Photo by Marcos Figueroa on Unsplash
We live in amazing times! A simple press of a TV remote immediately provides thousands of viewing options. Competition between 24-hour news networks is fierce. Each appeals to a particular demographic, and the news quickly morphs into noise & nonsense. Not satisfied reporting events, they immediately offer their politically biased perspective.
The president does something and conservative and liberal commentators immediately jump into action. Their rhetoric either wholeheartedly supports the action or predicts impending Armageddon. There is no limit on hypocrisy. When the DC power structure changes, they take the exact opposite stance on the same issues.
Each network blares news you can trust. The implication – “Trust us, our competition is FAKE NEWS!” Their vile political rhetoric does great harm, dividing our country. Politicos no longer work together for the good of our country.
History!
This Georgia Historical Society marker explains:
“Media mogul Ted Turner launched the Cable News Network—CNN—in Atlanta on June 1, 1980, as the world’s first 24-hour all news network. Turner revolutionized cable television…and was convinced there was a market for an all-news network. …. CNN opened news bureaus around the world. …. CNN extended its reach globally, revolutionizing the broadcast industry and the way people receive news and information.”
Prior to cable television (CATV), radio and television programming came free – “through the airways,” requiring consumers to have antennas capable to receive the signal. There were three major networks, ABC, NBC & CBS. The nightly news commentators were legendary. At midnight, they played the national anthem and shut down until the following morning.
CATV used a coaxial cable to each home. A cable box replaced the antenna. In the early days, the three networks controlled the news, sports & entertainment.
Heavy population centers received free programming and consumers didn’t need a fee-based cable box. CATV began growing in remote areas, far from the big city broadcast tower; however, it wasn’t very profitable.
Turner changed America. He had a tiny UHF (requiring a different type antenna) television station in Atlanta. He started Turner Broadcasting and bought the Atlanta Braves for programming on his station. CATV companies needed content and Turner helped fill the void. Soon the world was watching cable TV and the Atlanta Braves.
When Turner launched CNN, a 24-hour news station, cable operators gladly rewarded Turner with “carriage fees” – monthly fees each month for each subscriber. They bundled their programming; consumers were unable to only pay for the channels they wanted to watch.
It’s estimated that in 2020, CNN earned more than a billion in carriage fees alone. Wikipedia explains, “As of December 2023, CNN had 68,974,000 television households as subscribers in the United States.”
The New York Post reports CNN recorded 807,000 primetime viewers, and in the critical 15-24 primetime demographic – 154,000. Regardless of their content, CNN is profitable because of their carriage fees.
Consumers, furious about having to pay for unwanted programming, scream for congress to do something. Congress wants to shut down their opponent’s megaphone, while protecting the noise and nonsense outlets supporting their political agenda.
Many viewers don’t know what to believe, while some become totally indoctrinated….
Looming On The Horizon…
The media portrays a never-ending battle between conservatives on the right and liberals on the left – total nonsense! Catchy buzz words, marketing hype – particularly when it comes to fiscal policy.
President Trump criticized Fed Chairman Powell for not quickly cutting interest rates to spur the economy. Some media was supportive, while others screamed foul, proclaiming the Fed Head should have political “independence.” Pick your channel.
President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to replace Powell. Expect a media frenzy during the confirmation process.
From Federal Reserve History:
“Kevin M. Warsh was sworn in as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 24, 2006. He left the Board on March 31, 2011.
Warsh …. studied public policy, with an emphasis on economics and statistics at Stanford University, where he received a bachelor’s degree with honors in 1992. Warsh went on to Harvard Law School where he focused his studies on the intersection between law, economics, and regulatory policy and received a law degree in 1995.
In 1995, Warsh accepted a position with the mergers and acquisitions department at Morgan Stanley & Co. in New York.
In February 2002, Warsh left his vice president and executive director post at Morgan Stanley & Co. to join the administration for President George W. Bush. He served as special assistant to the president for economic policy and as executive secretary at the National Economic Council.”
For those keeping score…. Bachelors’ degree emphasizing economics and statistics from Stanford, law degree from Harvard, worked for Morgan Stanley on Wall Street and was special advisor to a former president. What could possibly go wrong?
The media jumped on the announcement.
From CNBC:
“President Donald Trump named Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, ending a prolonged odyssey that has seen unprecedented turmoil around the central bank.
…. ‘I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,’ Trump said.
…. The pick of Warsh, 55, likely won’t ripple markets because of his past Fed experience and Wall Street’s view that he wouldn’t always do Trump’s bidding.”
God forbid we should “ripple the markets.”
Wolf Street shares additional insights: (Emphasis mine)
“When Warsh was a governor on the Federal Reserve Board under Bernanke, he supported QE-1 in order the get the Financial Crisis under control.
But when that was done, and…the economy begun to recover, …. Bernanke nevertheless was pushing for QE-2, amid substantial opposition from some members on the FOMC, including Warsh. …. Bernanke announced QE-2 in November 2010, and Warsh quit in March 2011.
Warsh has long hammered on the Fed for its still huge balance sheet even after $2.4 trillion in QT. ….
He says the large balance sheet got the Fed involved in fiscal matters, in funding the deficits, and that the Fed should not be involved in that.
…. He says inflation isn’t caused by rising wages and a rapidly growing economy, but by government spending and ‘money printing’ – Inflation is caused when the government spends too much and prints too much.”
Excuse me! Didn’t the Fed print money because the treasury couldn’t sell its debt at an interest rate they were willing to pay?
