Economic Utopia/Panacea

[Baruch]

This isn't about Sweden per se, or about socialism ... but about insane economic theory:

http://business.financialpost.com/business-insider/people-in-sweden-are-hiding-cash-in-their-microwaves-because-of-a-fascinating-and-terrifying-economic-experiment

Anybody who saves ... is an enemy of the State?

Anybody who is out of debt ... is an enemy of the State?

Anybody with hard cash ... is an enemy of the State?

This has been proposed in Denmark also.  The NWO wants this everywhere, not just Scandinavia.  Now Australia is talking about this too.

Under what rational theory of economics ... is negative interest rates reasonable?  Under what rational theory of economics ... is driving deposits out of the banks reasonable?

I hope someone here brings out all the reasons why this isn't insane ... not treason by the governments and banks.  This isn't what Iceland did, they jailed the bankers and are selling the bank assets to give back to the people.  But Icelanders are also Scandinavian.

[Baruch]

The banks since 2008 are not being financed by deposits ... but by QE.  I don't know if that is true in Sweden ... but it is true in the US and in Germany.  The bank's balance sheet is OK on paper, but not in reality.  It is an accounting gimmick.  So the bank looks profitable, just like Enron (if you don't examine the books too closely).  The banks won't lend this money out ... because it isn't real, it wasn't meant to be loaned out ... but they make the excuse that there are no viable lendees.  The economy gets more and more dependent on QE, like an alcoholic dependent on booze for calories.  But you can't live on booze, and it isn't a good source of calories anyway ... carbohydrates are.  So basically the government is doubling down ... in the economic casino ... by putting good money after bad.  Doing more QE won't help.  Doing more fiscal stimulus won't help (the government isn't main street economy, no more than finance is).  So they are trying to make main street do the fiscal stimulus.  Except it won't work, because most people are broke ... they didn't receive the QE, the offshore Bahamas accounts of the wealthy got that (as they skimmed off money from the false balance sheet).

So as far as I am concerned ... the banks are zombie banks (since 2008) ... they can never recover, since deposits are necessary, not QE, and deposits can't be had.  And free money from the government is better than making any small business loans, so they won't make any loans to main street.  The economy gets more and more hollow.  So basically the zombie banks and self-destructive government have to die ... otherwise the economy can never get right.  That is what should have happened in 2008, but some magicians came in and conjured a false recovery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SP4iii_THQ

Austerity doesn't work in Greece either, or anywhere else ... when the point is keeping the privileges and wealth of the nobility intact in bad times.  France should have defaulted on its loans, just as Greece should have.

[jonb]

I think it is probable that the 'authorities' are more than aware of the situation, but lacking any sort of comprehension of a direction, or control that could get them out of the dire consequences of the system running as it is, they have opted to cross their fingers and kick the can down the road for as long as it is possible.

[Baruch]

One can look at this "on the ground" and feel empathy for leaders who are out of their depth and drowning in problems beyond their control:

Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times ... precursor of Lucy chocolate factory scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxEud-DqJ64

Or you can look at this "at 30,000 feet high" and see ants ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B92m2aclWHE

Charlie and Adolph are the only two guys who could pull off that funny mustache ... and Charlie was first ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLlKJ9eL79w

[jonb]

https://youtu.be/WveevfQctBo