Forum Post: Banana States of America (BSA), CARTELS, Corruption, Regulation Capture, Lobbying, Conflict of Interest
Posted 11 years ago on June 28, 2012, 1:34 p.m. EST by Middleaged
(5140)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Our Motto is that Money, Banking, Corporations, and the Military Industrial Complex Come First !!
1) The SEC often settles or makes deals to accept a penalty from the bank with the biggest banks on charges of money laundering or other banking violations (at a fraction of the profits made).
2) Too Big To Fail (TBTF) banks often repeat violations within 1-2 years for behavior they agreed in court to stop engaging in.
3) How can any little guy with a limited budget compete with big lobbyist and big corporations with Billions of Dollars?
4) End lobbying by Foreign Interests Today.
5) End Lobbying in Washington DC Tomorrow as the first step in Campaign Finance Reform.
6) US Courts are too Expensive for the 99% to sue Corporations and US Government Agencies (Requires like $2M Dollars)
7) US Bill of Rights Amendments to the US Constitution are Abridged by Individual US States due to missing elements from the Law preventing US States from Limiting Individual Rights.
8) Lawyers work against the Law not for the Law. Most constitutional Lawyers learn how to get around the constitution. Logical conclusion is to shut down congress and let administrative government workers take care of the day to day work.
9) Accounting Fraud that characterized the Savings and Loan Banking Scandal of the 1980s HAS Continued into the 2020s A) Perverse Incentives for High Risk Investments B) Dishonest deals Displace Honest Economic Activity C) Characteristic of Criminal banking Activity
Police State Anyone?
1) The Monroe Doctrine that allows US CIA and US Presidents to meddle in Central and South America.
2) The CIA and DEA in general have been caught time and again doing things like running drugs.
3) Bush's Doctrine Preventative War.
4) Bush's First Strike on Failed States.
5) Patriot Act - because it erodes the Bill of Rights.
6) Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 (Patriot Act 2).
7) United States Department of Homeland Security Creation (because like all agencies there is slim chance of ever getting rid of it) The fact is we could have forced other existing agencies to do a better job with the authorized employees that they already had. The Director of CIA for instance had the responsibility to gather intelligence from all other agencies.
8) National Defense Authorization Act - the power to detain US Citizens without any proof, and hold them till they die.
9) Congress hasn't signed a US Budget for 1000 days.
10) The Iraqi War was not declared by Congress.
11) The Afghanistan War was not declared by Congress and is still a mystery to our troops what the mission is. We are not fighting a state, we are not fighting logistics hubs, we are not fighting supply lines, we can not identify the enemy since the enemy does not wear a uniform.
12) The Vietnam War was not declared by Congress.
13) The Korean War was not declared by Congress.
14) Career Politician are a corruption by DEFINITION. There should be no Lobbying, No PACs, No receipt of gifts, No airplane rides, No Free Conventions, No Free Hotel Rooms, No Dinners over $100 (I guess), No tickets, No Foreign Entities gifts (we call this treason), No special Mortgages, and No Book sales to political or corporate organizations.
Banana States of America (BSA). US Banana States (USBS). American Republic of Bananas (ARB). United Banana States of American (UBSA). United Banana States of North America (UBSNA). Republic of Banana Bankers (RBB). Republic of Banana Congress (RBC). The Corporate Congress of the Banana Republic (CCBR). United Select Banana States (USBS). United Corporations and Banking States (UCBS). US Conglomerate Republic of Banking States (USRBS).
Cay Johnston: "Perfectly Legal" showed how the super-rich – from the $250 million Romney class of wealth to people who literally make 20 times that much in a year – game the tax system, in some cases legally paying nothing in federal income taxes.
"Free Lunch" revealed subsidies that go to all sorts of corporations, some of which derive all of their profits from taxpayers. The government, by the way, does not collect data on either rich nontaxpayers or most of the giveaways to corporations.
