Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
The Business of the Christmas Season / Politics / Shopping
By: BATR
Commercialism, long criticized, as a distortion of the true celebration of Christmas, has become a crucial profit component for the corporate economy. Very little observation about the religious nature of the holiday rises for reflection. Likewise, even less focus is devoted to the underlying reasons why holiday gifting has become a stable to the season. Heritage and tradition has given way to popular cultural advertisement. A disconnect between purchases of necessity and acquisitions of disposable novelties is the hallmark of the mad rush to buy needless objects.
Monday, December 23, 2013
The Debt Rattle - How Do We Define Value? / Politics / US Debt
By: Raul_I_Meijer
I would like to get your thoughts on one of the most basic questions in an economy: what is value, what creates value, and how can value change or even fluctuate? Sometimes it’s best to take a step back and make sure we properly (re-)define the terms we use, lest confusion rules the day.
As a reference for the question(s) I want to use two articles I read over the past week. In particular, I’m interested in discussing whether the Fed’s Quantitative Easing (QE) programs have created value, and whether QE is capable of doing so in the first place. And I don’t mean obvious views like ‘money has no value at all because it’s created out of nothing as credit/debt’, we know that. I want to start with the idea that an asset, a good, plus the work man is capable of, can be assigned a value in dollar terms, and then see how that value is defined.
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Monday, December 23, 2013
Christmas Wishes of the Bottom 95% / Politics / Social Issues
By: DeviantInvestor
Santa: The following are our Christmas wishes for the bottom 95% of Americans - as measured by either income or total assets.
A People's QE
The Fed creates $85,000,000,000 (perhaps reducing to $75 Billion in January) per month - Quantitative Easing or QE - and feeds it to the bankers, the wealthy, and the politicians. A people's QE is for the Quality Enhancement of the bottom 95% - an additional $85,000,000,000 per month distributed to 315 million people in the U.S. Santa: please deliver $ 270 to each person monthly, or at current prices, about 14 ounces of silver per person per month, or about 3 ounces of gold per person every 14 months.
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Monday, December 23, 2013
U.S. Fed 100 Years Is Enough: Time to Make the Fed Bank a Public Utility / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Ellen_Brown
December 23rd, 2013, marks the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve, warranting a review of its performance. Has it achieved the purposes for which it was designed?
The answer depends on whose purposes we are talking about. For the banks, the Fed has served quite well. For the laboring masses whose populist movement prompted it, not much has changed in a century.
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Monday, December 23, 2013
Ron Paul - Progress Toward Peace But Neo-con Dark Clouds Remain / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
It is the time of year we feel a sense of joy and optimism. We are preparing for the holidays and looking to spend time with our families and friends. This year as we look back we see several developments that leave us feeling optimistic.
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Monday, December 23, 2013
Americans Believe In Darwin – Six Times Before Breakfast / Politics / Evolution
By: Andrew_McKillop
NEARLY A HALF
Results from a Harris Poll of 2,250 adults surveyed online between November 13 and 18, 2013 shows that belief in Darwin's theory of evolution, while well below levels recorded for their belief in God, heaven and hell, is up in comparison to 2005 findings (47%, up from 42%). The respondents were not asked to what extent they believe in QE and Ben Bernanke's economic miracles, but the survey also found that 42% of Americans believe in ghosts, 36% believe in creationism and UFOs, 29% believe in astrology, 26% believe in witches and 24% believe in metempsychosis and reincarnation - that they were once or still are more than one person.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Twerking Republican Politicians / Politics / US Politics
By: Walter_Brasch
When Muhammad Ali proclaimed, “I am the greatest,” we knew—and he knew—it would psyche out his opponents, get media attention, and receive a bigger box office. But, in the sport of boxing, Ali probably was the greatest.
When Howard Stern proclaims himself to be the “King of all Media,” he knows—and we know—it’s simply a case of hyperbolic promotion, something some celebrities do to get even more promotion.
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Sunday, December 22, 2013
The Incredible, Shrinking Presidency of Barack Obama / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
According to a new Washington Post-ABC poll, Barack Obama now ranks among the least popular presidents in the last century. In fact, his approval rating is lower than Bush’s was in his fifth year in office. Obama’s overall approval rating stands at a dismal 43 percent, with a full 55 percent of the public “disapproving of the way he is handling the economy”. The same percentage of people “disapprove of the way he is handling his job as president”. Thus, on the two main issues, leadership and the economy, Obama gets failing grades.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
The Stealth Renationalization Of Energy In The UK / Politics / Energy Resources
By: Andrew_McKillop
OLIGARCHIC TAKEOVER
Professor Colin Robinson, in a Dec 2013 study published by the UK Institute of Economic Affairs, argues that the energy sector in the UK has been effectively renationalized. He says the proof is that centralized energy planning is back, and this is the root cause of skyrocketing fuel and energy prices, fuel poverty, and accelerating de-industrialisation as industrialists flee the high cost of energy.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
How the Fed Steals from You... and Gives to the Very Rich / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: DailyWealth
Porter Stansberry writes: On December 23, just five days from now, we "celebrate" 100 years of a currency system controlled by a select few private corporations.
In 1913, a bill passed through a poorly attended Senate session... and was rushed to the White House, where Woodrow Wilson signed it into law that same night.
It established the Federal Reserve... which is not technically owned by the federal government, nor does it have any actual reserves.
