Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Raising the Debt Ceiling Avoids the Spending Addiction / Politics / US Debt
By: BATR
The latest example of political hyperbole is that the U.S. Treasury is ready to default on its debt. An actual examination of the underlying facts is that the relative purchasing value of the currency has long ago swindled debt holder in U.S. Bonds of their promised returns. A default defined under this definition is part of the equation. Repudiation of the entire debt obligation is the real fear. Contrary to all the public scare tactics that the financial world will stop turning, the Federal Treasury has ample revenue to pay the interests on bonds and notes that come due. The essential issue is whether the new bond lenders are willing to roll over the debt that is coming due and keep the shell game going.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Debt Wars in Washington: The First Crucible of Choosing Lambs for Sacrifice / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
After my wife passed, I moved from my home and applied for an apartment. The stern manager looked at my application with approval but couldn't accept me because I had two ferrets, my only remaining family. He turned and asked: "Can you get rid of one of them?" I quickly replied, "Which one?" He was neutralized. When the Tea-Party/GOP presented President Obama its demands to dismantle Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and entitlements, the President didn't reply "no", and didn't ask "which one". He answered: "We'll negotiate. We'll compromise. We'll make it bipartisan." It was a done deal.
Monday, August 01, 2011
President Obama’s Debt Ceiling Deal More Fizz Than Bang / Politics / US Debt
By: Bob_Kirtley
President Barack Obama announced on Sunday that an agreement between Democrat and Republican leaders had been reached which would reduce the U.S. deficit and postpone default, at least for now. The President said that the agreement would cut about $1 trillion over 10 years and therefore would not have an immediate effect on the fragile U.S. economy. There is also another $1.2 trillion to be cut if a joint committee cannot find at least that amount in budget savings.
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Monday, August 01, 2011
Stock Index Futures Surge on Pathetic U.S. Debt Ceiling Deal / Politics / US Debt
By: Mike_Shedlock
After spending a day in the garden weeding and transplanting I arrive at my computer to see S&P futures up 20 points, 1.5% on news a compromise was reached. Quite frankly this is ludicrous given that anyone not brain dead knew a deal would be reached.
Monday, August 01, 2011
The Reality of the Debt Ceiling Drama / Politics / US Debt
By: Mike_Stathis
Over the past several weeks, the media has had a field day covering the debt ceiling talks between both political parties. It’s been dominates news headlines for more than a month. Prior to the latest distraction by the media, the focus was Casey Anthony, followed by Congressman Weiner, then Casey Anthony again.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Bipartisan "Russian Roulette", The Debt Ceiling Is Unconstitutional / Politics / US Debt
By: Ellen_Brown
The debt ceiling crisis can be averted by enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment, which mandates the government to pay its debts already incurred, including pensions. That means Social Security, which IS an “entitlement,” in the original sense of the word. We’re entitled to it because we’ve paid for it with taxes.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Debt Ceiling Crisis Objective is to Scrap Social Security and Medicare / Politics / US Politics
By: Bob_Chapman
There is still no debt limit for the US Treasury and the protagonists are still playing politics. That leaves a week to find a solution by August 2nd.
The first House passed a $16.7 trillion cut, cap and balance bill calls for a cut in the fiscal September 1st budget for 2012 and a balanced budget amendment that goes into effect in five years. Why five years, so they can amend it in a couple of years? This is truly political theater. This has little to do with the budget and everything to do with political powers. Worse yet, unless it meets the President’s approval, he will veto the bill.
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Sunday, July 31, 2011
U.S. Economy Failure to Recover Triggers Economic Armageddon / Politics / Great Depression II
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
As the second decade of the 21st century began, the US economy had not recovered from the Great Recession that began in December 2007.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
After U.S. Debt Ceiling Agreement - What's Next? / Politics / US Debt
By: George_Maniere
Before I begin I want to say to my readers that I believe our founding fathers believed that serving in the government was a privilege not a profession. Sadly, when I look at our government I see people in elected office that by any measure have no practical experiences in life. I look and see people that have groomed themselves for a life in the political arena and for the most part their careers have been carefully orchestrated to lead them down that path. As with any generalizations there are exceptions. I am sure that there are members of Congress that had a life in business before they ran for political office. I will use a random example of Speaker of the House John Boehner.
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Sunday, July 31, 2011
He Once Told the Truth, Obama vs Obama / Politics / US Politics
By: Gary_North
As a lawyer, Obama was trained to argue rival positions, depending on who hired him. So, what I am about to present should not be regarded as hypocrisy on his part. Yes, it is hypocrisy by the standards of any normal human being, but not for a lawyer. He is a lawyer. He does what lawyers do. He looks to see who is buttering his bread, and then he presents his case.
