Mitchell’s laws: Reduced money growth never stimulates economic growth. To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments. Austerity breeds austerity and leads to civil disorder. Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
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Unremittingly and unashamedly biased toward the richest 1%, the Chicago Tribune editors seem to relish in their role as mouthpiece for the moneyed. To their credit however, the news sections of the paper seem less affected, which is why two revealing headlines appeared in one issue of the paper.

The two headlines illustrate the remarkable perfidy, not just of the Tribune, not just of the media, but of the politicians — the Congress and the President –running this nation on behalf of the wealthy.

The first headline — actually leading an editorial in the 12/6/11 issue: “Europe wept, still cut the debt”

The editorial goes on to say:

. . . Europe is starting to show the U.S. how to put an overspent, overborrowed economy back on track.

The key is establishing a credible plan to get out of debt . . . Announcing necessary cuts to an unaffordable pension system on Sunday, (Italian Welfare Minister Elsa) Fornero got choked up. She started to explain at a press conference, that Italy’s government had no choice but to require shared sacrifice.
[…]
What we wouldn’t give to see the cast of characters running Washington and Springfield take ownership of the financial mess they’ve put us in, and take action to get us out before we’re in as dire straits as Italy.

Some of you already may have puked at the implied and actual disinformation in this editorial. For the rest of you, let me explain.

Because the U.S. federal government is Monetarily Sovereign in the dollar, it can fund any amount of spending in its sovereign currency, without taxes or borrowing, limited only by inflation. Italy is monetarily non-sovereign. It uses the euro, over which it has no control. Two, diametrically opposite situations, requiring opposite action.

Like Italy, the U.S. states, counties and cities are monetarily non-sovereign, which is why they can have the difficulty paying their bills — a difficulty the federal government never has.

In short, any comparisons between the U.S. financial position and Italy’s are false — outright lies intended to deceive you in the 99%.

And as for “shared sacrifice,” what a crock! The sacrifice “sharing” will be among the middle and lower classes — the 99% — and their children. The rich will feel nothing, in fact will grow stronger by comparison.

The editorial continues:

The week kicked off with Italian austerity measures that mean business . . . . the minimum age for government-funded pension benefits would rise to 66 from 62 and most payments would be decoupled from inflation. No more automatic cost of living increases. Taxes would go up, too. . .

Let’s hope the European Union summit slated for Thursday and Friday yields progress — and an example for the U.S. to follow.

Who will be hurt? The lower 99%. Who will benefit from the increased wealth gap between rich and poor? The upper 1%. In the guise of fiscal responsibility, the Tribune’s well-paid, well-perked editors front for the rich against the middle and poor.

The second headline — remarkably, on the front page of the same 12/6/11 issue: “Post office cuts to hurt blacks”

The article goes on to say:

Closing centers will have huge impact on minority workers

For years, getting a government job meant security, good pay and a pathway into the middle class for many Americans, especially African-Americans and other minorities.

But with government agencies at all levels forced to slash expenses in a bid to balance budgets, that long-held promise is in danger of being broken.

The U.S. Postal Service’s announcement Monday that it plans to close 252 mail processing centers and trim 28,000 jobs to fend off possible bankruptcy is part of a growing trend of shrinking government employment opportunities.
[…]
“People have raised their kids with these jobs and bought homes in the black community,” said Adrian Peeple, 42, of South Holland, who began her career as a letter carrier . . .

Message to Ms. Peeple: The Tribune editors don’t give a damn about you. The politicians don’t give a damn about you. The richest 1% of doesn’t give a damn about you.

They tell you the government can’t afford to support you. It’s a ruse to keep you down. Sadly, their treachery has kept you ignorant of the truth, which is that the government is Monetarily Sovereign. It can afford to support your Post office. In the words of my newly converted pal, Barry Ritholtz:

The US government can always fund its spending, regardless of access to external debt markets or tax revenues, so long as it keeps inflation under control and doesn’t push aggregate spending beyond the economy’s capacity.

As a comfortable member of the 1%, I tell you this: Any member of the poor- and middle-class 99%, who pays for the Chicago Tribune is paying to be enslaved.

Ms. Peeple, there will come a day of enlightenment, and in the words of the New Testament, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Until then, don’t believe those who repeatedly step on your neck. Seek the truth.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

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No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
b>Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment + Private Consumption + Net exports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

Mitchell’s laws: Reduced money growth never stimulates economic growth. To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments. Austerity breeds austerity and leads to civil disorder. Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
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Do you think Barry Ritholtz finally gets it? Remember, this is the same Barry Ritholtz who wrote a scare article titled, “Who Will Buy Treasuries When the Fed Doesn’t” in which he described U.S. Treasuries as a Ponzi Scheme.

And when I wrote that the U.S. is Monetarily Sovereign and doesn’t need to sell Treasuries, nor is it in any danger of defaulting, this is the same Barry Ritholtz who said, “Jeebus, you fucking sovereign guys are such dreadful bores.” (Exact quote) And then he erased all my comments from his blog.

