from Mark Dice
Cleary Gottlieb – Outside Counsel to Wall Street’s Serially Bailed Out Megabanks – Tarnishes the FDIC Chair in its So-Called “Independent” Report
by Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Wall Street on Parade
Yesterday, the Big Law firm Cleary Gottlieb released its so-called “independent review” of charges of sexual harassment at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Although no employee is charging Martin Gruenberg, the Chair of the FDIC, with sexual harassment, Cleary Gottlieb seems to go out of its way to paint Gruenberg in a negative light in the report – 108 times in fact.
Gruenberg held the deciding vote at the FDIC last July when the bank regulator approved moving forward with proposed new rules to significantly raise the capital levels at the megabanks on Wall Street, particularly those holding trillions of dollars in derivatives off their balance sheet. These include the same banks that secretly received $16 trillion in cumulative emergency loans from the Federal Reserve from December 2007 to July 2010 because they were undercapitalized and teetering on insolvency, as well as receiving billions of dollars in equity infusions from the U.S. taxpayer. They also include the same banks that received trillions of dollars in emergency repo loan bailouts in the last quarter of 2019 and more bailouts during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
U.S. Taxpayers Forced to Pay an Additional $559 Billion in Student Loan Forgiveness
by Martin Armstrong
Armstrong Economics
Short of joining Hamas, there is nothing Joe Biden will not do to secure the Gen Z vote. The latest plan will “forgive” $7.4 billion worth of student loans, which brings the total of loan cancelations under Biden to $153 billion. This new wave will benefit 277,000 borrowers/voters and cost the American public $559,000,000,000.
The original student loan forgiveness plan backfired, plain and simple. Payments were frozen in March 2020 under the CARES Act when countless people were out of work, and the program made sense. Millions of people simply stopped paying their loans as they believed Biden’s campaign promise to make all student loans vanish into thin air. By July 2023, over 7.5 million borrowers had defaulted on their student loan payments. Millions more were set to default in September 2023, when the COVID provisions were set to end. The Department of Education then decided to create an “on-ramp” period until September 2024 so that anyone who missed a payment would not face consequences.
Social Security Will Run Out of Money in Nine Years
by James Hickman
Schiff Sovereign
Social Security’s annual trust fund report was released yesterday… and, no surprise, the report states very clearly that trust fund balances “are projected to become depleted during 2033.”
Allow me to repeat that: Social Security’s most important trust fund will run out of money in nine years.
This is a fact, not some wild conspiracy theory; remember that the annual report is signed by top government officials including the United States Secretaries of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services… so the projection is about as official as it can get.
But if you dive into the report, you quickly notice that even such a grim forecast may, in fact, be too optimistic.
Hikikomori and Lying Flat: When “Making It” Becomes Hopeless
by Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds
No wonder so many people devote themselves to curating an artificial digital representation of themselves that they reckon is worthy of recognition and status.
What does it take to “make it” in today’s economy? As described in Withdrawing from the Rat Race Is Going Global, the world has changed in fundamental ways that have made it much more difficult to “make it” into the ranks of the middle class, and even harder to claw one’s way into the higher reaches of the economic order, i.e. the top 10%.
In summary, developed economies have been stripped of secure, well-paid manual-labor work, the purchasing power of wages has declined, prices of assets such as homes have skyrocketed out of reach and the mass overproduction of elites (those with college diplomas and advanced degrees) has created a winner-take-all competitive pressure cooker with few winners and an abundance of also-rans.
Trump Promised to ‘Drain the Swamp.’ He Did the Opposite.
Total spending under Trump nearly doubled. New programs filled Washington with more bureaucrats.
by John Stossel
Reason.com
Presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to “drain the swamp!”
The “swamp” is the permanent Washington bureaucracy working to perpetuate itself.
In 2020, then-President Trump said he was succeeding: “We’re draining the Washington swamp!”
But it’s not true.
“He made government bigger,” Economist Ed Stringham says in my new video. ‘That’s going in the wrong direction. Looking through a list of agencies, every single one I could see, there were more employees after his presidency than before.”
Trump added almost 2 million jobs to the federal workforce.
Used Car Prices Continue Historic Plunge, Wholesale Prices Gave Up 59% of Crazy Pandemic Spike
by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
Even during tax refund season! Exactly what Americans need. But it’s not helpful for big fleets, such as Hertz.
Seasonally adjusted, prices of used vehicles that were sold at auctions across the US fell 2.3% in April from March, to $18,151, the lowest since April 2021, and down by $5,423 (-23%) from the peak in January 2022, according to today’s Used Vehicle Value Index by Manheim, the largest auto auction house in the US. The index is adjusted for changes in mix and mileage.
From February 2020 through the crazy peak in January 2022, auction prices had spiked by a mindboggling 64%, or by $9,252. The historic plunge so far has surrendered 59%, or $5,423, of that $9,252 spike (red in the chart below).
Pfizer CEO: Cancer is ‘New Covid,’ Stock Bonanza Ensues
by Ben Bartee
The Daily Bell
Originally published via Armageddon Prose:
COVID Propaganda Roundup: The latest updates on the “new normal” – chronicling the lies, distortions, and abuses by the ruling class.
