Middle Class Dismissed

That Which Is Incapable of Reforming Itself Disappears

"In Nature the ability to reform is called adaptation. Organisms and species that are unable to adapt when selective pressure is applied vanish from the Earth. Humans and human organizations are no different; individuals and organizations that are unable to respond to selective pressure with real self-reform/transformation will also fail and disappear. The political and financial Status Quo is incapable of true reform, because real reform threatens the perquisites and power of entrenched vested interests, what I call fiefdoms. That leaves breakdown as the only possible endpoint." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThat Which Is Incapable of Reforming Itself Disappears

Why You Should Take Your “Health” Into Your Own Hands

"Cost-shifting takes place in the form of two insidious scams, patiently described to us by Dr. G. Keith Smith, an Oklahoma City MD who’s doing his level best to undermine the practice. The first scam is called 'uncompensated care.' The second scam involves the insurance scheme known as preferred provider organizations, and is called 'PPO re-pricing.' What is the actual cost of that '$100,000' procedure? About $7,000-8,000. For everything. Including the facility, surgeon and anesthesia charges. That’s what Smith would charge you at his outpatient surgery center in Oklahoma City… a lone outpost of 'price transparency' within U.S. borders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy You Should Take Your “Health” Into Your Own Hands

Deputies suspended over violence while serving a $1,000 civil warrant at 1:13 AM

"The video shows a group of eight deputies entering Nantania Griffin’s home around 1:13 a.m. on July 26 to serve a civil warrant for failing to pay a $1,000 debt. Her sons secretly recorded the encounter on their phones and posted it online. Griffin and her family allegedly refused to let the deputies into the home for 30 minutes while telling them they had done nothing wrong. 'You acted like a 2-year-old, so we treated you like a 2-year-old,' one of the deputies can be heard saying in the video. Griffin’s son, Donovan Hall, told WSB that deputies kicked him in the head and that one hit him in the face with the butt of his gun." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeputies suspended over violence while serving a $1,000 civil warrant at 1:13 AM

Internal Bundesbank Report Predicts New Greek Bailout In Early 2014, Contra Merkel

"An internal Bundesbank document discovered by Der Spiegel states, in opposition to the comments by Germany's electioneering Chancellor Merkel, that Europe 'will certainly agree to a new aid program for Greece' by early 2014 at the latest. As Reuters reports, Frau Merkel has repeatedly played down suggestions Greece will require more aid (or debt relief) in light of German voters major skepticism over moar of their money being flushed into the Mediterranean. The document notes that the risks of the current aid package for Greece are 'extremely high' and that recent approval of the tranche payments were politically motivated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternal Bundesbank Report Predicts New Greek Bailout In Early 2014, Contra Merkel

India raises import duty on gold, silver to 10 per cent

"India hiked import duty on refined gold bars for a third time in eight months to 10 per cent from the earlier 8 per cent, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The government also raised the import duty on silver to 10 per cent from the earlier 6 per cent, and the factory gate duty on gold bars to 9 per cent from 7 per cent. India, the world's biggest buyer of gold, has been trying to curb imports of the yellow metal, which is the second biggest imported item after crude oil. On July 22, the RBI required a fifth of all gold imports to be used for export, usually in the form of jewellery." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia raises import duty on gold, silver to 10 per cent

Life-saving transplant denied, health insurance canceled over 26-cent shortfall

"There was never any written notification that the payment was short. The Brancos weren’t told of the cancellation in writing until they received a letter dated July 2. Some time later, Paychex returned the $518 payment. Sergio Branco’s doctor also pleaded for help on their behalf. He advised the companies that Branco 'will most certainly die in the very near future if he does not proceed to transplant; therefore I am writing to request that every effort be made to reinstate his health care insurance coverage.' That didn’t help. Russell Reid and Paychex did nothing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLife-saving transplant denied, health insurance canceled over 26-cent shortfall

Bill Bonner: Moms & pops to be skinned again

"The idea is to buy low and sell high. Poor old mom and pop can't seem to get it right. They buy high and sell low. Dalbar, an outfit that tracks investment performance, calculates that $100,000 invested 20 years ago would have grown to $484,000 if you just left it in the S&P 500 and did nothing else. But the typical investor waited too long to buy and then sold out when stocks went down. At the end of 2012, he had only $230,000. And now that stocks have been run up - by the Fed's easy money policies - for 5 years, Mom and Pop can't help themselves. They're back in the stock market...ready to be skinned again." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Moms & pops to be skinned again

The Tax-Evaders Who Never Make The News

"You'll never hear peep about another group of tax evaders. This group flies under the radar every time. You see, when The Federal Reserve cranks out fresh copies of Bernanke Bucks, someone always gets their hands on the money first. These are the evaders of the insidious 'Inflation Tax'. Think Wall Street, The Defense War-Making Industry, and the multitude of crony companies that receive government subsidies. They take their hot-off-the-press Bernanke Bucks and start spending them (bidding up prices). These are the lucky 'winners.' For they have found a way to evade the Inflation Tax. The rest of us suckers get stuck with the bill." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Tax-Evaders Who Never Make The News

The Detroit (or New American) Yard Sale … Coming to a City Near You

"I can’t help but wonder what America’s auto barons like the Dodges, Firestones and especially Edsel and Eleanor Ford – whose donations and charitable support over the decades has created the cultural gem that is the Detroit Institute of Art – would think of their art being auctioned off to pay government debt. Will Disney one day own Yosemite National Park or Old Faithful? Will Six Flags own Mt. Rushmore? Will hedge funds buy up tracks of national forests and manage them like they would manage other timber assets? Those are legitimate questions, given a federal debt so large it cannot possibly ever be repaid." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Detroit (or New American) Yard Sale … Coming to a City Near You