Well it's now official, we're all going to be thrown under the bus to save the markets and investors

[MadHound]

Bernanke came out today, after having aggressively cut interest rates over the past couple of months, and promised that he would go right on cutting rates, inflation be damned. <http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080227/bs_afp/useconomybankrate_080227212436>

This isn't, as Bernanke claims, to help stimulate a slowing economy, this is to help keep the markets propped up. Raising the inflation rate(which is what rate cuts do) does not stimulate an economy like ours that is based so heavily on consumer spending. In fact rising inflation, as we've all seen this past year, depresses consumer spending and further slows down the economy. No, this is all to prop up the markets for as long as possible, sacrificing the rest of us in the process.

This has become evident the past couple of days. Despite a raft of bad economic news, the markets, especially yesterday, have continued to rise. There is no sound economic basis for these gains, only the hot air coming out of the Fed that is allowing for this defiance of gravity on the party of the markets.

However this can't last forever, or even for long. If you're invested in the market, I realize that you probably can't get out right now. But at least start some serious diversifying, especially into foreign investments. Despite the exchange rates, those are a safer harbor for your money at this point than domestic ones.

But whether you've money in the markets or not, we're all going to be screwed. Inflation is going to eat the ground out from beneath us, and our economy is going to crash in a major way. We'll be lucky if it's just a major, prolonged recession. Prepare as best you know. Me, I'm taking that rebate check and investing in Euros.

[Taverner]

1. See Argentina at the beginning of the 2000's

And you'll see where we're headed

[wtmusic]

2. Or Malaysia in 1997

When the currency isn't worth the paper it's printed on, you best be holding as little as possible.

[MadHound]

3. Sheeit! I'm thinking post WWI Germany!

Spend the money you made this morning in the afternoon while it's still worth something.

Get out your wheelbarrows.

[halobeam]

10. Just to compliment your post....

I thought I'd add an excerpt from wiki, about Argentina around the time frame you mention:


----The economy further declined during the military dictatorship that lasted from 1976 to 1983.<25>

During this period, the government borrowed large loans with high interest rates from the IMF and private banking institutions. The country engaged in a disorganized and corrupt rapid liberalization that marked the end of its industrial hegemony in Latin America. During the military dictatorship over 400,000 companies of all sizes went bankrupt. The economic decisions made from 1983 till 2001 failed to revert the situation. Finally, in 2001, after 3 years of recession, the economy broke down and reached its worst point in history.

Although significant progress has occurred since then, the result is that, today, while a significant segment of the population is still financially well-off, they stand in sharp contrast with the millions who have seen their purchasing power drastically reduced. Since 2002, there has been an improvement in the situation of the poorer sectors and a strong rebound of the middle class.----
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina#Contemporary_developments

[KillCapitalism]

14. Current day Zimbabwe would also make a good comparison.

1000% increases in inflation per year and 80% unemployment, it could easily happen here.

[joeybee12]

4. Ab-so-freakin'-lutely

He's gaming the system to help those on top...not the rest of us poor schmucks.

[MadHound]

6. I was absolutely astounded yesterday

Listening to the horrible economic numbers on my drive in yesterday morning, I was thinking it was going to be another three hundred point drop day. Coming home I damn near dropped over hearing it was one hundred and eighty points up. The markets officially have no connection to anything resembling economic reality.

[OwnedByFerrets]

5. The entire "game" is to keep it propped up until Febuary 2009...nt

[MadHound]

8. Yeah, that's been my thought for awhile now.

I just don't think that Bushco can keep those plates spinning that long. What's sad is I heard some brain dead economic hack make the statement that we the people are actually talking our way into a recession:eyes: No, it's not the housing bubble, the credit crunch, rising inflation, noooo, it's all our fault:grr:

[wtmusic]

9. First week of November '08 will work nt

[hvn_nbr_2]

13. November 2008, not February 2009, but that's only part of the game.

Perhaps my :tinfoilhat: is on too tight, but here's how I see it:

Three bigger, longer term games:

1. I think that they're actually planning to induce severe inflation. That's why they stopped reporting the M3 money supply. That way, they can hide from public view huge amounts of money handled by huge entities. A side effect is to basically destroy the U.S. dollar, but the super rich won't care because their assets are hard resources, means of production, and diversified into other currencies.

2. Why would they want to destroy the U.S. dollar? Part of a larger plan to destroy the U.S. government, because it is the primary entity in the world that has enough power to restrain and discipline mega-corporations. The whole Bushco regime is all about that, although Georgie Boy probably doesn't have much of any idea of the larger plan. After they neuter the U.S. government, the EU governments will be next, although that may become unnecessary. If the cold water flow from the melting north polar ice cap stops the Gulf Stream, western Europe will become an arm of Siberia and won't matter.

3. The real final game and goal: a new feudal system, similar to the medieval Europe system, but with different players taking on the main roles. Corporations get the role of the church; that is, they aren't technically the government but they effectively control the government and the society. The wealth-based nobility will not be land-based as was the medieval nobility; it will a combination of the currently wealthy and of corporate elites. And of course, the rest of us get to be serfs.

[sam sarrha]

7. Poppy41 only cost us $150 billion, Junior43 +same 41's cronys will cost $874 billion, pay off to th

crooks..

[global1]

11. Everything Will Be Alright - Bush Is Sending Us Checks.......nt.

[MadHound]

12. Like I said earlier, mines going into Euros.

Because pretty soon the dollar's going to be worthless.

[sepulveda]

15. there are a # of ways to do it

FXE (euro/usd ETF), also easy to buy Gold (GLD ETF), Oil (USO ETF), etc. and commodities (DBA ETF)

so, unlike in prior times, even the garden variety investor has access to commodities and currencies like never before

just for the record.

in the same period of time that the S%P 500 is up 18%, the dollar is down 38%.

lol.

[Scriptor Ignotus]

16. i've been reading these doomsday posts on DU

for over 3 years. I guess eventually one of them will be right, over a long enough timeline.