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Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Federal Reserve Celebrates 100 Years of Failure / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: BATR
Researching economic publications on the first century of the Federal Reserve System provides a wealth of financial information that attempts to explain the way the central bank works. Rarely will the academic studies and official reports address the raw nature of a money creation by a private banking monopoly. The common practice of disparaging sources outside government or corporatist business circles, attempts to avoid addressing, much less confronting the plutocracy that controls the debt created money system.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
The Great U.S. Federal Reserve Bank Experiment / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Adrian_Ash
Miguel Perez-Santalla writes: After 100 years of the US central bank, does it deserve another try...?
SO IT WILL be 100 years on December 23rd since the Federal Reserve was born.
The purpose in 1913 was to form a regulatory body to help stem the tide of bank failures in the United States of America. The Fed's proponents, Senator Nelson Aldrich, Senator Owens, Congressman Glass and others, believed that if an agency controlled the flow of money and the banking institutions, it could prevent many of the economic collapses that plagued the early years of the US.
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Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Ukraine On the Edge of Empires Asking to be Ruled / Politics / Eastern Europe
By: STRATFOR
George Friedman writes: The name "Ukraine" literally translates as "on the edge." It is a country on the edge of other countries, sometimes part of one, sometimes part of another and more frequently divided. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was divided between Russia, Poland and the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, it was divided between Russia and Austria-Hungary. And in the 20th century, save for a short period of independence after World War I, it became part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine has been on the edge of empires for centuries.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Eurozone: A Story of Stability in 2013, But Aggressive Action Awaits / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Submissions
Ronan Keenan writes: It all started in October 2009 when George Papandreou’s new Greek government revealed a black hole in their accounts that was vastly underestimated by the previous administration. Several years of tumult followed, bringing the eurozone project to the brink of failure. But 2013 proved to be a lucky year for the 17-nation group. Relatively few economic surprises and heightened attention on events elsewhere brought a welcome calm to European financial markets.
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Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Saudi Arabia Get Out Of Syria / Politics / Middle East
By: Andrew_McKillop
THE LIGHTWEIGHT TALKS HEAVY
Saudi royal family member Prince Turki al-Faisal in a December 15 interview with Reuters said “Iran is coming at us with a broad smile. Let's hope they are serious about that. We would like to see Iran first of all get out of Syria".
Saudi Arabia can also get out of Syria, powerfully de-escalating the civil war.
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Monday, December 16, 2013
How China Just Grabbed 90% of Ecuador’s Oil / Politics / Crude Oil
By: Money_Morning
Dr. Kent Moors writes: I was a guest on Chinese national television last night. The discussion was via a live satellite link that had me sitting in a Pittsburgh studio with the feed traveling through their affiliate in Washington.
I’ve done this before. But this time the discussion was all about a subject I have been personally involved in.
It had to do with the big Chinese move into Ecuador – one that has given Beijing the upper hand over who really controls of the country’s oil.
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Monday, December 16, 2013
U.S. Federal Reserve: 100 Years of Destroying the Purchase Power of Money? / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Profit_Confidential
Michael Lombardi writes:
Nearly 100 years ago, on December 23, 1913, the Federal Reserve was created. The central bank was created for many reasons, such as minimizing the impacts of panics, becoming a banker of last resort and “smoothing” economic cycles.
But along the way to keeping the monetary system stable, something happened: the value of money deteriorated.
Monday, December 16, 2013
UK General Election Forecast 2015, Who Will Win, Coalition, Conservative or Labour? / Politics / UK General Election
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Recent opinion polls put Labour 6 points ahead of the Conservatives which would translate into Labour winning an general election with a 74 seat majority (Independant on Sunday). Similarly the bookies also have Labour (oddschecker) as hot favourites to win the most seats at the May 2015 general election, though the odds marginally favour another hung parliament, whilst the Conservatives trail a distant third in their chances for an outright election win. However, what the opinion pollsters, bookies and the mainstream media commentators fail to grasp is the likely impact of accelerating UK housing market momentum on an general election that is still 18 months away (May 2015).
Monday, December 16, 2013
U.S. Misery Index Falls to Four-Year Low / Politics / Social Issues
By: DailyGainsLetter
John Paul Whitefoot writes: If you think you can judge a book by its cover, then you must believe the U.S. economy is doing really, really well. After all, consumer confidence is up and misery is down. However, looking past the cover, the pages of underlying economic indicators suggest the average American investor should be a little concerned.
But first, the good news! The U.S. Misery Index has fallen to a four-year low. The Misery Index is calculated by adding a country’s unemployment rate to the inflation rate, the logic being that we understand what stubbornly high unemployment mixed with the soaring price of goods translates into—misery.
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Sunday, December 15, 2013
The Global Economy is Running Out of Time / Politics / Energy Resources
By: Brian_Bloom
Energy drives all economic activity. Scientifically based evidence, recently to hand, leads to the conclusion that humanity has approximately 15 years to get its energy house in order. If we fail to achieve this outcome the global economy will not deteriorate, it will collapse. The flip side of this statement is that if we succeed – which is eminently possible from a technical perspective – we can look forward to a long period of global economic stability, if not growth. The obstacles to success are egocentricism and hubris of those in power. In the article below, Brian Bloom summarises key evidence to prove that the current status quo has a bias towards failure in all the world’s industrialised democracies. Urgent action is required.