbed. This was seen as the final proof of Guzman's Soviets contacts and the coup was implemented, Guzman fled and Chiquita Brands International has gone on make a fortune. Never buy Chiquita banana's again.

We are human beings, not consumers.

“We must shift America from a needs to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. Man’s desires must overshadow his needs.”
Paul Mazer, a Wall Street banker 1933

"We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy’s side of the front is always propaganda, and what is said on our side of the front is truth and righteousness, the cause of humanity and a crusade for peace."
Walter Lippman

Most if not all of you have heard of Sigmund Freud. Many of you have heard of his nephew Edward Bernays. In his obituary Edward Bernays was referred to as "the father of public relations".Bernays felt that the public's democratic judgment was "not to be relied upon" and he feared that "they [the American public] could very easily vote for the wrong man or want the wrong thing, so that they had to be guided from above". He felt this manipulation was necessary in society, which he regarded as irrational and dangerous. Sounds like a paranoid control freak to me. An extremely wealthy paranoid, control freak.

One of Bernays' most extreme political propaganda activities were said to be conducted on behalf of the Chiquita Brands International company and the US govt. to facilitate the successful overthrow of the democratically elected president of Guatemala, Jacob Guzman. Bernays propaganda labelling Guzman as a communist was published in major US media creating public support among US citizens for the overthrow of the democratically elected Guzman. With Guzman out of the picture, this allowed Chiquita Brands to exploit the virtual slave labor in Guatemala in order to produce cheap bananas for the lucrative U.S. market. Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Paul Joesph Goebbels used Bernays' book Crystallizing Public Opinion as a basis for his destructive campaign against the Jews of Germany. In a recent article by Dr. Carl Elliot, Dr. Elliot states that the methods of propaganda used by Bernays and Goebbels are now being used by the pharmaceutical industry in what is known as "disease branding." http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/11/elliott.branding.disease/

Branding bacon and eggs as a "healthy" American breakfast and encouraging women to smoke cigarettes often and openly in public overcoming a then social taboo are more of Bernays' accomplishments. Following are some selected quotes of Bernays' (and you thought it was George Bush who coined the phrase "make the world safe for democracy") and links to the award winning 2002 documentary series "The Century of the Self" by Adam Curtis, which I'm sure many of you are familiar with. If not, please take the time to view this fascinating four part documentary series each running approximately sixty minutes. As you're watching, or if you choose not to watch, remember, we are human beings, not consumers. As always, thanks for reading.

"When I came back to the United States, I decided that if you could use propaganda for war, you could certainly use it for peace. And 'propaganda' got to be a bad word because of the Germans using it, so what I did was to try and find some other words so we found the words 'public relations'."

"I was at the 1926 Paris Peace conference. Make the world safe for democracy was the big slogan"

"Those who manipulate the unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested largely by men we have never heard of… In almost every act of our lives whether in the sphere of politics or business in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind."
-Edward Bernays-

Part 1 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1122532358497501036#docid=6718420906413643126
Part 2 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-678466363224520614#
Part 3 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4059451562019895635#
Part 4 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1122532358497501036#

2010-10-15

Bernanke is a liar and a money printer

I first heard the "liar and money printer" from Marc Faber. He wasn't speaking about Bernanke personally, what he said was "all bankers are liars and all central bankers are liars and money printers." After watching, listening to Bernanke these last few years, I have to agree with Faber. Bernanke's speech this morning hints at more money printing. As this is being done, fingers continue to be pointed at China for "currency manipulation." And what is more printing from Bernanke but currency manipulation?

2010-10-13

Anna Schwartz: Bernanke is fighting the last war..

Published two years ago in the WSJ. Probaly the best article I've read on this subject.

"This was [his] claim to be worthy of running the Fed," she says. He was "familiar with history. He knew what had been done." But perhaps this is actually Mr. Bernanke's biggest problem. Today's crisis isn't a replay of the problem in the 1930s, but our central bankers have responded by using the tools they should have used then. They are fighting the last war.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122428279231046053.html

Donate $3 and register to win a trip to Vegas to meet the President? Michelle Obama thankful for clean spirits around her?

