Bugger the bankers!

In a time of deep recession, brought about in part by the headlong scramble by some bankers to make money out of loans that were past their subprime value, it would be nice to think that a kind of patriotic move might not go amiss. The bonus greed currently sweeping the City of London is very unsavoury to say the least. Angela Knight, she of the British Bankers' Association, whines on amount bankers leaving the country if they don't get more money. Even Croesus would have thought better! Well, if they are so hellbent on going, let them go. As George V might have said on his deathbed if confronted by these blackmailing types "Bugger the bankers!". Quite so.

Ron Paul’s Economic Theories Winning GOP Converts

This qualifies for an entry in the Wonders Never Cease Category. It was only a year ago that Ron Paul was being denounced as a nutter and a troublemaker by fellow Republicans. Now they think he's the bee's knees, or at least some of them do. Come next year and the whole party will be transformed into Paulista thinking.

Michele Bachmann, the representative from Minnesota, is so taken with the ideas of Thomas Woods, a conservative writer in the Ron Paul mould, that she felt she had to question Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about economic fundamentals. I bet they were ill-prepared. The more the merrier. Quizzing these cash diverters about how dodgy dollars could possibly make America great again has to be a patriotic duty I'd have thought.

More here, from the Washington Independent.

Ron Paul on the AIG bonuses

Here's Ron Paul talking to CNN about the AIG bonuses. What gets me is the way these presenters keep asking him questions as if he's a bit odd and the system is just having a temporary blip. Why don't they get to grill some of these quacks in Congress that seem to think money grows on trees?



What we have now is legalised crooks being bailed out and the illegal crooks (some kind of oxymoron, I know!) get to go to jail. What's the difference between Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and the ponzi crook, Bernie Madoff? Not a lot, I say.

How come it's OK to bundle up cash into so-called "investment vehicles" and get these vehicles to run around town on a heady high octane gas, crash them into a wall and then find out the vehicle is made of recycled toilet paper. There never was proper money in some cases. However, we are constantly being told we can't let the banks go bust. Why ever not? They are bust now. We are just pouring money into old coffers.

The Bible tells us you can't put new wine into old skins. So why are most Western governments doing just that?

Ping Crosby!

It's definity no laughing matter. Gordon Brown is doing the rounds dishing the dirt on whistleblower Paul Moore's allegations about HBOS. Brown said it was had been investigated by the FSA and found to be without substance. Somehow I don't think that will be the case in further investigations. Interestingly, the FSA today blurted out that they had advised HBOS of the risk element.

Gordon Brown's new spin line is that it was not about risk but that the "whole business model was wrong". He's not really that convincing. This will run a bit longer. I do not think Mr. Moore would say what he said if he had not some substance behind him.

Wiping the smiles from their faces!

Four former bank executives are at this moment being grilled by the Treasury Select Committe. All have said sorry. As I left it, Lord Stevenson was sounding cheerful about future bonus structures. I got the impression they know it went wrong, that they felt it could go wrong, but, like a Las Vegas gambler, they wanted to have one more roll of the dice. Now they can't.

Andy Hornby sounded contrite. I'm not sure about the others. We may all have got wound up in the greedy credit spree and wanted bigger and better houses, bigger cars, and so on. But most of us didn't or couldn't bundle up loans to resell them like some frightful pyramid scheme.

A chap on BBC News suggested that, if this was the USA, these guys could be facing criminal charges for fraud. The trouble with fraud is proving it. Incompetence and a clouded brain are good defences in a court of law. That's why today is such a bind for them. Say they knew about everything and the book could be thrown at them. Come across as if they knew diddley-squat and they will for ever be seen as fools and Clarkson-type idiots!

Banking on patriotism?

Bankers are flocking to the aid of the country! They have a renewed sense of patriotism. They........ I'm dreaming. None of this is true. In fact, they are turning patriotism on its head. Lloyds Bank chief Eric Daniels, who is masterminding his way through piles of cash donated by the Treasury to bail him out of hoplessness defies political reason. He is determined to plough ahead with plans to offer generous payouts to top staff. He has defied advisers who have warned that this will inflame public revulsion over 'rewards for failure'.

What will it take for this insensitive money changer to see sense. People are losing their jobs, are fearful of what is to come for them financially and this snout trougher is carrying on as normal. welll, normal for him. John Sargent was on the Andrew Marr show this morning and, with incredulity in his mind, asked when would the penny drop for these guys. When indeed?

Lord Mandelson is gradually stepping up the pressure on them, but I doubt they will do anything unless forced to. Eric Daniels is a poor sort of patriotic banker. It may get to the stage with riots in the streets. Perhaps he could do the decent thing before he finds his head enmeshed in railings outside his corporate offices?

If his case is that his staff will flee the country if the money boxes don't appear, give them some sort of incentive package that rewards their effort in returning the country to a sound financial footing.

If not, he can sing for his supper!

