Middle Class Dismissed

Study: Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost U.S. up to $6 trillion

"The Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost the United States between $4-6 trillion in the long term. Harvard University scholar Linda Bilmes concluded that the United States will face increasing costs to care for an estimated 2.5 million veterans, and to pay down debt incurred by borrowing to pay for the wars. Bilmes said that costs will climb over decades. She wrote that the peak year for disability payments over World War I, which ended in 1918, was 1969 as veterans became elderly. Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary under Bush, said before the invasion that the Iraq war would cost around $50 billion and called higher estimates 'baloney.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudy: Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost U.S. up to $6 trillion

Beware Of All Enterprises That Require New Clothes

"Despite sequestration and Big Sister's threats that the reduced growth of the TSA's budget -- not its actual operating one -- will delay passengers in hours'-long lines, the agency signed a $50-million contract with VF Imagewear for uniforms. Yes, those ugly, neon brown-sorry, blue polyester shirts that the thugs at the checkpoint wear cost a pretty penny. But this is old news. I'm bothering you with it because VF Imagewear is 'better known for its Lee and Wrangler brand jeans.' Additional lines include 'Vanity Fair®, ... The North Face®, and JanSport®.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBeware Of All Enterprises That Require New Clothes

Cyprus bank controls to last a month, minister says

"Cyprus conceded on Thursday that tight capital controls would remain in force longer than expected as the island's banks reopened for the first time after the government was forced to accept a tough EU rescue package to avoid bankruptcy. The government initially said the controls would remain in place for a week, subject to review. Economists say they will prove hard to lift as long as the economy is in crisis. To help the Cyprus banks weather the crisis, the European Central Bank flew in 5 billion euros ($6.4 billion) in cash overnight from Frankfurt, a German newspaper reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyprus bank controls to last a month, minister says

Betray Your Bank Before Your Bank Betrays You

"The way it’s supposed to work at failing banks is that shareholders get wiped out first. Next the losses go up the ladder from junior debt holders to senior bondholders, and then all the way to uninsured depositors, if need be. Taxpayers and insured depositors shouldn’t have to absorb others’ losses or put money at risk to spare them. Troubled banks should have to fend for themselves. This was the approach imposed on Cyprus. In ordinary circumstances, it would be considered fair. The best argument for why it wasn’t is that Cyprus had been lulled into believing it would be treated just as well as Europe’s other bailout recipients." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBetray Your Bank Before Your Bank Betrays You

Police restrain crowd from taking food to be thrown away after supermarket eviction

"Law enforcement officials pushed back hundreds of people who were crowding around a large pile of merchandise outside an Augusta grocery store Tuesday afternoon. But the goods sitting in the parking lot of the Laney Supermarket didn't make into anyone's hands. Instead, the food people hoped to take home was tossed into the trash. SunTrust Bank in Atlanta owns the property and they're sending the merchandise to the landfill after evicting the Chois, the owners of the grocery store." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice restrain crowd from taking food to be thrown away after supermarket eviction

George W. Bush the costliest former US President at $1.3 million per year

"George W. Bush is costing taxpayers $1.3 million a year, the most of any ex-President, according to a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Meanwhile, taxpayers are forking over nearly $3.7 million total to pay for the four remaining presidents: Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, George W. and Bill Clinton. That figure includes their $200,000 annual pension, compensation and benefits for a small staff, and funds for travel, office space, and postage. But it doesn't include the additional money spent on Secret Service protection, which is not made public, CNN wrote." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGeorge W. Bush the costliest former US President at $1.3 million per year

California’s Golden Bureaucrat Snags $400K of Yearly Compensation – for the Rest of Her Life!

"Alameda County supervisors have really taken to heart the adage that government should run like a business — rewarding County Administrator Susan Muranishi with the Wall Street-like wage of $423,664 a year. For the rest of her life. …Muranishi’s annual pension will be equal to the dollar total of her entire yearly package — $413,000. She also has a separate executive private pension plan, for which the county chips in $46,500 a year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia’s Golden Bureaucrat Snags $400K of Yearly Compensation – for the Rest of Her Life!

Post-Cyprus Blues: Confusion and an Erosion of Faith

"It may be misleading to project the crisis and resolution in Cyprus onto other quite different financial crises in other quite different economies. The common ground may be a rising fear of capital controls and the search for safe havens that won't implode or change the rules overnight. The sudden emergence of risk in what was perceived to be a safe haven will likely spark interest in non-banking safe havens, for example, precious metals, and what correspondent Mark G. calls the Glass Jar Bank, which he observes is still a popular alternative in Eastern Europe to entrusting one's cash to banks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPost-Cyprus Blues: Confusion and an Erosion of Faith

War Without End

"There has been much in the news over the past two weeks commemorating the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the pre-emptive Iraq War. The above YouTube video commemorates the ending of an even greater conflict, World War I, which began in 1914 and ended in 1918. This is one of the most powerful and heart-wrenching documentaries you will ever watch, especially the never-to-be-forgotten recitation of the Siegfried Sassoon poem, Aftermath, by actor Jeremy Irons at the end of the program (which garnered an Emmy Award)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWar Without End

Actuarial study: Obamacare law to bring double-digit percent increases to insurance premiums

"Medical claims costs — the biggest driver of health insurance premiums — will jump an average 32% for Americans' individual policies under the Affordable Care Act health care law, according to a study out Tuesday by the nation's leading group of financial risk analysts. While some states will see medical claims costs per person decline, the report prepared by the Society of Actuaries concluded that the overwhelming majority will see double-digit increases in their individual health insurance markets, where people purchase coverage directly from insurers. Much of the reason for the higher claims costs is that sicker people are expected to join the pool, the report said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingActuarial study: Obamacare law to bring double-digit percent increases to insurance premiums