A local Murdoch rag, The Australian, requires experienced editors it would seem; here’s a taste of the overkill that results from tightly managed, policy compliant, servile journalists – hold on to your stomachs!
Obama's witness, Oz PM, Kevin Rudd
We begin with the headline, “Rudd bears witness to new global order as Obama shines on debut.” [Emphasis added] Interesting portrayal inferring a subservient Oz PM (Rudd) and the unjustified glorification of a no account black lackey slave, doing the bidding of the same BIG MONEY interests that lorded over the Bush regime! There is no doubt Rudd deserves his clearly sycophantic description but Obama, “shining,” give us a break!
Nothing to merit ‘polish’ or a ‘glossy’ finish occurred at the G20, period! Obaa’ma was just another puppet politician doing the bidding of Western Money interests – the same interests that created the bloody economic mess in the first instance!
‘Consensus’ was reached regarding the need to curb the OBVIOUS wreckless behaviour of bankers and other financial operators that caused the economic catastrophe but little in the way of remedies were offered or ratified. A few (easily circumvented) salary caps for execs and even easier to bypass regulatory measures for hedge funds were offered a world extremely displeased with status quo adherents!
An astounding/laughable $1.4 trillion (for the world) stimulus package was agreed upon by the 20 largest economies; in the context of the U.S. national debt alone, $11 trillion, that figure pales into insignificance.
Another morsel of journalistic ‘flair’ couldn’t go without a citation, “While Mr Rudd is not the father of the new global order, he was in the room when it was delivered.” He was ‘in the room’ was he, so were the bloody caterers, hilarious! What do you think, Rupert? Another ‘exceptional’ effort from your stable of compliant, to scared to think outside the box, no talent, wimps masquerading as journalists!
Following hot on the period of the previous quote we have this 'Murdoch media policy statement,' “The other big highlight of the meeting was the stunning diplomatic debut of Barack Obama!” Where’s the bucket? Though the use of the theatrical term ‘debut’ was entirely appropriate! The only people ‘stunned’ are first year journalism students wondering how this idiot got a job – probably a brown nosed, custard faced, protégé of Glenn Milne.
However, the article has some value as an example of what occurs when narrow policy constraints act to repel talented staff, trainees and cadets!
Few western journos or commentators addressed the root causes of the economic failure and the FAILURE of the G20 to arrive at any effective solutions. The essential problem of Bankers applying a positive value to a negatively valued product CREDIT/DEBT, was not addressed. All the ‘solutions’ offered by the 20 puppet leaders are therefore glass beads. Time will expose the farce of the G20 summit and the utter futility of allowing central bankers to dictate economic policy. The Banker's 'remedy' is to IRRESPONSIBLY print more toilet paper money and create evermore negatively valued CREDIT/DEBT, which was the fundamental cause of the economic collapse!
The problem has been sold to the public as the cure, a typical banker's double think strategy! Not only is that an absurd 'solution', it is clearly a criminally incompetent action!
Link to entire article:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25283233-2702,00.html
by Mark Pittman and Bob Ivry via gan 2009-04-07 21:29:36
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have spent, lent or committed $12.8 trillion, an amount that approaches the value of everything produced in the country last year, to stem the longest recession since the 1930s.
New pledges from the Fed, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. include $1 trillion for the Public-Private Investment Program, designed to help investors buy distressed loans and other assets from U.S. banks. The money works out to $42,105 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. and 14 times the $899.8 billion of currency in circulation. The nation’s gross domestic product was $14.2 trillion in 2008.
President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with the chief executives of the nation’s 12 biggest banks on March 27 at the White House to enlist their support to thaw a 20-month freeze in bank lending.
“The president and Treasury Secretary Geithner have said they will do what it takes,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said after the meeting. “If it is enough, that will be great. If it is not enough, they will have to do more.”
Commitments include a $500 billion line of credit to the FDIC from the government’s coffers that will enable the agency to guarantee as much as $2 trillion worth of debt for participants in the Term Asset-Backed Lending Facility and the Public-Private Investment Program. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair warned that the insurance fund to protect customer deposits at U.S. banks could dry up because of bank failures.
‘Within an Eyelash’
The combined commitment has increased by 73 percent since November, when Bloomberg first estimated the funding, loans and guarantees at $7.4 trillion.
“The comparison to GDP serves the useful purpose of underscoring how extraordinary the efforts have been to stabilize the credit markets,” said Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Bank in Dallas.
“Everything the Fed, the FDIC and the Treasury do doesn’t always work out right but back in October we came within an eyelash of having a truly horrible collapse of our financial system, said Johnson, a former Fed senior economist. “They used their creativity to help the worst-case scenario from unfolding and I’m awfully glad they did it.”
Federal Reserve officials project the economy will keep shrinking until at least mid-year, which would mark the longest U.S. recession since the Great Depression.
The following table details how the Fed and the government have committed the money on behalf of American taxpayers over the past 20 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
=========================================================== --- Amounts (Billions)--- Limit Current =========================================================== Total $12,798.14 $4,169.71 ----------------------------------------------------------- Federal Reserve Total $7,765.64 $1,678.71 Primary Credit Discount $110.74 $61.31 Secondary Credit $0.19 $1.00 Primary dealer and others $147.00 $20.18 ABCP Liquidity $152.11 $6.85 AIG Credit $60.00 $43.19 Net Portfolio CP Funding $1,800.00 $241.31 Maiden Lane (Bear Stearns) $29.50 $28.82 Maiden Lane II (AIG) $22.50 $18.54 Maiden Lane III (AIG) $30.00 $24.04 Term Securities Lending $250.00 $88.55 Term Auction Facility $900.00 $468.59 Securities lending overnight $10.00 $4.41 Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility $900.00 $4.71 Currency Swaps/Other Assets $606.00 $377.87 MMIFF $540.00 $0.00 GSE Debt Purchases $600.00 $50.39 GSE Mortgage-Backed Securities $1,000.00 $236.16 Citigroup Bailout Fed Portion $220.40 $0.00 Bank of America Bailout $87.20 $0.00 Commitment to Buy Treasuries $300.00 $7.50 ----------------------------------------------------------- FDIC Total $2,038.50 $357.50 Public-Private Investment* $500.00 0.00 FDIC Liquidity Guarantees $1,400.00 $316.50 GE $126.00 $41.00 Citigroup Bailout FDIC $10.00 $0.00 Bank of America Bailout FDIC $2.50 $0.00 ----------------------------------------------------------- Treasury Total $2,694.00 $1,833.50 TARP $700.00 $599.50 Tax Break for Banks $29.00 $29.00 Stimulus Package (Bush) $168.00 $168.00 Stimulus II (Obama) $787.00 $787.00 Treasury Exchange Stabilization $50.00 $50.00 Student Loan Purchases $60.00 $0.00 Support for Fannie/Freddie $400.00 $200.00 Line of Credit for FDIC* $500.00 $0.00 ----------------------------------------------------------- HUD Total $300.00 $300.00 Hope for Homeowners FHA $300.00 $300.00 ----------------------------------------------------------- he FDIC’s commitment to guarantee lending under the Legacy Loan Program and the Legacy Asset Program includes a $500 billion line of credit from the U.S. Treasury.http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=armOzfkwtCA4