Perhaps It's Time To Just Call A National Dumb Conference.

   (Commentary posted by Roger Erickson)

On 2nd thought, make that "International." We'll need auto-spewers capable of attracting more attention than all Murdoch media combined, but with actual links to reality, for those able to tread propaganda.

Brian Romanchuk ‏@RomanchukBrian
"JPY Slides After IMF Warns Debt Is "Unsustainable"" -Zero Hedge: Doubling down on stupid. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-23/jpy-slides-after-imf-warns-debt-unsustainable …

Roger G Erickson ‏@rgeOps
@RomanchukBrian I'd say it's past quadrupling down, Brian. They're going for fixer than not broken, which is always expensive to repair. :(

Fiat is unsustainable? When nominal exceeds IQ, there's hell to pay?

I am not making this up. Lily's axiom is still true. 

This is the vaunted IMF we're talking about here. When they make warnings ... people [used to] listen. Perhaps that organization has the same fetish for countries that Dominique had for maids? Has anyone pulled the curtain back yet?

Anyway, it's a deluge, time to call in Noah's Bark.

How does an expanding aggregate stay ahead of it's own stupid?

Do they keep their Fx afloat by hoping it's bark is worse than it's bite? At this point, we might as well say anything, and see how the Sophists decide to interpret it.

Perhaps they're thinking that a flood of wrongs will miraculously produce a right? Shall we just retire to the porch and wait for a stoolpigeon sighting?

Perhaps it's time to just call a National Dumb Conference.

We can partner with the Darwin Awards, and offer to judge prizes for different size aggregates?

And an associated essay contest as well, in honor of Fiaticus A. Lynch, mythical hero in "To Make a Killing, Nerd!"

That will work, of course, only if it's backed by a country with a strong fiat currency. Let's ask Putin.

Amazingly, Dark Money Appears To Be Just As Dumb As No Money!

(Commentary posted by Roger Erickson)



Have you seen this essay about "dark art" of politics?

The Dark Money Man: How Sean Noble Moved the Kochs’ Cash into Politics and Made Millions

Amazingly, Dark Money appears to be just as dumb as no money!

(Since neither of the last 2 election cycles got as much bang as the big-spending buckaroos expected.)

Humans. Ya gotta love 'em.

Dumb enough to be resistant to their own stupidity.

Is there something awe inspiring hiding in all that stupidity?

Or is it just more dumb luck, eventually expressed on a yet greater scale? :)

It's Official. US Politicians Are As Dumb (Or Corrupt) As Any Worldwide. USA POTUS Begging For Foreign Fiat

   (Commentary posted by Roger Erickson.)



Either that, or they believe PT Barnum's maxim, that they can never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the US electorate. How's that make YOU feel?

Either way, there are two discussions going on here. First, there are the literal words being presented, repeated, and heard, by many distinct audiences. Second, there's the single, underlying situation that ALL audiences are part of. Let's just hold ourselves to a higher standard, ignore the semantic inanities, and focus on real, Situational Awareness, and any Desired Outcomes which the USA can get to, from here.

Barack Obama to announce aggressive strategy to attract [foreign] investment

For Pete's sake!!! What does ANY nation need foreign fiat for? Alexander Hamilton & the rest of the Founders must be spinning in their graves, wondering how we could stoop to endorsing, and topping, the very stupidity which they rebelled against! Being railroaded into using foreign fiat, as opposed to organizing their own, collective fiat.  Why? Pray tell? What's the consensus, Desired Outcome? What makes Obama's preferred path more attractive than the other ones? Are there any attractions which are more equal (to him) than outcomes that seem attractive to the rest of us? What about any remaining attraction to what's left of a resilient Middle Class in the USA?

Faced with this level of imbecility - or fraud - it really would be far smarter for every community to just organize their own, Public Bank - IF this current electorate could keep the Control Frauds from owning all Public Banks too, within 5 years. Yet if we could do that, why not just have a citizens revolt, and take back control of our own, national public bank? Make the Fed a Public Fed? We couldn't possibly do any worse than the existing pit of Control Fraud vipers that rules the Fed for the gain of orthodox economists, not the nation.

Hell, while we're at it, why not have democracy seize control of all lobbying organizations, and their little Treasury and Congress too? Who OWNS this supposed democracy, anyway? Whomever is willing to act like owners? Non-gangsters can act like owners too you know, in theory, if there's any domestic fiat left, that is, distributed throughout our former Middle Class. Anyone else willing to step up and voluntarily alter their acting career? New roles beckon in an ongoing, epic feature reality play. The outcome depends entirely on the efforts of the current cast of characters.

