Feigning Cluelessness, Helicopter Ben Fools No One

Helicopter Ben was deep in denial yesterday following a two-day Fed meeting, telling reporters he’s puzzled by recent signs of deterioration in the economy.  “We don’t have a precise read on why this slower pace of growth is persisting.” Is this guy a hoot, or what?  Earth to Bernanke: The Great Recession never ended!  In fact, the term “Great Recession” itself is popularly used by plain folks to assert that economic hard times are very much with us, notwithstanding brazen statistical claims to the contrary.  As anyone can see, many trillions of stimulus dollars have yet to improve a dismal employment picture one iota — only kept it from getting worse; nor have those “dollars” boosted household incomes or real estate prices. What they have boosted are bank profits and the prices of stocks, commodities and basic goods.  Surprising no one, Mr. Bernanke also failed to mention the still-deflating housing market as a possible reason for the punk economy.  Who but a Fed chairman could fail to connect the dots?  It seems not to have occurred to him that consumers are no longer binging because their homes have continued to plummet in value – another 4.2% in the last quarter alone.

In a policy statement issued after the meeting, the Fed muckety-mucks blamed the usual suspects for the weakening economy: higher energy prices and the disaster in Japan.  Perhaps Bernanke had second thoughts about trotting out such a lame explanation, however, and that’s why he deflected the matter by feigning cluelessness. Whatever the case, although he further widened the cognitive gap between the government’s spinmeisters and the working stiff, the Fed chief may have bought time to feign yet more cluelessness when he admitted that the…”sluggish recovery” could linger into next year.  We wonder what he sees for 2012 that could change things for the better, since even realtors and developers who are usually giddy with optimism seem to have accepted that there isn’t yet any light at the end of the tunnel – at least, none that can be discerned by the uncompromised eye.  Unfortunately for Mr. Bernanke, no matter how little he tries to say, he’ll have to give away his game when QE2 sunsets at the end of the month. You can bet that whatever form QE3 takes, it will be called something else. Bernanke and Obama can count on the mainstream media to go along with the ruse and to tell us as often as needed that the Emperor is wearing a fine suit of clothes, but we’ll look to Europe’s editorialists to call the next phase of Fed monetization by its proper name.

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  • gman June 27, 2011, 6:37 am

    “Why is this man smiling?”

    Perhaps he likes what he sees.

  • Tim McLeer June 26, 2011, 6:43 am

    Bernanke will call Qe3—TBB Temporary Bond Buyback

    &&&&&

    Catchy. I like it, it’s got a nice beat, the kids can dance to it….I give it a seven!

    RA

  • sophia: newsome family June 25, 2011, 2:18 pm

    Change is on the Horizon is the epic story of how the world lost its soul and how it will gain it back. Directed and narrated by James Rink.
    You may want to watch Part 3 FIRST which discuses the more recent events
    Part 3 – The Farmer Claim Program – Discuses how a class action lawsuit brought about in the early 1990’s lead to the creation of NESARA, the National Economic Security and Reformation Act which will ultimately tear apart the New World Order and bankers plans right out from under their feet.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOPIgNB-hGY

    Part 1 Dawn of the Golden Age – Discuses how Saint Germain helped bring about the beginnings of a enlightened era which soon fell into darkness under the helms of the Illuminati and a corrupted masonic order.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k4Egwc1_DM

    Part 2 – The American Federal Empire. America was always meant to be always a shinning beacon of freedom and prosperity to the world. But the machinations of British bankers and the Rothschild’s soon destroyed all that was once good in this great land.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uupCNxRqguY

    Part 3 – The Farmer Claim Program – Discuses how a class action lawsuit brought about in the early 1990’s lead to the creation of NESARA, the National Economic Security and Reformation Act which will ultimately tear apart the New World Order and bankers plans right out from under their feet.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOPIgNB-hGY

  • yayaya June 24, 2011, 8:07 pm

    Yeah, stop pushing your own material, here we discuss the topic at hand. Besides, you have predicted nothing, and you’re still wrong, because you still have the perception that “the resources are dwindling”. That is a communist view at it’s core, and therefore, you are a communist even if you do not think so about yourself.

    If you are appalled, then answer me this: what were the oil reserves of stone age men? Where they great, small, non-existent?

