Middle Class Dismissed

As Long As You Don’t Eat, Price Inflation Is Under Control

"USDA reports: Food prices have also been rising faster than in earlier years, and food price inflation has easily outpaced price inflation for many other types of goods. Among major consumer spending categories, only prices for transportation, which include a number of energy price measures, and medical care have risen faster than food prices[...] Since 2006, when commodity prices began their rollercoaster ride, the all-items CPI has risen 14 percent while the all-food CPI is up close to 20 percent. Here's the real concern: Americans are having to spend a larger portion of their disposable income on food; something that is a reversal of decades long trend." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAs Long As You Don’t Eat, Price Inflation Is Under Control

British Politicians Aim To Ban Non-Hybrid Cars By 2040

"While some American politicians may take issue with the government’s investment in green automobiles, it pales in comparison to the debates taking place in England. There, the Liberal Democrats have proposed a bill that would outlaw all non-hybrid cars from English roads by 2040. It sounds insane, but stranger things have happened. Ambitious but left with a lot of blanks to fill, one of the key components of the Liberal Dems Britain of the future is eliminating all but ultra-low emissions non-freight vehicles from British roads. That would mean only hybrids, electric cars, or super-efficient diesels would be allowed to drive British streets." Continue reading →

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Food Stamp Nation

"The USDA has acknowledged a formal partnership with the Mexican government to boost food stamp enrollment among Mexican nationals. In fact, in response to oversight inquiries from Republicans in Congress, the USDA revealed that the current administration has met with Mexican officials approximately 30 times as part of the partnership. The USDA has also adopted a range of strategies and programs designed to enroll more people in food stamps by overcoming the notion of self-reliance. A 2011 USDA Hunger Champions Award document reveals that local assistance offices have been rewarded for 'counteracting' pride when pushing more people to sign up for benefits." Continue reading →

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Is Your College Going Broke? The Most And Least Financially Fit Schools In America

"Almost all colleges have noble mission statements, but few have pervasive cultures or are able to focus employees on core competencies the way great companies like Coke, IBM and Wells Fargo do. Most colleges and universities try to be all things to all people. That way of doing business was tolerable when the market of high school graduates was expanding, as it was from 1990 to 2010. However, the production of high school graduates has fallen from its 3.4 million peak in 2011 to a current 3.2 million–and is likely to stay there until 2020. This ugly demographic fact, plus the decline in household wealth brought on by the Great Recession, has exacerbated the problem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Your College Going Broke? The Most And Least Financially Fit Schools In America

Obama offers plan to deal with the high cost of college

"Barack Obama took aim at the spiralling cost of higher education on Thursday, threatening US universities with a new official ranking system he claimed would help students identify whether they were getting value for money. As crippling student loans are increasingly seen as a impediment to social mobility and a check on US consumer confidence, the president used the latest of his economic speeches to propose a series of limited reforms to encourage lower fees. Besides the new ratings system, Obama’s proposals amounted to a call on state legislatures to stop cutting subsidies, universities to stop putting up fees, and Congress to pass laws limiting loan repayments." Continue reading →

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“The Biggest Growth Opportunity in the History of Capitalism”

"While America’s middle class is disappearing, there’s a whole new middle class rising around the globe. Over the past two decades, urbanization and market-oriented economic policies have powered the growth of this new consumer class. This new middle class is demanding access to clean water, clothing, TVs, health care, housing, food … you name it. McKinsey Global Institute calls the rise of this new middle class 'the biggest growth opportunity in the history of capitalism … an economic force that’s over 1,000 times as big as the Industrial Revolution.'" Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: US Market Crash Alert!

"Investors trust the Federal Reserve to protect their money...just as the Fed makes their investments less trustworthy! Because the more influence the Fed exerts over prices, the farther they move away from where they ought to be. Ah yes, dear reader, that is one of the curious, always-fascinating feedback loops that keeps life on planet Earth ‘normal’. Whenever things get too weird, something intervenes to make them less weird. And one of those things is a certain Mr. Market. It’s all very well for investors to believe the Fed won’t allow them to lose money. That’s what makes it possible for non-delusional investors to make a lot of money." Continue reading →

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Truth From The Treasury Secretary: Social Security at Risk

"He is only talking here about the problems that political gamesmanship between Democrats and Republicans might temporarily cause in the Treasury selling debt. But the danger is the same, if not greater, when markets won't allow the Treasury to raise funds at cheap rates. It will mean cutbacks in Social Security and other entitlement programs or it will mean the Federal Reserve stepping in and printing more money to buy the Treasury securities that no one else will want. Either way, it won't turn out well for the retirees who depend on Social Security, either there will be immediate cutbacks or price inflation will cut into the purchasing power of the payments." Continue reading →

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Your identity will become “property of the U.S. government” under new rules

"Requirements in Senate Bill 744 for mandatory worker IDs and electronic verification remove the right of citizens to take employment and 'give' it back as a privilege only when proper proof is presented and the government agrees. Any citizen wanting to take a job would face the regulation that his or her digitized high-resolution passport or driver's license photo be collected and stored centrally in a Homeland Security database. The pictures in the national database would then need to be matched against the job applicant's government-issued 'enhanced' ID card, using a Homeland Security-mandated facial-recognition 'photo tool.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYour identity will become “property of the U.S. government” under new rules

Bernanke’s Bust: Median Household Income Is Lower Today Than in 2009

"Median household income is a good test of a household’s economic well-being. Half of households earn more. Half earn less. With mean average income, the incomes of the rich skew the figure upward. Not with median income. After four years of the Federal Reserve’s tripling of the monetary base, Americans are worse off today. What’s that? Worse than in the supposed bottom of the recession? Yes. This report tells the story. Household income is down 4.4%." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBernanke’s Bust: Median Household Income Is Lower Today Than in 2009