Leverage

How the wealthy and powerful abuse finance to skim immense profits Debasement of the dollar as a result of ill-use of leverage is destroying the global economy, and in Leverage, well known market commentator Karl Denninger follows the path of money throughout history to prove that currencies are debased when moneyed and powerful interests pull the levers of government and policy to enrich themselves at the expense of the masses. The result is ugly: the value of everything—including gold—falls, and even personal safety is at risk in a world where there is limited money even for essentials like food and fuel. History is littered with the collapse of monetary and economic systems from Rome to Germany to Zimbabwe. Presents an inside look at how moneyed and powerful interests debase the dollar through the willful and intentional failure to honestly represent short and long-term mathematical truths that underlie all economic systems Shows how, if imbalances are not corrected, financial crises will reoccur again and again Authored by Karl Denninger, who has been running the popular website The Market Ticker since 2007

Foreword xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction xvii Part One Leverage and Its Abuses in the Economy 1 Chapter 1 An Economic Future for America 3 Chapter 2 Principles of Financial Leverage 11 Chapter 3 The Aughts or the Aught-Not-Haves 37 Chapter 4 The Failure of Kicking the Can 95 Part Two A Way Forward 119 Chapter 5 The Folly of Avoidance 121 Chapter 6 Reinstating the Rule of Law 127 Chapter 7 Reforming the Fed, Lending, and Derivatives 137 Chapter 8 Fixing Social Security, Pensions, and Health Care 151 Chapter 9 Structural Fixes for Trade, Taxation, and Federalism 161 Chapter 10 Devising a Sound Energy Policy 173 Conclusion 183 Notes 187 About the Author 193 Index 195