Democracy passes into despotism - Plato, "The Republic"
Given that Plato lived a few hundred years before the "B.C." calendar designation, it is appropriate to add "always" to his quote after "Democracy."
I'm gearing up for this weekend's NFL playoffs, especially the last game on Sunday, so I don't want to make too much of today's non-farm payroll report. Especially since, given that we know the numbers are manipulated to completely distort the truth (change the rules of the game), I hate to reinforce any possible legitimacy of the report by applying rational thought to them (I just marvel how financial media makes millions selling advertising because viewers are glued to watching so-called experts dissect and debate these fraudulent reports - it makes a complete mockery of the truth).
Today's reported number showed 74,000 jobs created in December, well under the 200,000 expected by Wall Street's best and brightest. Since Wall Street missed the mark this badly, you'll hear repeatedly that the numbers were affected by the cold weather. Hmmm...I'm guess if I'm hungry and need to find a job, I'll just wait until next month to start working if it's too cold for me to go outside this month.
Incredibly, the unemployment rated plunged to 6.7%. What a fabulous headline statistic to beat everyone over the head with today and tomorrow when they turn on the news or open a newspaper. Bravo Barack. You've perfected the art of selling crack to children, a skill no doubt refined when you lived on the South Side of Chicago.
6.7% unemployment, down from the 7% reported in November? Wow. If people are having an easy time finding jobs, why is Congress wasting time and money debating whether or not to extend the long-term jobless benefits. Everyone would benefit if those lazy slouches would pick up the newspaper and look for a job - see this: 500 jobs - 1500 wait in line 3 days in freezing weather
But buried in the report is a metric that shows the number of people in this country not in the labor force. In December the report shows that 535,000 people dropped out of the labor force. 91.8 million people in this country - roughly 29% - are not considered part of the labor force. It's the highest percentage since 1978. Recall back then that most households had only one bread-winner and the country was engulfed in economic problems. In other words, despite a weak economy back then, demographically less people worked in total because the June Cleaver's of the world were busy taking care of the brood.
This is how a low "unemployment rate" is manufactured. The metric is calculated by taking the total number people who are counted as being part of the labor force but not working - either just left a job or actively looking for a job - and divides it by the total number of people working + looking. What the "not in labor force" statistic enables the Government math manipulators to do is reduce the numerator in that equation, which definitionally reduces the result - i.e. lowers the unemployment rate. The parameters used to define the "labor force" have been modified over the years in a manner which is beneficial to showing a low unemployment rate.
If you don't like the score, change the rules of the game. Have a great weekend.
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I'm wondering what the weather has to do with it in our so-called "service economy".
ReplyDeletenobody is really interested in the employment numbers anymore. the unlucky stiffs standing in line at government welfare agencies or looking to impossibly squeeze into a precious few remaining positions thrown like crumbs from the table of a hopelessly barren job pool are the only ones with skin in this rigged game.
ReplyDeletethe idea that the elites at the Federal Reserve are attempting to create jobs qualifies for the biggest fairy tale since the brothers Grimm. just look at Macy's which laid off 2,500, closed 5 stores and in the process received positive ratings and glowing reviews from the "analysts" who noticed that their earnings creeped up a few cents beyond expectations. or how about the pharmaceutical flashing a 238% increase in market valuation because its latest poison received an FDA stamp of approval.
unemployment is simply the only real growth industry occurring in a country which has for decades exported manufacturing jobs along with the very factory industrial implements and intellectual property which once formed the base of a thriving economic infrastructure. Add to this a hopelessly declining demographic contributing to shrinking tax bases and the importation of 30 million illegal workers to significantly undermine wage structuring and you have a profile of an empire in the final stages of collapse.
Oh, and did I forget to mention a hopelessly bloated military complex that sucks up just shy of 50% of total revenue not to mention the wanton destruction of innumerable millions of lives, the subversion of our nation and the devastation of emerging international economic infrastructure in the name of naked greed and its obscene profits.
Only a silly, marginally educated public blinded by the chemical toxicity to which they are constantly exposed and subject to incessant media propaganda drummed continually into their otherwise empty craniums could accept the grotesquely manipulated political and economic cesspool which those of us with any intelligence left have to gag on every day in nausea and horror.
The fact you see all this and have articulated it so well, gives me a sense of hope.
