Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Lunacy of FEMA Hurricane Insurance Subsidy / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
One of the most ludicrous fantasies of the self-indulgent is that a property owner has an entitlement of subsidized government flood insurance. The inherent risk of building along the ocean shoreline is self-evident. The benefits that enhance the pleasure of proximity to the seaside seem unending. However, when the forces of nature thrust her fury and a wall of water inundates pristine dwellings, the first question asked after the storm usually involves rebuilding. The cost of repairs and renovated construction, once paid by private insurance, now normally requires a federal guaranty.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
The Lull Before the Civil Unrest Storm / Politics / Social Issues
By: Jack_D_Douglas
Vast social revolutions and wars are often preceded by periods of giving up on reforms, despairing withdrawal from public life by the best and brightest, and even peacefulness which seems to have become the normal condition in spite of deep conflicts and growing crises beneath the surfaces of public life. Often, earlier periods of intense conflicts and crises have been overcome and resolved, so it comes to look like that is the normal in life. This lulls most people into assuming their worse fears cannot happen, but this leads them to lowering their guards against growing conflicts and crises, so small ones can more easily cascade down into massive ones. If people expected they could become vast wars or revolutions or implosions, they would take more precautions to prevent that. But when lulled in expecting the worst cannot happen, the worst than they could ever imagine often explodes suddenly.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Obama Wins A Second Term: Now What? / Politics / US Politics
By: Ron_Holland
I'm certainly glad the election is finally over. While I have loved politics my entire life, this presidential election has gone on for over three years, including the GOP primaries, and I've had my fill of meaningless slogans and counter-slogans, lies and counter-lies. I had to quit watching political news the last few weeks, as I thought I would become physically sick if I watched any more establishment political "experts" give their required opinions and propaganda bites.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Ron Paul's U.S. Presidential Election 2012 Lesson: Obeying the Constitution, No Sure Path to Freedom / Politics / US Politics
By: Jeff_Berwick
Justin O’Connell writes: What is one to deduce from the 2012 Presidential elections? In my opinion, it is that obeying the Constitution is no sure path to freedom, and that voting is a real waste of time. The campaign of Ron Paul was by far one of the most popular campaigns in recent memory. It made the third party runs of Ross Perot (18% of the vote in 1992; 8.4% of vote in 1996) and Ralph Nader (.38% of the vote in 2004) appear tiny. Nobody in recent memory has captured the heart of a lost-but-looking-USA quite as much as has Paul.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
“TOP SECRET” ECB Debt Crisis Report / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: David_Hague
Dear reader, by now you will have read at least 1000 articles discussing the debt crisis and/or the fiscal cliff. Like me, you have probably concluded that both the debt crisis and the fiscal cliff will land badly with severe consequences to the global economy. Let us dispense with any more debate about our predicament. Collectively, central governments owe 50 trillion dollars. It will never be repaid; there will be a cascade of defaults by sovereign nations. The defaults will cause chaos in the global banking system. As well, the sovereign defaults will trigger dramatic social and economic upheaval on an epic scale. There will be no capital available for the private sector for a very long time. To argue against these outcomes is nonsense. Only an idiot or a Nobel Prize winning economist would postulate that other outcomes are possible.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Eurozone Civil War: It's North vs. South, Washington to the Rescue? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Peter_Schiff
J.Luis Martìn writes: Although the eurozone crisis did not make it into the US presidential debate on foreign policy in October, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner did remark earlier in the month: "We are very worried about the risk of collapse in Europe." Indeed, he should be, for a collapse of the euro would not only send shockwaves through the already fragile world economy, but would also undermine America's own escape strategy of currency debasement. This makes preservation of the status-quo in Europe an essential part of the United States' plan to avert its so-called fiscal cliff - even if it means that Washington has to increase its exposure to the faltering economies across the pond.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
U.S. Presidential Election, Which Slave Master Do You Want? / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." ~ Søren Kierkegaard
Ah, election season! If there is any one time that guarantees a radical libertarian a barrel of laughs, it is the periodic selection of slave masters, masquerading as a key component of freedom. For the record, selecting which arrogant, well-connected megalomaniac will: kill foreigners (supposedly) on your behalf; redistribute your money to whomever he pleases ostensibly on behalf of helping those who cannot help themselves; and, maintain the cash cow that fictitious property – otherwise known as intellectual property – has provided for firms like Microsoft and Apple, all via the barrel of a gun, is not a practice endemic to freedom. It is exactly the opposite.
