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It's Still The Economy, Stupid

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,

We're regularly told by the Fed and defenders of the current incumbent president that the economy is humming along pretty well. Yes, there are concerns, we are told, the US is performing below its "potential output" level, but we've achieved the most that can be expected under the circumstances. People who write columns for the New York Times and who compile government reports are doing pretty well. Unfortunately for those who don't write columns or enjoy comfortable government jobs, things seem less rosy. 

In fact, in an economy with a rising cost of living (especially in housing), stagnant real wages, and falling worker productivity, many in the so-called working class are very, very worried about the future. 

And this, The Washington Post reports, is a reason that Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls: 

In a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, Trump won support from nearly a third of Republican voters and Republican-leaning independents without college degrees, compared to just 8 percent of Republican college grads. (That education gap has been smaller, but still prevalent, in other surveys.)

 

Non-college grads have struggled since the turn of the century: Economist Robert Shapiro estimates that incomes stagnated or declined from 2002 to 2013 for American households headed by workers without a degree, a marked departure from prior decades.

 

A CBS poll this week showed more than 7 in 10 Republican voters are confident in Trump’s economic decisions, well above any other Republican candidate.

We know that in the current economy, workers with college degrees have a much lower unemployment rate than workers without college degrees. Thus, we could extrapolate from this demographic data that workers with less secure employment tend to favor Trump more than those who feel secure in their jobs. 

Trump has hit on the tried and true strategy that got Clinton elected in 1992: "It's the economy, stupid." The economy isn't doing nearly as well as the educated and elite groups think it is, and the lower end of the economic spectrum knows it. Thus, Trump, who is one of the few candidates willing to speak radically on the issue, is getting a lot of support from those groups. 

Like Clinton, however, Trump is unfortunately offering the wrong remedy to the problem. Slapping huge tariffs on imports and micro-managing the labor supply via immigration controls won't create economic growth, bring down unemployment, or spur entrepreneurship. 

But who's offering any other alternative remedy? Most Republicans want nothing more than mild tinkering with the economy. They want to "fix" Obamacare or maybe reduce taxes a little (while increasing deficit spending). And the central bank is off limits. So, anyone who's actually concerned about his economic future just yawns. The Democrats, constrained by being the party in power, must simultaneously claim that things are good, while also calling for just a little more of what's already been happening the last eight years. 

Thus, it's easy to see why Trump looks good to many by comparison. It would be nice to see a candidate come out for large-scale repeal of government regulations, taxes, and other measures against what's really hobbling the economy. But, that would upset the interest-group apple cart too much, and be political suicide. So it's back to targeting foreigners and foreign countries. 

 

 

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Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:25 | 6401819 JC-BI
JC-BI's picture

The Reason the Economy is in the dog house is because of all these wars. Economic Progress and WARS are historically anathema to each other. If only these fools would learn from history>>>

https://biblicisminstitute.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/warmongering-vs-econ...

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:30 | 6401849 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

We Need Moar Socialism!
Vote Colonel Sanders For A Chicken In Every Pot

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:38 | 6401883 Money Counterfeiter
Money Counterfeiter's picture

The top 5 private banks, including the Fed, own $9 trillion in assets.  What economy?

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:55 | 6401907 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Trump is doing so well because of his harsh* stance on illegal immigration.  Both parties have betrayed the very clear message of the american people demanding immediate and harsh action.   Lots of Americans have no politician to support on this, ergo Trump.   

*suddenly harsh stance.  

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:03 | 6401975 Stuck on Zero
Stuck on Zero's picture

Most of the candidates are the very ones who voted to create the mess we're in.  Why would anyone vote for one of them?

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:28 | 6402064 greenskeeper carl
greenskeeper carl's picture

This guy makes an excellent point, and one I've tried to point out before, without an end to the fed and debt based money. He is correct that trump truly isn't offering anything new, he just says things a regular politician is too scared to say and gets away with it. Don't get me wrong , I find it entertaining as hell, but he IS NOT going to fix jackshit, and personally, I don't want him ruling over me.

