The Obama Trip To China Was A Disaster

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Obama Hits a Wall on His Visit to China,"* "... Mr. Obama was met by a salvo of criticism from top banking regulator Liu Mingkang, who argued that the U.S. was threatening the global recovery with near-zero interest rates that, he said, were inflating speculative bubbles around the world."

This message from a top Chinese official bodes especially bad because China is the U.S.'s largest lender, a lender so big that the U.S. can no longer pay its bills without them.

This means they have the leverage not only to dictate to Mr. Obama but to directly affect U.S. policy. And China will do everything it can to prevent the U.S.'s wild and irresponsible spending from destroying the value of its U.S. investments.

Going forth, at first subtly, China will affect lobbyist created expensive Congressional legislation, such as the health care bill, for America can't afford to pay for it. And it will quietly impact out of control military spending on weapons and wars.

China will also influence Social Security and Medicare spending for it's not their fault the U.S. didn't secure those vital programs, but it is their money that pays many of our bills.

Without comment, even little things likely irritated them, such as Mr. Obama having a mile long motorcade. Our nation is going broke and this far over-sized motorcade showed the Chinese people the U.S government doesn't have a clue.

Through our government's lobbyist controlled corrupted practices, its war mentality and financial irresponsibility, our nation has sunk into financial dependence. China in affect, told Mr. Obama the emperor [America] has no clothes.

At the end of Mr. Obama's four day China visit, he and Chinese President Hu Jintao sat together for a media "availability." As they briefly posed for pictures, neither man commented, nor did they take questions. This is highly unusual.

But behind them were U.S. and Chinese flags, ironically both were probably made in China, as are so many other goods sold in America.

Ten years ago, would you have thought such a great nation as the U.S. could fall so far and so fast? Yet it is not too late to resurrect our nation, however it will require you and I and others to raise our voices demanding moral and fiscal sanity.

But even if we fail, don't lose hope. As happened during the Great Depression, we will come together as a people to help each other through the hard times to come.

Dick

* "Obama Hits a Wall on His Visit to China," http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125857743503654225.html

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The Disuniting Of America

"Unemployment skyrocketed ... The deficit is becoming frightening ... We are reduced to begging China to buy our debts and getting lectures from other nations on our financial disarray," Kevin Brady, Senior House Republican on the joint economic committee told Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner yesterday [11/19/09].

"The public has lost all confidence in you," added Mr. Brady, suggesting Mr. Geithner should resign.

Mr. Geithner rejected the criticism, blaming Congress for "the legacy of crises you've bequeathed this country," in reference to Congress' vast spending of money America doesn't have.

What both men said is true. But the U.S. is fighting for its financial survival and as a people, we need to unite to solve our staggering problems.

These gentlemen should resolve their differences privately and when the testimony begins, discuss solutions, reach agreement and take action now before the situation grows worse.

These personal insults show how inept the government is. You and I and others must get involved and encourage our representatives to respect each other and before it's too late, move now to cut off printing money out of thin air and end the spending of money we don't have on bailouts, weapons and wars.

For our voices are important and if we do not use them, in our silence our nation will complete its financial collapse.

Dick
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Why President Obama Went To China

Mr. Obama's visit to China is one like no other U.S. President has ever made. It is of a huge out of control debtor trying to assure his biggest creditor of his financial sanity and pleading for more money.

It's like you having run up your debts to a frightful level and going to your banker to assure this person you can pay back those debts and that you are qualified to borrow more money and by the way, you need some more of it immediately.

If posing for pictures, you would both smile at the cameras and say nice things about each other. But in private, you would plead your case and not discuss that person's politics or suggest he or she could lose some weight.

This is the position Mr. Obama is in. He might like to discuss China's civil rights but he can only go downhill in attacking its treatment of what it calls "criminals" and it in turn could criticize the U.S.'s treatment of what it calls "terrorists."

Mr. Obama would hopefully want to discuss Darfur, in Sudan for China has a huge trading relationship and considerable influence with the Sudanese government. Two million people from Darfur have fled their homes, most of them to squalid refugee camps. The United Nations estimates 300,000 have died from violence or disease. All of this at the hands of the Sudanese government.

President Obama might want to discuss environmental issues [both nations have a great deal of room for improvement here] and product safety issues.

But reality is the focus will be on the already mountainous and rapidly growing U.S. deficits, the printing of money out of thin air to cover some of those deficits and the sliding of the dollar's value, potentially into eventual collapse.

China is afraid its investments in U.S. debt will become worthless and that the U.S. flooding the world with dollars is already causing wild speculation in stocks and real estate, setting up an even bigger global economic collapse.

From China's perspective, if we haven't secured Social Security, Medicare and other vital programs, that's our problem, not theirs. They fear we will go broke.

China wants the U.S. to slash its spending, raise its interest rates rather than give away virtually free money to lenders and other speculators and to get its financial house in order now. We too want that to happen for the crash they fear will impact all of us everywhere.

It is not too late for us to act. Please raise your voice and call for fiscal sanity such as an end to huge wasteful spending on weapons, wars and bailouts and an end to our printing money out of thin air. We can have a great future but like prior generations, we must unite and pay the price necessary to attain it.

Dick
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The U.S. Dollar Is Sliding Into Collapse

This week, nations across the world have been aggressively buying dollars, trying to stop the dollar's continuous fall. For the dollar is the world's underlying currency and if it collapses, it could take their economies with it.

On Wednesday, speaking from Tokyo, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner tried to calm the situation by repeating the Obama Government's often made assurances that the U.S. is committed to a strong dollar.

