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POPSDrowning in Debt This is from Ross Perot's site (remember him?). One of the comments at the site that I thought was really good: "Our dollar is backed by faith, how much faith is left? Sheesh, they’re going to run out of paper, granted it’s all electronic transfer so maybe not. But man, I just don’t see how catastrophic inflation isn’t a forgone conclusion at this point."
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POPSWhat? No Inflation? I love this alternative view. Dr. Enzio has had a great track record. Of course, this doesn't mean the economy is going to get better. Maybe just a long slow grind to the bottom.
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POPSWall Street Bonuses Vs. Normal Wages: A Disturbing Trend (CHART, VIDEO) A Goldman Sachs International adviser defended compensation in the finance industry as his company plans a near-record year for pay, saying the spending will help boost the economy. "We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all," Brian Griffiths, who was a special adviser to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, said yesterday at a panel discussion hosted by St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/20/wall-street-bonuses-vs-no_n_324281.html
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POPSWall Street Gains, Main Street Pains We have to wonder, "Who's pulling the strings", Audit the fed! On Tuesday, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Bob Corker (R-TN) introduced "The Federal Reserve Accountability Act," an attempt to kill HR 1207/S 604 by passing a bill that prevents a full audit and full transparency from America's secretive central bank. While language in this bill would permit a limited audit of the Fed's actions in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and similar high profile bailouts, it would not allow an audit to review the Fed's inflation of the money supply or its agreements with foreign central banks, among other shortcomings. Let your senators know you expect them to support the American people's demand for full transparency, not some watered down measure designed to stop a full audit! http://www.campaignforliberty.com/index.php#26719 Action needed now! Thanks.
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POPSAustin Texas real estate blog More inflation reports and an updated peak at the housing market will headline next week’s economic calendar. Inflation is expected to remain tame, while home sales are expected to post positive results, as first-time buyers flock to take advantage of the tax credit.
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POPSPhysicists Calculate Number of Parallel Universes
Think it's crazy? Check this out, then: To work these numbers out, Linde and Vanchurin looked back to the time shortly after the Big Bang, which they view as a quantum process that generated lots of quantum fluctuations. Then during the period of inflation, the universe grew rapidly and these quantum fluctuations were "frozen" into classical perturbations in distinct regions. Today, each of these regions could be a different universe, having its own distinct laws of low energy physics. By analyzing the mechanism (called "slow roll inflation") that initially generated the quantum fluctuations, the scientists could estimate the number of resulting universes at 10^10^10^7 (a number which is dependent on the model they used). However, this number is limited by other factors, specifically by the limits of the human brain. Since the total amount of information that one individual can absorb in a lifetime is about 10^16 bits, which is equivalent to 10^10^16 configurations, this means tha
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POPSAnother Bad Idea
The cost of this cash handout? $13 billion. And Obama says that money cannot come out of social security trust funds. But, in typical Obama fashion, he offered absolutely no alternative way to pay for it. And get this – he’s willing to BORROW MORE MONEY to fund the payouts. Perfect! All the clowns who you’d expect to be in favor of tihs (Reid, Rangel, et al) naturally lined up to kiss ass praise Obama for this plan. People with Actual Brains, like Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) said it’d be inappropriate to mess with a system which was specifically designed to reflect the cost of living. In January, social security recipients saw their payments go up by nearly 6%, which was the largest increase since 1982. Apparently, it was to combat the rising costs of energy at that time. Meantime, the working population has seen, on average, 2% raises for the past couple of years. Did our energy costs not go up too? We’re not even going to SEE social security payments when we retire, for crying ou
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POPSClassic Liquidity Trap Such a Brilliant man...lol... Only a Foolish Fed falls for the Classic Liquidity Trap. Read more about it at:Google... doctrader liquidity trap.
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POPSInsurance Industry Audit Says Insurance Premiums Will Increase Faster with Senate Baucus Bill
America's Health Insurance Plans engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to examine the impact of four components of the health reform bill being proposed by the Senate Finance Committee as introduced. These include: # Insurance market reforms and consumer protections that would raise health insurance premiums for individuals and families if the reforms are not coupled with an effective coverage requirement. # An excise tax on employer-sponsored high value health plans (or "Cadillac plans") that in a few years could also raise premiums for some moderate value plans. # Cuts in payment rates in public programs that could increase cost shifting to private sector businesses and consumers. These changes are expected to more than offset the potential reduction in cost shifting resulting from providing coverage to the uninsured. # New taxes on health sector entities that are likely to be passed through to consumers.
