Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
US Government Works Better When Divided / Politics / US Politics
By: Steve_H_Hanke
The results of the U.S. mid-term elections were good news for not only the winners, but for most Americans. Yes, the federal government works better when divided, not unified. The 116th Congress—with the House of Representatives controlled by the Democrats and the Senate and White House under Republican command—may work better than the unified 115th Congress did.
The idea and evidence supporting this somewhat counter-intuitive idea was first presented to me many years ago by my good friend and collaborator, the late William A. “Bill” Niskanen. Bill was sharp as a tack. Indeed, he was one of Secretary of Defense McNamara’s “Whiz Kids” during the Kennedy-Johnson years. At the ripe old age of 29, Bill had a civilian rank equivalent to that of a brigadier-general. Bill was one to speak his mind, too. His sharpness and outspokenness occasionally landed him in hot water. Famously, while operating as the director of economics at Ford Motor Company in the mid-1970s, Bill publicly opposed U.S. government restrictions on the imports of Japanese automobiles, demonstrating why the restrictions would hurt Ford. For that infraction, Bill was sacked.
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Sunday, November 25, 2018
Theresa May To Resign as Prime Minister When MP's Vote NO to EU BrExit Deal / Politics / EU_Referendum
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The next major crisis point in Britain's continually thwarted attempts to LEAVE the European Union will probably be in Mid December when MP's are expected to give their consent to the so called 'BrExit deal' which in reality is a 585 page suicide note aimed at keeping Britain permanently within the EU, effectively remaining in the EU in all but name which was the EU's objective from the outset, the signs for which were obvious for which we only needed to look at how the EU managed economic austerity across the South of Europe, creating defacto colonies out of the southern states ruled from Brussels which is destined to be the fate for the UK.
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Saturday, November 24, 2018
BrExit WAR - Theresa May's Government Betraying BrExit New Dawn for Britain / Politics / EU_Referendum
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Where BrExit is concerned the middle path is turning out to be the worst path to follow, the path that pleases neither LEAVERs or REMAINER's, which is precisely the path that Theresa May's government remains determined to put Britain upon as she is wined and dined by Britain's new colonial masters in Europe. If Theresa May gets her way Britain would become a defacto colony of the European Union, subservient to EU Laws and regimes all without political representation. Effectively Britain coming full circle from the world's premier colonial master of a century ago to soon to become an in consequential periphery at the boundaries of a German Economic Empire.
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Saturday, November 24, 2018
Trump's America, Front and Center / Politics / US Politics
By: Steve_H_Hanke
Public infrastructure in the U.S. is in bad shape and has been so for many years. Washington has fingered the importance of doing something about the decrepit state of America’s infrastructure for decades. It’s the bipartisan thing to do.
President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers devoted a lengthy chapter in its 2016 Annual Report to the Nation’s infrastructure problems. Enter President Trump in 2017. The first thing out of his box was infrastructure. But, the “i” word faded away as rapidly as it entered President Trump’s lexicon. There was a little problem: the White House didn’t really have a fully developed infrastructure plan and most certainly had no legislative action plan. With last week’s elections, President Trump once again trotted out infrastructure, as did Nancy Pelosi—the most likely Speaker of the House, which will be controlled by the Democrats in the 116th Congress.
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
The Real Price of LNG, Climate Change, Coming Fracking Environmental Disaster / Politics / Climate Change
By: Richard_Mills
“This is a spectacular day for all British Columbians, again not one that happened today, not one that happened yesterday but one that has happened over the past few decades. I can’t tell you how proud and pleased I am to have the opportunity to lead the government to work with all levels of government to make life better for British Columbians. I can’t stop smiling.”
That was John Horgan, the Premier of British Columbia, declaring his support for, what, a plan to tackle unaffordable housing? Ending the fentanyl crisis? A major infrastructure project that will lower the frustration of Lower Mainland commuters?
No, what Premier Horgan was smiling about on October 2nd, was the signing of a final investment decision by LNG Canada. Flanked by industry leaders and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Horgan said that despite belching out 3.45 megatonnes of carbon emissions a year, BC would meet its climate change goals of cutting greenhouses gases by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. The Pembina Institute estimates that between LNG Canada and Woodfibre LNG, the other, so far, approved BC liquefied natural gas project, the plants will increase annual carbon pollution by 9.1 megatonnes by 2030 and 10.2MG by 2050. But the targets will be met, somehow. Trust us.
