If We Blow It Up Again It Will Blow Up Again April 18, 2013
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics.Tags: bail-out, crony capitalism, Dr. Robert Owens, hyper-inflation, Obama economy, QE 1, QE 2, QE 3, quantitative easing, Stimulus, TARP, wall street casino
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Back in 2007 when I was speaking of the crash to come I noted that we really didn’t have to worry because our fearless and infallible leaders intuitively know the remedy. When the bubble bursts they will blow up another bubble.
The absolute triumph of Keynesian economics in America and the West has never been more on display than during our rocky journey through the Great Recession. An economic contraction which our leaders say is over and those of us who work and live in flyover country know is still grinding us down to the new normal. TARP was going to save the economy. It didn’t. President Obama’s porkulus stimulus was going to save the economy. It didn’t. QE 1 and QE 2 were going to save the economy. They didn’t.
Then along comes QE 3 with an open ended commitment to pump 85 billion per month into the economy, and presto-changeo alakazam and miraculously the stock market is breaking new highs and the real estate market is beginning to revive. Unemployment keeps inching down and even the Neocons over on Fox are telling us the cratered economy is showing signs of life. It turns out if you magically create trillions of dollars and drop them from helicopters across the country there seems to be more money blowing in the wind. As one very profitable prophet once said, “It doesn’t take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”
Hang on to your hats because a booming economy has to become part of the Obama legacy so that the transition to a centrally-controlled economy can ever be hailed as the prescription for success. Just as the booming economy of the 90s is constantly brought up as “The prosperity we experienced during the Clinton years” so to if any politician ever attempts to restore economic freedom, or when there is another crash it can be blamed on too much regulation, a pathological fear of deficits, and return to the old days of greed and avarice.
Those of us old enough to remember the Clinton years should know that it was the peace dividend and the Tech Boom Bubble which fueled the prosperity of the 90s. We should also remember that it was a phony peace dividend since our military was engaged in interventions around the world during Clinton’s depredations in the oval office. We should also remember that the Tech Boom flew through the air with billions in stock values for companies that made no profit and eventually delivered not prosperity but the crash of 2000.
Our Constitution was not written to be not a living document that evolves over time. The words were never meant to take on new meanings with every passing generation. The accumulation of case law and judicial proclamations was not meant to supplant the written political contract that the Sovereign States individually decided to ratify. However, contrary to the oft stated desires of the Founders of our nation and the Framers of the Constitution the United States has evolved into a behemoth bureaucracy. In all bureaucracies instead of the best and the brightest rising to the top those who learn to pull the levers the best end up controlling the machine. Often the official leaders are merely telegenic front men for the powers behind the throne. The grifters who have gained power through elections filled with ineligible voters, outright fraud, gerrymandering, and a two party system where-in Progressives control both parties use the living document ruse to turn the Constitution into a dead letter.
Crony capitalism has replaced free enterprise. Just watch the big gaming table at the New York Stock Exchange. Its volatile swings are dictated not by innovation, profits or production they are instead moved by real or projected government actions. Will the Fed keep creating money out of thin air? Will the EPA impose Cap-N-Trade? Will the imperial presidency use a foreign adventure to grasp more power? The banks act as willing accomplices of the Fed borrowing money at 0% interest and buying Treasuries at 3% helping to maintain the fiction that we aren’t monetizing our debt and printing our way to prosperity. The foreigners who used to crowd the treasury auctions know what is going on. Today the biggest purchasers of American debt are American banks using the Fed’s funny money.
How many times must this Ponzi scheme economy show itself for what it is? How many times must this self-serving Progressive cabal be exposed for the hypocritical central-planning neo-fascists that they are? How many articles like this must be written before enough people wake up and do something? We glory in the American Revolution. It overthrew tyranny and established personal independence, individual freedom, and economic opportunity on a scale that had never before been seen in the world. This is something worth celebrating. However, the counter revolution has been in progress since Hamilton founded the first bank and John Adams threw his opponents in jail. The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance, and today’s generation may be too busy watching the game to notice their country is being transformed into something they won’t recognize by the time they get up for their seventh inning stretch.
