Middle Class Dismissed

Greece’s Futile Austerity

"The Greek situation is beyond wretched. Top earners are being pursued by helicopters and spied on by satellites over non-payment of taxes; there are regular riots in the streets and, as in Argentina a decade ago, middle-class people have been reduced in some cases to picking through garbage bins to survive. The suffering has been needless. The result is not going to be of benefit to anyone except perhaps some of Europe's largest banks, and they are getting plenty of help already. There is little money in Greece but there is plenty of anger. And Prime Minister Samaras, taking note of it, announces there will be no further austerity measures." Continue reading →

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Japanese Solution for Collapsing Portugal?

"The Portuguese population is getting older as it shrinks. The presumptive obligations of the Portuguese government to take care of its aging population will be increasingly tested within the current environment. Spain, Greece, Ireland, Portugal – gradually and in various ways the Southern half of Europe is collapsing into varying stages of violence and apathy. But if the Portuguese solution takes hold, then the damage that has been done in the past five years may extend a generation or more. Europe may gain a euro but it will lose decades of vitality and innovation as its younger generations emigrate to more hospitable regions." Continue reading →

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Made Poor by the Crisis: Millions of Europeans Require Red Cross Food Aid

"Needy families and individuals in the European Union are becoming increasingly reliant on charity organizations like the Red Cross for basic needs like food, water and shelter. Two-thirds of national Red Cross societies within the European Union have begun distributing food aid, according to the head of the aid groups' international organization -- a sign that the economic crisis in Europe is having an alarming effect on poverty. Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said on a visit to New Delhi on Monday that the scope of food distribution had not been at its current level since the end of World War II." Continue reading →

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Banks Saved, but Europe Risks ‘Losing a Generation’

"Europe has spent hundreds of billions of euros rescuing its banks but may have lost an entire generation of young people in the process, the president of the European Parliament said. But little has been done to tackle the devastating social impact of the crisis, with more than 26 million people unemployed across the EU, including one in every two young people in Greece, Spain and parts of Italy and Portugal. That crippling level of unemployment has led to protests and outbreaks of violence across southern Europe, raising the threat of full-scale social breakdown, including rising crime and anti-immigrant attacks that can further rattle unstable governments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanks Saved, but Europe Risks ‘Losing a Generation’

Fed Injects Record $100 Billion Cash Into Foreign Banks Operating In The US In Past Week

"Those who have been following our exclusive series of the Fed's direct bailout of European banks (here, here, here and here), and, indirectly of Europe, will not be surprised at all to learn that in the week ended February 27, or the week in which Europe went into a however brief tailspin following the shocking defeat of Bersani in the Italian elections, and an even more shocking victory by Berlusconi and Grillo, leading to a political vacuum and a hung parliament, the Fed injected a record $99 billion of excess reserves into foreign banks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Injects Record $100 Billion Cash Into Foreign Banks Operating In The US In Past Week

Japan To Hike Utility Prices By 14-19% As Inflation Surges In All The Wrong Places

"First it was gas prices, then it was food prices, and now it is the turn of basic utilities to see costs surge by double digits. 'Japanese utilities, forced to idle their nuclear power plants over the past two years and facing higher fuel costs due to a weak yen, are now looking to push through double-digit rate hikes for their commercial customers.' This means less disposable income, less corporate profits, less monetary velocity, less growth and ultimately less 'inflation' in other things such as the much desired stock market, which was supposed to be the wealth effect offset to all staples price increases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan To Hike Utility Prices By 14-19% As Inflation Surges In All The Wrong Places

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Washington, D.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Racket

"Civil forfeiture is a national problem. Law enforcement agencies seize millions of dollars worth of property each year with little or no due process for owners. In all but six states property owners are considered guilty until proven innocent. State law typically allows law enforcement to keep most or all of the proceeds from forfeiture—an enormous incentive to police for profit. Most seizures are of cash—generally less than $100 and as little as $7—taken from thousands of people each year." Continue reading →

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Gun-control demagoguery is a lethal weapon

"Despite tough economic times, firearms and ammunition companies have created nearly 27,000 well-paying jobs over the past two years alone. Smart lawmakers from Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Arizona, and South Carolina are now courting Remington away from New York and Magpul away from Colorado. For now, these states can offer business-friendly, Second Amendment–defending climates that support a demonized industry. But how much longer will it be until Obama and the pro-jobs hypocrites on Capitol Hill find new, more nefarious ways to obstruct this innovation-driving, wealth-producing sector of the American economy?" Continue reading →

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We’re Locking Up Fewer Black People and More White People

The USA incarcerates a higher percentage of its citizen than any other nation on earth. (We're #1!) Needless to say, we've accomplished that feat largely on the backs of minorities, particularly black people, who are incarcerated at more than six times the rate of white people. But, the broader takeaway is that the racial mix of those we incarcerate (particularly women) is changing, but the fact of America's mass incarceration is not. 'The overall rate of incarceration in the United States remains at five times the rate that prevailed in 1970.'" Continue reading →

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Private Schools in India Serve the Poor, but Can They Survive Attacks by Government?

"I despise policies such as corporate subsidies, bailouts and minimum wage laws. So you’ll understand why I’m particularly upset that the government of India is now trying to undermine opportunity for the poor by shutting down private schools. Because the government schools do a terrible job, there are millions of poor families who are sacrificing to send their kids to private schools. Apparently embarrassed by the fact that so many millions of poor families would rather pay for good private schools than go to free state institutions, the government is trying to regulate the private schools out of existence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate Schools in India Serve the Poor, but Can They Survive Attacks by Government?