Category: Social Issues
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Debt, Civic Decay, Global Disorder - Fourth Turning Accelerating / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
“In retrospect, the spark might seem as ominous as a financial crash, as ordinary as a national election, or as trivial as a Tea Party. The catalyst will unfold according to a basic Crisis dynamic that underlies all of these scenarios: An initial spark will trigger a chain reaction of unyielding responses and further emergencies. The core elements of these scenarios (debt, civic decay, global disorder) will matter more than the details, which the catalyst will juxtapose and connect in some unknowable way. If foreign societies are also entering a Fourth Turning, this could accelerate the chain reaction. At home and abroad, these events will reflect the tearing of the civic fabric at points of extreme vulnerability –problem areas where America will have neglected, denied, or delayed needed action.” - The Fourth Turning - Strauss & Howe – 1997
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Is Inequality Caused by Capitalism or Statism? / Politics / Social Issues
By: John_Browne
The French economist Thomas Piketty has achieved worldwide fame by promoting a thesis that capitalism is the cause of growing economic inequality. Unfortunately, he is partially right. However, the important distinction missed by Piketty and all of his supporters is that state capitalism, not free market capitalism, has reigned supreme in recent decades in the world's leading democracies. It is this misguided attempt to wed the power of the state to the private ownership of capital that has led to the mushrooming of economic inequality. If the public cannot be made aware of the distinction, we risk abandoning the only system capable of creating real improvements for the vast majority of people.
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Monday, June 09, 2014
NRA - An Assault Upon Our Civility / Politics / Social Issues
By: Walter_Brasch
For awhile, it appeared the NRA leadership committed an act of sanity. But, a few hours later, the pills wore off.
The story begins with a group called Open Carry Texas (OCT). This fringe group rubbed both its brain cells together, wrapped itself in what it erroneously believes is the Second Amendment, and decided it would be great theatre to bring semi-automatic carbines into family restaurants. Waving the yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flags, a common sight at Tea Party rallies, OCT members handed out leaflets, proclaimed their rights to carry weapons and confronted citizens who had little desire to be in a place where civilians were carrying weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, any one of which could shred any one of their internal organs.
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
The Wealth Divide Never Wider / Politics / Social Issues
By: BATR
The Robber Barons of the 19th and 20th century had nothing over the elites of today’s globalist transnational financial conglomerates. The Richest Americans, listed in Forbes conceals the real power that controls the economy. Net worth is deficient in gauging dominance in financial commercialism and monetary preeminence. The Top 50 Highest-Paid CEOs as reported by ABC News ties into Michael Hiltzik’s account that CEO-to-worker pay gap is obscene, "The average CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 2012 was about 350 to 1." Yet the divide in pay does not exemplify the exact lose in a livable standard of living for the ordinary staffer.
Friday, May 30, 2014
America's Gun Insanity Extends Beyond the Shooters / Politics / Social Issues
By: Walter_Brasch
During this past week, in Scranton, Pa., a 16-year old put two bullets into the head of a taxi driver and then stole about $500 earned by the cabbie that evening.
The teen, who showed no remorse when arrested a few hours later, mumbled a few words about his reasons. He said he murdered the cabbie “’Cause that’s what I do to people that don’t listen.” The teen thought the cabbie was taking too long to get him to his destination. The driver was a 47-year-old man with a wife and two children. The gun was an unlicensed 9-mm.
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Friday, May 30, 2014
Giving the Supreme Sacrifice - Reflecting on a Life / Politics / Social Issues
By: Money_Morning
Dr. Kent Moors writes: We will talk about energy matters another time. Today, I have something else I need to share with you.
This week, we honored those who have given the supreme sacrifice to allow the rest of us to live the kind of lives we do.
For me individually, this is a very tough time of the year. And it is all coming back to me this morning.
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Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Democracy - Another God that Failed / Politics / Social Issues
By: LewRockwell
Patrick J. Buchanan writes: On Memorial Day weekend, scores of thousands of bikers arrived here for their annual Rolling Thunder tribute to America’s veterans, especially those lost in our wars or left behind.
But this year the tribute has been sullied by a squalid scandal in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Are You Sure You Want To Go To War? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Ukraine has a new president, or at least someone, Petro Poroshenko, who claims to be. One of the first things to come out of his mouth was that he doesn’t recognize Crimea as being a part of Russia. Still, the good listener knows there were no Ukraine presidential elections in Crimea either on Sunday. So Crimea is supposedly still a part of Ukraine, despite a referendum in which 89% of Crimeans chose not to be, and they get no vote in who gets to be their president either? What does all that mean?