It's disappointing that an article such as this gets poor rating on the new neocon zerohedge with a bunch of people who worship an authoritarian like trump.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:58 | 6401958 TuPhat
TuPhat's picture

Chickens are under represented in our society.  So many people want to take out their frustrations on the chickens.  Even the cows tell us to eat moar chicken.  Colonel Sanders must have been a confederate army colonel.  Surely we should ban him and his image.  And what is it with Wendy's having a red headed white girl for their marketing image?  Isn't that racist and sexist?  It is so extremely difficult to find unbiased fast food.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 17:04 | 6402483 chunga
chunga's picture

The new colonel sanders guy looks like a carpetbagger.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:36 | 6401872 madcows
madcows's picture

I'd say it was cheap, easy money for a long time.  That led to massive debts and massive misallocation of funding.  We could also say that there is a glut of workers, and a dearth of jobs.  And there are many reasons for that too.  Far too much humping going on by people that shouldn't be breeding.  They pump out a billion kids and can barely feed them, never mind teach them to take care of themselves or provide for themselves.

Wars?  they're a by product.  They're responsible for about 1 trillion in debt, out of the "17" trillion total debt.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 16:32 | 6402411 kiwigal
kiwigal's picture

What ridiculous comments, a country's prosperity is directly linked to it's young people not old ones. Japan is in trouble with a rapidly ageing workforce, China is heading  for problems with it's ageing population. Germany is expecting ghost towns in 20 years as women are not having enough children. Social engineering comes at a price and ultimately it will be a countrys destruction.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:24 | 6401821 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Yes, it's the economy.  And underneath that is the debt.  And underneath that is the banks.  And underneath that is the Fed.  And underneath that is fiat currency. And under that is where the problem really is.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:26 | 6401832 Seer
Seer's picture

Yup!  The flawed premise of perpetual growth on a finite planet.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:31 | 6401853 Seer
Seer's picture

I see that retards are still hanging out here.  Obviously math is still a failed subject for many...

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:44 | 6401900 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Sums are beyond most hairless apes.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:04 | 6401978 TuPhat
TuPhat's picture

A finite planet with endless rescources.  The allocation has a lot of flaws.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:12 | 6402001 mayhem_korner
mayhem_korner's picture

 

 

Seer...your premise if flawed.  If the matter, energy, etc. are finite, there can be no growth.  There is just transformation and allocation. 

You try to filter the discussion through certain lenses to make some point, but you don't seem to have a grasp of the most fundamental mathematical relationship.

Get over yourself.

Sun, 08/09/2015 - 13:38 | 6407188 MSimon
MSimon's picture

Well, there are better and worse ways to use the finite resources. More transistors per cubic mm every year. Lower loss transistors.

 

And we haven't even crossed the fusion barrier. I like Polywell. And these guys. http://protonboron.com/portal/

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:32 | 6402072 Luau
Luau's picture

That's one of the dumber arguments in the context of American economic stagnation. The US has fewer people/km than Europe or Asia and more resources available to it. Just going by increasing population density to European levels (and naturally, the infrastructure to support that kind of population density) would see US economic expansion by several hundred percent from where it is.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:25 | 6401829 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

We have neither an economy or a market, we have a casino instead and Trump knows casino's.....

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:04 | 6401976 Bay Area Guy
Bay Area Guy's picture

Yeah, he knows how to run 'em into bankruptcy.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:26 | 6401830 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

Stocks slide to 16,500 and then they "defend" the market.  PPT waiting for a buying opp.  Then Yellen "can't" raise rates.  Booyah Jim.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:27 | 6401835 Hugh G. Rection
Hugh G. Rection's picture

I'm inclined to believe that Trump would seriously reform taxes, push for less Fed intervention, less government;

I believe more effectively than any other candidate.

I would still rather see DC and NYC nuked.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:36 | 6401874 rejected
rejected's picture

Regardless of what he says... how cool it is how he pisses off mainstream con-servatives,,,,, Mr. Trump is a NEO-Con.

ALWAYS remember who your enemy is.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:49 | 6401919 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

I'm inclined to believe that any puppet that makes it into the office will do exactly what their masters tell them to do, lest they become the next JFK.

