Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Obama Presidency, Is Redistribution of Wealth Really All That Bad? / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
Redistribution is never an issue when the money is flowing upwards. It's only when working people are poised to get a few scraps that all hell breaks loose. That's when self-styled "mavericks" and their political cadres spring into action and unleash their vitriol at anyone who challenges the failed "trickle-down" dogma of the investor class. When Barak Obama naively pointed out the need to "spread the wealth" the media descended on him like a pack of feral hounds. The gaffe was followed by weeks of derision and vicious attacks. McCain branded him a the "Redistributionist-in-Chief" while his rabid friends on wingnut radio invoked the musty specter of Karl Marx. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
United States Entering its Darkest Period In History / Politics / US Economy
By: Dr_Janice_Dorn
As predicted in The Big Rollover Thesis that we first presented in 2005, we are on the cusp of entering the darkest period in history that most of us have ever experienced. The people that really know about this are the Silent Generation. They feel it intensely because they were either born into it or grew up in it. They want to speak about it, but are either silenced or in fear. At a time when we need their guidance, ageism is upon us, and no one wants to listen to them.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 03, 2008
U.S. Elections and Performance of Stocks, Dollar and Economy / Politics / Financial Markets
By: Ashraf_Laidi
Much has been written about the relationship between the partisan power in the White House and the performance of the stock market. Considerable amount of statistical exercise was undertaken in dissecting any the correlations and causalities involving partisan control of Congress, mid-term elections, balance of power between White House and Congress, and the impact of double term presidencies. The table below shows the performance of the dollar index, S&P500 and the general state of the US economy since the dollar became freely floated in 1971. Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 03, 2008
United States Was Founded as a Constitutional Republic and Not a Democracy / Politics / US Politics
By: Ayn_Rand
Alex Epstein writes: Every Election Day, politicians, intellectuals, and activists propagate a seemingly patriotic but utterly un-American idea: the notion that our most important right--and the source of America's greatness--is the right to vote. According to former President Bill Clinton, the right to vote is “the most fundamental right of citizenship”; it is “the heart and soul of our democracy,” says Senator John McCain. Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 03, 2008
New President Will Disappoint on Supreme Court Judge Appointments / Politics / US Politics
By: Ayn_Rand
Thomas A. Bowden writes: No matter who wins the presidency--and with it, the power to appoint Supreme Court justices--America's judiciary will remain locked into a crucial error that corrupts their interpretation of America's bedrock constitutional principle: individual rights. That error consists in regarding rights as gifts from society, with judges as diviners of the so-called social will.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Epochal Transformation Accelerates as Global Financial Matrix Disintegrates / Politics / US Politics
By: T_Anthony_Michael
Now that the genie is out of the bottle, economic, political and social events will proceed with the inexorable force of destiny. The forthcoming changes, shifts and breaks with the past that are delineated below do concern the unsavory business of WHAT, positively, will not be brought into the future. This is of critical importance. Why? Because those who do not know, and understand, and heed history, are always, always forced to repeat it. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Russia, Venezuela and Argentina Hit Hardest by Financial Crash / Politics / Emerging Markets
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes: Four months ago, it appeared that three economic “bad actors” were triumphant in their disregard of economic laws and contempt for the United States: Russia, Venezuela and Argentina. Today, while the iron laws of economics have taken a bite out of all of us, they have taken an especially big chunk out of the economies of these bad actors. Unless most of us, the bad actors will not be quick to recover. Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Financial and Geopolitical Forecasts for Fourth Quarter 2008 / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: John_Mauldin
Dear Friends: Really hear what I'm about to tell you. The center of gravity of the world economic system has moved from New York to Washington. Let me illustrate what I mean so you understand just how profound this is. Banks used to compete against banks. US carmakers competed against each other and the Japanese. And the New York financial markets told you how they're doing against each other. Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
United States Fleeting Freedom: The Indecent Assault on Broadcasters / Politics / US Politics
By: Alex_Epstein
Don Watkins writes: The fleeting expletive case before the Supreme Court is about more than broadcasters' ability to air dirty words--it's about whether “community standards” should be allowed to override free speech.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Financial Crisis Illustrates Nation States Becoming Obsolete / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
In 1989, the global system pivoted when the Soviet Union retreated from Eastern Europe and began the process of disintegration that culminated in its collapse. In 2001, the system pivoted again when al Qaeda attacked targets in the United States on Sept. 11, triggering a conflict that defined the international system until the summer of 2008. The pivot of 2008 turned on two dates, Aug. 7 and Oct. 11. Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 27, 2008
U.S. Government Spending the Economy into Oblivion / Politics / US Economy
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
With news this week that Congress is poised to consider a new stimulus package, I am forced to again ask a question that seems silly in Washington: How will we pay for this?Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
What Should the Next President Do to Face the Crisis? / Politics / US Politics
By: Richard_C_Cook
Senior White House correspondent Helen Thomas said of Bush, “He is the worst president in all of American history.” The public shares Thomas's view. By mid-October 2008, ninety percent of those polled said the nation was headed in the wrong direction.
