Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Friday, June 15, 2012
EU’s Real Agenda is “Lie Until You Are About to Die” / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Graham_Summers
The big news that the markets are attempting to digest this week is the €100 billion Spanish bailout. This action and the upcoming Fed FOMC meeting on June 19-20 will dictate the market’s action over the next two weeks and possibly for the remainder of the year.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Overview of Greek Elections / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Simit_Patel
Greece is holding elections this weekend, and the results of these elections could determine how Greece relates to the European Union. This in turn could significantly impact the Euro, which in turn will impact everything else, which means it's potentially a big deal.
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Friday, June 15, 2012
Greece Sunday Election Bigger Than Romney/Obama / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
What happens this Sunday, June 17 , may be the trigger for a final resolution of the Eurozone debt crisis.
Now I understand that you probably don't follow Greek elections. But this is one you'll want to keep an eye on. At the moment, it dwarfs the contest between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama.
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Thursday, June 14, 2012
Compassion – Killer of Society? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Casey_Research
Rex van Schalkwyk, Casey Research Writes:
In politics, it is the idea that counts. So also in philosophy, pop music, pedantry and philanthropy. The idea is everything. And between the idea and the reality, there lies that vast uncharted terrain of promises unfulfilled, of lies and deceit and of naked hypocrisy, all of which account for the failure of the public discourse and of public life. In short, this self-inflicted deception accounts for the failure of society.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
The Institutional Flaw At the Heart of the Federal Reserve / Politics / Central Banks
By: Jesse
This is a long 'thought piece' by Simon Johnson, an eminent US economist and professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
It exposes the inherent conflicts of interest at the New York Fed, the history behind that structural flaw, and the problems it creates in a time of high powered money and financialization, with the Fed assuming even more regulatory powers from a craven Congress.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Spain Bailout Big Lie, How Can a Non-Existent Entity Bailout Spain Or Anyone Else? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Graham_Summers
Spain’s Bailout is one big lie.
I know, I know… Spain is “saved” thanks to a €100 billion bailout.
But no one is asking just where this money will come from?
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Thursday, June 14, 2012
Iran Looks to China and Russia for Military Support as Western Pressure Increases / Politics / Middle East
By: OilPrice_Com
Beset by rising rhetoric about a possible Israeli attack against its nuclear facilities, Iran is seeking full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as an additional layer of international diplomatic "life insurance." On 12 November 2011 Iranian Supreme National Security Council's Secretary Assistant Ali Bageri said that Iran is seeking full membership in the SCO, upgrading its current observer status, telling journalists in Moscow, "We have already submitted a relevant application."
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Capital Controls, Border Controls and Bank Freezes: European Union Prepares For Emergency / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: DK_Matai
Bank runs in Greece are now in full swing. Withdrawals from Greek banks ahead of the weekend elections have spiked to more than 800 million euros per day. Is the Greek exit or "Grexit" now imminent? If so, what is the European Union going to do about it?
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Out of Order / Politics / US Politics
By: Peter_Schiff
While JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been credited for a confident and feisty performance today in front of Congress, he was careful to not criticize their efforts thus far to regulate the financial services industry. Given that JP Morgan has been on the receiving end of federal bailouts, this should not be surprising. Last week I showed no such reluctance when I testified in front of the Congressional House Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity. The fact that my firm is unlikely ever to receive a dime from government was undeniably liberating in that regard.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Unemployment as a Lifestyle / Politics / Unemployment
By: BATR
All one hears is that the lack of jobs is the number one economic problem. Well documented are endless examples of systemic destruction in employment opportunities. The negative consequences of off shoring corporate jobs are undeniable. Up until now, the little attention placed on the psychological mindsets that build the structural impediments for a healthy main street economy, keep a serious discussion on jobs, just going in circles.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Euro-zone Slow Motion Bank Run, Spain Bailout / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Whitney
“The burden of recapitalizing insolvent banks or loss-making acquisitions of solvent banks will fall on Spanish citizens.”
– Karl Whelan, economist at University College, Dublin.
Before EU finance ministers approve the 100 billion euro bailout for Spain, they might want to ask themselves one question: Will it really help?
