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Posted by: thepinetree on 03/14/2023 06:55 AM Updated by: thepinetree on 03/14/2023 11:50 AM
Expires: 01/01/2028 12:00 AM
:

Mornings with the One Percent™ Will Start at 9am Today! (Supervisors Meeting Replay is Below)

Arnold, CA…Mornings with the One Percent™ is live weekday mornings from 7-10am. The premise for the show is that the USDA ranked all 3,142 counties or county equivalents in the USA on a livability or desirability scale based on factors such as climate, scenic beauty, bodies of water for recreation, humidity and much more. All of our area ranked not only in the top one percent but in the top one half of one percent. So in the ups and downs of daily life remember you don’t have to be a Gates, Buffett or Bezos to live like the one percent. Just live here!








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The Bank Crisis Has Democrats Scrambling Behind The Scenes To Find A Scapegoat
Posted on: 2023-03-14 09:25:07   By: Anonymous
 
Democratic representatives are scrambling in the wake of the potentially contagious Silicon Valley Bank implosion, looking for a way to divert attention away from them should the crisis expand.

One avenue for scapegoating the event that has been suggested among Dems and the media is to blame a 2018 law that eased Dodd-Frank capital requirements for midsize and small banks. Republicans led the effort to pass the law, which President Donald Trump signed, but 33 House Democrats and 17 Senate Democrats also voted for it.

No mention, of course, of the cancerous exposure SVB had to numerous woke investments through venture capital, including money losing ESG related projects, climate change-based companies and World Economic Forum stakeholder capitalism projects.

The Dems have found their narrative, which is an old narrative: “The conservatives did it.”

What Democrats do not seem to understand is that the easing of Dodd-Frank capital requirements was in direct response to the Federal Reserve’s announced plan to tighten liquidity and raise interest rates through 2018. With more expensive credit and a shrinking Fed balance sheet, reducing requirements for bank buffers was one of the few ways to prevent the stimulus addicted lending sector from plummeting. The extra capital also allowed banks to continue lending to companies that engage in stock buybacks, keeping stock markets afloat.

With a larger capital buffer even more liquidity dries up, revealing the true economic weakness underneath that Dems have denied for the past few years. So, if Biden and the Dems get what they want (more strict capital requirements for banks), then there will be an even swifter collapse of markets and the overall economy due to lack of liquidity.

By the end of 2018, markets began to plunge anyway under the strain of higher interest rates, which led to the Fed reversing course, and this seems to be what Democrats are really hoping for. They have called for endless liquidity measures and have consistently demanded lower rates and looser monetary policy. However, when Donald Trump’s Administration called for rate cuts during his term, Dems attacked. Once again, when Republicans do it, it’s wrong; when they do it, it’s good policy.


Another issue to consider is that each successive program by the Fed to employ bailouts and QE accelerates the inflation crisis. While both sides of the aisle seem to want helicopter money when they are in power so they can boast about rising stock markets and improved employment, the Dems are now facing a systemic stagflationary event; the same event they originally claimed did not exist. This means that any pursuit of new QE in the face of a credit crunch would lead to an immediate spike in inflation once again, crushing the middle class.

Are Democrats willing to accept responsibility for something like that? Not a chance.

The Biden Administration has so far taken full credit for the slowdown of consumer inflation as well as the shrinking deficit, but these changes are only due to the tightening actions of the central bank which sets policy independent of the White House. Democrats can’t have it both ways – They can’t take credit for reduced inflation when the Fed tightens policy against their wishes, and then not take credit for the consequences of higher inflation when they badger the Fed to inject more stimulus.

The only recourse for the political left is to somehow lay the blame on conservatives no matter which way the wind blows, inflation or deflation.

Emergency congressional hearings have been organized to determine the cause of the SVB crisis and the course of action needed. Democrats including Sen. Sharrod Brown and Rep. Maxine Waters were quick to applaud the backstop initiated by the Fed and the Treasury Department, attempting to calm market concerns and reassure investors and depositors that all is well. Maxine Waters stated that Republicans and Democrats needed to “work together to protect the safety of the financial system”, which is likely a thinly veiled assertion that Republicans must support raising the debt ceiling and commit to even more spending.

