the "budget control act" they passed at the end of 2011 is the hole they're in...the meat axe approach to budgeting blindly cuts $110 billlion a year for ten years, so obviously it gets worse each year...they have to dig out of that before they can move on...
Their agendas are just insane, they should be worrying about jobs and wages and that too, would help enormously with the deficit.
Supposedly they have "throw more techies" at the Obamacare website. That's nice and meaningless if they do not get the right techies, who are Americans in so many words, minus the lobbyists and their useless companies obtaining large contracts.
It doesn't matter neither party will put the middle class first. If it is the GOP, they want to deny people their benefits, taken out of their paychecks, that's Medicare and social security, along with gutting food stamps.
If it is Democrats, they want to flood the U.S. with foreign workers, enable even more offshore outsourcing through bad trade deals, and of course put in their pet projects and make things as inefficient as possible due to lobbyists, special interests.
Firstly, that gini coefficient map is just incredible. My belief about jobs, as a non-economist, is that both parties have been hijacked by corporate plutocratic interests.
At the end of the 1980's, after getting shellacked in 3 straight elections (reagan and bush I), the Democrats decided to become the 2nd party of wall street in order to win elections. Seemed to work for Bill Clinton who adopted many of Reagan's pro plutocratic policies. The old new dealers and unions were no longer enough for the Dem's to win elections.
I had hope for Obama to be an agent of change and to give voice to the working class of America, which should now include white collar workers. Where is the Employee free choice Act you may ask yourself?
Now the republicans find themselves in a somewhat similar situation as the Dems of the late '80's. Their traditional base of reagan democrats are dying off. The difference is i don't see the republicans picking up the mantle of the poor in order to become electable again. If anything they will traverse farther to the right (if that's possible) probably again dragging the democrats with them. The democratic party in europe would be a center right party in almost every country.
The only solution is one from below that does not initially involve either of the 2 political parties. And unfortunately, i just don't think it's bad enough yet. Another mind blowing proposition.
People will have to be starving and homeless in huge numbers before any real populist ground swell gains traction. There's just enough left of FDR's new deal, think food stamps and unemployment insurance to protect against absolute destitution at this point. Though that may rapidly change if the republicans gain control over more of the government.
Then they can truly return the entire US population to the 1800's which is their stated goal. Will there be enough Americans alive at that point who will remember what a true middle class country was like to even fight back?
We're in such trouble for that was one good thing the Tea party did stop, not that they would enact anything in worker's favor, but at least they did stop the onslaught corporate agenda now planning to be pushed through the legislative pike. We're in big trouble as all of these things are going to fry U.S. workers.
The next order of business in Congress is to pursue bipartisan agreement - yuck - on how to widen the trade deficit - fast track the top secret TPP trade deal with no debate, then we find out what's in it; then flood the labor market with foreign guestworkers on demand for every special interest. This is how our government creates jobs for us, by global labor arbitraging us against the world?
This is only a "what if" but what if instead of leaving a ton of debt to the kids and grandkids, the interest on the debt was paid into the savings accounts of the kids and grandkids, instead if going out the door to the bank of China or any foreign entity that only buys T-bills as part of the process of currency manipulation to devalue their own currency to prop up their export market into the U.S. and trash our industrial base, tax base and labor market. Is having the world's reserve currency a blessing or a curse? Would it tend to turn the owner country into the world's biggest trade deficit black hole and biggest job loser? Are the foreign buyers of T-bills really interested in the wonderful stinking interest rate or something else?
there'll be a 42 days gap between the Sept & Oct jobs reports surveys, then a 21 day period between Oct & Nov...housing starts, as unrealiable as they are now, are also collected by census field reps, who visit housing permit offices and conduct road canvasses to gather the sample used in that report, which will now be half the size it normally is...
Numarian said "When a government has to borrow in order to pay interest on its debt, one of two things has happened."
-- US law REQUIRES the Treasury to sell bonds equal to the budget deficit. If that law were repealed, there would be no need to sell bonds other than as one means (but not the only means) to control interest rates.
-- bond sales serve to drain excess bank reserves. If not drained, interest rates would fall to zero. So bond sales are a tool to control interest rates (alternatively, the Fed can set an interest rate on bank reserves).