The idea that presidents decide/do anything is laughable. Not even Trump could free himself from these entanglements (not that he's likely to want to).

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:31 | 6401841 LetThemEatRand
LetThemEatRand's picture

Trump is addressing immigration and offshoring of jobs.   These happen to be two things the Mises Institute thinks need not be addressed, except to have more unfettered immigration and more offshoring.  I'm constantly amazed that Trump is so popular here on ZH given that most posters here seem to lean in the Mises camp.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:36 | 6401875 Seer
Seer's picture

Oddly, it's all due to the same flawed logic (or lack of logic) that many here claim those "on the other side" practice in- it's emotional knee-jerking.  Don't get me wrong, I strongly detest the current crop of rulers and would love to seem them on their asses on the streets; I don't, however, delude myself in thinking that TPTB are going to magically change their ways and freely give up their power- seems history is pretty clear on this point.  So, this notion of thinking that we can instill "the right people in power" to solve the issue of power is little different than all those who picked their new rulers based on "hope."

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:41 | 6401889 LetThemEatRand
LetThemEatRand's picture

Agreed that Trump isn't going to solve anything, but it's still not clear to me why he's in the position he is.  The debate last night made pretty clear that the establishment (represented by Fox news anchors) wants Bush to be the guy, and Trump is a serious threat to him.   I suppose its possible that Hillary is so incredibly corrupt that even the powers behind Fox want her elected over Bush, but that seems doubtful to me only because Bush would be a more obvious choice.  I think TPTB want a Bush/Clinton race because that's a win/win for them.   If they thought Trump was equal to Bush, they wouldn't be trying so hard to undermine him.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:52 | 6401924 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

In any case Fox's ownership wants unfettered immigration and amnesty for illegals.   The various personalities on Fox News tread pretty lightly on the subject, getting off the chain only punctually, for example on the Steinle/sanctuary city murder.   

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:45 | 6401906 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture

Trump may or may not be the right man for the job, I'm of no opinion who you should vote for, to me voting means very little as we keep voting for the same idiots anyway, but at least the man is speaking from the hip.

Ron Paul was preaching the same truths and was scorned by the media, Trump is doing the same and yet the Media is giving him press time, something is rotten in Denmark, the bought and paid for Media shills do as their masters say so lets see how this act unfolds.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 19:54 | 6402963 Bazza McKenzie
Bazza McKenzie's picture

Re the media issue, Trump and Paul started in very different situations.  Trump was a publicly well known name for years with a strong reputation for business acumen so far as the broad public is concerned.  Ron Paul was "Ron who?".

Trump also has a boatload of money to back himself and is a showman far more capable of exploiting the media, incl social media, than Ron Paul.  He has also been better at hitting issues that most of the public are actually concerned about (illegals, jobs, wealth).

The media doesn't like Trump because he is a threat to their preferred candidates (Clinton/Bush).  So while they haven't been able to ignore him most of the coverage has been attacking him.  That hasn't worked for a couple of reasons.  First the things that the media thinks are terrible behavior by Trump (eg calling out illegals) most people agree with (i.e. media is out of touch, Trump isn't). 

Second, Trump doesn't back down when attacked by the media or politicians, he hits back hard.  That is so rare these days it gets everyone's attention and support from most people who distrust the media and politicians.  The fact that he is being so visibly attacked, while fighting back, confirms the view that he must be saying/doing something right to so upset those whom the public most distrusts.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:53 | 6401932 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

Those things are only issues due to the underlying problems created by what they do focus on, which is the Federal Reserve and how the monetary regime undermines everything it touches.

None of the problems posed by immigration/offshoring could occur in a world of sound money, which like all other tangible things, is scarce and limited.