Any semblance of a freely functioning economy has vanished since Progressive leaders like FDR, LBJ, and BHO birthed government control and intervention as an 800 pound gorilla on steroids. The mirage of false prosperity is once again raising its crowned head out of the sea of financial calamity it created with the last bubble. A new bubble is forming and happy days will soon be here again with a chicken in every pot and a flat screen in every home. How many of our fellow citizens will be swept up in the coming Obama Boom? How many will be devastated when it all comes crashing down again?
The too-big-to-fail friends of the government will be made whole. The perpetually re-elected and their handlers will have their golden parachute pensions and plush jobs on K-Street and at Fannie, Freddie, and crony filled board rooms across the country. The only ones hurt will be those who do the real work, those who play by the rules. When the new bubble blows up the remedy is ready made: we’ll just blow up another bubble. How could this ever go wrong?
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2013 Robert R. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
The Man Who Would Be King February 16, 2012
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics.Tags: 2012 election, Dr. Robert Owens, Obama re-election, Ron Paul, Stimulus, TARP
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In 114 BC, Rome was a democratic Republic. Representatives elected by popular vote filled the Senate, and the Senate ran Rome. The Empire was conquered in the name of the Senate and the People of Rome, symbolized by the ever present SPQR seen on every Roman standard in every gladiator movie you have ever watched.
At the beginning of the first century BC sovereignty in Rome resided in the People, which may have inspired the most famous attribution of sovereignty in American History, “We the People” as the proclaimed authors of the Constitution. The power in republican Rome resided in the people. In a revolution that was by then legendary, they had banished their kings and established themselves as a free republic where the people assembled together to elect the Senators, the magistrates, and made all major decisions such as whether or not to go to war. And far beyond mere words much of what was early Rome was the target the Founding Fathers shot at when they established our later day republic.
And yet, by 14 AD, when Augustus died, popular elections were but a memory. Power was no longer located in the people, or in their assemblies, or their representatives in the Senate, instead power was concentrated in an Imperial Palace which was guarded, unapproachable, and foreboding.
How did this revolution occur? What led the freedom loving Romans to lay down their liberty and put on the yoke of oppression? Later Romans who longed for the freedom their ancestors had discarded pointed to 133 BC when a rich young man named Tiberius Gracchus bought his way into the office of Tribune, an executive position one step below magistrate that was meant to protect the interests of the poor. Gracchus used his office to curry personal power by giving bread and circuses to the people paid for by the public treasury. Eventually he hit on a very popular plan. He proposed to seize the lands of the rich and give them to the poor and he imposed this under his own authority, an authority he lacked under the Roman constitution. Later when he put himself forward for a second term in opposition to custom and law he was assassinated by a group of Senators.
Several generations of corrupt politicians using the same formula sought to buy personal power and popular adoration by looting the public treasury to give the people ever increasing benefits. Finally another rich young ruler arose by the name of Julius Caesar. He rose through various public offices eventually gaining the office of Proconsul or Governor of Gaul (France). He knew that to be a true Roman hero and paramount leader he needed to be a successful conqueror, so that is what he spent the next nine years doing. He conquered not only all of Gaul but much of central Europe even leading the first Roman expedition to Britain. While he accomplishing this he sent back well written dispatches to Rome which were published and widely distributed recounting his bravery and skill as a general.
All of this was too much for his political rivals in Rome. They gained enough votes to have him branded a traitor which meant little in Gaul where he had absolute power thanks to his well trained and veteran army. His rivals promised his arrest and conviction if and when he returned to the capitol. However Caesar was not to be denied so he compounded the accusations of his treason with a treasonable act leading his army across the Rubicon River to Rome.
With his troops behind him Caesar secured all power and after many adventures to suppress the forces loyal to the old order he had a compliant Senate elect him dictator for life. As his grasp of power solidified it became clear his rule would be the end of the republic. Breaking completely with tradition he began to wear purple, the color of royalty in public. Finally when his chief Lieutenant, Anthony, publicly offered him a crown it was too much and just as with Gracchus one hundred years before, Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators.
