Regular readers have already figured out that I’m no fan of either political party, and when it comes to the financial crisis-with a few exceptions-I believe Republicans and Democrats are equal opportunity destroyers.

Sen. Judd Gregg, Obama’s former Commerce Secretary appointee, may be one of the exceptions. Gregg is the ranking Republican member of the Senate Budget Committee and has been highly critical of Obama’s handling of the budget since withdrawing his name from consideration due to “irresolvable conflicts” over such issues as the porkulus-I mean the stimulus package-and the Census.

What struck me about this interview was Gregg’s comment about how if we keep going with this budget over the next 10 years as planned, that “this country will go bankrupt.” He goes on to say that the budget numbers “aren’t sustainable” and that members of the Obama administration “know they’re not sustainable.”

Think about the implications of that statement.  He’s basically saying that the Obama administration has developed a budget that will lead to the bankruptcy of this country and that they know it.

What if Gregg is correct and is telling the truth about Obama’s budget?  Why would the administration plot such a disastrous course?

I have an idea, but maybe my readers have theories that could spark discussion.

Quote of the Week: “If the American people allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”~Thomas Jefferson

Well, maybe not exactly homeless, just as long as you don’t mind calling a FEMA camp home.

Was Jefferson psychic about his predictions?  No, he was a political genius and the deeper we get into this crisis, the more apparent this will become in my opinion.

Right now, we’re headed for a historic deflationary spiral, and then a historic inflationary spiral, all predominantly caused, in my opinion, by the private bank known as the Federal Reserve, with the collusion of powerful people in the Republican and Democratic parties. (Is there anyone left in this country who is surprised to know that the Federal Reserve is no more Federal than Federal Express? Check this Youtube video for Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s comments at 3:44 for the start of the discussion about the Fed, while the “Federal Express” comment comes at 3:57.  He is also, in my opinion, one of the “exceptions.”

See you next time!

Buried News of the Week

Geithner Considers Chinese Proposal to Replace Dollar as World Reserve Currency

The wild divergence of predictions about our current economic crisis amazes me!

The March 16, 2009 issue of Newsweek has an article on page 37 entitled, “Brighter Days Ahead.”  The subhead proclaims, “The recovery will be sluggish.  But the doomsday scenario of depression, deflation and Dow 5000 seem farfetched.”

Farfetched?  If Nouriel Roubini of Forbes magazine is correct, I believe this is a load of garbage.  He wrote an article entitled, “The U.S. Financial System is Effectively Insolvent.” Roubini crunches the numbers and finds out that they don’t add up.  I would like to see an effective rebuke to Roubini’s analysis instead of corporate sponsored cheerleading.

My philosophy is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

To hope for the best, my advice would be to read the Newsweek article but don’t buy stocks right now for a long term hold.  I believe the markets are in a sucker’s rally right now and I’m holding fast to my prediction of Dow 5,500 or lower.

Prepare for the worst by listening to people like author Dmitry Orlov and Peter Schiff.

Orlov wrote the book, “Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects.”

Orlov was recently interviewed by Russia Today and sees the collapse of the United States as “unavoidable.”  He gives some advice on how to prepare, including starting a “tiny business,” eliminating debt and getting to know your neighbors.  That’s good advice no matter what happens!

Quote of the week: “I’ve always believed that America’s government was a unique political system-one designed by geniuses so that it could be run by idiots.  I was wrong.  No system can be smart enough to survive this level of incompetence and recklessness by the people charged to run it.”

~Thomas Friedman

Buried News of the Week

Seymour Hersh exposes Cheney sponsored “executive assassination ring”