NYC Bonds Are in Sell Mode


Posted originally on Feb 22, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Engoron Hocjul Letitia James

COMMENT: Hi Martin.

Thanks for the “astute lawyer” compliment. That was very nice, and coming from you, it is very meaningful to me.

The Epoch Times headline in your “NYC Out of Control” post calls the dollar part of the verdict against the Trumps a “penalty.” It has also been called a “fine,” but I haven’t yet seen it called “damages” in a headline. I think Hochul, Engoron, and James know that the amount was based on a damage assessment and calculation that may not hold up. New York Executive Law § 63(12) clearly reads that the attorney general “may apply…for an order…directing restitution and damages…”. [Emphasis mine.]

New York proved math calculations, not actual damages, where the damaged party had to be made whole. Had the statute recited a list of fines, they’d probably be in a more sound position, but their position now is what I would call “too dicey for comfort.” I would seize nothing in this situation because there are too many cases of improper seizures to worry about. The verdicts against those who seize property in error or improperly or hastily in a flawed or tainted case are many times larger than the amount of the money judgment used to seize and sell the property of the defendant.

Furthermore, if New York has someone running the Trump businesses, and should he or she destroy or damage the businesses, the state could be liable for many, many times the amount of the verdict/judgment against the Trump family. Trump could wind up seizing the state capitol, the governor’s residence, etc., plus having his property returned to him. I’ve seen this happen. Once, the State of Louisiana overreached, and once, the U.S. government was a litigant against a billionaire oil man, banker, and friend who could not get the IRS to return his multi-million dollar overpayment of taxes. He finally had enough, and he seized the Hale Boggs Federal Court Building. He got his money a day later.

Perhaps by dancing around exactly what legal principle the amount of the money verdict/judgment is based on (i.e., damages, fines, penalties [i.e., a payment imposed as punishment], whatever), the Hochul, Engoron, James enterprise has walked into a trap. The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive fines. If they maintain the amount is absolutely based on the principle of damages, how can they show a diminution of the state being “whole” (or “wholeness” if you will) owing to Trump’s actions with third parties. If they maintain the amount of the verdict/judgment is based on a properly enacted and published fine or penalty, then they must face the Eighth Amendment.

In my opinion, Hochul, Engoron, and James are whistling past the graveyard. They have put their careers on the line, and the dice are tumbling.

Best regards, and thanks again.

EGM

Docket Sheet Sealed

REPLY: This is so political it smells, and just because this Judge, who is not qualified to judge a turtle race, simply decrees, they think they are God, and everyone must bow down to them and kiss their ring. It is so rare to find a decent judge in New York. Judge Lawrence McKenna saw what they were doing and tried to protect me. The government went to the Chief Judge to remove him and then sealed the record.

Civil Unrest 2023

The DA belongs in prison with the governor and this disgusting judge. This DA is bragging that she will now seize Trump Tower. When the computer projected that the 2024 election would be intermixed with serious civil unrest and that neither side would ever accept the outcome, as we draw closer and closer to this date with destiny, it is looking very, very dark indeed.

DJIND M Array 2 15 24

The computer is projecting a panic cycle in September, rising volatility in October, and October will be a critical turning point heading into the 2024 election. We should no longer have the motto – Gold Bless America – it should be changed to – God Save America. These LEFTIST are destroying the very foundation of law; without that, civilization can no longer exist. That is the testimony of history – not my opinion.

NEW YORK IS DOOMED

Bond investors have piled into New York City’s tax-exempt bonds, lured by their relatively high yields. However, with a $7 billion budget deficit spiraling costs of sheltering asylum seekers and other migrants that have sought refuge in New York on top of this collapse in the rule of law, NYC is a sell – not a buy. Wall Street profits are declining, and with them, there are looming job cuts at major investment banks. Many are migrating to Florida, which puts pressure on city tax revenue. New York’s fiscal outlook is a disaster. That suggests the city’s general obligation bonds aren’t particularly attractive at current valuations – they are a sell.

Inflation Dropped in Canada – So Why is the Cost of Living Unaffordable?


Posted originally on Feb 22, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

canadian dollar C

Statistics Canada reported that inflation slowed in January to 2.9%, beating expectations of 3.3%. So why are Canadians still struggling to afford basic necessities like rent and food?

