Bam! Bam! Bam! Huge Financial Bombs Just Got Dropped All Over Europe
The
European debt crisis has just gone to an entirely new level. Just when
it seemed like things may be stabilizing somewhat, we get news of huge
financial bombs being dropped all over Europe. Very shortly after U.S.
financial markets closed on Friday, S&P announced credit downgrades
for nine European nations. This included both France and Austria losing
their cherished AAA credit ratings. When the credit rating of a
country gets slashed, that is a signal to investors that they should
start demanding higher interest rates when they invest in the debt of
that nation. Over the past year it has become significantly more
expensive for many European nations to borrow money, and these new
credit downgrades certainly are certainly not going to help matters.
Quite a few financially troubled nations in Europe are very dependent on
the ability to borrow huge piles of cheap money, and as debt becomes
more expensive that is going to push many of them over the edge.
Yesterday I wrote about 22 signs that we are on the verge of a devastating global recession, and unfortunately that list just got a whole lot longer.
22 Signs That We Are On The Verge Of A Devastating Global Recession
2012
is shaping up to be a very tough year for the global economy. All over
the world there are signs that economic activity is significantly
slowing down. Many of these signs are detailed later on in this
article. But most people don't understand what is happening because
they don't put all of the pieces together. If you just look at one or
two pieces of data, it may not seem that impressive. But when you
examine all of the pieces of evidence that we are on the verge of a
devastating global recession all at once, it paints a very frightening
picture. Asia is slowing down, Europe is slowing down and there are
lots of trouble signs for the U.S. economy. It has gotten to a point
where the global debt crisis is almost ready to boil over, and nobody is
quite sure what is going to happen next. The last global recession was
absolutely nightmarish, and we should all hope that we don't see
another one like that any time soon. Unfortunately, things do not look
good at this point.24 Statistics To Show To Anyone Who Believes That America Has A Bright Economic Future
24 Statistics To Show To Anyone Who Believes That America Has A Bright Economic Future
Beware
of bubbles of false hope. Right now there is a lot of talk about how
the U.S. economy is improving, but it is all a lie. The mainstream
media can be very seductive. When you sit down to watch television your
brain tends to go into a very relaxed mode. In such a state, it
becomes easy to slip thoughts and ideas past your defenses. Sometimes
when I am watching television I realize what the media is trying to do
and yet I can still feel it happening to me. In this day and age, it is
absolutely critical that we all think for ourselves. When you look at
the long-term trends and the long-term numbers, a much different picture
of the U.S economy emerges than the one that is painted for us on
television. Over the long-term, the number of good jobs in America has
been steadily going down. Over the long-term, the number of Americans
living in poverty and living on food stamps has been steadily going up.
Over the past couple of decades, tens of thousands of businesses,
millions of jobs and trillions of dollars of our national wealth have
gone out of the country. Our debt is nearly 15 times larger than it was
30 years ago, and U.S. consumer debt has soared by 1700% over the past
40 years. Year after year the rate of inflation goes up faster than our
incomes do, and this is absolutely devastating the middle class.
Anyone who believes that we can keep doing the same things that we have
been doing and yet America will still have a bright economic future is
delusional. Until the long-term trends which are taking the U.S.
economy straight into the toilet are reversed, any talk of a bright
economic future is absolute nonsense.
The Rise of the Praetorian Class
By Pete Kofod
Much attention has been paid to the
"disappearing middle class" and the "vanishing American
Dream." While the observations are largely accurate, they are also
misleading. The traditional three-tier model of the upper, middle and lower
class broadly categorizes people according to income and net worth. One
significant problem with this model is that membership in any particular class
is very much in the eye of the beholder. One man's "scraping by" is
another man's "opulent living." This subjective and arbitrary
grouping and boundary assessment inevitably gives rise to the simmering class
warfare that is starting to rear its ugly head in many Western countries. Such
categorization is therefore meaningless at best, if not outright deceptive as
it conflates a variety of economic actors.
The chief fallacy of this model rests in the
fact that it focuses on how
much those actors are compensated, as opposed to how and why they are
compensated. A far better perspective is perhaps gained using two classes, the
Political Class and the Economic Class, with a third class emerging.
Obama Proposes New Department of Corporate Welfare
By
Contrary to what various news outlets are reporting, President Obama is NOT proposing to cut government. The administration is proposing to take four independent federal agencies that specialize in corporate welfare – along with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative – and combine them with corporate welfare programs at the Department of Commerce to form what would I would argue should be called the Department of Corporate Welfare.
Contrary to what various news outlets are reporting, President Obama is NOT proposing to cut government. The administration is proposing to take four independent federal agencies that specialize in corporate welfare – along with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative – and combine them with corporate welfare programs at the Department of Commerce to form what would I would argue should be called the Department of Corporate Welfare.
Iran's Bluster Proves Its Weakness. by Benjamin H. Friedman
Iran this week punctuated ten days of naval exercises
in the Strait of Hormuz and threats to close it with a warning to U.S.
