Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Wednesday, February 11, 2009
U.S. $2trillion Borrowing Binge May Stop Foreigners Lending / Politics / US Debt
Robert Freeman writes: Fixing the Economy: Of Fences and Futures - A man calls a carpenter and says that his dog has been getting out. He instructs the carpenter to raise the fence in the back yard by a foot. The carpenter does the job.The next day, the man calls the carpenter back and says that the dog is still getting out. He tells the carpenter to add another foot to the top of the fence. The carpenter does so.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Obama-Geithner Financial Crisis Recovery Plan from Hell / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
Michael Hudson writes: Tuesday's announcement of the Obama-Geithner recovery plan is basically an extension of the Bush-Paulson plan – yet more giveaways to financial insiders, with a view to concentrating the U.S. banking system into a cartel of just a few large banks. This is not altogether bad news for the still relatively healthy part of the banking system (healthy in the sense of still avoiding negative equity). Smaller, less troubled banks will be bought out by the large “troubled” ones, to the personal financial benefit of their stockholders. This cannot solve today's financial problem: the fact that the debt overhead far exceeds the economy's ability to pay. In fact, it will spread the distortions that the large banks have introduced, until the entire system presumably looks like Citibank, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Will Obama Capping Executive Pay Create a Better Banking System? / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
Martin Hutchinson writes: By revamping the banking sector's compensation system, and creating a salary cap of $500,000 for the top executives at institutions that accepted federal bailout money, new U.S. President Barack Obama could be launching a reform movement that helps make the American financial system worthwhile to invest in again.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
$550 Billion Electronic Run On U.S. Banks Nearly Triggered Financial Collapse / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
At 2 minutes, 20 seconds into this C-Span video clip, Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania explains how the Federal Reserve told Congress members about a "tremendous draw-down of money market accounts in the United States, to the tune of $550 billion dollars." According to Kanjorski, this electronic transfer occurred over the period of an hour and threatened a further $5 trillion to be drawn out triggering a total collapse of the Financial System, which prompted Hank Paulson's emergency $700 billion TARP bailout action.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Capitalism's Self-inflicted Financial Apocalypse / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
Michael Parenti writes: After the overthrow of communist governments in Eastern Europe, capitalism was paraded as the indomitable system that brings prosperity and democracy, the system that would prevail unto the end of history. The present economic crisis, however, has convinced even some prominent free-marketeers that something is gravely amiss. Truth be told, capitalism has yet to come to terms with several historical forces that cause it endless trouble: democracy, prosperity, and capitalism itself, the very entities that capitalist rulers claim to be fostering.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Pelosi Economic Stimulus Casts Shadow Over Obama, America and World / Politics / Economic Stimulus
In a sign that may reveal much about the current deal-making environment in Washington, House speaker Nancy Pelosi has outmaneuvered the Obama Administration in the design of the massive $827 billion so-called Economic Stimulus Package. With the collusion of three moderate Republican Senators - Collins, Snowe and Specter - Pelosi may succeed in steering President Obama into supporting a package with which he may secretly disagree.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Baby Boomers- Your Generation's Crisis Has Arrived / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
"There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations, much is given. Of other generations, much is expected. This Generation has a rendezvous with destiny." Franklin Roosevelt – 1936
President Roosevelt was correct. The generation he was speaking to was already dealing with the worst financial crisis in the history of the United States, the Great Depression. By 1945, over 400,000 of this generation had lost their lives. Another 600,000 men were wounded. Much was expected and much was sacrificed. Every generation has a rendezvous with destiny.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Hacking the Obama Economic Stimulus Package / Politics / Economic Stimulus
Danny Schechter writes: It became clear Friday night that our economy may not recover until our politics do.
To President Obama, the delays and endless Congressional carping about his recovery plan was “inexcusable.” He was reduced to reading the latest unemployment numbers aloud as if to say, ‘what world are you guys in?
