Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends

The analysis published under this topic are as follows.

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Nothing in Washington Is Worth Your Money, Including the "think-tanks" / Politics / US Politics

By: Gary_North

The Washington Beltway is a war zone. It is the battleground over what the United States government does and what it does not do. It does a great deal.

Conservatives send tens of millions of dollars each year to Beltway resistance organizations. Some of them are called think tanks. They are dedicated mainly to getting the federal government to do other things, or else to do evil things without spending as much money. These organizations promote this idea: "Running government like a business." Whenever you hear this, think of a serious business: Cosa Nostra.

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Greening The Desert / Politics / Climate Change

By: Andrew_McKillop

In the real world, the non-polar deserts are growing at a rapid rate, totally overwhelming the small but valiant attempts at pushing them back.  http://hqweb.unep.org/geo/GDOutlook/

One neglected cause among many includes the annihilation of tropical forests.  These contain 600 billion tons of carbon, equivalent to about 4.6 trillion barrels of oil or 145 years of oil-burning at the present annual rate of 32 billion barrels a year. This amount of carbon is almost as much as is contained in the atmosphere, but much of it is likely to be released into the atmosphere in the next decades by uncontrolled logging and deforestation.

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Hey Joe Get Over It …They Won’t Throw the Euro-Baby Out with the Bathwater / Politics / Euro

By: Andrew_Butter

Watching the gurus strut their stuff on Bloomberg and CNBC it’s hard not to feel there is an undercurrent of glee that the Euro is in trouble. Finally the focus has shifted from the economic havoc wrought by the unholy and unnatural alliance between the state and the private sector which created the U.S. housing bubble, which created a multi-trillion hole in the balance sheets of U.S. and incidentally, Euro-zone and British, banks, pension funds and insurance companies.

Saturday, April 07, 2012

Wall Street Numbers Game Played at High Speed by Powerful Computers Trading Complex Derivatives / Politics / Derivatives

By: Douglas_French

There's plenty of blame for the financial crisis being spread around. Those on the left say Wall Street wasn't regulated enough, while those on the right claim government mandates required lenders to make bad loans. The argument is made that the Federal Reserve was too loose, while the other side says Bernanke wasn't loose enough. Some blame greed. Others blame Wall Street's investment products. And then there's mathematics.

Friday, April 06, 2012

Obama's Pretzel Logic / Politics / US Economy

By: Peter_Schiff

As this fall's presidential election takes shape as a contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the rhetoric out of both camps is becoming sharper and more ideological. Looking to exploit Governor Romney's increasingly close association with Wisconsin representative Paul Ryan (who has been mentioned as a potential vice presidential nominee), the President dedicated a lengthy address earlier this week to specifically heap scorn on Ryan's budget plan (Ryan is the chairman of the House Budget Committee). The attack lines used by the President not only reveal a preview of the fall campaign but also offer a glimpse of Obama's skewed views of the social and economic history of the United States.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Don't Catch Economic Recovery Fever / Politics / Economic Recovery

By: Peter_Schiff

Gold has been holding steady in the the $1,600-$1,800 band since early October. This could be attributed to consolidation after last summer's historic run up to $1,895, but I think this wait-and-see attitude reflects current market sentiment toward the US dollar.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

The Great Depression II, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet Part II / Politics / Great Depression II

By: James_Quinn

Catalyst of Change

“As late as December 1773, November 1859, and October 1929, the American people had no idea how close it was. Then sudden sparks (the Boston Tea Party, John Brown’s raid and execution, Black Tuesday) transformed the public mood, swiftly and permanently. Over the next two decades or so, society convulsed. Emergencies required massive sacrifices from a citizenry that responded by putting community ahead of self. Leaders led, and people trusted them. As a new social contract was created, people overcame challenges once thought to be insurmountable – and used the Crisis to elevate themselves and their nation to higher plane of civilization.” – Strauss & Howe - The Fourth Turning

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Marc Faber on the Badley Inflated Ego of Ben Bernanke / Politics / Central Banks

By: Videos

US President Barack Obama gave a speech accusing Republicans of "social darwinism" with budget cuts they are proposing, calling them antithetical to the country's history as a land of opportunity. But how much opportunity is there left exactly? We speak with Dr. Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom Boom & Doom report. He says that wealth destruction and social unrest may be on the way for Western economies, whose citizens are being outcompeted by those in emerging economies who are willing to work harder and are far hungrier than Westerners are.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

TSA, Promoting a Gestapo State Whilst Pretending to Oppose it / Politics / US Politics

By: LewRockwell

Becky Akers writes: Nero fiddled while Rome burned. And Congress holds hearings on the TSA while the agency sexually assaults passengers, steals their valuables, torments children, the elderly and handicapped, and spits on the Constitution.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Uncle Sam Is Choking on Data, The Totalitarian Moron / Politics / US Politics

By: Gary_North

At the end of this report, I will provide a link to an article I published on steps that you can take to keep Web-based data-gathering companies from collecting data on your Web viewing activities.

