Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Nevada and Rhode Island still at 9% Unemployment

Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) have introduced a bill offering a three-month extension for those who just lost their federal extend unemployment benefits --- and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev). has promised to bring it up for a vote early next year.

Although, Tea Partiers such as Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky argue that the payments aggravate rather than relieve unemployment (to put it nicely).

Employment-Population Ratio at 30 Year Low

The employment-population ratio in now at a 30 year low; and the labor force participation rate is now at a 35 year low.

Dual income households for married couples have already peaked in the last decade --- another sign of too few jobs. Counting all those who are no longer considered part of the labor force ("discouraged workers" who stopped looking for non-existent jobs), the U.S. has almost 48 million unemployed --- over 4x more than what is reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U-3 unemployment rate.

For millions of Americans, the U.S. is still in a state of economic crisis, and with no relief in sight.

Monday, December 30, 2013

States that are Raising the Minimum Wage in 2014

The REAL value of the minimum wages since 1968

A person working full-time at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour makes just over $15,000 in a year. That's below the poverty line for a family of two.

In November, President Obama got behind Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep. George Miller's bill to raise the wage to $10.10 and index it to inflation. At the same time, the bill would also raise the base wage paid to "tipped workers" from the current $2.13 per hour—where it has stood since 1991

Senators Sanders and Warren in 2016?

The GOP has often accused President Obama of appeasing foreign leaders abroad, but the reality is, Obama has been trying too hard (and wasted a lot of time in the process) in trying to appease the GOP leaders here at home.

John Stossel on Fox News Promotes Bitcoins

BitCoin Bitcoin bitcoin

Earlier this month Joshua Gans wrote a very detailed and informative piece about Bitcoins (a digital currency): "Is Bitcoin money? Absolutely, and so are chocolate Hannukah coins, casino chips, monopoly money and your frequent flyer miles". Gans also mentions some potential uses for bitcoins:

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Safeway Fires 6,000 and the Employees Retaliate!

Safeway acquired Dominck's grocery chain and promptly shuttered a whopping 72 grocery stores resulting in 6,000 jobs lost. Their excuse was that these grocery stores served "low profit margin geographical locations".

In other words, Safeway doesn't want to offer grocery access to poor people.

In response, the workers made an outrageously creative video thanking Safeway for their unbridled greed. Then Safeway retaliated against the video's creator by suspending him from his job --- on the same day he would be fired anyway!

AWESOME VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The full article is here with the YouTube video at the Economic Populist.

Sadly though, now 6,000 more Americans will only have 6 months to find another job --- or they are toast.

This is Who Lost Unemployment Benefits

Middle-Class Workers

A onetime chief-of-staff to then-Rep. Michael McNulty had 23 years of experience in congressional and government relations. He is also among the 1.3 million Americans who recently lost their long-term federal unemployment insurance benefits.

Only people who are out of work due to no fault of their own (such as a lay off) are eligible to receive unemployment benefits. If they quit without good cause or were fired for misconduct, they wouldn't qualify.

Once Benefits End, so do Chances of Finding a Job

After unemployment benefits end, most Americans will never find another job, and may never work again. Just ask 23.9 million other Americans --- they'll tell you. And that's just those who qualified for extended jobless benefits. Some put the number of people who are actually unemployed and who want a job closer to 48 million. (That is not a typo. Only a little over 1/3 of the "still counted" unemployed received jobless benefits as of yesterday).

Saturday, December 28, 2013

GOP Just Lost their Last Hostage

Military personnel and those on food stamps have already been screwed. Whereas, the retirees and the disabled have been temporarily spared for two more years in the last budget deal. So with the long-term unemployed being screwed (starting today), the GOP has lost the last of their hostages.

At its peak, the federal extended unemployment program offered up to 99 weeks of coverage to the long-term unemployed (known as the 99ers).

Surviving Homelessness in 2014

With the continued problem of long-term unemployment, the elimination of federal extended unemployment benefits, and the government's projection of a smaller percent of the population in the labor force, one can reasonably assume that homelessness might also rise in the U.S.