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
U.S. Economy Imploding as Obama Follows Failed NeoCon Policies / Politics / GeoPolitics
Paul Craig Roberts writes: Is there intelligent life in Washington, DC? Not a speck of it.The US economy is imploding, and Obama is being led by his government of neconservatives and Israeli agents into a quagmire in Afghanistan that will bring the US into confrontation with Russia, and possibly China, American's largest creditor.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Financial Crisis Ends America's Second Gilded Age? / Politics / US Politics
Mark Twain called the late nineteenth century the “Gilded Age”. In fact, Mark Twain wrote a novel called “The Gilded Age” ridiculing Washington D.C. and many of the leading figures of the day. Mark Twain thought that the period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. Many people believe that there are many similarities between that era and our current era. It seems to me to be another instance of history “rhyming”.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Transcript of Obama's Speech in Elkhart Indian / Politics / US Politics
President Obama gave a speech on the economy before an audience in a packed gym at Concord High School in Elkhart Indiana Monday evening.MSNBC offers President Obama In Elkhart: Video Of Speech Here is a transcript of the speech.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 09, 2009
Freedom From Government Intervention and Funding and Restrictions / Politics / Government Intervention
President Obama signed an executive order last week continuing the faith-based initiatives program created by former President Bush. When the program was created, I warned that giving taxpayer money to private religious organizations would eventually lead to political control and manipulation of them. This week has provided some evidence that this was a justified concern.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 09, 2009
Bankers On Notice: The Cake Eaters Are Stirring / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
It's interesting to watch what happens as the spores and tentacles of “banker rot” penetrate ever-deeper into the worm-holes and capillaries of the socioeconomic strata.
Anachronisms from a bygone-era, the “let them eat cake” attitudes that have persistently predominated the media-storm are increasingly muffled by a gathering mob and their collective call for the punishment of the perpetrators and their accomplices at all levels and in all capacities, public and private.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Will Obama Start the Next Trade War? / Politics / Global Economy
Shamus Cooke writes: While campaigning to be president, Obama gave the general impression that he would act “cooperatively” to solve international problems, moving away from the Bush strategy of irresponsible “unilateralism.”But Obama took an aggressive stance towards China even on the campaign trail, including the accusations of “currency manipulation,” “violating intellectual property rights,” and “devaluing their goods.” Of course the average American cares nothing about these types of crimes, nor should they.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 07, 2009
The End of Wealth Creation / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
The Roman Empire - The rise and fall of the Roman Empire is a classic example of Return On Investment (ROI). Rome essentially funded conquest through pillage, bringing rich treasures of gold and silver back to Rome. During the early years of the Empire, the ROI on conquest was very good and Rome prospered. It had plenty of coin to fund its Legions. As the years went by, however, it became more difficult to find lands worth conquering and the travel costs to send a Legion to remote lands increased. The ROI of conquest began to falter, and Roman Emperors finally concluded additional conquests were not worth the cost. Years of wealth creation came to an end. The Roman Empire shifted its attention to wealth preservation.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 06, 2009
Russian Bear Emerging From Post-Soviet Hibernation / Politics / New Cold War
If the Russian Bear has indeed emerged from its post-Soviet hibernation to regain global prominence, that means big things for your portfolio. From the punishingly obvious war with Georgia last summer, to the more subtle - but equally powerful - shut off of natural gas to Ukraine and Europe, Russia is making it abundantly clear that they want to be global players again. To get a read on how this is all going to play out, I turn to my friend George Friedman, the founder of global intelligence firm Stratfor.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Moscow Reacts to US Military Buildup in Afghanistan / Politics / New Cold War
Moscow has correctly assessed that the announced Obama troop buildup in Afghanistan has no relevance to the stated aim of combatting the ‘Taliban', but rather with a new attempt by the Pentagon strategists to encircle both Russia and China on Eurasia in order to retain US global military dominance. It is not waiting for a new policy from Washington. Rather Russia is acting to secure its perimeter in Central Asia through a series of calculated geopolitical moves reminiscent of the famous Great Game of more than a Century ago. The stakes in this geopolitical power game could not be higher—the issue of world war or peace in the coming decade.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
America and the Creation of an Economic Frankenstein / Politics / US Economy
Jim McTague has been writing articles for Barron's for a very long time. He's a better journalist than I and likely earns more money. He writes a column called D.C. Current for the august investment weekly and boasts the title Washington Editor. For my part… well, it's not nice to boast. The only thing the two of us may have in common is a Northern Irish distaste for all things orange and a love of the Pogues. The fact that our grandfathers once put the boots to a black and tan before his went and ratted out mine, I'll leave to another time.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Bailout for the People: Dividend Economics, Basic Income Guarantee- Part2 / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
Key Discovery of the 20th Century: Dividend Economics
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Bailout for the People: Dividend Economics and the Basic Income Guarantee / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
Prepared for a Presentation at the 8 th Congress of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network and 2009 Eastern Economics Association Annual Conference Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers New York, N.Y., February 27
The existing monetary system is not free enterprise, and it is not capitalism. It is cancer.
Read full article... Read full article...