Middle Class Dismissed

Start-Ups Fill Void Left by Spain’s 26% Unemployment Rate

"Figures from the INE statistics office show that 53 percent of Spanish companies have no employees, as many can’t afford to hire full-time workers. That portion reached 55 percent last year. The total number of businesses declined for a fifth year in 2012, falling to the lowest level since 2005, the INE said in a statement this month. The proportion of those people losing their jobs who decide to start a business has risen to 15 percent, more than three times the historical rate, said Carmen Sebrango, Randstad’s outplacement director in Spain." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStart-Ups Fill Void Left by Spain’s 26% Unemployment Rate

18 different minimum wages in American Samoa, 30% jobless rate

"The US Department of Labor mandates and enforces about 18 different minimum wages in American Samoa by industry. Oh, and the jobless rate there is almost 30%. And now a serious question for proponents of the US minimum wage: If you support a single hourly minimum wage in the US, wouldn’t you show even more support for multiple, government-mandated minimum wages by industry? That is, if you trust the supposed wisdom of politicians to know what the 'correct' single minimum wage is for the entire US economy (currently $7.25 per hour), shouldn’t you also trust those same politicians to know what the 'correct' minimum wage is for America’s many different industries?" Continue reading →

Continue Reading18 different minimum wages in American Samoa, 30% jobless rate

A Funny Look at How Obamacare Screws Young People

"I’m reluctant to give favorable attention to anything associated with Rove, but this new video from one of his organizations is too good not to share. The Department of Health and Human Services has a video contest to sucker gullible young people into signing up for Obamacare, and here’s the satirical gem put together by Crossroads GPS. In conclusion, let’s remember that young people are suffering for reasons other than Obamacare. Here’s a video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation that looks at four examples of how Obamanomics is especially bad news for those under age 30." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Funny Look at How Obamacare Screws Young People

Finally, a reasonable newspaper article on why people renounce citizenship

"'Wages in the United States are low and many hard working people struggle to afford life’s basic necessities. Other burning issues include a degrading public health system, a half-dead retail sector and an arguably chaotic political environment … Americans who have relatives and friends outside of the United States are choosing to renounce their U.S. citizenship and relocate to countries with better economies.' Oh wait, I seem to have inadvertently misquoted the article. We at the Isaac Brock Society deeply regret this editing error. It’s actually talking about the reasons why citizens of Botswana renounce." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFinally, a reasonable newspaper article on why people renounce citizenship

Paul Craig Roberts: America Totally Discredited

"Tthe United States government has lost its credibility throughout the world and will never regain it, unless the Bush and Obama regimes are arrested and put on trial for their war crimes. Obama’s destruction of US credibility goes far beyond diplomacy. It is likely that this autumn or winter, and almost certainly in 2014, the US will face severe economic crisis. When the proverbial hits the fan, the incompetent and corrupt Federal Reserve and the incompetent and corrupt US Treasury will have no more credibility than Obama and John Kerry. How long will it be before American citizens are shot down in their streets by 'their' government as occurs frequently in Washington’s close allies in Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: America Totally Discredited

Peter Schiff: The Unfriendly Skies

"The truth is that our impoverished citizenry can no longer support the airline industry we once had. That's why American and U.S. Air had to merge in order to stay competitive and profitable. That is the sad truth behind the headlines. The government is correct about one thing, the merger would result in fewer choices and higher fares for customers. But given the reduction of our living standards that outcome is impossible to avoid. If our government really wants to protect consumers and allow for more affordable air travel, a better solution would be to reverse the destructive policies that made the merger necessary in the first place." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: The Unfriendly Skies

The Undead Corporate Welfare Programs For Automakers

"Originally created by Congress in 2007, the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program provided low-cost government loans that were subsidized, guaranteed, and then in part eaten, as we now know, by hapless and strung-out American taxpayers. Ford was the top beneficiary. While bragging vociferously that it hadn’t been bailed out by the government, as opposed to GM and Chrysler, it received a $5.9 billion loan under that program ostensibly to retool its plants and start producing electric vehicles. Nissan got $1.4 billion to build its plug-in EV, the Leaf. Tesla got $465 million. It is building a few, very expensive plug-in EVs a day. Others weren’t so 'successful.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Undead Corporate Welfare Programs For Automakers

Americans are Now Traveling Overseas for Surgery

"Growing up I recall hearing stories of how wealthy foreigners would frequently travel all the way to these United States in order to receive top notch medical attention. Fast forward a decade or two, and all I hear about now is how it is us Americans being forced abroad in order to receive affordable care. The article below from the New York Times, 'In Need of a New Hip, but Priced Out of the U.S.' is a fantastic, but depressing read on the subject. While this is an extraordinarily complicated subject, one on which I claim zero expertise, one thing is for certain. If a U.S. citizen has to travel to Belgium to implant a medical device made right here in the USA, we have a very, very serious problem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans are Now Traveling Overseas for Surgery

Bernanke Has Injected Foreign Banks With Over $1 Trillion In Cash

"This means that, as we expected several months ago, the only recipient of ongoing Fed money printing are not US banks, but foreign banks operating in the US. For those confused about the big picture, here is a chart showing the breakdown of cash held by big and small US banks as well as foreign banks, superimposed to total reserves created by the Fed since the start of the Great Financial Crisis. The correlation is 100%. We are confident that we speak for all when we say: 'Thank you Ben - insolvent foreign banks appreciate your ongoing QE2 and QEternity-funded generosity'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBernanke Has Injected Foreign Banks With Over $1 Trillion In Cash

‘The Fed Is Trying Like Crazy, But Nothing It’s Doing Can Save The Economy’

"David Rosenberg, the veteran Wall Street economist and bearish strategist at Gluskin Sheff, gave an intense presentation on Friday at John Mauldin's Strategic Investment Conference. Titled 'Bernanke: The Wizard Of Potemkin,' this presentation offers a sobering look at the anemic U.S. economy, the labor market mess, and the Federal Reserve's controversial efforts to get everything back on track. Before you can even think about getting bullish, you must consider the eye-opening charts from Rosenberg's presentation." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘The Fed Is Trying Like Crazy, But Nothing It’s Doing Can Save The Economy’