Michael Fitzsimmons

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    • The Economics of Political Spin
      gramps: i was talking about the number of employees in the federal government. clinton computerized and automated many government functions to make the more efficient. it was part and parcel of the welfare reformation project his administration embarked on. in the process, he cut the number of federal employees back to the what the number was in JFK's administration. wrt the tax policies, clinton shut down the federal government in his first term and FORCED congress to pass tax and spend legislation that was in balance. thus, the balanced budget and the strong dollar. it's all in the statistics published by the CBO, so, if you think this is just a website rant, go look at the statistics yourself. wrt emission laws, i think you need to go check out the work the EPA (i call them the environmental destruction agency now under bush) and see exactly what you are talking about. look at the people bush put in charge of the "clean air" or "blue sky" laws or whatever he called them. wrt 4), no, both bush's were economic disasters for the middle class, but the 1st bush was better than the 2nd. the 2nd bush is simply the worst president in the history of the country. bar none. no one else is even close, especially when it comes to economics. bush's economic policies have been disastrous for the middle class, disastrous for the financial markets. i mean come on gramps, could you imagine if clinton had federalized the mortgage market? taken over bear stearns?? bush now has bernanke and paulsen working on taking over the entire banking and financial systems! this is not "conservative republicanism", it is called fascism. it is pre WW2 germany all over again. and the europeans see it. unfortunately americans are uneducated about history and tend to listen to rush limbaugh and larry kudlow instead of doing what jake gitties said to do: what the money! especially your own. i can only conclude that you are a billionaire and the inflation in food and energy, and the deflation of your investments don't bother you at all. if so, definitely vote for mccain and get that summer home in france all spruced up so you can escape the US when we fall further into the economic abyss bush has put us in.
      Aug 27 10:28 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • The Economics of Political Spin
      good morning and thanks for the comments. as usual, i like to jump in and comment on the comments. here goes:

      longoil: yes, i do expect some changes. i think the middle class will be the focus wrt tax policy (as opposed to the ultra wealthy). i also think alternative energy will be a bigger focus. i also think foreign policy will be much better as it cannot get much worse.

      sherrikrn: thank you. and i agree they are anything but patriotic (but they sure have that flag on their lapel - i mean why not? the US treasury was used as their personal ATM machine.

      User93139: thanks for all the details in your mind expanding comment.

      Paulus: i feel your pain, i am not happy with either party. that said, given a choice between 4 more years of bush and something (anything!) different, i'll go with the different.

      sonnydogsuardog: you make the incorrect assumption that my investments have been in the S&P500. if you had read my earlier posts, you know that i have been advising people to get OUT of the S&P500. wrt spell checking, i ran the hotmail spell checker, and it found an error or two which were corrected. could you point out which word(s) it missed please? thanks alot.

      gramps2: differences between bush & clinton:

      1) clinton reduced the size of the federal government to the size it was under the kennedy administration and balanced the budget. bush has grown the size of the US gov to the largest in history (by far) and doubled the size of the debt in only 8 years. meanwhile, every report says middle class americans are getting LESS from the bush gov despite the growth and expense.

      2) clinton's tax policies were fair to the middle class. bush's tax cuts are solely for the wealthy. net effect: an economy where the middle class (what's left of us anyhow) is struggling mightily while hedge fund managers and wall streeters hire lawyers so they pay no taxes at all.

      3) clinton increased emmissions standards. bush put utility and chemical executives in charge of his "clean air" standards and rolled back almost all emission standards since nixon created the EPA.

      4) the economy during the clinton years was strong, and the US dollar was strong, and the stock and bond markets were strong.

      those are just some of the differences. wrt your commens on spending, you are just wrong, and this is why the bush "conservative republicans" (i am a REAL one) are such hypocrits: clinton DID balance tax receipts and spending...that is how he handed bush a balanced budget. bush has outspent any president in history by a LARGE margin (and the numbers dont even count iraq spending). that is why your US dollar was devalued 40% under bush. i simply disagree with your comments on spending, and i believe the value of the US dollar under clinton and bush support my arguments, not yours. wrt political rants, if you haven't learned how important politics are in US economics these days after living through 8 years of bush's disastrous economic policies (not to mention the current economy and markets) then, well, i dunno what to tell ya.

      msgijoe: well said, and i couldn't agree with you more.