Navy ships to stay out of Persian Gulf, which requires passage through
the strait. The tough talk may have temporarily juiced oil prices, but
it failed to impress militarily. Recent news reports have cited U.S.
military officials, defense analysts and even an anonymous Iranian
official arguing that Iran likely lacks the will and ability to block
shipping in the strait. That argument isn't new: Iran's economy depends
on shipments through the strait, and the U.S. Navy can keep it open, if
need be. What's more, the Iranians might be deterred by the fear that a
skirmish over the strait would give U.S. or Israeli leaders an excuse to
attack their nuclear facilities.
The Fed's Incredible Rate Forecasting Hubris. by James A. Dorn
The Federal Reserve’s decision to provide multiyear
forecasts for the federal funds rate, and to indicate when that rate
might be increased is intended to improve monetary policy by making it
more transparent. Currently, the Fed funds rate is close to zero and is
expected to remain there until at least mid-2013.
With the Fed’s new policy, a small group of experts—the Board of
Governors and the presidents of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks—will
individually report their longer-run projections for the target federal
funds rate they think is consistent with their dual mandate to maintain
price stability and achieve full employment.What Happened to the GOP's Free-Market Principles? by David Boaz
You expect Democrats to accuse former businessman Mitt
Romney of “putting profits over people — making a buck or a few million
of them no matter what it took or who it hurt,” as Democratic National
Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse did in releasing a new Web video.
But it’s sad to see the economic ignorance displayed by Romney’s
Republican rivals. Rick Tyler, long the closest aide to Newt Gingrich
who is now running the pro-Gingrich super PAC, Winning Our Future,
declares, “His business success comes from raiding and destroy
businesses — putting people out of work, stealing their health care.”
The PAC’s ad calls Romney “a predatory corporate raider.”Thursday, January 12, 2012
Ron Paul Closes In On Top Three In South Carolina
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Prison Planet.com
After being largely discounted out of a top three finish
in South Carolina, Ron Paul is now closing fast on third placed Rick
Santorum, as a new poll out of the state shows Mitt Romney’s lead
slipping.
Unlike New Hampshire, where Paul finished second after
taking advantage of strong support from Independents, South Carolina is
dominated by social conservatives who would be more inclined to vote for
someone like Santorum (although Mitt Romney’s frontrunner status defies
rational explanation given his true stance on abortion).
The Next War on Washington’s Agenda
Paul Craig Roberts
Prison Planet.com
Only the blind do not see that the US government is preparing to attack Iran. According to Professor Michel Chossudovsky, “Active war preparations directed against Iran (with the involvement of Israel and NATO) were initiated in May 2003.” http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28542
Washington has deployed missiles directed at Iran in its oil emirate puppet states, Oman and the UAE, and little doubt in the other US puppet states in the Middle East. Washington has beefed up Saudi Arabia’s jet fighter force. Most recently, Washington has deployed 9,000 US troops to Israel to participate in “war games” designed to test the US/Israeli air defense system. As Iran represents no threat unless attacked, Washington’s war preparations signal Washington’s intention to attack Iran.
Prison Planet.com
Only the blind do not see that the US government is preparing to attack Iran. According to Professor Michel Chossudovsky, “Active war preparations directed against Iran (with the involvement of Israel and NATO) were initiated in May 2003.” http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28542
Washington has deployed missiles directed at Iran in its oil emirate puppet states, Oman and the UAE, and little doubt in the other US puppet states in the Middle East. Washington has beefed up Saudi Arabia’s jet fighter force. Most recently, Washington has deployed 9,000 US troops to Israel to participate in “war games” designed to test the US/Israeli air defense system. As Iran represents no threat unless attacked, Washington’s war preparations signal Washington’s intention to attack Iran.
Ron Paul Has Won: Young People Engage With Liberty, Limited Government, Sound Money, Anti-War Principles
Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
When Congressman Ron Paul embarked on a third Presidential campaign he did so with one over riding aim – to engage the next generation of Americans and provide them with the platform to restore the principles of the Constitution. The facts show that he has overwhelmingly succeeded.
Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire saw the Congressman net almost half of all votes from people aged between 18 and 29 years old. Paul received 47 percent of young voter support, data collated by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement shows.
“Dr. Paul’s 47 percent support from 18- to 29-year-olds was the strongest level of support for any candidate by any age group.” said CIRCLE Director Peter Levine in a press release.
Prisonplanet.com
When Congressman Ron Paul embarked on a third Presidential campaign he did so with one over riding aim – to engage the next generation of Americans and provide them with the platform to restore the principles of the Constitution. The facts show that he has overwhelmingly succeeded.
Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire saw the Congressman net almost half of all votes from people aged between 18 and 29 years old. Paul received 47 percent of young voter support, data collated by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement shows.
“Dr. Paul’s 47 percent support from 18- to 29-year-olds was the strongest level of support for any candidate by any age group.” said CIRCLE Director Peter Levine in a press release.
Obama Gets Real
By: Peter Schiff |
According to our President's new view of history, capitalism is a theory that has "never worked." He argues that its appeal can't be justified by results, but its popularity is based on Americans' preference for an economic ideology that "fits well on a bumper sticker." He feels that capitalism speaks to the flaws in the American DNA, those deeply rooted creation myths that elevate the achievements of individuals and cast unwarranted skepticism on the benefits of government. He argues that this pre-disposition has been exploited by the rich to popularize policies that benefit themselves at the expense of the poor and middle class.
No comments:
Post a Comment