Sadist-in-Chief

Anyone with a pulse should understand our Administration’s strategy regarding the government shutdown and the consequences of not increasing the government’s debit-limit.  That is to inflict maximum visible pain on the American public … generally on those people who have the least ability to fight back … and to where our Snidley-Whiplash President (now at a 37% approval rating) and a cooperative media can shine a tsk-tsk spotlight.  

Thus, veterans are excluded from an open-air World War II memorial and those violating this ban are arrested, National Institute of Health monies to treat children with cancer are eliminated, death benefits are denied for soldiers killed in Afghanistan, money generally available for fuel-oil assistance is cut, motorists are forbidden from stopping at roadside pull-offs to view Mt. Rushmore, dire warnings are given by our Treasury Secretary as to how the world will end on October 17^th unless the debt limit is raised, etc.  (For many more instances, see:  Breitbart Story)

The fact that Republicans in the House of Representatives have daily been passing bills to eliminate most of these petulant public punishments (only to be killed by Harry Reid in the Senate) doesn’t seem to make it into the nightly network news. Meanwhile, illegal immigrants are given free-access to the National Mall, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting just got a $445 million grant, Obama-phones are still being given away en masse, etc. … see: Daily Caller Story

It seems that President Obama and his minions want the American public and the Republicans to cry “uncle” rather than to have them chant “Uncle Sam.”

Trumping Our Lenders?

The way I understand it, Donald Trump keeps his bankers in a bit of a predicament.  He owes them so much money that they can't afford to pull the plug on him.  All his properties are supposedly mortgaged up to their hilts and, although he usually and continually makes payments on these mortgages, he, often enough, refinances them for more working capital.  And occasionally, he let's one of these puppies be euthanized  (e.g., the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City) to keep his creditors fearful.  (See: Legal Zoom and Daily News.)  He clearly has a very intimidating negotiating style based upon the leverage of his leverage.  But mostly his total indebtedness just keeps growing ... and growing ... and growing. Effectively, he seems to maintain his lavish life style off of the reverse-vigorish of these banking bets.

Does this all not sound a lot like how the United States Treasury and our Federal Reserve Bank operate?  Only, whereas The Donald does not seem to have any limit to his hubris (and borrowing), The Barry does have an increasingly skeptical Congress which thinks that maybe enough indebtedness is enough. Yesterday, the United States's debt limit was reached and Congress refused to increase it. And no matter how much gorilla dust Timothy Geithner and Ben Bernanke throw up about the calamity that will eventually ensue from this event, I think that the United States's bankers here and around the world may just be a little more disciplined than Mr. Trump's. (See PIMCO Selling)