Log in

View Full Version : The Unraveling of a Ponzi Scheme


Feuer Frei!
06-05-11, 10:56 AM
The news media in this country are in a stupor. Either out of ignorance, or complete leftist bias and fraud to protect their socialist hero Barack Obama, the mainstream media has turned a blind eye toward the enormous disaster facing our economy. The greatest Ponzi scheme in world history is coming to an end, leaving America on the precipice of economic Armageddon. Here are the facts the mainstream media does not want you to see- hiding in plain site just like Osama bin Laden was.
Bill Gross is the world’s biggest bond trader. He runs the PIMCO bond fund with over $250 billion under management. He recently disclosed through financial filings that PIMCO has sold every single U.S. bond in its portfolio. Local, state, federal bonds- all sold off. Gross knows bonds are about to default in record numbers. And most importantly, he knows that the last resort of the Federal Reserve buying our own government’s bonds at auction is a certain sign of Armageddon. When no one is left to buy your own debt but you, you have reached the end of a Ponzi Scheme.
Then there is legendary Wall Street investor Stanley Druckenmiller. He, too, is calling the Fed’s bond purchases a fraud and a Ponzi scheme. Druckenmiller says, “There is a phony buyer of $19 billion per week of Treasury Bonds.” The phony buyer he refers to is the U.S. government. Druckenmiller knows that when a country resorts to buying its own debt, we are seeing the last days of the Roman Empire.
Another Wall Street legend, Jim Rogers, spoke out at a business conference last week. He said he plans to short sell (bet against) U.S. bonds with both hands. Rogers added, “If any of you have bonds, I would urge you to go home and sell them. If any of you are bond portfolio managers, I would get another job…if I were you, I would think about becoming a farmer.”

Finally, we have the opinion of municipal bond expert Meredith Whitney, named by Fortune magazine as “one of the 50 most powerful women in business,” and by Time magazine as “one of the 100 most influential people.” She sees America in financial ruin with 50 to 100 cities defaulting on their debt in the next year.
What do these financial legends know that the rest of us do not?
First of all, reality is catching up to America. The Ponzi scheme of printing fake money to pay real bills is coming to an end. The jig is up- there is no way to sustain America’s massive welfare state anymore. When the Stimulus runs out, states will face disaster. The federal government currently pays for 30% of the states’ bills. Without that welfare from the feds, the game is over for the states.
But that is just the start. The states pay 40% of the bills of their cities. As soon as that welfare ends, look for mounting numbers of municipalities to declare bankruptcy and default on their debts. The vicious cycle is only getting started.


On the federal level, the trustees of both Social Security and Medicare admitted just this past week that their massive Ponzi schemes are running on empty. Both funds are running out of money far sooner than projected. Social Security will now run a permanent deficit. It is also important to remember there is no money in the “lock box.” All that is in the lock box is worthless paper IOU’s. It has all been spent. The Ponzi scheme is unraveling.
The list goes on. The country’s annual deficit approaches $2 trillion. The national debt approaches a staggering $15 trillion. The debt plus unfunded liabilities approaches an unimaginable $100 trillion. The debt-to-GDP ratio approaches the 90% number- a figure that few countries have ever recovered from. One of every seven Americans is on food stamps. We are fighting three expensive wars with no purpose, and no end in sight.
Every economic recovery in modern history has been led by a residential real estate boom. Yet today, the real estate crash is accelerating. The current real estate implosion is now worse than the Great Depression.
The two scourges of any economy are unemployment and inflation. That is why those two statistics make up the entire “Misery Index.” The only expert I trust to give the true figures is John Williams of ShadowStats.com. He calculates those numbers the way our own government did until 1990, when they decided to rig the system to prevent panic and unrest. Based on pre-1990 calculations, today’s CPI inflation is now over 10% and unemployment is 15%. This 25% Misery Index is, by far, the highest in modern history. Even more foreboding, 10% inflation is a leading indicator of hyperinflation on the way. Any rise in inflation would force dramatic raises in interest rates, which would eat up the entire budget. Game over for America.
History always repeats. This vicious cycle of misery will force massive layoffs of government employees, and massive cuts in entitlements and social services. This will result in Greece-like levels of protests, government employee union strikes, unrest, and riots.
The ancient Chinese proverb says, “May you live in interesting times.” We are all watching history. This is the unraveling of a Ponzi scheme.


SOURCE (http://biggovernment.com/waroot/2011/05/17/the-unraveling-of-a-ponzi-scheme/)

Armistead
06-05-11, 11:12 AM
I totally agree, even other big players like Buffet, Gates and Trump say we're headed for economic collapse on a scale not seen before. History proved we handled the bailouts the wrong way, we should've let all bad banks and corporations fail, history proves once things hit rock bottom the rich private sector will spend it back up...that's what works.

