Back during the financial crisis of 2008, the American people were told that the largest banks in the United States were "too big to fail" and that was why it was necessary for the federal government to step in and bail them out. The idea was that if several of our biggest banks collapsed at the same time the financial system would not be strong enough to keep things going and economic activity all across America would simply come to a standstill. Congress was told that if the "too big to fail" banks did not receive bailouts that there would be chaos in the streets and this country would plunge into another Great Depression. Since that time, however, essentially no efforts have been made to decentralize the U.S. banking system. Instead, the "too big to fail" banks just keep getting larger and larger and larger. Back in 2002, the top 10 banks controlled 55 percent of all U.S. banking assets. Today, the top 10 banks control 77 percent of all U.S. banking assets. Unfortunately, these giant banks are also colossal mountains of risk, debt and leverage. They are incredibly unstable and they could start coming apart again at any time. None of the major problems that caused the crash of 2008 have been fixed. In fact, the U.S. banking system is more centralized and more vulnerable today than it ever has been before.
It really is difficult for ordinary Americans to get a handle on just how large these financial institutions are. For example, the "big six" U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo) now possess assets equivalent to approximately 60 percent of America's gross national product.
These huge banks are giant financial vacuum cleaners. Over the past couple of decades we have witnessed a financial consolidation in this country that is absolutely unprecedented.
This trend accelerated during the recent financial crisis. While the big boys were receiving massive bailouts, the hundreds of small banks that were failing were either allowed to collapse or they were told that they should find a big bank that was willing to buy them.
As a group, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo held approximately 22 percent of all banking deposits in FDIC-insured institutions back in 2000.
By the middle of 2009 that figure was up to 39 percent.
That is not just a trend - that is a landslide.
Sadly, smaller banks continue to fail in large numbers and the big banks just keep growing and getting more power.
Today, there are more than 1,000 U.S. banks that are on the "unofficial list" of problem banking institutions.
In the absence of fundamental changes, the consolidation of the banking industry is going to continue.
Meanwhile, the "too big to fail" banks are flush with cash and they are getting serious about expanding. The Federal Reserve has been extremely good to the big boys and they are eager to grow.
For example, Citigroup is becoming extremely aggressive about expanding....
Citigroup has been hiring dozens of investment bankers, dialing up advertising and drawing up plans to add several hundred branches worldwide, including more than 200 in major cities across the United States.
Hopefully the big banks will start lending again. The whole idea behind the bailouts and all of the "quantitative easing" that the Federal Reserve did was to get money into the hands of the big banks so that they would lend it out to ordinary Americans and get the economy rolling again.
Well, a funny thing happened. The big banks just sat on a lot of that money.
In particular, what they did was they deposited much of it at the Fed and drew interest on it.
Since 2008, excess reserves parked at the Fed have grown by nearly 1.7 trillion dollars. Just check out the chart posted below....
The American people were promised that TARP and all of the other bailouts would enable the big banks to lend out lots of money which would help get the economy going for ordinary Americans again.
Well, it turns out that in 2009 (the first full year after Congress passed the bailout legislation) U.S. banks posted their sharpest decline in lending since 1942.
Lending has never fully recovered since the crash of 2008. The big financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase have been able to get all the cash that they need, but they have not passed that generosity along to ordinary Americans.
In fact, the biggest U.S. banks have actually reduced small business lending by about 50 percent since the crash of 2008.
That doesn't sound like what we were promised.
These "too big to fail" banks have been able to borrow gigantic amounts of money from the Fed for next to nothing and yet they still refuse to let credit flow to local communities. Instead, the big banks have found other purposes for all of the super cheap money that they have been getting from the Fed as Ellen Brown recently explained....
It can be very profitable indeed for the big Wall Street banks, but the purpose of the near-zero interest rates was supposed to be to get banks to lend again. Instead, they are, indeed, paying “outrageous bonuses to their top executives;” using the money to engage in the same sort of unregulated speculation that nearly brought down the economy in 2008; buying up smaller banks; or investing this virtually interest-free money in risk-free government bonds, on which taxpayers are paying 2.5 percent interest (more for longer-term securities).
What makes things even worse is that these big banks often pay next to nothing in taxes.
For example, between 2008 and 2010, Wells Fargo made a total profit of 49.37 billion dollars.
Over that same time period, their tax bill was negative 681 million dollars.
Do you understand what that means? Over that 3 year time period, Wells Fargo actually got 681 million dollars back from the U.S. government.
Isn't that just peachy?
Meanwhile, the big financial giants have not learned their lessons and they continue to do business pretty much as they did it prior to 2008.
The big banks continue to roll up massive amounts of risk, debt and leverage.
Today, Wall Street has become one giant financial casino. More money is made on Wall Street by making side bets (commonly referred to as "derivatives") than on the investments themselves.
If the bets pay off for the big financial institutions, mind blowing profits can be made. But if the bets go against the big financial institutions (as we saw in 2008), firms can collapse almost overnight.
In fact, it was derivatives that almost brought down AIG. The biggest insurance company in the world almost folded in 2008 because of a whole bunch of really bad bets.
