I don't recall the exact numbers right now but I know the U.S. has more felons and people in prison than anywhere else in the world.
While I'm pretty much on violent/sex crimes, "throw away the key" or even "save the state some money and let them kill each other" type (sorry, some of these people....are not people)...
It also seems that on many offenses, once one gets a felony conviction, for the most part, their future is over, even after they get out...in terms of getting jobs, going to college ...you know, real rehab and getting back into society and participating as a citizen.
It also seems like most who are caught are stupid, doing "retro" crime, whereas the white collar type of criminals are still getting slaps on the wrist.
This is really bad news. VC funding drops to 2003 levels.
Remember, a lot of VCs were burned during the dot con era, so they pulled really back in 2001-2003 time frame.
This is why I think the U.S. government plain needs to get into the VC business.
The SBA is some bureaucratic nightmare beast, where one almost needs to specialize in the SBA to figure out how to get anywhere. Applying for government contracts...almost another area of specialization due to all of the bureaucracy. Who the hell has the time or ability to figure out this maze of "gotchas"?
They need to not only have some sort of WPA style program, they need to jump start job growth and the economy with new business ventures.
This has been true for some time, but basically investors currently seem to have "herd think" which is the only markets where one can make huge money is in emerging economies......they are not looking at the good ole U.S.A. as an "emerging economy" of the future. They should. The U.S. is just throwing away it's own talent, it's own citizens, it's own ingenuity, which needs some serious capital infusions as well as guidance and mentoring, resources.
I think legalizing marijuana kills so many problems in one swoop, just like prohibition in the 1930's....and they should do it.
I pretty "straight and narrow" personally but it just seems pot is less nasty than alcohol and many prescription drugs we see advertisements for daily.
They should also enforce immigration laws. CA spends $10.5 Billion a year on illegal immigrants/immigration and it's pretty clear they cannot afford this nice philosophy. They could easily do something in the areas where it makes most sense, say criminals, gangs, felons.
Superb piece, I wish it were under the nose of every American, instead of the steady diet of corporate tripe they're fed.
In my view, when the people are in the streets tearing down this nation, the 6 month period from Oct. '08 - Apr. '09 will have planted the seeds. That's when our government had it's chance. It had the chance to bail out the people, but instead, it chose to bail out the very gangsters who have the people by the throat.
They actually did a 1/2 Minsky. When we get to the implosion, Minsky called for printing up money for bailouts. But that was only 1/2 of what he called for. He also called for simultaneously providing a minimum wage job for anyone in the nation who wanted one. Didn't matter what it was, picking up trash if need be, anything of social good. What we did though is like a single book-end pushing from one side with no support on the other - the books will go flying everywhere. We poured the whole bailout into the top, in the single biggest act of trickle-down in world history.
Not even sure if Minsky would have altered his approach given the debt we started with, and that this time it's foreign owed as opposed to owing ourselves like in WWII. But in any case we completely ignored the bottom end of the system and pushed all the liquidity through the top.
That's illegal. Foul. And for this, we will pay, bigger than we realize now.
while the article title made it sound like the dollar was about to collapse, the article itself seems to imply it's already happened.
Seriously, trying to subtract away that Armageddon fear, what is the probability in the big picture we're a Russia or a S. Korea or Thailand at the moment?
(Reuters) - Romania's parliament looks set to topple the minority government on Tuesday in a no-confidence vote ahead of a November presidential election and raises fresh concerns over the country's IMF aid.
The centrist and leftist opposition have called Tuesday's vote after Prime Minister Emil Boc's coalition cabinet split earlier this month, plunging the country into political crisis at a time when it is trying to fight against recession.
...
A major overhaul of Romania's creaking and complex pension system has to be introduced by the end of the year and economists say the government risks overshooting the IMF's budget deficit target of 7.3 percent of gross domestic product.
Regional markets are on high alert. Bucharest's coalition collapse battered the leu and dragged down currencies in neighbouring countries. Dealers say markets also fear that political turmoil in Poland may return and weaken currencies.