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POPSAustralian & Canadian Employers Adding Jobs! ......after a 31,900 increase in August. The jobless rate was probably unchanged at a 33-year low of 4.3 percent. The Bureau of Statistics releases the report tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. in Sydney. Sustained jobs growth justifies the Reserve Bank's decision to raise its benchmark interest rate in August to damp inflation pressures in an economy that is growing at the fastest annual pace in three years. Miners are hiring workers as they expand to meet surging Chinese demand and retailers are opening new stores as consumer spending picks up. ``The odds favor another decent jobs number, consistent with the underlying strength of the economy,'' said Su-Lin Ong, senior economist at RBC Capital Markets in Sydney. ``We expect the unemployment rate to hold down at a three-decade low confirming the stretched nature of the labor market.''
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POPSThe Only Fear We Have To Fear Is Inflation Itself James Surowiecki, in his recent financial piece in the New Yorker magazine tells us that as far as fear of inflation goes, we've been down this path before, and we really shouldn't worry. Leave the fear up to the birds of prey.
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POPSThe Cost of War in Afghanistan -- 779 Troops, $229 Billion Obama's war now. The economic cost of this war that has been paid by Americans as well here , along with the devaluation of the U.S. dollar and higher gas prices (inflation in all consumer goods). See also this article with this obscure fact: ECONOMIC SCENE: Afghanistan will cost US more than Iraq Funding for war in Afghanistan will eclipse Iraq for the first time in next year's budget.
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POPSHealth Costs Outpace Inflation And Wage Growth
So they're passing the costs to employees, who're paying higher deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses while often receiving less comprehensive coverage for their money. Twenty-one percent of firms with insurance coverage reduced benefits or increased employee cost-sharing due to the recession, the survey found. Fifteen percent increased their workers' shares of the monthly premium. "When health care costs continue to rise so much faster than overall inflation in a bad recession, workers and employers really feel the pain," said Drew Altman, the president and chief executive of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Employers typically pay about $9,860 of the standard $13,375 family policy, the survey found. Workers pick up the rest, about $3,515 or 27 percent. That's the same share as last year. The cost of single coverage increased slightly this year, averaging about $4,824 compared to $4,704 last year. Employees pay about 17 percent of the cost, or $779 toward the coverage.
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POPSWhat Went Wrong With Our Economy? We're letting domestic and multinational corporations, with their uncompromising profit motive and strong connection to the military, determine the future course of our country and the world. Terrorism has replaced communism as the major threat to our lifestyle. But corporate defense contractors -- Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics -- take millions of dollars from the federal treasury every DAY to produce Cold-War-era weapons, with their profits guaranteed by the American public. We're the leading seller of arms to the world. We intervene in more countries than ever before, even though studies show that intervention is tied to terrorism. Our elected representatives listen to businessmen and generals rather than to scientists, doctors, humanitarians, teachers, mothers. And we've been conditioned to believe that this is the way it must be. But it doesn't have to be this way.
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POPSEast Bay poverty rates show 1 in 10 below federal poverty line
More: in real terms — adjusted for inflation — East Bay incomes have been flat for two years. East Bay residents make about $3,500 less than they did in 2000 if their incomes are adjusted for inflation, said Jennifer Lin, a researcher for the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy. Lin points out that averages can also disguise the growing inequality the census numbers reveal. There are fewer East Bay households now making the middle incomes of from $75,000 to $150,000, and more people—especially Latinos and African-Americans working in low-wage service industries—are having a harder time making enough money to get by without public help.… Homeownership declined in both counties, which was no surprise to a region hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis… For homeowners with a mortgage, the median monthly cost last year was $2,755 in Alameda County and $2,842 in Contra Costa County. For renters, the median monthly rent was $1,192 in Alameda County and $1,254 in Contra C
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