Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Now the Government Wants to Track and Tax Your Mileage / Politics / Taxes
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
I love Oregon so much I gladly put up with its hypocritical governor, its out of control budget, its quirky liberal tendencies, its high personal income taxes, its hopelessly anti-business environment, and its progressive health care system.
But here's where I have to put my foot down: Oregon officials are now proposing a special per- mile tax on "gas-sipping" drivers.
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Wednesday, January 09, 2013
The Rich and Poor Divide Isn’t Good for America / Politics / Social Issues
By: InvestmentContrarian
George Leong writes: There is a crisis in America, relative to the widening income gaps between the rich, the middle class, and the poor. This ultimately impacts consumer spending.
In the fiscal cliff talks, President Obama decided to compromise on the Bush-era tax cuts after raising income taxes on those individuals earning in excess of $400,000 annually and over $450,000 for married couples. These groups account for roughly the top one percent of income earners, according to the Tax Policy Center. (Source: “Fiscal Cliff Deal Will Raise Taxes On 77 Percent Of Americans: Tax Policy Center Analysis,” Huffington Post via Associated Press, January 2, 2013.)
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Wednesday, January 09, 2013
America, You're Being Punked / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
We've sort of run out of ways to describe the skewed perceptions and/or skewed realities of the politico-financial world we inhabit. Metaphors like Bizarro World, Kabuki theater and Theater of the Absurd have come and long gone and are now used only by those who missed out first time around.
But that doesn't mean it's all become less weird; if anything, one gets the feeling the media in general are becoming more complacent if not complicit painting a picture for the general public that's at best make believe and in all other cases border on Orwell. There's a veneer an inch thick (and getting thicker fast) that makes things look sort of normal, just check the economy, and below that there's an increasingly nasty brew boiling and a-festering.
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Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Fiscal Cliff Averted, but the Massive Debt Will Limit Government Flexibility / Politics / US Debt
By: InvestmentContrarian
George Leong writes: Well, the doom and gloom of the fiscal cliff was averted in the nick of time, which in turn, pleased Wall Street and gave stocks a boost to begin the new year.
While the deal was a nice compromise between the two parties on the tax issues, there is a lot of work ahead for President Obama, as the statutory national debt limit of $16.4 trillion nears. As of this morning, the national debt balance used for the limit stood at a superlative $16.39 trillion. The headline national debt of $16.43 trillion is actually already above the limit, but don’t worry, the Treasury Department said it will be able to pay its debt payments and bills. Of course, we know this will also hold until the extended deadline on March 1.
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Tuesday, January 08, 2013
The Crisis of the American Middle Class, The Long-Term Threat to U.S. Power / Politics / Social Issues
By: STRATFOR
Last week I wrote about the crisis of unemployment in Europe. I received a great deal of feedback, with Europeans agreeing that this is the core problem and Americans arguing that the United States has the same problem, asserting that U.S. unemployment is twice as high as the government's official unemployment rate. My counterargument is that unemployment in the United States is not a problem in the same sense that it is in Europe because it does not pose a geopolitical threat. The United States does not face political disintegration from unemployment, whatever the number is. Europe might.
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Public Schools - Crooked Teachers and Lying Principals / Politics / Educating Children
By: LewRockwell
Walter E. Williams writes: Nearly two years ago, U.S. News & World Report came out with a story titled "Educators Implicated in Atlanta Cheating Scandal." It reported that "for 10 years, hundreds of Atlanta public school teachers and principals changed answers on state tests in one of the largest cheating scandals in U.S. history." More than three-quarters of the 56 Atlanta schools investigated had cheated on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, sometimes called the national report card.
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Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Successful, But Looking For An Escape Hatch from America / Politics / Social Issues
By: Jeff_Berwick
[Editor’s Note: The following post is by TDV legal correspondent, Jim Karger]
Jerry Loftus is laid back, inquisitive, and easy to talk to. He is also a successful US businessman, co-owner of a masonry and concrete repair and restoration company in Chicago, Illinois, and an avid TDV reader. He and his charming wife, Gina, spent 10 days with us in our San Miguel de Allende compound. Jerry is 53 years old, never been in trouble with the law, but like so many of our TDV visitors, is considering leaving the United States. I interviewed him on our rooftop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, sharing margaritas on a typical cloudless 70 degree afternoon.
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Monday, January 07, 2013
Why The Fiscal Cliff "Deal" is Spelled P-O-R-K / Politics / Government Spending
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
After narrowly missing the fiscal cliff, the President went out of his way to thank the Senate and Congress for getting things done.
Granted, it wasn't an Academy Award speech, but it could have been given the performance he delivered as he congratulated everybody from his "extraordinary" Vice President Joe Biden to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and even Speaker Boehner.
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Monday, January 07, 2013
Statist Philosophy the Scourge of Christianity / Politics / Religion
By: BATR
The normal condition of man ruling over men resorts to the practice of coercive force. Statism so aptly reflects this system of compliance. When you strip away all the rhetoric and institutional validation, what is left is a doctrine of kingship. Governments are fashioned to exert control over people. Contemplate the intrinsic contradiction of this structure of dominance with the message of the Golden Rule.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Institutionalized Inequality in America: Widening Gap Between Rich and Poor / Politics / US Politics
By: Stephen_Lendman
Millions of Americans face lump of coal harshness this holiday season. It’s no different throughout the year. Annually, things get worse.
