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Statism (or etatism) is a term that may refer to either one or both of the following:

A major state, including government policy, role in the direction of the economy, both directly through state-owned enterprises or other machinery of government and indirectly through the state-directed economic planning of the overall economy.[1][2]
A political viewpoint “that sovereignty is vested not in the people but in the national state, and that all individuals and associations exist only to enhance the power, the prestige, and the well-being of the state. The fascist concept of statism, which as seen as synonymous with the concept of nation, and corporatism repudiates individualism and exalts the nation as an organic body headed by the Supreme Leader and nurtured by unity, force, and discipline.”[3]
Statism is sometimes used to refer to state capitalism or highly regulated market economies with large amounts of government intervention, and also to refer to state socialism or co-operative economic systems that use the state, through nationalization, as a means of running industry in the interest of the majority.”

Wall Street, especially Goldman Sachs, has been influencing government for decades but recently they have taken it over.

You are hopeless. How can you call what you saw in the Frontline Special “Free Market Capitalism.” FREE MARKET means just that….a free market, not one that involves government intervention. The only reason Goldman Sachs and Company got away with manufacturing Toxic Waste and selling it all over the world was through their connections to government.

How can you call our system a free market when the Federal Reserve decides the cost of money. In a true free market, where money is honest, the cost of money is dependent on the quantity of savings. To encourage savings, interest rates rise, which leads to increased bank reserves. It is these savings that provide the capital for businesses and home mortgages. As savings rise interest rates decline, encouraging borrowing for business and spending. The amount of savings in the system lets business know that future spending will be healthy. In this system interest rates remain relatively stable. THIS IS A TRUE FREE MARKET, but I have explained this before but apparently to no avail.

The history of major government bailouts goes all the way back to the Nixon Administration, the same administration that closed the gold window. How do you think Amtrack came into existence? In a Free Market there are no bailouts….there is no such thing as too big or too important to Fail.

I find it interesting that you watched the Frontline special and saw the problem as one of Free Market Capitalism, and not the Fascist state we have become. I also find it interesting that you did not say a word about the Democrats Golden Boy, Bill Clinton, who along with his advisors knew there was great danger out there. It was the Clinton Administration along with the Republican House that repealed Glass Stegall which put a wall of separation between the Banks and Wall Street Investment Companies.
Of course G.W. Bush did Bill Clinton one better when he appointed Christ Cox, Chairman of the SEC and he allowed the massive leverage and removed the Up tick rule.

My point has been that the system is now totally corrupt and the fiat money makes it all possible. No fiat money = No bailouts = less chance of gambling with other peoples money as was done on Wall Street.

Kash, apparently you are a devout Democrat that believes in the State. You believe “if only we can get people in power that will do the right thing.” Sorry kash, but man is far too flawed to believe such will ever be the case. We need to go back to a system that is more honest than what we have now. Gold and Silver are no ones liability…..they are honest money which is why God, not man, placed them on the earth.

Have you taken the time to watch the Frontline video? Maybe I misunderstood your position, but I was under the impression that you believe government programs to assist the poor were in fact beneficial. I do believe you may have suggested that government programs would help the economy; I know Kash is of this opinion. I am not sure as to what your position is regarding the Federal Reserve, which I see as the core of cancer that is destroying this nation.

In your last messages, you said that you would investigate. As for rewarding artists, it seems to me that I have not seen any “artist” standing in food stamp lines, at least not the ones that are broadcast on radio.

All government programs, like medicare, social security, food stamps, government housing assistence, welfare checks to unwed mothers, etc. all sounded like a dream come true by Washington, but are now turning into nightmares. There are but a few things government does well…. very few things, and government should only receive enough to run its basic operations. In a free society, people have to accept responsibility for their decisions. There can be no freedom without responsibility…they go hand in hand. When government accepts responsibility the people must surrender their freedom, either through higher taxes / inflation or because they become dependent on the government handouts.

All I know is that tithes and offerings are down about 20% in my church because people have lost jobs or businesses have gone broke. The misery index is rising as are prices…..its called stagflation, and it is only going to get worse. Before Thanksgiving the USD will drop to new lows as gold crosses $1100. Gold is the CANARY IN THE COAL MINE. It warns of crisis coming.

The Frontline Video explains in detail how and why the current crisis developed. But what is worse is the banks continue to create these derivatives at an alarming rate. They do not care if they destroy the entire nation so long as they can make billions in bonuses with the manufacture of OTC derivatives.

HERE ARE SOME INTERESTING CURRENT FACTS:

1. JP Morgan has $1.7 trillion in assets and $80 trillion in OTC derivatives.
2. Goldman Sachs has $120 billion in assets and $41 Trillion in OTC derivatives.
3. Bank America has $1.7 in assets and $39 trillion in OTC derivatives.
4. Citibank has $1.1 Trillion in assets and $32 trillion in OTC derivatives.
5. Well Fargo has $1.1 trillion in assets and $5 trillion in OTC derivatives.

The ship of state already hit the iceberg and now the captains are out there slamming into every iceberg they can find. This crisis is reaching critical mass, and when the next shoes drop, not even the Fed will be able to rescue the situation. The commercial real estate market is crumbling as is credit card debt. Expect more bailouts and more stimulus as the current stimulus has worn off. The Fed keeps saying that can mop up the excess liquidity…..ITS A LIE. The government says it supports a strong dollar while very policy they have going insures a WEAKER DOLLAR.