Ron Paul latest take on the "stimulus" package

Here is Ron Paul, on 7th February, discussing the spending package, which is euphemistically called the stimulus package. Any hope that it will stimulate change is much needed, but it may just stimulate further problems.

Sarkozy's sarcasm for Brown's budget

According to the BBC French President Nicolas Sarkozy has criticised Gordon Brown's economic stimulus plan. In a debate on French TV, Mr Sarkozy, whose handling of France's economy has prompted protests, said the UK's VAT cut had "absolutely not worked".

"Britain is cutting taxes. That will bring them nothing. Consumption continues to decrease," he said. That is very true, as David Cameron told the hapless PM.

I think Brown is just trying to bribe his way out of this mess. At least Sarkozy has the backbone to take the crisis head on, even if people find it hard going. Brown is just pouring money at the problem and gaining little ground. The voters won't thank him if the mess deepens for the majority with the bailed out businesses creaming off the top.

Talking of ground, I saw Lord Adonis on BBC News. His lordship is "talking" to local authorities about the snow. Five days of talking! Talk is cheap, but action is....

British bankers try to deflect the blame!

This is a bit rich. The British Bankers' Association has singled out Robert Peston and the BBC for acting "injudiciously" in reporting the problems at Northern Rock, the Treasury select committee heard. What a cheek! The bankers were propping up this cowboy outfit, knowing all along that it was a South Sea Bubble impersonator, and they have the brass neck to blame somebody else.

Robert Peston said, "Northern Rock, frankly, would have collapsed, it would be where it is today, irrespective of whether there had been that retail run". So come on you bankers. Face the music fairly. You have been greedy. You have been duplicitous. And you have nearly broken the back of the country.

Why should we be so bothered by your blatherings now?

Obama tells executives $500,000 is the limit!

You'd think the average American executive would want to help his/her country in its hour of need. You'd hope so, anyway. Instead they appear to be more like Mr. Drysdale sucking up to rich, inexperienced and naive investors. President Obama is quite right to tell these anti-social trough scoffers that the game is up as far as excessive pay and perks are concerned.

This is not directed at all excutives. Only those who have seriously screwed up and are sticking their fingers in the bailout bowl. I think the president is very much in order telling them that restraint is needed. After all $500,000 is still a fair whack for them to live off.

"People are still getting huge bonuses despite the fact that they’re getting taxpayer money, which I think infuriates the public," Obama has said. It does indeed. It also shows how out of touch these people are with reality. They portray the worst features of human greed and decadence. None of it is for the benefit of others. If it was, they wouldn't be begging for public funds.

Browned off with bailouts?

I've just seen Gordon Brown on television, with Alistair Darling giving appropriate backup. The two are still convinced that throwing money at the problem is the only way out. Some agree, but many more I suspect are either in disagreement or are highly uncomfortable with it all.

Brown looked tired and drawn. If he doesn't get it right soon, he may have to do an Anthony Eden on us. He still blames the banks. He is angry. Well we all are, but he has had access to information we didn't. In August 2007 the sub-prime fiasco blew up in our faces. Ever since, he must have been asking some questions, surely? He just seems to be following events rather than anticipating them or even asking simple questions.

He needs to get those bankers in and put a financial pistol to their heads. And he can bring in Angela Knight in too, of the British Bankers' Association. She was Conservative MP for Erewash and was Economic Secretary to the Treasury in John Major's government. She seems to think more roses are growing in the garden than most of us can see!

We need Ron Paul over here to give us all a pep talk!

Fox News now Ron Paul's biggest fan?

It seems that Ron Paul is pundit number one when it comes to Fox News. Pity they were so down on him during the election. Anyway now they appear to be bending over backwards to give air time.

Here is Ron Paul saying he thinks Barack Obama is right in telling us that things may get worse, but he thinks Obama may be missing a few points. If you want to hear a politician speaking it as it is, here's Ron Paul. If you want a different tack, take up with Gordon Brown and the fairies in Number 10!

Biden gets to see the books!

"There is no short-run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking." So says Joe Biden, Vice-President elect. He and Barack Obama have had a look at the Bush books.

"The economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in,' said Barack Obama's number two in his first TV interview since last month's election triumph. "We've got to begin to stem this bleeding here, and (start) the creation of jobs,' he said. "The day we're sworn in, the thing that we have to worry about is the further collapse of this economy. No president since Franklin Roosevelt would have had such an immediate, urgent obligation." But he and Obama are just carrying on with the bailout baloney.

So we have had fake money going after bad, and now they intend more money to go chasing after the bad. Has anyone considered doing a proper job instead?

Ron Paul economic adviser Peter Schiff was right about, well, everything

According to the The Shotgun Blog on Canada's Western Standard, Ron Paul economic adviser Peter Schiff was right about, well, everything! JC comments on this post "Economically speaking, Schiff and Paul have been dead on with every prediction they've made since about 2000. When will we learn?" When indeed!