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Tuesday, November 06, 2012
American's Voting for the Next Thief-in-Chief / Politics / US Presidential Election 2012
By: LewRockwell
Michael Scheuer writes: Having listened to a campaign in which Governor Romney explained how he would fix the U.S. economy and carry a big stick around the world, and President Obama continually blame George W. Bush for all our economic problems and try to depict Romney as the evil-millionaire Mr. Potter from Frank Capra’s, It’s a Wonderful Life, voters can take their pick on Tuesday. But when doing so they must realize that no matter who wins, the next president’s biggest problem will be fighting wars overseas with a war weary populace and an undermanned and ill-equipped military. And no matter who is elected, the new president will only have himself and his interventionist party to blame.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
How the State Subverts Responsibility / Politics / US Politics
By: Jeff_Berwick
[The following post is by Menno Troyer, TDV Subscriber and a pioneer of the Free State Project] : One of the most destructive influences of "the State" upon society, is the way it subverts responsibility.
In order to understand the nature of this subversion, one has to understand what "the State" really is, and the irrational paradigm in the minds of its subjects which its agents rely upon to sustain their diabolical power to rule over others without individual consent.
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Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Hurricane Sandy, the Economics of Disaster / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Hurricane Sandy was one of the worst natural disasters the east coast has ever seen. Clean-up and recovery will take months, if not years and estimates run in the tens of billions of dollars. Parts of New York and New Jersey will never be the same. Entire seashore communities have been wiped out, but the determination to rebuild has been lauded as courageous and admirable. Yet as with all natural disasters, Sandy raises uncomfortable questions about the extent to which taxpayers should fund the cleanup and the extent to which government programs create moral hazards.
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Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Police and Crime Commissioners, Putting Corrupt Politicians in Charge of Law and Order / Politics / UK Politics
By: Nadeem_Walayat
This week saw the latest in a long list of corrupt politicians being caught with their hands in the cookie jar, another MP fiddling his expenses by presenting fraudulent invoices for reimbursement, who's punishment is apparently just a 12month ban from the House of Commons, with far more evading exposure than make it into the mainstream press headlines. All of this is taking place in the run up to the handing over responsibility for holding England and Wales police forces to account to some 41 politicians that will follow a rubber stamping exercise along party lines that masquerades as an Election on November 15th, that will be lucky to secure a turnout of even 20% (which idiot picked picked the middle of November for an election?) which is set against 65% that turned out for the last general election.
Monday, November 05, 2012
Bludgeon Constitution Replaced By Fiat Edicts / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
The rule of law is an empty memory of the past. The powers that rule are globalists that control governments and use their media outlets to write the first version of history. They pull the strings of the intelligence agencies that function as over throwers of non-compliant regimes. Constitutional restrictions that limit impulsive or capricious dictates once protected citizens. With the utter eradication of separations of power and the "Federalist", form of distinct roles and authority of independent States, the core legitimacy of the United States vanished.
Sunday, November 04, 2012
Chinese Metaphysics Meet Mayan End of the World Apocalypse / Politics / Social Issues
By: DK_Matai
Transitioning from the 'Lucky' Water Dragon to the 'Wise' Snake -- 2012 to 2013 -- A Chinese Perspective
Speaking to a senior Chinese delegation recently about Hurricane Sandy's ongoing impact on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States including New York and New Jersey, we were struck by the remark that water on earth and floods are not entirely inconsistent with 2012, the year of the "Water Dragon" according to Chinese metaphysics. In parallel, as we approach the end of the year 2012, believers and sceptics alike are studying the Mayan calendar and Eschatology: the branch of theology concerned with final events or the end of the world. As a myriad of experts and self-styled prophets announce the impending end of the world on December 21st, 2012, the day that marks the winter solstice, we wondered what the Chinese delegation might have to say on this subject.