"The market wants a government -- anybody out there!" said Nicolaie Alexandru-Chidesciuc, ING chief economist in Bucharest.
"Without a government there is no certainty. The market cannot be immune to that."
I wonder if poverty indicators will be up next year. And with jobs scarce, how are we going to integrate the large number of prison inmates who are being paroled or who "max out"? Will crime make more sense if you can't make an honest living (bear in mind that these are not our smartest criminals)? We need to invest in education and infrastructure, to absorb our "surplus labor" and to retool for the "new America."
Frank T.
Florida has flirted from time to time with privatizing toll roads. So far, we have not gotten around to selling the Everglades to China. But I'm sure some administration will consider selling our national parks to, say, Marriott Corporation or to developers. And while we're at it, our cities could privatize traffic enforcement -- let Corrections Corporation of America issue tickets and collect fines. With corrupt politicians, the possibilities are only limited by their lobbyists' creativity.
Frank T.
Why not creative construction (as in WPA, to lay the foundation for an American Green Economy)? What if we sacrificed bankers (or AIG) to appease the Volcano God? Don't they have more market value than virgins (who, after all, are not adding that much to the economy).
Frank T.
And are the High Priests a treacherous lot that conspires w/Pizarro?
Great job. I believe that we mistakenly equate the survival our democracy to capitalism and the leaders of capitalism but Capitalists are a destructive bunch - they are killing capitalism and democracy. The destruction of one is intentional and the destruction of the other is a consequence of their actions.
It will either be what a nation produces or its sacred assets. One or the other if it wishes to maintain a semblance of operation. The only difference between the two is that rewards of the former far outweigh the latter and that semblance is more concrete.
All the STEM jobs are going to H1-bs, L1s, EB1, EB2 and EB3.
Until Obama cancels all these visas there will be no recovery.
Jobs, jobs - is the main problem and not healthcare.
I love the economics texts and papers which talk about "localized and regional adjustments" for "a period of time" which will then come back "into equilibrium".
It's completely ridiculous (beyond the fact we do not have real free trade by the theory).
Gee, maybe all of those "little localities" add up to a nation and gee, maybe that "period of time" is....100 years....and maybe that new equilibrium point is....poverty and despair.
Well, I'm kinda mixed on this. It makes me sad when they sell off highways my tax dollars already paid for. Saying that, I remember when they sold it, it was an unpopular move. But the city and the state were hemorrhaging money, actually they still are. The situation isn't very good state wise. Did you last month, Chicago's government (minus emergency stuff and some critical ops) had shut down for a day twice. Its like California. Still, recently we sold some parking meters, and then the firm that got them doubled the rates. People were pissed.
I have a weird sense of government, thinking it as a services corporation where we're the shareholders and mandatory members of their services. Anyways, it always struck me, and I'm not the first to say this, that they never found enterprises to get into. Yes, it smacks of socialism...ooooh. But hear me out. Instead of selling the Skyway, Daley should have purchased out the various parking facilities. Many places are in desperate need of new spaces. Well a public works project to build new spaces, where the city would earn a revenue off of. Crazy talk, I know, but government needs new ways to get revenue besides taxes and tariffs (because we're too damn stupid not to impose the latter, well you know what I mean).
Yes, it feels great to be posting. I found out every time I say I'm coming back and health has returned, I get a whammy in the health department. So I'm not saying I'm returning, but you get the idea. ;)
Hey JV, glad to see you posting! Your input/insight is invaluable.
Ok, the U.S. has sold many highways, toll roads, leased lands and infrastructure to private interests. It seems to have occurred mostly at the state level.
This week the Senate did not extend unemployment benefits, so here we go with hundreds of thousands of just the 48% who even qualify falling off of any support with no job growth in sight.
To me, I don't know about you but I can "feel that pain" through those statistics, charts and graphs of so many Americans needing work. From looking over the different occupational areas, this isn't just one sector, it's completely across the occupational spectrum, so it's all sorts of people who are in deep, deep shit.