Please donate $3 or more to be automatically entered to win a trip to Las Vegas to meet me backstage:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Backstage

I hope to see you out there,

President Barack Obama

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and: "..people who are keeping the spirits clean around us," First Lady Michelle Obama said

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/10/13/michelle_obama_it_means_the_world_that_there_are_prayer_circles_out_there.html

also: Obama “there’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/president-obama-looks-forward-and-back/

finally: Obama’s approval rating fell to a new low of 43 percent since he took office, down from 47 percent last month, according to a Reuters-Ipsos national poll.

Ipsos pollsters say it appears that much of that drop comes from Democrats whose approval of Obama fell to 70 percent from 78 percent last month.
http://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2010/10/13/reuters-ipsos-poll-obama-approval-drops-to-43-pct-driven-by-democrats/

Fatboy here. That 70% approval among democrats probably has Brand Obama very concerned.

p.s. Fatboy voted for Obama

What does that have to do with the price of anchovies in Peru?

I know there’s the myth of the autonomous Fed… [short laugh] and when you go up for confirmation some Senator may ask you about your friendship with the President. Appearances are going to be important, so you can call Ehrlichman to get messages to me, and he’ll call you.

Richard Nixon to Arthur Burns

Arthur Burns. Born April 27, 1904. Died June 6, 1987. Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1970 to 1978. Nominated to the post of Fed Chairman by a criminal, Dick Nixon. Birds of a feather flock together. After Burns was sworn in, Dick Nixon told the assembled crowd of leering, drooling pigmen "I respect his independence. However, I hope that independently he will conclude that my views are the ones that should be followed." The crowd of pigmen then cheered "You see, Dr. Burns, that is a standing vote for lower interest rates and more money."

Back in the early 1970s, when both energy and food prices were soaring, Burns needed a lower measure of inflation so that he could justify not pushing interest rates as high as they should have been. When oil prices surged in 1973-74, Burns asked the Fed's economists to strip out energy from the consumer-price index (CPI). to get a “less distorted measure of inflation.” Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop with just oil - food prices were stripped out too, Burns claimed the disappearance of anchovies off the coast of Peru was the cause of food inflation, and beyond the Fed’s jurisdiction, followed by used cars, children's toys, jewelry, housing and so on, until about half the costs consumers battled in their daily struggle with rising prices.

Subsequent administrations continued to tinker with inflation calculations, in ever more creative ways. In 1983, the BLS decided that “owner equivalent rent” was a better way to measure the housing-cost component of the Consumer Price Index, replacing the actual cost of owning a home with an estimate of what the house might cost to rent. Their justification being: "The owner's equivalent rent index measures the change in the rental income foregone by a household that chooses to occupy a dwelling that it owns. This measure is used because the alternative of measuring acquisition costs of residences is conceptually inappropriate for the CPI. The CPI tracks the change in the cost of living, that is, in the cost of current consumption. Yet investment considerations play a large role in acquisitions of residences. Moreover, unlike money spent on items that do not hold their value, money that is spent to acquire a residence is not "gone" in the sense that it cannot be reclaimed. Money spent on a residence usually can be recovered - often with a profit - by selling".

A full rebuttal can be found at http://caps.fool.com/blogs/the-bea-pretends-stupider-than/35057

Sentence #1. The owner's equivalent rent index measures the change in the rental income foregone by a household that chooses to occupy a dwelling that it owns. This sentence, restated in plain English, takes us to the never-never land of would-be incomes and would-be economic activities - things that a statistician worth his salt should never even consider. The world of lost opportunities is always endless.