Biden took a slightly different tone, vowing to hold the people who caused the mess responsible, specifically referring to Republicans. Of course, to legitimately hold the true culprits responsible would require that Biden punish himself – As it was the Fed along with the Obama/Biden Administration that launched the ongoing stimulus bonanza in 2008/2009. Obama and Biden doubled the national debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the span of a mere eight years. The normalization of fiat money creation to avoid economic consequences has created the very inflationary crisis and banking weakness we are facing today.

And, if banks cannot withstand even a moderate rise in interest rates and reduced liquidity because of their addiction to Fed stimulus, then it is fitting if the system crashes under a new Biden regime.

[Reply ]

    Re: The Bank Crisis Has Democrats Scrambling Behind The Scenes To Find A Scapegoat
    Posted on: 2023-03-14 09:47:17   By: Anonymous
     
    What? How on earth is this something the Democrats did?

    Bank Management simply mis-laddered their deposit timelines. Surely you're not suggesting this is a political program? This is what happens when a Bank doesn't have a Risk Officer anymore.

    Please stop looking for things that aren't political and trying to make them that way. That's just not helpful.

    [Reply ]

    Re: The Bank Crisis Has Democrats Scrambling Behind The Scenes To Find A Scapegoat
    Posted on: 2023-03-14 09:48:05   By: Anonymous
     
    ^Are you a Russian Bot, or just your run of the mill MAGAmoron?

    [Reply ]

    Re: The Bank Crisis Has Democrats Scrambling Behind The Scenes To Find A Scapegoat
    Posted on: 2023-03-14 09:48:49   By: Anonymous
     
    "...The cancerous exposure SVB had to numerous woke investments through venture capital, including money losing ESG related projects, climate change-based companies and World Economic Forum stakeholder capitalism projects."


    Uh, no. That is not the problem. Please do better. I don't think you understand how capitalism or banks work if you think the problem was w"ESG Related projects"

    [Reply ]

      Truth- trump eliminated bank stress tests
      Posted on: 2023-03-14 10:09:40   By: Anonymous
       
      In all the efforts, lies of Republicans to try to shield themselves from their craven Libertarian religion-markets,markets, free markets, no regulation, we see in 3 short years, trump's deregulation of mid sized banks from safeguards to protect bank customers, we see yet another reason why REGULATIONS MATTER.

      Whether it is food, water, air, or banks, regulations are necessary.

      SVB was way over consolidated invested in mortgages. When the Fed raised rates, their investments went south.
      A stress test would of shown this, but trump eliminated this safeguard.

      Thanks trump, and Republicans who want banks to fail, polluted air, water, food, all so their owners- the billionaires and corporations can poison whatever they throw $ at.

      This is sociopathic greed. Worship of Mammon the God of $.

      [Reply ]

    Re: The Bank Crisis Has Democrats Scrambling Behind The Scenes To Find A Scapegoat
    Posted on: 2023-03-14 12:21:13   By: Anonymous
     
    It is like a scene with George Bailey and his community in "It's a Wonderful Life," but this run and bank collapse lies squarely on greedy investors and poor management despite repeated warnings from the Fed. I would hope most people would understand your money is not housed in some magic vault. Rather, it tis being invested to make more money and pay interest. This bank and its management bet on the wrong horse.

    [Reply ]

    Re: The Bank Crisis Has Democrats Scrambling Behind The Scenes To Find A Scapegoat
    Posted on: 2023-03-14 12:28:09   By: Anonymous
     
    Agreed, continuing to print money for everyone for simply breathing is not helping. But perhaps first we might consider how much more $ would be available if W hadn't so drastically reduced what big corporations and the truly wealthy are paying in taxes. That little $700 we all got is a mere drop in the bucket comparatively.

    [Reply ]

No Subject
Posted on: 2023-03-14 12:16:37   By: Anonymous
 
Great to see the Friends of Calaveras Animal Services (FOCAS) getting the recognition so deserved for what they do for animal services and the county.

[Reply ]

No Subject
Posted on: 2023-03-14 12:25:11   By: Anonymous
 
With appreciation for the important work that social workers do, perhaps we should be asking ourselves why the growing need and addressing underlying societal issues which only seem to be getting worse.

[Reply ]

    Re:
    Posted on: 2023-03-14 22:38:27   By: Anonymous
     
    We can ask. But the GOP won't fund things like Veteran Suicide Prevention. So it's a bit moot.

    [Reply ]


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