The state is, first and foremost, an institution whose overarching goal is the forcible subjugation of all the people who inhabit a given territory. However, what makes the state different from other coercive entities, such as organized crime groups, is that it enjoys some form of popular legitimacy. In other words, in addition to enslaving its inhabitants physically, it needs to secure their mental servitude as well.
On Friday, July 7, 2023, news broke in the financial market media that the “BRICS” (that is, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will implement their plan to create a new international currency for trading and financial transactions, and that this new currency will be “gold backed.”
It is no surprise to libertarians that what is in the interest of the government might not be in the interest of people in general. More often than not, the government’s interest is directly at odds with the interests of people in general. The countless wars waged by governments throughout history, for which common people paid ultimately with their lives, bear witness to this fact.
Earlier this week Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr delivered a speech called Holistic Capital Review, sharing thoughts on the banking sector’s existing capital requirements imposed by the Fed.
He firmly stated:
… the existing approach to capital requirements is sound.
Illustrated through nondescript mentions, despite this alleged soundness, he did find some ways to improve the fatally flawed system:
The United States and other countries are debating whether to admit Ukraine into NATO which, of course, would virtually guarantee an all-out nuclear war between the United States and Russia. I’ve got a better idea: Dismantle this old Cold War dinosaur, or at the very least, the United States should withdraw from it, which would undoubtedly lead to its demise anyway.
While the jobs report came in less than hot, Reuters still described the labor market as “still-tight” on the first Friday of July. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the other experts in charge of destroying jobs and job opportunities for common folk will no doubt raise rates this month and next.
Like ships taking on water, banks are throwing assets overboard trying to stay afloat. PacWest sold $3.5 billion in lender finance loans to private lender Ares last week. The Financial Times reports, “Ares paid $2.01bn in cash for the first tranche, less than its principal balance of $2.07bn. PacWest had previously raised $2.36bn by selling construction loans to real estate investors Kennedy Wilson.”