These excerpts by Ransom Riggs, and other passages obtained from The Survival Guide to Homelessness, has reinforced my early thoughts on becoming homeless, which usually happens when someone loses their means of supporting themselves, and when they have no one else to support them.

Friday, December 27, 2013

The Unemployed Widget

The Unemployed American Widget

Most CEOs, and many in Congress, think of American workers today as "widgets". They are counted as "employed" while they are slaving away in the CEOs' money factories, and are counted as a part of the U.S. labor force. But this is the sad and tragic tale of the unemployed "widgets".

Thursday, December 26, 2013

BLS: Labor Force Projections to 2022


The labor force participation rate will continue to fall...

Not enough jobs now, less by 2022!

Since 1948 the labor force participation rate has trended upward until the late 1990s, when it peaked at an all-time high of 67.1 --- but it has since declined --- and will continue to decline.

It held steady at about 66.0 percent from 2004 to 2008. Subsequently, the overall labor force participation rate fell from 66.0 percent to 65.4 percent in 2009. Then, in 2010, the rate came in at 64.7 percent.

By 2012, the participation rate had fallen to 63.7 percent.

Currently it's at around 63%.

High Unemployment Good for Employers?

Here's another reason why high unemployment (an over-saturated labor market) might be a GOOD thing for employers --- despite employers having less people spending money buying their products and services (and creating more "demand".)

Paul Krugman writes,

"The continuing dire state of the labor market enhances the bargaining position of employers, increasing their power. But can this effect actually mean that employers are better off in a somewhat depressed economy than they would be in a boom? ... There’s no rule saying that firms have to do worse in a depressed economy; they could actually do better."

Krugman points out that profits and stocks have soared, while unemployment remains high as wages have stayed low.

He also says, "A slack economy could in effect serve as a coordinating device for firms; one way to think about it is that it keeps firms from competing too hard for workers, enabling them to exert more monopsony power."

A "monopsony" is defined as a market similar to a "monopoly" except that a large buyer, not seller, controls a large proportion of the market and drives the prices down. Sometimes referred to as the buyer's monopoly.

An example would be Ernest and Julio Gallo (the big wine makers), who were accused of being a monopsony. They had such power buying grapes from growers, that sellers had no choice but to agree to their terms.

I mentioned Walmart as a "basis pointer" and a reason for why so many manufacturers in the U.S. have offshored for cheaper wages (to meet Walmart's buying prices) --- so maybe Walmart would also be a "monopsony".

And the race to the bottom continues...

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas to America's 48 Million Unemployed

48 million Americans are jobless on Christmas Day 2013

The main reason why America is still experiencing mass unemployment going into 2014 is because, for decades, our economy has transformed from a manufacturing economy (with good paying union jobs) into a service economy (with low paying "right to work" jobs) --- mostly because of outsourcing and offshoring. Congress has passed trade agreements and wrote a tax code that actually encourages this.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

A Tale of Two Economies (One Infographic)

According to the Social Security Administration, 50 percent of all wage earners in the U.S. had net compensation less than the median wage, estimated to be $27,520 a year (meaning, half earn more, half earn less).

About 95% of all wage earners in the U.S. (whose only income was earned by regular hourly wages or salaries) earned less than $113,700 a year --- which is the maximum cap for paying Social Security taxes (anything over that is Social Security tax-free). Meaning, even members of Congress do not have to pay this tax on 100% of their $174,000 annual congressional salaries.

Those whose only earnings are from capital gains earned in the stock market (usually those in the top 0.01% income bracket) pay NO Social Security taxes all, because the current tax code exempts capital gains from any Social Security taxes.

For example: Last year Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg had a total compensation of $2.27 billion, but his base salary was only $503,205 (because the vast majority of his enormous pay package came from exercising Facebook stock options.)

The current tax code allows Zuckerberg to only pay Social Security taxes on his first $113,700 of regular salary. He would also pay a very low tax rate on the remainder of his enormous pay package earned from his capital gains (earned from his stock options) --- a lower tax rate than what Warren Buffett's secretary would have to pay in federal income tax on her regular wage.

And for the last few years, the stock markets have soared into the stratosphere, setting several all-time records this year alone --- all while the REAL number of unemployed Americans has grown.

