Tag Archives: usury

On the SIN of Usury

07 Monday Oct 2019

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Sin. Vox Day leans on a heavy hitter to make an obvious point.

As is so often the case, it profits those of us whose understanding of a given topic is insufficient to consider what Thomas Aquinas has to say on the subject:

To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this is to sell what does not exist, and this evidently leads to inequality which is contrary to justice. …

It’s safe to assume that the same nuts not happy about America minding its own business, militarily, will dismiss the idea that selling literal nothingness is wrong.

Shifty Little Lies

23 Monday Sep 2019

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The liars tell them. Ken Fisher, who makes a healthy living off of usury, defends usury.

America’s massive debt will doom us. That’s common wisdom, but wrong.

In Manhattan, a giant clock displays not only the total – almost $23 trillion for now – but your share, ticking up every second. Pundits say it’s trouble. But U.S. debt fears have lurked forever, and those troubles are no closer now than decades ago. In some ways, they’re further off.

Here’s how to see that, using tools that show when debt truly becomes problematic.

The $23 trillion total seems jaw-dropping but says little about what really matters: How readily Uncle Sam can pay the piper.

Pundits cite our debt-to-GDP ratio as evidence of a debt addiction. With $21 trillion of GDP, that ratio is 103% — lower than Italy’s and Japan’s, but higher than Germany’s and Britain’s. Debt topping GDP sounds dire. But that’s misleading. The federal government itself owns more than a quarter of U.S. debt, money the government essentially owes itself. It’s an accounting entry. As an asset and a liability, it effectively cancels out. Otherwise, net outstanding public debt is $16.7 trillion— 76% of GDP. That’s still unimportant.

All deceit. Notice the de-link from “we owe it to ourselves” (a lie) to “government owes itself” (also a lie)? So, so clever. If it canceld out, it would have been canceled out. We’ve covered that before. Fisher – you may have seen one of his clever commercials on CNBC – is like a puff of smoke next to the Wizard’s grand, booming presentation (of lies).

Believe a con artist salesman who makes a living selling lies (and usury), or believe the worst of our enemies, who sometimes manage to tell a little self-interested truth. Says the BIS:

“The room for monetary policy maneuver has narrowed further. Should a downturn materialize, monetary policy will need a helping hand, not least from a wise use of fiscal policy in those countries where there is still room for maneuver.

Against this backdrop, sovereign bond yields naturally declined further, at times driven by the prospect of slower economic activity and heightened risks, at others by central banks’ reassuring easing measures. At one point, before the recent uptick in yields, the amount of sovereign and even corporate bonds trading at negative rates hit a new record, over USD 17 trillion according to certain estimates, equivalent to roughly 20% of world GDP. Indeed, some households, too, could borrow at negative rates. A growing number of investors are paying for the privilege of parting with their money. Even at the height of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007-09, this would have been unthinkable. There is something vaguely troubling when the unthinkable becomes routine,” Borio warned.

“Vaguely troubling,” this worst downturn in recorded history. Any “countries where there is still room for maneuver” best wise up. That ain’t us, so no need to worry about it. We owe it themselves.

American Values Confirmed

21 Sunday Jul 2019

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Just as everyone ignored the evil of Epstein (and Co.), so everyone ignores the flip side of the deal – the debt.

The rapidly expanding national debt has seemingly been a virtual non-issue so far in the 2020 presidential campaign.

None of the 20 Democratic candidates taking part in the debates later in July touch the national debt issue on their campaign websites, a Daily Caller News Foundation review of their sites found.

The “Promises Kept” section on President Donald Trump’s reelection website makes no mention of the national debt.

The candidates aren’t the only ones ignoring the issue, either. None of the moderators for the first two Democratic presidential debates asked any questions about the national debt.

Usury and child abuse… Somebody update those old Norman Rockwell posters.

20 Trillion Reason$ to Love Government

21 Thursday Jul 2016

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Democrats are (once again) celebrating Hillary’s inexplicable ability to avoid the jailhouse. Republicans are celebrating Trump for Trump’s sake. It’s so exciting!

They should all take a brief pause to celebrate a mutual achievement, many years in the making. The on-books U.S. federal debt has hit TWENTY TRILLION DOLLARS ($20,000,000,000,000)!!!! Hooray for government!

Actually, it’s a hair under $19.4 Trillion. Or, it was; it has gone up many millions of dollars while I’ve been typing these sentences. But, heck, I’m celebrating early. Here’s where it stood just a minute or two ago:

nimbus-image-1469105193964

Courtesy: U.S. Debt Clock.

Yes, your “share” of the debt is almost $60,000. Each one of your children “owes” $60,000 – today – tomorrow (hell, later this morning) it will be more.

The debt, if it must be divvied up, should be allocated among about 600 corrupt men and women – the President, members of Congress, Treasury officials, and Fed Governors. They each “owe” roughly $32.33 Billion. By the way, $19.4T is about 105% of our GDP.

That’s just for the federal debt, as officially and wrongly accounted. The total on-book liabilities including state, corporate, and your own debts comes closer to $66 Trillion (358% of GDP).

These are big numbers. They keep getting bigger.

A more honest accounting figures in the total of all liabilities like Medicare and Social Security shortcomings, which must under law be paid … somehow. The net present value of those liabilities is over $100 Billion (554% GDP). And, that’s what we owe, and need the money on hand to pay off, today. We’re in the hole. Deep.

Then, for honesty’s sake and as a precaution, one should calculate in the U.S. derivatives market. That means all of the side bets made by banks, insurance companies, and different funds – a sort of end around the Fed to create more money than really exists. That number is over $420 Trillion (what’s the point% of GDP). The global derivatives exposure pushes the number well over $1 QUADRILLION (Ha Ha % of GDP)! These extraordinary inclusions are important and necessary because, though they are private and fictitious, in the event of eventual default or collapse, they will be placed on the backs of the people. The banks are too big to fail, remember. Your share of that is something like $3,125,000. Got your checkbook ready, just in case???

Now for some predictions by me.

Presidents tend to serve two terms almost as a rule these days. I’d say there is, right now, a 65% chance Donald John Trump will be the 45th President. At the end of his second term the “official” U.S. debt will probably be somewhere around $40 Trillion. In the off-chance Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected, at the end of her second term the debt will also be about $40 Trillion. Again, that’s the loosely accounted debt. The real figure will be closer to a quarter Quadrillion, the hypothetical deviratives-based debt exposure closer to $2Q.

None of this will ever be paid. These numbers exceed the GDP of the entire world. The higher numbers are likely equal to, or exceed, the value of the entire earth and its contents. The only way to pay off such ridiculous amounts would be to print more money – which would have to be accounted as additional debt. Hilarious.

The politicians and the banksters would be content to let this cycle go on forever if that were possible. It is not. The people, the majority, don’t understand or care. It doesn’t hit home until the lights go out and the grocery store is derelict – ask those in Venezuela.

The only sane solution is to blank the books – entirely. The whole of all the debts should be repudiated and forgotten. This will happen at some point. It has to. We might as well make it an official decision. Thereafter, it might be wise to make debt illegal. How about a war on debt!? Debt issuance, by governments, banks, etc., could (should) be a felony; debt creation via usury and creation of supply inflating, funny money – capital felonies.

If that were now the law, we would need about 600 tall trees and 600 lengths of good rope. I think you’ll admit those are far easier and cheaper to come by than your $60,000 alternatives.