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Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Deep State Mad World / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take When people run in circles it’s a very very Mad world, mad world
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Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Betting Markets Confirm Theresa May Safe From Tory Leadership Challenge this Week / Politics / UK Politics
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Last week Theresa May's disastrous BrExit deal with the European Union was released, one of having watered down virtually every British red line to nothing, that set the ball rolling on a Tory party leadership challenge with dozens of public announcements of letters being sent to the Tory 1922 backbenchers committee with 48 needed to trigger a challenge. My analysis at the time concluded with several possible BrExiteer contenders ready to take back control from the European Union with a Clean Brexit rather than the NO Brexit deal as my following video illustrates:
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Tuesday, November 20, 2018
The Giants Are Coming...Giants of The Internet! / Politics / Internet
By: D_Morgan
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Sunday, November 18, 2018
Next Tory Leader, Prime Minister Forecast and Betting Market Odds / Politics / UK Politics
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britain is counting down to a change of Prime Minister following the release of Theresa May's disastrous 'brexit deal' where nearly every British red line has been watered down towards nothing in what amounts to a 585 page suicide note that triggered Tory MP's to start sending letters to the party's 1922 committee where the requirement is for a minimum of 48 letters to trigger a leadership contest that will likely be announced sometime next week as I have covered at length in the following article and video.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
World Trade Organization At Risk / Politics / Global Economy
By: Dan_Steinbock
In the past two years, the Trump administration has started trade wars against China, its major trade partners, and security allies. In the absence of united opposition by advanced and emerging economies, the next target will be the World Trade Organization.As the White House began to escalate the U.S.-Sino trade war last April, President Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro was asked on CNN whether the United States is planning to leave the World Trade Organization (WTO).
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Saturday, November 17, 2018
NO DEAL HARD BrExit Tory Chaos, Theresa May Leadership Challenge / Politics / BrExit
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britain is likely counting down to towards the END of Theresa May's premiership who has been a walking disaster since Article 50 was triggered in March 2017, and who has likely DELIBERATELY WASTED the past 18 months in doing an exit deal with the EU Devil that effectively KEEPs the UK within the EU!, a deal where nearly every British red line has been watered down towards nothing in what amounts to a 585 page suicide note, one of virtually delivering Britain on a platter to the European Union Mafia which from the outset had sought to extract a heavy price from Britain such a Euro 50 billion divorce bill, free movement of people, Northern Ireland effectively split from the rest of the UK and over 500 pages more of similar poison, all in exchange for Britain to remain within a customs union for a few more years.
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Friday, November 16, 2018
Will The Fed Sacrifice Retirement Portfolio Values For The "Common Good"? / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Dan_Amerman
Martin Feldstein, who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Reagan and is currently a Harvard professor, wrote an extraordinary editorial in the Wall Street Journal in which he strongly advocated that the Federal Reserve pursue policies that would: 1) continue to raise interest rates; and 2) thereby pop asset bubbles in the stock and commercial real estate markets; 3) which would cause an estimated $9+ trillion in investor losses; 4) possibly lead to another recession and the accompanying major job losses; and 5) would be followed by forcing interest rates down again to near historic lows.
Now, the eminently respectable Professor Feldstein and other mainstream economists are not intentionally trying to hurt investors, that is not the reason to raise rates. Quite the reverse, this is all supposed to be for our own good, and the intentions are to over the long term help economic growth and create healthier investment markets.
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Friday, November 16, 2018
BrExit War - Tory Party About to Replace Theresa May for NO DEAL BrExit / Politics / BrExit
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britain is possibly counting down to towards the END of Theresa May's premiership who has been a walking disaster since Article 50 was triggered in March 2017, and who has likely DELIBERATELY WASTED the past 18 months in doing an exit deal with the EU Devil that effectively KEEPs the UK within the EU!, a deal where nearly every British red line has been watered down towards nothing in what amounts to a 585 page suicide note, one of virtually delivering Britain on a platter to the European Union Mafia which from the outset had sought to extract a heavy price from Britain such a Euro 50 billion divorce bill, free movement of people, Northern Ireland effectively split from the rest of the UK and over 500 pages more of similar poison, all in exchange for Britain to remain within a customs union for a few more years.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
US Economy Ten Points or Ten Miles to ‘Bridge Out’? / Politics / US Politics
By: Andy_Sutton
In what has already been a very interesting week, we’ve witnessed distractions galore. Allegations of election fraud by pretty much everyone except the people who should be winning some of these elections if Americans truly wanted a different future. We already digress. Cognitive dissonance is fully on display. Just below the surface has been the buzz about DeutscheBank – probably the biggest elephant in the room right now. Well, check that. Make it the second biggest elephant. It’s been propped up for nearly a small dog’s life by powers that know if DB folds, their plans to consolidate more wealth from the small people of the world would be disturbed and they’d have to run Act III. Maybe, like QE, there are many more Acts yet to unfold.
It is a pretty certain bet that absolutely nothing will be done to change America’s destiny for the next two years thanks to a gridlocked government. Not that it had been doing much to change destiny anyway. There are certain ironies here, which are so rich, we’ve been compelled to write them down for perhaps another day, but not this one. Dragging names into this will only cause people to shut down, mentally running into their corner in the biggest binary brain battle ever.
