If we start acting like the homeless person on the train, randomly shouting and getting abusive… they will all back away, and we’ll be left with only our Gold reserves to spend for strategic needs.

I don’t think the economy is suffering from low self-esteem, as Denninger says, but I’m no expert on it.

“The “free market” in finance has always been rigged by its Alpha beasts, its lobbied legislators and its regulators, to favor growth. But lost in this long round has been elementary horse sense about what’s actually valuable, what actually produces goods and services, what’s free and what’s not. Growth in this long round has had many costs, and we’re not even close to visiting all of them.”

Ad hominem attacks might let you discount the messenger, but the message still has value, regardless of your choice to ignore it.

The only big thing I would do otherwise is to backstop the FDIC for up to $100,000 per US Citizen or otherwise legal depositor, with a maximum of 5 accounts total. (To get around these twits who spread 50 million across 500 banks, which might be part of the problem with the FDIC in the first place).

We need transparency, and a system we can trust. This new bailout is worse than giving Diebold an exclusive nationwide contract for voting machines!

How will enabling the criminals cause them to scale back on their operations? We need to move away from a debt-based economy – scrap the Federal Reserve and fractional reserve banking. Then you’ll get your 1/1 relationship. I doubt this will come to pass until our economy lies in ruins and the citizens rise up against this nonsense.

> “The entire financial sector will collapse…”

Many economists are firmly against continuing to prop up these jokers and realize a market correction is needed. If things get really bad it would be an opportunity for the changes I mentioned above. But the powers that be want to avoid that at any cost, thus the fearmongering coming from the Treasury and Whitehouse.

> “Oh, and I don’t hear either candidate talking about what’s really going on here. Nor do I expect them to.”

So I expect you will not be voting for either of them, right Doc? McCain was just shown on CNN saying that housing prices have dropped too low. F#?%ing idiot. Another item on America’s TODO list is the breaking of the Republicrat duopoly. You can start helping with that this November.

How will enabling the criminals cause them to scale back on their operations? We need to move away from a debt-based economy – scrap the Federal Reserve and fractional reserve banking. Then you’ll get your 1/1 relationship. I doubt this will come to pass until our economy lies in ruins and the citizens rise up against this nonsense.

> “The entire financial sector will collapse…”

Many economists are firmly against continuing to prop up these jokers and realize a market correction is needed. If things get really bad it would be an opportunity for the changes I mentioned above. But the powers that be want to avoid that at any cost, thus the fearmongering coming from the Treasury and Whitehouse.

> “Oh, and I don’t hear either candidate talking about what’s really going on here. Nor do I expect them to.”

So I expect you will not be voting for either of them, right Doc?
McCain was just shown on CNN saying that housing prices have dropped too low. F#?%ing idiot. Another item on America’s TODO list is the breaking of the Republicrat duopoly. You can start helping with that this November.

But this is not a case where the only two choices are “do nothing” or “give $700 billion to assholes.” Who made those the only two choices? There are other possibilities out there — see this Chris Mayer op-ed for some good ideas.

More background: Smaller Banks Thrive Out of the Fray of Crisis (via Marginal Revolution)

A Bailout We Don’t Need