The Fallacies of Bernie Sanders

https://mises.org/blog/fallacies-bernie-sanders

“Bernie often says out loud what others are privately thinking.” (p.13) The middle class and the poor are not doing well, he says; and the fault lies in a “rigged’ system.  “The economy becomes rigged because the rich, primarily represented by ‘greedy’ billionaires and corporations, use their wealth to subvert the political process and take command of government.”

Lewis finds much truth in Sanders’s accusation.  In a manifestly corrupt way, for example, failed banks and businesses were “bailed out” after the financial crash of 2008. “[Hank] Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, was one of the architects of the Wall Street bailout of 2008 which not only rescued Wall Street, but also rescued his own firm, along with all the shares he still retained in that firm.” (p.132)

If Sanders has correctly identified a major problem, his proposed solution to it would only make matters worse; and in Lewis’s careful pressing home of this claim against Sanders lies the principal contribution of his book.

Sanders wants to end the rigged system by, among other measures,  increasing government control over corporations and redistributing income and wealth  from the rich to the poor. In these proposals, he overlooks a vital distinction; and this vitiates the rationale for what he suggests.  Sanders blames capitalism for the rigged system, but what we have today is not a free market economy but rather “crony capitalism.” “It does not seem so much a capitalist system  in the United States as a crony capitalism in which individuals get rich, not by supplying good products and services at the lowest possible cost for consumers, but rather by getting monopoly protections or other favors from government or by otherwise benefiting from government actions or connections.” 

By neglecting to distinguish crony capitalism from genuine capitalism, Sanders is led to propose “cures” that would only intensify the disease he diagnoses. “Bernie proposes to solve the problem of political corruption and a rigged economy by giving government even more power. How will this help? Surely an expanded and even more powerful government, ever more deeply involved in running the economy, will become an even more tempting target for the wealthy subverters?” 

After Trump Win, Ad Agencies Admit They're Clueless On How To Market To Midwest Consumers

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-21/after-trump-win-ad-agencies-admit-theyre-clueless-how-market-midwest-consumers

In the wake of Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president with a wave of support from middle American voters, advertisers are reflecting on whether they are out of touch with the same people—rural, economically frustrated, elite-distrusting, anti-globalization voters—who propelled the businessman into the White House. Mr. Trump’s rise has them rethinking the way they collect data about consumers, recruit staff and pitch products.

“Every so often you have to reset what is the aspirational goal the public has with regard to the products we sell,” said Harris Diamond, McCann’s CEO. “So many marketing programs are oriented toward metro elite imagery.” Marketing needs to reflect less of New York and Los Angeles culture, he said, and more of “Des Moines and Scranton.”

This Is The Real Reason Why The Public Is Broke And The Middle Class Is Being Destroyed

http://kingworldnews.com/this-is-the-real-reason-why-the-public-is-broke-and-the-middle-class-is-being-destroyed/

Zero Hedge Targeted On Liberal Professor's List of "Fake News" Sources

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-16/zero-hedge-targeted-list-fake-news-sources

Glenn Greenwald: Trump will have vast powers. He can thank Democrats for them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/11/11/glenn-greenwald-trump-will-have-vast-powers-he-can-thank-democrats-for-them/

The New Nobility Uses Political Correctness to Fragment the Precariats

http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-new-nobility-uses-political.html

Krugman Admits He Is Clueless. That Progress will be Short-Lived

https://mishtalk.com/2016/11/12/krugman-admits-he-is-clueless/

Whatever the problem, government is not the solution.

Despite Trump rally, market direction will hinge on interest rates: Analyst Peter Boockvar

Peter Boockvar believes the decades-long bull market in bonds is over.  What comes next is pain.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/09/despite-trump-rally-market-direction-will-hinge-on-interest-rates-analyst-peter-boockvar.html

Gold, The Fed, Exter’s Pyramid – When John Exter Met Paul Volcker

http://www.goldcore.com/us/gold-blog/gold-bullion-the-fed-exters-pyramid-when-john-exter-met-paul-volcker/

Financial Instruments, by the International Monetary Fund

In the IMF's report on Financial Instruments, the following footnote on Monetary Gold can be found on page 8:

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZseMf9FvLjAJ:https://www.imf.org/external/region/tlm/rr/pdf/Jan09.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

2 Gold bullion has no counterpart liability.

This Is What Gold Does In A Political Crisis, “Trump Might Actually Win” Edition

http://dollarcollapse.com/precious-metals/gold-political-crisis-trump-edition/