“The Economics of Murder”

(from Bill Bonner’s Diary)

“Since the bottom of the Crisis of ’08-’09, the 20% of the population at the bottom of the heap – largely young and/or Black – has lost 25% of its wealth.

“The next and biggest group, those with more than the bottom 20% but less than the top 40%, are essentially even. That is, they hit bottom in March ’09… and never recovered.

“That makes 60% of the population worse off than it was in 2007. Meanwhile, the top 1% has seen an increase in its wealth of nearly 150%.

“Were these developments just the free market at work? Did they ‘just happen’? Is this ‘okay’?

“According to press reports, poor George Floyd was handcuffed… and then killed… because he tried to pass a $20 bill that was counterfeit.

“On that same day – as on every day for the past three months – the Federal Reserve has passed out $1.5 billion worth of them.

“And now, fueled by the pure oxygen of $3 trillion in new counterfeit money, the S&P 500 has been boosted back up over 3,000.

“Meanwhile, the U.S. economy in which Mr. Floyd tried to make a living has been struggling for air.

“The Fed’s giveaways to Wall Street – including its artificially low interest rates – discouraged saving and stifled the kind of real business investment that might have created good-paying jobs.

“Instead, corporate boards decided to borrow… pay themselves bonuses… and buy their own shares to jack up their prices.

“Often, in times of war, counterfeiters will print up billions in fake currency, to try to destroy the enemy’s economy and promote civil unrest. Now, we do it to ourselves.

“In short, the feds are operating the biggest, most destructive counterfeiting ring in all of history.

“But there have been no arrests. No perp walks. No trials. No demonstrations. No window breaking and no looting.

“The average man knows nothing about it. And who would tell him? Wall Street? The president? The Fed? The press?

“Instead, he is told that the geniuses at the Fed are doing their best to ‘stimulate’ the economy.

“And both sides – Democrat and Republican… The New York Times and Fox News… support the counterfeiting rip-off. They want to keep it going as long as possible.

“And for the moment, the feds can pass out trillions of dollars… to their crony friends and to the voters… with no apparent downside. Get it while you can.”