    And “sustainable economy” can be achieved only by means of “free for all capitalism”. I am sure this is not what you have in mind for us.

  • JP June 24, 2011, 2:38 am

    Krieger kills it, again. Check out his interview w/ Max Keiser and his new piece on ZeroHedge.
    ======================
    Mike Krieger Sees Widespread Panic

    Max Keiser interview:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3A0aiJh8cI&feature=player_embedded
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtvNxSi4x9g&feature=player_embedded

    ZH piece:
    http://www.zerohedge.com/article/mike-krieger-widespread-panic

  • david June 23, 2011, 8:46 pm

    Bravo Rick!!!!Well said and succint and so spot on.

  • Terry Mock June 23, 2011, 7:09 pm

    Regarding the question Rick posed about “Helicopter Ben”…

    “We wonder what he sees for 2012 that could change things for the better, since even realtors and developers who are usually giddy with optimism seem to have accepted that there isn’t yet any light at the end of the tunnel – at least, none that can be discerned by the uncompromised eye…”

    Here’s what I see…

    Land Developers and Sustainable Economics
    http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/09/land-developers-sustainable-economics/

    As previously forecast in this column, a series of financial “Black Swans” is now upon us… While there have been numerous authorities working day and night to solve the problem, it is important to note that these same people were the ones that were managing the financial system in the first place… This brings to mind some words of wisdom from Albert Einstein – “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”.

    …the failure of the current financial system was not only predictable, but this same kind of thinking was also responsible for the fall of the last two global economic powers – the Netherlands followed by Britain… the current credit crisis interrelates with our energy crisis and all the other economic failures the global economy is now suffering through. It all comes down to deficit spending by both public and private entities.

    Ironically, the current financial meltdown is confirmation of a prediction made in 1995… “Earth Restoration – The Bridge to a New Global Culture“, wherein I said, “The existing world order is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and will not be capable of sustaining itself much longer by exploiting dwindling world supplies of natural resources and by deficit government spending… The good news is that out of these huge problems will come the pressure to replace our old system with new political and business structures that will provide for a sustainable global economy”.

    How do we develop a sustainable civilization?

    Sustainable Land Development Initiative
    http://www.triplepundit.com/author/sldi/

  • Jill June 23, 2011, 6:54 pm

    As voters, we could “vote the bums out” who support the Fed and the parasitic TBTF banks. Oh, wait, haven’t we done that before… repeatedly?

    See color cartoon at the bottom of this web page below for an illustration.

    http://americansresistance.blogspot.com/2011/06/they-dont-call-goldman-sachs-vampire.html#more

    • Radek June 23, 2011, 9:14 pm

      That picture has got to be THE BEST illustration of the global fraud scheme I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing that, Jill!

      This is what I’ve been trying to explain to my friends who are constantly bickering about which party is the best, etc.. (I’m in Canada, but it’s the same s&*t up here, just different party names).

  • Rich June 23, 2011, 6:27 pm

    Having said that, in addition to PAL, accumulating ECA, leading North American Resource Producer, while NatGas is cheap relative to crude. Looks like Middle Eastern energy supplies may be going down the tubes like dominos as regimes collapse…

  • Rich June 23, 2011, 6:23 pm

    Bernanke to U.S. Economy and Stock Market: Drop Dead (RealMoney Silver $)

    By Doug Kass

    07:46AM 06/23/11

  • Robert June 23, 2011, 6:00 pm

    And…. flush goes the Euro.

    Naturally- The media (even the lamestream) has been brutal on poor Ben since his press conference.

    Skepticism of the Fed? In the mainstream media?

    Blasphemy you say!

    so, the lever gets pulled, and teh sleight of hand flushes the Euro, shifting the focus across the Atlantic.

    Meanwhile, anyone notice that the dollar is rolling over from it’s early morning top at 76.25? A pretty dismal performance on a day when Gold gets clocked for 30 bucks, but still holds fast and strong above its long term trendline.

    I am adding lightly to my OXY and VDE positions this morning. The US announcement that they are tapping the SPR is more smoke in mirrors. The entire SPR only represents about 8 days of total US petroleum usage.

  • C.C. June 23, 2011, 5:52 pm

    “There seems to be a persistently parasitic banking lobby at work here. Why aren’t a greater spectrum of industries as well as voters saying enough is enough?”