Monday, December 23, 2013

The Difference between Left and Far-Left

Once, during a much more "conservative" era, the majority of the American people (by a landslide) voted to elect a new President. He had won almost every State in the Union, including all those in the South. It was the most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States (he received 98.49% of the electoral vote). He had ended up winning four consecutive presidential elections. His name was Franklin Delano Roosevelt --- and he was bold progressive Democrat.

That was a time when most Americans loved a far-left loon.

Why the Jobs went to China (10 Photos)

For decades American-based multi-national corporations have sent millions of jobs to our tormentors in China. Besides for the most obvious reasons (such as slave-labor wages and non-existent labor laws), here is another reason why American corporations have chosen China to be the World's leading manufacturer --- a lack of environmental regulations (See the results in 10 photos below).

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Bacardi and Temp Workers: A Sad and Tragic Mix

Editor's Note: This story really touched my soul. When we hear our political leaders referring to those who are "lazy" and "gaming the system" --- or abandoning their responsibilities, or not taking personal responsibly for their own lives --- along comes this tragic story of a young man (and a loving son and brother) who had tried to better himself and do the right thing, but only to be heartlessly punished by corporate greed. Here is the sad and moving tale of Day Davis.

Bacardi Limited is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. In 2010 they relocated their American headquarters to 2701 LeJeune Road in Coral Gables, Florida (pictured below).

Bacardi headquarters Coral Gables Florida USA

Edward "Ed" D. Shirley was made Bacardi's President and CEO in March of 2012. Privately held companies like Bacardi do not have to legally disclose their CEO's pay packages, but as a former executive at Procter & Gamble and Gillette, one can assume that Shirley's paycheck must be substantial. In an interview last year he said:

"I like the fact that Bacardi is privately held, because it gives the team the opportunity to take the right decisions...being privately held allows us to take a much longer view in terms of strategic choices."

The world famous rum maker had been hiring temp workers for dangerous jobs without adequate training...and now one young man has since died as a result.

Staples cuts Workers Hours to Avoid Obamacare


My name is Sue and I work at Staples. I can't tell you my full name because I'm afraid I'll lose my job for what I'm about to tell you: Staples recently decided to cut part-time employees' hours just so they won't have to provide health care benefits under Obamacare.

$$$ America's Top 10 Greediest in 2013

Andrew Sullivan: "The optimal moment for successful societies is when the middle-class dominates, where political institutions reflect a mass interest in governing the society well, because everyone feels they have a stake --- and because they share some basic commonalities in experience.

When societies grow more unequal, commonalities fray. Wealth accumulates among the few, who begin to see the polity as something to be used for private interests rather than engaged in for public-spirited reform.

What disappears in this moment of the cycle is the lubricant for all successful polities: a sense that we are all in this together. When that crashes into economic stagnation, and the fight for a slice of the pie gets even more frenzied, you’re in for some serious social unrest --- which will either lead to a period of reform or to further social and economic disintegration."

Which bring us to America's top ten greediest in 2013.

America's 10 greediest in 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013

24 Million Rec'd Extended Jobless Benefits, but No More

December 2013: In their case to extend jobless benefits next year, the White House just reported that almost 24 million long-term unemployed Americans were out of work at least 6 months and received extended unemployment benefits over the past 6 years --- but the Bureau of Labor Statistics currently reports that a little more than 4 million are long-term unemployed. During that same time, less than 7 million Americans retired or went on disability, while only a little more than 8 million jobs were created. So what happened to the other 9 million long-term unemployed? What was the death-rate during this period of time?

Economic despair has been spreading across America
"Hi, I'm from Tent City U.S.A."

The emergency unemployment compensation program was enacted in 2008 and extended unemployment up to 73 weeks after 26 weeks of regular State jobless benefits were exhausted for a total of 99 weeks --- hence the moniker, the 99ers.

Homer Simpson Could soon be Homeless

Homer Simpson's job was sent to China. Bart now works at Walmart.

New York Times: (December 2013)

“We continue to believe that underlying growth will remain on a moderate trend,” said Joshua Shapiro, the chief United States economist at MFR, a consulting firm. “The outlook is greatly dependent on the direction of the labor market, and hence the path of wage and salary growth and the ability of consumers to expand spending.”

