And so it goes . . .

"Stress Test" by Arthur Rosenstein - 1936 Failed Kansas Bank - presented here for fair use

And so the exalted ones do the predictable thing after much drama and play extend and pretend. But this cannot help the real systemic problem that there is no economic recovery - here or anywhere. The great Ponzi scheme continues to unravel, while the wolves continue to accumulate real productive assets with their monopoly money.

The next step in the dance will be to watch the inevitable market turmoil as the masses are allowed to see a glimpse of the reality of economic collapse in the West - enough so that they will beg the exalted ones to encourage the temple masters to adopt another round of easing, with some unique twist (it's different this time - we have new and improved tools!) to quickly incur the full measure of debt recently authorized to be placed on the American people and monetize it.

A few things seem apparent enough - one is that there is a transnational plutocracy of extraordinary proportions. Whether such always work together, they nevertheless tend to serve similar ravenous ends which do not help the great mass of people. They may spear one another in the great game, but they mostly do not care whose field is ridden over or burnt in the process of their virtual vying for more power.

Another is that we are likely seeing the end of the dollar's run as the global reserve currency. It may take a while. As others have said, the Anglo-American banking cartel will defend against that change for as long as possible, whilst hedging for its eventuality. But many forces are arrayed against the dollar fiat currency remaining in its privileged position.

Another is that, whatever the manipulation of the current economic and geopolitical crises to nefarious ends by the moneyed interests, the fact remains that there is a global economic problem - we are seeing some sort of powerful reset after decades of excess (which has been unbalanced and not at all evenly distributed - some have not enjoyed those excesses at all).

John Kenneth Galbraith once said that some sort of bankruptcy process (whatever it may be called and whatever its rules) is essential to a fiat-money fractional reserve banking system. You must have a mechanism to deal out who ends up taking the losses because the system requires some way to shake out the excess credit. It seems the exalted ones have figured out how to assign the losses to the masses through government debts - that is, bankers and other creditor nations holding creditor claims on the future labor the various populations of nations. The recent petulance exhibited by China's media machine (see Xinhua article and Financial Times article) is a prime example of the sort of demands one might see as a result of this. The sort of demands which could start wars and riots, if pushed too far.

So who cares? Can't we just go to church and enjoy our summer conferences? Well, when "official" employment numbers are suspect (how is it that unemployment is below 10% but food-stamp recipients are somewhere north of 13% in this country??). Shall we sit idly and ignorantly by as our neighbors quietly slide into misery while in a stupor brought on by the latest reality TV show? Pay attention, for this is no mere localized movement of petty kings and thugs, but a globalized leviathan seeking to and fro for power and profit that does not care about the bellies of children or the comfort of the aged, the widow, or orphan.

Look on Tuesday for everyone to be begging the Fed for some financial easing, just as they've begged the ECB to buy the bonds of Italy and Spain. And thus do the bankers gain claims over the future labor of nations, to the point where they may demand that governments take actions in despite of their own people.

My favorite commentator ("Jesse") on the financial malfeasance infesting the world, had this reminder this week:

"We did not create ourselves, and we do not sustain ourselves; no one of this world can withstand the approach of death by the power of a self-seeking will. Life is a gift from God. We cannot keep our life, unless we are willing to give it back to Him, in the way in which he asks for it. This is the secret to happiness and contentment, and the path to everlasting life. We rise by falling, emptying our hearts and saying, not my own, but thy will be done."