    Because:

    – Bringing home a paycheck (or government subsidy) is enough.

    – Going to out to eat, the movies, various entertainment distractions, is enough.

    – Being able to visit the grandkids, go on vacation/travel, enjoy your lakefront property, etc., is enough.

    – Make some decent calls/trades, book profits here & there, is enough.

    All of our distractions will prove sufficient to keep us penned in, until niceties like Capital Controls start making the news in a bigger way. Unfortunately, by that time, the escape hatches that remain will be too crowded.

    “Needless to say…people all around the world and here at home continue to be undermined by an entity that continues to debase our money and pile trillions of dollars of debt onto the American people. Does this sound like someone who is in control of the situation?”

    Actually Erin, it sounds like someone who is very much in control of the situation, and that is likely what is pissing you off. Then again, this is only the beginning. You have yet to see what just how surreal this situation is going to get –

    • Erin June 23, 2011, 7:03 pm

      C.C….It seems you know Bernanke better than he knows himself.

      This comment from Bernanke says it all…”We don’t have a precise read on why this slower pace of growth is persisting,” Bernanke said. “Maybe some of the headwinds that have been concerning us, like the weakness in the financial sector, problems in the housing sector … some of the headwinds may be stronger and more persistent than we thought.”

      The most powerful rat bastard in the free world…”We don’t have a precise read on why this slower pace of growth is persisting”. You have got to be kidding!

      So, according to you C.C., this is all planned to bring the sheep down and put them all on the welfare rolls and somehow that will get him what???

  • roger erickson June 23, 2011, 5:28 pm

    The FED hasn’t had any real power since ~1933. Why isn’t anyone looking harder at Geithner, and especially the entire GORBS legacy (Greenspan, Geithner, Orszak, Rubin, Bernanke, Summers).

    There seems to be a persistently parasitic banking lobby at work here. Why aren’t a greater spectrum of industries as well as voters saying enough is enough?

    see http://wallstreetpit.com/78552-dawn-of-the-gargoyles-romney-proves-he-learned-nothing-from-the-crisis

  • Radek June 23, 2011, 3:18 pm

    As John Jay mentioned, Bernanke is a knave. And I don’t think he really likes being one either, but he’s stuck in the role, and is swallowing his dignity to follow orders that don’t have the best interests of his fellow countrymen at the forefront.

    What’s more pressing on my mind is how “the gap” will play out with respect to PMs, commodities and equities (that is – the gap between the end of QE2 and the first official announcement of ‘QE3’ implementation… whenever that may be). The Fed is indicating that there will not be additional QE-like events, but we all know that there will be. It’s just a matter of time.

    I’m wondering – how long will this gap turn out to be – months, years? how will capital be moved around? what are Da Boyz scheming? Should i just hold cash, pray for another ’08 bust, and try to pick a bottom? [A thousand apologies if this topic has already been covered]

    • Bam_Man June 23, 2011, 8:14 pm

      The “gap” will not be very long – just until the end of summer is my guess. They are already “greasing the skids” for QE 3.0 by manipulating the oil price lower via releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Prices of virtually everything (except houses) are being manipulated at this point.

      They need to get that oil price back down to the $70 area in a hurry before the stock market crumbles and takes down some big hedge funds, insurance companies and pension funds with it. It’s literally a race against time with the stakes in the $trillions.

      Interesting times indeed.

    • Robert June 23, 2011, 8:52 pm

      The question I have is…

      How does Ben Bernanke himself ever expect to retire, or will he campaign for active Fed Chairmanship for the next 35 years?

      I mean- he has to keep all his assets in non-yielding Treasury vehicles in order to preserve face, and you know that he knows that the purchasing power of those savings is drying up and blowing away…

      So, does he expect that he will one day do a “Greenspan world tour” in the Media ?

      Or, does he have a covert network of proxy-buyers that secretly raid the local DC coin shops on his behalf and then smuggle the coins to his swiss vault every time he books an “official” trip to Basel?

      In fact, I wonder how brisk the business is in local DC coin shops? That would be a very interesting indicator… no?

  • Jack June 23, 2011, 2:07 pm

    Still can’t get over Ambrose Evans Pritchard apologizing “to the hillsmen of Idaho” over Ben’s mad QE2.
    Amazing the Orwellian effect of getting everyone, including Ben’s harshest critics, to to refer to naked money printing as “quantitative easing.”