Despite the Feds "tapering" of free money to the big commercial banks, stocks went up, but that was also because of investors covering their short sells.

Another reason why GDP grew last quarter was because of replenishing inventories, not because wages went up, more people had jobs, and consumers were spending more --- or that exports were anything to brag about either --- because just like Americans, consumers abroad don't have any extra money to spend either (unless you include China's rising middle-class).

Taxation & Wages (Redistribution) Circulates Money Supply

Alan Greenspan has a new book and the New Republic critiques his polices in an excellent article. Check out a few excerpts from the article below, followed by commentary and a simple conclusion.

Hindsight leaves no doubt that it would have been a great idea to prick the housing bubble early. They would surely have been pilloried for destroying a nice prosperity in midstream and creating painful unemployment. And for what? To prevent a later financial crisis? But no financial crisis would be actually visible, not in this version of history. How could anyone know that one had really been averted? It was still a mistake to have let the bubble continue, blandly claiming that it would be easier to pick up the pieces later on.

The second mistake, the bigger one. An unregulated financial system. Greenspan was a prominent opponent of financial regulation.

Friday, December 20, 2013

The Jobless Trap: Only 10% get Job Interviews

Only about 10% of people who are currently employed can get a job interview; so what are the odds if one is unemployed? Especially if they have been out of work for 6 months when their State unemployment benefits come to an end? (Extended Federal UI benefits end shortly after Christmas.)

A paper by Rand Ghayad (from the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) showed that the long-term unemployed are struggling to find work, no matter how many job openings there are. Using the broader measure of unemployment (the U-6 rate or the U-7 rate) there are about 6 people unemployed for every job opening (and that doesn't include millions of so-called "discouraged workers" who are no longer counted).

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Little Fraud in SNAP or Disability, Mostly Medicare

...and it's not because of old sick people.

The amount of money lost to underground trafficking in food stamps is estimated to be 1.3 percent annually. That is down from more than 4 percent in the 1990s, when paper coupons had not yet been replaced by electronic benefit cards, called E.B.T.’s

But if we also included erroneous payments to food stamps recipients (because of errors on the part of the government), or outright lying on the initial SNAP applications, then the overall loss to the food stamp program is about 4.7 percent.

But the rate of fraud In SNAP is still less than other government programs.

Unemployed & Poor in the Richest Country on Earth

Over the past 5 years it's become an obvious and well-established fact that America is still having a titanic problem creating enough jobs to meet an ever-growing population; unlike other countries such as China, who has been creating plenty of jobs --- and lifting millions out of poverty during that same period of time

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Long-term Unemployment Drives DOW Higher

(Dec. 18, 2013 --12:45 PM Pacific Standard Time - Las Vegas)

It appears that the news of permanent long-term unemployment is helping to drive stocks higher --- when an over-saturated labor market, with depressed wages, is helping to increase corporate earnings.

Fox News War on Vets...

...and their Patriotic Propaganda.

Fox News Patriotic Propaganda

Oh sure....Fox News "acts" like they care about our Vets, but do they really? Fox News is against government and government workers. Fox News always advocates for cutting government spending (rather than taxing the wealthy a little bit more to help pay for our government and defense spending).

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Ezra Klein, Steve Waldman & Paul Krugman

The man on the street just read an article at the Washington Post where Ezra Klein asks, "Is inequality really the country’s most pressing problem? Imagine you were given a choice between reducing income inequality by 50 percent and reducing unemployment by 50 percent. Which would you choose?"

The man on the street was laid off from his job in 2008 and has been unemployed for the past 5 years, so a job would be much more of a concern to him at the moment, rather than whether or not CEOs were making 100 times more or 300 times more than their average employee. Right now, the man of the street just needs a job (any job) to pay for his rent.

Discouraged Workers, not Disabled, Shrinking the Labor Force

Those with disabilities or an aging population isn't the major driver or the reason for the drop in labor force participation rate. It's because, for the past 5 years, the U.S. has had more "non-starters" than "quitters" in the labor force. Discouraged workers (the long-term unemployed, those who can't find jobs), are what is driving the drop the in the labor force participation rate --- not necessarily disabled or old people.