Mortgage interest costs remain the top noted driver of inflation after rising 27.4% YoY, while rentals increased 7.9% during the same period. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem explained that the central bank cannot fix the housing crisis through cuts. “Housing affordability is a significant problem in Canada but not one that can be fixed by raising or lowering interest rates,” he noted at the beginning of February. The Bank of Canada has voted to raise interest rates 10 times since March 2022, with little to no impact on inflation.

The central bank cannot manage supply and demand. Rentals.ca noted that rentals have been rising by C$373 per month since COVID restrictions and lockdowns decimated the global economy. Demand far outweighs supply, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. noted that vacancies are at their lowest level since they began reviewing the data in 1988.

The Bank of Canada building

Trudeau’s government only cares about the rising debt-to-GDP ratio, and analysts cling to their failed theories of Keynesian economics. What percentage of interest costs are in that deficit, and what happens when they can no longer sell the debt? These are questions entirely overlooked.

The Canadian dollar is simply worth less than it was before the COVID lockdowns, and the Canadian dollar’s decline is contributing to the rising cost of imports.

The Bank of Canada has the same issue with its central bank as many other nations – the government will not stop spending. Total government spending for the 2023 fiscal year through the end of March 2024 is estimated to be C$488.7 billion.

Yet, the Trudeau Administration announced this week that they will be spending another C$300+ million on ammunition for Ukraine as Canada, like all other NATO nations, has been prioritizing spending on foreign wars while ignoring its growing deficit.

Canada’s deficit is expected to hit C$38.4 billion in 2024/25 and C$38.3 billion in 2025/26. Who is the largest buyer of Canadian debt? Foreign investors from the United States who purchased around $13.1 billion of Canadian debt securities. Canada saw a high in foreign share acquisitions in December 2023 to the tune of C$29.4 billion, with non-US foreign share investment reaching C$6.3 billion.

Investors are mainly seeking instruments denominated in USD that are issued by Canadian banks. Now, Canada must make investment opportunities more lucrative for the US buyer compared to domestic investments. Hence, the BoC is moving in line with the Federal Reserve, but both are utterly helpless as they cannot control fiscal policies.

The Ruse of Bitcoin & Crypto


Posted originally on Feb 21, 2024 By Martin Armstrong |  

Fink Larry

BlackRock CEO & World Economic Forum Trustee Board Member

Larry Fink Turns Bullish on Bitcoin

Larry Fink has changed his tune on crypto, saying suddenly it could “revolutionize finance,” endorsing an industry he once viewed with skepticism. Of course, as a board member of Scwab’s WEF, the crypto zealots cheered. Still, they think that Bitcoin can replace the dollar and end inflation, which they think is the result of paper money. That only reveals their own ignorance of what money is and the role it has played since the dawn of civilization.

Private Assets Government Assets

Worse still, they are telling people Bitcoin is going to be $60,000+ and fail to comprehend that even assuming that the dollar was replaced with Bitcoin, a rally then in the currency would subject the country to a Depression as took place during the 1930s.

1900 20 40

What made the depression so great was that private assets collapsed, and there was a flight to quality being cash. If Bitcoin replaced the dollar, the country would collapse, the debt would be unpayable or serviced, and private assets would decline, including gold. Democrats would no longer be able to run for office, for they could not promise gifts if you vote for them in the spirit of Marx. This is far more complicated than simply replacing the dollar. Even the people constantly calling for the collapse in the dollar do not comprehend that you are really talking about the collapse of the entire government, its debt, and the political system that would most likely fuel the divorce between the Blue & Red States. It was the dramatic rise in the dollar that compelled FDR to confiscate gold and devalue the dollar. It was the high price of the dollar that resulted in protectionism because the politicians did not understand the currency.

CBDC

They seem oblivious to the fact that the coming Central Bank Digital Currency in the USA would be unconstitutional, and the Federal Reserve will NOT issue one. Instead, the top banks are all moving to create their own and pitch for their version that will be programmable and traceable. The rumor is Fink would love to take over Bitcoin. WHY? Because all the tracing and reporting will be done by the private sector and under CURRENT law, banks MUST report suspicious behavior. So it is the COVID Model where the private sector did the censoring of free speech that the First Amendment ONLY restricts the government – not Facebook, YouTube, et al.

The Bitcoin zealots seem to overlook that the very nature of an ETF is at odds with the original ideals of Bitcoin. ETFs are an investment vehicle that’s categorically different from the original ideals of digital assets and will push the industry in the precise wrong direction into the ultimate way the government can trace everything you do and make sure they tax everything.