Take real money and turn it into a gov backed, private bank promissary note though, and all bets are off. Merely fighting symptoms of a disease does nothing to correct the disease itself.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 18:33 | 6402709 Honus
Honus's picture

The many excellent contributotrs at mises.org are not of one mind on immigration. There have been some excellent recent discussions of this topic there. Use the search box there to learn the differing views. At the risk of oversimplifting, the differences seem to boil down to libertarian purity, i.e., liberty for all, and practical present reality viewed from the Austrian perspective, particularly as regards property.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:30 | 6401845 wmbz
wmbz's picture

“Any country trying to spend it’s way out of debt is like a man standing in a bucket trying to lift himself up by the handle.” ~Winston Churchill     

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:34 | 6401863 LetThemEatRand
LetThemEatRand's picture

Good quote, but nobody in Washington is actually trying to spend their way out of debt.  They are deliberately siphoning money to the elites behind the curtain, while telling us sheeple that they are trying to "goose the economy" with their spending.  I guarantee you that Greenspan, Bernanke and Yellen all knew/know what they are doing, and it has nothing to do with helping the broader economy (though they say it is).

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:56 | 6401945 chunga
chunga's picture

None of these really smart candidates talked about that at all did they? That's something to think about for those who like to play the "my demagogue is better that your demagogue" game.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 16:02 | 6402325 Baa baa
Baa baa's picture

Well...It is good exercise.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:30 | 6401847 Seer
Seer's picture

"And this, The Washington Post reports, is a reason that Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls"

And we "know" that "populism" always gets us the best outcomes!

Trump is being used by TPTB (whether he's in on it is impossible to know with certainty) to shed the list of the GOP's "undesireables."  In the end they'll run him through the ringer and give us what THEY decide: Jeb?

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:38 | 6401881 corporatewhore
corporatewhore's picture

You can find plenty to dislike about Trump.  He may not have an answer, he may polarize, he may be indiscreet with his choice of words.

But I think the fact that he cuts to the heart of the matter without the career politician bullshit is what makes him likeable.  

I would give anything to see him with HRH Hillary! but I don't think it will happen.

Jeb... boring, dull, and the obvious pick of the elite.  And he will lose because it is a WOMYN's turn!

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:46 | 6401908 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

Same is true with Hucksterbee. His presence is designed to pull the conservative Christian vote away from anyone who might gain a following for having a reduce the size of fedgov campaign, such as Ron Paul in the last election.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 16:05 | 6402332 blindman
blindman's picture

trump is on top as he represents "money"
and the "success" of money whatever that
means. the brainwashed
zombies can relate to this, precociously,
as he speaks his mind. whether controlled
or naturally occurring the result is brilliant
as the scope of discussion is expanding, hopefully,
beyond any party or individual's sphere of influence.
.
i have to give the republican party and
fox news credit for this though they are
all owned and paid for slave master scum.
.
he is carrying a torch and shinning the light
of freedom for the moment, god bless him.
in my experience, these things do not last
very long in the public or private domain,
yet, we might see?
.
like a rock star, he is living the dream.
like a child among a pack of wolves.
man, oh, man. people kill me.
.
did trump not say that the investors screwed
in his bankruptcies were killers and organised
mob criminals? did i just dream that crap?
man, oh, man?
.
and that line he had about the 19 trillion
of treasury debt........ then he says we
need him or someone like him. that crap is
sick brilliant, man. not one in a million
could figure it out i bet.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:33 | 6401860 A Lunatic
A Lunatic's picture

Sensationalist bullshit. All of it........

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:36 | 6401873 dizzyfingers
dizzyfingers's picture

The master planners devised the strategy of a merger - a Great Merger - among nations.
But before such a merger can be consummated, and the United States becomes just another province in a New World Order, there must at least be the semblance of parity among the senior partners in the deal. How does one make the nations of the world more nearly equal? The Insiders determined that a two-prong approach was needed; use American money and know-how to build up your competitors, while at the same time use every devious strategy you can devise to weaken and impoverish this country. The goal is not to bankrupt the United States. Rather, it is to reduce our productive might, and therefore our standard of living, to the meager subsistence level of the socialized nations of the world.
The plan is not to bring the standard of living in less developed countries up to our level, but to bring ours down to meet theirs coming up... It is your standard of living which must be sacrificed on the altar of the New World Order." 
Gary Allen  http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:41 | 6401891 Seer
Seer's picture

That there will be a "New World Order" is not in question.  Mother Nature WILL force a change.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:36 | 6401876 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

Ya might a thought the Fox(y) debate anchors would have asked the candidates about this...