Caesar was followed by Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome who was never called Emperor. He was instead known by the republican sounding title of princeps, or first citizen. Kings were hated in Rome. The traditions of the Republic ran deep. Both Gracchus and Caesar had been killed because people thought they would make themselves king. The genius of Caesar’s nephew and successor was that Augustus made himself king in all but name while keeping the outward forms of the Republic. The elections were rigged, the Senate only did what they were told, and the people were kept happy by giveaways from the public treasury and kept in line by a smothering blanket of laws and regulations.
Fast forward to the 20th century and two other would be kings include Mussolini who decreed that calendars in Italy should begin again with October 29, 1922 the date he assumed power as the first day of year one. He proclaimed the Fascist Era was the dawn of a new age. And Hitler who said his National Socialist Nazis would reign for a thousand years.
In America today we have a leader who campaigned on a platform of cutting taxes and regulations. A man who when the economy melted down said if he didn’t solve the problem in three years he wasn’t worthy of a second term. In a classic example of bait and switch he walked over his promises to restore American greatness and suddenly announced five days before the election that he would instead transform America.
Presidents are elected to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Nowhere in the job description does it mention anything about transforming America. He was elected to do one job and decided instead to do another. TARP was passed to clear the toxic assets out of the banks and restart the system but instead was used to seize controlling interests in AIG, GM and Chrysler and in general assert government ownership over a significant portion of the American economy. The stimulus was passed to re-energize the economy but instead it became a gift bag for the President’s supporters and a slush fund for his re-election.
Mr. Obama, with the corporations once known as the major media clearing his way and covering his tracks, compares himself to Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Reagan and God, ridicules those who cling to the old ways, and decrees that he can rule without Congress because he can’t wait. His spending has impoverished future generations and will eventually sink the ship of state. His foreign policy ignores our allies and empowers our enemies. Instead of uniting our country to get out of the hole dug by generations of failed Progressive boondoggles and giveaways he incites class warfare while the welfare rolls expand daily.
Whether we are dealing with one man devoted to personal aggrandizement or merely a teleprompter reading front man for a well-oiled CABAL we are face to face with someone who has been positioned by the generosity of American voters to do irreparable damage to our nation. We have one last chance to save the republic as we have known it. The Republicans who operate as the other half of the party of power seek to nominate another big government operator who promises little more than driving us to the poor house a little slower with new wars along the way.
What we need is a man who will work as president to re-impose the limits of the constitution. We need a man who will educate Americans as to what a constitutional government is and what it should do and not do. We need a leader who will reverse course and take us back to the days of individual liberty, personal freedom, and economic liberty. We need a leader who isn’t afraid to jettison the empire to save the republic. Now is the time for such a leader. If only enough Americans will recognize the signs of the times and rally round the flag they will still call it America.
Just as the Rome of Caligula and Nero still called itself a republic so too in the coming era of Progressive centralization and control will our beloved country still be America. The Constitution will remain on display in Washington. However, in the world turned upside down liberty will be circumscribed by political correctness and freedom will be defined by government regulations. Our schools and media will assure us that we are the most free and prosperous nation on earth while other countries that have gained their freedom pass us by. History as it is taught in America today tries to tell us that socialism works. It doesn’t. It leads to a stunted, shabby future where everyone sinks to the level of the lowest common denominator. What we need is a rebirth of republicanism with a small “r” and a big dream.
Keep the faith. Keep the peace. We shall overcome.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion for Southside Virginia Community College. He is the Historian of the Future and the author of the History of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2012 Robert R. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens
Thugocracy September 11, 2010
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.Tags: Cap-n-trade, Card Check, Dr. Robert Owens, Immigration Reform, net neutrality, TARP
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Extortion, intimidation, and scams: these are the tactics of thugs. On the streets of Chicago there are neighborhoods where the police won’t enter after dark. Gangs of thugs rule the night protecting the neighborhood or engaging in what the police in other places quaintly call extortion, intimidation and other activities common to organized crime.