The danger from derivatives is so great that Warren Buffet once called them "financial weapons of mass destruction". It has been estimated that the notional value of the worldwide derivatives market is somewhere in the neighborhood of a quadrillion dollars.
The largest banks have tens of trillions of dollars of exposure to derivatives. When the next great financial collapse happens, derivatives will almost certainly be at the center of it once again. These side bets do not create anything real for the economy - they just make and lose huge amounts of money. We never know when the next great derivatives crisis will strike. Derivatives are essentially like a "sword of Damocles" that perpetually hangs over the U.S. financial system.
When I start talking about derivatives I get a lot of people in the financial community mad at me. On Wall Street today you can bet on just about anything you can imagine. Almost everyone in the financial world has gotten so used to making wild bets that they couldn't even imagine a world without them. If anyone even tried to put significant limits on futures, options and swaps it would cause Wall Street to throw a hissy fit.
But someday the dominoes are going to start to fall and the house of cards is going to come crashing down. It is an open secret that our financial system is fundamentally unsound. Even a lot of people working on Wall Street will admit that. It is just that people are so busy making such big piles of money that nobody wants the party to stop.
It is only a matter of time until some of these big banks get into a huge amount of trouble again. When that happens, we might really find out whether they are "too big to fail" or whether we could get along just fine without them.
My husband has a suggestion for those of you who are unemployed and need work. Trucking. It’s not an easy job, but some folks enjoy it.
His message:
There is a shortage of truck drivers nationwide and the shortage is forecast indefinitely. Check with your local state employment office regarding tuition assistance to attend truck driving school. Some states will pay for your training. Many companies will also assist with tuition. Both young and old. Couples can also run as a team.
Drivers can earn $40K–$60K plus, especially if you get a Hazmat endorsement. It’s a tough life but rewarding as well; it can also lead to a wide range of opportunities within the trucking industry.
I know a lot of guys from India and Mexico who drive trucks. They want to come here and drive Big Rigs in the U.S.A.
Thank you Maria for the Information–They will be told about the Truck Driver Positions and they are excited about opportunities beyond working in the Farming Industry!!!
IS HE THE ONE THAT OWNS A TRUCK DRIVING SCHOOL??
@Maria – I was thinking about taking your husbands advice there for a truck driver job but when you look at it, your only making maybe 19$thousand a year which is good but it won’t last will it? With the google car that drives itself, wouldn’t the trucking business be the first ones hit by this? Why pay me 20 grand a year when you could have a computer do it for, probably much less, and its a one time investment, he wont have to pay me the year after that as well. No I think truckers are going to go extinct soon, as well as cab drivers and limo drivers and whatever other occupation is dependent on drivers. What do you think? I can’t think of any sort of job I can get right now thats easy entry and pays well that wouldn’t go obsolete in a significantly short time frame, so Im sorta stuck working for an uncle for 6$ and hour until I hear anything new….
I think we have more than a few years before drivers are obsolete.
Why would u stay at $6 an hour when, even if your prediction is correct, we are at LEAST 20-30 years away from that becoming mainstream. You seriously felt that the most logical approach?
Very good advice Maria. Many people have lost their jobs in the last 3 to 5 years. But driving trucks and buses is the way to go now. I was on a bus just last Saturday; as we went to a convention in New York from Maryland. And it was a good ride; and me and the bus driver talked and he has been doing it for 26 years and loved it.
But in the near future; the New World Order International Bankers/Illuminati kingpins will even find a way to ruin that also. As they are hell bent on destroying the American Economy and bring about their coming One World (Luciferic) Government that will eventually demand that everybody take their zombie making mark of the beast chip in their hand or forehead. And according to Revelation 13 and especially Revelation 14:9-11, if you take it, you will be tormented 24/7, because it will mean that you havejoined Satan and his antichrist beast leader and their leaders.
I have had no trouble finding work. I was let go from Radiant Systems and within 2 weeks I had another job working at Data Management Systems. The metro area of Atlanta is actually really good for all types of jobs in spite of what people say about the economy. By the way, we don’t need foreigners doing our jobs. We can do the jobs ourselves thank you very much.
Contrary to all the public security theater the Bush Jr administration signed a treaty giving Mexican truck drivers the right to drive US roads without US licenses or inspections as demanded by big box retailers.
Contrary to all his pro-working class sham, Obama confirmed the treaty shortly after taking office.
Now those jobs will be outsourced too.
What we need is a way to outsource Congress to China or India and give them a taste of their own medicine.
Reading how the banks treated people in the Great Depression, I have no trust for banks. I keep a checking account to clear checks and payroll, but otherwise I borrow nothing from them if I can ever help that.
I encourage folks not to keep any hard assets in the bank safety deposit boxes. If the government decided they want to steal these assets from the people again, as in 1933, you can bet a revenue agent will be looking over your shoulder when you go claim from the bank what is rightfully yours.
