Bankocracy

Man Has Home Ransacked by Police for Paying Cash

"It all started one Saturday morning when Jarl Syvertsen, a 59-year-old disabled Norwegian man, purchased a PC, TVs, and washing machines for 80,000 kroner which he paid in cash. On Sunday a male and a female police officer appeared on Mr Syvertsen’s doorstep. The police were there with a warrant to search his home, charging that the cash he had spent was money that 'came from a criminal offense.' In fact, the money was actually part of an approximately one-million dollar advance on an inheritance he had received. The police would have none of it and proceeded to invade his home and his privacy." Continue reading →

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IRS exposed Social Security numbers of tens of thousands of political donors

“The Internal Revenue Service inadvertently exposed the Social Security numbers of tens of thousands of individuals online who donated money to tax-exempt organizations involved in political activities.  There are thousands of 527 groups, which run the gamut of issues and … Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS exposed Social Security numbers of tens of thousands of political donors

America’s Corporate Tax System Ranks a Miserable 94 out of 100 Nations in “Tax Attractiveness”

"A couple of economists at a German think tank put together a 'tax attractiveness' ranking based on 16 different variables. The statutory tax rate is one of the measures, of course, but they also look at policies such as 'the taxation of dividends and capital gains, withholding taxes, the existence of a group taxation regime, loss offet provision, the double tax treaty network, thin capitalization rules, and controlled foreign company (CFC) rules.' The United Arab Emirates has one of the world’s most attractive corporate tax systems, notwithstanding having the highest corporate tax rate. Unfortunately, the United States remains mired near the bottom." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s Corporate Tax System Ranks a Miserable 94 out of 100 Nations in “Tax Attractiveness”

Wal-Mart walks away from plans for 3 D.C. stores after ‘living wage’ law passes

"Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it was scrapping plans to build three stores in Washington, D.C., after the city council passed a bill late Wednesday that would require big retailers to pay starting wages that are 50% higher than the city’s minimum wage. The bill requires retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more and with stores of at least 75,000 square feet to pay workers starting salaries of no less than $12.50 an hour. The city’s minimum wage is $8.25. The measure includes an exemption for unionized businesses and gives existing big stores, which include Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc., four years to comply." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWal-Mart walks away from plans for 3 D.C. stores after ‘living wage’ law passes

Bill Bonner: The End of the World As We Know It

"People become 'educators' and never teach a single student. They go on 'disability.' They turn whole industries – defense, health, finance – into vast wealth transfer schemes that produce little or no net benefit for the people they are supposed to serve. In short, zombies consume more than they produce; they are a net negative for society. But Hadas is right about the effects of lower birthrates. They also lower 'growth.' And without substantial growth, life as we have known it will come to an end. Stocks will fall, creditors (bondholders, for example) won't be paid, and governments must cut back on their expenses... or go broke." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: The End of the World As We Know It

The astonishing collapse of work in America

"Both demand and supply factors are at play in this disheartening dynamic. On the demand side, it seems fairly clear that our contemporary economy is just not generating jobs and work as robustly as it did in the past---even the relatively recent past. This can be seen as a 'structural' problem. For on the supply side, it is apparent that there has been a major behavioral change in America, wherein a growing proportion of working-age Americans are checking out of paid labor altogether. Suffice it to say that not working at all is neither unthinkable nor unaffordable these days, even for adults in the prime of life." Continue reading →

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The situation on the ground in Athens

"The total number of unemployed is roughly 57% of the entire Greek work force. And as you probably know, the situation for young people is even worse. Only 1 in 3 people aged 25 and under has a job. This phenomenon, sustained for several years now, has cut deeply into the psyche of an entire generation that is growing up without productive work experience or the prospect of improving their lives. The middle class here has been completely gutted. Aside from a few pockets of wealth, the country is either unemployed or working poor, hamstrung by debilitating debt. The suicide rate here has skyrocketed, crime is noticeably higher, and prostitution is rampant." Continue reading →

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Car bomb rocks Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon

"Syria's civil war is increasingly being fought along sectarian lines, with Sunnis dominating the rebel ranks fighting Assad's regime, which is composed mostly of Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. At least one Syria-based Islamist brigade claimed responsibility for the attack on its Facebook page, but its authenticity could not be verified. The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group denounced 'in the strongest terms the terrorist explosion.' Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar blamed 'Israel and its tools in the region' for the attack. Hezbollah, like the Syrian regime, refers to those fighting to topple Assad as agents of Israel and the U.S." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCar bomb rocks Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon

Deep Divides Threaten Egypt’s Path Forward

"It is a good 15-minute drive from Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo to Raba'a al-Adaweya Square in the Nasr City quarter of the capital. Yet worlds divide the Egyptians who have been gathering at the two sites in recent days. In Tahrir Square on Tuesday, people were selling posters of the country's new strongman, General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who toppled then-President Mohammed Morsi last week. On Raba'a al-Adaweya Square, however, demonstrators held images of Morsi aloft. They are the followers of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement -- and they have vowed not to vacate their tent city until Morsi is back in office."Deep Divides Threaten Egypt's Path Forward Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeep Divides Threaten Egypt’s Path Forward

Reality of Egypt – Not What You Think?

"The Muslim Brotherhood was the first choice of Western powers, from what we can tell, and was only discarded when its leadership declined to go along with a US$4 billion International Monetary Fund plan. The military, meanwhile, has been portrayed as being of one piece, but as we have pointed out previously, it may be a mistake to believe that the military is cohesively pro-Western and at the service of the Pentagon. It may be at the top, but who can speak for the rank-and-file? The social chaos and bloody destruction now being predicted for Egypt may not simply be the result of a scripted clash between the military and Islamic factions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReality of Egypt – Not What You Think?