Here is my entry to the USA Today Caption Contest featuring art work by Mike Smith.
Yes, I know it is about time that I added a humorous post.
For more death related humor look at these posts or click the Humor tab.
https://michaelekelley.com/2013/02/01/cheating-death-by-procrastination/
https://michaelekelley.com/2013/06/24/twinkies-are-the-ultimate-zombie/
Enjoy!
THE FED has increasing employment as part of its charter. Yes, inflation is not the only goal in the charter.
As this chart shows,US businesses are NOT INVESTING in capital for the future and consequently few new jobs are being created.
The Center for American Progress (americanprogress.org) has recommended creating a NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE BANK to fix our crumbling national infrastructure.
THE FED can use the LENDER OF LAST RESORT powers which allow lending to any institution including states and cities not just the financial institutions which are only using the loans to pump up the stock market. THE FED could loan to the NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE BANK.
States and cities could use the loans for infrastructure which would CREATE JOBS similar to the Civilian Conservation Corps. For example the Fed could have used these powers to bail out Detroit.
Read about it on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System#Lender_of_last_resort
Thanks
There are 2 scenarios to end Citizens United. Both require only 1 state.
The Move To Amend version of a Constitutional Amendment has been passed in 16 states and could reach 34 in 2 years. https://movetoamend.org/wethepeopleamendment
But rather than wait 2 years, we can shorten the process using the vagueness in Article V of the Constitution. We have two opportunities and should press for both to increase our chances of success.
1. Rescissions not mentioned in Article V
Wikipedia says 33 out of 34 required states have asked for a Convention for a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA), if you ignore the rescissions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_budget_amendment
That is just one state short of asking for a convention. Article V does not mention rescissions. Meanwhile the constitution does NOT limit topics at a convention. So a BBA called convention could discuss Citizens United!
2. Topic limits not mentioned in Article V
Unfortunately some states rescinded the BBA vote leaving 20 states. As mentioned above,16 states have passed bills for an amendment to Overturn Citizens United (OCU). See chart below. When you eliminate overlap, the number of states that voted for a Constitution Convention currently totals 33 out of a required 34. One state short of asking for a convention. Again the constitution does NOT limit topics at a convention.
Obviously we need just one more state as seen in red such as Washington or Minnesota to ask for a Constitutional Convention for either a Balanced Budget Amendment or a Overturn Citizens United amendment. Do you have contacts in Washington or Minnesota to push for having a convention?
Then it is off to the Supreme Court to make the Constitutional Convention a reality.
Whoo! Hoo!
Homeowners, that are PAYING ONLY INTEREST, are in for a shock.
Many people bought homes during the crazy days before the Great Recession. Many of them have been paying only interest on those mortgages. Now their payments are about to jump up to include the principal. Many people will have their house PAYMENT DOUBLE!
The number of homes involved constitutes a bubble as seen in the graph above.
For 2014 about $22 billion worth of homes are involved in home equity loans. If the average house is $215 thousand, then that means a little over a 100 thousand homes are involved. That is about 2.5% of the current home sales.
For 2015 the amount of home equity loans involved doubles from the previous year. Thus over 200 thousand homes could be involved or about 5% of current home sales.
This could result in a lot of foreclosures again if they are not refinanced.
Then with Quantitative Easing ending by January 2015, we could see a return of cash payments to normal levels which could result in a 10% drop in home sales.
The 5% increase in home inventory combined with a 10% drop in buyers could be a double whammy to the housing recovery. Let’s hope for the best.
Thanks to MarketWatch.com a leading stock market website for the latest hair style.
For more details see:
For more Kim Jung-Un fun, (say that fast 3 times!) see these websites:
https://michaelekelley.com/2013/03/31/kim-jung-un-obama-play-ping-pong/
https://michaelekelley.com/2013/04/11/a-poem-for-north-korea-where-have-all-the-birds-gone-2/
https://michaelekelley.com/2013/03/11/north-korea-cuts-off-pizza-hotline/
Thanks
When is the NSA better than my state’s government?