Monday, December 16, 2013

What does "Far Left" mean?

It always befuddles me as to the why the media pundits on cable TV news shows like Fox and CNN likes to refer to some members in the Democratic Party as "far left". Even Senator Bernie Sanders (who refers to himself as a Socialist) sounds more like FDR than Joseph Stalin. And he's nothing at all like a Communist either (say, Chairman Mao).

Fed Expects Further Decline in Labor Force

There has been much discussion recently about "discouraged workers" who have been "dropping out" of the labor force, and therefore, reducing the unemployment rate. Many politicians have used the reduced unemployment rate (currently reported as 7%, the lowest in 5 years) as a reason for not extending federal unemployment benefits.

But if one were to dig a little deeper, more accurate data shows that there are millions more who are out of work (and want a job) --- many more than the media and government reports.

But what's even more alarming is, the Fed and other reports show that the declining labor force participation rate is forecast to be even lower than what it currently is --- and that it's also falling faster than earlier predicted.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

3.8 million Unemployed keep another 9.7 million Jobless

According to the Republican's theory of economics, 3.8 million unemployed Americans are keeping another 9.7 million unemployed --- because unemployment benefits CAUSES unemployment and keeps people out of work longer.

Not counting the millions who are unemployed and no longer counted any longer (because the Department of Labor no longer considers them part of the labor force --- such as an estimated 7 million 99ers and many other "discouraged workers"), when using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' U-6 rate, the U.S. currently has 12.7 million people out of work or involuntarily working part-time.

But for the past 5 years, every month, "discouraged workers" have been incrementally swept under the carpet in the government's reported statistics.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

If Unemployment is Illegal, then we're a Nation of Outlaws

There was a time, not too long ago (before there were laws, curfews and beach patrols), when someone could sleep overnight at the public beaches in Southern California (and elsewhere). All they would need is a blanket or sleeping bag on the colder nights during the winter time.

Some beaches had public facilities, such as showers and restrooms (although, one could just as easily use the ocean). I remember one such beach that also had cement pits for which to build bonfires.

As a teenager, I remember when we'd bring our guitars and cases of beer to party all night long; and then wake up in the morning (sometimes with our significant others) to hear the sound of the surf. If one chose to, they could panhandle to buy food at the snack shops, or buy drinks at the beachfront bars. That was back in the 1960s, when they called us "hippies". But times have changed.

To Be A Homeless Man

You don't have to be a wino, drug addict or an alcoholic to be homeless. You don't have to be mentally or physically challenged to be homeless. You just have to be a day late or a dollar short to pay the rent...and that usually happens when you lose your job --- and if you've exhausted all your unemployment insurance income.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Minimum Wage, Budget, Austerity, Gov't Spending

A great article in the New York Times (referencing lots of studies and reports) notes that if since 1968, had the minimum wage kept up with inflation, economic growth and labor productivity, it would be $25 an hour today.

Obama Talks the Talk but...

PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year is Obama's promise: "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it."

But at least with Obamacare, we have a 3.8% surtax on capital gains for the super-rich, which expands Medicaid for millions of poor and working-class Americans.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Jobless Benefits: You're Either with Me or Against Me

A Wall Street Journal reporter recently contacted me and wanted people's stories about being long-term unemployed. Below are some excerpts from a story he did yesterday about extending unemployment benefits (My notes are indented and highlighted)

Social Security Dodged a Bullet, for Now

Stop targeting our seniors, they aren't wild animals.

The Republicans have had their sights trained on Social Security for generations, and would like to see it DOA if they ever had their way. Recently Social Security dodged a bullet, but the battle is far from over; and has only given us time to reload to continue our fight.

Finally! A GOP Jobs Plan will Soon be Launched!

For years (if not decades) the GOP has claimed that unemployment benefits is a disincentive for the jobless to look for work. But soon, millions of these "lazy" Americans will lose their jobless benefits. So, should we expect many more people to suddenly start finding jobs?

