08/13/10 Tampa, Florida – Bill Bonner here at The Daily Reckoning writes that Tim Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America, is the author of the now-infamous “Welcome to the Recovery” piece he wrote for The New York Times, which I meant to read, and tried to read, but I could only get part way through it before getting visibly upset with such self-serving, lying, sophomoric qualitative excuse-mongering.
I also think I remember quickly scanning the article, but it was just, “Bah! More of the Same Old Crap (SOC)” about how the brave, handsome and beautiful brilliant Obama people (like Mr. Geithner himself) and the brave, handsome and beautiful geniuses in Congress courageously worked together in a glorious heroic effort to “save us” from the terrible fate of booms caused by inflationary increases in the money supply and the cancer of deficit-spending governments grown to grotesque proportions, by (oddly enough) providing more government grotesqueries by dint of outrageously more deficit-spending and even outrageously more money created by the outrageous Federal Reserve! Outrageous! How could I continue reading such crap?
Anyway, Mr. Bonner thankfully does not mention how I seem to be working myself into a Raging Mogambo Snit (RMS) about this stuff right in front of his eyes, like some kind of weird Jekyll and Hyde monster, or how I am so angry that little specks of spittle are flying out of my mouth at high rates of speed as I speak, which I do, loudly, so that even the furthermost disinterested passerby will hear me and think to him or herself, “Gee! The Federal Reserve is a monster that has destroyed us with their stupid neo-Keynesian econometric inanities, which apparently translates as ‘Mathematical reasons why the money supply should be increased all the time, only varying between more and a lot more, depending upon, you know, the current whim as to arrangements of formulae and computer models!’”
Instead, he apparently intuits that it would calm me down to note that Geithner mentions “that households were paying down their debts,” which he somehow sees as “a sign of recovery.”
And you know what? He was right! Whereas I was angry, now I am laughing! Hahaha! I am laughing the Bitter Laugh Of Scorn (BLOS) at Tim Geithner and that anyone else would see good news in massive leveraging of a depreciating fiat currency to amass suffocating, bankrupting, un-payable debt levels in every part of the economy, leading to less consumption, leading to losses, declining sales revenues to retailers, credit card companies, and taxing authorities. Hahaha! Bitter Laugh Of Scorn (BLOS)! BLOS! Hahaha!
Apparently, I was too detailed in my explanation of how Tim Geithner is an idiot, and I was immediately bombarded with questions like “Did you say something that was not stupid?” and, “Could you explain that, please, or are you too stupid?” and, “What is wrong with you that you sound so stupid?”
So I was soon busy with explaining to the media nerds how a consumer-driven society, especially one where total government spending is half of GDP, is the Shining Path To Doom (SPTD), and Mr. Bonner shows not only real insight into the problem, but with the brevity that is, so they say, the soul of wit, which explains with crystal clarity that debt repayment is not, as Mr. Geithner believes, a sign of recovery, as, in a consumerist, debt-driven currency and economy, “it is actually the source of the slump.”
Paradoxically, it is also the sign of a boom in gold, silver and oil which, because they are so cheap right now, makes you gloat, “Whee! This investing stuff is easy!”
The Mogambo Guru
for The Daily Reckoning
The Mogambo Guru
Richard Daughty (Mogambo Guru) is general partner and COO for Smith Consultant Group, serving the financial and medical communities, and the writer/publisher of the Mogambo Guru economic newsletter, an avocational exercise to better heap disrespect on those who desperately deserve it. The Mogambo Guru is quoted frequently in Barron's, The Daily Reckoning , and other fine publications. For podcasts featuring the Mogambo, click here.
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…Geithner mentions “that households were paying down their debts,” which he somehow sees as “a sign of recovery.”
Paying down debts is good for an individual (lower credit card debt owed means less credit card interest owed) but is Bad for the economy, since every dollar used to pay down debt means there is one less dollar to buy goods and/or services, unless consumers pay with plastic, which apparently they are not doing since they are trying to pay down credit card debt.
Lower credit card balances mean the credit card companies earn less in interest from credit cards, so the credit card companies earn less money, meaning the credit card companies are less profitable, less likely to buy new technology, less pay for employees, etc.
Yet Geithner thinks paying off debt is signs of an economic recovery-
I guess it just goes to show you that Turbo Tax Timmy knows even less about economics than he knows about 1040 forms.
Geithner is a complete idiot but having said that you had better go back to the funny farm junior.
Just wanted to say I look forward to every new article by The Great Mogambo (TGM). Reading the various articles and posts about economics is stressful in today’s environment. But this expert makes it a fun experience. I thank you very much- keep it up.
consumers paying off debt is no more a sign of recovery than a heart attack stricken man pressing his hands onto his chest a sign of his recovery from his heart attack. That Turbo Tax Tim would say so seems to show him to be an idiot. It may finger him as a liar rather than an idiot. Sometimes it is hard to tell with these Obama people. The whole article in the Times reminds me of another liar/idiot question: Bush the second standing under the “mission accomplished” banner
Do you all think that paying debts with money that is in reality another masked debt can make any sense any more?
Historically all fiat currencies have failed and all people die.
Perceiving when these things are going to happen influence sound decision making.
If I knew the dollar was going to be destroyed tomorrow I would do something different then if it gets ruined 50 years from now. Same applies to my life.