US MARKETS

            As the Fed creates massive amounts of aggregates, the administration creates ever-larger deficits daily. There is no sign that either the Fed or the Bush neocons are going to ease up anytime soon. Irrespective of government statements, inflation is running at about 9.5%. Currently inflation is rising faster than interest rates and we expect that to continue as long as the Fed massively feeds the system and Mr. Bush and Congress create newer and bigger deficits. This is similar to the way it began in the late 1960s at the beginning of gold’s last great run. Today we have record budget and current account deficits that dwarf those of that period. Congress and the administration have no inclination to in any way cut spending and on top of that, we have perpetual war for perpetual peace. The stock market will top out finally this fall as the prolonged bear market rally is completed. If the Fed continues its madness as it did in the 1970s then interest rates could again reach a Fed fund level of 16.39%. We are currently at 1%. Today we have a nation that although they won’t admit it, lives in fear of its government. Where else today can you say something misinterpreted by an employer at an airport and be prosecuted? Where else can you have your phone tapped for writing the IF? Only in America. These are not universal values; these are the trappings of a police state. If you put all the above together you come up with a crisis and that is where we are headed.

            Exporting dollars is becoming a major American industry; $30 billion goes to Latin America every year and of that $14.5 billion goes to Mexico. Fifty percent of those sending funds home make $20,000 or less a year, but send home 10% of their income.

            The use of drugs to control attention deficit and hyperactivity problems in preschool children jumped 49% in the past three years. All children on ADHD drugs increased by 23% in children under five. The money being spent on ADHD is eclipsing spending on drugs for asthma and infections. At the same time, the use of antibiotics grew only 4.3%, while the use of antidepressants rose 21% and the use of medicines for autism and other conduct disorders jumped 71%. The most eye-popping change was a 369% increase in spending on ADHD drugs for children under five. Their parents are too lazy to deal with normal child behavior. New drugs, such as Strattera, Adderall and Concerta only require one dose in the morning and the kids are like zombies all day. It is estimated that almost 10% of American children are being poisoned with these drugs just so teachers won’t have to bother to correct them. By the time they are 10-15 years old they are ready for suicide.

A federal advisory committee says Congress should pass laws to protect the civil liberties of Americans when the government sifts through computer records and data files for information about terrorists. A better idea of course is to terminate Patriot Acts I & II. Currently agencies are collecting and using personally identifiable information on persons for national security and law enforcement purposes. The programs are mirror images of the Pentagon program named, Total Information Awareness, now euphemistically known as, Terrorism Information Awareness, which makes each citizen a potential terrorist suspect. In data mining our government has no intention of protecting individual privacy. The only solution is to do away with Patriot Acts I & II. If we are going to have these Acts then Congress must pass legislation protecting our rights and demand court orders for data mining, search and seizure. What is happening is that anyone who speaks or writes negatively about government is subject to harassment and entrapment. We know because government has already tried unsuccessfully to use it against us.

            In our latest insanity, the US Postal Service is honoring EID Muslim holiday season with a commemorative first-class holiday postage stamp. The stamp should be boycotted.

            Get ready for the administration to blame the cost of energy for the fading of the recovery. The Fed and the Bush neocons were too early in their timing. They have nothing for an encore except not raising interest rates and the Fed pumping $2 to $3 trillion into the economy.

            The Bush neocons are well on their way to dismantling the anti-trust laws in our country. Mergers and acquisitions abound as the consolidation of companies continues leading to more and more concentration. Any strong company is fair game for internationalist corporatist interests. The profitable assets are removed, the carcass sold off and its employees left without jobs. Retirement funds and benefits are cut or lost, as is present and future healthcare. The mergers in telecommunications and the media are affected to kill the chance of any real news being reported. Halliburton, Bechtel and the Carlyle Group are running our country. There is no integrity left in journalism and anyone who reports the truth is hounded into silence. Today America is a scary place and we don’t see any improvement anytime soon.

Surprisingly Alan Greenspan is going to stay as Chairman of the Fed, as he was re-nominated by George W. Bush.