By way of the Republicans' theory of economics, within the next 26 weeks, more than 3.7 million Americans will start looking for work (and finding jobs) when their unemployment benefits run out (those who currently file State and extended Federal claims, according to the Department of Labor). Just a little more than 1/3 of the unemployed receive jobless benefits, but the Republicans have not as yet properly explained why the other two thirds of the "reported" unemployed haven't also been looking for work, or finding jobs.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Budget Deal: Shared Sacrifice and Compromise?

The long-term unemployed, military retirees and federal workers made a "shared sacrifice" and faced the "tough decisions" in the newly proposed budget deal with a Congressional "compromise".

So did airline travelers and hospitals take a hit --- but no one else. Members of Congress still get paid $174,000 a year with all their beenies intact.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Falsely Blaming Baby Boomers for Smaller Labor Force

For the past 5 years, the U.S. has had more "non-starters" than "quitters" in the labor force. So tell the Wall Street Journal to get off my damn back! ~ A Baby Boomer

Ever since the owner of Fox News bought the Wall Street Journal in 2007, it appears that the once esteemed and unquestionable newspaper appears to be much more ideological these days. Rather than just reporting "news" that would be significant to use when business leaders, economists, lawmakers and public policy advocates are attempting to make well-informed decisions, the WSJ often appears more bent in a political propaganda in an attempt to sway outcomes and public opinion, rather than just reporting what's actually happening.

Allyson Schwartz: Just Another Political Opportunist


Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) is an honorary co-chair of the fake "centrist" Democratic Wall Street-backed think tank called Third Way (as though there were a "third way" of policy making, other than what the Democrats or Republicans advocate for.)

Schwartz was one of only 22 House Democrats to support a bill to cut Social Security with chained-CPI. She touted her vote for the bill in an announcement after receiving an award from a deficit-reduction group co-founded by Pete Peterson, who is a billionaire who has spent nearly half a billion dollars advocating for cuts to Social Security and other government programs as part of a campaign for austerity.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Millions are Middle-Aged and Unemployed -- and Screwed

Does anybody remember this headline on November 6, 2009 in the New York Times 49 months ago: U.S. Unemployment Rate Hits 10.2%, Highest in 26 Years

That was when the Bureau of Labor Statistics was reporting 15.7 million Americans were unemployed.

This was before the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported 8.7 million job losses between the start of the recession in December of 2007 and when the recession "officially" ended.

In a recent statement, Secretary of Labor Thomas E Perez said, "The November employment report continues the 45-month trend of private-sector job growth with 8.1 million new jobs created over that time."

Sunday, December 8, 2013

America needs a New Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment was a cultural movement in an era that occurred in 17th and 18th century Europe. Its purpose was to reform society using "reason" to challenge old ideas, and to advance knowledge through science. It promoted skepticism and intellectual interchange, while opposing superstition and intolerance. The ideas of the enlightenment had a long-term major impact on the culture, politics and governments of the Western world.

Now here we are today, battling ignorance, superstition and intolerance all over again --- and it's all being promoted by the mainstream media, a slew of wacky politicians (you know who they are) --- and a few Hollywood crackpots (some with crack pipes).

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Long-Term Unemployed Now Desperate

The situation for the long-term unemployed, especially for older workers, has gone from being very painful to extremely desperate.

Annie Lowrey, in an excellent New York Times article titled Caught in a Revolving Door of Unemployment, notes that long-term joblessness is now one of the defining realities of the American work force. She described long-term unemployment as a trap that becomes more and more difficult to escape with each passing month.

Jobs Report: Lipstick on an Economic Pig

The jobs numbers for November are in and the folks down in DC, as usual, are bringing out the makeup kit to start putting lipstick on this economic pig.

From the summer of 2008 to the summer of 2013, how many NET new jobs were created to re-employ the 8.7 million who lost jobs during the Great Recession --- all while 18 million young people had been graduating from high school?

The Tax Breaks have got to Stop!

Not only do the highest income earners (billionaires and multi-millionaires) who derive most of their income by way of capital gains (via stocks and stock option grants) get a better tax deal by being taxed at a lower rate than those in the top marginal income brackets for regular wages (such as neurosurgeons). Capital gains also exempts the highest income earners from having to paying Social Security taxes. And the super-wealthy benefit from the tax code in many other ways.

