[Rich]

Trump is super cool. However, he may need to do something about the Chairman of the Fed if he wants to get re-elected.

The Fed deliberately held interest rates down too low in 2003/4 to get W Bush re-elected. It was the excess money from that period that exacerbated the 2007/8 crash.

[Steve_American]

President Barack Obama will step down after eight years as commander in chief with one of the most influential tenures leading the U.S. military, but not necessarily the political support of service members.

His moves to slim down the armed forces, move away from traditional military might and overhaul social policies prohibiting the service of minority groups have proven divisive in the ranks. His critics have accused him of trading a strong security posture for political points, and for allowing the rise of terrorists like the Islamic State group whom the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were supposed to silence.

More than half of troops surveyed in the latest Military Times/Institute for Veterans and Military Families poll said they have an unfavorable opinion of Obama and his two-terms leading the military. About 36 percent said they approve of his job as commander in chief.

Their complaints include the president’s decision to decrease military personnel (71 percent think it should be higher), his moves to withdraw combat troops from Iraq (59 percent say it made America less safe) and his lack of focus on the biggest dangers facing America (64 percent say China represents a significant threat to the U.S.)

"There’s no question this era will go down as the third ‘hollow’ army, and it’s the president’s fault," said James Jay Carafano, deputy director of international studies at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "For all his promises, the operations tempo hasn’t gone down as much as he hoped, and he has invested little in the military."

Troops responding to the Military Times/IVMF poll saw years of defense budget fights as the largest blemish on Obama’s presidency. Two-thirds said spending caps enacted in 2011 have had a very negative effect on military morale, and another 28 percent said it was harmful to a lesser extent. Fewer than two percent saw the budget caps as a positive for the military.

Conservatives have attacked Obama for the lower defense budgets for years, arguing that his insistence on pairing military spending with non-defense spending has crippled Pentagon efforts to modernize and recapitalize.

The caps — known as sequestration — have been blamed for shortfalls in parts and repairs, cuts in training time and a gradual drawdown in military manpower. They’ve also contributed to a host of compensation trims, as Pentagon leaders have held down pay increases and stipend raises in recent years to help offset funding reductions in other areas.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2017 ... is-legacy/

With all due respect [which in your case is none],
It was the Repuds in Congress who forced sequestration on the nation and therefore the military.
They could have raised taxes and avoided it.
They wanted to keep Obama from having anything good happen while he was President.
They deserve all the blame for poor spending choices. I mean 110% of the blame. Do you understand me now?

[jimjam]

Trump is super cool. However, he may need to do something about the Chairman of the Fed if he wants to get re-elected.

Right on. An independent Fed would not sit well with any dictator in his right mind. While he's at it, a little white out carefully applied to the Constitution would also be helpful .

[blackjack21]

Right on. An independent Fed would not sit well with any dictator in his right mind. While he's at it, a little white out carefully applied to the Constitution would also be helpful .

The Federal Reserve is a private banking corporation, not an independent branch of the United States government. Where did you get that idea?

As for the constitution on that matter, let me help you out here:

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;

...

Funny. Do you see a "Federal Reserve" anywhere in the US constitution? I don't. Be honest with me jimjam... Have you been watching too much television again?

Congress simply delegated its regulatory power to the Federal Reserve, and the authority to appoint its officers to the president. Congress can resume doing its job as the constitution prescribes whenever it likes. I'd say that won't happen until "hell freezes over", but Trump is president. So I'll say, "that won't happen until the Oakland Raiders win the Super Bowl." How's that for a euphemism for "perhaps never"?

[jimjam]

The Federal Reserve is a private banking corporation, not an independent branch of the United States government. Where did you get that idea?
As for the constitution on that matter, let me help you out here:

Um ….. the Fed does not take orders from the POTUS.
My constitution reference had nothing to do with my Fed comment. I simply thought Donald would be so much happier if he could quickly eliminate some of it's more annoying clauses with a little white out.

#21 what would we do without each other. I'm certain that you are having as much fun as I am …… likely more since you had a 4.0 GPA and I a pathetic 2.0

Television? I never spend time with it. It is so vapid. Pofo is so much more intellectual .

[Steve_American]

The Federal Reserve is a private banking corporation, not an independent branch of the United States government. Where did you get that idea?

...snip...

The econ. Prof. who are MMTers treat the Fed. Res. as a branch of Gov.
. . . They say ---
1] It (the Fed.) was created by an act of Congress which directs it to fight unemployment and inflation.
2] It is called a corp., but all real corps. have charters from a state like Delaware. Does the Fed. have a state charter?
3] All the profit it makes goes into the US Gov. account at the Fed. What real corp. gives all its profit to the Gov.?
4] A majority of its Governors and the Chairman are appointed by the President and can be removed by him also.

It doesn't seem much like an ordinary real corp., does it?