      Aug 27 09:55 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • The Disconnect Between Supply and Demand in Gold and Silver Markets, Part II
      21st century American economic double-speak. You have that right. Everything that is happening in the US is because the fascist government knows what the effect of peak oil is going to be on the US economy and they are taking control of *everything*. The only solution is a strategic, long-term, comprehensive energy policy (see my website), but the powers in charge won't adopt it, the media won't print it (other than Seeking Alpha), and the country will slip into the economic abyss because of it. Meanwhile, the government will take over *everything*..eventual... they will control gasoline and we're all hosed (unless you have a horse and dont need to go very far). Then again, perhaps the government will figure out a way to take your horse from ya too :)
      Aug 25 08:55 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Berkshire Hathaway: Like a Kid in a Candy Store
      Berkshire Hathaway is down this year because it is over-exposed to the consumer. Buffet's big mistake is being optimistic on the future of the US economy as we approach an era of peak oil where worldwide oil supply will not keep pace with worldwide oil demand. In this future, many of the stocks that Buffet owns in Berkshire will continue to do poorly. I thought he and Charlie "got it" when they bought ConocoPhillips (a great stock for these times), but now I realize they don't get it as they buy a gum company and sell the COP. Their finances are great, but as Buffet himself says, don't expect past returns in the future (that is an understatement). You'd be much better off buying energy services and energy stocks than BRK.
      Aug 25 08:38 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Why Should I Own Gold?
      The US has already lost its world reserve currency status. The new world currency is a barrel of oil. Since the US imports 70% of its oil, a peak oil future in which worldwide oil supply will not keep up with worldwide oil demand will reek havic on our country since congress (small "c") has not come to grips with the "oil problem". Therefore, how can US investors NOT own gold as an inflation hedge, a store of real wealth, and something to barter with if (when) the US economy slides completely into the abyss.
      Aug 25 08:28 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News
      What a country. Congress for years refused to pass higher CAFE standards and instead voted for small business tax breaks to those buying Hummer and other SUV's. Now that the US auto makers have become un-competitive due to these policies, the middle class taxpayers are being asked to bail them out at the same time they move their jobs overseas. Are we hosed or what? I mean, where is the money going to come from after the Bush administration doubled the deficit the last 8 years? The US dollar has got to return to a steady down trend....
      Aug 25 08:23 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Why $200 Oil Is Good for US Markets
      $200 will probably be the only thing that will prod the government and citizens of the US to understand the danger of worldwide oil supply not keeping up with worldwide oil demand. The only solution is a strategic, long-term, comprehensive energy policy:

      thefitzman.blogspot.co...

      apparently, $145/barrel and $4.50/gallon gasoline was not enough of a kick-in-the-ass. perhaps $200 will do it...but i won't hold my breath.
      Aug 24 15:42 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Schlumberger: The Switzerland of Oil
      Of course SLB is French, and, as we have seen across the world, foreign oil companies (STO, Eni, Total, SLB, etc. etc) are increasingly getting contracts that used to go to American companies as a result of US foreign policy. Oil producing nations who find US policy unjust or otherwise objectionable simply don't want to give US energy or energy services companies the lucrative contracts as in the past. This plays into the hands of companies like STO (Norway) and SLB (France) whose countries are seen as more even-handed when it comes to the political environment. Energy service companies continue to be the #1 investment theme in the era of peak oil where worldwide oil supply will fail to keep pace with worldwide oil demand. All one has to do is look at the expense budgets for exploration and the reserve barrels found for that budget. The trend is higher budgets, and smaller reserve additions per dollar.
      Aug 24 15:40 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Pick Your Favorite Petro-Fascist
      thefitzman.blogspot.co...
      Aug 21 09:40 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Gold Price Conspiracy?
      100goldblogs: how is it a conspiracy of the US and UK to confiscate gold by keeping the price *down*? there is still gold available on the market, and its cheaper now. my piece was about why gold's price is down, when there are so many reasons for it to be high(er). i tend to buy the explanation given by the article i referred to in my first comment to this post. also, you say it is not "safe" to hold gold?? i think it's dangerous NOT to have some gold. too much debt, too much inflation, too many printing presses on overtime...

