Sovereign Debt is Everybody’s Problem

Alessandro Machi 11/09/2011  •

Perhaps it’s time to separate debt backed by governments and the federal reserve as the first line of defense, with debts that were created by wall street investment shenanigans.

The shenanigan debt can have no interest rate charges attached. http://swarmthebanks.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-did-pension-fund-managers-invest.html

Liah 11/09/2011  •

Greg

With all the years of warning, how anyone can say they “didn’t see it coming” is beyond belief. You, Jim Sinclair, Martin Armstrong, Jim Puplava, Fleckenstein – Zero Hedge was started by a guy who just couldn’t take it any more. The list of truthtellers is enormous!

But, the Sheeple will insist, “They just didn’t know.” And, the propagandists will have much to be proud of:

Nations unprepared, banks empty while banksters seek havens in guarded enclaves, systems so distorted and distrusted that gold, food and energy are the currencies of the realm.

And, all of it could have been avoided by strict adherence to the Constitution and Law – in the United States; and realism on the part of the European nations. Ooops, Japan and China would have to get real, too!

The next generations will reap the rewards of the soon-to-arrive disasters sown by the current (and recently past) ones. Let’s hope we leave the next ones so terrified that they actually remember history this time.

Liah

Robert V. 11/09/2011  •

Well, as a fond reader of past history, I’m worried the powers that be will pull their usual last card. It will be the same attention diverting ploy that they used after the panic of 1890, and the depression of the 1930’s. I fear that they will find reason for yet another World War to start the factories (and economies) running and enthrall the populace with patriotism.

I really really hope they do something different this time.

Mitchell Bupp 11/09/2011  •

My fiancee and I are in a better position than most; We have our home and land paid off. The title is in our hands and it will be a cold day in hell when we would be foolish enough to “cash in” as most people have been doing refis.

That said, we work for mortgage companies doing property inspections and property maintence work. However we don’t get paid that much for working for ourselves but it all about cash flow to keep rolling over our money monthly. There is a lot of work on REO (real estate owned) houses and this is one area people who have worked construction are qualified to do. So, if you need work be careful who you work for because some of the contractors take advantage of their subcontractors.

nm 11/09/2011  •

They can allow the banks holding this sovereign debt to default, or print money to bail them out.

Why can’t they just explain to the people why the banks should be allowed to default? No one is on the side of the banks except the bankers?

This would be populism at it’s core, which politicians like (or so I thought?)

jay 11/09/2011  •

will you bleed, or will you seed?
with so many out of work you would think there would be more farmming going on. sleep on little sheep.

Linda Majors 11/09/2011  •

As long as the public employee unions, firemen and police unions, teachers’ unions, and federal employees refuse to reduce their salaries, health care, and pensions which are unheard of in the “real” world, we cannot save America. Those on the government payroll, regardless of whether it is city, county, state, or federal, have become the bourgeoisie, the middle class, which is insane. In fact, they are the upper middle class. A policeman or fireman, in the depressed area of California where I reside, can retire at the age of 55 and receive more than $100K annually. While the retirees in the private sector, who must wait until at least the age of 62 before retiring, are lucky to get $15K annually. Further, very little is being done to bring good jobs back to America and help the “producers” who have been saddled with supporting the public employees. Even the billions of dollars of stimulus monies are mostly allocated to continue propping up government employees, instead of helping restore “real” jobs that will improve the economy. The bourgeoisie (middle class) should be the “producers,” not the government workers who prodouce nothing. We cannot be prosperous as long as the “producers” are mere serfs whose only purpose is to support the government employees and welfare recipients. I believe the solution is to stop the growth of all aspects of government. We must get back to work — doing the things that made America great.