If, or when, the banks start lending, as everyone wants, this will flood the market with all that cash sitting on the sidelines and cause inflation to jump. If, or when, inflation rises the Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates to control the inflation. If, or when, the Feds increase the interest rate, interest on the national debt will go up, making paying our bills much more difficult, maybe even impossible.
It’s not just a question of if, but when will the economy crash because I see no way out at this point that wont cause the economy to hit a wall of some kind.
I think that fundamentally bailouts are bad for the worlds economies. It sends the message that big companies can do what ever they want and if something goes wrong well the government will be there to save them. At the same letting smaller banks fail lets the bigger banks get even bigger is a recipe for disaster in it. I think that Peter Schiff’s book “How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes” summed up the situation perfectly.
To bid to fail. What a crock. We bailed them out. The FED bought all of their subprime mortgage securities. Of course Obama and the dems did nothing to force these banks to be broken up to avoid systemic risk. But when these banks own Obama and the Dems, they just let the game go on. Nothing but a bunch of corrupt politicians. They should be arrested.
The big banks run our country and the Fed is their leader. So so sad.
007 – Why are you so hard on the demoncrats? The Republicants have sold us out also. The International Bankers own and buy out the Republicants also. And both parties are owned by these bankers; and have off-shore bank accounts in the millions of dollars. Face it; the Bankers will collapse all of the economies of the world, so they can finally have their One World (luciferic) Government that will force everybody to take their zombie making mark of the beast chip in their forehead or hand; according to Revelation 14:9-11. And if you take it . . .
You are right Moses about the demoncrats and republicants.
Whether you are in a Red cherry state, or a Blue grape state…it’s all still kool-aid no matter what color or flavor– if you still think this is about political parties and affiliations you need to put down the cup and slowly back away from the punch bowl.
Between the Fed, the NWO crowd, the North American Union crowd with the council on foreign relations and all of those pushing for globalization, the sovereignty of the USA has a short shelf-life..as does the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency……
So the Fed lends them money at zero and then takes the money back and keeps it in reserve at the fed and pays them interest. Could someone please direct me. How do I get in on this deal? Wouldn’t the economy be great now if the fed was lending money to the general public at zero.
Bunch of crooks. At least when this card house falls, the crooked Federal Reserve will be destroyed.
To get in on the action? Become part of Goldman Sachs / JP Morgan, inc. It will also help your cause to bundle about 300,000 dollars in cash to Obama’s reelection campaign. Otherwise, canx Christmas!
What 007? The Federal Reserve are the International Bankers/Illuminati/Oil Baron kingpins. They are all one and the same group and entity. And they worship Lucifer who has taught them how to rob the nations of the Earth out of their wealth. As they have set up their Central Banks in almost every nation. And if that nation disobeys them and are not enslaved by them yet; they attack them by bringing revolution and the United States military down on them.
But the Great God of Heaven will have them all screaming and hollering in the greatest agonies imaginable very soon. After He has plagued them for 42 months of hell on the Earth. Where even their 100′s of trillions of dollars in stolen loot from the nations will not be able to remedy and deliver them from these mighty plagues from the Almighty God. Who is Truly An Awesome and Omnipotent Great God.
The mega banks found out they would be covered way back in 1984…the Comptroller of the Currency indicated that the eleven largest banks in the Unites States were “too big to fail” and would not be allowed to fail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Big_to_Fail_policy
A 1950 amendment to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act of 1934 introduced the “essentiality doctrine.” As codified, that doctrine states that in its sole discretion the government can rescue any failed bank when “continued operation of such bank is essential to provide adequate banking service in the community. http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/banking-without-the-too-big-to-fail-doctrine/
With the precedent set, the big banks took their cue. Since at least 1984, they have been conducting increasingly risky business with the “too big to fail (TBTF)” attitude. Without the fear of failure, the “too bigs” became houses of ill repute…eventually gambling heavily in the derivatives game and giving out loans to anybody who could bleed red blood. Why not? They had nothing to lose! The government would be there to bail them out for fear of the economy collapsing.
What a racket!
And this is going on in every country in the world!
I keep saying it. The currencies of the world are fiat. The economy is fiat. The debt is fiat. The whole paradigm is fake.
Watch what happens to Greece. The IMF is not helping them! They are burying them in more debt!
To the banking elite, we are all Greeks now! Every country in the world will be forced into indebtedness beyond possibility of repayment.
Default on the debt! Rip their whole plan to shreds simply by not giving them the money. Close every central bank around the world. Shut down the web of tyranny.
What are we afraid of? The 2nd Great Depression? We are already in it. And if the banks gain absolute control, we are going to wish we had acted sooner!
You wrote: “It’s a tough life “.
Sorrrrry… This wouldn’t be taken up in the UK
And, on reading this depressing article reminds me of a very true saying. “When America sneezes, Britain catches a cold!”
I’m 72 tomorrow and, quite frankly, all this business of us all living much longer doesn’t really seem all that attractive.
It’s so hard not to believe in some of these conspiracy theories when you read articles like this.
But well done. I have put in your first few paragraphs in my blog with a link to come here to read the rest. As I always do if I spread these messages.
Ampers.