Former President Jimmy Carter said something similar in the area of foreign policy: “I think, as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history.”
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Sunday, October 26, 2008
The World After the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election: War or Peace? / Politics / US Politics
By: Richard_C_Cook
With the presidential election only a week away, the financial crisis has been dominating the news, but behind it is an even larger question of war vs. peace. This article will appear in a forthcoming issue of Eurasia Critic magazine. INTRODUCTION
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Saturday, October 25, 2008
America's Buddy-Buddy Presidential Campaign Press Corps / Politics / US Politics
By: Walter_Brasch
It's a little more than a week before the presidential election, and I'm worried about what happens afterwards. I'm not worried about the candidates, the people, or the country. I'm worried about the media.
First, I'm worried about the TV ad salespeople. For more than a year they haven't had to do much other than sit back and open digital files from the politicians. Now, the salespeople will actually have to go to work to fill airtime.
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Thursday, October 23, 2008
U.S. Housing Market Boom and Crash Engineered by the Government / Politics / US Housing
By: Richard_C_Cook
They Did It On Purpose: The Housing Bubble and Its Crash Were Engineered from the Highest Levels of the U.S. Government, the Federal Reserve, and the Financial Industry
During the Clinton administration, the government required the financial industry to start expanding the frequency of mortgage loans to consumers who might not have qualified in the past.
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Wednesday, October 22, 2008
U.S. Government Spends Trillions to Support Flawed Banking System / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: John_Browne
Most Americans have come to accept the simple truth that we have eroded our national wealth by consuming far more than we produce. With this understanding taking hold, and with the severity of the financial crisis spreading, government has an opportunity to radically change course to put the nation on a different economic path. But rather than making a meaningful turn, all our politicians are willing to do is put their foot on the accelerator. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Time to Stop Blaming and Start Solving the Credit Crisis Debt Problems / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: Frank_Holmes
One of the key reasons behind the current financial crisis is that the big investment banks, hedge funds and other financial companies borrowed way too much money. Another key reason we're in this big mess is that way too many American households borrowed way too much money.
Extreme debt is the common denominator that links Wall Street and Main Street , and the numbers are truly staggering. When the debt suddenly came due, neither Street had anywhere near the cash to cover it. Overleveraging hurt hedge funds when markets got tougher and many of their investors wanted their money back. These hedge funds were forced to sell sizable positions in natural resources and energy equities, driving prices down sharply.
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Defusing the Threat of Nuclear War / Politics / New Cold War
By: Axel_Merk
Dr. Martin Hellman writes:
Soaring, Cryptography and Nuclear Weapons
Section 1: 99.9% Safe Maneuvers - Let's face it, nuclear weapons are the elephant in the room that no one likes to talk about. So let's approach the issue from the less threatening perspective of the awesome picture below.
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Mixing of US Election Politics with Crude Oil / Politics / Crude Oil
By: Gary_Dorsch
With two weeks left before the US presidential election, is Arizona Senator John “Maverick” McCain's sprint for the White House at a dead-end? His challenger, Illinois Democrat Barack Obama raked in $150 million in donor contributions from domestic and possibly foreign sources last month, and is planning an unrelenting brainwashing campaign until Election Day, in order to cement his lead in the opinion polls, and guide the Democrats to complete control of the US-government.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Government Bailouts Herald New Era of Tax Payer Slavery / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
In the midst of highly unpopular bailouts of Wall Street, many justifications have been given about why Washington feels the need to act. Some claim that capitalism and the free market are to blame, but we have not had capitalism. If you compare our financial capital to our aggregate debt, this would be obvious. In the same way, we have not had a truly free market. The monetary manipulations of the Federal Reserve, a complex tax code, the many "oversight" agencies and their mountains of regulations show that we are far removed from a free market economy. Read full article... Read full article...