It's the debt Stupid!!!

Came across this on Zero Hedge and it explains in a sentence or two why none of our government stimulus activity is showing any results at this point. You don't need a PHD in economics to understand. Hat tip to David Rosenberg and Zero Hedge

U.S. consumers have 30% more credit card and other revolving debt on their balance sheet than they did just a decade ago. While outstandings are down 6% from the peak, there is still considerable contractions to go before household debt levels revert to the mean relative to both income and assets.

Releasing Strategic Petroleum Reserves.... Why?

I often lament the lack of leadership in both our government and corporate world. The story out today about us releasing oil out of the SPR for the summer driving season takes the cake. Another example of short term expediency instead of thoughtful planning and leadership. The SPR by name is supposed to be strategic. A little cheaper priced gas at the pump just doesn't fit the bill.It's just a cheap political stunt. Something I would expect from Chuck Schumer, not the President. So sad to see utter incompetence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/business/24oil.html?hpw

Latest GOP Poll #'s and Ron Paul

It's interesting how little respect Dr. Ron Paul gets from the decision shaping main stream media.. and that includes FAUX News. The latest Gallup results are posted up top and the obvious standout is how weak a front runner Mitt Romney is. At the same time, pretenders like Pawlenty, Huntsman, Santorum get much more mention and ink than their #'s would warrant.

The reason I even bring it up is that Ron Paul has been a consistent voice for years against our ongoing wars and against ongoing government spending.The wisdom of those positions is becoming clearer by the day, but is still not a message our media leaders want conveyed.How else to explain it?

Does Santorum Mean "IDIOT"

Rick Santorum has said a number of stupid things over the course of his public life, but this one just might top it all. It's amazing that this is what passes for "political leadership". This guy is running for President?


Former Sen. Rick Santorum said Tuesday that Sen. John McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years enduring brutal treatment at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors, doesn't know how effective waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques can be

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bin_laden_torture_republicans

Bank America to Charge 29.99% On Credit Cards

Let's look at the Big Picture. The US is a "consumer driven" economy. The consumer relies on credit to satisfy his/her fix. The economy continues to show lackluster growth that causes our friend at the Fed Ben Bernanke to keep "interest rates" low---almost 0 %. That near 0% is what our friends "the Banksters" pay to borrow money. You dear consumer if you need to carry a balance with an institution such as Bank America will be paying just about 30% annually on that balance.

Thank goodness the Fed is keeping rates low!


http://dailybail.com/home/bank-of-america-to-start-charging-30-on-credit-cards.html

March Madness: U.S. Gov’t Spent More Than Eight Times Its Monthly Revenue

There is not much more to say about this. The headline tells it all. It will work until the day it doesn't. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/march-madness-feds-spent-more-eight-time

Yearly Interest Expense On The National Debt Is????

As we head into a potential government shutdown this week and watch our political "leaders" flap their gums, it is worth putting some $'s behind the rhetoric. The current political argument has to do with the amount of "spending cuts" for this fiscal year. The Dems are pushing for $10 billion while the Repubs say they want about $50 billion.

So maybe we'll see a compromise after all the nonsense at around $30 billion. This battle will provide plenty of opportunity for media mavens to get plenty of air time. "Liberals" and " Conservatives" will be at each other's throats. The nonsense spewed by Matthews and Maddow on MSNBC will rival whatever the knuckleheads on FOX have to offer. It's great entertainment. We need something to replace March Madness.

Here's the thing , interest rates are outrageously low right now and in all probably will be heading northward sometime in the reasonable future. With almost zero interest rates, our interest expense this year is $400 billion. These idiot politicians are jerking our chains with "political arguments" about $20-$30 billion. An uptick in interest rates could add another $100 billion in interest expense easily... and that could be conservative estimate. So before we all get into the heated political back and forth just remember it's all theater. It's tantamount to the proverbial adjustment of the deck chairs on the Titanic. http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/ir/ir_expense.htm