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Why We’re Ungovernable, Crime Becomes Economic Growth / Politics / Social Issues
By: John_Rubino
Ah, the Italians. They’re good for at least one entry in the “Why We’re Ungovernable” series each year, and their latest is the best yet:
Read full article... Read full article...Drug trafficking, prostitution revenue set to boost Italy’s GDP result
Italy has announced it will start including estimated revenues from prostitution and illegal drug sales in official gross domestic product (GDP) figures.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Smoking Gun From The U.S. Federal Reserve - Murder Of The Middle Class / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
“Although low inflation is generally good, inflation that is too low can pose risks to the economy – especially when the economy is struggling.” - Ben Bernanke
“The true measure of a career is to be able to be content, even proud, that you succeeded through your own endeavors without leaving a trail of casualties in your wake.” – Alan Greenspan
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Dr Dre Forgot THIS When He Claimed To Be Hip Hops First Billionaire / Politics / Social Issues
By: Jeff_Berwick
In his 1996 hit song "Been There, Done That," Dr. Dre rapped, "I ain't got no time to wait around for illuminati, I gotta make a billion before the year 2-G." Whether or not you believe in the so-called "illuminati," Dr. Dre was hinting at an underlying urgency he felt to strike it rich in a big way before society went down the drain. 14 years after the year 2000 and his last album, Dr. Dre has struck it big again. But is he a billionaire?
Monday, May 12, 2014
Third World America - U.S. Suburbs Become Ghettos / Politics / Social Issues
By: John_Rubino
Not so long ago, a reasonably-presentable American could live an hour outside of a city and commute in for a government or banking job, thus getting the best of both worlds: city-level wages and a 3,000 square foot house with a big yard for the kids.
But then municipal governments ran out of money and started laying off, while banks, traumatized by their 2009 near-death experience, cut back on mortgage and consumer lending and fired the related staff. The only other jobs available were in service industries like food and retail that paid next to nothing and didn’t offer benefits.
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Friday, May 09, 2014
We’re Not Doing Very Well, Are We? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
We’re not doing very well overall, are we? We’re always busy chasing something, but we don’t know what it is we’re chasing, and we don’t even know why we’re doing it. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you what they really want is to be happy, but you just know they don’t know how to get there. So they all grab onto stuff, material things, which are much easier to handle than some non-tangible idea or ideal, but exactly because material things are so much easier, they don’t make them happy. One wooden toy under a Christmas tree 100 years ago made a kid then happier than 25 plastic toys do today, and it’s no wonder, and we all sort of understand why that is, but we don’t stop to reflect on it.
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Theocracy Democracy - In Debt We Trust / Politics / Social Issues
By: Andrew_McKillop
In Debt We Trust
Kevin Phillips is rightly known for his serial books and articles which all focus what he calls “the scary intersection of oil, debt, and religion”. He could have added climate and global warming to the list, but did not. His key theme is that “the financialized economy” is a bunch of speculative froth that creates little or nothing real, a symbolic wealth play with its own high priests, that hinges on more than simple public tolerance. The party can't go on unless the people believe.
Monday, May 05, 2014
Democracy, War, and the Myth of the Neutral State / Politics / Social Issues
By: MISES
Luigi Marco Bassani and Carlo Lottieri write: The constitutionalist claim to justify the State’s monopoly of violence has been challenged directly by the radical libertarian tradition (Molinari) and by individualist anarchists (such as Lysander Spooner). However, an important role in bringing the modern State into perspective has also been played by European political realism and, in particular, by Carl Schmitt and the Italian elitist scholars (Gaetano Mosca and Vilfredo Pareto).
Thursday, May 01, 2014
The Truth About May Day / Politics / Social Issues
By: Jeff_Berwick
As I write this police are using tear gas on protestors in Istanbul. It appears as if it is going to be another rowdy May 1.
Today is International Worker's Day, which is a celebration of labor and the working classes. May 1 is a national public holiday in more than 80 countries, though in some countries it is called Labor Day or something similar. Almost every year capitals across the world erupt in protest.
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Thursday, May 01, 2014
It How America Grows Its Way Into Poverty / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
It was strange to see two Bloomberg articles side by side yesterday that didn’t look as if they were written in the same universe. Not Bloomberg’s fault, I think, they simply reported on an FOMC statement and incoming US economy numbers. But it was strange nonetheless. First, here’s the FOMC’s reasoning behind its decision to taper more:
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
The Political Future Of Dumbing Down / Politics / Social Issues
By: Andrew_McKillop
The Once Was New Thing
About 10 years ago in what are called the “mature western democracies” dumbing down had just been discovered, or invented. Journalists peppered their prose with the term, educationists wondered if it was the reason school kids and college students seemed to be so flaky about learning. Political pundits lambasted politicians for being dumbed down, books appeared in the bookstores talking about it. It was a conversational thing for ordinary people, too.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
The Great Recession Grinds On - Measuring Misery around the World / Politics / Social Issues
By: Steve_H_Hanke
The Great Recession grinds on. And as it does, politicians of all stripes ask, usually behind closed doors, "Just how miserable are our citizens?" The chattering classes offer a variety of opinions. As it turns out, there is a straightforward way to measure what is termed the misery index.
The late Arthur Okun, a distinguished economist who served as chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers during President Johnson’s administration, developed the original misery index for the United States. Okun’s index is equal to the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates.
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Tuesday, April 22, 2014
The JIS – Junk Ideology Syndrome / Politics / Social Issues
By: Andrew_McKillop
Global Reach
What I call the JIS has been studied and commented under different names, but the start and end points of political mass movements and political ideology, crystallized as JIS at a peak point, is a process driven by crisis conditions. These can be economic, cultural or national security and geopolitical, or other shocks to society. The examples are numerous and well-documented, and certainly extend from Antiquity. They also exist at a smaller scale in so-called pre-modern non-Western societies.