Thank you Ampers – I very much appreciate it.
Michael
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDREW AMPERS TAYLOR!
Happy birthday to yoouu!
Good Andrew. But are you ready to meet our God? Do you know Jesus? Because you will find out that this is the only important question that you must answer before you leave us. At 72, you could still live to be 102. So age is not that important; yet, are you prepared? I am 57 years old; and age was a very important question for me when I gave my life to Jesus at the early age of 20.
And death doesn’t know age anyway. 2 year olds die often now. Or 20 somethings; or teeenagers. But what about your life right now. Are you truly ready?
When it pops this time, ben cannot save them. Let them die a cruel death.
So, toying with these guys is like toying with economic apocalypse! Pretty much last one out turn the lights off situation?
I know some guys from India and Mexico who are going to fill those Truck Driver Jobs—Thanks So Much for the Info!!!
David X. Li – Responsible for derivatives, sent from China in 1987 by the Chinese Government. He is now back living in China. Was it planned destruction of the U.S.? (“Give Capitalists a rope and they will hang themselves with it”?) I would not put it past them, and if anyone will do absolutely anything for a dollar it is the hoard of deniers (and a few intentional enemies) of Jesus Christ on Wall Street. And if anyone will do absolutely nothing to stop them, it is the docile American Sheep on Main Street.
Did the Chinese Government know this combination was our under-belly and the perfect opportunity to arrive at their main goal: conquering the U.S.? Is the fact that our entire economy is in China a separate issue or is it related?
Or are there competing groups seeking the destruction of the U.S. – the International Bankers and the Chinese? Or have they joined forces in the creation of a plan that they know will destroy the present world financial system while making them much more powerful enabling them to obtain total power when their one world financial system is completely introduced?
I think the Rothschilds knew of David X. Li before he even got on the boat.
Evil stays in the same camp and works together under the direction of their leader, but so do we – the winning side.
bra has based its foundation on poor expensive health care; a decrepit infrastructure; and professional terminators. bra used to make things but now it makes things up(bra=banana republic of america)move over CHINA RULES
Oh my Lennie!! You’ve almost got it my boy!! The International Bankers/Illuminati/Oil Barons have been making plans for the destruction of the Great American Empire for about 200 or so years now. And they are using the Chinese or any other nation to accomplish this. And don’t forget about the Mexicans and their 30 million illegals that is also destroying our nation in various ways. And they will be successful in their plans of having their One World (luciferic) Government.
But the Great God of Heaven will allow them to have their antichirst beast system that will require that everybody take their zombie making and mind controlling mark of the beast chip in their hand or forehead. And those who take it; will be forever tormented day and night, 24/7, forever and ever, because it will mean that they have sided with and joined Satan and his antichrist beast leader and their leaders. And the the antichrist and his leaders; will be tormented 8 to 10 times worse than your average beast chipped zombie lakey slave.
And the International Bankers are the ones who will put the antichrist beast leader into power!! So that means that they will be tormented 10 times worse; along with the antichrist. And it is in Revelation 13 and 14:9-11, that talks about these things.
The sooner the roting corpse of this financial system is buried and gone the better off the people will be.
http://www.placeofrefuge2012.com
The bankers pretty much own all of the U.S. government. All three branches. Executive, judicial and legislative. ESPECIALLY the legislative branch.
Don’t believe it? Look what happened in the 2008 banker reform fiasco thing. Wall Street told Congress that if the bill wasn’t passed, there would be a second Great Depression, the economy would crash, pigs would fly, etc. Congress was blackmailed into passing it. Congress dances to Wall Street’s tune.
This is an interesting article. The elite are quoted referring to themselves as “the elite” and ordinary citizens are “the unqualified masses.”
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/8197-bohemian-grove-where-the-elite-meet-to-eat-and-conspire
These are the same elite who run our country and gorge themselves at our corporate welfare trough. Swine…every one of them. Tax revenue is their favorite swill. It’s time to stop slopping the pigs.
End the Fed and the IRS.
Sorry Maria but even if we do end the Fed and the IRS; the International Bankers have already prepared a way to still enslave us and rob us and bring us down into serfdom. The best thing to do is to get closer to God and Jesus Christ. Go on sites like – http://www.americaslastdays.com and see what the prophets are saying about these things in their “Dreams and Visions” Section.
Not only trucking but welding. It is not a pretty job. It can be hot and hard work, however where I live everyone is looking for a welder.
MBAs everywhere. Dime a dozen.
Not a welder to be found.
I agree with much of the premises of your argument, however, there is one area that needs to be addressed in all fairness – and that is regulation and credit underwriting criteria.
I have worked in the financial industry for over 12 years. I worked for a small community bank that was closed by the FDIC, and now I work for one of the big six you mention above. I have seen banking from up close unlike most bankers who have never been through an FDIC closure.
I agree that banks have been hoarding their cash which was intended to be used for lending, but the question becomes who can you lend to?
I know businesses, and particularly small businesses are starved for capital, but here is the dilemma most banks, whether large or small, are in:
What do you lend on, Who do you lend to, and Who can qualify?
