When we think of market manipulators, names like Bernie Madoff and Mike Milken come to mind. Or perhaps it's Michael Douglas' character Gordon Gekko from the 1987 classic Wall Street.

These guys profited from exploiting investors, causing major losses in the process.

All three of these men went to jail for their crimes, even the fictional Gordon Gekko. But there is blatant market manipulation taking place right now that is sure to go unpunished. The worst part is that it is happening in plain sight.

What Is Market Manipulation?

Market manipulation can come in many forms.

 The eurozone is rapidly running out of choices. If the currency is to be saved, Europe will need a single fiscal authority and a willingness to print money.

With each passing day, markets seem to get wilder and woollier.

This is only natural after a long, calm stretch. Volatility expands and contracts like an accordion. Mildness begets wildness and so on.

The sharp declines are also a function of harsh reality asserting itself. As we have said many times in these pages, the stimulus never actually worked (in terms of getting the U.S. economy going again). Corporate profits were pumped up, but unemployment levels and heavy household balance sheets were not addressed.

 Our economy and our money have reached a turning point. The only sure way to survive unscathed is to seek shelter.

When I wrote about the economic disaster, I cited the government's own numbers to support the case we are already in a depression worse than the great one.

I don't write that to scare anyone.

My single purpose is to alert you to the real conditions in which we must operate. I am quite optimistic that you'll be able to profit in the times ahead.

An unemployment rate of 9.2% surprised no one. We've seen it coming for centuries.

I have saved millions of jobs over the past two years. Of the total population employed, nearly half would not have work had I not continued to spend, save and invest.

It sounds nutty, but is my boast any more fanciful than our government saying it saved millions of jobs over the past three years because of economic stimulus?

Not only has it not saved any jobs, but no government, by its nature, can create any new net employment.

At face value, this statement may seem preposterous. However, it's not what you see, but what you don't see, that makes the difference. It's this vital aspect of economics that makes it so easy for government to fool most of the people most of the time.