Paulson's 'Civic Robbery' To Finance Hyper Inflation

Yesterday (March 31st), Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson announced the laying of the government's foundation stone for the next big financial bubble, heralding an era of hyperinflation and probable further runs on the U.S. dollar.

Of course, like most politics, there is usually a 'good' reason and a 'real' reason for actions. Today's announcement was no exception.

In today's case, the 'good' reason was the effective 'policing' of the financial, derivative, insurance and mortgage markets. Some cynics could be excused for thinking that the so-called 'restructuring' and massive increase in the powers of the Federal Reserve Board were like locking the stable doors after the horses had bolted.

The extension of the 'supervisory' powers of the Fed to non-bank (deposit) financial houses (like stock brokers), derivative dealers, insurance companies, and even to the private, high risk investment companies of the rich, like hedge funds, is dramatic to say the least. But when it is realized that, in return for supervision, the Fed will stand behind those industries as a lender of last resort, the true revolutionary magnitude of today's proposal becomes manifest.

The new initiative was described persuasively as an attempt to 'modernize' our national financial monitoring systems and bring them in line to cope with the free-wheeling cowboy dealings that financed some $26 billion of bonuses paid to Wall Street firms alone in 2007! It all sounded so patriotically 'good' and deserving of massive popular support.

The truth is staggeringly different; so different that it commands a certain admiration for how the political/financial 'pro' Paulson was able to keep a straight face!

The truth, or 'real' reason, should alarm every hardworking American taxpayer who supports the improvement of our country and the handing of a working economy on to our descendants.

Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, more than any two people on earth, were too well aware that two weeks ago, we faced a systemic collapse of our financial system and that it risked spreading to much of the developed world in short order. Further, they knew that their emergency action to salvage Bear Stearns and other troubled brokerage houses would only postpone disaster, not prevent it. What was needed, to stand a chance of long-term survival, was a lender of last resort with massive resources.

When Hank Paulson soothingly mentioned "deleveraging", he knew more than most that it meant some $12 trillion in the residential real estate market alone, excluding the excessive debt in the commercial real estate, auto loan and credit card markets!

In other words, the 'real' problem is far, far larger than the $800 billion balance sheet of the Fed can absorb! This fact alone should provide a salutary shock to investors who still hold U.S. dollar assets. It certainly did for our Treasury and Fed.

The Treasury and Fed realize that, over the past decade, they have pumped in so much money that has, in turn, become excessively leveraged, by banks and derivatives, that the government no longer has the funds available to avert a systemic financial disaster. That sort of mega-money could only be 'captured' directly from American citizens.

Behind Paulson's responsible and pro-active sounding modernization plan is the most cynical plan to rob American citizens further, by making their government, through the Fed, the lender of last resort for Wall Street's Billionaire speculators.

In the last resort, the Fed is financed by the Treasury, which, in turn, is financed by borrowing, taxing many Americans and robbing every single American through the debasement of their hard earned dollars.

Instead of allowing the free market to punish speculators, Paulson is now asking Congress to force the American citizen to stand as a lender of last resort, via the Fed, for the speculators on Wall Street, insurance companies, derivatives and, most amazingly, the most speculative of all rich investors - hedge funds!

Make no mistake, the coming economic storm will be painful for us all. As if to rub salt into the wound, the hard-pressed citizen is now to be forced into bailing out Wall Street with injections not of billions, but of trillions in dollar liquidity.

To make it more politically acceptable, the Government must focus peoples' attention on an attractive use of funds. Green, alternative energy would fit the bill handsomely. Indeed the President has already announced a massive increase in nuclear power generation as a first step.

Soon we should expect to see massive (trillions of dollars) government programs announced and the funding farmed out via the 'needy' on Wall Street.

In the meantime, direct financial aid will be administered via the Fed as lender of last resort.

In addition, we should expect accounting rules to be changed to allow the reality of 'marking to market' to be eradicated, allowing technically insolvent financial institutions to continue their vastly profitable operations.

The economic 'drag' effect of the increased regulation is yet to be seen. But it is likely to prove insignificant when compared to the great latent damage done to the basic productive economy of America by hyperinflation.

First, we should expect a continued erosion of the U.S. dollar as interest rates are lowered further to avert depression and as inflation subsequently morphs into hyperinflation.

Eventually, we should expect massive growth in the dollar earnings of green alternative energy companies as the confiscated largesse of the American citizen is pushed into that sector of the economy.

It remains to be seen whether Congress will authorize the required massive level of trillions of dollars in funding soon enough to avoid the present recession morphing into a depression.