Now, the newly enlightened (?) Barry writes at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-sovereign-debt-ratings-may-161948941.html?l=1

The US still controls its own currency and issues debt in that currency. The US government can always fund its spending, regardless of access to external debt markets or tax revenues, so long as it keeps inflation under control and doesn’t push aggregate spending beyond the economy’s capacity.

The euro zone isn’t like that. The governments of France, Italy, Spain, and Germany issue debt in the euro, a currency they do not control.

Exactly correct, Barry. No Ponzi scheme. No concerns about who will buy our debt. Unlike the monetarily non-sovereign euro nations, the Monetarily Sovereign U.S. has only one constraint on its deficit spending: Inflation, not the ability to service its debt.

Since inflation is under control, and will be for the foreseeable future, and our real and immediate problem is lack of money and growth, why have the politicians, the media and Barry been so crazed about reducing the federal debt?

Ignorance and/or servility to the wealthy 1%. Which do you think describes Barry?

I ended the post titled, “The conversation Barry Ritholtz wouldn’t publish” with this line: “I expect that sometime down the road, Monetary Sovereignty will be understood and accepted by the mainstream, and Barry then will tell you he knew it all the time.”

Getting there, Barry. Late to the party, but always welcome.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

==========================================================================================================================================
No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
b>Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment + Private Consumption + Net exports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

Mitchell’s laws: Reduced money growth never stimulates economic growth. To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments. Austerity breeds austerity and leads to civil disorder. Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
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See how euro Europe formalizes the self-mutilation of the truly insane, by agreeing to make economic growth a crime.

Sarkozy, Merkel call for mandatory deficit limits for Euro zone countries

PARIS — Under growing pressure from nervous financial markets, the leaders of France and Germany reached a compromise agreement Monday to seek mandatory limits on budget deficits among debt-laden European governments.

The limits–a “golden rule” of 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product–would be enforced by leaders of the European Community, according to explanations provided by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint news conference here.

Governments whose debts exceeded three percent of their GDP would be cited by the European Court of Justice, after which a super-majority of 85 percent of European governments would have to agree to impose some sort of sanction against the offending country.

Austerity, not economic growth or citizen well-being, now will become the official policy of the euro nations.

The new rules would be part of a renegotiated European Union treaty that is to be completed by March and ratified two months later, Sarkozy and Merkel said. The speeded-up calendar is designed to show global financial markets that the 27-nation European Union is serious about bring its debt problem under control once and for all.

“Once and for all”? Get real. When austerity has the 99% raging in the streets, that “once and for all” will turn into, “How do we get out of this mess?”

The Franco-German accord is to be outlined in a letter to European Union leaders Wednesday and voted on at a special summit conference Thursday. Sarkozy said the hope is that all 27 nations will adhere to the plan. But he added that it could also move forward with consensus from only the 17 countries that use the euro as their common currency.

They even want the Monetarily Sovereign nations to join in this foolish plan. Those are the nations that could pay off all their debt tomorrow if they chose, but are being sucked into the euro ignorance. Misery loves company.

Merkel hinted before the meeting that Germany will insist on sanctions for spendthrift governments, and other moves to instill fiscal discipline, in exchange for any decision to make more funds available to countries that have run so deeply into the hole that they can sell their bonds only with excessively high interest rates. In other words, she wants other European countries to run their economies more like Germany does.

Oh sure, enforce German discipline on Italy and France. That should be interesting. One tiny problem. The Germans succeed because they are net exporters. Getting all the euro nations to be net exporters should be an interesting exercise in mathematics.

Many inside Germany argue that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is simply holding out to put as much pressure for reforms on laxer Southern European countries as possible. Already Italy has implemented austerity measures, Spain has passed a constitutional amendment to limit its debt, and Greece has sworn to crack down on tax scofflaws — changes that seemed unthinkable just a year ago.

Since WWII went badly for Germany, perhaps she belatedly can win the war by forcing the rest of Europe into austerity.

The problem is not that the euro nations spend too much or tax too little. What the EU leaders term “profligate,” i.e. running deficits, is the only way to grow an economy. The problem is that they are not Monetarily Sovereign.

As I have said, seemingly forever: There are two, and only two, long-term solutions for euro nations:

1. Return to Monetary Sovereignty
or
2. The EU to give (not lend) euros to member nations as needed.

There are no other long term solutions.

Meanwhile, stare in amazement, as the euro nations continue to saw off pieces of themselves – the self mutilation of the truly insane. Oops. Our own Congress and President are trying to do the same to us.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

==========================================================================================================================================
No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
b>Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment + Private Consumption + Net exports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

Mitchell’s laws: Reduced money growth never stimulates economic growth. To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments. Austerity breeds austerity and leads to civil disorder. Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
==========================================================================================================================================

The 1% steps up its efforts to brainwash you. Are you falling for it?

What do these Chicago Tribune men have in common: *Tony W. Hunter, Publisher; *Vince Casanova, President; *Gerould W. Kern, Editor; *R. Bruce Dold, Editorial Page Editor

Answer: Unless the Tribune is especially miserly, these men all are part of the upper wealth classes (aka the “1%”), and here is what they wrote on 12/3/11:

Think big – before it’s too late
For lack of bold actions, we’re choking on debt and yearning for growth.