-- the US government spends by marking up bank accounts at the Federal Reserve. It does not have to borrow to spend, except for the legal requirement to sell bonds.
-- if Congress allowed it, we could pay off the National Debt tomorrow, simply by marking up accounts at the Federal Reserve. Alternatively, existing law allows the Treasury to mint high value Platinum Coins that could be used to pay off the national debt. Note that paying off the debt would be deflationary, not inflationary, because it would remove interest income from the economy.
-- the reason the Fed buys bonds is to control interest rates. If rates go up, it's because the Fed wanted them to go up. If rates go down, it's because the Fed wanted rates to go down. The market does not control interest rates -- the market cannot outbid the Fed because the Fed has infinitely deep pockets.
--I encourage you to read about Functional Finance (Abba Lerner), now days embraced by MMT (Warren Mosler).
--Minsky's instability theory concerned PRIVATE debt bubbles, not the debt of a sovereign government. Private sector bubbles eventually burst because the private sector can't print money. But Uncle Sam can print money, so there is no danger of the US defaulting unless it chooses to default.
-- there is no danger of being unable to sell Treasury bonds. Put yourself in a bank's shoes -- you have excess reserves. You can either 1) do nothing with the reserves or 2) earn interest on the excess reserves by buying Treasury bonds. It's a no brainer.
-- Ditto for China. When we import stuff from China, we pay them in dollars, not in yen. China can either 1) use those dollars for toilet paper or 2) use the dollars to buy American stuff or 3) buy Treasury bonds and earn interest. Whichever they choose, it's all good for us.
BLS field reps normally spend the entire month visiting stores, car dealers, hospitals, et al to collect prices; they were furloughed for more than half of October; the Cleveland Fed has a note on the troubles that introduces into the data:
Pushing big business foreign cheap labor agendas under immigration reform is going to seriously harm the U.S. worker even further and more to the point, the issue should be jobs, revenue, jobs, revenue, jobs on all of their plates and it is the one thing that is not the central issue in D.C.
By promoting corporate written agendas is assuredly one reason the Tea Party could even get a foot hold.
I think claiming it is "race" is ridiculous. Obama is half while and he is way more green as in Harvard, insider boy's club corporate representative than any other color.
But it seems to me the Tea party is some manufactured public relations/marketing agenda. Huge money, such as the Koch Brothers is behind it and is using people's ignorance, fears and proclivity towards rage to push their own truly crazy agendas from these billionaires financing the "movement".
It's astounding how well these techniques work to cause a public froth, we have examples from Nazis to the 2008 Obama campaign running these propaganda techniques and "Triumph of the Will" marketing tactics to get people to believe.
Facts, statistics, accuracy, understanding how debt even works goes out the window with this and it's frightening.
It shows the lack of education in society, where some crazy people can just get on the "pulpit" and "preach to the people" and they will "believe" up is down and black is white. Religious fervor where Satan is the government abounds from these Koch Brothers paid preachers.
I hear ya, and our government, this should be job #1 to get work back to what it used to be and it's worst than that, it is denial that millions are wiped out as a result of offshore outsourcing, bringing in foreign guest workers and eroding work so instead of a right it's a survivor game.
We won't tell you a bunch of crap about the situation, more just write your representatives, keep speaking out and raising hell. There are millions just like you and if everyone raised hell, they might just have to pay attention to the rancor.
When I was growing up, someone who didn’t have a job was a bum and a freeloader. Let’s face it, the social contract is broken.
The whole idea of putting yourself through school, getting a good education with good grades, paying your bills, working hard, saving your money…doesn’t exist. When I was growing up that’s what they told me to do. It was actually considered a noble thing. Now, no one cares how you got it, just as long as you have it. The baby boomers were warned about the drying-up of resources as we got older. So I did everything they told me I should do to combat the impending doom.