Whatever the result, it is increasingly clear that the government intends to leave it for future generations to pay the 'real' bill for the reckless conduct of Wall Street and our Fed over the past decade.

In the meantime, investors keen to preserve their wealth should look abroad to the productive corporations and currencies of economies that continue to produce more than they consume.

Another take:

“Paulson’s Fixit Plan for Wall Street

By MIKE WHITNEY

It is being billed as a “massive shakeup of US financial market regulation”, but don’t be deceived. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s proposals for broad market reform are neither “timely” nor “thoughtful” (Reuters) In fact, its all just more of the same free market “we can police ourselves” mumbo jumbo that got us into this mess in the first place. The real objective of Paulson’s so called reforms is to decapitate the SEC and increase the powers of the Federal Reserve. Same wine, different bottle. Paulson’s motive is to preempt any regulatory sledgehammer that might descend on the entire financial industry following the 2008 election. There’s growing fear that an incoming Democrat may tote a firehose down to Wall Street.

If Paulson’s plan is approved in its present form, Congress will have even less control over the financial system than it does now and the same group of self-serving banking mandarins who created the biggest equity bubble in history will be able to administer the markets however they choose without the inconvenience of government supervision. That’s exactly what Wall Street, the Treasury Secretary and the folk at the Fed want; unlimited power with no accountability.

Paulson is expected to lay out guidelines and principles that are intended to help regulators supervise the financial markets. According to AFP:

“The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets said the current regulatory structure is working well despite calls by some US lawmakers.”

In other words, the failing banking system, the housing meltdown, and the frozen corporate bond market are all signs of a robust financial system? This may be the most ludicrous statement since “Mission accomplished”. The system is imploding and people are being hurt by the fallout. Thirty years of industry-led lobbying has dismantled the (admittedly frail ad porous) regulatory regime which made US financial markets the envy of the world. Whatever credibility and transparency once existed were washed out in the Clinton era, as with Glass-Steagall and government oversight of the explosive growth of over-the counter derivatives instruments. Now the system is prey to all types of dodgy debt instruments, suspicious “dark pool” trading and off-balance sheets operations which further reinforce the belief that cautious investment is no better than casino gambling.

“The regulatory line of sight today is by the counterparties,” the official said, adding that the guidelines should be “beneficial to industry.” (AFP)

How is that different than saying, “Caveat emptor”? That’s not a motto that inspires confidence. Many people still naively believe that planning their retirement should not have to be a Darwinian tussle with a crafty junk-bond salesman.

Under Paulson’s plan, the Federal Reserve will be granted new regulatory powers, but whatever for? The Fed doesn’t use the powers it has now. No one stopped the Fed from intervening in the mortgage lending fiasco, or the ratings agency abuses or the off-balance sheets shenanigans. They had the authority and they should have used it. The folks at the Fed knew everything that was going on-—including the mushrooming sales of derivatives contracts which soared from under $1 trillion in 2000 to over $500 trillion in 2006-—but they decided to cheerlead from the sidelines rather than do their jobs. The fact is, they were worried that if they got involved they might upset the gravy-train of profits that was enriching their bankster friends.

Former Fed chief Greenspan used to croon like a smitten teenager every time he was asked about subprime loans or adjustable rate mortgages. And, as New York Times columnist Floyd Norris points out, (Greenspan) “praised the growth in the derivatives market as a boon for market stability, and resisted calls to use the Fed’s power to increase regulation.” Of course, he did. It was all part of Maestro’s “New Economy”; trickle-down Elysium, where the endless flow of low interest credit merged with financial innovation to create a Reaganesque El Dorado. There are no regulations in this version of Eden, not even “Don’t bite the apple”. Anything goes and to heck with the public, they can fend for themselves.

Now its Paulson’s job to keep the neoliberal flame lit long enough to make sure that government busybodies and bureaucratic do-goodies don’t upset the cart. That means concocting a wacky public relations campaign to convince the public that Wall Street is not just a pirate’s cove of land-sharks and bunko artists, but a trusted ally in maintaining a strong economy through vital and efficient markets.

The Times’ Norris summed up Paulson’s sham reforms like this:

“The plan has its genesis in a yearlong effort to limiting Washington’s role in the market. And that DNA is unmistakably evident in the fine print. Although the proposal would impose the first regulation of hedge funds and private equity funds, that oversight would have a light touch, enabling the government to do little beyond collecting information - except in times of crisis. The regulatory umbrella created in the 1930s would grow wider, with power concentrated in fewer agencies. But that authority would be limited, doing virtually nothing to regulate the many new financial products whose unwise use has been a culprit in the current financial crisis. (”In Treasury Plan, a Reluctant Eye over Wall Street”, Floyd Norris, New York Times)

What nonsense. The house is on fire and hyperventilating Hank is still wasting our time with this rubbish. The real problem is that Paulson and his buddies at the Federal Reserve think of the financial system as their personal fiefdom so they refuse to loosen their \ grip even though the economy is listing starboard and the water is flooding into the lower decks.