The difference between the clique that has captured power in the United States and an organized crime family lies more in the magnitude of their scams and the legalized cover which gives them impunity than any other standard. The generational theft and constitutional subversion that the Obama administration and Congress commit on a daily basis is no more morally defensible than the shakedowns and extortions of a local street gang or other community organizers on the Southside of Chicago.
Thugs use intimidation. A liberal application of “Do this or I’ll do that,” as a means of forcing the innocent people, the thugs see as sheep to be fleeced, into doing what they want. The examples of the Obama Administration’s thuggishness abound and are as close as the headlines.
The legal limit of liability for oil spills had been set at 75 million dollars unless gross negligence has been proven. So far nothing has been proven, yet using his tried and true tactic of a bashing with the club of a compliant media and a short meeting behind closed doors President Obama was able to shakedown BP for 20 Billion. Of course, where the 20 billion is and who gets it are items to be filled in later.
The list of beat downs goes on: GM and Chrysler bond holders were pushed into accepting a surrender of their first position so that the companies could be given to the unions and the government. Solvent banks were forced to take TARP money so that consumers would not be able to identify the insolvent banks. After passing a law which mandates who they must insure and for what they must insure them, insurance companies are being pressured not to raise rates to cover their rising expenses and liabilities by the personal intervention of the president. After the BP spill the Obama administration took the opportunity to shut down all American drilling in the Gulf while they lend money and seek to give tax breaks to foreigners to do the same thing. When a federal judge declared the Obama ban on drilling in the Gulf is unconstitutional the Secretary of the Interior announces he’s going to reissue the ban any way abrogating the rule of law.
This highlights the style and tone of our current leadership crew but what’s the goal? Is it personal aggrandizement? Is it systemic change? President Obama has stated that his administration would fundamentally transform America. He has said that he sees himself as a transformative president.
Joining the New Deal, the Great Society, and the Reagan Revolution as a game-changer in American history, the Obama administration’s Progressive transformation of America has passed more major legislation in less than two years than many administrations do in two terms. Building upon TARP, the parting present from the Progressive Bush, President Obama lost no time beginning a spending binge that soon added as much to the deficit as every president from Washington to Ragan.
Within months of assuming power the stimulus bill, the largest spending bill in American History was rammed through a compliant Congress. Its ostensible purpose was to end the recession but which was also meant to take over such diverse things as educational lending and medical records. In the meantime, as the Recession rolls on, the non-stimulating stimulus bill now acts as an election aid for Democrats.
The next shakedown came in the form of an overhaul of the health care industry. This was promoted as the only way to stabilize premiums and insure the mysterious millions the Progressive media tells us are uninsured. Of course now premiums are going through the roof because of the government take-over and according to the Congressional Budget Office the uninsured still will not be insured.
Then came the takeover of the financial industry as a way to save the financial industry. With Senator Dodd adding his, “No one will know until this is actually in place how it works” to Pelosi’s infamous “We Need to Pass Health Care Bill to Find Out What’s In It.” The arrogance of the thugs adds insult to the injuries caused.
Before the electorate have a chance to “throw the bums out” and show them the door in December look for the Cap-N-Tax scam, the card-check unionization bill, net neutrality, open Internet or whatever they want to call a government speed limit on the information super highway, and import-a-voter immigration reform. If these can’t be done legislatively in a lame-duck session before the one-party rubber-stamp leaves town look for a New Year’s present in the form of executive orders or bureaucratic regulation as the vehicle for the change no one hopes for anymore.
These major Progressive goals, both achieved and potential, move the United States from a society based upon free enterprise and personal liberty solidly into the world of the socialist cradle-to-grave welfare state. The only question remaining is will our leaders move from political readjustment to social realignment as America staggers like a battered spouse looking for a shelter in the thugocracy of Chicago’s 51st Ward.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion for Southside Virginia Community College and History for the American Public University System. http://drrobertowens.com © 2010 Robert R. Owens dr.owens@comcast.net
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