Stress Tests - Words

Stress Tests? How stupid do I look? I thought we were talking about cardiologist stuff. No Virginia, we are stress testing the largest banks on the planet. Got that?

Now, let me tell you that you should no longer expect to see any remote reference to the word “audit”. That old protest-ant word is now redundant. You cannot audit a fantasy. You “stress test” earnings that explode out of “off balance” sheet illusions. Bank earnings no longer come from banking. They come directly from the circus that prevails behind closed boardroom doors.

There are lots of words that have fallen by the wayside. The word “investment” has become a joke. You cannot invest in what you cannot analyse. The word “analyst” is laughable as it relates to the investment community. Where were the analysts when sub-prime crime overwhelmed Wall Street and the rest of the world? How about the word “fiduciary”? Don’t get me started.

Today there is no relationship between bank earnings and what we old fashioned protest-ants knew of as “banking”. “Casinoing”, or “gambling” might be a better description of what banks do with your savings today. But I like to hit the nail on the head, so I simply call it fantasy. Reported bank earnings are solely dependant upon quarterly boardroom decisions regarding how much of the “off balance” sheet rape (loss) will be allowed to come to light in any given quarter.

Personally, I think the new term “stress test” is appropriate for the age we live in. Muscle has replaced brains, and “stress tests” deal with muscle. That’s the good news. The bad news ? We are in an unstoppable vortex of lies, and eventually freedom will pay the price.