Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Friday, June 08, 2012
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fiscal Cliff / Politics / Taxes
By: Money_Morning
David Zeiler writes: Taking a header off the "fiscal cliff" might be the best thing that could happen to the United States.
It sounds crazy, given all the dire predictions economists are making about the "Taxmageddon" that will arrive on Jan. 1, 2013.
While true, no one is talking about what would happen to the economy after the fiscal cliff crisis of 2013.
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Friday, June 08, 2012
EU Implementing Border and Capital Controls to Stop People Fleeing With Their Money / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Graham_Summers
The EU in its current form is finished. Done. Game Over. I’ve been saying this for months. But it’s a fact. Europe has literally run out of money. Indeed, the ECB’s interventions are now not only toxic for those participating in them (those banks taking money via the LTRO have been crushed in the credit market) but are losing their impact (LTRO bought only one month of market gains).
Friday, June 08, 2012
Samaris Of Sypris Winning The World’s Dumbest Politician Contest / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: HRA_Advisory
A country that represents less than 2% of the Euro block and a tiny fraction of the world economy continues to be the tail that wags the dog. We'll all have to wait until June 17th to see whether Greeks vote with their emotions or with their heads. Currently it looks like it could be the former, which would not bode well for markets.
The US and Germany have both released decent economic readings but that won't be enough to overcome fears of yet another debt meltdown unless the Greek vote goes the right way. Negative news out of Europe pummels the Euro and the correlation between the value of the Euro and commodities is currently very high. Metals prices aren't going anywhere until the issue is resolved.
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Friday, June 08, 2012
Socialist Utopia / Politics / Social Issues
By: Phill_Tomlinson
Another generation, another group of people who believe they can take us all to the promised land. A recent article written by Owen Jones, a left wing activist and author, titled "If socialists really did run the show, working people would benefit" displays the usual naivety and/or arrogance that has persisted with each successive generation of state planners who believe they can change the world for the good. Excepts taken from the article, accompanied with my commentary can be read below.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Has Merkel Just "Blinked" and Saved the Euro Project? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Christopher_Quigley
A picture tells a thousand words. The chart above shows just how grave the situation in Spain is. Europe is in crisis and the euro is in danger of falling apart.
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Thursday, June 07, 2012
The fight against the tax-exempt foundations needs to continue / Politics / US Politics
By: Mario_Innecco
In 1982 G. Edward Griffin interviewed Norman Dodd who was the chief investigator for the Reece Committee. This was a U.S. House select committee created to investigate tax-exempt foundations. In this almost hour- long interview Mr Dodd reveals some very interesting information regarding the objectives and the means by which these tax-exempt foundations influence public policy in the United States of America and the world.
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Thursday, June 07, 2012
Uncleared Derivatives Market To Be Regulated? / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Ian_R_Campbell
Why Read: Because this report may prove to be of great significance over the next few months.
Featured Article: An article this morning reports that the Financial Stability Board ('FSB) plans to issue proposals on rules encouraging banks to put derivatives trades through a central clearing house as part of a regulations aimed at reducing risk in what is described in the article as the $700 trillion derivatives industry. The article goes on to say:
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Wednesday, June 06, 2012
George Soros Warns European Union is Going Down in 3 Months / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Gary_North
George Soros has laid it on the line. The eurozone will begin to break up, followed by the break-up of the European Union, within three months if the politicians do not come to an agreement to re-write the treaties and centralize power. No other figure has been this apocalyptic and this specific as to the timetable.
He sees this outcome as a catastrophe. I keep thinking: "Free at last! Free at last!"
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Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Is Greece European? / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: STRATFOR
Greece is where the West both begins and ends. The West -- as a humanist ideal -- began in ancient Athens where compassion for the individual began to replace the crushing brutality of the nearby civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The war that Herodotus chronicles between Greece and Persia in the 5th century B.C. established a contrast between West and East that has persisted for millennia. Greece is Christian, but it is also Eastern Orthodox, as spiritually close to Russia as it is to the West, and geographically equidistant between Brussels and Moscow. Greece may have invented the West with the democratic innovations of the Age of Pericles, but for more than a thousand years it was a child of Byzantine and Turkish despotism. And while Greece was the northwestern bastion of the anciently civilized Near East, ever since history moved north into colder climates following the collapse of Rome, the inhabitants of Peninsular Greece have found themselves at the poor, southeastern extremity of Europe.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Advantages of Chinese Trade Policy / Politics / Protectionism
By: BATR
"The Chinese may take risks far more than average Americans do, thanks to advice from traditional proverbs."