Most banks have an excess of real estate assets and are hesitant to take on more. Unless you have a fantastic borrower w/20% down, 800 FICO, and no home to sell banks aren’t doing residential construction, lot loans, or development loans.
Also, a large percentage of people are underwater as it relates to their equity vs value – so no Home Equity Credit Lines are being generated.
As for businesses, most cannot qualify under credit writing criteria because they’ve seen a decline in their revenue and income. In most cases, on paper, they cannot service their current debts let alone take on any new debt.
A lot of businesses that I deal with are like the average American consumer – they are not expanding or making large capital purchases like equipment or buildings.
This comes down to the credit underwriting criteria that is placed on all banks by their regulatory bodies. Please know I am not advocating less regulation – I am merely saying banks do have the cash to lend, but they’re missing the borrower (whether consumer or business) that can qualify with appropriate FICO scores, low debt-to-income, etc., etc.
The above scenarios apply to the big banks, however, small community banks have such high capital requirements, therefore they’re unable to lend because most of their money is going to secure against potential future losses.
Small community banks are also struggling to raise capital. Most of them have such a high concentration of real estate loans, and many of them are going bad or are in the process of going bad. As a result, a lot of community banks are under a strict order from the FDIC to place a moratorium on any lending.
It is with the small community banks where, typically, the rubber hits the road. If they can’t lend to your typical consumer and business they’re forced to the large banks.
Due to this long-term downturn we’ve seen in the economy and stringent lending criteria it has made the pool of potential borrowers virtually disappear.
I know banks played and continue to play a large role in our impending doom, but there are so many working parts to this that it is difficult to place the blame in just one or two area. I’m sure you’re very well aware of this anyway…
C-Dub:
I think you make some excellent points. It is good to get the perspective of someone inside the system.
Michael
C-Dub:
It’s my opinion that small businesses are really the “too big to fails”!
Banks who received federal funds should be forced to ease their lending policy in order to distribute those funds as they were intended.
Many see opportunities for starting a business that will employ Americans. Yet they are “unqualified” to get new business start-up loans.
If small businesses are the heart of American employment, how are strict lending practices helping a thing?
Yes C-Dub and I was in Real Estate and also into Lending too on a mortgage broker level. All that you say is very true. But who made things this way? Who deindustrialized America and brought about NAFTA and GATT and the Illegal alien situation? The International Bankers did it all. They had a plan 100′s of years ago to collaspe the economy of America and the whole world; so they can finally have their One World (luciferic)Government. So don’t try to absolve those evil Luciferic hell-bound bankers. As they will be successful in the destruction of the Great American Empire. But only to their hellish peril and horrible anguish forever and ever!!
My dad, who was around in 1929, said that you could see millionaires jumping out of windows for days after the “Crash”… but the poor people (especially farmers) never really noticed the difference, much.
He also said (giggle if you want, but he was “gifted”…) that “in (my) lifetime, or that of (my) children, there would be a “crash” that would make the Great Depression look like a Sunday Picnic! He was right so many times, that I believed him & raised my children accordingly. Good luck all.
CEO’s of the big banks sit on the boards of the FED.
Massive law suits by foreign banks as well as our gov will bring them to their knees. The collapse of the other countries financial systems will also cause them to fail. That is why we are becoming a police state. They are preparing to completely control us if we let them.
The corruption runs so deep and so wide that there is no real fix. I’m feeling that we the people need to do an “end run” in terms that they will understand–tax resistance–until the federal reserve is abolished. And maybe a mass radical end run of total credit resistance on the personal level, and one step further, personal default on the debt we do have. Just an idea…
Yes Optimist – The International Bankers have almost froze all credit and this is a great connizing scheme that they had set in place for decades. And now they have implimented it for the credit strangilation of America. But they will be defeated by the Great God of Heaven very soon indeed.
Don’t bet on a good trucking job. I have been working in trucking industry for a long time. As you are paid by the mile, you will work many many hours and not get compensated. The current regulatory environment of the trucking industry does not give adequate compensation to the driver. This forces many of them to cheat on their log books just to get enough miles to pay the bills. You will spend many hours waiting at loading docks and not get compensated. I would say that the average driver makes around 5 to 6 bucks an hour when factoring in all time. If you want to be an Owner Operator things are even worse. The rates are super cheap cause their are too many trucks chasing too little freight. It costs $800 right now to move a truck 1000 miles. This industry is another classic example of government regulation making it impossible for the little guy. The big trucking companies don’t want anything to change cause they are making great profits off of their “Sweat Shops on Wheels”
BILDERBERG MEETING (Last Month) 2011:
World Agenda for July 2011- March 2013:
http://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/bilderberg-2011-agenda/5458
And who owns the banks? The stockholders. Who are the stockholders? The government(s). Local, county, state and federal. It’s a vicious circle.
I invite you to watch “Corporation Nation” part 2. You’ll see that thousands of government pension funds are heavily invested in banking stocks. Government pension funds are the majority stockholders in most major corporations as well. It’s all right there in black and white, in their own documents, called the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports which they are required by law to generate each year.