The Fine Print is about how big companies rig the rules of commerce to escape the rigors of competitive markets, artificially inflate prices, provide poor quality services compared to other modern countries and literally put lives at risk for profit by seeking weak regulations or exemptions from safety rules.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/11958-how-big-companies-use-plain-english-to-rob-you-blind
If Citizens united is correct:
the more money you have,
the more "Free" speech you have.
I better stop now, I don't have enough money to continue.
Yes, when you have enough money then you say "I'll be gone by the time they find out". "I won't be here when they find out and I won't care".
Nice if you make enough money to retire if things get hot.
It's time for a new constitution that begins...
We the People of the Citizens United, in Order to form a more profitable Union, establish Corporate Legality, insure domestic Passivity, provide for the Military Industrial Complex, promote the Corporate Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Capitalism to ourselves and our Shareholders, do ordain and establish this new Constitution for the United States of America.
As a Satirical Preamble I guess that is right. But it is serious. I hate to say .... We the people who write the Laws...in order to put the power in the hands of the Wealthy Elite... and in accordance with the fact that us Lawyers always lie and deceive... put forth this frame work to fool the 99% and allow Wealthy and Privileged of the individual states to seize power from the populous.
Leaving the US. If Your Parents have a Pension or are Retired you might enjoy visiting them part of the Year in one of these Cheap Retirement Countries....
10 Countries Where Retirees Live Large By Jason Notte | TheStreet.com – Fri, Jun 22, 2012 3:26 PM EDT.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-countries-where-retirees-live-large.html
Report: JPMorgan trading losses may reach $9B Associated Press – 18 mins ago...
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. tumbled Thursday as a published report said that the bank's losses on a bad trade may reach as much as $9 billion — far higher than the estimated $2 billion loss disclosed last month.
In May, JPMorgan said the loss came from trading in credit derivatives designed to hedge against financial risk, not to make a profit for the New York bank.
The New York Times, citing sources it did not identify by name, said that the losses have grown recently as JPMorgan has been unwinding its positions. The newspaper said its sources were current and former traders and executives at JPMorgan, which is the largest bank in the U.S. by assets.
The New York Times story cites an internal report that JPMorgan made in April that showed the losses could reach $8 billion to $9 billion, in a worst-case scenario. But the newspaper added that because JPMorgan has already been unwinding its positions, some expect that the losses will not be more than $6 billion to $7 billion.
A JPMorgan representative declined to comment.
At the time of the loss, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon apologized to shareholders. And just days after the loss was disclosed, Chief Investment Officer Ina Drew left the company. Drew oversaw the trading group responsible for the trade.
JPMorgan has lost about $23 billion in market value since the losses came to light on May 10.
The loss has heightened concerns that the biggest banks still pose risks to the U.S. financial system, less than four years after the financial crisis in the fall of 2008.
Compared to JP Morgans deposits, about $1 trillion, a $9 bllion loss is less than 1%. This is a relatively small amount of money, though the media portrays it as enormous.
In worldwide financial matters, in order to further extract billions more in bailouts, all that is needed is the sword of financial collapse held over our heads to allow the continued theft. Fear is a most powerful weapon that our leaders wield, and they use it well.
The Wimps in Washington are bending over so much they forget they have power ... or really I think they just hope we don't figure it out and get real mad.
We are subsidizing JP Morgan $14 B Dollars a year (Last weeks News). And they way to look at it is:
1) They pay bonus' out of Tax payer money.
2) They can write off the Trading Losses, so Tax payers pay twice while Inflation goes up with Expanding Dollars in the economy.
3) They act like 'oh we didn't see that, who knew, we don't have any responsiblity, it just effects this company (But Investors are hurt and deceived by the lack of information about the dependence on the government subsidy.
4) The Executives are earning Millions plus have complicated benefits packages, then they just shrug and move on to another job where they fire people, create deals to suck up national money streams so that they can tag on 'Fees' as a middle man.
