George W. Bush

„I support action at the federal level that will help more families keep their homes,“ Bush said in his weekly radio address. „It is not the government’s job to bail out speculators, or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford.“

[…] More than 2 million Americans will lose their homes as introductory interest rates on mortgages reset to higher levels in coming months, according to the center.

„The Federal government is working to make the mortgage industry more transparent and more reliable and more fair, so we can reduce the likelihood that homeowners will face similar problems in the future.“

Quelle: Bush Says He Wants to Help Homeowners, Not Mortgage Lenders

Ben Bernanke

„The Federal Reserve stands ready to take additional actions as needed to provide liquidity and promote the orderly functioning of markets,“ Bernanke said. He also made clear he won’t rescue investors from bad decisions.

[…] „It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve — nor would it be appropriate — to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions,“ Bernanke said. „But the developments in financial markets can have broad economic effects felt by many outside the markets, and the Federal Reserve must take those effects into account.“

Quelle: Bernanke Says Fed Prepared to `Act‘ to Stem Credit-Rout Impact

Economically competing countries like China hold vast reserves of these dollars we have been printing. They are also wise to the fact that their dollar reserves are being eroded away by the day as we print more dollars. (The Saudis are also well aware of this. They are are effectively only getting$50/bbl thanks to the diluted dollar.) They have begun selling their dollars thereby reducing the global demand for dollars and our ability to inflate our way out of debt. Heaven help us if we ever really annoy them. They could destroy our country over night by flooding the world with dollars – more certainly than a nuclear strike! In fact, China has leaked military documents to this effect!

Quelle: Monetary Policy and Weaseling Out of Debt

Längst sind die ach so freien Vereinigten Staaten in Geiselhaft – und niemand hat es bisher realisiert. Mir scheint es, als ob die Besitzer der Schuldscheine seit längerem fieberhaft überlegen, wie sie den Vorteil auch wirklich zu ihren Gunsten ausnutzen.

Wargames

Ich selbst bin mir immer noch nicht sicher, ob sich China wirklich teuflisch ins Fleisch schneiden würde, wenn man den Markt mit Dollars fluten würde:

Those nations that hold enough dollar reserves to cripple the US would likewise be crippled by such a move. China needs the US market to keep its population employed. Saudi Arabia needs protection now as much as they ever have. That’s one reassuring angle on what is a scary subject. If the US sinks, the world will sink too.

Kommentar 232406

Ist das wirklich so? Ist ein heller Geist dieser Hypothese in den letzten Jahren nachgegangen? Stimmt sie? Oder haben wir uns (unbewusst) von der Mutter aller Demokratien emanzipiert?

His main points were that the US generates 85% of the world’s debt and China is buying it up not for political reasons. China is allowing the US to buy on credit to enable its high GDP growth. High GDP growth is needed to maintain high unemployment which could triger unrest.

The US and China are in a symbiotic relationship of mutual financial dependence. Other countries are able to profit from it, because they know how both countries are locked in.

China cannot let the US economy tank. Both countries would be damaged if this feedback cycle was damaged. Steven argues that China would be hurt more because of potential unrest, while the US would just be looking at a fairly deep recession.

Quelle: Kommentar 232405

Was macht man also, um diesen „social unrest“ zu verhindern? Logisch – Nazi-Deutschland hat es vorgemacht:

After Pearl Harbor, it took the US very little time to convert most of its civilian production over to weapons production.

Quelle: Kommentar 232449

Natürlich kann man nicht jahrzehntelang Rüsten, denn sonst fliegt der Betrug auf. Die Konsequenz daraus zu ziehen überlasse ich meinen Lesern …

Patt

Eine Möglichkeit könnte natürlich auch sein, dass man weniger an der wirtschaftlichen Zerstörung des Landes interessiert ist, sondern diese in den nächsten Jahren nur im Zaum halten möchte. Doch was passiert, wenn der Mohr einmal seine Schuldigkeit getan hat? Könnte die (auf vielfach auf Schulden basierende) Konsumkraft der USA nicht irgendwann einmal in naher oder ferner Zukunft durch ein anderes Land, eine andere Region, einen anderen Kontinent ersetzt werden?

Lender: „This is America! Everyone deserves a break, a second chance, a piece of the pie. I don’t even want to know the details. Do you have a dollar in your pocket?„

Borrower: „Sure!“

Lender: „That’s your down payment! Simple as that. Now, how big a mortgage do you want?“

Borrower: „Uh, $200,000?“

Lender: „Two hundred K? In this market? Are you kidding? Let’s make it 600 K. You can get a nice little starter house in a marginal neighborhood for that. And here’s the best part: For the first year, your payments are only $49.95 a month. After that, rates and payment schedules change, but that’s a whole 12 months away and in between, you’ll be the envy of your friends. Shake, partner.“

Now, who on God’s earth thought that was a good idea? Couldn’t even the dullest adult (like, say, me) see disaster coming a mile away? It did not take a particular kind of genius to forecast despair and heartbreak.

Quelle: Jon Carroll

Schön, dass Häuslebauer/-käufer in der Schweiz in den weitaus meisten Fällen mindestens 20% des Kaufwertes auf dem eigenen Bankkonto liegen haben müssen. Das nennt man … „Sicherheit“.

It is, of course, possible for home prices to fall as they did in a couple of quarters in 1990. But any analogy to stock market pricing behavior and bubbles is a rather large stretch. […] Local conditions dominate, even though mortgage interest rates are similar throughout the country. Home prices in Portland, Maine, do not arbitrage those in Portland, Oregon. Thus, any bubbles that might emerge would tend to be local, not national, in scope.

Quelle: Remarks by Chairman Alan Greenspan (4. März 2003)

Aber jetzt hat ja „Helicopter Ben“ die Zügel übernommen und reitet den amerikanischen Gaul in den Sonnenuntergang …

Bernanke zieht klare Ansagen vor. Wie Greenspan nennt er Preisstabilität als oberste Priorität. Mit seiner offenen Sprache hat er sich sogleich einen Spitznamen verdient. Er sehe sich im Besitz ausreichender Mittel, um Inflation wie Deflation zu bekämpfen. Als ein Naseweis wissen wollte, was Bernanke täte, wenn Amerika bei Deflationsgefahr bereits wieder auf einem Zinsrekordtief wäre wie Juni 2003, antwortete er: Selbst bei einem Zinssatz von null Prozent könne die Fed Geldbündel aus Helikoptern abwerfen. Prompt nannte man ihn „Helicopter-Ben“.

Quelle: „Helicopter-Ben“ bereit zur Landung

Gut zu Wissen, das der gute, alte Alan keinen Schaden mehr anrichten kann … oder halt! War da nicht etwas? Oh mein Gott: Deutsche Bank kauft Greenspan ein Na dann Feierabend! Räumt alle Kaugummis weg, sonst gibt es bald Unmengen von platzenden Bubbles in Frankfurt am Main.