Topic: Monetary Policy
The Real Battle of November isn't for the White House The selection of McBama was a moot question. What will the G8 Financial Crisis Summit hold in store for everyone? Have the “Gods of Copybook Headings” returned?by Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution
(libertarian)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
NEW YORK, NY – On November 15, the leaders of the G8, or Group of Eight, will gather in New York City to decide how to "stabilize the financial markets" as George W. Bush puts it. The G8 consists of the leaders of the USA, Russia, France, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Japan, and Germany, and was originally intended as a forum for the world’s mightiest industrialized democracies. From this Bloomberg article, it does appear that China and India will be extended invitations as well.
The President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy stated, "Since the crisis started in New York, maybe we can find the solution in New York… We must reform capitalism so that the most efficient system ever created doesn't destroy its own foundations."
It is my humble opinion that they are then meeting in the wrong place and are not publicly recognizing the real problem. A more fitting locale would be Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Or even Versailles, or lovely Paris, which is not too far from Sarkozy’s home.
George Bush went on to say "as we make the regulatory and institutional changes necessary to avoid a repeat of this crisis, it is essential that we preserve the foundations of democratic capitalism -- a commitment to free markets, free enterprise, and free trade. We must resist the dangerous temptation of economic isolationism and continue the policies of open markets that have lifted standards of living and helped millions of people escape poverty around the world."
I would be very curious to first see where these "millions of people" who have "escape[d] poverty" due to "open markets" happen to live, and then wonder why our G8 leaders have not yet taken care of the remainder. After all, everyone DOES realize that we already live in a world that could give food, clothing, and shelter to every last human being on the planet, right?
Bush reminds me of an excerpt from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, "The Gods of Copybook Headings." (A copybook was an exercise book mostly used by British schoolchildren during the British empire to practice their handwriting in. The pages were blank except for horizontal rulings and a printed specimen of perfect handwriting at the top, and the kids were supposed to copy this specimen all down the page. The specimens were proverbs or quotations, or admonitory sayings like the benefits of hard work or honesty, or even peace and hope.)
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all, By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul; But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."
Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.
As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man There are only four things certain since Social Progress began. That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire, And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins, As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn, The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
Wacky poem, eh? G8 summits have a knack for bringing out the anti-globalization protester crowd. Shown above is a photo (from Ares Ferrari, license) of protesters burning at the Genova, Italy summit in July 2001. Since then, our world’s fearless leaders have met in isolated locales such as Toyako, Japan (photo) on the beautiful but extremely rural northern island of Hokkaido. It will be interesting to see how New Yorkers and other Americans decide to welcome this austere group.
However, perhaps Sarkozy is correct about the location after all. You see, yet another battle is raging in November; it is an attempt to wrest away control of the price of gold from New York’s COMEX futures exchange and return it to the people of this earth. This stuff is far more interesting to me than McBama’s win. That is, these battles and my own private "battle" to find a turkey to eat in a few weeks here in China. It seems the Chinese ate them all a millennium or two ago.
Whether he likes it or not, this article is dedicated to BJ Lawson, the "next Ron Paul," who failed to in his Congress bid. BJ, this rEVOLution is just getting started!
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
As always, unlike the NFL, the author grants full permission to allow any accounts of, rebroadcasts, retransmissions, repostings in part or full of this article to your blog or anywhere else in order to promote the Restoration of our Republic.
Veritas numquam perit. Veritas odit moras. Veritas vincit. Truth never perishes. Truth hates delay. Truth conquers.
Police State Stomps on Iraq Veteran's Face as McBama Sanctions Attack on Freedom of Speech: The Story of the Hempstead 15 (Part 1/3) Published: October 25, 2008 What? Yet another event the media completely missed? After multiple attempts to engage McBama to answer their questions, the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) led a peaceful march on the last McCain-Obama Presidential Debate and were met with 30 mounted police and a horde of others in riot gear. The mounted police stamped on an Iraq war veteran's face and attacked the crowd. Ron Paul supporter and veteran Adam Kokesh was arrested as well.
Iraq Demands US Troops Leave by 2011 Published: November 2, 2008 The unending Global War of Terror occupation in Iraq hits a minor roadbump. What if the Iraqis have fully recovered from Shock and Awe and want their country back?
Can Barack Obama Be President? - THE SAGA CONTINUES! (10/29 Update) Published: October 29, 2008 Senator Barack Obama wins a temporary delay in the court system but has yet to prove in a court of law that he is constitutionally eligible to be President of the United States
The views expressed in this
article are those of Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution is
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employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
I think this article is a good example of a Copybook ~ nothing in it!