Chili-
Thanks for the tip on Corporation Nation. I’ll be checking it out.
(On U-tube: The Great Pension Fund Hoax.)
But the International Bankers own the majority of the stocks as they are majority stock owners and they have the last say. And they have been saying for decades now; “we want you to fall so that we can totally enslave you and rule you as gods.” But after they have martyred those of us who will not be taking their mark of the beast chip in our hand or forehead; then they will know that the One True God will be punishing them for 42 months of hell on the Earth. And then they will be frying and crying in the great lake of fire and brimstone, forever and ever.
I watched that whole thing last night. Four hours was hard to swallow, so it was good to see he’s working on a shorter version.
It was eye-opening, to say the least! Talk about a huge conflict of interest. No mystery why “Joe Honesty” suddenly turns-coat when he hits D.C.
Which is why gold and silver are in high demand. We see the ruinous impact of greed on society and now the great global collapse can not be far. JPM has over $70 Trillion in total exposure.
They are not too big to fail: they already failed. And were rescicitated, bigger and badder than ever.
In truth, they are just too big to jail.
http://patriceayme.wordpress.com/
Wake up people, this an illuminati conspiracy, everything is been driven by the illuminaties.
The country with the most gold wins.
Chear up people. We have away out now. But talking and complaining about our problems get us nowhere. We can talk or do something. The choice is yours.
FIGHT THE CAUSE – NOT THE SYMPTOM
Read “Common Sense 3.1” at ( http://www.revolution2.osixs.org )
Randy I second your opinion. I never worked “over-the-road” because I was allways told I never had the experience (ironic) since I have roughly 5-6 years of driving experience albeit at a local level and driving tanker truck. And by the way the laws since 2001 require all those with a HazMat endorcement to complete a criminal background check at a TSA office.
So add to the low pay (because of fewer loaded miles) then you have to add on the regulations. Local driving is by far better now a days (if you can find it). Alot of companies (big ones too) simply aren’t hiring.
The trucking industry today is indeed a sweatshop on wheels in the USA. Its really sad.
Now I sell trucks. But who is buying trucks? Only really big outfits and alot of them are sitting still like US Express.
You can tell alot about a country’s economy by looking at its transportation industry.
Corporation and govt have grown way too big and gotten way out of hand. Now that my tax money has been used against my wishes to rescue the wealthiest people in the world I have lost what if any faith I might of had in govt. My country has been invaded and overrun not just by illegals, which my govt won’t do much about, but now by the politicians and corporations. Now I know how the American Indians must have felt three or four centuries ago when the Europeans started over running all their ancestors lands. This is how I now view my govt, fed, state and local. God put me here on this earth in this very spot, yet I’ve got these scum sucking whores stealing my money, regulating and licensing me to death. Telling me what I can grow and consume on my own property. Hell, in some states it’s against the law to harvest rain water.
I was at Cedar Point this weekend – a welcome diversion from life. Standing in lines, however, you can’t help but overhear people’s conversations. Most centered around what they had bought, or planned on buying. A young man for example, was thrilled he had the money to get a crotch rocket and was going to get one this next week. I saw more iPhones then I ever had in my life, and never before was the concentration of idiocy around me greater than last weekend!
It was great fun, but like all good things, won’t last. I got back and saw gold hit 1600 and the dollar index sliding again. Regardless of the debt ceiling increase (which most Americans are not even aware is going on) everyone on this site has a unique opportunity to get their crutch’s set before the powderkeg erupts. God bless and good luck.
Not looking good, borders closing 399 stores.
Gold hits 1600
Cisco cuts 6500 workers
Seems like the 2008 crises all over again
1776 1776 1776 1776 1776 1776 1776 1776 1776 1776
” For example, the “big six” U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo) now possess assets equivalent to approximately 60 percent of America’s gross national product.”
They are zombie banks, each and everyone. Their assets are toxic and their liabilities far exceed their assets. Its all smoke, mirrors, cooked books, and political coverup. The great short will occur someday soon and when it does that 60% will be > 0%. They are so over leveraged its laughable to believe they hold the equivalent of 60% of GDP. Too big to fail? No, too big to save. TARP, stimulus, QE2 and soon QE3 are vain attempts to prop up that which must fail.
When there is failure, investors swarm to pick up the viable pieces and leave the rest. Too bad we didn’t let this happen in 08.
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.FIGURE IT OUT!!!!
Sorry SmashTheControlMachine – But I know what about 98% of the Book of Revelation means. But I can’t give you my treasures so easily and freely. Oh my how tempting it is. But one day; when I raise the dead; you can get it on radio or my tv broadcast.
Babylon means ”confusion”. When we are comfortable in Babylon we are in ”confusion”. A state in opposition to THE KINGDOM OF GOD. James speaks of this reality in terms that we must acknowledge.
