- So ah, take out delivery. Don’t you have tons of time on your hands to cook
- Something like seven years to get a doctors degree and still so much contradictory opinion about wearing a mask and defining etiology
- Idiocy of downplaying potential and then actualizing the black swan.
- Still selling toilet paper in packages of 18 rolls weeks after discovering supply chain issue.
- Much talk and little real leadership from particular politicians.
- Few people exercising outside and you know they’re headed for a weight gain dilemma.
- Human rights reflection in failing to permit cruise ships to port.
- Potential for infringing on civil liberties with cell phone tracking permissions.
- Discounting any semblance of common sense and government dictums with bulletin board notices and patronizing ads about staying home.
- Instances of misplaced sense of authority over others’ conduct.
Monetary System and Bankers Code
Canada is facing a large increase to the money supply in the context of new social programs associated with COVID-19. Your government in conjunction with financial news outlets do not want to use language like “increase the money supply” because it may be deemed alarming or inflationary. Instead, it refers to the monetary system in bankers code.
In essence, government securities are floated for distribution to commercial banks via the country’s “central bank”. The creation of this “security” (example would be a treasury bill or bond) in effect provides the directive for printing press operators to flip the switch. However; in advance of the creation of the new security, the central bank will check its “reserves” to ensure that the “vaults” are sufficiently equipped with an “asset” to merit the production of a new “security”. This is where things get interesting.
It used to be the case that gold characterized the reserve asset. However; gold lost its lustre as a reserve asset when President Nixon took the U.S. off the “Gold Standard” in 1971. President Roosevelt Roosevelt in fact ordered Americans to return gold for dollars as a mechanism to cope with The Great Depression.
So now, we have the creation of new money without a tangible assets being served as its foundation for existence. Furthermore, we are presented with ever increasing national debts represented by the apparent financing of governments by holders of such securities which will stretch way beyond ledgers of domestic commercial banks. We also have the vast majority of economists supporting such a system and special interest groups professionally organized to acquire government funding.
What can happen when a Black Swan event such as COVID-19 compels governments to inject new money in the hands of consumers in the context of a monetary system which has no tangible asset at its root? Inflation or deflation of course. This is the great debate. Logic dictates that prices should rise with a larger monetary base. However; when social conditions deteriorate, a hoarding impulse may compel folks to store their cash thereby producing deflation. Every economist will tell you that the worst economic scenario is one of “deflation”.
Politicians without any exposure to “Austrian Economic Theory” will naturally defer to “Keynesian” (flooding market with currency during demand drop) doctrine of mainstream economic thought. Will next generations be contented with paying interest on seemingly unsustainable national debts or will there be a consolidation at some point? Author Jim Rickard has referenced the “Special Depository Right” as a new unit of currency established by the International Monetary Fund.
Still A Trump Fan? – Here’s One For You
So, you’re still a Trump fan? You’ve now heard of the $2 Trillion COVID-19 U.S. stimulus package – right. You recall that there was a bit of a delay in getting it through in spite of general bipartisan support. Well, it’s 880 pages apparently and room was needed to help along the one percent club during this health crisis. Yes. While health professionals scrambled without sufficient PPE ( you will know the acronym now) to care for the overwhelming caseload, while masses digested news of job loss, and while families hunkered down in self-isolation, legislators were hard at work fine tuning an earmark to grant a new tax benefit for the richest one per cent of Americans.
You see, the way you grant benefits to the one per cent club is you change a tax provision. Those earning this kind of money have “multiple streams of income”. Tax rules typically have restrictions when it comes to amortization (depreciation). The U.S. tax code up until the corona virus stimulus package had a limit on the ability to deduct excess losses generated from amortization (depreciation) from real estate (buildings) against other forms of income. The limit was $500,000. This limit has been removed. Let’s think this through. For those real estate developers who are now going to encounter serious drops in market valuation, the probability of experiencing “recapture” on written down buildings in the future during an ultimate disposal is reduced (lesser capital gain or loss), but today they’ll get the benefit of reducing aggregate taxable income by utilizing unlimited excess losses. Actually, not only today but they’ve been granted retroactive treatment back to 2018 by amending their 2018 returns.
Now, do you want to cut Trump a little slack with his incoherent COVID-19 bafflegab when behind the scenes he was distracted on how to potentially profit from misery with an earmarked addendum to a stimulus package?
What would an honourable leader do if he wanted to grant such a benefit? He would float the topic to the public, debate it openly in parliament and grant it a vote within its own piece of legislation.
Credits to CNN and NY Times.
Untimely Elimination of Epidemiologist Position
There was an untimely elimination of an epidemiologist position in China back in July of 2019. You know how much Mr. Trump liked to exclaim “you’re fired” back when he hosted “The Apprentice”. It’s Reuters and four of their sources who expose this stunning revelation. The key post administered through the American Centre for Disease Control was bestowed the duty of identifying disease outbreaks in China. Dr. Linda Quick served in the role prior to it being extinguished. This woman actually trained Chinese field epidemiologists in concert with monitoring the public health landscape. Chinese American Bao-Ping Zhu who served in the role from 2007 to 2011 expressed his dismay to Reuters. The four sources also confided to Reuters that no other foreign disease experts were embedded in China after the departure of Dr. Quick.
Who would have thought during the taping of “The Apprentice” that the term “you’re fired” by one, Donald Trump would one day come back and haunt hundreds of thousands of people around the world whose health depends on the early detection of deadly viruses? Were there other variables associated with the outbreak? Yes. One very important variable would have been the strength of the relationship between countries and the goodwill of China in communicating issues around public health to the U.S. and the World Health Organization. I’ll leave it to you to speculate whether Trump fostered trustworthy relations with the Chinese. If these sources are correct, the World Health Organization may have also failed in its duty to deploy resources inside China.
The matter of corporate interests in the aviation sector, the “travel bug”, and duties of repatriating citizens, and limitations of airports in dealing with crowds have also been key elements associated with this pandemic of COVID-19. The aviation industry as we see it today and the negative consequences we’ve come to realize were likely unimaginable to the Wright Brothers as they pioneered motorized flight.
Cavalier Trump And COVID-19
Has cavalier Trump posturing as Chief Medical Man having made irresponsible initial remarks during outbreak tempted New Yorkers to ignore social distancing guidelines? Governor Cuomo was appropriately eloquent and stern yesterday when bringing attention to the non-compliant social distancing behaviour of New Yorkers
One might ask…what role must the U.S. federal government play in back stopping a “for profit” medical system with idle inventory of medical supplies in the case of a pandemic? Well….when you look at some the spending decisions made by Congress…one might suggest that this has been one hugely over looked budget line item.
Given the character of Donald Trump and his propensity for vindictiveness, it was easy to predict his “blame” on China for not communicating effectively with his administration. Oh yes, he couldn’t help himself from labelling the virus the “Chinese virus” as a reference to where he thinks the blames lies never mind the racist overtone. You’ll recall the remark pertaining to the white supremacists marching against the removal of confederate statues. “There are good people on both sides.”
Instead of deferring to medical professionals and heeding their counsel, he’s compelled to stand at the microphone and spew defensive rhetoric when faced with legitimate questions at his gong show of a daily briefing. After pointing Pence as the front man, his unwavering ego of course demands the spotlight.
As one procurer of medical supplies has pointed out “it’s the wild west”. Perhaps, a phrase which aptly characterizes the White House operations tainted with nepotism, oppression evident by personnel turnover, and skulduggery exemplified by Ukraine / Biden scandal. America, you had your chance to oust him but were denied due to gutless senators holding the party line.