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TAX AND SPEND:

Peter Schiff has a novel idea to fix our fiscal problems - stop spending

!"While all the talk at present is about economic corners turned and markets charging ahead, no one is paying much notice to an American economy deteriorating before our eyes. These myopic commentators seem to be simply moving past the now almost-universally held conclusion that before the crash of 2008, our economy was on an unsustainable course. If these imbalances had been corrected, then perhaps I too would be joining in the euphoria. But evidence abounds that we have not veered at all from that dangerous path."

Now that Schiff is running for Senator against corrupt Chris Dodd, his language is a little more politically correct. I hate that.

"The recent 'rebound' in GDP is not resulting from increased economic output, but merely from the fact that we are borrowing more than ever. That is precisely how we got ourselves into this mess. An economy cannot grow indefinitely by borrowing more than it produces. Not only is such a course untenable, but the added debt ensures a deeper recession when the bills come due."

But you can't get any more clear than that. Except he should have said borrowing and printing instead of just borrowing.

"The primary factor that enables our government to peddle economic snake oil is the dollar's unique role as the world's reserve currency, and our creditors' willingness to preserve its status. By buying up dollars and loaning them back to us through Treasury debt, productive countries give American politicians carte blanche to play Santa Claus."

That's the Peter Schiff I've come to respect talking. That comment also explains why our crash is going to be so much more huge than the Soviet Union's. The world didn't prop up the Soviet Union's currency. Remember the old saying, the bigger they are, the harder they fall? Not only do we have a much larger economy than the Soviet Union (that's why we won the Cold War), we're also being propped up by other nations, which is exactly the opposite of the Soviet Union's position before the collapse. On the plus side, we have a much more vibrant economy to cushion our collapse, but on the whole, it's going to be much harsher because the world will collapse with us, though to a lesser extent.

You can think of the world economy as an umbrella being held up by multiple strings from an ancient oak tree poisoned by government. Poles poles rise from under the umbrella to hold up the dying tree. That tree is the US on the verge of collapse. When it falls, it's going to crash to the ground. Hard. And splinter. The umbrella will fall too, but it will have a softer landing and the people of the world will lift it back up with their poles much easier than anybody will be able to lift up the pieces of the collapsed tree.

"The bottom line is that foreign governments can lecture us all they want about the need for prudence but if they keep lending, we'll keep spending. Any parent knows that if you give your child a curfew yet never impose any penalties when it's violated, it will not be respected. My gut feeling is that foreign governments are tiring of our conduct and on the verge of finally imposing some discipline. That means the dollar's days as the world's reserve currency are numbered, and the days of American austerity are about to begin."

I already live in austerity.

ECONOMY:

With the ammo shortages Obama has created and the dollar crashing, it makes sense to evaluate ammo as money.

FEDERAL RESERVE:

The Chinese are abandoning the dollar for a basket of currencies and precious metals.

EDUCATION:

Grade inflation, dumbed down college curriculums and absurdly high prices make a college education, at least a bachelor's degree, a joke.

WAR:

Two synchronized car bombs kill at least 147 in Baghdad. Obama is furious. I guess I'm supposed to care more about Obama's fury than the lives of the victims. Obama doesn't have empathy for victims. Obama made it perfectly clear he preferred that Iraqis were still suffering from mass murder and filling the mass graves of Saddam Hussein. Obama is a tyrant wannabe angry that other tyrant wannabes are making his conquest of America harder. If he really gave a damn about the Iraqi people, he wouldn't have spent two years attacking George Bush (who acted under authority from Congress) for liberating Iraqis from a mass murderer. Whether he was right about Iraq being the wrong war or not is immaterial to Obama's feelings because Obama never tried to make the case that, despite the liberation of Iraqis, Congress's decision to invade was wrong. Instead, he attacked every aspect of the war, blaming it all on Bush as if Congress didn't vote for the invasion, including the liberation of Iraqis from one of the world's greatest mass murderers. He gave our enemies aid and comfort, and the inevitable and easily and often predicted result is increased violence. Besides which, I don't give a damn what that tyrant wannabe is furious about.

FOREIGN POLICY:

Iraqi officials gave the IAEA the Disney tour of the nuclear facility they have kept secret for years and years. Needless to say, the IAEA saw nothing behind the scenes and is looking forward to another show. Especially the Pirates of Persia show in 3D.