Jamie Dimon on fiscal cliff

We are one decision away from restoring our fiscal and moral authority from around the world.  Let's just do it.

The U.S. economy could grow at a 4 percent rate and monthly job creation could get above 200,000 if
Washington politicians can "grasp a rational fiscal policy" and avoid the "fiscal cliff".

~ Jamie Dimon, CEO JP Morgan, CNBC, December 12, 2012

Warren Buffet endorses Dimon for US Treasury head

I think he'd be terrific.  If we did run into problems in markets, I think he'd actually be the best person you could have in the job.

~ Warren Buffet on Jamie Dimon as head of the US Treasury, November 27, 2012, CNN

Woodrow Wilson on neutrality

Neutrality is a negative word. It does not express what America ought to feel. We are not trying to keep out of trouble; we are trying to preserve the foundations on which peace may be rebuilt.

~ Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
1938

Ken Fisher: "Ignore political babble"

This year, ignore political babble. You’ll be better off. Ignore debt debates, silly fake controversies and finger pointing over who is or isn’t the bigger fan of private enterprise. (I win that footrace, anyway.) Or whose supporters are richer or not. And whether that’s bad or not. My forecast is for global stocks to end 2012 up big. Tune out the nonsense, and you’ll better enjoy the ride.

[...]

Love it or hate it, we either re-elect a Democrat or newly elect a Republican in November. Barring alien invasion, no other options. Historically, US stocks average 14.5% when we re-elect a Democrat and 18.8% when we newly elect a Republican—both great outcomes. So tune it out—your eardrums and portfolio will thank you.

~ Ken Fisher, "Put Them On Mute," Forbes.com, May 29, 2012

Ben Bernanke on QE3

Going forward, we’ll have to continue to make judgments about whether additional steps are warranted, but as we do so, we have to keep in mind that we do have a dual mandate, that we do have to worry about both the rate of growth but also the inflation rate.

The trade-offs are getting — are getting less attractive at this point. Inflation has gotten higher. Inflation expectations are a bit higher. It’s not clear that we can get substantial improvements in payrolls without some additional inflation risk. And in my view, if we’re going to have success in creating a long-run, sustainable recovery with lots of job growth, we’ve got to keep inflation under control. So we’ve got to look at both of those — both parts of the mandate as we — as we choose policy.

~ Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Bloomberg press conference, April 4/28/2011

Nouriel Roubini: "I don't see the markets falling"

Right now I don't see the financial markets falling.  I see the U.S. stock market flat for the rest of the year.

~ Nouriel Roubini

Murray Rothbard on how to treat politicians

But if taxation is robbery, then it follows as the night the day that those people who engage in, and live off, robbery are a gang of thieves.  Hence the government is a group of thieves, and deserves, morally, aesthetically, and philosophically, to be treated exactly as a group of less socially respectable ruffians would be treated.

~ Murray Rothbard

David Einhorn on income inequality

Ending the jelly-donut monetary policy [sugar high from ZIRP] would do more to alleviate income inequality than any of the widely debated changes in the tax code.  For the super wealthy, zero rates supported by a Bernanke put on the bond market encourage outsize income through leveraged speculation.  For everyone else, zero rates reduce the standard of living because greater food and energy costs soak up income.

~ David Einhorn, Spring Grant's Conference, 2012, as reported in April 20, 2012 issue of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, "Dollars to donuts"

Oscar Ameringer on politics

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.

~ Oscar Ameringer, "the Mark Twain of socialism," (1870-1943)

Ryan Detrick (Schaefer's): More reasons to be bullish than bearish

There are definitely concerns out there, and we can't simply ignore them. A slowdown in China or more issues in Europe could put a major stop to the bull market, but overall, we continue to feel there are still more reasons to be bullish than bearish for longer-term investors. In the near term, some continuation of the recently choppy price action could occur -- but eventually, that will give way to higher prices, as the dour outlooks on the economy and stock market will once again be proven too gloomy.

~ Ryan Detrick, Schaefer's Investment Research, "Monday Morning Outlook," April 13, 2012

Thomas Jefferson on the tyranny of taxes

To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.

~ Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson
1902-1903

UK Chancellor Osborne on safety of sovereign debt

While other countries struggle to command confidence in their fiscal forecasts we have created an internationally admired and respected independent office for budget responsibility. These bold steps have made Britain that safe haven in the sovereign debt storm.

~George Osborne, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, August 11, 2011

Sigmund Freud on the age of illusion

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.

~Sigmund Freud

Ken Langone on stock market correction: So what?

[Tuesday's 200 point stock market drop is] a correction. It’s healthy. It’s no big thing. So what?

[I'd] buy the banks [because they've] cleaned their act up [and have low valuations.]  JPMorgan Chase [JPM  39.32    -1.08  (-2.67%)   ] has a balance sheet that's like a battleship.aid. Wells Fargo [WFC  30.105    -0.865  (-2.79%)   ] , the same thing. Bank of America [BAC  7.71    -0.26  (-3.26%)   ] is getting better, Citi's [C  32.12    -1.56  (-4.63%)   ] getting better.

~ Ken Langone, as appeared on CNBC

David Stockman on the Federal Reserve

The Fed is a patsy. It is a pathetic dependent of the big Wall Street banks, traders, and hedge funds. Everything it does is designed to keep this rickety structure from unwinding.

- David Stockman, Former Budget Director, Reagan Administration, March 4, 2012

Napolean Bonaparte on bankers

When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain.

~ Napolean Bonaparte

Einstein on socialism

I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society.

~ Albert Einstein

Mark Twain on elitists

When red-headed people are above a certain social grade their hair is auburn.

~ Mark Twain

Dan Rather on intellectuals

An intellectual snob is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger.

~ Dan Rather

Glenn Greenwald on elitism

Incestuous, homogeneous fiefdoms of self-proclaimed expertise are always rank-closing and mutually self-defending, above all else.

~ Glenn Greenwald

Anais Nin on courage

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

~ Anais Nin

Happy Valentine's Day!

There is a fine line between love and a waste of time.

~ Anonymous

Mark Twain on travel

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.  Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.

~ Mark Twain

Robert Collier on success

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.

~ Robert Collier

Adolph Hitler on the Big Lie

The great masses of the people... will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.

~ Adolph Hitler