US Govt Targets Private Enterprise – Eminent Domain – Private Property and Patents at Risk


Posted originally on Feb 21, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

EminentDomainCartoon

A recent measure from the Biden Administration touted as a solution to lower prescription drug costs has a more sinister motive. The Bayh–Dole Act or Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act of 1980 permitted researchers to own the patents of their products developed through government funds. The legislation permitted “march-in” rights that enabled these agencies to grant a license on their patents to third parties. For the first time in four decades, the federal government wants to invoke this measure as they are losing both money and power amid this private wave.

Codified by 35 U.S.C. S 203, the march-in rights permit the federal government to require contractors to hand over “nonexclusive, partially exclusive, or exclusive license” to a “responsible applicant or applicants.” Around 5% of patents were licensed out before the Bayh-Dole Act compared to around 69% today. On the surface, one may view this as an effective way to push back against prescription price gouging but this is an outright attack on private enterprise.

This measure is not limited to prescription medications as it expands to ever patent created through government funds, meaning every single industry could be usurped by Washington. Had the government actually wanted to lower prescription prices, there are countless measures and legislations that they could pass to do so. Instead, they are directly targeting private enterprises, no different from any communist nation.

Unconstitutional

Seizing private property has never benefitted the people of any nation. It has been attempted and tried countless times and always results in disaster. The Founding Fathers deliberately forbid this from happening in the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Most know the right to remain silent provided by the Fifth Amendment. There is a “takings clause” clearly written in the Constitution that forbids the government from seizing private property.

The US Supreme Court misconstrued this clause in KOHL v. US , 91 U.S. 367 (1875). The government decided to seize private property from landowners in Cincinnati to create public infrastructure. This case is largely cited as the beginning of eminent domain discussions and the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Federal government, so long as they provided “just compensation.” The court ruled that the government may asses the value and pay whatever they wish.

JamieDimon

The government and globalists have been searching for ways to use to ruling to seize private property. Most cases surrounded public infrastructure until recently. In 2023, JPMorgan Chase CEO and World Economic Forum member Jamie Dimon told shareholders that  “governments, businesses and non-governmental organizations” may need to invoke “eminent domain” in order to get the “adequate investments fast enough for grid, solar, wind and pipeline initiatives.”

The power provided by the pandemic tipped the scales in favor of the government over the people. Implementing socialism would be the fast-track way to achieve the World Economic Forum’s objective—YOU WILL OWN NOTHING AND BE HAPPY. Dimon suggested using the excuse of climate change to usher in the Great Reset. “The need to provide energy affordably and reliably for today, as well as make the necessary investments to decarbonize for tomorrow, underscores the inextricable links between economic growth, energy security and climate change. We need to do more, and we need to do so immediately,” Dimon added in his message to shareholders.

Then, the US government began quietly seizing farmland, particularly in South Dakota. Summit Carbon Solutions invoked eminent domain to seize private property to build a clean energy solution pipeline. Farmers reported receiving unannounced visits from surveyors who, at times, entered their personal residences without notice. The farmers were threatened and warned not to interfere in the plans to destroy their businesses. Over 80 farmers attempted to sue the company, but many were placed in contempt of court for speaking out. The US government ruled that it was legal and acceptable for Summit Carbon Solutions to seize property in the name of climate change.

Maximinus AE Denominations

History repeats as human nature NEVER changes. Look back at the Roman emperor Maximinus I (235-238 AD) who effectively declared all wealth in the country belonged to the state. He paid bribes to anyone who turned in their neighbor for hiding wealth. Once Maximinus wiped out small businesses in this manner, it led to a collapse in confidence in the economy. Commerce rapidly declined from there on out commerce and businesses did not restart. There was no Great Reset. In that instance, one Pi Cycle marked the bottom of the Roman economy from 237 AD to 268 AD (31 years).

The US government will seize more than just land in this most recent abuse of power. Our liberty is on the line and the government is seizing our rights at a rapid pace. We are entering a period of COMPLETE TOTALITARIANISM as we move toward 2032. Governments are losing control in this private wave, and the old methods of controlling the masses are not working; they are laying out the groundwork to take the utmost extreme measures to force the people to become entirely subservient to the system.

Ep 3286a – Germany In A Recession, [CB]/[WEF] Economic Agenda Falling Apart


Posted originally on Rumble By X 22 Report on: Feb 19, 2024 at 7:30 pm EST

US Teens Learn About Taxes


Posted originally on Feb 20, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

A new trend is circulating on the internet, where parents in the US film their teenagers’ reactions to filing taxes for the first time. The US education system does not require schools to educate students on taxes, despite it being fundamental knowledge for sound financial health.