In 2018 Warsh said: (Emphasis mine)
“My overriding concern about continued QE, then and now, involves the misallocations of capital in the economy and the misallocation of responsibility in our government.
Misallocations seldom operate under their own name. They choose other names to hide behind. They tend to linger for years in plain sight. Until they emerge with force at the most inauspicious of times and do unexpected harm to the economy.”
The Arabian Gulf Business Insight adds, “Markets expect an inflation fighter in the Fed with Kevin Warsh. Wall Street doubts that the US central bank’s new chair will be a political yes-man.”
Wall Street wants higher rates??? Nonsense! Wall Street wants cheap money.
Independence???
This AI definition is straightforward:
“Independence is the state of self-governance, where a nation, state, or individual is free from the control, influence, or support of an external power or entity.”
Warsh has thrown down the gauntlet, don’t blame the Fed for inflation, the government is responsible.
Here is what some of his predecessors had to say about inflation:
“We’ve been very, very clear that we will not allow inflation to rise above two percent or less.” —Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
“We can guarantee cash benefits as far out and at whatever size you like, but we cannot guarantee their purchasing power.” —Alan Greenspan
“In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the hidden confiscation of wealth.” —Alan Greenspan
Promarket shares this perspective:
“History matters. …. When Morgan Stanley was on the brink of collapse, Warsh received an ethics waiver to negotiate directly with his former employer as a governor for the Fed.
The next day, the Fed approved Morgan Stanley to convert to a bank holding company, which gained it access to Fed loans that saved the firm. The man who received an ethics waiver to rescue his former employer now returns to determine what constitutes ethical regulatory practice.
Warsh’s nomination epitomizes the hold that Wall Street has over the Fed…a revolving door between regulator and industry.”
The Fed is owned by the member banks and exists solely to protect bank profits. While they proclaim their independence from the government, it is the governments “dependence support of an external power or entity,” enabling their spending folly that concerns me. Congress avoids any meaningful regulation of the entity that feeds them.
The real graphic regarding red and blue looks like this:
A truly independent Fed candidate should be pushing for strengthening the banking system with higher reserve requirements and reinstatement of Glass-Steagall.
At the confirmation hearing politicos will scream and get their sound bites. The hysterical media will trumpet news & noise – and in the end it is all NONSENSE! Congress continues to spend us into bankruptcy, while the banks reap billions along the way. I hope Warsh proves me wrong!
SPECIAL LAST-MINUTE COMMENTS: Jo and I are excited, some last-minute events brought us company for a couple of weeks. We are having a blast! I understand why Chuck Butler takes time off when they get winter company – which I am going to do. I wanted to share some thoughts concerning current events now, rather than waiting…. Last week, “da boyz”, (paper trader price manipulators) as Ed Steer aptly calls them, dramatically drove down precious metal prices. I anticipated a sell off, but not so quickly. Ed shared a graph showing the decline:  Silver dropped 27.48%, back to December, 2025 levels – but is still double what it was a year ago. The rapid drop reinforced many of my beliefs: Ed steer tells us the price manipulators are JPMorgan, HSBC USA, Citigroup – and probably Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. The casino banks take unfathomable risks trying to control the metals market pricing; knowing they are “too big to fail” and will be bailed out by taxpayers if they take losses. This is why Glass-Steagall should be reinstated immediately. The courts struck down the Trump tariffs. It’s estimated that will add $2+ trillion to the federal deficit.  Due to the events in Iran, the price of oil is up. It galls me when oil companies immediately raise prices as their current inventory is not priced anywhere near the spot price. Then it takes forever for the price to come back down. Congress is likely to hit record spending. These events reinforce my instincts. Oil prices up, historic government spending and deficits all fuel inevitable inflation. While I was pleased to see the Fed hold rates steady, I suspect the rubber will meet the road in the near future. Fed candidate Warsh has been very critical of the fed monetizing government debt. The time will come when the open market demands higher rates to finance our folly. Will Warsh stand by his beliefs, (hurting banks and taxpayers alike) – or will the Fed monetize more government debt…followed by more inflation? Personally, we booked some profits, selling a portion of our metal stocks, but never our core holdings. We are investing in short term, income producing products. The inevitable inflation can arrive just as quickly as the metals sell off. |
On The Lighter Side…
With family and friends visiting, we’re having a blast, putting lots of miles on the golf cart tooling around, and sampling dozens of local restaurants. The weather has been delightful.
I’m going to take a short vacation, and will be back writing in a couple weeks.
Quote Of The Week…
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks…. will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered….
The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.” —Thomas Jefferson
And Finally…
Friend Courtenay W. sends some quotes on aging:
If you want to know how old a woman is, ask her sister-in-law. (Eva Gabor)
Old age comes at a bad time. (Ed Sullivan)
Inside every Older person is a younger person wondering what happened. (Stevie Wonder)
Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard, there is nothing you can do about it. (Golda Meir)
The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never happened. (Mark Twain)
I’m at that age where my back goes out more than I do. (Phyllis Diller)
Nice to be here? At my age, it’s nice to be anywhere. (George Burns)
You spend 90 percent of your adult life hoping for a long rest and the last 10 percent trying to convince the Lord that you’re actually not THAT tired. (Princess Grace)
Old people shouldn’t eat Health foods. They need all the preservatives they can get. (Bob Hope)
At my age, flowers scare me. (George Burns)
And my favorite:
It’s like you trade the virility of the body for the agility of the spirit. (Ed Sullivan)
Until next time…
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