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Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Nationalists and Patriots / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
If and when a former Rothschild banker starts telling us what the words in our respective languages actually mean, beware. Even if he has dozens of professional speech writers and spin doctors to do it for him. And even if the meaning and interpretation of words, though they may seem easily translatable, differ between English, French, German, Russian, Chinese to such an extent that Lost in Translation may appear to be an understatement.
But if you’re that Rothschild banker who became president of France through a process that nobody will ever understand, and you host the 100th commemoration of perhaps the worst war ever in history, to be ‘celebrated’ with ‘leaders’ none of whom have exhibited any memory through their actions of the ‘This must never happen again’ that the war ended with, you can expect to get away with bending both history and language.
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Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Mike Pompeo and John Bolton: Trump’s Tag Team of Death and Destruction! / Politics / US Politics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
With the welcome departure of war mongering UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, the Trump Administration’s neocon tag team of death and destruction – Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor (NSA), John Bolton – have enthusiastically taken up where the repellent Haley has left off. It is highly doubtful that the former Ambassador will meekly return from under the rock in which she crawled, but will reappear possibly as a primary challenger to her former boss in 2020, and, most certainly, as a Presidential contender in 2024.
Last week, Messrs Pompeo and Bolton were dutifully carrying forth Haley’s promises of mayhem to anyone opposed to US hegemony even if those “enemies” have never taken hostile action against the US mainland. Of course, threats and attacks against nations which have done nothing to America have never much mattered to the foreign policy establishment!
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Monday, November 12, 2018
What Is the Difference Between Democrats and Republicans? / Politics / US Politics
By: Barry_M_Ferguson
In Minnesota, democrat Keith Ellison had domestic assault charges lodged against him. His accuser filed a police report and exhibited bruising around her face. The accuser’s own adult son verified the assault. The voters of Minnesota elected Mr. Ellison as their attorney general.
In New York’s District 14, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won the unopposed House of Representative seat after republicans withdrew support of their candidate, Anthony Pappas. Why? Mr. Pappas was accused of domestic violence. Apparently ‘believe the women’ only applies to democratic women with an ax to grind against republicans. So, logically, accusations lodged by women are fungible and dependent on political affiliation?
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Sunday, November 11, 2018
The Los Angeles Measure for a City-owned Bank -- A Valiant Effort! / Politics / Banking Stocks
By: Ellen_Brown
I've gotten inquiries on the outcome of the Los Angeles ballot measure to approve a city-owned bank , so thought I would send a quick update. Unfortunately it did not pass, but it did get 42 percent of the vote. It was a remarkable outcome considering that the dynamic young Public Bank LA advocacy group effectively only had a month to educate 4 million voters on what a public bank is and why passing the measure was a good idea. If they had had another month, the bill could well have passed.
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Wednesday, November 07, 2018
The Fourth Turning & War Of The Worlds / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
“In retrospect, the spark might seem as ominous as a financial crash, as ordinary as a national election, or as trivial as a Tea Party. The catalyst will unfold according to a basic Crisis dynamic that underlies all of these scenarios: An initial spark will trigger a chain reaction of unyielding responses and further emergencies. The core elements of these scenarios (debt, civic decay, global disorder) will matter more than the details, which the catalyst will juxtapose and connect in some unknowable way. If foreign societies are also entering a Fourth Turning, this could accelerate the chain reaction. At home and abroad, these events will reflect the tearing of the civic fabric at points of extreme vulnerability – problem areas where America will have neglected, denied, or delayed needed action.” – The Fourth Turning– Strauss & Howe
The paragraph above captures everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen during this Fourth Turning. It was written over two decades ago, but no one can deny its accuracy regarding our present situation. The spark was a financial crash. The response to the financial crash by the financial and governmental entities, along with their Deep State co-conspirators who created the financial collapse due to their greed and malfeasance, led to the incomprehensible election of Donald Trump, as the deplorables in flyover country evoked revenge upon the corrupt establishment.
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Tuesday, November 06, 2018
Trump's War on the Fed / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Ellen_Brown
October was a brutal month for the stock market. After the Federal Reserve’s eighth interest rate hike, on Sept. 26, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 2,000 points, and the NASDAQ had its worst month in nearly 10 years. After the Dow lost more than 800 points on Oct. 10 and the S&P 500 suffered its first weeklong losing streak since Trump’s election, the president said, “I think the Fed is making a mistake. They are so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy.” In a later interview on Fox News, he called the Fed’s rate hikes “loco.” And in a Wall Street Journal interview published on Oct. 24, Trump said he thought the biggest risk to the economy was the Federal Reserve, because “interest rates are being raised too quickly.” He also criticized the Fed and its chairman in July and August.