In 2022, teens with both earned and unearned income were required by law to file a tax return if their combined gross income was greater than $1,150, or more than their earned income (up to $12,550) plus $400. Additionally, if a teen earned $12,950 or more at their part-time job in 2022, they would need to file taxes in 2023. The standard deduction for 2022 was $12,950, so as long as a teen didn’t earn more than that amount, they wouldn’t have to file taxes. Basically, anyone who worked a part-time job was forced to give a portion to Uncle Sam.

Those advocating extreme spikes in the minimum wage do not realize that teenagers will be unable to pay. Moreover, employers will not be able to hire teens and young adults as they know they are there temporarily. These kids do not understand the system, and from a broader perspective, we need a future workforce with hands-on knowledge. Why is the government taxing teenagers who are too young to vote for representation? Why is the Biden Administration hell-bent on forgiving student loans when we are forcing teens to pay on the little that they earn? Everyone wants to talk about “equality,” but few realize that some cannot obtain higher education without a job. Not all parents are willing or able to support their children when they reach 18.

As a result, the youth is not joining the workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a further decline in the teen labor force participation rate, from 34.0% in 2014 to 26.4% in 2024, citing increased school enrollment as a contributing factor. They are encouraged by the system to focus on school and take out larger loans to pay for their expenses. They do not realize that most will be unable to find work in their field of study, nor are they educated about compounding interest on loans.

In 2023, the number of employed 16- to 19-year-olds in the US was approximately 6 million, which is expected to decline. Fewer teens are working and gaining crucial hands-on experience in the workforce. We are producing a future generation of academics who simply do not know how to work.

Yellen Believes People are Better off Post-Pandemic


Posted originally on Feb 20, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Yellen Sec Treasury

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is proof that the establishment is completely clueless when it comes to the lives of the average citizen. “People are better off than they were pre-pandemic,” Yellen touted on national news last week. Perhaps she meant to say “politicians” rather than people, and no, one cannot point at rising US indexes and claim that is sufficient evidence that the overall economy is sound.

Yellen is akin to the Karine Jean-Pierre of America’s financial system insofar as her job is to openly lie to the public and convince them that their reality is not as it seems. She holds a high role in Biden’s cabinet and is responsible for overseeing America’s banks, tax enforcement, printing money, and the national debt. She is the bridge between the federal government and the Federal Reserve, acting as Biden’s top advisor. We know Biden is not mentally competent, and it appears his CFO has continually misled both Washington and the American public.

https://www.mrctv.org/embed/585516

So, what the hell is wrong with Janet Yellen? Her loyalty lies with the World Economic Forum and globalist elite. These are the people making decisions that DELIBERATELY wound their own nation’s economic soundness on behalf of a select few behind the curtain. Yellen admitted that the true reason behind the massive spending on the Inflation Reduction Act was to propel the climate change agenda. “The Inflation Reduction Act is, at its core, about turning the climate crisis into an economic opportunity,” the Treasury Secretary admitted months ago. That was one of the largest spending acts in the history of our nation and pales in comparison to the money being spent on foreign wars. All of this spending is intended to meet the same goal of the Great Reset.

Hence, the woman in charge of overseeing national spending is ignoring the debt crisis waiting to implode. When US debt was downgraded, she called it arbitrary and simply disagreed with the data. The government has no plans to curtail spending. Instead, they are taking measures that contribute to rising inflation, therefore reducing the quality of life for the average citizen. Yellen’s recent statement proves that Washington is not concerned about the people, and this inflationary trend will continue.

Harnwell: The farmer protests currently convulsing the whole of Europe arrive in Rome


Posted originally on Rumble By Bannons War Room on: Feb 16, 2024 at 3:00 EST

Industrialized Factory Farms Threaten Humans and Animals Alike—As DC Protects Them, w/ Wayne Hsiung and John Oberg | SYSTEM UPDATE 228


Posted originally on Rumble By Glen Greenwald on: Feb 14, 2024 at 7:00 pm EST

UK Confiscating Houses for Migrants


Posted originally on Feb 16, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Elected politicians no longer represent us. Amazingly, against all common sense, an elderly British couple received a letter in the mail from their city council (municipal government) informing them that the authorities were preparing to seize their newly purchased £200,000 home and use it to house migrants. They then charge you for any repairs they have to do.