Notice how “big” and “bold,” both positive words in the American lexicon, cleverly are used to describe efforts to cut back and reduce the masses to austerity. (The 1% never experience austerity.)

Their words form lie #1. The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, cannot “choke” on its debt. It could eliminate all T-securities (aka “debt”) tomorrow, simply by crediting the bank accounts of T-security holders, which the federal government uniquely has the power to do.

Even the word “debt” is a lie of sorts, because so-called federal “debt” actually is a measure of our money supply, and there is no way we are “choking” on our money supply. Quite the opposite, we are starved for money. The “debt” should be much larger. The Tribune’s “big, bold” plan is to starve us further.

Lie #2 is the implication that reducing the debt would enable economic growth. As you can see from the following graph, the exact reverse is true. Reductions in “debt” (money) growth inevitably lead to recessions, while “debt” (money) growth gets us out of recessions.

. . . as the nation lurches toward fiscal disaster. Congress is wrangling to extend a payroll tax break and unemployment benefits . . .

Lie #3 is the implication that benefits coming to you in the the middle and lower classes (the 99%), will cause some sort fiscal disaster. In the Tribune’s world, the richest 1% are entitled to their wealth, but heaven forbid any money flow to the rest of you.

The U.S. lost its AAA credit rating over the summer.

That’s lie #4, by omission. The credit rating was established by the 1%-owned agency that gave AAA ratings to worthless mortgage securities, which helped cause the recession. This agency wants to scare the 99% into cutting their own financial throats.

But credit rating is based on ability and willingness to pay, and the U.S. has both the unlimited ability and the willingness (barring efforts by the Tribune, et al). No federal check ever has, or ever will, bounce. The phony credit rating is scare-mongering at its worst.

The future is mortgaged, the nation’s youth sold out.

Another lie, #5, by implication. Our Monetarily Sovereign government has no difficulty servicing its debt, taxes do not pay for the debt, and the nation’s youth do not owe the federal debt. So, what does “the future is mortgaged” mean? No one knows. Just lying scare words.

But I’ll tell you what does sell out our the nations youth: Reductions in Social Security and Medicare – reductions the 1% wish to foist on the population. That’s money our children and grandchildren never will see, because the wealthiest don’t want you to have the power money brings.

Take away tax deductions for mortgage interest. Jack up the retirement age for Social Security.

These are just a few of the efforts the Tribune supports. Notice, there is no effort to take away the tax deductions for corporate interest. Oh, no. That would affect the 1%. But eliminating the mortgage interest deduction, and reducing Social Security, both depended upon by the middle class, that’s “big” and “bold” in Tribune-speak.

After months of talks, the bipartisan team of lawmakers failed to reach a deficit reduction agreement with the modest goal of cutting only $1.2 trillion over 10 years – a minor fraction of the expected deficits . . . Put this nation back on track. Think big.

When the Tribune says, “Think big,” it actually means to cut the money supply, not by $1.2 trillion but by $4 trillion, most of that coming from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, lifelines for the 99%. That $4 trillion is not a “minor fraction” of anything. It’s dollars coming right out of your pocket.

If the idea is to wait until the 2012 election before acting, we’re appalled. Every wasted minute puts Americans and their government deeper in the hole. The same hole in which several vastly overspent, overborrowed people and governments of Europe already wallow.

This is the whopper of whoppers. Lie #6: Americans are “in the hole” specifically because their government is not enough “in the hole.” Remember this equation:

Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings.

It says, very simply, that increasing Federal Deficits increases Net Private Savings. This is not theory or even hypothesis. It is a basic accounting fact of federal financing. So if you want your savings reduced, as the Tribune does, then reducing federal deficits is the path.

Lie #7 makes the faulty comparison between the monetarily non-sovereign European nations versus the Monetarily Sovereign United States. The former cannot create their sovereign currencies, so for them, debt is a burden. The U.S. can create its sovereign currency, so for our government, debt is no burden whatsoever. So-called “debt” is our money supply. The Tribune’s comparison is more dishonest than apples / oranges. It’s apples / anthrax.

I am ready to give up on the notion that the Tribune is ignorant. I have contacted them dozens of times, including specific correspondence with Bruce Dold. Not only does he not get it, he refuses to discuss it in substance. Since no one in his position could be that stupid, I am beginning to believe his ignorance is intentional.

Money is power. As probable members of the 1%, the Tribune executives not only seems willing, but anxious, to keep the lower classes down, so their upper class will have more power over you. In short, they seem willing to hurt America for their own personal gain – the definition of a traitor.

I award the Chicago Tribune three traitor images.

And fear not, Tribune. You keep printing lies and I’ll keep awarding you traitor images. I never will run short. I never will “choke” on them. I, like the U.S., am sovereign.)

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

==========================================================================================================================================
No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
b>Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment + Private Consumption + Net exports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY