Banks/Banking

Over the past 30 years, wealth has grown exponentially and has become increasingly concentrated foremost in the upper .01%, then the .1%, followed by the 1% and the upper 10%-20%.
The large scale, long-term concentration of wealth has continued through booms and busts of the real economy, the financial and IT crises. Wealth grew despite long-term economic recessions and stagnation because the so-called recovery programs imposed austerity on 80% of the households while transferring public revenues to the rich.

On the weekend of November 16th, the G20 leaders whisked into Brisbane, posed for their photo ops, approved some proposals, made a show of roundly disapproving of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and whisked out again. It was all so fast, they may not have known what they were endorsing when they rubber-stamped the Financial Stability Board’s “Adequacy of Loss-Absorbing Capacity of Global Systemically Important Banks in Resolution,” which completely changes the rules of banking.

Detroit car workers have it in the form of the unionized pact — or had; Wall Street shysters have it in the form of lust for filthy lucre; competitive sport has it in the form of glorified accomplishments rewarded with accolades; Australian aboriginals had it before the power of the Anglosphere removed their right to identify with their land; religious extremists have it by virtue of their pathological belief systems; the British Royal Family have it in the blueness of their blood — or so the narrative goes; the untouchables of India have a unique form of it, because they have long forgotte

Oh say can you see by the star spangled machine, with modern weapons in hand it conquers foreign lands. If uninhabited, these lands would be up for the taking. And while the U.S. Declaration of Independence says “all men are created equal” with “inalienable rights”, the U.S. has a history of internal conflicts arising from violating those principles domestically and through foreign policy. Since the event of 9/11 the U.S.

While 49 state treasuries were submerged in red ink after the 2008 financial crash, one state’s bank outperformed all others and actually launched an economy-shifting new industry.  So reports the Wall Street Journal this week, discussing the Bank of North Dakota (BND) and its striking success in the midst of a national financial collapse led by the major banks. Chester Dawson begins his November 16th article:

Many authorities have said it: banks do not lend their deposits. They create the money they lend on their books.
Robert B. Anderson, Treasury Secretary under Eisenhower, said it in 1959:

When a bank makes a loan, it simply adds to the borrower’s deposit account in the bank by the amount of the loan. The money is not taken from anyone else’s deposits; it was not previously paid in to the bank by anyone. It’s new money, created by the bank for the use of the borrower.

You’re not going to believe this, but there was a time – actually about 65 years ago – when the financial world, at least the securities-trading world, the world we call Wall Street, was actually dependent on a foundational principle of honesty and integrity. Now I’ll just pause for a moment and allow the laughter, whistling and foot-stomping to subside before continuing. There. Everybody finished now?

The average natural born citizen in any country is continuously indoctrinated into the national culture starting about the time they begin understanding the meaning of words. There’s one country in particular where reality is staring the public in the face, but the truth has been grossly distorted for decades by government, and mass media, bias and propaganda.

Financial reform didn’t work. The Wall Street banks today are bigger and more opaque than ever and they continue to trade in derivatives in many of the same ways as before the crash –  but on a larger scale and with the same unknown risks.

Song BREAM (Banks Rule Everything Around Me) from Time and Jason Horodyski’s forthcoming album Lakewalkers produced by German producer A Thousand Vows. Indie rapper Time and folk frontman from Maudlin Magpie Jason Horodyski blend rap and folk taking influences from Tiqqun, Joy Division and Public Enemy.

Artist: Time & Jason Horodyski
Song: BREAM
Produced: A Thousand Vows
Based out of: Denver, CO