[SpecialOlympian]

I haven't read any of the last 20 plus pages or so but I'm just going to assume from what Steve_American quoted that blackjack's YouTube education, at the feet of transsexual and transvestite Nazis like Styxenhammer, has finally brought him to the point where he's angrily showing dollar bills to people and shouting, "See!? It's not money, it's a Federal Reserve Note!"

Funny. Do you see a "Federal Reserve" anywhere in the US constitution? I don't. Be honest with me jimjam... Have you been watching too much television again?

Oh hell yes. We're like a couple months away from blackjack talking about how Black's Law Dictionary says he's a Free Man on the Land. This is galaxy brain level shit right here.

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

Guys! Guys! The Air Force and Trump's Space Force are unconstitutional!!!

[blackjack21]

The econ. Prof. who are MMTers treat the Fed. Res. as a branch of Gov.
. . . They say ---
1] It (the Fed.) was created by an act of Congress which directs it to fight unemployment and inflation.
2] It is called a corp., but all real corps. have charters from a state like Delaware. Does the Fed. have a state charter?
3] All the profit it makes goes into the US Gov. account at the Fed. What real corp. gives all its profit to the Gov.?
4] A majority of its Governors and the Chairman are appointed by the President and can be removed by him also.

It doesn't seem much like an ordinary real corp., does it?

The Act of Congress creating it basically created it as a means of rediscounting commercial paper. The Fed is regulated by Congress, and the current objective is to maintain full employment while keeping inflation low. Just because something is created by an Act of Congress doesn't mean it doesn't have any normal properties. For example, Wells Fargo Bank is a nationally chartered bank, but it is still a Delaware Corporation. The Fed is owned by its member banks, who themselves are corporations too.

Cities are typically municipal corporations as well. Municipal corporations have officers and directors that are generally not known to the public, since they don't perform any political roles.

I haven't read any of the last 20 plus pages or so but I'm just going to assume from what Steve_American quoted that blackjack's YouTube education, at the feet of transsexual and transvestite Nazis like Styxenhammer, has finally brought him to the point where he's angrily showing dollar bills to people and shouting, "See!? It's not money, it's a Federal Reserve Note!"

I actually have a degree in business. So I don't have to entertain any theories about how banking works from Styxhexenhammer666. Not that it would matter to you given your penchant for hallucinogenics, but I wrote the business and functional requirements for a legal compliance expert system for interstate lending in the mid-2000s. I could give you a long discussion on the difference between federally-charted banks, state chartered banks, state-licensed lenders, federal and state savings banks, credit unions, etc. I'm sure you would find it amusing, since you seem to find virtually everything amusing (pseudobulbar affect disorder?).

Guys! Guys! The Air Force and Trump's Space Force are unconstitutional!!!

The constitution does not preclude creating an Air Force or a space force.

Using "republican" as a set, you can also spell lice, crap, reap, blue, care, pane, burl, lean, bean, narc, ruin, near, real, pure, epic, crane, lance, pubic, public, libra, clear, neural, nubile, nuclei, prince, nail, nailer, peculiar, ruinable, and incurable among others. Far out man!!!

[Steve_American]

The Act of Congress creating it basically created it as a means of rediscounting commercial paper. The Fed is regulated by Congress, and the current objective is to maintain full employment while keeping inflation low. Just because something is created by an Act of Congress doesn't mean it doesn't have any normal properties. For example, Wells Fargo Bank is a nationally chartered bank, but it is still a Delaware Corporation. The Fed is owned by its member banks, who themselves are corporations too.

Cities are typically municipal corporations as well. Municipal corporations have officers and directors that are generally not known to the public, since they don't perform any political roles.


I actually have a degree in business. So I don't have to entertain any theories about how banking works from Styxhexenhammer666. Not that it would matter to you given your penchant for hallucinogenics, but I wrote the business and functional requirements for a legal compliance expert system for interstate lending in the mid-2000s. I could give you a long discussion on the difference between federally-charted banks, state chartered banks, state-licensed lenders, federal and state savings banks, credit unions, etc. I'm sure you would find it amusing, since you seem to find virtually everything amusing (pseudobulbar affect disorder?).


The constitution does not preclude creating an Air Force or a space force.

Using "republican" as a set, you can also spell lice, crap, reap, blue, care, pane, burl, lean, bean, narc, ruin, near, real, pure, epic, crane, lance, pubic, public, libra, clear, neural, nubile, nuclei, prince, nail, nailer, peculiar, ruinable, and incurable among others. Far out man!!!

Do you deny that all the profits of the Fed. are paid to the Gov. and not to the member banks that you say "own" the Fed., and that the President appoints the majority of its governors? If not then in what sense do they own the Fed.?

Also, you say that the Fed. is not constitutional because the Constitution doesn't explicitly say that the Gov. can create the Fed. in the present form. And then you turn right around and claim that an Air Force is constitutional because it doesn't explicitly say that it can NOT create an Air Force. Which is it? Do you personally get to decide when the Gov. can do something that it doesn't explicitly say that it can do?