      JBP: try American Precious Metals Exchange APMEX.com. also, i believe gold is treated taxwise as a collectable.

      gollwoods22: gold to tumble? hard for me to buy inflation with energy & food raging. that said, when it comes to housing, you have a good point. that's what we are in: energy driven inflation, and weak economic deflation. stagflation. we go back and forth. that said, with the oil crisis we're facing, a weak currency, a huge fiscal deficit, and bernanke running the printing presses full-time in order to pay-off all the wall streeters...i'll keep some of my hard earned dollars in gold. "some". certainly not all. sorry about your job situation. i have no idea why the american big 3 auto companies went SUV when it was clear there was an oil crisis coming. short term profits over long term strategy. of course, the management still walks away mutli-millionaires. what a country.
      Aug 20 21:53 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Gold Price Conspiracy?
      Shark: jeez, the article wasn't that long!

      FoxV: especially better than the 2nd bush

      Here is a much better and deeper SA article along these same lines by someone who obviously knows more about the gold market than I ever will:
      seekingalpha.com/artic...
      Aug 20 13:55 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Gold, Silver and the Great Unwind: No Conspiracies Here
      Any investor that doesn't have positions in gold and oil going forward into an era of peak oil related economic dislocation simply doesn't understand how the next 28 years will be drastically different than the last 28 years.
      Aug 17 21:25 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Oil Will Only Fall So Far
      LazyAl: ok - thanks alot for clearing up your point, and it is a good one. and yes, i think we are more in agreement than not.

      Wizard: please don't assume my comments mean i don't favor US support for Israel - I must certainly do! that said, in return for our support, we should be demanding certain actions from Israel in order to be on the receiving end of our cash and military hardware. part of those requirements should have been (kind of late now, but better late than never....) a cessation of the economic and social persecutions of Arab peoples on the west bank and gaza strip. a halt to new settlements, and the support for a Palestinian state for the same exact reasons we supported Israel's desire for statehood. those demands should have been the minimum starting point for aid and support. the reason that some Arab (and Persian....) peoples want to see Israel "dissapear" as you put it is because of Israeli and US policies over the past number of decades has brought them nothing but pain, suffering, poverty, and death. if the Israelis and US don't change their current policy, how are they going to keep the enemies of Israel from achieving their objectives when our oil dollars are filling their pockets and they can buy anything weapon they want? when rocket delivery technology is more and more available and a known quantity? diplomacy along with economic and political justice is the only way to achieve a lasting peace. even northern Ireland figured that much out.
      however, what the Israeli's haven't figured out, is that the US is actually using their nation as an excuse to cause conflict in order to:
      1) put our troops on top of Arab oil
      2) enrich the US military industrial complex
      i support Israel by bringing a political and economic perspective that will make Israel more secure, not less secure. of course Israel should be able to defend itself against any enemy...but, like a kid in grammar school, the best security is to have alot of friends.