George 11/10/2011  •

Greg,
While we need to make changes, there is nothing short of default or hyper-inflation that will resolve the USA’s debt issues. We owe too much to our own citizens before you even factor in foreign debt to ever pay 100 cents on the dollar…for that matter even 10. it is a relatively simple math exercise. Assets minus liabilities.
There is no way the government can hope to honor promises made to seniors unless they don’t live as long. While you and I would work to modify the system Obama has another plan. That where Rhambo’s brother comes to the rescue by rationing healthcare using cost benefit analysis. If you deny the old medical treatment, you don’t have to pay them Social Security either as dead people don’t draw benefits.

richard wilson 11/10/2011  •

Greg writes, “There was talk of Germany backing the EU bailout fund with its gold reserves, but that was rejected by the Germans. (Germany is the world’s number two holder of gold with 3,412 tonnes.) Can you blame them?”

Hold on, Greg.

Jens Weidmann, chairman of the Bundesbank (Germany’s central bank) only PRETENDED to reject it, because the German masses were outraged by the proposal made at the G-20 summit to use the gold as a basis for the ECB to issue a new salvo of debt bombs. You can take $20 billion in gold and fan it into $200 billion in credit (debt). It’s called 10-to-1 leveraging.

The bankers do not need permission. They have already acted. The gold heist is a done deal. (But you won’t read about this in the corporate media.)

In 2001 the (privately owned) Bundesbank surrendered control of its assets and currency to the (privately owned) ECB. The Bundesbank still exists, but only as the local German branch of the almighty ECB. The average German deludes himself that the Bundesbank is separate from the ECB, and retains control of Germany’s gold and foreign exchange reserves. Nope. Sorry. When you surrender your monetary sovereignty, you surrender EVERYTHING, including your gold.

There’s nothing that German politicians can do about this gold heist, even if they wanted to. (Which they don’t, since politicians collect a cut of every banker heist. If they were not paid by the bankers, they would reclaim monetary sovereignty, and pay themselves.)

Originally, German politicians thought they would control Europe via the ECB. Now the ECB controls German politicians. They intentionally created a banking monster, which has already hollowed out Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Portugal.

Now the monster has turned around. The only way it can keep growing is by eating its German mother, devouring Germany’s capital and savings.

Make no mistake. The ECB bankers have planned from the start to steal ALL the gold from ALL of Europe’s banks. It’s part of “austerity.” (And by the way, what happened to Libya’s 115 tons of gold?)

To pull off their grand heist, the bankers needed 17 nations to give up their monetary sovereignty. Now the ECB bankers will steal a portion of Germany’s gold, and branch out from there.

“Can’t pay the debt we imposed on you? No problem. Just give us your gold. After all, this is a CRISIS.” (Which we bankers deliberately caused.)

This is one reason why Hugo Chavez called for 90 percent of Venezuela’s gold to be returned to Venezuela. The first shipment of Venezuela’s gold will supposedly arrive in Caracas next week.

Do not underestimate the power of the bankers. We have made them into Satanic gods. All Western governments are now owned by private bankers, and thus have no power over their gold. (Anyone who thinks this is an exaggeration is not paying attention.)

And remember, all finance ministers and treasury secretaries come straight from the banks (e.g. Goldman Sachs), and return to them when they leave office. Their allegiance is to the banks, not to their countries. So if the banks want the gold, they are eager to give it to them.

No gold need be physically moved. It’s just a question of who owns it. Tim Geithner is a Goldman Sachs man. Thus, Goldman and the other big banks own the gold.

This gold stuff is important. The “experts” play it down, because they want their paper markets to continue functioning.

In early September gold hit an all-time high of $1,920.30 per troy ounce. Two and a half weeks later it fell to $1,534 per ounce. All the “experts” said China would liquidate (sell) all its gold. I said just the opposite: China would take advantage of the lowered price and buy EVEN MORE gold.

India too.

I was correct, of course, since I am not an “expert.” China’s purchases of gold shot up, and continue to accelerate.

One reason I knew this is that when all the “experts” agree on a prediction, it usually means the opposite will happen.

The question is, who did China buy that gold from? Probably from distressed nations and individuals crushed by debt imposed by private Chinese bankers. Oh yes, private bankers are the same everywhere. They cannot resist the temptation to play God.

After all, the masses insist on it.