Any fool would say that money buys happiness, but it sure buys you options. I’m living my worst nightmare. I’m the perfect demographic. I’m 54, the end of the baby boomers. I’m a single male Caucasian. I’ve been laid-off eight times in my career. I was hit hard by the recession. In the last six years, I’ve been laid-off three times. One was for six months, one was nearly a year and a half and this time for over a year and eight months. All my savings are gone. I have no health insurance. Even if I did, I couldn't afford it. There is no retirement. I don’t qualify for unemployment benefits. I don’t qualify to get the education I need to compete in the job market. I had to give up my apartment because I couldn’t afford it. I used savings to move to an area of the country where I thought there would be more opportunities. I share a bedroom in a flop house with several other people because it was cheap and I needed a place to stay. I don’t have any resources on any level, to compete. I’ve simply fallen out of the system…the forgotten generation. Yet, I still have to pay taxes for the little money I made doing temp jobs. This is not self-pity. These are the facts.
We keep pushing the longevity of life. But, seriously, what are we going to do with all these people? How are we going to take care of them and give them resources they need and most of all purpose? There simply are too many of us. I’m 54 and don’t have the resources to take care of myself. What am I going to do when I’m older? I mean, you have to take into account the quality of life and not just the quantity. Sure the numbers look good on paper, but what good is life if you can't live?
Actually, I have no intention of getting that old. There is always an option. Everyone asks me what my Plan B is. If I told them, they’d put me in an institution. I have no moral issue with the plan. After all, we now choose when and if we have babies, why can’t we have the same control on the other side of life? (No, this isn’t a suicide letter.) People always say that others have it worse. I always say they can execute their Plan B, as well.
I’ve always took pride in being able to take care of myself. I can’t anymore. I’m, frankly giving up. They won’t let you live with dignity, yet they make it difficult to die with dignity. I need to maintain my pride, dignity and self-respect. (So, I won’t be a greeter at Wal-Mart and I won’t go on General Assistance and I won’t live in a Section 8. I just won’t do it.) I have to read my resume now and then to confirm that at one time I had a life and was a professional and a productive, contributing, self-sufficient member of society.
So, is this it? Is this what it all amounts to? If it is, then I want it over. I have compromised my life too much to just survive. Besides, how long will it be before I get laid-off again…six months, two years? If I’m having problems at 54, what will I do if it happens in the future? I have no time to recover. If I allow myself to compromise any more, I won’t recognize who I am and who I fought to be. I will relinquish my pride. I won’t and can’t live with that. There’s just no dignity in any of this.
One thing I have to keep telling myself….IT’S NOT MY FAULT!
Telling someone “something will come along” when you’re unemployed is as much of a cliche as telling someone when a loved one dies that “they’re in a better place”. You just want to hit them...hard.
First, I'm sorry but this misuse and not understanding basic government structure definitions is just stupid. Crack a textbook or go to wikipedia and learn what socialism actually is.
Second, the government ALREADY runs healthcare. It is called the VA and additionally Medicare and Medicaid.
So amusing the obviously lack of knowledge coming from people, You go to the VA, demand VA benefits as if that is not the government. It is.
We all know you are a true socialist. Capitalism will be the death to us all. But no one in their right mind can possibly believe the government can run our healthcare. As you pointed out, just look at the astronomical numbers they have wasted on the website. Facebook, ebay, and others have spent far less capital on working, well laid out sites. I hate the GOP gave in to Obama. He promised transparency in his administration and to bring a new era to bipartisan relations. What scares me is that a majority of Americans believe him. If you want a picture of a true politician, just look and listen cause he fits the bill.
If you read the studies they account for women who are single, no kids who work way past 8-5 and do join organizations and are active, network, go to conferences, speak, etc.
I have been working for 25 years since I finished my MBA. I never married and have no children. I am earning as much as my male counterparts. The BIG unwritten, undocumented item in this article and others is not the level of work being done, but the "extras". The raises and bonuses don't come from a job well done, that is expected. The "extra" money comes from joining related organizations, taking on board positions and being "visible". Most women I know with families do very little, if anything at all, above or beyond the 9-5. We all have made our decisions. But please tell the truth about this!
the "budget control act" they passed at the end of 2011 is the hole they're in...the meat axe approach to budgeting blindly cuts $110 billlion a year for ten years, so obviously it gets worse each year...they have to dig out of that before they can move on...
Their agendas are just insane, they should be worrying about jobs and wages and that too, would help enormously with the deficit.
