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US oil supplies at a 36½ year low, SPR at a 39 year low; oil+products supplies at an 18½ year low
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Subprime meltdown over; now comes the bad news
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"Take Care That the Laws be Faithfully Executed"
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And How Does Globalization Benefit Us?
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Post Nuclear Japan, Pre Disaster United States
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US oil supplies at a 36½ year low, SPR at a 39 year low; oil+products supplies at an 18½ year low
- 185941 reads
Subprime meltdown over; now comes the bad news
- 105908 reads
"Take Care That the Laws be Faithfully Executed"
- 15261 reads
And How Does Globalization Benefit Us?
- 33750 reads
Post Nuclear Japan, Pre Disaster United States
- 86289 reads
The Golden Rule
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Will the NY Attorney General Bring Doomsday Charges Against Wall Street? If So, How Long Will He Survive?
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New York Post Claims Census Falsifies Unemployment Figures
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How Many Jobs Are Needed to Keep Up with Population Growth?
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VAT or Value Added Tax is Getting a Look in D.C.
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U3 and U6 Unemployment during the Great Depression
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The war on the middle class
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House discusses 401k/IRA confiscation
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Tax Cuts for the Rich Do Not Generate Jobs
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so that they can inflate that bubble. I just keep thinking the avg. citizen has to soon catch on to this game. Maybe...don't you think?
"As far as campaign rhetoric goes, I mean seriously can you really believe any politician anywhere on taxes and that includes Republicans?"
The problem is there are people that believe what is coming out of the mouths of the politicians.
I am in the middle and losing ground. I've been losing ground for too long and all I can do is work harder / longer.
I can not afford to pay anymore taxes/fees/whatever that I have no choice in paying. I don't care if it is for a good cause........all I want is for them to stop it and take a breath.
I forgot about the sweet foods tax. I don't drink soda but why should soda drinkers help pay octa-moms bills.
is a new community site for techies, precisely to try to get some organization to combat this practice. Although your story is highly unusual. It doesn't make sense for the company to actually pay more in wages when displacing a U.S. citizen, for most often it's about cheaper labor. Could be one of those "save my pals, screw the others" behavior going on where someone in the hire/fire decision chain is biased.
Sign on and discuss (and tell others please) on Noslaves.com.
Thanks for posting this article. This just recently happened to me, a U.S taxpayer, mechanical engineer for a major international high tech company. Initially my position, as I was told, went overseas to China. However within 2 hours of my reduction in workforce notification, an individual working at the same site was moved into my position. She has a 10 year Visa from India, and making 1.5 times my salary. Not only was she "insulted" that the company gave her a "lower" and "demeaning" job for her skillset, she actually asked me why she lost her position and got mine instead (when I had just lost my position to her!) Apparently she is a corporate sponsored VISA. Her brother was also brought into my old organization the very same day (he also works there). Now I have been told that over 4 people are doing the very same job I did by myself, with much higher salaries. I have much anquish over this entire ordeal, and am deeply troubled by a movement such as this, for me, and my children. As a single parent with 2 college age and 1 middle school child, and more than dismal job searching prospects, for the first time in my professional career, I am truly worried. How can we as a society, allow this to happen? How did this happen?
How can we stop this?
yes it's a tax. The VAT, as debated, might be a good thing due to trade deficits...but yes that too has regressive properties.
but what kills me on all of these taxes is they are pretty much regressive. What happened to the idea of taxing corporations, the ultra rich and returning to a highly progressive tax structure?
Seems they are busy just taxing the middle class from all of the taxes running around and that is a sure fire way to kill the economy.
As far as campaign rhetoric goes, I mean seriously can you really believe any politician anywhere on taxes and that includes Republicans?
One of the issues is the real focus needs to be on increasing disposable income for the poor/middle class not on keyword taxes. Something is cast as a tax when it might be actually a huge benefit. Take health care as a prime example (although the latest I've seen in negotiations it's not looking too good with private insurance lobbyists running the show!).
Until the lagging indicator of unemployment goes down and the lagging indicator of average wages adjusted for inflation starts rising.
I don't care what the official "economic indicators" say, these are the two statistics that most affect the Personally Screwed indicator.
If you have a job, you might not be able to afford mortgage, but you will likely be able to afford rent, assuming that you're willing to accept a 2-4 hour/day commute- you can always find places to rent outside the UGB and in smaller poorer towns in rural counties.