Could someone define 'job losses' how does it differ from 'first time unemployed' and other unemployment number.
Bonddad's favorite employment 'green shoot' is decreasing 'job losses'.
Great blog - it's my favorite.
Thanks
Tom
All of a sudden Chauncey Gardiner analogies are popping up in the WSJ and noted by Krugman as well as here.
Remember, you saw the joke here folks! This poll has been up for a couple of months!
I don't recall the exact numbers right now but I know the U.S. has more felons and people in prison than anywhere else in the world.
While I'm pretty much on violent/sex crimes, "throw away the key" or even "save the state some money and let them kill each other" type (sorry, some of these people....are not people)...
It also seems that on many offenses, once one gets a felony conviction, for the most part, their future is over, even after they get out...in terms of getting jobs, going to college ...you know, real rehab and getting back into society and participating as a citizen.
It also seems like most who are caught are stupid, doing "retro" crime, whereas the white collar type of criminals are still getting slaps on the wrist.
This is really bad news. VC funding drops to 2003 levels.
Remember, a lot of VCs were burned during the dot con era, so they pulled really back in 2001-2003 time frame.
This is why I think the U.S. government plain needs to get into the VC business.
The SBA is some bureaucratic nightmare beast, where one almost needs to specialize in the SBA to figure out how to get anywhere. Applying for government contracts...almost another area of specialization due to all of the bureaucracy. Who the hell has the time or ability to figure out this maze of "gotchas"?
They need to not only have some sort of WPA style program, they need to jump start job growth and the economy with new business ventures.
This has been true for some time, but basically investors currently seem to have "herd think" which is the only markets where one can make huge money is in emerging economies......they are not looking at the good ole U.S.A. as an "emerging economy" of the future. They should. The U.S. is just throwing away it's own talent, it's own citizens, it's own ingenuity, which needs some serious capital infusions as well as guidance and mentoring, resources.
I think legalizing marijuana kills so many problems in one swoop, just like prohibition in the 1930's....and they should do it.
I pretty "straight and narrow" personally but it just seems pot is less nasty than alcohol and many prescription drugs we see advertisements for daily.
They should also enforce immigration laws. CA spends $10.5 Billion a year on illegal immigrants/immigration and it's pretty clear they cannot afford this nice philosophy. They could easily do something in the areas where it makes most sense, say criminals, gangs, felons.
Gods come and go, The Lord is permanent.
Superb piece, I wish it were under the nose of every American, instead of the steady diet of corporate tripe they're fed.
In my view, when the people are in the streets tearing down this nation, the 6 month period from Oct. '08 - Apr. '09 will have planted the seeds. That's when our government had it's chance. It had the chance to bail out the people, but instead, it chose to bail out the very gangsters who have the people by the throat.
They actually did a 1/2 Minsky. When we get to the implosion, Minsky called for printing up money for bailouts. But that was only 1/2 of what he called for. He also called for simultaneously providing a minimum wage job for anyone in the nation who wanted one. Didn't matter what it was, picking up trash if need be, anything of social good. What we did though is like a single book-end pushing from one side with no support on the other - the books will go flying everywhere. We poured the whole bailout into the top, in the single biggest act of trickle-down in world history.
Not even sure if Minsky would have altered his approach given the debt we started with, and that this time it's foreign owed as opposed to owing ourselves like in WWII. But in any case we completely ignored the bottom end of the system and pushed all the liquidity through the top.
That's illegal. Foul. And for this, we will pay, bigger than we realize now.
while the article title made it sound like the dollar was about to collapse, the article itself seems to imply it's already happened.
Seriously, trying to subtract away that Armageddon fear, what is the probability in the big picture we're a Russia or a S. Korea or Thailand at the moment?
It looks like the economic crisis in eastern Europe is about to flare up again.