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:37 | 6401877 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

'What this country needs is a good enema'...author lost to history, but as true now as ever.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:40 | 6401887 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

The thing I'm most interested is seeing is who is holding the throne when it all breaks.

Who and what policies will be blamed for the destruction os the modern monetary system?

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:59 | 6401962 Seer
Seer's picture

Of course, people/history will report it incorrectly.  The path to failure was set a  LONG time ago: one could argue the Summarians started it by coining the "first" instance/need for "interest," but it might go so far as "Go forth and multiply" (forever?).

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:53 | 6401892 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

The USA politicians are in electoral mode just as politicians in CANADA are too. Prime Minister Steven Harper has announced that only 20% of our economy is in recession, and that 80% of our economy is NOT in recession. Frankly, bad economic conditions are problematic for incumbent politicians in an election year which explains why the low life SOBs are lying through their effing' teeth everytime they open their mouths. And Central Bankers & Central Planning Economists keep their mouths shut during election years because they are spineless unethical cowards that were trained well as functionaries in the tertiary education system. In this regard, we should all blame the educators for recommending these spineless cocksucking douchebag slimebuckets for employment with the gubberment. In brief, BLAME the universities!

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:01 | 6401971 Seer
Seer's picture

For our Canadian folks:

http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/how-canadas-economy-went...

If you're not growing then you're decaying.  The extent to which these folks go to hide reality is quite astounding.  But of course, everyone in power has always had to lie, it's a basic requirement (TPTB's puppets have always been employed to distract).

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:42 | 6401893 Jack Burton
Jack Burton's picture

Employment numbers were touted today on NPR morning report as functional Full Employment. Yes, economists announce the new jobs numbers as reflecting Full Employment. With only 63% of working age Americans actually In Work, we can announce Full Employment.

Now, when I read Orwell's "1984", it was just this sort of thing he wrote about. Double think. Accept in your mind that 63% of workers are working, but accept that the employment rate reflects Full Employment. Our teacher would have pointed out that this was what the Soviet Union was doing, and we all nodded in approval. Thise liar communists use Double Think. Flash forward to me as a middle aged adult, and here our government is fully engaged in Soviet style lies! Trouble is, we accept it, even believe it. That is on us, to allow the liars to keep doing it.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:01 | 6401968 bmr22
bmr22's picture

So did the Soviet people believe the lies for decades untill the lies could not be sustained any longer and we all know what happened then.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:07 | 6401986 Seer
Seer's picture

And the people of Easter Island were told up till the bitter end that carving up statues, while destroying their land (erosion from wiping out their trees for use in transporting their statues down from the quarries), that in order to survive they had to continue to carve those statues.

The Greenland Norse continued to put their faith in their faith, in the Church's correctness in supplying religious artifacts rather than useful tools, until they collapsed.

It's the fault of not enough technology.  It's the fault of those other groups, the other religion.  Etc., etc,, etc...

The movie just keeps looping.

BTW - It's got nothing to do with "isms:" http://www.newworldeconomics.com/archives/2014/092814_files/TheFateofEmp...

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 15:52 | 6402294 Baa baa
Baa baa's picture

Speak for yourself. In my mind, government lost all credibility sometime around Bubba's second term.

My planning revolves around a fast exit on a quiet but very quick sailboat.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:58 | 6401950 bmr22
bmr22's picture

I was at the meat case the other day crusing for markdowns, the only way to afford beef, when I overheard a woman talking to another lady about how their landlord just raised the rent on their apt. to $760.00 a month. This in an area where a $10.00 an hr job is a good job. I feel bad for these folks and wonder how they survive. I also wonder when all of this will hit critical mass and the sheeple revolt.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:00 | 6401961 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture

Oh its coming, and to think people are calling this Deflation. Wait till you see what Inflation look like, we are so fucked.

 

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:10 | 6401997 Seer
Seer's picture

People really think that this is "bad?"  Much of the world is and always has been "bad" (when comparing).

