Mike Whitney ruminates over what the Fed intends to do in the near-future and what effects its actions will have on the world economy in the short-term. I then identify a few depressing consequences that can be inferred from Whitney’s analysis.

The difference between the SERFS of the Middle Ages and the Consumer/Employee/Self-Employed Business Owner/Middle Class/Working Poor of today is that in the Middle Ages, the Serf had FOOD, CLOTHING, and SHELTER almost all the time short of natural causes. Today’s modern “Serf” has no guarantee of any of that. We no longer grow our own food, make our own clothes, or provide our own shelter on our own land. We have no more “Social Contract” with our Lords and Masters. At least the Serfs had that. They had a SOCIAL CONTRACT. The basic incidentals of HUMAN RIGHTS were provided in exchange for a lifetime of work and service.

Today, we are without that. We have to work harder and harder to earn less and less. And those BASIC INCIDENTALS – Food, Shelter, Clothing – are becoming more and more expensive. Not to mention the new basic incidentals of our time: Transportation and Health Care.

Earlier this month, Thomas Geoghegan wrote a piece for The Nation telling the Democrats the ten things they could do to really get the base excited, and at the same time do good things for the country. Here’s his list.

This is Part Two of a critical review of The National Journal’s Debate on “Our Fiscal Future” between John Podesta and Douglas Holtz-Eakin with Jim Tankersley moderating, at The George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium. This part provides more observations and evaluation on some of the propositions offered by Holtz-Eakin and Podesta.

The band has now struck up Nearer My God To Thee and Cap’n Ben wants us to know that all is well.

Buying Debt? Sounds Oxymoronic initially. The Central Bank has switched gears in an attempt to quell the poor economic times we are currently facing

by Amanda Anderson, Media Consortium blogger

Editor’s Note: Zach Carter is out this week, but we’ve compiled a rundown of the biggest economy-related stories, including the rise of foreclosure mills and why social security isn’t in jeopardy. Zach will be back next Tuesday, so stay tuned!

Who needs ethics when you’ve got foreclosure mills?

Want to make money quickly, but don’t want ethics to get in the way? Big banks are outsourcing their foreclosure duties to fraudulent law firms, known as foreclosure mills, and getting away with it.

Contrast of economic cheerleaders Geithner and Bernanke versus the reality faced by long term un and underemployed workers

If financial reform is so great, great! That means we can finally end all those programs giving public monies to private actors.

While Ben Bernanke dreams of being the uber-regulator and chief monitor of systemic risk, a new agreement between the FDIC and other banking regulators like the Fed allows the FDIC to have independent direct access to big banks instead of making the FDIC to rely on his tame stable of regulators at the Fed.

Chalk one up for real oversight.