Monday 26 August 2019

Murder By the Numbers

There are 3,007 counties in America.

If you take 5-percent of these....the bulk of all murders in America (roughly 57-percent) occur in that group (figure around 150 counties).

An odd statistic?  That means that from the other 95-percent (2,890 counties roughly).....have only 43-percent of the murders. 

Why? 

No one can clearly say.....other than urbanized living probably having more to do with the higher number.  So this means that if you live in an urbanized county area.....you have a higher chance of getting murdered?  Yes.

Here's the other funny fact.....in roughly 14 counties in Alabama...your chances are a bit higher of being murdered.  The other 50-odd counties?  Fairly less chance of being murdered. 

Urbanization is the driving reason for more murders?  Maybe. 

What Exactly is the Fed?

The Fed (the Federal Reserve System) was created toward the end of December 1913 (Wilson's era)....to be the central banking of America.

It's safe to say that the 1907 'panic' was the wave to create the Fed.

What was the 'panic'?  In mid-October 1907, for a three-week period....Wall Street fell apart, and stocks lost around 50-percent of their value.  There was a recession around this period, and it helped to create this fear of banks failing.  Yes, folks got real nervous and ran off to the banks to get their money, and found that banks simply didn't have the cash like they were promised.

Yeah, I know.....1907 never gets brought up much.  Kinda odd, I admit....that 22 years later....the same 'panic' occurs.

Was there an integral part to the 1907 'panic'?  Well....yes.  You see some folks felt they could arrange things and take up ownership of copper (to corner the market, as they say).  Silly, you might say today, but this was a big deal in 1907.

Congress sat and talked about this episode, and what they wanted.....more or less....was a watch-dog.  Six years went into this talk, and what you got was the Federal Reserve Act.  There were three jobs here...(1) moderating long-term interest rates for the government, (2) ensuring employment stayed stable, and  (3) keeping prices throughout the economy.....stable.

Some folks will say that the Fed has done a great job.  Some folks (particularly economists) will say they've often failed at their job.

The Fed efforts in 1929 and decade after the Wall Street collapse?  Most historians will say that the Fed wandered around and failed on two of the three jobs (suggesting they did keep prices stable).

So here we are....Trump on their case, with a recession on the horizon.   He expects the Fed to accomplish their act on the three requirements.  Some folks think that the Fed is there mostly to protect the banks now, and the private American is a lesser priority.  Holding the Fed to do their job?  Well....the President can't really fire them, and Congress can't really monitor or direct them.  So it's like a fourth element of the government (after the Supreme Court, the President, and Congress).

If the Fed refuses to do their job now?  Recession will be a harsh matter, and Trump will blame them every step of the way.  The Fed will mostly grin over the matter and laugh.  The public?  They may reach a point where the Fed has to be totally gutted by the House, and a whole new mechanism might have to be developed.  The sad thing?  It'll be the same three requirements as listed in 1913....assigned to them yet again.