You cannot stop this altogether. Too much data comes from your financial transactions. The FBI and other intelligence agencies are now buying data from private firms. In effect, they are outsourcing data-collection.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

U.S. Corporate Tax Rate Consequences / Politics / US Politics

By: BATR

Now that Japan lowered its own taxes, the U.S. stands on top with the dubious distinction of having the highest corporate tax rates. Claims that, when you consider all the tax loopholes, subsidies, deductions and tricks, the effective rate is not really the 35% level seem less reassuring. However, if you view any tax policy that focuses upon revenue collection, you miss the entire significance of the dynamics in trade. The slogan "Free Trade" applied in real terms, means capitulation of domestic production and prosperity for the sake of maximum international return on equity. In essence, the global corporatist supersedes the home domicile country for the joy of worldwide plunder.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Should the Government Remove Fuel Subsidies? / Politics / US Politics

By: Sam_Chee_Kong

Subsidy can be defined as a financial assistance to certain product or category of industry so that the price will be low, and hopefully continue to provide jobs and spin off other economic activity. Subsidies have been around for ages and it comes in many forms such as cash, labor, farm, export, consumption, education, housing and etc.

Fuel subsidy refers to the effort by the government to pay for the difference between the price of fuel in the pump and the actual cost of the product. So by paying the difference the government enables fuel to be sold at a lower price so that it will help ease the burden its people especially the lower income group.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

It’s Tax Time: Is It Time To Occupy The IRS? / Politics / Taxes

By: Danny_Schechter

Every year I trek down to a nondescript office building near Wall Street with a bag full of receipts and a belly full of anxiety.

When it’s tax time, I always hope for the best but…. I also had an accountant who I trusted to keep me on the up and up. He was recommended years earlier by the Yippie activist Abbie Hoffman, who wanted to avoid the Al Capone problem.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

U.S. Standing Down on Military Action as Iran's Internal Power Struggle Unfolds / Politics / Iran

By: OilPrice_Com

A strike on Iran, however limited, would push the current internal power struggle to a premature end that would not be in the US' best interests - that is the message, whether intentional or not, of the recent "intelligence leak" that has provided the Obama Administration with justification for standing down with regard to Iran.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

NHS GP's Engaging in Smoke and Mirrors Battle Over Control of £80 Billion Health Budget / Politics / NHS

By: N_Walayat

Mainstream press commentary gives the impression that there is a battle taking place between GP's who are either for or against the Coalition Government reforms for the transference of annual NHS commissioning budget of at least £80 billion into the hands of GP led consortia's across the country.

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

The "cashless society" and Total Monetary Surveillance / Politics / Social Issues

By: LewRockwell

Economic Collapse writes: Most people think of a cashless society as something that is way off in the distant future. Unfortunately, that is simply not the case. The truth is that a cashless society is much closer than most people would ever dare to imagine. To a large degree, the transition to a cashless society is being done voluntarily. Today, only 7 percent of all transactions in the United States are done with cash, and most of those transactions involve very small amounts of money. Just think about it for a moment. Where do you still use cash these days? If you buy a burger or if you purchase something at a flea market you will still use cash, but for any mid-size or large transaction the vast majority of people out there will use another form of payment. Our financial system is dramatically changing, and cash is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. We live in a digital world, and national governments and big banks are both encouraging the move away from paper currency and coins. But what would a cashless society mean for our future? Are there any dangers to such a system?

Monday, April 02, 2012

Ron Paul on The Supreme Court and Obamacare / Politics / US Politics

By: Dr_Ron_Paul

Last week the Supreme Court heard arguments concerning the constitutionality of the Obamacare law, focusing on the mandate requiring every American to buy health insurance or pay fines enforced by the IRS. Hopefully the Court will strike down this abomination, but we must recognize that the federal judiciary has an abysmal record when it comes to protecting liberty. It's doubtful the entire law will be struck down. Regardless, the political left will continue its drive toward a single-payer, government run health care system.

Monday, April 02, 2012

The blind spot surrounding the 2005 'major restructuring' of the Goldman / Greek secret loan / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis

By: ECB_Watch

The EU Commission was at the forefront of the response to the revelation in 2010 of irregularities in Greece's government statistics and in particular the 2.8bn Euros secret loan it received from Goldman Sachs in 2001 (Bloomberg). Has it delivered, and has parliamentary oversight been adequate? 

Monday, April 02, 2012

The Great Depression II, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet / Politics / Great Depression II

By: James_Quinn

“Human history seems logical in afterthought but a mystery in forethought. Writers of history have a way of describing interwar societies as coursing from postwar to prewar as though people alive at the time knew when that transition occurred.” – Strauss & Howe - The Fourth Turning

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Niall Ferguson China, Turmoil and Triumph, a Flawed Understanding of China? / Politics / China

By: Nadeem_Walayat

Niall Ferguson's latest series on China to be broadcast in the UK ended in a highly convincing conclusion of what could come to pass, but I fear that Niall has let himself get too close to the subject at hand and miss the real big picture about why China is developing and where it is going, in a way he may again be repeating the mega mistake he made 12 years ago in 1999 with Gold when he stated :

"The twilight of gold appear[s] to have arrived. True, total blackout is still some way off...Gold has a future, of course.

"But mainly as jewelry." -Niall Ferguson