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012
EU Banking-Union Proposal Dead Before Arrival, Lessons the EU Needs to Learn / Politics / Credit Crisis 2012
By: Mike_Shedlock
A group of eurozone Nannycrats has agreed to meet later this month to devise a master plan for a eurozone fiscal and banking union. Here is a synopsis from my post on Sunday Details of the Secret "Nannyplan" Emerge; Proposed Nannygroup Uniforms
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Spain, Debt and Sovereignty / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: STRATFOR
Eurozone countries on June 9 agreed to lend Spain up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion) to stabilize the Spanish banking system. Because the bailout dealt with Spain's financial sector directly rather than involving the country's sovereign debt, Madrid did not face the kind of demands for more onerous austerity measures in exchange for the loan that have led to political instability in countries such as Greece.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Ron Paul - Congressional Budget Office Sees the Economic Cliff Ahead / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its annual long-term budget outlook report, and the 2012 numbers are not promising. In fact, the CBO estimates that federal debt will rise to 70% of GDP by the end of the year-- the highest percentage since World War II. The report also paints a stark picture of entitlement spending, as retiring Baby Boomers will cause government spending on health care, Social Security, and Medicare to explode as a percentage of GDP in coming years.
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Monday, June 11, 2012
Papandreou's Final Humiliation? Says Greece Will Stay in Euro Zone / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Bloomberg
Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou spoke with Bloomberg TV's Sara Eisen and said that Greece has "a few weeks" before its government runs out of money and that this is a "make or break" period.
Papandreou went on to say "I did all that I could do" and that the "personal costs" were "worth it" to serve his country.
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Monday, June 11, 2012
Krugman’s Tax-Enhanced Economic Recovery Fantasy / Politics / Economic Theory
By: William_Anderson
Paul Krugman apparently believes that he has struck the mother lode: He has declared that Ronald Reagan actually was more "Keynesian" than Barack Obama. Why? He writes:
O.K., by now many readers have probably figured out the trick here: Reagan, not Obama, was the big spender. While there was a brief burst of government spending early in the Obama administration – mainly for emergency aid programs like unemployment insurance and food stamps – that burst is long past. Indeed, at this point, government spending is falling fast, with real per capita spending falling over the past year at a rate not seen since the demobilization that followed the Korean War.
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Monday, June 11, 2012
Where Does All the Money Go? / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Bill_Bonner
The 1%…the zombies…and the rest of us…
How about that Dow? Up 286 points yesterday. And gold up $17. Markets are counting on their hero, Mr. Benjamin S. Bernanke, to come to the rescue. They can practically hear the printing presses warming up…and smell the fresh $100 bills rolling off.
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Sunday, June 10, 2012
Conservatives Are the Enemy, They Love, Taxes, Tariffs and the Police State / Politics / US Politics
By: Gary_North
This may sound odd. Conservatives don't love taxes. They want lower taxes. Right? They want lower taxes and smaller government.
I wish that were true. It isn't.
Alexander Hamilton was a crusader for higher taxes and a larger national government in the 1790s. He wanted higher taxes in order to raise money for a higher federal debt. He wanted higher federal debt because he wanted investors in government IOUs to commit to the survival of the United States. Free market economist Thomas DiLorenzo has summarized Hamilton's position, which he accurately identifies as crony capitalism.
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Saturday, June 09, 2012
America's Student Loan Racket / Politics / Student Finances
By: Stephen_Lendman
This writer's recent book titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War" includes a chapter on America's student loan racket. It discusses the issue in detail.
It explains a disturbing government/corporate partnership. Students are exploited for profit. Providers are enriched. For many, rising tuition and fees make higher education unaffordable. Others need large loans to attend. As a result, they become debt entrapped.
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Friday, June 08, 2012
Debt Crisis, Damn the Torpedoes / Politics / Global Debt Crisis 2012
By: Peter_Schiff
Last week in an interview on CBS Network News, Economist Mark Zandi, the chief economist for Moody's, unwittingly revealed a central error of the global economic establishment. Zandi has made a career out of finding the middle ground between republican and democrat economic talking points. As a result of this skill, he has been rewarded with large quantities of airtime from media outlets that want to appear non-partisan, despite the fact that his supposedly neutral analysis often leaves listeners frustrated.