Supposedly they have "throw more techies" at the Obamacare website. That's nice and meaningless if they do not get the right techies, who are Americans in so many words, minus the lobbyists and their useless companies obtaining large contracts.
It doesn't matter neither party will put the middle class first. If it is the GOP, they want to deny people their benefits, taken out of their paychecks, that's Medicare and social security, along with gutting food stamps.
If it is Democrats, they want to flood the U.S. with foreign workers, enable even more offshore outsourcing through bad trade deals, and of course put in their pet projects and make things as inefficient as possible due to lobbyists, special interests.
Nowhere to turn here.
Firstly, that gini coefficient map is just incredible. My belief about jobs, as a non-economist, is that both parties have been hijacked by corporate plutocratic interests.
At the end of the 1980's, after getting shellacked in 3 straight elections (reagan and bush I), the Democrats decided to become the 2nd party of wall street in order to win elections. Seemed to work for Bill Clinton who adopted many of Reagan's pro plutocratic policies. The old new dealers and unions were no longer enough for the Dem's to win elections.
I had hope for Obama to be an agent of change and to give voice to the working class of America, which should now include white collar workers. Where is the Employee free choice Act you may ask yourself?
Now the republicans find themselves in a somewhat similar situation as the Dems of the late '80's. Their traditional base of reagan democrats are dying off. The difference is i don't see the republicans picking up the mantle of the poor in order to become electable again. If anything they will traverse farther to the right (if that's possible) probably again dragging the democrats with them. The democratic party in europe would be a center right party in almost every country.
The only solution is one from below that does not initially involve either of the 2 political parties. And unfortunately, i just don't think it's bad enough yet. Another mind blowing proposition.
People will have to be starving and homeless in huge numbers before any real populist ground swell gains traction. There's just enough left of FDR's new deal, think food stamps and unemployment insurance to protect against absolute destitution at this point. Though that may rapidly change if the republicans gain control over more of the government.
Then they can truly return the entire US population to the 1800's which is their stated goal. Will there be enough Americans alive at that point who will remember what a true middle class country was like to even fight back?
As usual the things that matter get wasted by these crazy corrupt incompetents in D.C.
We're in such trouble for that was one good thing the Tea party did stop, not that they would enact anything in worker's favor, but at least they did stop the onslaught corporate agenda now planning to be pushed through the legislative pike. We're in big trouble as all of these things are going to fry U.S. workers.
The next order of business in Congress is to pursue bipartisan agreement - yuck - on how to widen the trade deficit - fast track the top secret TPP trade deal with no debate, then we find out what's in it; then flood the labor market with foreign guestworkers on demand for every special interest. This is how our government creates jobs for us, by global labor arbitraging us against the world?
This is only a "what if" but what if instead of leaving a ton of debt to the kids and grandkids, the interest on the debt was paid into the savings accounts of the kids and grandkids, instead if going out the door to the bank of China or any foreign entity that only buys T-bills as part of the process of currency manipulation to devalue their own currency to prop up their export market into the U.S. and trash our industrial base, tax base and labor market. Is having the world's reserve currency a blessing or a curse? Would it tend to turn the owner country into the world's biggest trade deficit black hole and biggest job loser? Are the foreign buyers of T-bills really interested in the wonderful stinking interest rate or something else?
there'll be a 42 days gap between the Sept & Oct jobs reports surveys, then a 21 day period between Oct & Nov...housing starts, as unrealiable as they are now, are also collected by census field reps, who visit housing permit offices and conduct road canvasses to gather the sample used in that report, which will now be half the size it normally is...
Numarian said "When a government has to borrow in order to pay interest on its debt, one of two things has happened."
-- US law REQUIRES the Treasury to sell bonds equal to the budget deficit. If that law were repealed, there would be no need to sell bonds other than as one means (but not the only means) to control interest rates.
-- bond sales serve to drain excess bank reserves. If not drained, interest rates would fall to zero. So bond sales are a tool to control interest rates (alternatively, the Fed can set an interest rate on bank reserves).
-- the US government spends by marking up bank accounts at the Federal Reserve. It does not have to borrow to spend, except for the legal requirement to sell bonds.
