Free Republic

If there's one thing the Chinese can count on from their government, it's theft. For millennia, the unelected despots of China have robbed their people of their money. The communists are doing it today. There are four state banks in China, and there is no other place that is allowed to take money on deposit. These banks pay virtually no interest, and no deposit in any bank controlled by communists is safe. If the government needs to, it'll just take it. All this money is being used right now in service of whatever goal the communists choose. There is no...

NEW YORK - Investors expect robust demand for the Treasury Department’s new $20 billion issue of 20-year bonds, set to launch Wednesday, from U.S. institutions, foreign investors and other market participants. The government’s borrowing needs have jumped dramatically in recent weeks, after Congress authorized trillions in spending to fend off an economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic, which has slammed U.S. growth. The U.S. plans to sell a total of $54 billion of the 20-year bonds over the next three months. The Treasury said earlier this month it intends to increase auction sizes across all nominal coupon tenors over the...

Denver Newsroom, May 13, 2020 / 03:36 pm MT (CNA).- Neither the Vatican nor U.S. bishops have responded to a letter signed by several Catholic bishops, which argues that the coronavirus pandemic has been exploited in order to create a one-world government. The May 7 letter, titled “Appeal for the Church and the World,” claims that “there are powers interested in creating panic among the world’s population with the sole aim of permanently imposing unacceptable forms of restriction on freedoms, of controlling people and of tracking their movements.” “The imposition of these illiberal measures is a disturbing prelude to the...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has a $3 trillion bulge of debt coming through the pipeline because of the coronavirus pandemic. It also has perhaps 30 million or more freshly unemployed Americans to support, tens of thousands of businesses on the ropes, and a possibly extended battle with a virulent disease to underwrite. Given the choice between leaving the economy without a lifeline and making that debt load even bigger, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday sent a not-so-subtle message to U.S. elected officials: Spend whatever you need in this crisis. “There’s a degree of concern at the Fed...

Because of the coronavirus bailouts, the federal deficit is now expected to be $3.7 trillion for fiscal year 2020. This is a huge drag on Americans' earnings and retirement security. Coronavirus panic is hitting the global economy, and America is no exception. To patch over the shelter-in-place orders and compensate closed businesses, Congress has passed well more than $2.7 trillion in so-called stimulus, including subsidized loans to businesses, increased unemployment insurance, direct payments to Americans, and funding for hospitals and state and local governments.Because of this, the federal deficit is now expected to be $3.7 trillion for fiscal year 2020....

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is warning that federal coronavirus stimulus spending could drive the national debt to $40 trillion by the end of the pandemic. “The governors are talking about opening the economy back up, but they're talking about doing it under limited circumstances, and they're all warning they will shut it right back down if they see an increase in the numbers of COVID infections. And there's no reason to believe the numbers won't increase when they open it back up,” Massie said during an interview with Just the News. “We've spent $7 trillion — spent or loaned. I...

We are beginning to see a light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel. But there are hard times ahead for our nation, state and beloved New York City. The choices we make now will ­determine how quickly we ­recover. Vague and contradictory policies — the kind we’re all too accustomed to from this mayoralty — won’t help. Mayor Bill de Blasio reacted too late to the health side of the crisis, delaying lockdowns when a week or two earlier could have reduced deaths by as much as 80 percent, according to former city Health Commissioner Dr. Tom Frieden. As...

House Democrats are pushing forward with a massive fifth round of coronavirus relief legislation that could be their most far-reaching effort yet to address the economic fallout of the pandemic -- and come with another price tag in the trillions. While the House is still technically on recess, Democratic leadership and committee chairs have been drafting their legislative laundry lists for the relief package that could rival the cost of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act that passed in March, or exceed it. "We're looking at a multitrillion-dollar bill," one House Democratic aide told Fox News. While the text of the...

The U.S. trade deficit widened by almost 12% in March as the coronavirus pandemic grounded international flights, froze the global tourism industry and caused massive disruptions in the exchange of goods such as new cars and iPhones. Imports fell 6.2%, but U.S. exports tumbled an even deeper 9.6% to cause the trade gap to rise. It’s the biggest monthly decline in exports ever recorded. The U.S. deficit rose to $44.4 billion in March from $39.8 billion in February, the government said Tuesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a $44.2 billion shortfall. Exports fell to $187.7 billion in March from...

About 1 in 4 credit card holders — or almost 50 million Americans — had their credit limits cut or their card accounts closed in the past 30 days, according to a consumer survey by Lending Tree's Compare Cards website. The reductions particularly affected men between the ages 18 and 38, according to the survey. Lenders aren't required to tell customers when their credit limits are lowered, LendingTree analyst Matt Schulz said, adding that many lenders made their moves in the past month to avert losses if cash-strapped consumers struggle to keep up with payments amid surging U.S. unemployment. The...