But as there has been no U.S. action to support the dollar, his statements were not taken seriously. Japan is America's second largest creditor and Mr. Geithner is likely there to assure them their investment in U.S. government debt is safe and that they should buy more in the face of rapidly growing U.S. deficits.

Nations across the globe have good reason to be worried. So do you and I. If you have not yet done so, please buy some one ounce or even 1/10 of an ounce gold coins. Buy and store them as an inflation hedge and if we are fortunate, they will never be needed and become over-priced keepsakes.

And enjoy every day of your life, as you also bring joy into the lives of others. And if you can afford to, make charitable donations to help others in need. Together we will get through this mess and hopefully build a better, more compassionate nation, not one burried in bailouts, earmarks, weapons and wars.

Dick
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The Stock Market Bubble Will Burst

Since March, the U.S. stock markets have skyrocketed. And for Wall Street there's even more good news: the U.S. government declared the Recession over as the Gross Domestic Product jumped 3.5% last quarter, up from negative numbers.

But if you've been reading this website, www.saneramblings.com, you know the GDP rise was based on massive government stimulus money and other programs such as cash for clunkers and its equivalent in the low end real estate market. It's not real.

Yet, the stock markets have been shooting through the stratosphere since March which coincidentally is when the Fed sharply escalated its printing of money out of thin air. That money printing continues today. Along with the rest of the staggering sized stimulus, we are awash in dollars.

Where is most of that money going? Into wild speculation. It's flooding the stock markets and chasing commodities such as gold, silver, oil and copper and other speculative investments such as junk bonds and low end real estate.

This is going to end badly for there is no substance behind it. The next crash will be in commercial real estate and before we're done, the stock markets will crash as well.

Already, the dollar is sinking against every major currency, and not just the Euro and the Yen but even the Brazilian Real. Just since January, the dollar has lost 1/3 of its value vs. the Real as fears of U.S. hyper-inflation steadily spread across the world.

What can you do to protect yourself? Cross train so that you have valuable skills to offer employers. Educate yourself in fields that will remain strong such as health care services or residential real estate management.

And if you can afford to, acquire assets long known to be effective inflation hedges, such as rental residential real estate in prime communities, for we all have to live somewhere. And buy one ounce or even 1/10 of an ounce gold coins. Buy and store them. If we are lucky, they will never be needed and become over-priced keepsakes.

Most important of all, enjoy your life and bring some joy into the lives of others. And if you can afford to, make charitable contributions to help others in need. As people did in the Great Depression, together we will get through this mess.

Dick
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Will The Stimulus Save The U.S. Economy?

In 2008, President Bush rushed through massive corporate bailouts and a $160 billion stimulus to save the U.S. Economy. When that failed, President Obama added to the corporate bailouts and rushed out a $787 billion stimulus. Are these newest bailouts and stimulus going to save the Economy?

On Friday, the U.S. Labor Dept. stated that in October 600,000 more workers lost their jobs and the total number of unemployed is now 15.7 million people. That does not count the millions more who've run out of jobless benefits.

These people are now drawing unemployment benefits rather than paying taxes and they've slashed their buying of consumer goods which is what drives our Economy.

The immediate political reaction was to consider rushing through another stimulus. Will doing more of what is not working rescue the Economy? Have the stimulus plans not been big enough? And if the U.S. does more bailouts and stimulus, where will the money come from?

The nation is now so deeply in debt it is running the printing presses to create more money out of thin air.

Perhaps the answer is the opposite of what the Bush and Obama governments have done, each in their own way spending vast sums we don't have on bailouts, stimulus and weapons and wars. Let us instead, end those bailouts and stimulus and the wars and slash military spending, which morality aside, only add to the staggering taxpayer burden.

Also, instead of giving massive sums of money away, raise interest rates to reward savers and to attract more money to America as we support the dollar, strengthen our capital base and build global confidence we actually know what we're doing.

As for companies demanding bailouts, let the bankruptcy courts restructure or sell their assets as new businesses rise from their ashes. For badly managed firms, these bailouts haven't saved jobs, they've just created giant corporate zombies stumbling from mishap to mishap.

While the government may be irresponsible with your money, you can't afford to be for your family, and your extended family which is our nation, depend upon you to weather this storm and then wisely help us get back on our feet. For the bedrock of our nation has always been its hard work, its willingness to help one another and its determination to succeed.

Dick
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Snowballing Job Losses Threaten Each Of Us

On Friday, the U.S. Labor Dept. stated 600,000 more people lost their jobs in October and 15.7 million are out of work. That doesn't count the millions more whose jobless benefits have run out. How will it affect you?

The U.S. shipped most of its manufacturing jobs overseas and now unfortunately, 70% of its economy is based on consumers buying goods, mostly made elsewhere.

Your job may well depend on consumers buying cars, televisions or other appliances, furniture, clothing, shoes and toys. Or on consumers eating in restaurants, going on vacations, staying in hotels, or maybe buying motor homes, motorcycles or jet skis.

The 15.7 million unemployed people and the millions more uncounted, AND THEIR FAMILIES, are slashing their expenses and every company that provides these goods and services will be affected. It's a snowball affect as those firms cut their number of employees. And there is no end in sight.

Meanwhile, banks are failing faster than at any time since the Great Depression and as they are merged into other banks, many of their employees are being fired.

Whatever you do, please manage your money very carefully, by saving it in FDIC insured accounts and by slashing credit card purchases you can't pay off in one month for the interest rate charges are severe. And invest in yourself, by further developing your job skills.

The worst of this Recession is yet to come, but as people helped each other during the Great Depression, together we will too and get through it and we will hopefully build a wiser, more peaceful nation because of it.

Dick
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