-- if Congress allowed it, we could pay off the National Debt tomorrow, simply by marking up accounts at the Federal Reserve. Alternatively, existing law allows the Treasury to mint high value Platinum Coins that could be used to pay off the national debt. Note that paying off the debt would be deflationary, not inflationary, because it would remove interest income from the economy.
-- the reason the Fed buys bonds is to control interest rates. If rates go up, it's because the Fed wanted them to go up. If rates go down, it's because the Fed wanted rates to go down. The market does not control interest rates -- the market cannot outbid the Fed because the Fed has infinitely deep pockets.
--I encourage you to read about Functional Finance (Abba Lerner), now days embraced by MMT (Warren Mosler).
--Minsky's instability theory concerned PRIVATE debt bubbles, not the debt of a sovereign government. Private sector bubbles eventually burst because the private sector can't print money. But Uncle Sam can print money, so there is no danger of the US defaulting unless it chooses to default.
-- there is no danger of being unable to sell Treasury bonds. Put yourself in a bank's shoes -- you have excess reserves. You can either 1) do nothing with the reserves or 2) earn interest on the excess reserves by buying Treasury bonds. It's a no brainer.
-- Ditto for China. When we import stuff from China, we pay them in dollars, not in yen. China can either 1) use those dollars for toilet paper or 2) use the dollars to buy American stuff or 3) buy Treasury bonds and earn interest. Whichever they choose, it's all good for us.
CPI is bad enough but throwing the statistical error that goes on for months is going to affect COLA, quantitative easing and any real valued data.
Thanks for this find (and thank you Cleveland Fed), we'll have to write a note in each overview, amplify what error margins they publish now.
I wonder if the SSA will delay releasing COLA as a result of this.
BLS field reps normally spend the entire month visiting stores, car dealers, hospitals, et al to collect prices; they were furloughed for more than half of October; the Cleveland Fed has a note on the troubles that introduces into the data:
http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/trends/2013/1113/01infpri.cfm
September CPI to be released October 30th, so this is the earliest we will know what COLA is.
Pushing big business foreign cheap labor agendas under immigration reform is going to seriously harm the U.S. worker even further and more to the point, the issue should be jobs, revenue, jobs, revenue, jobs on all of their plates and it is the one thing that is not the central issue in D.C.
By promoting corporate written agendas is assuredly one reason the Tea Party could even get a foot hold.
I think claiming it is "race" is ridiculous. Obama is half while and he is way more green as in Harvard, insider boy's club corporate representative than any other color.
But it seems to me the Tea party is some manufactured public relations/marketing agenda. Huge money, such as the Koch Brothers is behind it and is using people's ignorance, fears and proclivity towards rage to push their own truly crazy agendas from these billionaires financing the "movement".
It's astounding how well these techniques work to cause a public froth, we have examples from Nazis to the 2008 Obama campaign running these propaganda techniques and "Triumph of the Will" marketing tactics to get people to believe.
Facts, statistics, accuracy, understanding how debt even works goes out the window with this and it's frightening.
It shows the lack of education in society, where some crazy people can just get on the "pulpit" and "preach to the people" and they will "believe" up is down and black is white. Religious fervor where Satan is the government abounds from these Koch Brothers paid preachers.
I hear ya, and our government, this should be job #1 to get work back to what it used to be and it's worst than that, it is denial that millions are wiped out as a result of offshore outsourcing, bringing in foreign guest workers and eroding work so instead of a right it's a survivor game.
We won't tell you a bunch of crap about the situation, more just write your representatives, keep speaking out and raising hell. There are millions just like you and if everyone raised hell, they might just have to pay attention to the rancor.
When I was growing up, someone who didn’t have a job was a bum and a freeloader. Let’s face it, the social contract is broken.
The whole idea of putting yourself through school, getting a good education with good grades, paying your bills, working hard, saving your money…doesn’t exist. When I was growing up that’s what they told me to do. It was actually considered a noble thing. Now, no one cares how you got it, just as long as you have it. The baby boomers were warned about the drying-up of resources as we got older. So I did everything they told me I should do to combat the impending doom.