White House still blaming brutal inflation on COVID
For a spell there, the Bidenomics propagandists were blaming Russia (“Putin’s price hike” was the slogan) for inflation, but it seems they’ve returned to their golden goose scapegoat for one more drink from the well, the duplicitous bureaucrat’s gift that keeps giving: COVID-19.
The Fed is Already Political
by Connor O’Keeffe
Mises.org
Discourse about the Federal Reserve is frequently full of myths, dishonest framing, and outright lies. Listen to a press conference by Chairman Jerome Powell or read an article from a major outlet’s lead Fed correspondent and you’re bound to hear at least a few. For instance, it’s common for the financial press to characterize the Fed’s current conundrum as “walking a tightrope.”
It’s said that the Fed is working to guide the economy along without tipping it over into either high inflation on one side or a recession on the other. The last couple years, we’re told, saw the economy wobble too far toward the inflation side, with the Fed now attempting to pull the economy back to the thin line of stability without tipping over too far and plunging into a recession.
Biden Aims to Shield Hundreds of Billions of Dollars of Spending to Preserve His Legacy From Trump
by Sean Moran
Breitbart.com
President Joe Biden hopes to shield hundreds of billions of dollars in climate spending and other parts of his legacy from a potential Donald Trump return to the White House.
Congress has already approved but Biden has yet to spend hundreds of billions of dollars from legislation that comprises his first-term in office, the American Rescue Plan, his coronavirus stimulus package, the so-called bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill to boost domestic high-tech and semiconductor manufacturing, and the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill that largely compromises green energy spending.
DEI, Which Stinks to the Public, Morphs Into Creative New Acronyms
by Jack Hellner
American Thinker
Some states have made laws to have universities get rid of their DEI offices.
Good luck with that, because now the infamous equity offices are morphing into other acronyms, same way ACORN used to change its names every time another scandal broke.
DEI, which is “diversity, equity, and inclusion” is a disastrous policy. but harbors a big, decadent, racism industrial complex, so Democrats, as they always do, are “rebranding” the concept instead of getting rid of, to intentionally mislead the public.
Start with Texas.
Hyper-Bubble 2024: Expect Market Distortions to Get Much Worse From Here
from King World News
One thing you can count on in 2024; expect market distortions to get much worse from here.
Expect Things To Get Much Worse
May 7 (King World News) – Gregory Mannarino, writing for the Trends Journal: MMRI, Mannarino Market Risk Indicator. Free and available to everyone at https://traderschoice.net/about-traders-choice/
Back on 10-19-2023, the MMRI topped out at 329.2, its all time high with regard to market risk. (See circled area on the image below). On that day, the DJIA fell 250 points, with the other major averages also lower. In the run up to the MMRI peaking, the stock market/DJIA suffered a series of losses after topping out at 37,710.
It is Being Projected That New Cases of Cancer in the U.S. Will Explode to a Brand New Record High This Year (2 Million in 2024)
by Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse Blog
We are witnessing an explosion of cancer in the United States that is absolutely unprecedented. As you will see below, it is being projected that the number of new cases of cancer in the U.S. will hit a brand new record high this year, and cancer rates are rising particularly rapidly among our young people. There have been so many prominent individuals in the news that have been diagnosed with cancer recently, and so many people that I personally know have also been diagnosed with cancer recently. I am sure that most of you also personally know people that have been affected by this disease. Of course cancer has been one of the leading causes of death for a very long time, but we have never witnessed anything quite like this.
According to the American Cancer Society, this year the number of newly diagnosed cases of cancer will surpass the 2 million mark for the first time ever…
Putin is Letting it Get Too Late to Turn Aside From Nuclear Armageddon
by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
PaulCraigRoberts.org
The Russian government including President Putin now publicly acknowledges that Western provocations are increasing in scope and seriousness and are spinning the Ukrainian conflict out of control.
The Russian government has stated that the American F-16 aircraft supplied to Ukraine by the idiotic governments of Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium will “be treated as nuclear-capable weapons.”
Dmitry Medvedev, former President of Russia and currently deputy director of the Russian Security Council has declared the West’s leaders to be “infantile morons” whose ignorant arrogance is leading to their destruction.
From Desk to Destination: Work Anywhere, and Live the Traveler’s Dream with Aaron Clements
from Kerry Lutz's Financial Survival Network
Kerry and Aaron Clements discussed the digital nomad lifestyle, highlighting its advantages and challenges. They talked about the freedom and independence it offers, as well as the potential loneliness and need for adaptability. Aaron provided valuable advice for those considering this lifestyle, emphasizing the importance of pursuing work that aligns with their passions and understanding their essential needs while traveling. He also promoted his book, “From Desk to Destination,” which provides a comprehensive guide for transitioning to the digital nomad lifestyle, including practical tips, mindset strategies, and insights on maximizing resources and opportunities.
Click Here to Listen to the Audio
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41% of Americans Think Civil War Likely By 2029, Some Say Sooner Amid Chaos
from Zero Hedge
Americans have been stunned by the Democratic megadonors funneling money into Marxist groups, sparking mass chaos across colleges and universities nationwide as risks are mounting that ‘BLM-style’ riots could spill over into city streets this summer.
Law-abiding Americans have taken notice of radical left-wing policies pushing this nation further into chaos, from failed progressive cities ignoring law and order to open borders igniting the greatest illegal alien invasion this nation has ever seen. There is a growing sense among the population that possibly a controlled demolition of the country is underway by the radical left.