Once again, the New York Times:

“All the checks and balances in the plan reflect the mindset of its architect, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who came to Washington after a long career on Wall Street. He has worried that any effort to substantially tighten regulation could hamper the ability of American markets to compete with foreign rivals.”

No one elected Paulson to do anything. He has no mandate. He is an industry rep. who has worked exclusively for a small group of wealthy investors who have put the entire country at risk with their toxic mortgage-backed bonds, their reckless Ponzi-type speculation, and their off-book chicanery. Paulson should be removed immediately and returned to his wolf’s lair at G-Sax. If Bush is serious about straightening out Wall Street, then bring in Eliot Spitzer. He’s probably available, at least in daytime hours. And he’ll do what it takes to clean house, that is, put a truncheon-wielding robo-cop in every trading-pit at the NYSE, and dispatch government accountants to every office of every CFO making sure they have a Big Red Pen in one hand and a taser in the other. That’s the only way to get the attention of the bandit-class.

“I do not believe it is fair or accurate to blame our regulatory structure for the current turmoil,” says Paulson.

Paulson is wrong. The current turmoil is all about the lack of regulation and he’d better prepare himself for some big changes. The pendulum is already in motion and tighter regulations will soon follow. There needs to be an accounting process for all transactions and capital requirements for every financial institution that creates credit. No exceptions. All of these businesses pose a real danger to the overall system and, therefore, must conform to clearly articulated and strictly enforced rules; no off-balance sheets operations, no dark pool trading, no unregulated derivatives contracts, no level 3 assets, no “mark to model” garbage bonds where CFOs unilaterally decide what they are worth by picking a number out of a hat. Its time to restore order to the markets so retirees and working class families can feel safe investing in their futures. They are the ones who are most hurt by Wall Street’s endless trickery.

Paulson’s plan is a non starter. The era of sandbagging, supply-side banditry is over. Good riddance”

When a “dollar” isn’t a “dollar,” these sorts of things will ALWAYS happen — usually to the REST of us.

(I wrote this a number of years ago when things were NOT going well with the economy. Trust me: They WILL get ugly once again as man — or certain men — cannot resist playing God. We continue to violate the universal, immutable laws of economics at our great peril.)

Despite the apparent economic strength of the American economy, history proves that EVERY house of cards eventually comes down. And the higher the card house, the harder the fall when it finally comes. And when it does, the more freedoms we will voluntarily surrender to “restore order.” It was the Founders’ concern about this historically valid problem which prompted their attempt — now ignored — to keep American “money” sound and honest.) Dick Bachert 1998

* * * * * * * *

The Forgotten History of Money
This is the fascinating story of the efforts by certain of the Founding Fathers to prevent the economic distress we find all about us today. It is also a sad story on the basis that modern, “sophisticated” Americans have abandoned the corrective institutional mechanism that remains in place to this day. As you read it, think about a world with many fewer S&L, banking and political scandals and economic problems now considered the norm.

“Blood running in the streets. Mobs of rioters and demonstrators threatening banks and legislatures. Looting of shop and home. Strikes and unemployment. Trade and distribution paralyzed. Shortages of food. Bankruptcies everywhere. Court dockets overloaded. Kidnappings for heavy ransom. Sexual perversion, drunkenness, lawlessness rampant. The wheels of government are clogged, and we are descending into the vale of confusion and darkness. No day was ever more clouded than the present. We are fast verging on anarchy and confusion. (George Washington in a 1786 letter to James Madison, describing the effects of fiat paper money inflation then ravaging America in the pre Constitutional period.)

“The annihilation (of the paper money) was so complete that barber shops were papered in jest with the bills; and sailors, on returning from cruises, being paid off in bundles of this worthless money, had suits made of it, and with characteristic lightheartedness, turned their loss into frolic by parading through the streets in decayed finery which in its better days had passed for thousands of dollars.” (Contemporary writer, Breck, 1786)

“Paper money polluted the equity of our laws, turned them into engines of oppression, corrupted the justice of our public administration, destroyed the fortunes of thousands who had confidence in it, enervated the trade and husbandry, and the manufactures of our country, and went far to destroy the morality of out people.” (Peletiah Webster, 1786)

At the drafting of the U.S.Constitution, there were many “Friends of Paper Money” present. On August 16, 1787, when the discussion arose on Article 1, Section 8, the proposed wording was this: “The Legislature of the United States shall have the power to...coin money...and emit bills of credit of the United States.”