5) Ratings agencies are just getting on board to protect investors, but the fact is that cut throat banks, serve as a drag on the economy and may promote the cutting of jobs.
6) Bad deals created by banks and chased by Banks constitute good money chasing risky investments and drive out good deals from the economy (see William Black).
If a nation goes to War or in Crisis, it will go off the Gold Standard because it has to spend money to fix the Economy. This Happened around the World in 1933 due to Depression. The US was last to leave the Gold Standard in 1934 ...and was the LAST to recover from the Depression. Money was spent in the US in large deficit spending this lifted the Economy... Except for a Recession due to 1936 Banking Act which was a Money Tightening Policy. I thin 1940 is the date everyone agrees for sure the US was out of the Depression. BUT it took a Lot of Federal Spending - Deficit Spending, and a move away from the Gold Standard.
Columbia University Lecture Series on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT Economics) features, Stephanie Kelton, Randy Wray, Warren Mosler.
http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/10/modern-money-and-public-purpose-2-governments-are-not-households.htmlhttp://www.modernmoneyandpublicpurpose.com/seminar-8-economic-rights.htmlhttp://www.modernmoneyandpublicpurpose.com/seminar-3-the-eurozone.htmlhttp://neweconomicperspectives.org/category/stephanie-kelton
She says she thinks they have won over are have been convincing, Joseph Stiglitz, Martin Wolf, Paul Krugman. I think William K. Black has been in their corner since they seem based out of UMKC.
Peterson Foundation is behind the "Fiscal Cliff" Myth. This is an organizanized Financial Scheme and Propaganda. The talk about Debt and Deficit currently going around politics is harming people.
http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/10/pete-peterson-has-won.html
http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/09/were-not-broke-and-the-clinton-surpluses-destroyed-the-us-economy.html (Two Myths in America, that we are broke and that Surpluses are good for the US)
http://moslereconomics.com/2012/02/21/mmt-in-washington-post/ (budget surplus as a Danger)
The Up Shot - Bankers are self serving and while the Economy flounders causing harm to American People, the financial guys in Washington and on Wall Street "Get Fat Dumb and Happy". The Depression is know for the Bankers not lifting a finger to help or Lead the nation. The same thing is going on today. Only now there are political campaigns telling people things that makes the nation get poorer while Bankers get to control the money like in the Depression.
Also take a Listen to Stephanie Keltons Interview Below.
http://harryshearer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ls121028le_Show_-_October_28-1.mp3 (Audio Interview)
Most People Don't Understand Money. Here is an Audio Interview with Dr. Stephanie Kelton, Associate Professor, UMKC, which Explains 1) Money 2) Money Issuer 3) Money User 4) Economics of Monetary Policy/Fiscal Policy 5) Problems with Politicians not understanding Money (Rs & Ds) 6) Pete Peterson and the Peterson Foundation Propaganda.
We had 8 Depressions on the Gold Standard - and none off the Gold Standard. If you have 23 Million People Unemployed or Under Employed, who want to work, and you have the means to put them to work as the Creator of the Money - It is a No Brainer when there is $2.5 Trillion Dollars worth of Infrastructure Work that needs to be done - To put those people to work through government Programs.
People don't understand that money represents relationships, one person has a debit and another person has a credit, they are both part of the economy, the US Government is the Creator of Money and is a huge part of the Economy, and it's spending is very important in fixing the Economy.
Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernake have repeatedly stated that there is no limit to the resources of the US Government. This is because our government is the creater/owner of the US Dollar. We are currently at 100% of our GDP in debt. Japan is at 200% of it's GDP.
http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/10/stephanie-kelton-appears-on-le-show-with-harry-shearer.html
This Interview Reminds us Again that Corporations are Writing the Regulations and they are gaining Cartels. It is all About Financial Schemes turned into Legislation and We ARE becoming a Banana States of America. If we had free markets with competation this would not happen. We are getting Monopolistic Control through many Industries in the US, Banks, Telephones, Cable, Internet, utilities, ...all of our contracts in Our Lives.
