Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Insuring Bank Deposits, Ensures Insolvency / Politics / Market Regulation
By: MISES
Frank Hollenbeck writes: The US government is trying to implement the 21st century version of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. The proposed bill would separate traditional banks (which are backed by the FDIC) from riskier financial institutions that include companies focused on investment banking, private equity and more. This is to give the impression that governments are taking actions against the financial sector whose actions nearly brought the entire world economy to its knees back in 2008. The implicit assumption is: if this legislation is passed, the banking sector will never again be a source of financial panics. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Deciphering Bernanke - Horse, Pig, Helmet, Man, Woman / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: John_Mauldin
Grant Williams writes: Arthur Evans died in July of 1941 at the age of 90.
A rather ordinary name disguised an extraordinary life during which the famed archaeologist made many notable discoveries, including the unearthing of the Minoan Palace at Knossos, the site of a famous Greek mythological tale.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The Most Rigged Economic Indicators / Politics / Economic Statistics
By: Money_Morning
Garrett Baldwin writes: On August 2, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will report the official unemployment rate. But this number doesn't tell the accurate story of the jobs picture here in the United States.
That's usually the case with government-produced economic indicators. Whatever the government figure will say, it will not truly reflect reality. Simply put, it's a rigged number.
When it comes to cheating the numbers, nobody does it better than Uncle Sam.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Is Obamacare Creating a Part-Time America? / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Frank Marchant writes: America has become a part-time nation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that in June part-time employees in the labor force reached an all-time high of 28 million, 3 million more than when the recession began in 2007.
The economy lost 240,000 full-time jobs in June and added 360,000 part-time jobs, the BLS noted. Of the 753,000 jobs created this year, 589,000 were part time.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The U.S. Is a Failed State: Dissolve the Union / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_S_Rozeff
America is a very sick patient with a curable cancer that, if left alone, will cause death. The cancer is the Union or the state known as the U.S.A. More commonly, the Union and the U.S.A. are referred to as the U.S. government, the federal government or simply the government. It is the body established by the Constitution that administers the powers described in that Constitution. Phasing out and dissolving the U.S. government, which can be done by constitutional means, will remove the cancer and restore a degree of health.
Ending the Union will certainly not cure all of America’s ills, because they trace back to wrong and false ideas. These are like bad habits, genetic and environmental factors that cause cancer. If they are not changed, the cancer will come back. The search for non-destructive politics is as never-ending as the search for health and longevity.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 22, 2013
NSA Spying - Civilization Means Privacy / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: MISES
Ben O'Neill writes: Since the details of the NSA programs became publicly known a short time ago, already there are signs of market pressures being brought to bear to curtail the actions of the agency and its partner companies. There are early signs of emerging boycotts of US-based internet and telecommunications companies, and customer migration to firms operating outside the United States.[1] One observer has even suggested that the next desirable IT feature will be for host companies operating outside the US to advertise that they are “not subject to US law” and this suggestion is gaining traction among IT commentators.
Monday, July 22, 2013
China’s Bernie Madoff Illustrates the Dangers of Doing Business in China / Politics / Scams
By: Money_Morning
Tara Clarke writes: Zeng Chengjie, a real estate developer who has been likened to "China's Bernie Madoff," was executed by the government last week for fraud and illegal fundraising.
The businessman allegedly defrauded more than 57,000 investors out of approximately RMB2.8 billion (US $460 million), of which RMB1.7 billion has been returned.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 22, 2013
Obama Arrogance, America, like Rome, Will Cross The Most Dangerous Line / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes: Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of Rome, had a lot of time to think about what went wrong to cause the fall of the greatest empire in history. Here, for the first time, in this exclusive essay he tells the full story of the fall and gives Obama sage advice to our Chief Investment Strategist, Keith Fitz-Gerald on how to avoid the same fate in the US. Please forward this to interested friends or family members.
My name is Romulus Augustus. I was the last Roman Emperor. Though I only ruled a few years before giving up my throne on 4 September 476, I lived for at least another 25 years according to the tax records. I drew a pension until at least 507 according to Cassiodorus. And, in doing so, had plenty of time to think about what went wrong.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 22, 2013
Atheism to Secular Humanism and Objectivism / Politics / Religion
By: BATR
At first thought, the different philosophical positions of Emma Goldman and Ayn Rand seem to be well defined. Notwithstanding, the contrast between a propensity towards anarchism with an advocacy for laissez-faire capitalism, both Russian born "Khazar Jewish" theorists and activists shared a rejection of a theist metaphysics. When Emma Goldman states: (speaking from a Detroit pulpit in 1898, quoted from Annie Laurie Gaylor, Women Without Superstition, p. 382), "I do not believe in God, because I believe in man. Whatever his mistakes, man has for thousands of years past been working to undo the botched job your God has made", her mindset distinctly sets her apart from the main body of Western Civilization thought.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Detroit Bankruptcy Milestone in the Decay of American Capitalism / Politics / US Debt
By: Barry_Grey
The bankruptcy of Detroit, the former auto capital of the world, is a milestone in the historical decay of American capitalism. It is as well a new point of departure in the social counterrevolution being carried out by the ruling class to make working people pay for the failure of its system.