Why don't you try to make a point instead of just putting out another article that contributes nothing? Your heading says that the "Real Battle of November Isn't for the White House", then you seem afraid to say what is! Do you think the G8 (+2) is going to "battle" over what has to be done, or just acquiesce to a general merger of policy? I, personally, expect the latter ~ not the "battle" you seem to portend.
The countries of the world don't want to go too fast, yet they can't drag their heels, either. There won't be any "battle" in November, just a lot of chummy, chum, chum. No country wants to be left out in the cold by taking an extreme or difficult position. The real fear is that they MERGE their efforts so that we have a GLOBAL strategy coordinated and determined by default not by ANYONE in particular.
Posted By: Jake, the champion of the constitution
Date: 2008-11-06 15:25:47
Dear MC,
Yes, you are right, this article is more or less just a current event report. The 'real battle' of course is the G8 meeting, but as to what will happen there, no idea, actually looking for feedback. I think perhaps it may just result in calling another meeting
As far as the US goes, our creditors should all be lined up waiting to tell us what to do - the UK/EU and Japan may be there, but I don't know about the Saudis or of course China. So perhaps you are right, nothing will get done.
If they decide to merge their efforts into creating a new honest money system or chat about gold, sure would be interesting, but I highly doubt it.
Thanks for writing back, and remember, even the copybooks werent completely empty. - Jake
Your notion that "our creditors should all be lined up waiting to tell us what to do" shows such a naive understanding of credit and lending that I wonder if you should even be attempting articles on these subjects.
As I used to tell my classes: "If you owe the bank $10,000, and you don't keep your payments up ~ YOU'VE got a problem. If you owe the bank $10 million, and you don't keep your payments up ~ the BANK has got a problem."
Foreign countries lending us money is a GOOD SIGN, not a bad one. It shows CONFIDENCE in us that we'll REPAY the loan. The risk is to the LENDER not the borrower. Do you think we signed collateral papers for the money they lent us? Do you think they're going to come over to the US and repossess something if we default?
You just don't understand some of these BIG ISSUES, Jake. Even though you've got to keep telling us about them.
Posted By: Jake, the champion of the constitution
Date: 2008-11-06 18:34:26
Dear MC - Your point has a little validity to it. I think what these foreign powers will do is come over and seek to BUY America with the dollars they have.
Btw, your sage quote to your students is ripped off from a fellow by the name of John Maynard Keynes. So let's swap quotes. Here's one of my favorites from Keynes:
Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate,secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. The sight of this arbitrary rearrangement of riches strikes not only at security, but at confidence in the equity of the existing distribution of wealth.
Those to whom the system brings windfalls, beyond their deserts and even beyond their expectations or desires, become 'profiteers,' who are the object of the hatred of the bourgeoisie, whom the inflationism has impoverished, not less than of the proletariat. As the inflation proceeds and the real value of the currency fluctuates wildly from month to month, all permanent relations between debtors and creditors, which form the ultimate foundation of capitalism, become so utterly disordered as to be almost meaningless; and the process of wealth-getting degenerates into a gamble and a lottery.
Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.
Debauchering the currency, my friend, is, as you say a "BIG issue." In today's world of wildly shifting exchange rates, its really almost as if we do have a single currency.
Will the "Gods of the Market Place" get things under control or not? What do you think? If so, how? Have you written about this?
As always, thanks for writing back! I appreciate the attention, doesnt look like anyone else is reading this post :) Jake
I've read a lot of Keynes, and I've never seen anything close to that. Why don't you give me a source and page?
There's no ability to "buy" America, foreign or domestic. The biggest fear the US has is that the Chinese, et. al., will SELL all their Treasury Bills at once which would flood and depress (further) the market for Treauries.
Posted By: Jake, the champion of the constitution
Date: 2008-11-06 20:23:37
Dear MC -
Source is JM Keynes "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" from 1919, middle of chapter 6.
I found it online, if you google "Economic Consequences of the Peace Keynes pdf" it should turn up, or I will email to you if you feel like shooting me an email at
Apparently you thought I was looking for YOUR reference. I wasn't. I was looking for what you said was my ripoff of the Keynes quote.
I found your quote quite easily, but I didn't find anything that was close to what I said. Can you cut and paste? Or can you give me a better page and document?
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The President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy stated, "Since the crisis started in New York, maybe we can find the solution in New York… We must reform capitalism so that the most efficient system ever created doesn't destroy its own foundations." 
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.