[blackjack21]

Do you deny that all the profits of the Fed. are paid to the Gov. and not to the member banks that you say "own" the Fed., and that the President appoints the majority of its governors? If not then in what sense do they own the Fed.?

No. I do not deny that the Fed can make a profit and pay it to the US Treasury. They can also lend money to member banks at a discount rate lower than they provide it to virtually anyone else, including the government. Do you agree that member banks can borrow money at the discount rate, but that the government has to borrow money at market rates? Do you deny that this gives banks a huge financial advantage, which allows them to profit in ways that individuals and the government cannot?

Also, you say that the Fed. is not constitutional because the Constitution doesn't explicitly say that the Gov. can create the Fed. in the present form.

I never said any such thing. I said the Federal Reserve is not to be found anywhere in the US constitution. In fact, the US did not have a national bank at its creation and for quite some time. In fact, some of the biggest political fights in the early Republic were about the Bank of the United States and the Second Bank of the United States.

And then you turn right around and claim that an Air Force is constitutional because it doesn't explicitly say that it can NOT create an Air Force. Which is it? Do you personally get to decide when the Gov. can do something that it doesn't explicitly say that it can do?

It's neither. It's that you decided in your own mind that I said something I did not say.

[Torus34]

I've not read through the pages of this thread but, judging from this page, the comments are more about zingers back and forth than discussion of the titular topic.

So, how does the elevation of Mr. Lawrence Kudlow to President of the United States of America Donald Trump's economics advisor play out? Specifically, how does Mr. Kudlow's continued belief in a strong dollar conflict, if at all, with the US balance of payments and our export industries?

[SpecialOlympian]

I actually have a degree in business.

Oooh an MBA. Impressive.

Not that it would matter to you given your penchant for hallucinogenics, but I wrote the business and functional requirements for a legal compliance expert system for interstate lending in the mid-2000s. I could give you a long discussion on the difference between federally-charted banks, state chartered banks, state-licensed lenders, federal and state savings banks, credit unions, etc. I'm sure you would find it amusing, since you seem to find virtually everything amusing (pseudobulbar affect disorder?).

"I'm so not owned I'm goiing to ramble on about how much I know."

[Crantag]

Oooh an MBA. Impressive.

I think he has a BS in Business Administration, not an MBA.

Just like Trump has a bachelor's in business, and so BJ thinks he's an expert of economics.

A bachelor's doesn't make you an expert of anything though, by quite a stretch (which applies to BS, also).

[One Degree]

Getting elitist are we? It would be nice if a degree was proof you knew what you were talking about, but it isn’t. It is only proof you knew what others said.

[Crantag]

Getting elitist are we? It would be nice if a degree was proof you knew what you were talking about, but it isn’t. It is only proof you knew what others said.

Yeah, BJ is definitely elitist, if that's how you want to define elitism. Good call.

[MistyTiger]

If Trump actuallly understood Economics, he would not be dumb. He would know how to make stock prices soar. But we are seeing them plummet. Right about now is a good time to buy methinks...

[jimjam]

I actually have a degree in business.

As do I. About the only thing I remember from my formal economics education is a quote from Dr. Kraemer the Department Head that he made on the first day of class. " The most important thing about the science of economics is to know how to get the money from the other guy's pocket into your pocket." My GPA of 2.0 was exactly half of yours at 4.0 which makes you twice as smart as I or half as smart, depending on how the situation is viewed. I, from the get go, could not see the value of spending large amounts of time studying meaningless nonsense and regurgitating it all back simply to post #'s that "proved" how smart I was.

If Trump actuallly understood Economics, he would not be dumb. He would know how to make stock prices soar. But we are seeing them plummet. Right about now is a good time to buy methinks...

Donald is not stupid (he is psychopathic, there is a difference) and he understands economics quite well. The problem for America is that his understanding of economics works well in an economic model that is way smaller than the national or world model. We can call it Donald Economics. Flood the arena with cash and lies and when the floor drops out you disappear behind a mob of lawyers and leave others holding the bag. On Donald's level it is called bankruptcy while on the national/world level it is called depression/recession. Either way, the other guy (or in the current situation … the American people) gets the fucking and is left holding the bag.

Don't buy yet ….. the shit is just starting to hit the fan. And, when you do buy, buy real estate that is well positioned.

[Crantag]

If Trump actuallly understood Economics, he would not be dumb. He would know how to make stock prices soar. But we are seeing them plummet. Right about now is a good time to buy methinks...

Too soon. I am just a laymen but they aren't done falling I don't think. There are a fair number of commentators predicting a recession possibly in the next year or two. Don't try to catch falling knives.

[Godstud]

I am trying to get my remaining cash out of the stock market, as well. I was lucky enough to move a lot into an investment before the "correction" in Sept that would have seen me lose 10%. There's a crash coming, even my financial consultant sees it coming.

[Stormsmith]

Ditto.