Friday, December 6, 2013

It's Time to Ask: Why not Medicare for All?

As noted in the Washington Spectator, every liberal recognizes that Obamacare is a conservative solution, so why do the Democrats beat their heads against a wall trying to convince conservatives that a conservative solution is right for the country, despite their hostile opposition?

There is one situation—and one situation only—in which Republicans support market-based health care reforms—but ONLY when government-based solutions are on the table—such as when single-payer programs look possible.

Obama's Executive Order to Raise Minimum Wage

In his speech this week, President Obama said, "It's well past the time to raise a minimum wage that, in real terms right now, is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office."

The National Journal reports that the chairmen of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), Reps. Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison, had hand-delivered a letter to President Obama after his speech that had urged the Obama to circumvent Congress and sign an executive order to raise the minimum wage for workers employed through federal government via contracts with private companies.

This letter came months after 49 members of the CPC had already earlier requested the same thing from the President, only to hear radio silence about it from the White House. The letter said:

Santa Dies in the War on Christmas!

BREAKING NEWS - Wasilla, Alaska --- There will be no gift-wrapped presents with bows this year, nor will there be eggnog (spiked or otherwise), or midnight Masses, or Christmas carols; and sadly, no more Christmas trees either. The War on Christmas has finally come to a tragic end today.

Santa Claus's dead and mutilated body was found slumped on the ground early this morning in front of Fox News headquarters in New York City. Un-named sources on the scene had said that a police forensics team on site had found a large hunting knife in Santa's back, buried to the bloodied hilt.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Study: Jobless Benefits are NOT a Disincentive to Work

Life on Easy Street

How often have we heard the Republicans say that unemployment benefits causes people to stay home rather than look for a job? Even though the "official" unemployment rate has 11.3 million Americans unemployed, when there is only one job opening for every 3 people out of work.

But by using the broader measure of unemployment (the U-6 or U-7 rate) there are actually closer to 20 million Americans out of work, making only one job opening for every 6 people unemployed.

But even by using the lower U-3 rate, only one third of those people receive unemployment benefits. And Fox News bears this out in an Associated Press article. So how are those people keeping the other two thirds from also finding jobs?

TPP Trade Agreement will Raise Internet Costs

The 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations will hold a ministerial meeting in Singapore between December 7th and 9th with the aim of concluding a deal by year’s end, official sources said.

The TPP countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

Attack on Workers’ Rights at NBC

A petition by the Writers Guild of America East is to be delivered to Chris Hayes (Host of "All In with Chris Hayes"), Ed Schultz (Host of "The Ed Show"), Rachel Maddow (Host of "The Rachel Maddow Show"), Al Sharpton (Host of "Politics Nation") and Lawrence O'Donnell (Host of "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell") and reads:

Massive Holes in Obama's Speech

I very much liked the "populist" speech that President Obama gave yesterday, one that (in many ways) reminded me of his Teddy Roosevelt Speech that he gave in Osawatomie, Kansas back in 2011.

Below I quoted some of (what I thought were) the most relevant passages from his speech yesterday, as they pertained to jobs and the economy.

But I also found three massive holes in his speech on topics that Obama had quickly skipped through, without giving us very many details at all. (Scroll down to see my 3 alerts and 3 notes in red)

(The full transcript is here at the White House website)

Escaping the 99%

The Proposed New "Freedom Ship"
Freedom Ship International

Some people will do anything --- and spend untold amounts of wealth --- to rid themselves of the scum known as "humanity".

They will spend great sums of money to escape taxation. They will sacrifice their country's citizenship to escape having to pay their fair share of taxes for the Social Security retirements of those who made them so wealthy.

There are plans to build a mammoth vessel (a floating platform) named "Freedom Ship International" which will include 17,000 condo units and 3,000 commercial properties. One-bedroom condos will will range up to $7 million for luxury units.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

The Top One Percent's "END GAME"


During World War II, the people of the world couldn't believe it --- the idea had sounded so preposterous. It wasn't until after the war did the occupying soldiers finally confirm the full extent of the utter horror, that once, had only been a rumor --- that millions of people had been brutally extinguished in the German's death camps.