Still, I hardly blame Obama although he's played his role all the pieces were already in place and created by both parties. Bush passed Tarp, not Obama, bad mistake. What liberals ignore is government can't spend itself out of debt, you don't borrow money to pay off borrowed money.

An election is coming, so politicains aren't going to be truthful about SS or medicare, but both are unsubstainable. Simply, the majority of us have been robbed, we'll never see the money we've paid in, it's already gone.
Both programs now owe almost 70 trillion to those paid in and both funds are totally empty. Yes, let's add another 14 million illegals to the system.

All factors show we're headed for a two class system of about 10% uber rich, the rest poor compared to where we once were. Many people will see suffering on a high level, mostly those that are ill. Most studies show in 20 years or less over 50% of americans won't have health insurance or be uninsured.

I think right now both parties are serving their friends and special interest, to set them up so they won't see the mass suffering that's coming. The bailout is spent, but unemployment is going up. Construction in NC is down 60% compared to last year which was a bad year, housing looking worse, forclosures back up, companies cutting wages and benefits. Only the rich are getting richer right now, but they're not putting their money into options that build jobs.

nikimcbee
06-05-11, 07:12 PM
On the federal level, the trustees of both Social Security and Medicare admitted just this past week that their massive Ponzi schemes are running on empty. Both funds are running out of money far sooner than projected. Social Security will now run a permanent deficit. It is also important to remember there is no money in the “lock box.” All that is in the lock box is worthless paper IOU’s. It has all been spent. The Ponzi scheme is unraveling.


:haha:
Don't make me do my algore impersonation.:O:

or..I'll ...be... putting...you...in...a...lock...box.
http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/50272_2230905425_5621_n.jpg

(and to think, this dope LOST to W):haha::haha::haha::haha::har::har::har:

Tchocky
06-05-11, 08:49 PM
Ah yes, bond traders and financial "legends". These people know what they're talking about. Especially regarding what is and is not a housing boom.

It's a shame they were all on holidays for 2001-08, we could have used this insight to avoid that horrid Lehman/AIG/subprime thing that somehow happened suddenly out of a clear blue sky.

A clear-headed rational piece of economic writing is not required to use the word "Armageddon" straight out of the gate or use the phrase "Ponzi scheme" so many times that I'm sure the author has a macro for it.

mookiemookie
06-05-11, 09:56 PM
I'm in the bond business. And I'll just say there's so much there that's twisted, misconstrued, and flat out wrong.

A few tidbits:

1. Bill Gross is famous for talking his book. If he's come out and said he's dumped his bonds, he's trying to drive down the market so they're cheap when he repurchases them. Which he already most likely has, and has made a killing on it as Treasuries have been on quite a run lately.

2. Meridith Whitney is an equity analyst. She knows nothing about municipal bonds. Her name is a joke on our muni desk.

3. "The debt-to-GDP ratio approaches the 90% number- a figure that few countries have ever recovered from." Huh? This chart is from late 2010. We're not even in the top 10 in the world for debt to GDP

http://www.investinganswers.com/images/table820.jpg

Articles like this are trash.

Betonov
06-06-11, 01:46 AM
Where did you get that table, I want to see what's the situation in my country :hmmm:

mookiemookie
06-06-11, 06:46 AM
Where did you get that table, I want to see what's the situation in my country :hmmm:

I just did a Google images search for "debt to gdp ratio".

Onkel Neal
06-06-11, 07:31 PM
Nice rebuttal.:salute:

Betonov
06-07-11, 02:45 AM
I just did a Google images search for "debt to gdp ratio".

Damn, found nothing usefull. One graph tells me we've 112% percent dept to GDP ratio, another tells us were 15%... :doh:

And the world factbook tells me 35% :doh:

kraznyi_oktjabr
06-07-11, 04:26 AM
Damn, found nothing usefull. One graph tells me we've 112% percent dept to GDP ratio, another tells us were 15%... :doh:

And the world factbook tells me 35% :doh:
Have you checked dates of those graphs? Many countries have gone to spending spree lately in name of "stimulus" and "being accountable towards others" (aka. Greece, Ireland, Portugal).

Betonov
06-07-11, 04:41 AM
Have you checked dates of those graphs? Many countries have gone to spending spree lately in name of "stimulus" and "being accountable towards others" (aka. Greece, Ireland, Portugal).

Good point, world factbook has it at 2009 (damn CIA, you're getting lazy) so we really are at 112% :o

mookiemookie
06-07-11, 07:56 AM
Some calculations are different - I've found that debt to GDP ratios that put the U.S. somewhere around 50% don't include state debt, only Federal.

I was in a hurry the other day and linked to the first semi-respectable looking graph I saw. Will have to look into it in more detail. CIA world factbook is usually a great source.

Ducimus
06-07-11, 12:03 PM
Articles like this are trash.

Look where it came from. http://biggovernment.com/

Hardly an impartial and credible news source.