Multiple generations of families don't live that way because they love their relatives.  It's a matter of "convenience," and "the devil you know."

Wife's from Manila.  I've got a  pretty good idea of reality...

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 13:59 | 6401959 Conax
Conax's picture

"Slapping huge tariffs on imports and micro-managing the labor supply via immigration controls won't create economic growth, bring down unemployment, or spur entrepreneurship."

It won't hurt.

The country rose to the pinnacle of world economic power on tariffs and tight borders, Ryan.

We were always a creditor nation.  Look at us now, you stupid fuck.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:04 | 6401980 BiPolarFrenchman
BiPolarFrenchman's picture

Ha Conax.  My thoughts and quote exactly!

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:13 | 6402005 Seer
Seer's picture

We were a creditor nation until roughly 1971, when we ditched the "gold standard" (what was left of it), peaked on the production of conventional, cheap oil (started becoming an importer- BIG SWING!) and opened up "trade relations" with China.

From that point on it wasn't a matter of IF, but WHEN growth would cease.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:04 | 6401977 BiPolarFrenchman
BiPolarFrenchman's picture

"Slapping huge tariffs on imports and micro-managing the labor supply via immigration controls won't create economic growth, bring down unemployment, or spur entrepreneurship."

 

SAYS WHO? I think it'd be a great start personally. 

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 15:48 | 6402288 Gold...Bitches
Gold...Bitches's picture

Slapping huge tariffs on imports and micro-managing the labor supply via immigration controls won't create economic growth, bring down unemployment, or spur entrepreneurship. 

 

Seriously ZH I'm beginning to wonder if you are schizo.  You love to remind the readers here that the labor participation rate is back to the later part of the 1970's.  Because cutting tariffs that used to be in place and not managing the labor supply via an open immigration no border policy has worked so well to create awesome conditions for the average American LOL.

 

As the above person says "It would be a great start"! 

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:13 | 6402003 detached.amusement
detached.amusement's picture

Its still the economy *rolleyes*

 

Its still the fucking fed and all the tentacles of the bis, stupid...

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:20 | 6402034 Seer
Seer's picture

The Fed/Squid is merely controlling a game that could NEVER continue indefinitely.  Replace the lot of them and continue to push growth and the wall will still be hit.  Sure, "they" are all running around lying; but, This is news?  Instead of bashing one's head on the wall HEDGE!  I continue to work on my hedge (nothing is ever "completed," not until the final chapter in the book is read and the book closed).  I no longer spend my precious life and energy on trying to influence what are merely the court jesters.  It's not the players, it's the game, and failing to see this will only cause frustration and result in guaranteed failure.

You cannot change how a Shell Game works and still expect to call it a Shell Game.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 14:38 | 6402040 JR
JR's picture

The subject is the economy and the primary issue is immigration and welfare. And the proof is the explosive numbers for Donald Trump.

Prime-aged workers. many of them recent arrivals to the US with no assets -- who are tumbling in the job market -- have nothing to lose if they opt for welfare. Yet those 55 and over Americans with assets - who are surging in the job market per today’s job report -- have everything to lose if they opt for welfare, namely their savings and their homes.

Why?  Many “families in need are required to spend through their savings to less than $1,000 (in many states) before receiving help from the country’s primary assistance program.”

The power to set asset limits is with the states and none of these limits are very high. In many of the states, Americans have to have less than $1,000 in assets to qualify for welfare.

These limits restrict the amount of assets or savings families who receive government assistance can have while still remaining eligible for benefits” according to a Mar 11, 2015 article in The Atlantic: The Forgotten 1980s Rule That's Hurting Poor Families' Savings

Which is why, IMHO, that all those elderly women in their 70s (some look more than 80) are employed cooking and handing out free samples to the well-heeled Third Worlders pushing their full carts through Costco. They want to hang onto the bit of savings they've put aside plus the roof over their head to leave to their children. Those welfare recipients have no fear of losing their assets and savings to gain access to EBT cards, to subsidized housing and utilities, to family assistance, or to their zero down autos - because they have none. 