James 3:16
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. (KJV)
Yes!! The International Bankers are so doomed. They are the ones who have been destroying the nations for 250 years now. And their tormentings will be 8 to 10 times worse; than your average coming beast chippped zombie lakey slave; who they have put their mark of the beast chip into their forehead or hand. And according to Revelation 14:9-11, they who take their Mark (chip) will be tormented 24/7, because it will mean that they have joined Satan and his antichrist beast leader.
1) Global Neo-feudalism, 2) Global De-population. Those are the twin goals of the European Central Bankers (Rothschilds, et al, and their American counterparts, Rockefellers, et al, and their minions at AIPAC, and the CFR – Council on Foreign Relations, Ben Bernanke, and Timmy Geithner).
Get ready folks, because HERE IT COMES! (It will be MUCH worse than 2008, or the 1930′s!) And keep an eye on the ‘Fed’, and the European Central Bankers who own the ‘Fed’ – they’ll milk the manufactured crisis for everything they can get from it – to keep themselves in a position to control the printing of money – and, all of us, as a result. Now, THAT’S JOB SECURITY!!!!
For all the watchmen watching for the Lord. We all know that this is part of the big picture for the control and rein of the Anti-Christ. The US of A dose not play a big roll during the tribulation because it is broke and controled, plus most of the people of God will be raptured.
for those of you who are left behind “invest in amo”
No, my husband doesn’t own a truck driving school. He works for a small trucking company like THOUSANDS of other people in this country. And he is THANKFUL to have his job.
Yes, trucking is hard work. Some people like it, and some people don’t.
All I know is, there are people out there who are having a hard time finding any work that puts enough food on the table and pays the bills.
And the “neocons” are still getting the denialism in their comments.
I agree with Randy. My brother had to pay for one of those “good” jobs. He doesn’t get a day off – well, he has to babysit his truck. Very poor pay, not enough to buy any “survivist” materials.
@Carol Fisher,
My grandfather was a dirt farmer too. He was doin’ pretty good when jillion kids were little and he had free labor. But then he made the mistake of investing the government. The defaulted in his government bonds. It was okay then, he had at least had the land and lots of kids to live off of. Not so much these days – the farming land is in the hands of gobbermint. The “kids” are brainwashed that believes is their mom is the problem. The church was also somewhat functional, not so much today – they only send you to the gobbermint, which WILL NOT HELP. The “poor” are no longer the farmers, they are living on gobbermint funds. What happens now to the “poor” are cut off while we snark and skarf about the land grab? They die.
Believe you fantasies, my comrades, if you wish. This is mass murder by design. It’s been picking off one-by-one so far – you haven’t seen a crisis like they are designing for us now.
SMASH THE CONTROL MACHINE,
I believe that the meaning of the word “pharmaceuticals” in the Greek language as it was used in a Bible translation many centuries ago, was “confusion”. And it just so happens that a majority of Americans today are marijuana smokers – the drug that insidiously instills a state of confusion because it leaves the user absolutely certain that he is absolutely correct about every possible topic he can possibly consider – omniscient – just like God. Think so pothead? Do you know the reason your name is pothead instead of potheart? That is one thing (for starters) that you don’t know. Quit using it now, and return to the Human Race – your time to do so may be running very short.
Also, like I have written here before – for people trying to figure it out, as SMASH THE CONTROL MACHINE says – purple (not blue) and scarlet are the colors of the American Flag. White is not a color.
white is a combination of the colors. black is the absense of colors.
Listen up everyone cause this is the full blow reason why things aren’t better. You, Me, Us Americans. We give these people the power to do this and no amount of religion, negotiations, beliefs or politics is going to stop this problem. These people these faction, companys only have as much power as we give them. There are currently 150 million Americans facing crisis in one way or another. Now we can continue accept this by only talking about what to do. Or We can do something about. These people have mess up worse then anyone. A loan shark will break your arm for 400 hundred dollar, a Bank will put a 64 year old woman out on the street for not being able to pay 2 months worth of rent, But they can cause trillons of dollars of debt and get away with it. Now I dont care with your beliefs are or what your religion. Why because it dosent matter who you are WE ALL HATE HYPIOCRACY I hate hyopacrites and that exactly what they are. So since the people who keep power in check failed to do so. We have to. So gather everyone you know and say this is done! No more wrong help your freinds, your neighbor, and everyone else fight this regime because if we don’t We will all drown
If the Government will bail out financial institutions, insurance companies and investment banks then what incentive do they have NOT to create derivative contracts? The standard two-party contract described in Capitalism, A Love Story, by Bernie Sanders and by investigations into dealings by Goldman Sachs and AIG involved writing an insurance contract against default in exchange for quick operating income that amounted to 1% of contract value in cash. In simple terms I could call up AIG and have them insure a trillion dollars worth of mortgage bonds for a cash payment of ten billion. So in theory since Goldman was allowed to insure (as are S&P 500 companies according to Micheal Moore)someone Else’s property against market loses then why not hedge your risk busing all the capital held in every investment bank and insuring the U.S. economy against default for say 100 trillion dollars and when we default have the Federal Reserve spend the next ten years printing money solely to honor AIG’s derivative and put the other 99% of the U.S. population into permanent poverty? We don’t need people, labor we only need capital and wealth. Why bother doing anything anymore other than creating fantasy contracts backed by the printing/manufacturing power of the fed? What business could possibly be more lucrative? Why bother doing anything at all?
bobbobbobbob,
I always enjoy reading your comments (it’s probably not mutual but that’s o.k.) but this last one hit the weak spot of my character flaw……the absolute necessity of defending any challenge to any factual claims that I make. I may have many hair-brained theories and possible scenarios, but facts are an area that I hold sacred – they are always verified as truth beforehand. Hopefully I can be proven incorrect with this one so I can have my personal crisis and all of this will finally come to an end.