We need to have an honest discussion about methods for achieving that conensus, Desired Outcome. NOT a discussion that keeps us conquered, divided, confused and distracted from even acknowledging the consensus Desired Outcome that we used to accept.

Meanwhile, is this ongoing move by mega-merchants a formal coup by the wealthy 1% everywhere, to rule the 99% everywhere? Or are they just dumber'n a sack of hammers? It's not just a class war going on. Shipping and finance merchants are also perverting our entire government to wage guild-war against all manufacturers AND labor. And they are winning, so far. Free trade just means that mega-merchants are in control of tax and trade policy, and now fiscal policy as well.

What are we? Citizen owners of our own democracy, or just mega-merchant-fodder? Better answer that quick, or else the mega-merchants will run off with the royal-we response, supposedly on our behalf. (Did you notice that there's a 99% discount sale on democracy going on? Beneath our feet?)

This makes no sense, and is just another, unbalanced descent into yet another version of Central Planning by a cabal too small to wield the full-group intelligence we need just in order to survive. It's the parasites "winning" by killing their host. Once again, like in 1933, we need to save these idiots from themselves, as part of saving ourselves.

The merchant lobby logic is also inconsistent. MICC & other Corporate Welfare operates by fiat currency logic, while we're told that gold-std logic applies to the serfs. 

Huh? When do double-standards EVER scale efficiently? When wielded by supposedly genius-level Central Planners? In their dreams, and in our nightmares, that's when.

And we're also instructed to not ask questions? WTF is going on?

Why aren't more citizens asking WTF is going on?

ps: Forget 666. We're dealing with 444 - Foreign Fiat For. It's officially dumber than Cain's "999" formula, and more evil to boot.

The "Head" Is Hoarding Most Resources, And Is Threatening To Cut Off The Body?

Commentary by Roger Erickson

The Upper Looting Class thinks it doesn't need the Middle Class anymore? Is that like the adipose cells threatening to cut off the muscles and other organs? Or, are we back to cutting off the face, to spite the nose?

Declining wage shares undermine growth

Ya think? They'll do it too! We've seen 'em do it. They're crazy enough to pull the trigger! And we're dumb enough to back off and let 'em try. This plot works every which way and, for whatever reason, we insist on cycling through every possible iteration.

[You can't make this up. Do we have to go through this EVERY generation? For 3.5 BILLION years running? Apparently, the answer is "yes."* Nevertheless, the old story is that everyone learns best by putting their finger on a hot stove, NOT by their head stuffing the rest of the body into a hot oven. Something seems a bit extreme here. We're playing with fire again.]

Fine. My new business venture is novel. Flammable saddles, seat covers and even bluejeans. Get yours while they last, or I'll burn my insurance policy!! There's a fire sale going on. As usual. :(

* Capitalism. When your economy is going up in smoke ... sell matches?

Consider Us Collectively Ignorant.

Bill Black: Why Are There No Famous Financial Whistleblowers in This Crisis?

Over at MMT-discuss, Jerrit writes:
"Just a wild guess, but the rank and file at most dead-end jobs feel
(maybe correctly) that they're lucky to have a job and don't want to
rock the boat.

It's not outlandish to think that that's actually part of the looting
class' strategy. Keep the working class just desperate enough for
employment that they'll be less likely to speak out against further
looting."

Exactly. That's why education and mis-education are essential strategies for both sides, the 99% ... and the (innocently/purposely) Upper Looting Class. It's a risky game to loot your own electorate. You have to keep 'em confused enough to allow the looting, yet letting situational awareness dip too low risks losing the entire system.

It's stupid of course, since there's a better way. The only way looting gets started is when net situational awareness lags enough that people get distracted into such badly divisive strategies. It's never advised to even step onto a slippery slope, let alone grease it further. Return on coordination offers so much more, and so much less risk that an electorate has to be ignorant to ever stray from the path.

Consider us collectively ignorant.

Sure, we're always dumb when it comes to adapting to constantly and unpredictably changing situations, but are we getting dumber, or smarter in terms of our Adaptive Rate?  We should be finding slopes that head up, not down.  And stop letting sociopaths slinging oil in front of everyone else.  Please?

This Should Help You Sleep Better at Night

U.S. government less reliant on the Chinese for money to meet obligations

"While China remains a major lender, new data show taxpayers owe 10 percent less than year ago."

No verification of whether the journalist typed this with a straight face. It's considered orthodox to retain a poker faced demeanor, regardless of who you're taking payoffs from.

Utter ignorance is accepted as plausible deniability.  As are both dumb & dumber.