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Saturday, November 03, 2012
Were Ancient Spartan's the First Socialists? / Politics / Social Issues
By: MISES
Alexander Gray: At what point a history of socialism should begin is a question which might give occasion to high argument. There are some who hold that we merely becloud our judgment if we allow ourselves to speak of socialism before the middle of the 18th century, or perhaps even somewhat later. On this view socialism is essentially a manifestation of the proletarian spirit; or, if socialism is not necessarily proletarian in character and origin, it at least postulates a society which tends to be comprehensive in its membership. Accordingly, it is suggested that a society which assumes for its efficient working the existence of a slave population, denied all rights, may at times speak a language suggestive of socialism, but it can know nothing of socialism as that word has been understood in the 19th and 20th centuries. The existence of a serf or slave population may in certain respects add a complication to life; but in other directions it quite obviously enormously simplifies the social and political problems of existence, as these are presented to that section of the population who are not slaves. On this view, a history of socialism should probably begin among these first ripples and disturbances which presaged the deluge of the French Revolution.
Saturday, November 03, 2012
U.S. Jobs Report Trick or Treat Economic Depression, Nearly 25 million Jobless Americans / Politics / Employment
By: Stephen_Lendman
Friday’s headline number belies dire economic reality. Main Street’s in protracted Depression. Nearly 25 million Americans are jobless.
Real unemployment approaches 23%. On November 6, Americans vote. Neither candidate proposed ways to create jobs. Obama’s done more to destroy them than create them.
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Saturday, November 03, 2012
Global Wealth 2012, Highs and Lows of World Salaries / Politics / Social Issues
By: Pravda
Last year, the smallest wages in Europe were paid in Ukraine, Moldova and Albania. The most highly paid professionals live in Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. However, the "low-income" Ukraine lives on labor migration. The Ukrainian citizens working in other countries, send billions of dollars to their home country every year.
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Friday, November 02, 2012
State Budget Deficits Grow as Millions of People Continue to Evade Taxes / Politics / Taxes
By: InvestmentContrarian
Sasha Cekerevac writes: One of the common themes around the world is the growing level of government debt due to high budget deficits. Budget deficits occur when spending is greater than revenue. Taxes are the main source of revenue for governments; taxes decrease with a slow economy. A slow economy means fewer employees, which means less revenue from income taxes and lower taxes on goods purchased. This increases budget deficits, which then adds to the rising total of the government debt.
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Thursday, November 01, 2012
Spain Offers Yet Another Impossible Solution to Its Debt, Economic Problems / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Graham_Summers
Spain continues to heap one impossible idea on top of another.
The latest “plan” consists of Spain creating a bad bank called SAREB that will buy up bad assets in Spain in an effort to clean up the country’s finances.
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Fiscal Cliff's Biggest Surprise Could Be a Rising U.S. Dollar / Politics / US Dollar
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
My grandmother Mimi had a saying that was as blunt as it was uncouth. "When the stuff hits the fan," she used to say, "it will not be evenly distributed."
This one came up often when she sensed that world events were about to take a turn for the worse.
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
EU Banking Union, European Commission Single Supervisory Mechanism / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: BATR
The lack of enthusiasm for the latest effort to centralize all banking and monitory regulation within the European Central Bank suggests that the surreal struggle for continental unanimity still resides in the minds of banksters. Elites still seek to perfect the class distinguish of century old traditions, into a modern version of feudal serfdom. Globalism is the brainchild of the cabal of international banking. As long as a financial monopoly dominates political institutions, the end result will be more consolidation of the rule of the House of Rothschild.