The manipulation of statistics, numbers and data to serve political ends is non-partisan. This is used to enhance GDP and mask inflation among other ends. The masking of inflation is then used not only as Burns did and Bernanke is doing now by keeping rates artificially low, but also for not raising cost of living allowances to retirees and others. For the second year in a row, there won’t be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security. So seniors, savers earning 1% on their CD's will now see another year of no COLA. But the banks are healthy borrowing taxpayer money at zero, buying US debt for a few percent more then selling that same debt back to the Federal Reserve for another loan at 0% to buy more US debt. Wash, rinse and repeat. No job growth. No wage growth.

2010-10-12

Death of Bretton Woods 2?

One hobby of mine is to find, read books and papers on economic or social theory that are five, ten or twenty years old. It gives a good insight to the authors ability to discern the future or future trends and whether or not to read their more current works. Three examples would be:

Unholy Wars written by John K. Cooley published in 1999. Has a picture of Bin Ladin on the front.

The Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe. Published in 1997. Chapter ten is prescient.

Last and least, Yen! Japan's new financial empire and its threat to America! by Daniel Burstein. Published in 1990. First paragraph of Yen! "November 2004. America, battered by astronomical debts and reeling from prolonged economic decline, is gripped by a new and grave economic crisis. Like all such events, the causes are multiple and complex. But the president-elect and the voters who chose him by a landslide see only a single cause and a single culprit for America's problems: the Japanese."
In fairness to Mr. Burstein, he wasn't that far off. Add an election cycle or two, change Japan to China, yen to yuan and poof! He'd be a guru.

Five year old paper from Roubini and Setser. One who I can tolerate, the other I detest. I'm barely into it but I find it interesting so far. Fifty five pages:
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:Pl4_Me98Lj0J:citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.127.3567%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf+Bretton+Woods+2&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg9cxiSM6fiGCuQQm-tGr6f4xrfRPGBEoRk_yrfN32Y8Fmk4onAC7T-qQmnpuKDSrA4DDVgneKIJgi0-p0a5Mp0GiUXKbbg2RkpVuFOOzhTExttfuHVZ_70w76oyHvthFLNdiz9&sig=AHIEtbSBwWF8BwwM36EHap3zk-cPVZyhaA

How to create an American job

Great article by Andy Grove from last summer. When a billionaire calls for changes that would cost him money, I listen

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-01/how-to-make-an-american-job-before-it-s-too-late-andy-grove.html

Bizzare

Albino body parts are sold for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in parts of Africa
Thousands of albinos are estimated to live in hiding.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20101011/D9IPJ1O80.html

2010-10-11

Rampant foreclosure fraud

Best post I've read on this issue.

http://rortybomb.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/foreclosure-fraud-for-dummies-1-the-chains-and-the-stakes/

CSPAN video on currency wars

Desmond Lachman of the AEI makes some good points Video approx. 43 minutes

more currency wars mumbo jumbo

Consider the enormity of the situation at hand. The Federal Reserve is poised to crank up the printing press for the sake of satisfying their domestic mandate. One mechanism, perhaps the only mechanism, by which we can expect meaningful, sustained reversal from the current set of imbalances is via a significant depreciation of the dollar. The rest of the world appears prepared to fight the Fed because they know no other path

http://economistsview.typepad.com/timduy/

Good morning. Very good article on currency wars.

Currency – The Weapon of Choice in Trade Wars in a World of Lower Demand
http://www.eurointelligence.com/index.php?id=581&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2918&tx_ttnews[backPid]=901&cHash=8989e62bf2

and this:

The atomic bomb, of course, is quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve. America has in effect issued an ultimatum to China and G20: either you stop this predatory behaviour and agree to some formula for global rebalancing, or we will deploy QE2 `a l’outrance’ to flood your economies with excess liquidity. We will cause you to overheat and drive up your wage costs. We will impose a de facto currency revaluation by more brutal and disruptive means, and there is little you can do to stop it. Pick your poison.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8054066/Currency-wars-are-necessary-if-all-else-fails.html

and something on China's options regarding their holdings of US debt

http://www.brookings.edu/testimony/2010/0225_us_china_debt_prasad.aspx