I wonder if poverty indicators will be up next year. And with jobs scarce, how are we going to integrate the large number of prison inmates who are being paroled or who "max out"? Will crime make more sense if you can't make an honest living (bear in mind that these are not our smartest criminals)? We need to invest in education and infrastructure, to absorb our "surplus labor" and to retool for the "new America."
Frank T.
Florida has flirted from time to time with privatizing toll roads. So far, we have not gotten around to selling the Everglades to China. But I'm sure some administration will consider selling our national parks to, say, Marriott Corporation or to developers. And while we're at it, our cities could privatize traffic enforcement -- let Corrections Corporation of America issue tickets and collect fines. With corrupt politicians, the possibilities are only limited by their lobbyists' creativity.
Frank T.
Why not creative construction (as in WPA, to lay the foundation for an American Green Economy)? What if we sacrificed bankers (or AIG) to appease the Volcano God? Don't they have more market value than virgins (who, after all, are not adding that much to the economy).
Frank T.
And are the High Priests a treacherous lot that conspires w/Pizarro?
Great job. I believe that we mistakenly equate the survival our democracy to capitalism and the leaders of capitalism but Capitalists are a destructive bunch - they are killing capitalism and democracy. The destruction of one is intentional and the destruction of the other is a consequence of their actions.
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
It will either be what a nation produces or its sacred assets. One or the other if it wishes to maintain a semblance of operation. The only difference between the two is that rewards of the former far outweigh the latter and that semblance is more concrete.
All the STEM jobs are going to H1-bs, L1s, EB1, EB2 and EB3.
Until Obama cancels all these visas there will be no recovery.
Jobs, jobs - is the main problem and not healthcare.
This is a fantastic Populist rant and analogy.
I love the economics texts and papers which talk about "localized and regional adjustments" for "a period of time" which will then come back "into equilibrium".
It's completely ridiculous (beyond the fact we do not have real free trade by the theory).
Gee, maybe all of those "little localities" add up to a nation and gee, maybe that "period of time" is....100 years....and maybe that new equilibrium point is....poverty and despair.
They even called it a garage sale.
It's inevitable for a 3rd world nation to sell of its assets. That's what happens when you don't produce things you can sell to the world.
Well, I'm kinda mixed on this. It makes me sad when they sell off highways my tax dollars already paid for. Saying that, I remember when they sold it, it was an unpopular move. But the city and the state were hemorrhaging money, actually they still are. The situation isn't very good state wise. Did you last month, Chicago's government (minus emergency stuff and some critical ops) had shut down for a day twice. Its like California. Still, recently we sold some parking meters, and then the firm that got them doubled the rates. People were pissed.
I have a weird sense of government, thinking it as a services corporation where we're the shareholders and mandatory members of their services. Anyways, it always struck me, and I'm not the first to say this, that they never found enterprises to get into. Yes, it smacks of socialism...ooooh. But hear me out. Instead of selling the Skyway, Daley should have purchased out the various parking facilities. Many places are in desperate need of new spaces. Well a public works project to build new spaces, where the city would earn a revenue off of. Crazy talk, I know, but government needs new ways to get revenue besides taxes and tariffs (because we're too damn stupid not to impose the latter, well you know what I mean).
Yes, it feels great to be posting. I found out every time I say I'm coming back and health has returned, I get a whammy in the health department. So I'm not saying I'm returning, but you get the idea. ;)
Hey JV, glad to see you posting! Your input/insight is invaluable.
Ok, the U.S. has sold many highways, toll roads, leased lands and infrastructure to private interests. It seems to have occurred mostly at the state level.
For ex., this private Australian firm owns the leases for the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana toll road.
Sad isn't it?
This week the Senate did not extend unemployment benefits, so here we go with hundreds of thousands of just the 48% who even qualify falling off of any support with no job growth in sight.
To me, I don't know about you but I can "feel that pain" through those statistics, charts and graphs of so many Americans needing work. From looking over the different occupational areas, this isn't just one sector, it's completely across the occupational spectrum, so it's all sorts of people who are in deep, deep shit.
This be the article.
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