All the while government is becoming more intrusive. The power to tax is the power to destroy. This is not an academic argument, it is reality…. a reality that is going wake everyone up. You will see churches first cutting back on their ministries and finally closing their doors. Christian radio will shrink in size as people that once supported programs are no longer able to do so. Taxes are sure to rise, especially if Cap in Trade passes and government health care becomes reality. Sales and property taxes will consume more of our income especially in an inflationary environment. Higher interest rates go hand in hand with inflation so business will be negatively impacted.

When Josh presented this issue, I expected more interest from Christians, but such was not the case. I guess Josh was just being an alarmist. Hey Josh, why did you put out the alert on a government policy that merely wants to reward the starving artists like Madonna and the Michael Jackson estate? What’s the matter with you? These poor folks are the cream of our society and surely they must be adequately rewarded, just like those that run our financial institutions like AIG, Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank America, Citi, just to name a few. After all we cannot expect these executives to live on a paultry $25 million per year in bonuses. Surely they are worth more.

Reimbursing artists is not the same as losing freedom of speech or freedom of the press.

Mike: How does the information provided square with your belief that government will solve the problem

It is not my belief that government will solve the problem. If you really desire honest discussion, it would do you well to release your fondness of misrepresenting my position and engaging in hyperbole when reason is required.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/

How does the information provided square with your belief that government will solve the problem or that big government, with all the controls associated with it, is beneficial to a people? How does it all add up to our notion of Representative government that exists for the benefit of the people?

I use to be more humble in stating my position, but no longer. I am direct as there is little time left for debate. The USD has been making new lows now for 2 weeks. It is headed lower and that is the way the government wants it. Gold is screamming its warning as it has now held above $1000 for 1 month. Anyone that continues to support the current government (this includes all administrations since JFK) is nothing but a useful idiot. Don’t you get it? Our freedoms are at stake. This is the very course every despotic government has taken. Hitler took power in a Democratic nation. Hugo Chavez was elected to office. Democracy is no guarantee of freedom. The only guarantee is the nation’s citizens being alert and educated. Please take time to educate yourselves and others.

I will provide a link to the PBS Special on Frontline that aired this past Tuesday. PBS is no bastion of Conservatism so you cannot claim this is a Republican hit job. JUST LISTEN AND PAY ATTENTION then consider what is taking place today. FYI, Derivatives today are higher than they were when the events in the program took place. They continue to grow even as it is well known that derivatives nearly brought down the system. They are now over $1,250 trillion. Please take the time to watch this video:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/ Remember, it was not the failure of free market capitalism; it was the failure of 95 years of government intervention through the power of the Federal Reserve.

Good heavens, have we become that complacent? Do we no longer cherish the freedoms our forefathers fought to win and keep.

I will warn you that if you think what is taking place in America will not affect you and your loved ones directly, you had better guess again. All this is going to hit home with a vengence.

From Wikipedia:
Born was appointed a member of the CFTC, on April 15, 1994, by President Bill Clinton. While on the commission and after becoming its chair two years later, Born sought comments on the need to regulate derivatives, specifically swaps that are traded at no central exchange, known as the dark market, and thus have no transparency except to the two counter-parties (no actual regulatory scheme was proposed at the time). Born’s team completed a complicated financial analysis which led them to anticipate a serious crisis. That crisis did affect the US and world markets in 2008; but if Born had her way, it might have been prevented. According to Born, it “will happen again and again unless we learn from experience.”[4]

The request for comments, called the “Concept Release,” stated that the growth of trade in derivatives had prompted the CFTC to re-examine its regulatory scheme.[5] The request for comments was opposed by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers.[6] Specifically, on May 7, 1998, former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt joined the other members of the President’s Working Group – Treasury Secretary Rubin and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Greenspan – in objecting to the issuance of the CFTC’s concept release, in which Born attempted to shed light on the dark market, citing grave concerns about the possible consequences of the CFTC’s action. In particular, these concerns focused on the risk that such discussion would increase legal uncertainty concerning swaps and other OTC derivative instruments and, thus, reduce their value. They claimed potential turmoil created by the report and concerns about the imposition of new regulatory costs also might have stifled innovation and pushed transactions offshore.[7]

As the financial crisis of 2008 gained momentum, newspapers began reporting on what might be some of its causes, including the adversarial relationship Greenspan, Rubin and Levitt had with Brooksley Born,[8] with Greenspan leading the opposition, and how Born’s recommendations were suppressed.[6] She is retired from Arnold & Porter and until recently had declined to comment on the unfolding crisis and her efforts to rein in the growing market for derivatives. “The market grew so enormously, with so little oversight and regulation, that it made the financial crisis much deeper and more pervasive than it otherwise would have been.” The disagreement has been described as a classic Washington turf war. She now laments the influence of Wall Street lobbyists on the process and the refusal of regulators to discuss even modest reforms.[9]

In 2009 Born was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award in recognition of the political courage she demonstrated in sounding early warnings about conditions that contributed to the current global financial crisis. According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, “…Brooksley Born recognized that the financial security of all Americans was being put at risk by the greed, negligence and opposition of powerful and well connected interests… The catastrophic financial events of recent months have proved them [Born and Sheila Bair] right. Although their warnings were ignored at the time, the American people should be reassured that there are far-sighted public servants at all levels of government who act on principle to protect the people’s interests.”[10]