A hot argument ensued on the power to emit bills of credit, which is another way of saying “printing paper money”.

Here are the actual words James Madison wrote describing the debate in his diary: “Mr.G.Morris moved to strike out *and emit bills of credit.* If the United States had credit, such bills would be unnecessary; if they had not, unjust and useless.

MADISON: Will it not be sufficient to prohibit the making them a tender? This will remove the temptation to emit them with unjust views. And promissory notes in that shape may in some emergencies be best.
MORRIS: Striking out the words will leave room still for notes of a responsible minister which will do the good without the mischief. The monied interest will oppose the plan of the Government, if paper emissions be not prohibited.
COL.MASON: Though he had a mortal hatred to paper money, yet as he could not foresee all emergencies, we was unwilling to tie the hands of the Legislature [Legislature = Congress].
MR.MERCER:(A friend to paper money) It was impolitic...to excite the opposition of all those who were friends to paper money.
MR. ELSEWORTH thought this was a favorable moment to shut and bar the door against paper money. The mischiefs of the various experiments which had been made, were now fresh in the public mind and had excited the disgust of all the respectable part of America. By withholding the power from the new Government, more friends of influence would be gained to it than by almost anything else...Give the Government credit, and other will offer. The power may do harm, never good.
MR.WILSON: It will have a most salutary influence on the credit of the United States to remove the possibility of paper money. This expedient can never succeed whilst its mischiefs are remembered, and as long as it can be resorted to, it will be a bar to other resources.
MR.READ thought the words, if not struck out, would be as alarming as the mark of the Beast in Revelation.
MR.LANGDON had rather reject the whole plan than retain the three words *and emit bills*”.

The motion for striking out carried.

Historian George Bancroft later wrote: “James Madison left his testimony that *the pretext for a paper currency, and particularly for making the bills a tender, either for public or private debts, was cut off.* This is the interpretation of the clause, made at the time of its adoption by all the statesmen of that age, not open to dispute because too clear for argument, and never disputed so long as any one man who took part in framing the constitution remained alive.”

(Bancroft – founder of the U.S.Naval Academy at Annapolis among other accomplishments – wrote a book on this very subject entitled “A Plea for the Constitution of the United States: Wounded in the House of Its Guardians.” During WWII, FDR – a serious friend of paper money – ostensibly to supply the war effort, ordered the printing plates for many historical books smelted. Bancroft’s book was among them. A photocopy of one of the remaining originals can be found here

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=bE7PP1ePQwgC&dq=Constitution+wounded+in+the+house+of+its+guardians&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=iiJ1_2B_IA&sig=ByRM-kVMIDAs4S5OttEqkCXGm8s#PPA4,M1 )

ROGER SHERMAN(1721 1793)should be a name familiar to every American. As familiar as Washington, Madison, Jefferson and Adams. He is the only man to have signed all 4 documents surrounding the formation of the United States of America: The Continental Association of 1774, The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation and The United States Constitution. He was a Judge of the Superior Court in New Haven, Connecticut, serving that office with distinction from 1766 until 1788. He served as Treasurer of Yale University from 1765 to 1776. He was renouned for his high intelligence and unswerving honesty and was described by John Adams “as honest as an angel and as
firm in the cause of American independence as Mount Atlas.” He served in the U.S.Senate from 1791 until his death in 1793.

Why is Roger Sherman*s name unfamiliar? HE WAS AN ENEMY OF PAPER MONEY!! In 1751, Roger Sherman and his brother William sued James Battle for paying a debt to their shop in New Milford, Connecticut, in depreciating paper currency. Over a period of 15 months, Battle had charged “divers wares and merchandizes” amounting to 129 pounds of what
Sherman assumed were pounds of Connecticut “Old Tenor”, a stable currency whose value were well preserved by taxation taking it out of circulation. But Battle assumed the debt was denominated in pounds of ever depreciating Rhode Island currency, tendered in same, and the Shermans took a beating in the payment and sued for recovery of loss by depreciation. The Shermans lost when Battle argued that he was merely following the accepted custom of the day. In 1752, Sherman wrote his book “A Caveat Against Injustice or An Inquiry into the Evils of a Fluctuating Medium of Exchange” indicting UNBACKED PAPER MONEY.

