Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: March 17, 1935
As the sun gleamed off the gilded domes of Videssos the city, Abivard, marshal of Makuran and son of Godarz, pondered the impossible. How could he carry out the command of Sharbaraz, King of Kings, to destroy the invincible Empire of Videssos?
Abivard needed not only his greatest battle skills but his most powerful magicians, for no one doubted that Videssian military strategy would be accompanied by the finest sorcery. Yet even as reality reversed itself and renegades plotted Abivard’s ruin, the undaunted warrior vowed never to surrender … — Book promo @ Amazon
I am in reasonably good health; what medical issues I have, or have had, are mostly in my head. My teeth are slowly getting removed year by year, my right eye has had a retina tear repaired and cataracts removed from both eyes and my hearing is poor. As I said — all in my head.
On Wednesday after Erik’s training class I had an appointment with the VA Clinic Audio for a five year hearing test and get new hearing aids. I’ll get them in May and hope they are better than what I have had. They are not going to improve my understanding of speech however; hearing aid don’t do that. My hearing has not changed much over the past five years nor has my understanding of speech which is at about 30%.
The Biden administration is claiming that the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank depositor bailouts will not cost the taxpayer anything; the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF) will make the depositors whole. The lap dog Media is repeating that message without any questions.
I want to point out that the combined total deposits of those two banks were about 263 Billion and the DIF had about 20 Billion in cash at the beginning of this year. Where will the rest of the money come from? From investments that the DIF hold. But guess what those investments are — US Treasury securities that will have to be sold, most likely at a loss. I also want to point out that the DIF has total assets that are equal to about 1.7% of all insured deposits but the rules have been changed and now ALL deposits are to be made whole.
I think the taxpayer is going to pick up the cost of the coming widespread bank failures OR the financial system will melt down. Maybe both!
James Howard Kunstler has expressed this same opinion in SVB + FTX + SBF = WTF?
This was posted on June 17, 2021 but has simply become worse since then. Follow the link to read the rest of the good article.
Men, like nations, think they’re eternal. What man in his 20s or 30s doesn’t believe, at least subconsciously, that he’ll live forever? In the springtime of youth, an endless summer beckons. As you pass 70, it’s harder to hide from reality. Nations too have seasons. — How Nations Slip from Greatness to Obscurity by Don Feder
The depositors money isn’t gone; it’s just invested in poor performing long term bonds. When there was a run on the bank, the bonds needed to be sold, and the loss was realized on the balance sheet. FDIC only needs to cover the difference between deposits and the value of the bank’s investments.
Thanks for the Comment. I didn’t mean to suggest that the depositors money was gone. I even said that they were to be made whole.
“FDIC only needs to cover the difference between deposits and the value of the bank’s investments.” Since the banks are bankrupt we will not know what that difference is until the ‘investments’ have been sold. I think the difference will be greater than the Depositors Insurance Fund cash balance so it will also have to sell some their treasury bond investments. If there are a lot more bank failures that Fund is going to also experience a ‘run’.