Politics

ABC Reports Cringe Worthy Comey Testimony

I’d call it something different than “cringe worthy”.  I’d call the details espoused by Comey in his testimony of Donald Trump nothing more than the typical bully like egocentric behavior representative of Trump’s conduct throughout the presidential campaign and what also seems now apparent in his business conduct throughout the years evidenced by the volume of law suits thrown at him.

I’ll let the lawyers dual on the subject of “obstruction of justice” but as far as my coherent rational mind sees it, if a sitting president makes a request of the FBI to drop an investigation, one should not even need to delve into the motive for such a request.  The FBI is independent of the White House and operates on behalf of the security of the nation with classified information which passes between and throughout presidential tenures.  If the FBI is confronted with data which it deems is compromising to the security of the nation, it has an incumbent responsibility to act on the data while incorporating its sense of relevancy.  These men and women are specialists in what they do and should be availed necessary funding if at their core they believe a matter requires investigation in the spirit of defending their country.

The United States citizens chose a president with values inconsistent with those necessary to occupy the oval office. It’s that simple.  However; in the two party system, I would place the blame entirely on the delegates bestowed a responsibility for anointing a genuine leader with integrity.  The sad footnote to the story is that some of the man’s ad hoc platform is what the U.S could use but now with Trump’s credibility undermined, the execution of such platform is cast in doubt.  How does the old saying go….if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it’s a duck.  If it tweets like a child, emotes like a child, insults like a child, and refers to its genitalia like a child, then it’s likely a child.  Unfortunately, more drama at the executive branch will be unfolding while the U.S. copes with a national debt growth rate at the highest in its history and a dysfunctional parliament refusing to cooperate for the good of the nation.

 

Uncategorized

Girl Most Likely

Sometimes I think entertainment pundits forget why we go to the movies.  We go as a form of escape discovering hilarity, empathy and thrill in the misadventures of fictional characters. Those cerebral critics seem to believe that if a story line is overly contrived with outlandish happenstance, then entertainment value is somehow compromised.  On the contrary, A Girl Most Likely has quirky freshness where the writer injects obscure creativity in the character of Ralph, some positivity amongst family dysfunction, and the occasional scene only accommodating to abnormal characters.  Funny dialogue abounds with law enforcement after rear ending of a Porsche by bedeviled protagonist Imogene (Kristen Wiig). Sex is normalized without an F bomb dropped even once.  A reptilian shell encapsulates in more ways than one. Weirdness becomes triumphant.  The elite become lame.  What’s not to “like”.

Economics

Three Prominent Doomsayers

As part of my financial education, I took a course called “macroeconomics”. The discipline was certainly more interesting than its cousin “microeconomics” because macroeconomics dealt with topics such as the money supply in association with fractional reserve banking, central banks, interest rate policy, inflation, gross domestic product, international trade, and government fiscal policy.  To this day I recall one moment sitting in class when my professor referenced the financial transaction evident when a new dollar bill is created.  The banking elite make reference to “open market operations”.  In Canada, if the “Bank of Canada” feels compelled to stimulate the economy, it does so by purchasing government denominated securities (treasury bills, bonds) in the open market.  Consequently, the seller deposits its cheque thereby increasing the capacity for the seller’s bank to lend against the increase in its “reserves”.  Money becomes available to a qualified debtor.  The scariest part of this transaction is skimmed over by academics.  Where did the Bank of Canada get the money to purchase these securities on the open market?  You guessed it – the Bank of Canada pulled it from its printing press.  What compliance formula did the Bank of Canada need to adhere prior to firing up the press?  Well, none.  That’s right, none.  It used to be the case prior to 1928 in Canada that new money could only be created with a proportionate increase in gold reserves (gold standard).  In 1991, the Canadian government enacted legislation abolishing any responsibility of Chartered Banks to hold cash reserves.  Hence; in the event of a sudden loss of confidence in the Canadian dollar, a wide swing in inflation / deflation, a material reduction in a debtor’s ability to repay loans, those first patrons to the ATM win.

Modern economic theory has aligned to the sentiment of D.H. Robertson from Cambridge University who in 1948 stated, “The value of a yellow metal, originally chosen as money because it tickled the fancy of savages, is clearly a chancy and irrelevant thing on which to base the value of our money and the stability of our industrial system.”  Today, three particular economic doomsayers, namely Jim Rickards, Peter Schiff, and Martin Armstrong have gone on record to refute the sentiment of Mr. Robertson in lieu of our current monetary system’s weakness.

Economics, Politics

Canadian Bail Out of Softwood Lumber

When you first embarked upon your career, you may have stumbled, adjusted, retooled, and re-evaluated.  Then you found your path.  If you are a highly capitalized business in Canada burdened with plant and equipment and a claim that jobs will be lost in the face of market forces, you get teary eyed and whine to governments for bail outs.  This is becoming endemic to the Canadian corporate psyche.  If you have business operations in Quebec – then governments not only wipe your tears with oodles of cash but roll out the red carpet in a direct line to the treasury.

Your governments get themselves into trouble because they cannot balance a cheque book.  Then they think in order to keep the funds flowing, they’ll need to “invest” in the plumbing that keeps the cash flowing.  They’ve got it wrong.  Capitalism is the driver of economic success.  Taxpayers expect services related to the common good and not targeted bail outs for losers irrespective of international trade agreements and barriers.

In a capitalist environment while facing international trade pressure, manufacturers curtail production until the environment once again turns friendly.  Those involved in the industry have every opportunity during a down turn in a land fostering freedom to redirect their energies just like every other Canadian is expected to do during times of career / job pressure.

I expect more of my governments handling my tax money and I bet you do too.

 

Uncategorized

Boorish U.S. President

While mainstream media rhetorically and tepidly asks the question, “Did President Trump push aside a world leader?”,  I’ll simply express the obvious having watched the clip.  President Trump pushed aside the President of Montenegro in an effort position himself in what he thought was a more favorable position amongst a crowd for whatever reason was circulating in his self centered mind. Will he apologize?  You and I know he’s not big on apologies. Will the incident be shrugged off by Europeans having been witnesses to the tumult en masse via social media?   On the surface – yes but I suspect there will be a metaphorical impact which will linger as supplemental subconscious residue.