It was this experience that Sherman brought to the Constitutional Convention and prompted him to rise on August 28,1787 and propose new, more restrictive wording to Article 1,Section 10. The standing version under consideration was worded this way: “No state shall coin money; nor grant letters of marque and reprisal; nor enter into any Treaty, alliance, or confederation; nor grant any title of Nobility.” (From Madison’s Notes of the Convention) “Judge Sherman and Mr. Wilson moved to insert the words *coin money* the words *nor emit bills of credit, nor make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts* making these prohibitions absolute, instead of making the measures allowable with the consent of the Legislature of the U.S. Mr. Sherman thought this a FAVORABLE CRISIS FOR CRUSHING PAPER MONEY. If the consent of the Legislature could authorize emissions of it, the friends of paper money would make every exertion to get into the Legislature in order to license it.” Mr. Sherman*s and Mr. Wilson*s motion was quickly agreed to and became the supreme law of the land.

Some additional quotations to ponder:

“All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise not from defects in the constitution or confederation, nor from a want of honor or virtue so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation” (John Adams in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, 1787)

“I deny the power of the general government to making paper money, or anything else, a legal tender.” (Thomas Jefferson)

“You have been doubtless been informed, from time to time, of the happy progress of our affairs. The principal difficulties seem in great measure to have been surmounted. Our revenues have been considerably
more productive than it was imagined they would be. I mention this to show the spirit of enterprise that prevails.” (George Washington in a letter to the Marquis de LaFayette, June 3, 1790 AFTER the United States Constitution prohibited unbacked paper money at Article 1, Section 10)

“Since the federal constitution has removed all danger of our having a paper tender, our trade is advanced fifty percent. Our monied people can trust their cash abroad, and have brought their coin into circulation.” (December 16, 1789 edition of The Pennsylvania
Gazette)

“Our country, my dear sir, is fast progressing in its political importance and social happiness.” (George Washington in a letter to the Marquis de LaFayette, March 19, 1791)

“The United States enjoys a sense of prosperity and tranquility under the new government that could hardly have been hoped for.” (George Washington in a letter to Catherine Macaulay Graham, July 19,1791)

“Tranquility reigns among the people with that disposition towards the general government which is likely to preserve it. Our public credit stands on that high ground which three years ago would have been
considered as a species of madness to have foretold.” (George Washington in a letter to David Humphreys, July 20, 1791)

“It is apparent from the whole context of the Constitution as well as the times which gave birth to it, that it was the purpose of the Convention to establish a currency consisting of the precious metals.
These were adopted by a permanent rule excluding the use of a perishable medium of exchange, such as certain agricultural commodities recognized by the statutes of some States as tender for debts, or the still more pernicious expedient of PAPER CURRENCY.” (Andrew Jackson, 8th Annual Message to Congress, December 5, 1836)

DESPITE WHAT YOU WERE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL, THE HISTORICAL RECORD IS CRYSTAL CLEAR: AMERICA WAS TO HAVE BEEN SPARED THE DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF AN UNBACKED PAPER MONEY SYSTEM. MOST OF THE PROBLEMS WE FACE TODAY CAN BE TRACED TO WHAT ANDREW JACKSON CALLED “THE PERNICIOUS EXPEDIENT OF PAPER MONEY”.

HISTORY TEACHES THAT AN “ARTIFICIAL” MONEY CREATES AN “ARTIFICIAL” WORLD WHERE THE PRICE FOR SOME ITEM...EVEN OUR MOST POPULAR WELFARE “PROGRAM”...CAN BE DEFERRED TO FUTURE GENERATIONS (OUR $11 TRILLION
NATIONAL DEBT) OR PAID WITH A “MONEY” CREATED OUT OF THIN AIR WHICH ROBS THE VALUE FROM THE MONEY WE MIGHT BE UNFORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE IN OUR POCKETS AT THAT MOMENT (INFLATION). AND ONE THING YOU MUST REMEMBER ABOUT INFLATION IS THAT IT IS NOT AN “EQUAL OPPORTUNITY” DESTROYER: THOSE FIRST IN LINE TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THE NEW MONEY ROLLING OFF THE PRESSES (THE MODERN FRIENDS OF PAPER MONEY) HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEND IT BEFORE IT LOSES ITS VALUE. THE LITTLE PEOPLE (THAT’S US, FOLKS!) FARTHEST DOWN THE LINE ARE THE ONES WHO FEEL THE FULLEST EFFECTS OF THIS DESTRUCTIVE PROCESS.

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