Fiscal Cliff: “Major Market Meltdown” Expected If Congress Does Nothing, Says Steven Rattner – Yahoo  “In less than five months the U.S. economy will face one of its toughest tests yet: a massive tax increase coupled with big spending cuts if Congress fails to act. This so-called fiscal cliff involves almost $3 trillion in tax increases and almost $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years beginning in 2013. Steven Rattner, a former Treasury official in the Obama White House and now chairman of Willett Advisers, told The Daily Ticker a major market meltdown would follow if the economy goes over that cliff.”

U.S. Will Not Prosecute Goldman Sachs, Employees for Abacus Deal – Reuters  “Neither Goldman Sachs Group Inc nor its employees will face U.S. criminal charges related to trades they made during the financial crisis that were highlighted in a 2011 U.S. Senate report, the Justice Department said on Thursday.”    This is not very surprising since it involves Goldman Sachs, and because the government has yet to prosecute any of the big firms or banks for any wrongdoing!

Money Printing Doesn’t Create Jobs – Pento Strategy  “The truth is that destroying the purchasing power of your currency serves to increase the unemployment rate. That’s because it erodes the impetus to save and invest, robs the middle class of its standard of living and leaves the economy in ruins. Economic growth comes from stable interest rates, low inflation and a sound currency. Persistent money printing erodes all of the basic principles of a strong economy. What you eventually end up with is a chronically weak currency, intractable inflation, onerous tax rates, a sovereign debt crisis and a depressionary economy.”

Calls to Scrap Ethanol Mandate Intensify with Drought – CNN Money  “‘With corn prices surging — they’re up 50% in the last six weeks alone — many say waiving the mandate would help bring those prices down. They say lower corn prices would also help lower prices for certain foods that depend on the crop, like cereal and meat. … The impact this is having on the animal protein industry and at the dinner table is profound,’ Arkansas Republican Congressman Steve Womack said in a statement last week. ‘If something isn’t done — and done fast — food prices will soar.’”

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