  • John Wilson June 23, 2011, 1:34 pm

    The reason for the smile?
    He works for the taxpayers, gets all sorts of perks while everyone else sinks into the abyss.
    Why not smile when the masses are suffering?
    You could probably see him later in the evening eating cake. 🙂
    Cheers,
    John D.Wilson
    aka-The Big Mozey

    • Rich June 23, 2011, 6:30 pm

      Fed enjoys wood-panelled dining rooms and a corporate air fleet including choppers and long-distance jets, while a 1913 IRS fueled usurious private parasite on the people, with little or no Congressional control or oversite. Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann anyone?

    • Jill June 23, 2011, 7:14 pm

      John Wilson — I expect you probably meant that sarcastically that the Bernank works for the taxpayers.

      Rich, I hope you meant that sarcastically about Bachman and Ron Paul. That’s hardly what we need– more politicos who think that a “free market” means no regulation of the banks that are robbing us blind. But somehow they always cave in and bail them out, once the TBTF banks blow themselves up– even though that is against what the politicos claimed their ideology was.

      That happened with Mc Cain and Bush and probably will keep happening with most anyone that gets in office–unless we get campaign finance reform that gets the lobbyists out of Congress and the presidency. Lobbyists pay to get certain legislation or to block certain legislation. They always get what they want, unlike the voting public, which only gets pretty sounding ideologies/lies. After all, the lobbyists paid for what they wanted, so they get it. Legal bribery.

  • John Jay June 23, 2011, 12:40 pm

    Ben is smiling because it is hard to keep a straight face when you are running the “Big Con”. He knows he is talking jive, and it will all collapse eventually, but he has to go through the motions, that is his job.
    Anyway, rumor has it the Federal government is planning to release a new, improved calculation for GDP and the CPI. In other words, the numbers will be twisted until they reflect the reality that the Fed wishes to project, and ZIRP and ZCOLA will stay in place right up until the collapse. Ben is not a fool, he is a knave, just like Greenspan was.

  • Oliver June 23, 2011, 8:47 am

    Let´s call it Bankster Easing 3.

    • bob June 23, 2011, 3:14 pm

      Or we can call it: “Stuff the banksters pockets, again”

  • C.C. June 23, 2011, 7:24 am

    “The Fed doesn’t know right now what its next move will be and when it will come, so it can’t supply the definitive message that the markets would like. Policy is now on hold,” they said.” So sayeth economists at IHS Global Insight.

    It’s working perfect – like a Swiss watch. When you know what the only policy decision that remains is, but you’re facing political headwinds, why chase after it…?

    Let it (the market) come to you. Begging. Pleading. This man has it down, just like Rick infers. In fact, he’s got it down a whole lot better than people give him credit for. He’ll be patient and wait – but not so long as for a major shift to gain too much momentum that his tools cannot be employed to desired effect.

    Dosing at this stage might wear off too early. That wouldn’t be good in full election swing. Plus, he/they need a little breathing room here to convene the next subtle rollout and under what guise it might be named.

    On another note, Jim Sinclair sounded a bit unnerved and anxious the other day, not his normal measured self. It sounded rather ominous actually – not his predictions, his tone. Perhaps something can be inferred from it –

    • Erin June 23, 2011, 4:05 pm

      Seems many people continue to give Bernanke credit for gaming the system and being in complete control here. Pull on a string, the dollars flow and the market goes up…Let it go and market goes down…Nothing could be farther from the truth!

      He is a counterfeiter. He prints money to prop up prices for his own benefit and creates negative consequences here and all around the world. No one entity can control an economy thru manipulating the cost of capital.

      Jim Grant had a great interview on Bloomberg yesterday. One thing he said I really liked was..”The Fed is in the business of imposing false values”.

      Needless to say…people all around the world and here at home continue to be undermined by an entity that continues to debase our money and pile trillions of dollars of debt onto the American people. Does this sound like someone who is in control of the situation?

  • Steve June 23, 2011, 6:20 am

    Great pen Rick. Only a Phd who must prove his thesis is this dumbed down. High Education – got to have it. Doctor – just is dat smart because he gut the shep hide.