When we elect lawyers to political office, this sort of thing happens.
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Sunday, July 31, 2011
U.S. Debt Ceiling Politics of Default Hype, Fear Mongering and Idle Threats / Politics / US Debt
By: Mike_Shedlock
In a nearly useless face-saving maneuver, House Speaker John Boehner managed to twist enough arms to narrowly pass his bill that was instantly rejected in the Senate.
Questions abound.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Kabuki Play On Capitol Hill Comes Right Before The Debt Ceiling Deal / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
Oh, the gnashing of the teeth, Oh, the flamboyant tactics. Oh, all the breaking news excitement on cable news as the debt ceiling countdown saga went down to the wire with an intense political confrontation of a kind we haven’t seen before …
Or maybe we had---in the TARP debate and so-called Obamacare vote, to cite but two moments of high political drama. Once again, all the key players knew the outcome but wanted to keep us guessing because it served everyone’s interests.
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Saturday, July 30, 2011
While Washington Fiddled The U.S. Economy Burned! / Politics / US Debt
By: Sy_Harding
While media focus has been almost entirely on the short-term debt ceiling foolishness in Washington, not much attention has been paid to the more serious worsening of the six-month recessionary trend in the economy.Yet that information and how you handle it will almost surely have more influence on your well-being going forward than Washington’s short-term political game-playing.
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Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Debt Ceiling Reality Show, Who Are The Extremists? / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
“Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple. Deficit spending should be viewed as a tax on future generations, and politicians who create deficits should be exposed as tax hikers.” – Ron Paul
Friday, July 29, 2011
USA AAA Credit Rating in Label Only / Politics / US Debt
By: Janet_Tavakoli
Sovereigns that bailed out banks are saddled with much greater government debt than before the crisis. In the spring of 2007, the Fed and the U.K.'s FSA reported that the degree of leverage in the global financial system was less than at the time of Long Term Capital Management, but in reality it was much greater. Global regulators are now repeating their mistakes. The risks in the interconnected global banking system have moved to currency trading and currency derivatives (remember the contribution of knock-in options to the 1995 currency crisis), leveraged loans, credit derivatives, market-linked derivatives, speculation in commodities, and both foreign and domestic government debt. Winston Churchill said we must alert somnolent authority to novel dangers; but our regulators are complacent, and the dangers are not novel.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Disastrous Outcomes From An Orchestrated U.S. Public Debt Crisis / Politics / US Debt
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
With the world concerned about US financial credibility and the poor outlook for the US economy, now is not the time for the Republicans to grandstand on the public debt. The debt ceiling needed to be quietly raised. Instead, the Republicans started a fire and then threw gasoline on it, creating an inferno that could burn up the US social safety net or the US Treasury’s credit rating and the US dollar’s role as reserve currency or what remains of the separation of powers.
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Friday, July 29, 2011
Why Capitalism Is Worth Defending / Politics / Economic Theory
By: LewRockwell
Anthony Gregory writes: As Obama demonizes the wealthy and pitches a dozen plans to restructure the economy, opponents of this program need a reminder of what exactly we’re fighting for. We are resisting bureaucracy, central planning, and encroachments on our freedom and communities. Yet this does not get to the heart of the matter. We are not only an opposition movement, countering the president and his partisans’ agenda. More fundamentally, we stand in defense of the greatest engine of material prosperity in human history, the fount of civilization, peace, and modernity: Capitalism.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Boehner Loses Credibility in Revised Budget Deficit Cuts Proposal, Tells Congress to "Get Your Ass in Line" / Politics / US Debt
By: Mike_Shedlock
It was bad enough when Boehner proposed a $3 Trillion deficit cutting proposal that the CBO said would only cut the deficit by a mere $850 billion.
Please see Rating the Obama, Reid, and Boehner Deficit Reduction Plans on Mish's 10-Point Credibility Scale for details.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The End Of The False Flag Wars / Politics / Social Issues
By: Andrew_McKillop
It is easy and comforting, for some, to see the recent and current western "military adventures" in lower income, smaller, poorly armed countries as simply a neo-colonial rampage, perhaps with the initial aim of pillaging natural resources, but later on for the simple pleasure of trashing already weak and poor countries to thrill middle class graveside voyeurs with gore and suffering TV clips and newsbytes.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Your Guide Through the Washington Debt Speak / Politics / US Debt
By: LewRockwell
Brian Wilson writes: Another "Al" once wrote: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years." ~ Alexis de Tocqueville