There are some incredibly strange things that continue to occur out of Washington. I am not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch. But unless one chalks up the US government's actions (or inaction) entirely to severe incompetence, then one can only conclude that there are those in control who are continuing to intentionally act against the best interests of the American taxpayer.
The biggest problem- from the outside looking in- is that it is very difficult to figure out exactly who is in control. Is it President Obama and his administration? Is Obama himself being controlled by certain people within his administration? Is it certain Congressional leaders within an overloaded Democratic Congress who are really running the show? Is it Senator Christopher Dodd, Representative Barney Frank or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi? Or are there powerful outsiders who are behind what has been going on?
And, what's been going on, is this:
The American taxpayer is the stock market. Although this is a fact of life, and obvious, many Presidents have come into office only to then be smacked with the sobering realization that the stock market rules them- not the other way around. It certainly appears, on one level, that the new Obama administration is only beginning to figure this out, much to their chagrin. Unless, of course, they have already long figured this out and have another agenda in play.
It appears to me that those now in control have undertaken over the last 2 1/2 years to take control of the markets, our corporations and our financial institutions and that the average American citizen has been made weak and afraid in order to not be able to "fight back."
What was deeply troubling about the recent Rick Santelli/CNBC incident was the administration's blatant attempt to lay "down the law," so to speak, as to how the markets must bow down to their agenda- and not the other way around. It wasn't that press secretary Robert Gibbs was attacking and belittling Santelli the "taxpayer" (which is outrageous enough), but that he was attacking what Santelli represents: The financial markets. After all, Gibbs (and Obama) are fully aware that Santelli is not simply the "media", he is a highly educated financial mind and a former veteran derivatives trader himself. Moreover, in taking on Santelli, Gibbs was also fully aware that the Obama administration was taking on CNBC, which is the markets.
So the line was clearly and intentionally drawn by the White House, meant to send the message to the average American that the markets were not in control of policy- Obama was. There's no other way to explain what happened.
Which leads me to a very troubling, gut-wrenching deduction.
The President of the United States and the government know that there are certain tools and actions available to them that can immediately reverse the markets to the upside and therefore begin to immediately restore wealth to investors and lessen the panic out there, while the government figures out exactly what it is they want to do.
Such as:
1. Temporarily suspend or modify mark-to-market accounting while the government decides exactly how to deal with bad or distressed assets on the books. Or, at very least, stop talking in cryptic terms and let the markets know what is really going on. Obama talks about "transparency" yet there is no transparency coming out of D.C.
2. Restore the uptick rule or at least temporarily ban short-selling again to prevent shorts from continuing to destroy and downward-manipulate stock prices. This is important especially in an environment where buyers are not around so shorts are really the only movers of the stock price.
Why the heck is Congressman Ackerman admonishing the SEC to reinstate the rule, or else Congress will do it for them? If the SEC is acting in the best interests of investors and the public, what in tarnation is the hold up?
3. Lower mortgage rates for all American homeowners to a fixed 4% rate- even if this is later repealed for future homeowners- to at least, get current homeowners' mortgage payments to a lower level. It will also get potential homeowners to really jump in to buy (instead of deciding to wait, believing mortgage rates might come down in the future).
4. Send a clear and indisputable statement to all Americans that banks are not going to be nationalized. Period. Current contradictions coming out of Congress versus the administration are extremely troubling.
And, if the government is not going to do any of these things, then Obama should inform all Americans that he is not doing any of the above because he has other, better ideas that will take time to study and implement. In the meantime, the markets and therefore the taxpayer's wealth factor is in severe jeopardy because of the way markets work.
Obama knows that markets are mostly all about knowing what is what- that they adjust positively when there is some semblance of certainty, and respond negatively when there is uncertainty. This is not about placating traders who want to know what's going on, this is about informing the average passive investor, people with their stock investments and 401ks tied to the direction of the markets, that they are going to continue to suffer losses because policies are slow in being developed and implemented.
You see, the President is already entirely cognizant of all of the above. That with every passing week losses suffered by the average American as a result of the markets will continue to mount, along with a continuing destruction of investor and corporate confidence (and panic) that accompanies these losses, including resulting job losses.
So why isn't Obama doing any of the above or using his clout to effect some obvious "market-slide halters"? Why isn't the SEC doing anything they have the power to immediately effect some of the tools I've mentioned? Who exactly is the SEC listening to? They refuse to move and instead are dragging things on with "studies" and inaction. Is Mary Schapiro merely a puppet of the new administration?
The only reason the experienced people over at CNBC keep railing about the "incompetence" coming out of the government is that things have gone beyond the absurd.
CNBC is simply speaking for the markets, that which the markets already recognize to be true. The markets don't lie (except for some ramifications of fair value accounting) and stock prices on the markets have spoken. But, as the markets look to tank even further, CNBC has gotten commensurately rankled along with their viewers.
When does this absurdity end?!
Unless, of course, certain members of government, who are really in control, don't really want to fix things... Which seems to explain some very peculiar goings-on over the last 2 1/2 years in the financial markets. And continue on, to date.
I used to make fun of conspiracy theorists, until I witnessed the way this global market crash has played itself out.
Something is extremely out-of-whack...and needs to be addressed by all Americans. Rick Santelli's "Chicago Tea Party" is merely a reflection of what many in the markets are already feeling or trying to put into words. And it will not be long before the Average American taxpayer joins the Tea Party. Which may explain why Gibbs (and Obama) reacted the way they did- heaven forbid the average US citizen catches on...
As far as I'm concerned- the "Obama" love affair is over. Santelli has lifted the veil for all to see.