Listen this this:
http://wamc.org/post/david-cay-johnston-fine-print (Audio Interview - Turn down your Volume first)
David Kay Johnston has a new Book "The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use ‘Plain English’ to Rob You Blind".
Inside cover bullet is that 19 US States have Legislation that Allow the biggest corporations to Deffer paying State Taxes for 25 Years.
Now isn't that Big News.
http://fdlbooksalon.com/2012/10/06/fdl-book-salon-welcomes-david-cay-johnston/
http://wamc.org/post/david-cay-johnston-fine-print (Audio Interview - Turn down your Volume first)
http://www.progress.org/2012/fineprin.htm (Good Summary)
The Fine Print is about how big companies rig the rules of commerce to escape the rigors of competitive markets, artificially inflate prices, provide poor quality services compared to other modern countries, and literally put lives at risk for profit by seeking weak regulations or exemptions from safety rules.
Mark Karlin: In your author's note to "Fine Print," you ask "How have all of us consumers ended up paying to many extra charges on electric, phone and other bills?" That's something everybody asks when they get their monthly statements. What's the answer?
Cay Johnston: Monopoly utilities figured out that if they added many moving parts to your electric, phone and other bills they could raise this line item and then that one and later another and it made it easier to jack up prices. One electric utility has a bill with 26 separate charges. If there were just two -– a flat fee for connecting to the grid and a variable fee for how much juice you used -– it would be easy to spot price increases. Instead they get lost in the clutter.
Banana States of America (BSA). US Banana States (USBS). American Republic of Bananas (ARB). United Banana States of American (UBSA). United Banana States of North America (UBSNA). Republic of Banana Bankers (RBB). Republic of Banana Congress (RBC). The Corporate Congress of the Banana Republic (CCBR). United Select Banana States (USBS). United Corporations and Banking States (UCBS). US Conglomerate Republic of Banking States (USRBS).
Cay Johnston: "Perfectly Legal" showed how the super-rich – from the $250 million Romney class of wealth to people who literally make 20 times that much in a year – game the tax system, in some cases legally paying nothing in federal income taxes.
"Free Lunch" revealed subsidies that go to all sorts of corporations, some of which derive all of their profits from taxpayers. The government, by the way, does not collect data on either rich nontaxpayers or most of the giveaways to corporations.
The Fine Print is about how big companies rig the rules of commerce to escape the rigors of competitive markets, artificially inflate prices, provide poor quality services compared to other modern countries and literally put lives at risk for profit by seeking weak regulations or exemptions from safety rules.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/11958-how-big-companies-use-plain-english-to-rob-you-blind
History US Financial Empire Video, John Perkins: Long Con on Foreign Countries through banking, IMF, WB (Central and South America mostly). And the good news that 9 Countries have become rebels and elected new leaders that want their resources to help their people. They want their own future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fVAifnnlg0&feature=related (John Perkins - The Secret History of the American Empire)
He does a good job and really has something to say.
The IMF and the WB (World Bank) work to Put Countries into Large debts. Soon Countries like in Central America and South America have such big debt they can not pay it back. So they have to sell off parts of the public resources or ...privatize them. Like in Greece. The banks wanted Islands and all kinds of things as collateral for the Debt. But it wasn't debt or money the people received. Maybe people see 5-10% of the money in infrastructure investment.
Long Con, The IMF and WB were supposed to be altruistic institutions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=yQpSq8dkzfg&NR=1 (John Perkins, The Truth Behind the Greek Economic Crisis)
Hey President Obama, How about Fixing the World Banking System?? Bailouts should not have large fees, Interest Rates, and be conditional as Senior Debt. Bailouts of Countries means debt forgiveness and no Interest.