As it was then, it would almost impossible to believe that something like that could happen today. But humanity, all throughout its history, has participated in mass genocide. And it can happen again. Mankind, in this respect, is no more "civilized" today than it was then...only the technology has changed.

And "the innocents" today, unbeknownst to them, are still being led to slaughter like lambs.

Jobs now Outsourced from China to Cambodia

Motley Fool: "Made in China. It's a slogan emblematic of many things -- of cheap labor, the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to low-wage nations, and China's rapid ascent to the ranks of the largest economies on Earth."

The United States has been the world’s largest economy since 1871, but that top ranking is now under threat from China. The Asian giant has achieved economic growth averaging 10% since it initiated market reforms in 1978 and, in the process, lifting almost half of its 1.3 billion population out of poverty and becoming the undisputed second-largest economy (after having recently surpassed Japan).

The Pope Exposes the GOP's Masters

As Pope Francis wrote in his apostolic exhortation, his screed on “the economy of exclusion and inequality" has greatly disappointed those who consider themselves to be religious "free-market capitalists" --- especially those who benefit from the current status quo, and who work tirelessly trying to convince everybody else that our free markets aren't fraudulent markets.

A Global Income Tax

The world’s wealthy — and the corporations they run — are continually threatening to pull up stakes if the governments that host them get uppity enough to dare raise the tax rates on their wealth. But what if we only had one set of tax rates in the world — and a progressive set at that?

A silly impractical dream? Not to Saint Louis University law professor Henry Ordower. He argues in this new paper that a number of significant and often surprising changes in the financial and tax worlds have made a single global tax system now imaginable for the first time ever.

Ordower explains these changes and the many issues a grand unified global income tax raises in this sober and detailed study. If physicists can embark on a search for a grand unified theory to explain our natural world, he wonders, why can’t tax experts imagine something equally grand in their sphere?

New Wisdom on Wealth

Poll: 78% Want Congress Drug Tested

Proof that Congress never does what the majority of the people would like to be done.

According to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, 64 percent of Americans favor requiring welfare recipients to submit to random drug testing -- a measure pushed by Republican lawmakers in recent years -- while 18 percent oppose it.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Rep. Steve Southerland's War on Lazy Bums

Evidently, Congressman Southerland never read the recent speech by Pope Francis.

Food stamps are a moral issue.

After the cuts last month, the House Republicans want to cut another $40 billion from food stamps over the next ten years. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the GOP's proposed cuts to SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) immediately cuts 2-4 million more low-income individuals from the program.

FTC Rule for "Made in America" Clashes with New Rule

The New York Times reports that the production of cheaper goods, for which consumers are looking for, is by and large staying overseas, where manufacturers can find less expensive manufacturing. Essentially, to Buy American is to pay a premium price — a reality that is acting as a drag on a weak manufacturing resurgence, forcing U.S. companies to focus their American-made efforts on only higher-quality goods that fetch higher prices.

The Great Quantitative Easing Scam


From Aljazeera: Real Money Matters (Re: Quantitative Easing) - Since November 2008, the Fed has pumped roughly $3 trillion into the economy, and two-thirds of it is sitting in the Federal System earning interest for big banks. The majority of the funds created by QE are gathering dust in the Federal Reserve System as excess reserves over and above what commercial banks are required to hold to protect against loan defaults. Excess Reserves of Depository Institutions have exploded from $267 billion in October 2008 to $2.2 trillion in September 2013. Banks aren’t willing to lend the money out or because there simply isn’t the demand for the loans that could be created. Either way, the banks don’t have to lend excess reserves to realize a return because the Federal Reserve pays 0.25% interest on them.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Drugs and Alcohol Abuse Rises with Unemployment

The title of this article at Aljazeera.Com says "1 in 6 unemployed Americans abuses drugs or alcohol". At first, it appears to imply that the jobless were unemployed BECAUSE they abused drugs or alcohol; but these edited excerpts from their report below tells a much different story. So why didn't the title say something like: "Drugs and alcohol abuse rises with unemployment".