Limits have been eliminated “in 35 state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) and most recently, the ABLE Act, which created savings opportunities for citizens with disabilities nationwide.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/03/the-forgotten-1980s-rule-thats-hurting-poor-families-savings/38 

 

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 15:01 | 6402160 Seer
Seer's picture

Like it or hate it, this is a pretty clear picture of the greater reality.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 15:15 | 6402196 blindman
blindman's picture

it was "the economy, stupid"
but has become "the money system, asshole".
.
who is damon vrable?
.
Renaissance 2.0 - Financial Empire - Full Length - Damon Vrabel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96c2wXcNA7A
.
http://csper.org/
.."
The truth has never been clearer. We're living in a voracious empire

based on people ownership, i.e. subjugating humans to increasing debt servitude to Wall Street and the global banking establishment. This debt system has morphed economics from a study in human progress to an engine of human enslavement. Spirituality ("sense of meaning") and psychology have been crushed as a result. Any sense of a meaningful life has almost been vanquished as the corporate system that serves Wall Street has replaced truth with fake media PR and replaced our communities with narcissistic hierarchy.

The good news is that this system is on its last leg. It will end. ..."
damon vrable

Open For Offers
by Steve Keen on October 19th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2012/10/19/open-for-offers/comment-pa...
.
with a lively comment section.
.
ladies and gentlemen, you have owners. they construct
governing systems, by law and or decree as it suits
them, attention given to time, place and value to be
extracted and incorporated into their multi year plans
and ongoing infrastructures, assets and capital.
there are no hard and fast standards or rules other
than avoiding their own self destruction if possible.
they teach the doctrine of humanities, essential worthlessness,
see poverty, helplessness and
starving "natives", except as the individual's potential
to become a tool of their slave debt system. people
embrace this and create of themselves "narcissistic
projections" formed of coincidental gatherings and
digital or physical meme-oids.
they can call it capitalism or communism/socialism and turn either into fascism in a heart beat but notice the actual structure does not have to change nor does it change !
all the elements are there in one form or another ,
built into the structure of the money system, or the
payment system, or the "who owes what to whom"
system.
with one decision or appointment or law the entire
edifice of government can be recast as something
else. people will then gather around it in support.
it is the law, after all.
doesn't really matter what it is called or how it is
described so long as the payments and payouts continue.
so long as the ownership arrangement is not disturbed,
so long as the monopoly on the value of the distribution
system of the payouts is maintained.
the owners want/demand to be paid first, after all they own
you and all of it through the institution of government
they created and stole fair and square, so pay them.
if you like to call it capitalism or communism or fascism
that is up to you, just make sure you pay them their
rent, or note, tax, fee, fine or whatever it is called,
toll, premium, whatever. they don't care, just come up
with the legal tender and pay. they don't care if there
is no such instrument available for payment, they will
build a prison for you to work.
.
when you die they will charge you 10,000 dollars for
a good fire. people have owners and everyone is trying
to join them in their delusional pot by means of
self created narcissistic projection. but, it doesn't
work , the projections do not comport with the truth/s
that sustain life, so ,
something has to change.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 15:52 | 6402295 Seer
Seer's picture

Ran across Vrable years ago.  Pretty sharp guy.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 17:43 | 6402559 blindman
blindman's picture

he laid it all out and one in a million
heard it.

Fri, 08/07/2015 - 16:26 | 6402391 JR
JR's picture

more good economic expectations as a result of the central planning by the imperial power brokers...

Greece Pleads for Help From EU. 

“Officials in both Brussels and Athens have given warning that Greece is in dire need of support to handle the arrivals, who now number 130,500 since the start of the year — a fivefold increase on 2014, according to Frontex.

“Greece has overtaken Italy as the main point of arrival for people fleeing countries such as Syria and Eritrea. In total, Greece has accounted for roughly half of the 224,000 asylum seekers and migrants who have entered the EU so far this year, according to the UNHCR.
 
Read more at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/08/greece-gets-sudden-influx-of-50000.html#dWKdsvXveGK8D0eb.99

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