Any fool would say that money buys happiness, but it sure buys you options. I’m living my worst nightmare. I’m the perfect demographic. I’m 54, the end of the baby boomers. I’m a single male Caucasian. I’ve been laid-off eight times in my career. I was hit hard by the recession. In the last six years, I’ve been laid-off three times. One was for six months, one was nearly a year and a half and this time for over a year and eight months. All my savings are gone. I have no health insurance. Even if I did, I couldn't afford it. There is no retirement. I don’t qualify for unemployment benefits. I don’t qualify to get the education I need to compete in the job market. I had to give up my apartment because I couldn’t afford it. I used savings to move to an area of the country where I thought there would be more opportunities. I share a bedroom in a flop house with several other people because it was cheap and I needed a place to stay. I don’t have any resources on any level, to compete. I’ve simply fallen out of the system…the forgotten generation. Yet, I still have to pay taxes for the little money I made doing temp jobs. This is not self-pity. These are the facts.
We keep pushing the longevity of life. But, seriously, what are we going to do with all these people? How are we going to take care of them and give them resources they need and most of all purpose? There simply are too many of us. I’m 54 and don’t have the resources to take care of myself. What am I going to do when I’m older? I mean, you have to take into account the quality of life and not just the quantity. Sure the numbers look good on paper, but what good is life if you can't live?
Actually, I have no intention of getting that old. There is always an option. Everyone asks me what my Plan B is. If I told them, they’d put me in an institution. I have no moral issue with the plan. After all, we now choose when and if we have babies, why can’t we have the same control on the other side of life? (No, this isn’t a suicide letter.) People always say that others have it worse. I always say they can execute their Plan B, as well.
I’ve always took pride in being able to take care of myself. I can’t anymore. I’m, frankly giving up. They won’t let you live with dignity, yet they make it difficult to die with dignity. I need to maintain my pride, dignity and self-respect. (So, I won’t be a greeter at Wal-Mart and I won’t go on General Assistance and I won’t live in a Section 8. I just won’t do it.) I have to read my resume now and then to confirm that at one time I had a life and was a professional and a productive, contributing, self-sufficient member of society.
So, is this it? Is this what it all amounts to? If it is, then I want it over. I have compromised my life too much to just survive. Besides, how long will it be before I get laid-off again…six months, two years? If I’m having problems at 54, what will I do if it happens in the future? I have no time to recover. If I allow myself to compromise any more, I won’t recognize who I am and who I fought to be. I will relinquish my pride. I won’t and can’t live with that. There’s just no dignity in any of this.
One thing I have to keep telling myself….IT’S NOT MY FAULT!
Telling someone “something will come along” when you’re unemployed is as much of a cliche as telling someone when a loved one dies that “they’re in a better place”. You just want to hit them...hard.
First, I'm sorry but this misuse and not understanding basic government structure definitions is just stupid. Crack a textbook or go to wikipedia and learn what socialism actually is.
Second, the government ALREADY runs healthcare. It is called the VA and additionally Medicare and Medicaid.
So amusing the obviously lack of knowledge coming from people, You go to the VA, demand VA benefits as if that is not the government. It is.
We all know you are a true socialist. Capitalism will be the death to us all. But no one in their right mind can possibly believe the government can run our healthcare. As you pointed out, just look at the astronomical numbers they have wasted on the website. Facebook, ebay, and others have spent far less capital on working, well laid out sites. I hate the GOP gave in to Obama. He promised transparency in his administration and to bring a new era to bipartisan relations. What scares me is that a majority of Americans believe him. If you want a picture of a true politician, just look and listen cause he fits the bill.
If you read the studies they account for women who are single, no kids who work way past 8-5 and do join organizations and are active, network, go to conferences, speak, etc.
I have been working for 25 years since I finished my MBA. I never married and have no children. I am earning as much as my male counterparts. The BIG unwritten, undocumented item in this article and others is not the level of work being done, but the "extras". The raises and bonuses don't come from a job well done, that is expected. The "extra" money comes from joining related organizations, taking on board positions and being "visible". Most women I know with families do very little, if anything at all, above or beyond the 9-5. We all have made our decisions. But please tell the truth about this!
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