Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Smash the Labor Monopolies! / Politics / Employment
By: Ayn_Rand
Thomas Bowden writes: When President Obama addresses the AFL-CIO on Sept. 15, he is expected to reiterate his support for the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. Congress is sharply divided over the proposed law, which would change the voting and arbitration procedures by which federal law forces companies to deal with labor unions.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Imminent $30 Billion Bailout of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Nilus_Mattive
I’ve talked about corporate pension plans before, but in a few short weeks I think we’re going to get some shocking news. Namely, that the government backup for failed pension plans is more underfunded than it has ever been before.
Back in April, I told you a bit about the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and its decade of running in the red.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Health Care Deceit / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
The current health care “debate” shows how far gone representative government is in the United States. Members of Congress represent the powerful interest groups that fill their campaign coffers, not the people who vote for them.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Lehman Post Mortem, Did Bernanke and Paulson Blackmail Congress? / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Mike_Whitney
"Lehman's fate was sealed not in the boardroom of that gaudy Manhattan headquarters. It was sealed downtown, in the gloomy gray building of the New York Federal Reserve, the Wall Street branch of the U.S. central bank." Stephen Foley, U.K. Independent
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Lehman Bankruptcy and Engineered Financial Armageddon Real Story / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Nadeem_Walayat
During the last few days the mainstream media has been obsessed by Lehman's as though it caused the financial crisis, when all Lehman's was one crack in the credit crisis dam that was destined to burst following the August 2007 interbank market freeze when the game was up on the U.S. mortgage backed securities valuations that bank staff had inflated so as to bank huge bonuses on fictitious profits. From then began a process of ever larger financial collapses, starting in the UK with Northern Rock Bank, which I just so happened to warn of as having a high probability of going bust some 4 weeks before the event. Though of course at the time I had to mask my language lest I open myself upto legal problems.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
U.S. Trade War with China Escalates / Politics / Global Economy
By: Money_Morning
Jason Simpkins writes: Shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama announced hefty import duties on Chinese-made tires, China's Ministry of Commerce over the weekend said it would explore possible sanctions against U.S. automobile and chicken imports.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Lying Politicians Using Financial Crisis Opportunity to Double U.S. National Debt / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
“Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.” – George Washington
“For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it.” – Patrick Henry
Monday, September 14, 2009
Quietly Building the Totalitarian State in America, With the Full Complicity of the Big Media / Politics / US Politics
By: Jack_D_Douglas
All intelligent political analysts have known since Ancient Greece that the Tyrannical State always arrives on gentle cat's paws, as Plato and others put it a few centuries after the basic strategies and tactics of Building The Secret Tyrannical State had been used so effectively by Peisistratus to build the first full-blown tyranny in Athens [though some objected that Solon's "new deal for all" was a tyranny]. The Tyrant always arrives as the Great Friend of the People promising them new freedoms and a vast cornucopia of free goodies. Peisistratus was lucky enough to have new loads of silver to mint real coins to buy the submission of the masses for a while, expand trade and prosperity. Most states in the modern world use the Miracle Cures of Paper Money and the Central Planning of Finance, as has been done in the U.S. to a stunning extreme by the Fed and the Big Banks working under that vast government umbrella of guaranteed free money for them.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The US Golden Age Is Over, Destruction of an Empire / Politics / US Economy
By: Bill_Bonner
Edward Gibbon described the happiest age of mankind as the period of the “five good emperors” between AD98 and AD180, when Marcus Aurelius died.
What was America’s Golden Age?
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Healthcare Reform is More Corporate Welfare / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last Wednesday the nation was riveted to the President's speech on healthcare reform before Congress. While the President's concern for the uninsured is no doubt sincere, his plan amounts to a magnanimous gift to the health insurance industry, despite any implications to the contrary.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Socially Useless Syndrome Paralyzes Wall Street And The City! / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Andrew_Butter
It all started with Lord Turner, then Stephen Green of HSBC and right on his heels Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs. Now it's official, investment bankers are "socially useless"; the financial services industry is bracing itself for a tidal wave of press releases, finally the they are coming clean; next the hunt will be on for which branding consultancy got the million dollars to come up with that brilliant tag line.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Obama Risks Global Trade War With China on Misguided Tariffs / Politics / Global Economy
By: Mike_Shedlock
On Wednesday, in a dispute over the price of steel pipe, the US Fires Opening Salvo In Trade Wars With China. Late Friday evening trade wars heated up again as Obama Fires the US' Second Shot In Trade War With China.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The Credit Rating Firms Are Running Scared / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: When it comes to the U.S. credit crisis, we’ve all heard the numbers. The stock market decline wiped out $7 trillion in shareholder wealth. It forced the federal government to commit to $11.6 trillion in bailout programs and stimulus spending. And it’s led to the longest U.S. downturn since the Great Depression.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The "Official" 9-11 Narrative Doesn't Make Sense / Politics / Conspiracy Theory
By: Justin_Raimondo
On September 11, 2001, nineteen hijackers, wielding nothing more lethal than box-cutters, commandeered four airliners, and turned them into lethal missiles, three of which managed to hit their targets – the World Trade Center and the Pentagon – while a fourth crashed in a field before it could strike its intended target – the White House. One of the hijackers had been in the United States since the mid-1990s, and the others, according to subsequent investigations, entered, exited, and re-entered the United States regularly starting in 2000.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, September 11, 2009
Health Care Reform, No Miracle Cure / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: Jennifer_Barry
With all the problems in the U.S. economy - high unemployment, rising foreclosures, surging bank failures - one would think that Congress would focus on resolving these crises. Perhaps the legislators believe the “green shoots” spin, because they have started major new initiatives, like the cap-and-trade bill, and now health care reform.
Friday, September 11, 2009
9/11 World Trade Center Collapse: Kerosene Fire, Controlled Demolition or a Third Story / Politics / Conspiracy Theory
By: Robert_Singer
September 11, 2001
I’ll get right to the point, I have read the books and watched the documentaries on September 11 for three years and the 9/11 official story is so stupid Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld didn’t expect you to believe it.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Government Solutions Lack Understanding / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Things seem to be unraveling quickly for the new administration. The latest unemployment numbers are worse than the last reports. For all the billions of dollars spent and committed to fixing our economic problems, the situation is only getting worse. This was to be expected by those who understand the root causes of the problems. Throwing money around and creating more government programs is both simplistic and damaging to the economy.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Obama’s Speech Raises Issue He Doesn’t Really Address / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
Has The Economy Been Pulled Back From The Brink? Who Is Recovering?
President Obama’s highly anticipated health care speech started on a totally different subject: The economy.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Obama's Cash for Clunkers Car Scam / Politics / Economic Stimulus
By: LewRockwell
Richard Daughty writes: Roger Wiegand of Trader Tracks Newsletter finally says what I always figured: “Cash for Clunkers was a real clunker. One out of four auto buyers using this program is having buyer’s remorse as they just signed-up for so many new payments they cannot afford.”
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
The Love Of Money, Lehman The Bank That Bust The World -BBC2 Thursday 9pm / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: BBC
Last September, the collapse of Lehman Brothers tipped the world into the greatest financial crisis for 80 years. Now, one year on, in the first part of a major three-part series on the crash, the BBC offers the definitive account of what happened.