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In July 1944, just weeks after the successful Allied invasion of Normandy, hundreds of delegates from around the world gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to determine the future of the global financial system. The vision was simple: America would be the center of the universe, and every other nation would revolve around
Yesterday the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its July meeting a few weeks ago in which they decided to NOT raise interest rates. These minutes are the official archive of the meeting, providing details about the presentations, debates, and discussions that took place. They contain very formal sounding language, referring to their
It started in 1946. American Airlines, then the largest airline in the United States (and second largest airline in the world after the Soviet Union’s Aeroflot) created a bold, new technology to book flight reservations. They called it the “electromechanical reservisor”, and it was the first machine of its kind. Before the reservisor,
On Friday morning, a gentleman named Thomas Hoenig wrote some rather unflattering comments about the US banking system in a little known publication called the Wall Street Journal. In his remarks, Hoenig stated that “while the largest U.S. banks have increased capital since the [2008] crisis, their capital is still lower than the
The year was 1986. Top Gun was the #1 movie in America. Halley’s Comet was visible with the naked eye. Microsoft went public, instantly making Bill Gates one of the wealthiest people in the world. And the US government took in $93.7 million through a little known authority called “Civil Asset Forfeiture”. As
Long ago in the Land of the Free, if you wanted to start a saloon, you rented a space and started serving booze. You didn’t have to go through years of petitioning a bunch of bureaucrats for permits and licenses. If you weren’t qualified or good enough at your job, your reputation would
It started with an illegal wiretapping scandal. Jean-Claude Junker, after spending nearly 18 years in office as Prime Minister of Luxembourg, was forced to resign in 2013 after evidence surfaced of his complicity in a domestic spying operation. So what does a disgraced politician who resigns in shame do? Why, receive a promotion,
If you are a taxpayer in the Land of the Free, you may have recently received a love letter from the Social Security Administration that went something like this: “Dear [Medieval serf paying into an insolvent pension fund]:” (OK I added that part myself) “Starting in August 2016, Social Security is adding a
It was only a matter of time. In the wake of multiple terror attacks, the European Commission is moving towards creating a mandatory, centralized database of Bitcoin ownership. Of course, their official reason is that Bitcoin is being used to finance terrorism. So for everyone’s safety and security they need even more authority
It all started with 9/11. After the twin towers fell in 2001, the US government sprang into action to wage the global war on terrorism. Within days following the attack, Congress pushed through the USA PATRIOT Act, providing unprecedented authority to the US federal government. The legislation also gave several government agencies sweeping
Another 508 people renounced their US citizenship last quarter according to documents published this morning by the Internal Revenue Service. This brings the total number of US ‘renunciants’ under the Obama administration to 17,359. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when a government’s tax policy is so oppressive that it drives people
According to Jacques Necker, everything was just fine. The year was 1781, and Necker, France’s finance minister, had just published a report called Compte Rendu au Roi, an accounting of French public finances. Necker’s report showed that, despite extraordinary public services and military spending, France had a net credit position of +10 million
Have you lost that loving feeling? If so, the United States federal government might just be able to help. Before you swipe right on Tinder or update that eHarmony account, consider instead taking a quick trip out of the country. Because on your way back home into the Land of the Free, US
It was only a few weeks ago that I told you about the government’s annual report on Social Security. It was a veritable death sentence for the program. The Board of Trustees for Social Security (which includes the US Treasury Secretary) wrote that major parts of the program have already run out of
I’ll be brutally honest– I’m so tired right now I can barely write this email. For the past five days I’ve been going on almost no sleep. I’ve been on my feet almost all day, every day, with an absolutely sadistic schedule trying to cram a year’s worth of education into a single
