BUZZED. . .

(BUZZED. . .)

The Pentagon has released video of the "drone incident," where a Russian Su-27 (Flanker) made close approach to the American aircraft and was seen, apparently dumping fuel. The interaction was sufficient to force the operators to crash the unit into the Black Sea. The engagement was probably deliberate on the part of the Russians who are committed to harassing operations to these American surveillance flights. Interactions such as these are dangerous and could lead to an escalation. Those in charge of events at that point, Biden, Putin, and Zelenski, do not inspire confidence in their abilities as statesmen. 

Where were all the "statesmen" when Silicon Valley and the other banks failed ? The "failure," such as it is, was not confined to the banks' managers but across the entire spectrum and that would include all the regulators as well. The ones that will have to decide on a bail-out. But before that, the banking and regulatory policies that had allowed the banks to detiorate.

As long as it was Easy Money. as Rodney Dangerfield might say, meaning zero interest rates, banks like Silicon Valley, Signature or Credit Suisse, these institutions could function. Loans were readily available but the funds were to go to "woke" causes, such as Black Lives Matter, that took over seventy million from SVB. It was President Biden had his American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, among other spending, that forced interest rates to climb.

The banking crisis had place future Fed action in some doubt. Is a pause in rate hikes in the offing ? Or they be limited to a quarter-point going forward ? The chaos that has been the Federal Reserve attempts to curb inflation, too late and no consistency with the pace of combatting higher prices, created the very conditions that befell SVB and the rest.

There is an underlying attitude that links these activities. It is why American $34 million drones get "buzzed" by Russian fighters. Why banks chasing social causes go under when the financial conditions detiorate. Why the Fed is as confused as ever. As an aside, Michigan has stopped being a Right-to-Work state and now unions are set to regain control.

There is a marked lack of skill among collective leadership. From the President and the Armed Forces engaged in Ukraine, management of those banks, the fled and Detroit's new union muscle, faith in government over the individual. One should expect better performance from those in charge.