Middle Class Dismissed

Termites Feast On Woman’s Life Savings

"A Chinese woman almost lost her life savings recently when termites invaded a wooden drawer in which she kept a plastic bag containing 400,000 yuan: the equivalent of $65,000 U.S. dollars. It was only after the woman decided to redecorate her house in Guandong Province that she noticed the termites had dined on her nest egg. According to the Guangzhou Daily, the money was given to the woman by her children. A local bank generously scanned the remaining cash and was able to identity 340,000 yuan which means the termite's meal ultimately cost the woman roughly $9,786." Continue reading →

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The Real Story of the Cyprus Debt Crisis

"The country is increasingly reverting to a cash-economy with a consequent dive in tax revenues. The three Lufthansa consultants in charge of the Cyprus Airways restructuring are set to receive €1.3m. The remaining staff will suffer a 25% salary cut. In an act that beggars belief, the Cypriot Parliament has levied a 30% tax on the interest earned from bank deposits. In another measure which defies logic, a property tax was insisted on by the Troika of international lenders. The government aims to extract maximum tax revenue by inflating property prices by the annual rate of consumer price inflation since 1980. Currently, property prices are at an all-time low." Continue reading →

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Rio police tear gas thousands at protest demanding health care and education

"Police deployed tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse around 3,000 protestors from outside Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium ahead of the Confederations Cup match between Italy and Mexico on Sunday. The demonstrators were attempting to enter the stadium in protest at the vast sums of money spent on the organisation of the tournament and next year’s World Cup, which Brazil is also hosting. 'I don’t care about the World Cup — I want health and education!' chanted protestors. The start of the competition has been marked by protests over the huge cost of preparations to host the World Cup, which is expected to reach $15 million (11 billion euros)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRio police tear gas thousands at protest demanding health care and education

Bond bubble threatens financial system, Bank of England director warns

"A key Bank of England policymaker has warned of the risks to global financial stability when 'the biggest bond bubble in history' bursts. In a wide-ranging testimony to MPs, Andy Haldane, Bank of England director of financial stability, admitted the central bank's new financial policy committee is taking too long to force banks to hold more capital and appeared to criticise the bank's culture under outgoing governor Sir Mervyn King. Haldane told the Treasury select committee that the bursting of the bond bubble – created by central banks forcing down bond yields by pumping electronic money into the economy – was a risk 'I feel acutely right now'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBond bubble threatens financial system, Bank of England director warns

Japan to adopt ‘bail-ins,’ force bank losses on investors if needed, Nikkei says

"Japan's Financial Services Agency will enact new rules that will forced failed bank losses on investors, if needed, via a mechanism known as a 'bail-in,' according to The Nikkei. Mitsubishi UFJ (MTU), Mizuho Financial (MFG) and Sumitomo Mitsui (SMFG) are among those proposing amendments to allow them to issue the types of preferred shares or subordinated bonds that would be used in such cases, the report noted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan to adopt ‘bail-ins,’ force bank losses on investors if needed, Nikkei says

IRS Refunds 4 Billion Dollars a Year to Illegal Immigrants While Pursuing US Citizens Abroad

"FATCA is … probably … coming in some form or other and hiding will do a person no good in the longer run (although truthfully, no one is truly invisible anymore thanks to technology), but allowing fear of an agency that isn’t even able to control fraud and evasion within its own borders be the driving factor behind decisions is something that might be cause for pause. It’s not new news in terms of the hysteria in the US about undocumented workers and fraud, but it puts the dilemma, at least for me, of USP’s who’ve emigrated in another context. The point of FATCA and the offshore jihad on expats is not about money. It’s about information, and information is power." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Refunds 4 Billion Dollars a Year to Illegal Immigrants While Pursuing US Citizens Abroad

Ai Weiwei: NSA surveillance makes the U.S. sound a lot like China

"Before the information age the Chinese government could decide you were a counter-revolutionary just because a neighbour reported something they had overheard. Thousands, even millions of lives were ruined through the misuse of such information. Today, through its technical abilities, the state can easily get into anybody’s bank account, private mail, conversations, and social media accounts. The internet and social media give us new possibilities of exploring ourselves. But we have never exposed ourselves in this way before, and it makes us vulnerable if anyone chooses to use it against us." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAi Weiwei: NSA surveillance makes the U.S. sound a lot like China

Annals of the Security State: More Airplane Stories

"Over the weekend I related the story of Gabriel Silverstein, a businessman and pilot who for no apparent reason was subjected to a two-hour detention and invasive search by Homeland Security officials as he traveled across the country in his small plane. The picture above is not from that episode; it's an official DHS photo of its emergency-response agents being trained. Below and after the jump are two additional stories of the same sort. The first is a long account from Larry Gaines, a small-plane pilot from California who had a similar episode last year. The story is long and detailed, and will be riveting for those in the aviation world." Continue reading →

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Pentagon may be wasting billions a year in erroneous payments to contractors

"Although the Defense Department reported making over $1.1 billion in overpayments in fiscal year 2011 to military personnel and retirees, civilian defense workers, contractors, and others, investigators from the Government Accountability Office said that figure is not credible due to missing invoices and other flawed paperwork, as well as errors in arithmetic. GAO found defense finance officials didn't have procedures in place to collect and maintain the data they need to come up with a credible estimate. Even when the department could find and document mistaken payments, it frequently did not take cost-effective steps to recover the money, the GAO said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon may be wasting billions a year in erroneous payments to contractors

I’ve Never Been More Outraged at Washington

"If you think there’s been a loss of privacy and liberty since George W. Bush took office 13 years ago, brace yourself ― it’s about to get a lot worse. It’s what happens when governments start to fight for their survival. It happened in Rome. In Byzantium. In the Weimar Republic in Germany. And in countless other countries where governments became desperate for revenue and started losing the confidence of their citizens. They start invading upon citizens’ privacy and liberties. They start regulating everything in sight. And they start taxing just about anything that moves. Why is it about to get a whole lot worse for us Americans? There are several reasons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingI’ve Never Been More Outraged at Washington