I came across a great piece in the Wall Street Journal by James Grant that provides a lot of great information about US currency, the dollar. It is very relevant to discussions about giving Fed Chairman Bernanke another 4 years as well as the true value of a dollar.
Jim also discusses the history of our currency and what it means to us today. The US dollar is an IOU from the Federal Government. How much does that really mean anymore?
I have something a little bit off topic but well worth it. Jim Rohn passed away. If you don’t know who Jim Rohn was you owe it to yourself to find out. I guess you could say that he taught self-improvement. I guess he did. To me he taught life. He turned your thinking on it’s head. He taught you to look at things differently. It was obvious. Simple. Slap you in the face straight-forward. In a word, brilliant.
Understand, this is not that squishy feeelings sort of self-improvement. Jim was about changing your view and changing your life. Unlike most of the “self-improvement” folks today who spend their time on how you feel, Jim was all about doing it.
Have a quick watch of this video. It is only 7 minutes and I guarantee you will be glad you did…
It seems that Bernanke and the group of central bankers are pushing back very hard against the idea of auditing the Federal Reserve. Ron Paul started this proposal some time ago in an effort to better understand what was going on and where the money was going . Whenever Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke is asked about the money and who he is giving money to and why his response has been No. He flat out told congress that he will not tell them who he is giving money to or why. I don’t know about you, but it does make you say hmmmm….
I know the argument about Fed independence. Bernanke throws it around like a sword. Last I checked, an audit doesn’t have anything to do with independence but provides visibility into the happenings of a major influence on our economy.
Last I checked, Bernanke works for us – the American People. The money he is handing out is ours. Congress, and in turn the people, have every right to know what is going on. It seems pretty arrogant to flat tell Congress, no, I am not going to tell you. It seems to me that Chairman Bernanke really, really doesn’t want us to know what he is doing. I don’t know about you but his behaviour screams out to me that the Fed must be audited ASAP.
I think a little bit of humor is in order on this Thanksgiving weekend. This is pretty short and wicked funny. Okay Mom, how many of these lines do you use in a day….
The homebuyer tax credit was just extended. You know, the $8000 tax credit given to first time buyers to help them get into a home? Well, with the extension came looser guidelines. It raises the maximum income to $225,000 and applies to people who have owned a home for at least 5 years as well as first-time homebuyers.
However you feel about tax credit from a fiscal standpoint or a policy standpoint, the fact is that homebuyers can get into an FHA insured home with no money out of pocket. The FHA offers a 3.5% down program, for a modest home purchase, would be more than covered by the tax credit.
That sounds nice until you look at the fact that homebuyers with no money out of pocket are far more likely to default than are homebuyers with skin in the game. It is common sense and the numbers support it. Should I also mention, again, that the FHA is already buried and there are a lot of people concerned for the agency’s future.
I could also bring up the fraud in the program and the new expanded guidelines are not likely to improve that situation. Between the raging failure called Cash for Clunkers and now this you have to ask yourself, what are these people thinking…