Bank "Rent seeking", ACTUALLY makes our Economy WEAKER (trying to seize a bigger slice of that pie through middleman activities, Gambling, and shuffling paper in financial deal) , Joseph Stiglitz told CNBC’s 'Worldwide Exchange' on Friday.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/48010168 (story)
Banks Risk Distorting Our Democracy: Joseph Stiglitz: Friday, 29 Jun 2012, Katy Barnato, CNBC
Under-regulated and over-powerful banks weaken the global economy and lead to higher inequality, Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz told CNBC.
Highlighting the Libor-fixing scandal that has hit UK banks Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland Stiglitz said reforming financial markets was the single most pressing issue facing the global economy.
“A lot of inequality, especially at the top, does not come from people really making the size of the pie bigger, making our economy work better, it comes from what we call rent seeking, trying to seize a bigger slice of that pie through things that actually make our economy weaker,” Stiglitz told CNBC’s 'Worldwide Exchange' on Friday.
Stiglitz said he supported a “much stronger version” of current financial market regulation, with the sector forced to focus on its core purpose of providing credit. He said banks should be told: “You can’t engage in these kinds of speculative activities, these non-transparent CDSs , these gambles on the market — they are not your business.”
He added that over-mighty banks not only distort the economy, but also distort politics. He said the 1999 repeal of the U.S. Glass–Steagall Act, which enforced the separation of investment bank activity from commercial bank activity, was due to lobbying by the financial sector.
“That was the influence of the banks again… They lost money on a lot of their real financial investments, but their political investments really paid off! Not for shareholders and bondholders, but for the bank managers, who have done very well in the last few years,” he said.
Without reform, both Europe and the global economy will be “weak” in five to 10 years’ time, said Stiglitz.
“If we continue on the current course, the financial system will not be serving the rest of our economy, the economy will be weak. Inequality will be greater, and we are paying a very high price for this inequality.
Congress Kicks the Can down the Road, again!
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/house-passes-student-loan-extension-174017728.html
1) Student Loan Interest Rate will be kept low at 3.4% for 12 more months.
2) No Real Plan or Solution for US Student College Financing.
3) No Real Plan or Solution to Rapid Growth in Tuition Costs (public and private colleges and universities).
4) No Real Plan or Solution to the fact that both Public and Private Colleges and Universities depend on public funds (Subsidies) in order to Operate.
President Obama, How about a Domestic Policy, Education Policy, Trade Policy, Energy Policy, or even a Foreign Policy, Eh????
Banks Everywhere Are Passing The Trash—Again
Bruce Krasting, My Take On Financial Events|Jun. 28, 2012,
http://www.businessinsider.com/banks-everywhere-are-passing-the-trashagain-2012-6
Author shows History is Repeating Itself from 1980s crisis in Soveriegn Debt.
....."In August of 1982 the lights went out. All the big sovereign customers of Citi went bust in the course of a few months.
The losses at Citi damn near shuttered the bank (many of the big banks were in the same condition). There were no more big fees coming in, and the losses were mounting. What was once a great place to work, became a terrible place, so I left and joined Drexel in 1985.
I spent the next five years buying back the loans that I had sold to the regional banks. At Citi, I had sold the loans at par to regional banks, at Drexel I bought them back from those same banks at 20 cents on the dollar." ....
Economic Problems President Obama. Please Take Action. Declinging Wages and Declining Personal Savings LEADS to Deeper Recession. Get your Domestic Policy on....
http://seekingalpha.com/article/310575-real-wage-deflation-savings-rate-decline-raise-yellow-flags (Low Personal Savings and Declining Wages indicate Recession)
Real Wage Deflation, Savings Rate Decline Raise Yellow Flags November 28, 2011, Hale Stewart, Seeking Alpha.
Below is evidence that we are in a Recession in 2012 already.
http://www.businesscycle.com/reports_indexes/reportsummarydetails/1091
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/us/recession-officially-over-us-incomes-kept-falling.html
http://econintersect.com/wordpress/?p=22907 (Joe Six Pack Income)
http://econintersect.com/wordpress/?p=23195 (Joe Six Pack Income Part II)
We have never left the recession/depression of the economic meltdown. The criminals got bailed out - but the people are still suffering from the financial abuse/crimes.