Hard times reflect what growing numbers endure. Bipartisan complicity bears full responsibility.
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Sunday, January 06, 2013
Ponzi Finance - Ponzi Wealth / Politics / Banksters
By: Andrew_McKillop
WHAT GOES UP, GOES DOWN
Offically released on Jan 1, 2013 the Boston Consulting Group's "shock report" by Daniel Stelter and his colleagus on what 3 decades of Ponzi finance has done to real wealth in the developed-OECD group of countries has been available since mid-December but not widely commented. The title says it all: "Ending the Era of Ponzi Finance"
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Ron Paul on Fiscal Cliff Deal Hypocrite Republicans / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Shedlock
Here is a post on Facebook a couple days ago that is worth a read in entirety. I will post the entire article along with a few thoughts.
We Are Already Over the Fiscal Cliff by Ron Paul
Read full article... Read full article...Despite claims that the Administration and Congress saved America from the fiscal cliff with an early morning vote today, the fact is that government spending has already pushed Americans over the cliff. Only serious reductions in federal spending will stop the cliff dive from ending in a crash landing, yet the events of this past month show that most elected officials remain committed to expanding the welfare-warfare state.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
The Mayans Have Competition, Mutant War Future / Politics / Social Issues
By: Andrew_McKillop
Mayans believed that robot-like warriors, linked to their alphabet soup of sombre and deadly gods with names like Yum Cimil and Ah Puke (sic), were prowling on dark nights and inauspicious days: about 9 out of 10 days and nights, that is. In the USA of today, bionic warfare is rapidly emerging from the shadows of the imagination and with it, the fear of robot soldiers. Under a gripping photo of a US Army soldier testing the Lockheed Martin HULCE or HUman Load Carrier Exoskeleton, 'Wired Magazine', on January 1st, told its readers they have a mutant future coming - defined as a robot military future.
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Rick Santelli Is Right, the Democrats are the Lunatics! / Politics / Government Spending
By: EconMatters
Today on CNBC during the coverage of the monthly employment report, Rick Santelli pointed out that there is some absurdity in calling the Republicans “lunatics” when they are the only responsible voice in Washington right now trying to call attention to the out of control government spending in the overall context of an unsustainable federal deficit while the Democrats are running the country into the ground with even additional spending programs that the government has to borrow more money to fund.
Friday, January 04, 2013
U.S. Treasury Bond Market's Last Pillar Crumbles / Politics / US Bonds
By: Peter_Schiff
With the return of Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party to power in Japan, the market for US Treasuries may be losing its last external pillar of support. Re-elected on September 26th, Abe has quickly set a course for limitless inflation, saying Japan must "free itself from deflation and the strong yen." This is significant to the global economy as Japan is the largest foreign power left with a strong appetite for US Treasuries. If this demand falters, the Fed may be the only remaining buyer of new Treasury issuance.
Friday, January 04, 2013
Congress Avoids the Fiscal Cliff by Selling Us Down the River / Politics / US Politics
By: Peter_Schiff
With the possible exception of the New York Times' editorial board (and the cast of The Jersey Shore), everyone on the planet understood that the United States Government needs to cut spending, increase taxes, or both. Instead, after months of political posturing and hand wringing, the Federal Government has just delivered the exact opposite, a deal that increases spending and decreases taxes. The move lays bare the emptiness of budget legislation, which can be dismantled far easier than it can be constructed.
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Thursday, January 03, 2013
Cold Hard Truth About the Fiscal Cliff Deal / Politics / US Debt
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
In the end, a last-minute deal emerged. Just like that, the fiscal cliff crisis was averted.
In the waning hours of New Year's Day, Congress voted to avoid a large package of tax increases, along with some modest spending cuts.
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Thursday, January 03, 2013
Europe 2013 - A Year of Decision / Politics / European Union
By: STRATFOR
The end of the year always prompts questions about what the most important issue of the next year may be. It's a simplistic question, since every year sees many things happen and for each of us a different one might be important. But it is still worth considering what single issue could cause the world to change course. In my view, the most important place to watch in 2013 is Europe.
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Fiscal Cliff Averted, But Debt Ceiling Looms / Politics / US Debt
By: Asha_Bangalore
Happy new year to all!
We host an open house each January 1. Breakfast is served starting at 9, lunch at 1, and cauldrons of homemade soup at 5:30. By 8, hopefully, the assembled multitude is hale, hearty, and ready to live up to their New Year’s resolutions.
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Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Fiscal Cliff Deal Averts Disaster… But Now What? / Politics / Taxes
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
[Singapore] - It's late Tuesday evening and I'm about to go on air with CNBC Asia in Singapore regarding the impact of the Fiscal Cliff bill which passed minutes ago after Republican leaders decided not to try and tack on amendments nor engage in further bickering.
Passed by a 257 to 167 vote, the bill is now headed to the White House and a draft may even be on the President's desk by the time you read this.
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