      also, please note my response to peter sterling: i did NOT agree with his theory that russia and the US had a deal to trade georgia for iran. please, read my response to him on that point as your comments would have been more accurately addressed to him.
      Aug 17 21:14 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • What the Russian-Georgian War Means for the Euro
      interesting and thought provoking article joe, but i'd like to challenge you on a couple points. first, if europe gets involved in a war with russia, so will the US - both are members of NATO and per NATO rules an attack on one is an attack on all. secondly, i don't believe russia is as hostile to europe as it is to the US. after all, it was US involvement in georgia which was behind the present conflict, and now the US is at it in poland wrt "star wars". russia stood by and watched the US put troops over iraqi oil reserves...i am sure taking back control of the BTC pipeline in georgia is a response. longer term, russia needs europe (and vice-versa) more than either party needs the US. you say the Euro is a designer currency, which is valid i suppose...but the US dollar has been made a fiat currency by the present administration's lack of budgetary restraints, excessive plundering of the US Treasury, and an insane tax policy to boot. they are just printing US dollars as fast as they can, and most of these dollars go to the well-connected and wall street bailout plans (it's call socialism for the rich). that said, we both come to the same conclusion vis-a-vis hard commodities, oil, etc. etc. which i believe you are dead-on and i view the current "correction" as a short term phenomenon...albeit a painful one for me.
      Aug 17 19:00 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
    • Oil Will Only Fall So Far
      LazyAl: honestly, i'm not sure if you are being sarcastic by comparing me to Hitler in order criticize me by implication, or, if you are actually serious in comparing the runup of world events prior to the Holocaust with current world events. perhaps you would care to expand on your comment for my benefit? Meanwhile, I will explain my position a bit more:

      the failures of US/Israeli policy, in my mind, are the same failures which the State Department warned President Truman about prior to his (i.e. US) support for establishing the State of Israel (which is why Truman labored so over the issue):

      1) Establishment of an Isreali state without establishment of a Palestinian state is not a recipe for a "secure Israel" and insures continuing conflict with Arab oil producing countries. Look at all the middle eastern wars, including the recent one in which, for the first time ever, Israel did not come out the clear victor.

      2) Lack of a comprehensive, long-term, strategic energy policy is simply *strengthening* the Arab countries which we are supposedly protecting Israel from: Saudi, Iraq, etc. etc.

      3) The US is going broke as it gives money to its 51st state (Israel) while at the same time sending $700 billion US dollars out of the country for oil to fund the "other side" (the oil producing countries). We are, in effect, funding both sides of the dispute and almost insuring conflict and war expense (not to mention human lives....)

      so, what is the endgame here? are our leaders *trying* to fulfill biblical predictions? think about it - in a world in which arms, GPS systems, laser guided missles, and much technical information on rockets and guidance systems are all easily obtainable on the internet and elsewhere, etc. etc. how can these policies be making Israel more secure? how can insuring you have enemies that want to destroy you be the way forward (the same applies to the US). a constant state of warfare, denial of Palestinian rights, and a financial addiction to Arab oil is simply a failure of US/Israeli strategic thinking and policy. Yitzhak Rabin knew it, so the right wing assassinated him. the only way is economic justice, political justice, and an energy policy that devalues Arab oil, instead of putting a premium on it (and perhaps a touch of humility). so, the US is doing the exact opposite of what it should be doing. and, Israel is not safer and more secure. My opinion is that I believe the opposite is true. Now, if you were comparing me to Hitler (I am not sure was your intention), of course I will debate that issue with you. I have been to Israel, I have worked with Israeli engineers and consider them my friends. I am concerned for their welfare and their country's. I don't want to see Israel's destruction! At the same time, I can definitely understand the Palestinian point of view, and I believe they deserve their own country using the same rationale that Israelis used when stating a case for their country. I also believe that the economic conditions in the Arab areas around Israel are so bad, it will breed "terrorism" in the same why that economic conditions and oppression in Ireland created the breeding grounds for the IRA. If you are a man, and you cannot provide food, water, education, and just as important, dignity, for your wife and children, you will probably not take it sitting down for long. That is the case for many men and families in that area. Were the IRA "terrorists"... or, were they simply patriotic Irishmen tired of being oppressed by non-Irishmen (the British)?

      Aug 16 23:25 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article

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