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Maximum jobs, not maximum profits.
I noticed that too, some serious spin. Also note that Schiller is trying to peddle a new ETF style of index to bet for/against the housing bubble.
You might edit your post and link over to this Instapopulist, OTC, OCC report to also justify your reality check.
It's some damning stats on delinquencies, foreclosures.
The increases are astounding but to figure out the absolutes, it's unclear how that is calculated. But the percent change is truly astounding with all of that crap about helping homeowners and so on.
And will continue to be until they include a Personally Screwed component.
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Maximum jobs, not maximum profits.
Well, all we can do is to continue to examine what's going on and pipe up.
But we sure did blog our brains out on the saving of the financial oligarchy, as have many others. So did some members of Congress, with Rep. Peter Defazio literally saying this is bullshit on the house floor.
The problem is there really are just a few key people who control the power in Congress. "Leadership" is assuredly cronyism that never gets examined much, but what a pecking order! Someone gets democratically (ahem) elected and walks into some boys club from hell in terms of seniority and influence (versus competence!).
with inane globalization policies, the banks running the nation and a refusal to put their own workers first.
The first thought in my mind was how we needed some manufacturing lobbyists to pull the weight in D.C., not the financial lobbyists.
In terms of battle of the business influence on policy, the manufacturing groups are treated like the lorn beggar at the back door.
this mortgage crisis right at the source from the beginning instead bailing out the financial oligarchy. Oh well.
As for the housing market there is still too much inventory. The way I am measuring whether we are making progress is if someone can sell their home (non-distressed sale) and make enough on the sale to pay-off existing mortgage and have a little for a down payment on a new home. This is not happening.
HIPPA Costs
In 1996 it was estimated would cost about $3.8 billion over five years. Five years later the actual cost was $43 billion.
They are so often off on the amount it will save us and the amount it will cost us.
This is getting interesting.
On Giving Goldman A Chance
and I can attest that the NASD or SEC does NOT watch out for the big fish. It is a well know fact but the public doesn't know it.
The regulators are more about producing fines from archaic rules. For a long time the NASD would not allow brokers to use e-mail. The NASD worries about things like, do you have an insurance application in the same file case as securities clients. They worry about things like, did you send your client letter sent or received to compliance? All things that would never stop a bad actor BUT it generates fines and fines keep the NASD (now FINRA) in business.
I was anal about compliance and never received a fine, a complaint or anything. Clean as new fallen snow. But all their shuffling of papers makes it look like the regulators are protecting the public.
Thanks for another outstanding column - and yes, it sure does appear this administration is really about re-securitizing the securitization (or more properly put: re-securitizing the securitization of the securitization).
With the creation of ICE US Trust, to negate any true oversight of the credit derivatives, I have no doubt ICE (InterContinental Exchange) will also be the exchange of choice for this new derivatives market.
My only disagreement: I predict that it will more likely become a $10 trillion (or greater market), as the layering on of securities over securities over securities (or derivatives over derivatives....) will occur, as usual.
(Everybody aware that President Obama's appointment of Diana Farrell as Deputy Director of the National Economics Council? Diana is the number one promoter of the offshoring of American (and Euro) jobs - be sure to read the book she edited: OFFSHORING (nope, I'm not joking!)
Please recall The Great Depression, which resulted from issuing shares on debt, then layering shares based upon shares based upon shares.....
Not terribly different from our present situation - only this time its bonds, etc.
it's mixed. Hey, you won't hear me defending Goldman Sachs and the continual revolving government door, etc.
The Max Train scene came from Beaverton.
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Maximum jobs, not maximum profits.
We still have two days to go before we can check my prediction that will give us how bad it's going to get. What's your definition of recovery, and how shall we measure it?
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Maximum jobs, not maximum profits.
If they're using anything like the private unemployment insurance credit cards use, then merely *filing* for unemployment, whether you are paid for that week or not, is enough to suspend payments.
While I was out of work 2001-2003, I faxed in a copy of whatever unemployment sent me every week; even ended up paying *off* one credit card on minimum payments after 2 years.....
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Maximum jobs, not maximum profits.
If the the article was baseless, why did a GS rep even acknowledge it - much less respond to it. In fact, the response tells me the article must have hit a nerve.
What GS is suddenly concerned about good PR? C'mon.
From Felix's blog that you quote
emphasis mine
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