I have a hunch that those in power are rather more scared of losing their positions than those of those below them. So they concentrate on bailing out the three car giants of the US, who have CEOs with more front that Sainsbury's, rather than aiming their eyeballs at the profitable businesses and the services that most of us want.

Did it ever occur to the guys on the Hill that Americans bought Japanese cars because they wanted them over the ones GM, Chrysler and Ford were pumping out? JC, you're right. When will we learn?

German finance minister saves the world!

Gordon Brown may think he has saved the world. He may think he has saved the banks. But he hasn't saved the UK economy. Not according to the German finance minister, Peer Steinbruck. He has described Gordon Brown's recovery plans as "breathtaking" and "crass". And to a great extent he has a point. He questioned the effectiveness of the decision to cut VAT from 17.5% to 15%. "Are you really going to buy a DVD player because it now costs £39.10 instead of £39.90?" he said. "All this will do is raise Britain's debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off." Apparently, the 2.5% cut in VAT will cost the UK £12 billion in one year. OK it is a "temporary" move, but surely that money could be well spent elsewhere. After all, it will be money we actually have, not plucked from his money trees that he planted in No.11 Downing Street.

Brown is upset with the minister. I can't think why! It's all his own doing. He failed to see the knock-on effect of the sub-prime fiasco, he dithered over Northern Rock (now into knockdown house auctions!), he waffled about saving the banks and he waffled about the economy as a whole.

He claims to be doing everything whilst the Tories do nothing. The trouble is he is only window-dressing. Like Woolworths, the windows tell one story, but inside it's all getting a bit messy.

Ron Paul on the bailout - a bit more

Ron Paul is maintaining the good work in keeping tabs on various characters, Ben Bernanke being one of them. Here's Ron Paul's latest message (which I've just seen!).



I like this piece - "An essential element of a healthy free market, is that both success and failure must be permitted to happen when they are earned. But instead with a bailout, the rewards are reversed – the proceeds from successful entities are given to failing ones. How this is supposed to be good for our economy is beyond me." It's beyond a great many of us, but these fiscal phonies are really in some kind of dream world.

Here is Ron Paul painting a mental picture for Ben Bernanke. I'm surprised the Federal Reserve Chairman sleeps at night seeing as he's counting all those noughts on the end of the dollar sign!

Ron Paul on Fox Business News

Just before I turn in for the night, this gem from Ron Paul on how not to solve a credit crisis! More for the moral victory, I think.

Ron Paul to win a moral victory?

It could happen. A moral victory in November! Ron Paul is currently winning over more to his views on the economic distress that we all face. This nice piece from RusUSA.com outlines why Ron Paul succeeds where George Bush is failing.

Amid the financial turmoil, the U.S. President George W. Bush daily delivers his views on the nation’s crippled economy. Those who hope to succeed him in office claim only they know how to get America off its knees. But the one winning the public trust battle is congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul.

And why is he winning the public trust? Amanda Pelletier is one month into her first year at university, she is getting a part-time job to help her parents pay a $45,000 college loan. Social circles and date nights now come second for the 18-year old who sees her professional prospects collapsing.

“I feel like Dr Paul's message is the only one that makes sense,” Amanda says. One wonders what would be the Republican party's fortunes at this time if Dr. Paul was the standard-bearer!

Out with the money changers!

Most of us are familiar with the money changers being summarily thrown out of the temple, as described in the New Testament. This current episode of the goings-on of greedy money changers has only one aspect different. Instead of God's House being defiled, it is our own country that has been defiled. However, the results are not too dissimilar.

The Daily Mail had a good headline today. As I went into my local newsagent this afternoon, it was staring up at me from the rack. It screamed at me about bonuses. We have been forced to hand over £37 billion to bankers who have been inept, injudicious and ill-informed. They, in turn, gobbled up £17 billion in bonuses last year.

Now what sort of business loses money, other peoples money, and still has the affrontery to claim justification for such arrant greed?

Gordon Brown is a man with a large vocabulary in his body language. Recently he has taken to impersonating a toothless man attempting to chew gum when confronted with difficult questions. When asked why these people should not repay their bonuses for the good of the nation he simply took on this new aspect of body talk. Again, when asked if anyone was going to be investigated for possible criminal activity (as in the US), he repeated the impersonation.

If these bankers had an ounce of moral fibre they would hand back SOME of this largesse. However, what we find is the sort of behaviour like that of Sir Fred Goodwin, lately of RBS, pleading well into the early hours for his cup to runneth over even now. Some knight!

In all my disgust at their behaviour, I agreed with someone this morning who said, on the radio, that the banks were not wholly to blame. We as borrowers could have said NO. That is very true. However, whilst personal responsibility is usually limited to within the family, corporate responsibility goes much wider.

By taking in the toxic loans, repackaging them, and flogging them off to the next fall guy in the pack, they have destroyed the financial system as we know it. They may not be crooks as a judge would know them, but they have been judged crooks by the outside world.

Ron Paul's take on the Bush "talk"

This is what Ron Paul thinks of things so far! Still aways to go!