The Banks are Failing Despite the Bailouts
Congratulations to the National Bank of Commerce of Berkeley, Illinois. They are the first bank to fail in 2009, shuttered by the FDIC on Friday, January 16.
Apparently we’ve had a real ‘bank holiday’ since the beginning of the year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Company took a vacation from shuttering banks for the first two Fridays of the month. You see, that is their day to close banks. Friday. So far they have put the final touches on 26 banks since the start of the current crisis.
That’s right. 26 banks have failed. That is not widely reported, is it? The headlines are full of the bank bailouts to the glamorous stars like Bank of America, which is currently in need of, and receiving, more billions just to keep their doors open. And pretty much everyone agrees it will take more bailout money in the future. It is like the gambler at the blackjack table, losing one bet and then doubling down to get their money back. Except they keep losing. That’s us, or rather that is our government acting for us.
Ah… just in as I write this: FDIC has added a 27th. It’s the venerable Bank of Clark County of Vancouver, Washington, where at least 138 accounts apparently exceed the insurance limit of $100,000 and will not be fully covered. It is difficult to get accurate figures on the full amount of money people will lose at these two banks’ closure.
Does this remind anyone of The Great Depression? The current economic condition of the US is becoming more and more similar to those times. But I think we will surpass it. This time the world economy is so much more tightly tied together. If we go down, we take the whole world with us. And tragically, it is looking like that will be the case. Just like the first world war was originally called The Great War, and then renamed World War I after we went through the greater conflict of World War II, I believe the current time will soon be generally recognized as Depression II.
Again, the question I’ve brought up repeatedly in this blog: if things go seriously south… and it is increasingly clear that they will… which would you rather have, money or food?
Be wise. Buy food. Store it. Survive.