Kevyn Orr, the unelected financial tsar, Republican Governor Rick Snyder, Democratic Mayor David Bing and the establishment media all point to the horrific conditions in Detroit—78,000 abandoned buildings, non-functioning streetlights, antiquated and understaffed fire protection—not to indict the politicians and corporate powers who are responsible, but to justify the destruction of the living standards and essential public services of workers who bear no responsibility for the disastrous situation.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, July 22, 2013
Ben Bernanke's Farewell Tour / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered what may well be his last Congressional testimony before leaving the Federal Reserve in 2014. Unfortunately, his farewell performance was full of contradictory comments about the state of the economy and the effects of Fed policies on the market. One thing Bernanke inadvertently made clear was that the needs of Wall Street trump Main street, the economy, and sound money.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Financial Reforms Drove the Soviet Union Into the Grave / Politics / Russia
By: Pravda
Who of the famous people in Russia's modern history said the phrase: "I wanted the best, but it turned out as always"? There is quite a list of names that comes up in this connection, although it is associated with only one man - the Minister of Finance of the USSR, Valentin Pavlov, who once upon a time intended to stabilize currency in the country.
Many details of that story have been forgotten, although one should always keep such events in mind not to step on a rake again.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Subsidizing Doctors Not to Practice / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: Walter_Brasch
Clutching a sheaf of newspaper clippings in one hand and a medical bag in the other, Dr. Franklin Peterson Comstock III, knocking down pregnant ladies, students, the elderly, and even two burly construction workers who were waiting for a bus, rushed past me, leaving me in a close and personal encounter with the concrete. Since he had given up medicine to invest in a string of service stations and an oil distributorship, I assumed what was in his medical bag was the morning’s take from obscene profits.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, July 19, 2013
The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Tragedy - Print the Legend / Politics / US Politics
By: Peter_Schiff
The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman tragedy has become one of those transcendent events that dominates the national discourse and throws light on dimly lit aspects of our society. Obviously, the case touches most closely on issues of race relations, media culture, and the politicization of the justice system. It also reveals how preconceived emotional commitments to a narrative can consistently trump demonstrable facts. These tendencies are also present in the polarized discussion about the persistent weakness of the U.S. economy. In both cases, the majority of observers have chosen to believe an emotionally comfortable narrative while ignoring a far more likely, ambiguous, and unsatisfying reality.
Friday, July 19, 2013
New Glass-Steagall Act Key to Ending Too Big to Fail Banks / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Money_Morning
Garrett Baldwin writes: Last week, four senators that include Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill to reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act.
The 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, as it's called, would bring back many of the provisions of the former law and strengthen language to limit financial speculation by the big banks, reduce risk, and attempt to end "Too Big to Fail" once and for all.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, July 19, 2013
Washington's New Jobs Strategy: Hire All the Lawyers / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: It's the old saw that Washington seems to have down to an art: The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
And once again, in an effort to help get the wheels of the US economy turning more briskly, the government has managed to grease the axle and flatten the tires at the same time.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, July 19, 2013
How State Education Religiously Conditions Us into Become Slaves to the Elite / Politics / Educating Children
By: Nadeem_Walayat
In the west we are born into societies that put the child (individual) on a perpetual conveyor belt towards religiously following the states education program. Where the child is constantly being conditioned to follow the rules as laid down by the elite that controls society. The child is conditioned to be always focused on working towards a far distant future reward (target job), where all of the education the child is in receipt of are steps on the path towards being rewarded with the hoped for job and accompanying wealth and prosperity.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Nuclear Steam Rising – From Reuters / Politics / Nuclear Power
By: Andrew_McKillop
ABENOMICS AND THE ATOM
The very same Reuters which rushed to be the first agency to spread the June news about Fukushima that “Tepco is being overwhelmed with contaminated liquids as it flushes water over the three reactors at the seaside plant that had meltdowns after an earthquake and tsunami two years ago”, with Strontium-90 levels 125 times above the pre-catastrophe level, now tells us that restarting Japan's nuclear power fleet is seen by “Abe” and his team as the must have to top all must haves. Reuters reported today (18 July) that:
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Student Loan Interest Rates Still Tangled Up In Congress / Politics / Student Finances
By: Money_Morning
Tara Clarke writes: Student debt in the United States has already surpassed the country's auto loans and consumer credit card debt. A student loan bubble looms on America's horizon, and promises dark times should it ever burst.
And earlier this month, the student loan problem worsened.
Federally subsidized Stafford loan interest rates doubled from 3.4% to 6.8% after Congress missed the July 1st 2013 deadline, and instead recessed for the Independence Day holiday.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Egyptians Need What Americans Need - More Economic Freedom / Politics / Social Issues
By: LewRockwell
Walter E. Williams writes: What Egyptian citizens must recognize is that political liberty thrives best where there’s a large measure of economic liberty. The Egyptian people are not the problem; it’s the environment they’re forced to live in. Why is it that Egyptians do well in the U.S. but not Egypt? We could make the same observation about Nigerians, Cambodians, Jamaicans and many other people who leave their homeland and immigrate to the U.S. For example, Indians in India suffer great poverty. But that’s not true of Indians who immigrate to the U.S. They manage to start more Silicon Valley companies than any other immigrant group, and they do the same in Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey.
Read full article... Read full article...