The Treasury Department will borrow a record-breaking $3 trillion between April and June as it moves to dispense emergency relief for the coronavirus pandemic. In a Monday statement, the Treasury said that it expected to borrow $2.99 trillion "in privately-held net marketable debt," which would leave it with a $800 billion cash balance at the end of June. Congress has passed roughly $3 trillion worth of spending to help prevent an economic collapse during the pandemic, including stimulus checks, expanded unemployment insurance, forgivable loans to small businesses and other financing options for larger businesses. SNIP That figure will be more...

The Treasury Department plans to borrow $2.99 trillion from April through June to cover the federal government’s massive response to the coronavirus pandemic, issuing a tremendous level of debt to try and limit the economic impact on U.S. businesses and workers. Last year, Treasury borrowed $1.28 trillion over 12 months. The $3 trillion in borrowing Treasury plans to do now would be done over just three months. Congress has approved nearly $3 trillion in new spending in the past two months to try and arrest the economic fallout of the crisis. Because revenue levels are falling, Treasury is planning to...

The coronavirus crisis is crashing the U.S. economy at the fastest rate since the Great Depression, the government reported Wednesday, while the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates near zero as long as it takes to bolster a recovery. President Trump said the need for people to go back to work is so urgent that he wants to see a return soon to full-capacity restaurants, sports stadiums —and campaign rallies — with or without a vaccine. “We want it to be the way it was,” Mr. Trump said during a meeting with business leaders at the White House. “We...

In Ancient Greece around 600 BC the commoners had fallen into heavy debt. First they mortgaged their land, and delivered the majority of their crops to the lender. But after a bad harvest, the farmers needed to borrow more in order to afford another planting. With nothing left they used their freedom, and the freedom of their family as collateral. Many were sold into debt slavery after defaulting on this second loan. That’s when a poor aristocrat, Solon, was elected ruler by appealing to both the landowners and the heavily indebted commoners. He canceled the commoners’ debts and ended debt...

Since 1985, the first year for which the Census Bureau has posted this nation's bilateral merchandise trade deficits on its website, the United States has accumulated $5.5 trillion in trade deficits with China. No other nation comes close. In 2019, America's seven top trading partners -- when measured by the total dollar value of the bilateral trade in goods -- were Mexico ($614.5 billion), Canada ($612.4 billion), China ($558.9 billion), Japan ($218.3 billion), Germany ($187.8 billion), South Korea ($134.4 billion) and the United Kingdom ($132.3 billion). By far, however, the least balanced relationship -- both last year and in recent...

The coronavirus outbreak has already taken a great toll on the Chinese economy, with all headline readings pointing towards a record slowdown in growth during the first two months of the year. But there is an even greater danger for what was once the world’s fastest-growing major economy: that Covid-19 will become the catalyst that will bring its many long-simmering problems to the boil. At the centre of these problems is a rising systemic risk in its banking and financial systems caused by a high level of debt accrued over the past decade. The outbreak could not have occurred at...

Who has taken the economic risk to loan money to cities and states? (Bondholders) Who took the risk of working for a city or state with the promise of an unrealistic pension? (State and municipal employees) Who is going to pay for underfunded state and municipal pensions, overstaffed state governments and crazy governmental expenditures (think bullet train in California)? Which citizens elected city and state officials who approved and then underfunded pensions, overstaffed governments and approved crazy governmental expenses? Which of those governmental agencies were 100 percent unprepared for any emergency? These are rhetorical questions. The financial costs associated with...

China has often been accused of luring the poor African countries in its debt-trap by providing them loans for much-needed infrastructure projects and then control them when they fail to pay off their debts. Tanzania President John Magufuli has cancelled a Chinese loan worth $10 billion signed by his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete to construct a port at Mbegani creek in Bagamoyo over terms and conditions that, he said, beat the logic. Magufuli said that the terms of the Chinese loan agreement could only be accepted by a drunken man. His predecessor, Jakaya Kikwete had signed the deal with Chinese...

The president of the State Senate asked for $40 billion to help the pension system, fund unemployment insurance and aid hospitals and cities. Illinois needs more than $40 billion in relief from the federal government because of the coronavirus pandemic — including $10 billion to help bail out its beleaguered pension system, according to a letter the Illinois Senate president sent to members of Congress. The letter, sent this week by State Senator Don Harmon, also seeks a $15 billion grant to “stabilize the state’s budget,” $9.6 billion in direct aid to Illinois’s cities, $6 billion for the state’s unemployment...

Under the CARES Act, Congress has invited millions of Americans to stop paying their mortgages. The impact of this massive unfunded mandate is that the U.S. financial system is headed for a potential default when the cash flow expected from millions of Americans does not arrive.