The answer is when the NSA can go through billions of phone records and find a terrorist in Yemen but our states have access to millions of health provider records but are unable to monitor the providers.
Likewise my healthcare provider spends millions on lobbyists but cannot tell me how much it will cost to fix a broken nose.
What is wrong with this picture?
For more information, see this site. http://blogs.marketwatch.com/health-exchange/2014/03/25/nearly-every-state-flunks-health-price-transparency-report-says/
Multiple charts exist which predict another recession this year!
Now, I am normally a very positive person. In fact my first post for the new year was very hopeful. But recently I found not one but two charts which show we could have a repeat of the recent Great Recession.
The first chart above shows how the Federal Reserve and Quantitative Easing have allowed Credit to run wild again. In summary, the Net Margin (Credit minus Debt) is out of control. For the past year it has risen as fast and to the same level as the year before the 2008 Great Recession. Daniel Fisher of Forbes reported this as found by Ricardo Ronco of Aviate Global. Ronco says, “…equities are running away from borrowing levels.”
How do we fix this bubble? We convince the Federal Reserve to issue loans to cities and states rather than financial institutions that only buy stocks and bonds. Cities and states will use the money for infrastructure which will create jobs.
Here is another prediction for the S&P 500 to drop 30%. See http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/04/03/sp-500-will-peak-around-1900-to-1950-then-drop-30-saxo-bank-strategist/
But based on the above chart, I predict a drop of 50% not merely 30% in the S&P 500.
The second chart above shows how the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is the same as 1929. It has followed almost identically as it did in the years leading up to the Great Depression in 1929.
Big name investors like Warren Buffet and George Soros have cut their stock investments or shorted the market.
If another Great Recession occurs, riots will take place that are greater than the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and President Obama will face impeachment.
Can another Great Recession be stopped? Yes, the Federal Reserve can take two actions.
1. Put restrictions on QE funds to minimize leveraged lending.
2. Stop issuing QE funds to institutions that use “expected rent” as collateral.
You can make a difference by voting for the following White House Petition.
wh.gov/lQLCi
Thanks for reading this.
Everyone I know of is sick and tired of partisan politics.
There is a better way. Rather than have lobbyists or your party determine what you should vote for, how about voting for change based on national polls?
Instead of picking the “least damaging” or “closest to your views” candidate, how about voting for the one in the majority?
That is exactly what the American Majority Party candidate would do if elected.
For example if one year a certified national poll says Americans want prohibition, then the American Majority Party (AMP) elected official will vote for prohibition.
If the next year a certified poll says Americans changed their minds and do not want prohibition, then the AMP elected official would vote against prohibition.
The American Majority Party. It is as simple as Apple Pie.
Multiple charts exist which predict another recession this year!
Now, I am normally a very positive person. In fact my first post for the new year was very hopeful. But recently I found not one but two charts which show we could have a repeat of the recent Great Recession.
The first chart above shows how the Federal Reserve and Quantitative Easing have allowed financial institutions to run wild again. In summary, the leveraged lending is out of control. For the past year it has risen as fast and to the same level as the year before the 2008 Great Recession.
The second chart above shows how the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is the same as 1929. It has followed almost identically as it did in the years leading up to the Great Depression in 1929.
Big name investors like Warren Buffet and George Soros have cut their stock investments or shorted the market.
If another Great Recession occurs, riots will take place that are greater than the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and President Obama will face impeachment.
Can another Great Recession be stopped? Yes, the Federal Reserve can take two actions.
1. Put restrictions on QE funds to minimize leveraged lending.
2. Stop issuing QE funds to institutions that use “expected rent” as collateral.
You can make a difference by voting for the following White House Petition.
wh.gov/lQLCi
Thanks for reading this.
We had a rough year in 2013. No doubt it was an unlucky 13th year in this new century.
Some hope would be really nice. Here is an article listing 10 things that happened in 2013 that gives hope to everyone for a better world.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/12/30-2
Enjoy!
Michael E Kelley 