If blue, red, and yellow are mixed, black is the outcome. How can black be the absence of color?
The outcome will not be pure (jet) black.
If all of the colors are mixed, white will be the outcome.
That outcome will not be pure white.
The argument about whether black and white are colors is similar to the argument of “what came first the chicken or the egg”, or even my favorite: “why did the chicken cross the road?”
The fact is: that the “Babylon” mentioned in Revelation is the U.S.A., and it can be proven to be fact due to evidence – if evidence is used as the criteria in this case. In some cases evidence is not needed to prove things to be factual.
And to Paul Wilson’s claim that Christians are hypocrites (he didn’t specify Christians but there aren’t many Buddhists commenting on this site). The only thing that could make us hypocrites would be our claim of being non-guilty SINNERS in God’s Eyes due only to the acceptance of God’s forgiveness provided by the acceptance of Jesus Christ. If you are claiming that Christians believe themselves to be good, to never sin, or to do good due to their own merits – you are not talking about Christians.
Read the Bible and then try to make the argument that it is untrue – you will have a very difficult time of it if you recognize truth when you hear it. Or even if you have an excellent knowledge the present world and economic situation and of history – especially the history of the last century.
I should have written God’s Forgiveness – not God’s forgiveness. That was a big bad one.
Oh, and start getting prepared for total economic collapse in America – the desired end-game of the EU/US Central Bankers, so they can step in with their pre-planned solution – a one-world currency system, completely under THEIR control. You’ll need 1) Water, 2) Food, 3) Vital Medicine(s) or vitamins, aspirin, etc., 4) First Aid Kit, etc., etc.
Anyone who thinks that 0.1% of 1% of the population can pull off the greatest heist in history in a so called “information age” with everything falling apart at the seams and a fast failing propaganda machine is the ignoramus.
REMEMBER THE OUROBOROS:
It is We the People owning We the People,
in ways that were dominated by Huge Lies!
Mad sheeple diseases are wide spread amongst money managers. Bloodline elite families would have been instrumental during the histories that developed the bankster game. However, the vast majority of the shares of the Big Banks are owned by government created and funded corporations.
That 0.1% has absolute control over the paper money everyone in the world uses, and that is used to control absolutely all of the armed forces of the world, the police, legislation, government spending including state and local governments – everything.
You are correct – but only if enough people stop using their paper money – I doubt it.
The Fed is the mechanism used to enrich the international bankers at our expense. End the Fed!
Yes this is the information age but that 1% also controls the media/information. Read The Creature from Jekyll island and take the sons of liberty academy and you will see how the 1% controls and dominates every aspect of our lives, unless you are awake and attune to the game.
Solution: Prosecute the culprits/elitists/puppeteers, end the Federal Reserve, throw the UN out of the USA and ship the UN to parts unknown, stop funding the UN,
no more stimulus money, reverse everything that was put into place by this administration and no more bailouts.
Capitalism is taking a risk in business, if you fail…too bad…out of business you go. Socialism sends bailouts to their favorites!
Keiser Report: Mass Psychosis (E167)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUl6aFgL41U&feature=player_embedded
Keiser Report: Ghettofication of America (E168)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxQUKCyf8YA&feature=player_embedded#at=653
A boom in corporate profits, a bust in jobs, wages
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_18533859
What has caused this ‘Greater Depression’ in America?
http://www.amazon.com/Psychological-Warfare-New-World-Order/dp/0932367232/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311890494&sr=8-1
14 More Of The Coolest Resumes Ever
http://www.businessinsider.com/coolest-resumes-2011-7
Naming Names: Your Real Government (When dark deeds unfold, point the finger in this direction).
by Tony Cartalucci
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/03/naming-names-your-real-government.html
The Real Revolution
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/02/real-revolution.html
“Boycott the globalists, cut off their support, undermine their system, and they lose their ability to commit these atrocities. That will be a real revolution and it can start today. Not burning cities and masked rebels waving flags, but communities no longer dependent and fueling a corrupt system we all know must come to an end.”
Ben, well said. That’s what I’m talking about –HUMANS USING COMMON SENSE!!
Anyone interested in reading how the IRS is giving the “too big to fail wall st. firms” its own version of a bailout go to this website.
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=238507,00.html
It is giving billion dollar back door tax breaks to the same firms that came to us hat in hand seems like not too long ago.
Please share and get the word out.
The government is running out of money fast and the largest corporations won’t pay any taxes for years to come.