Read full article... Read full article...The saying "At a good bargain, think twice" is pretty risk-averse. On the other hand, a typical Chinese proverb such as "Seize an opportunity and make good use of it" shows how risk-taking is ingrained in Chinese culture.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Stiglitz and Conrad Battle Over U.S. Income Inequality Stagflation or Prosperity / Politics / Social Issues
By: Bloomberg
Today on Bloomberg TV: Top private equity investor (and former Bain Capital managing director) Edward Conard debates Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz about income inequality and whether Americans are better or worse off due to innovation in the economy.
Have we just experienced a half-century of stagflation, or have financial risk-takers kept us ahead of Europe and Japan? What does the data show about how much income inequality has helped - or hurt - the average American?
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Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Are You Ready for Taxmageddon? / Politics / Taxes
By: Money_Morning
Don Miller writes:
A slow moving train wreck known as "Taxmageddon" is creeping toward U.S. taxpayers.
You see, if Congress doesn't act by year's end, numerous tax breaks will expire -- and hit every American taxpayer squarely in the wallet.
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Monday, June 04, 2012
Ron Paul on Washington's War Drums for Syria / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
War drums are beating again in Washington. This time Syria is in the crosshairs after a massacre there last week left more than 100 dead. As might be expected from an administration with an announced policy of "regime change" in Syria, the reaction was to blame only the Syrian government for the tragedy, expel Syrian diplomats from Washington, and announce that the US may attack Syria even without UN approval. Of course, the idea that the administration should follow the Constitution and seek a Declaration of War from Congress is considered even more anachronistic now than under the previous administration.
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Sunday, June 03, 2012
Europe Moves Closer to Banktatorship / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Whitney
Yields on 10-year Treasuries plunged to a record-low 1.56 percent on Thursday morning as panicky investors stormed out of European financial assets into German and U.S. government bonds. Deteriorating credit conditions, a flurry of ratings downgrades, and bank runs in Spain and Greece have triggered a flight-to-safety which has pushed the benchmark 10-year below its previous all-time low of 1.67 percent. Falling yields indicate that investors have lost confidence in the ability of EU policymakers to resolve the ongoing debt crisis, particularly as it relates to growing troubles in Greece and Spain.
Saturday, June 02, 2012
What a Few Thousand Dollars Will Buy You in D.C. / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes:
Let's talk today about the cheap cost of buying favorable legislation in the House, and about how bills are titled to deceive us, even when there's no good reason to lie to our faces.
But first, I have to give a giant shout-out to Kevin Wack, the Capitol Hill reporter for the American Banker, which I read every day, and you should, too.
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Saturday, June 02, 2012
The Truth about Europe There is No Solution: Growth Doesn't Rhyme with Crunch / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
As everything connected to Europe seemed to fall apart even before US jobs numbers were announced, and we could say I told you so a thousand times when it comes to debt deflation and crunching credit and the rise of the US dollar, but won‘t, there's a piece by Jeremy Warner at the Telegraph that I think I should mention.
Friday, June 01, 2012
ECB in Secret Seeks Infinite Power / Politics / Central Banks
By: DeepCaster_LLC
“The Financial Times reports that the European Central Bank has secretly distributed E100 billion to Greek banks and billions more in secret to other European banks and, in doing so, has gained great "sway over eurozone politicians" -- you know, the people actually elected to run their countries.
“Infinite secret money is infinite secret power, and it's great that the FT is interested in this aspect of central bank secrecy. Is it too much to hope that the FT someday will show similar interest in the secrecy imposed by central banks on their interventions in the gold market, interventions detailed by GATA here?”
Friday, June 01, 2012
The Irish "Fiscal Treaty" Referendum Result and the Euro Crisis / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Christopher_Quigley
It is early days in the Irish referendum count but the yes side has won.This vote brings a degree of stability to Irish finances but unfortunately it may be too little too late as it looks like the Euro project in general is in trouble and may not survive. The game has moved on and it is moving fast.
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Friday, June 01, 2012
U.S. Congress Dumb and Dumber and the Facebook IPO Fiasco / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
You're not imagining things. Congress is dumb and getting dumber.
According to the Sunlight Foundation, the median grade level for Congressional proceedings and speeches has dropped nearly a full grade level from eleventh to tenth grade.
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
The Truth About Europe: There Is No Solution / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
I like that title, The Truth About Europe: There Is No Solution. But I don't think it can all be summed up, the reasons why I mean, in one article. So I think I'll make it a running series. Still, whatever data we can look at, past, present and future, none of it will make an essential difference. The title stands: There Is No Solution For Europe. Period. All I can do is keep pointing to news and stats and data that confirm that. All of them do, so that should make it a lot easier, even if most voices out there never tire from pointing out the opposite.