Yes, the point is that Economist and Politicans did not collect all the data to get transparency and make correct calls. The Economists messed up, but we know the Politicians will say anything to get personal gain...
TRUTH.
The Recession was never over
Yes, I won't quible. I don't like the Economic Data either. It lags behind and then it appears that they didn't measure all the right stuff. It is a Lesson for Economist and a Lession of the NY Times Article and the Work of the Joe Six Pack Article.
Banks face billions of dollars of claims after Barclays settles
Damages claims running to billions of dollars against the world’s biggest banks have been given fresh “credibility” by Barclays £290m Libor settlement, lawyers said.
By Alistair Osborne, Business Editor, 27 Jun 2012
The British bank is already named as a defendant in various class actions around the world, where investors are seeking compensation for buying financial instruments based on a Libor benchmark that was allegedly manipulated.
One of the biggest class-action claims has been filed in New York by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore and the City of New Britain Firefighters and Police Benefit Fund.
Barclays is named as one of around 20 defendants, which also include Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, as well as US lenders Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan. The action is co-ordinated with five other lawsuits, including a claim by discount brokerage Charles Schwab against 11 banks, including Barclays.
The sums involved are potentially vast. Libor is used to price various financial products. The Bank for International Settlements calculates that the market for over-the-counter interest rate derivatives, such as swaps, had a notional value of more than $500 trillion in 2011. Just a small element of proven mispricing could trigger billions of dollars of claims.
Michael Hausfeld, chairman of Hausfeld LLP – one of two law firms leading the Baltimore class action – told The Daily Telegraph that while it was difficult to quantify the potential damages claims banks faced: “I think it’s far bigger than many people thought originally.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9360485/Banks-face-billions-of-dollars-of-claims-after-Barclays-settles.html
US Federal Reserve Knew about the LIBOR Rate Fixing as far back as 2008 or 2007 and Did nothing to stop it or fix it. DONT Let your conservative friends tell you anything else.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/48134191/page/2/
Darrell Duffie, a Stanford University finance professor who has followed the Libor issue for several years, said that he believed regulators were "on the case reasonably quickly" after questions were raised in 2008.
"It appears that some regulators, at least at the New York Fed, indeed knew there was a problem at that time. New York Fed staff have subsequently presented some very good research on the likely level of distortions in Libor reporting," Duffie said. "I am surprised, however, that the various regulators in the U.S. and UK took this long to identify and act on the misbehavior."
I am not surprised by the delayed action and will be surprised if that action amounts to anything more then a token show for the public.
Yeah. I'm joking around alittle that they will form a "Kennedey Assassination" or "911 type Commisson". Which is just a "dog and pony show" which puts a white wash all over everything.
Hostess Twinkies. {:-])
Financial ‘Armageddon’ Will Happen Despite EU Deal: Jim Rogers : Friday, 29 Jun 2012 | By: Ansuya Harjani, CNBC Asia
“What are you going to do in two, three, four years when the market suddenly says ‘no more money’ and the Germans don’t have more money and the American debt has gone through the roof.”
Rogers says the market euphoria brought on by the news, which saw a surge in Asian stocks, the euro and risk assets like oil, will not last.
“How many times has this happened in the last three years – they (EU leaders) have had a meeting, the markets have rallied, two days later the market says wait a minute this doesn’t solve the problem,” he said.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/48008281
Of course while I agree with almost all of what you said, I must quibble about one minor point. 8) Budget: The budget compromise that was struck during the debt limit fiasco was memorialized as a statute, which takes the place of a budget, It spelled out what would happen if supersedeing was not passed. The terms of sequestration represents as much a budget as most budgets are. Budgets are usually less encumbering than this is. Authorization and appropriation are the two major phases of the process and usually result in a breaking of the budget in the form of deficits adding to the debt.
