Jack the Pipper

Hans, a middle-aged German tourist on his first visit to Las Vegas, finds the red light district and enters a large brothel. The madam asks him to be seated and sends over a young lady to entertain him.

About fifteen years ago I remember when the guru-in-chief for Morgan Stanley was Barton Biggs. He is a very bright man and has had many investment successes, so don’t get me wrong when I share this.

The $50 billion in renewed FX swap lines at the beginning of December was a nice stocking stuffer for the eurozone. And you might recall the recent disclosure of the $7.7 trillion that the Federal Reserve loaned out to global banks to stem the impact of the 2008 financial crisis.

I find it interesting how complacent many still are regarding Asia, China in particular. But I guess if one vests so much time and effort to wave a convincing story, it is difficult to be objective (guilty as charged).

We hit on technocrats, out-of-control spending, unprincipled politicians, entitlement, monetary malaise, fiscal disorder, etc. If we were you, we’d probably deduce the same thing: time to bet on gold.

Give technocrats an excel spreadsheet, make a circle, hold hands, sing kumbaya, and all is right in the world. Well, at least in the world that matters to politicians–the real world where people work and live is a different story.

I read an article this morning suggesting the entitlement generation is ruining American culture. No arguments here. Join the club.

People will argue that eventually fundamentals always matter. It can also be argued that price dictates fundamentals over certain time frames.

Back in 2007 some no-name GOP political candidate with two first names emphasized the need to restructure our monetary system. But he had a hunch government would not even consider tackling the problem until a major crisis descended upon the US financial system.

When you think of what happened to our light bulbs you just shake your head and say: I couldn’t make this &*^% up if I tried! Sadly, when we watch the actions of the Fed we do the same.