Insurance Premiums To Fall 3000 Percent!

Obama did his best Bush impression the other day talking about healthcare. See if you notice anything odd about his math:

Well damn, if employers would be paid 2900% of your current insurance premium. If those numbers are correct, well gee, they probably could give me a raise. I might have to change my mind on healthcare reform.

Of course, Obama shouldn’t feel too bad, it’s not like Bush didn’t do this all the time. Harry Reid said losing 36,000 jobs was good. Or take our space cadet, speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi, who claimed unemployment would skyrocket to somewhere around 167% if the stimulus package wasn’t passed:

Fed Pledges to Keep Rates Low For Foreseeable Future

According to Bloomberg, Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve have pledged “to keep the main interest rate near zero for an “extended period” and confirmed that emergency measures to prop up the housing market will end as planned this month.”

With the first time homeowner credit set to end soon, it will be interesting to see if low interest rates will keep the housing market from collapsing even further. It will also be interesting to see what effects such a policy will have on inflation.

Gold Rush?

Speaking of inflation, while it certainly hasn’t set in yet, gold prices have been steadily creeping up. It currently stands at $1124.30 an ounce. This could be a sign of things to come.

Jeff Clark pointed out at LewRockwell.com that both the Reserve Bank of India and China have hinted at having interest in buying the next batch of gold to be sold by the IMF (about 191.3 tons). The last time India bought 200 tons of gold, prices went up 14.2% in 4 weeks. Is demand increasing for hedges against inflation?

The End of ‘Too Big to Fail’… Hopefully, but Probably Not

Is Chris Dodd actually doing something right? I know, it doesn’t seem possible given his track record. But Dodd has put a plan together to unwind the infamous ‘too big to fail doctrine’ that created the moral hazard that helped bring on this financial crisis in the first place. Conservative financial commentator, Larry Kudlow, actually gives Dodd some credit, explaining that:

“…under the Dodd scheme, large complex companies will have to submit plans for rapid and orderly shutdowns should they go under. These are called ‘funeral plans.’”

Unfortunately, the plan has loopholes. Kudlow continues, “It is possible that a government-resolution process could keep big banks alive or in conservatorship, such as with Fannie and Freddie.” In fact, Fannie and Freddie aren’t even mentioned (two more big contributors to the financial crisis) and it also gives a lot of power to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Oh goodie, another government bureaucracy to save us all (note sarcasm).

But Kudlow concludes that at least “…with the Dodd plan, the possibility remains that a true bankruptcy process will replace government bailouts.” Well I guess that’s at least possibly an improvement.