This has more teeth, in that the cuts will be triggered and actually occur, unless they agree to some smoke and mirrors chicanery. that plows new ground for deceit.
This typical of your good work and I wish I had time to support every paragraph.
Thanks. I'm pretty sure that the process of actually coming up with a budget, getting individuals to weight in, committees to weight in, public debate, Names signed on the bottom line ... get us to more of a place where a democracy or limited republic should be.
We have a Dearth of Responsibility in congress right now.
Funny if you look a the work of Congress and Europe ... there is no real solution being proposed to remedy the Euro debt crisis, Euro Economic Crisis, US Financial Crisis, US Banking High Risk activities that displace honest deals, and US & Europe Unemployment.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sequestration
Thanks, I really didn't know anything about this word.
I get the feeling that the problems in Europe are a blend of German arrogance, southern Europe profligacy, and unbridled ignorance.
I was there last Fall and asked a lot of questions. The Greeks pay so little of the taxes they owe paying about 60% of what they actually owe, split evenly between what goes to the government and what goes to the crooked tax "collectors." If the government gets only 30% of the taxes owed you might expect they would have a problem. Allowing people to retire at 50 or 55, might be a problem. Their public unions really are a problem. It isn't much better in Spain and Portugal. Berlusconi owns Italy and still has to steal the country blind. They are almost as corrupt as we are. The last point is when you get in this situation you can't "austerity" your way out of it. There is a time for austerity and it comes just after you get growth going and reduce unemployment levels and fix your balance of trade. That is when you dial up the austerity instead of spending on luxuries like 1) defense, 2) excessive retirement programs, and 3) corruption. If you cut number three, you find lots of good things happen. At least that would be my suggestion. But, what do I know I am just an old fart.
The deal which you probably have already found is here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheet-victory-bipartisan-compromise-economy-american-people
Thanks for the link. I don't think I saw that.
But in a way the sequestering mostly addresses a systemic problem in congressional funtioning. It isn't a solution to unemployment just as QE1 and QE2 did little to solve deep systemic problems. Most of what Europe and the US Congress & FED are doing is keeping the Banking system working and trying to help systemic banking problems.... Does little for Main Street and does not directly address any domestic problems at all.
Yes. And war is better if done with a war chest instead of borrowing the money as we have done. Yes. Austerity is not the answer in a fragile economy, recession, or depression. We have to keep the money flowing and circulating. Banks made the depression worse and probably caused the derpession by controlling the money through tightening up the requirements (raising the interest rates and putting down Silver dollars).
Below is evidence that we are in a Recession in 2012 already.
http://www.businesscycle.com/reports_indexes/reportsummarydetails/1091
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/us/recession-officially-over-us-incomes-kept-falling.html
http://econintersect.com/wordpress/?p=22907 (Joe Six Pack Income)
http://econintersect.com/wordpress/?p=23195 (Joe Six Pack Income Part II)
There is no question it was the most superficial attempt to wall paper over a huge idealogical disagreement. It didn't solve anything really, but it may result in the first token defense cut in decades.
Good work.
Thanks for the Discussion.
Mutual, I am sure.
And your solution?
Thought no one would ever ask. I have posted many solutions:
http://occupywallst.org/forum/failure-of-us-long-range-strategic-planning-nation/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/suspend-us-congress-for-one-year-they-dont-use-war/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/civil-court-solutions-for-main-street-streamline-c/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/demand-representation-demand-stronger-laws-against/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/28th-amendment-congressional-gift-rules-too-big-to/ (these are mine)
http://occupywallst.org/forum/economics-stimulus-taxes-jobs-regulations-revolvin/ (these are economic solutions)
http://occupywallst.org/forum/we-are-boiling-frogs-what-models-do-we-have-to-fix/ (these are solutions too)
Check my profile for more posts, but think these are the best ones... even if no one has read them.