London Banker on the Fed

"Along with the rest of the world, I have watched with increasing disquiet as the [US] morphed under President Bush into a lawless soft dictatorship more like the USSR than the USA. ... Over the past year every financial crisis has been met with lawless and Enron-esque innovation by the [Fed] and Treasury, and this week was arguably more extreme. ... After this week's secret and unaccountable and extra-legal moves by the US financial authorities, I will not be holding any assets in the [US]. I do not understand the rules. I doubt any rules will be fairly applied to all the players. I cannot be sure who the umpire works for, or what principles the umpire thinks they should uphold. ... Every initiative introduced as a temporary measure has become a permament fixture. ... The hypocrisy of the Bush administration criticizing Chavez while defending Paulson and Bernanke should be the stuff of late night stand up comedy. ... Stalin could not have drafted a better plan for central control of the global economy after wreaking such havoc and destruction. Up until this week I thought the gold bugs a bit mad. ... Given the very public concerns now being expressed in China and Russia, I am keeping company I would have once thought very surprising. ... The loss of 1200 lives on the Lusitania was deliberately allowed to justify US entry into World War I. The attacks on Pearl Harbor were known in the White House three days before the bombs fell, but were ignored to justify entry into World War II. Tonkin Gulf was a fraud. ... You get the idea. ... I no longer believe that every financial collapse is unanticipated or without behind the scenes orchestration of effects. I no longer trust the authorities to act fairly, honestly, in the public interest", my emphasis, London Banker (LB) at London Banker, 19 September 2008. Here's the link: http://londonbanker.blogspot.com/2008/09/unitary-federal-reserve.html.

Welcome aboard LB. A few points. I concluded FDR and General George Marshall knew Pearl would be attacked on 26 November 1941, they just didn't know if the attack would occur on 30 November or 7 December. I don't mind be called a "gold bug". I've been called much worse. While LB cannot be sure "who the umpire works for", I think we had a "bloodless coup". Why pick on Stalin? Marx suggested creating a central bank, see Plank 5 of the Communist Manifesto. Book suggestion: Crisis and Leviathan by Robert Higgs, 1987. Why be surprised when "temporary" measures become "permanent"? That's the sweep of American history.