DeleteThe Truth will be resurrected. They didn't kill it. They only buried it.
The Loopholes In The Volcker Rule
ReplyDeleteThe statute itself, section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (DFA), is weak and has large exemptions called permitted activities.
Beyond that, all of the Volcker rule loopholes are highly dependent on unenforceable standards and self regulation by the banks. We know how well self regulation worked.
The loopholes—administrative and statutory—read like a catalogue of the dangerous activities that the DFA should have prohibited but did not. So herewith, a list of the loopholes in the final rule:
Banks engage in transactions called “leasing oil” or “printing oil” in which they pretend to own an oil company’s inventory so it can dress up its financials with an off-balance-sheet loan. The oil is temporarily sold to the bank and then sold back to the company—like an oil repo. Yes, the bank and the oil company are consenting adults, but the transaction is thought to contribute to market manipulation.
Repos (administrative exclusion). Repos, reverse repos and securities loans are excluded from the concept of trading account. There are no practical limits on repos in the final rule—not a peep about collateral or haircuts—except that the contracts have only two parties.
The regulators’ defense for the repo exclusion was not just weak and conflicted—the Fed is anxious to shore up the repo market–but oblivious to the risks of these transactions. Repos and securities loans can be used for arbitrage and short sales. They can be used to create the effect of total return swaps and synthetic forward contracts. A lot of betting can occur within these secured loans.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/leesheppard/2014/01/08/the-loopholes-in-the-volcker-rule/
what rules???
Not sure why I don't hear our congressional representatives getting skewered here along with Obama. As bad as Fed policy is, not only has the House done nothing to promote economic recovery but their policies have worked to counter any efforts being made to stimulate economic recovery. And please convince me why this is not their plan.
ReplyDeleteThey also say the low automobile numbers were due to bad weather. I guess we'll be hearing this excuse alot till spring.
ReplyDeletealso, we just had a job fair last friday and I would say 300-400 showed up for 10 jobs in Reno, Nevada. These companies are also known for quick firing and hiring, which also keeps the numbers manipulated.
ReplyDeleteThe low numbers is due to the low consumerism during black friday. Businesses realizing it was going to be a bleak christmas decided not to hire that many temps.
ReplyDeleteAnd of the 74,000 new jobs by the BLS they failed to mention 40,000 of them were temporary jobs.....
DeleteOK-(not ok really) All this bad shit is going down all around. Washington D.C.that has clearly become a cesspool. The whore mentality of our government leaders is shining through for all to see. Where and when is there that defining moment to physically stand up and make a difference(?), pull the trigger, begin pulling out the pitch forks and torches, start bubbling the tar and grab the feathers, meet in the street and collectively honor the Declaration of Independence !!!!?
ReplyDeleteShould it start by millions no longer paying taxes of any kind as a showing of discontent for the way our country is being run !?? We need organized , actual , effective participation by "We the People " Oh ~ and get rid of Hollywood - that's also another crap hole !
Taxes? Why should anyone pay taxes of any kind for any reason? Since the-powers-that-be are in the business of printing whatever they want whenever they want, why not print a bit more and get off my back? After all, it's not like we're on a gold standard anymore, is it?
Delete"Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God."
ReplyDeleteBenjamin Franklin
January 9, 2014
ReplyDeleteU.S. Payroll to Population Rate Falls to 42.9% in December
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Payroll to Population employment rate (P2P), as measured by Gallup, fell to 42.9% in December, from 43.7% in November. The current rate is the lowest Gallup has measured since March 2011.
The most recent results are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews with approximately 26,000 Americans, conducted Dec. 1-29 by landline and cellphone. Gallup does not count adults who are self-employed, working part time, unemployed, or out of the workforce as payroll-employed in the P2P metric.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/166775/payroll-population-rate-falls-december.aspx?ref=image
I cry when i see the fed turn there back on the people. The answer lies in a new system. Sellouts for money. The ritch better whatch because when people finally have enough they will revolt.
ReplyDeleteSunday, January 12, 2014
ReplyDeleteAlabama Blogger JAILED, Since October, for the Words He Has Written
This is a MAJOR ASSAULT ON FREE SPEECH and it must be stopped in its tracks immediately with the release of Roger Shuler from his unlawful political imprisonment.
Please PUBLICIZE this case far and wide. Lobby Alabama to release Roger Shuler from his political imprisonment.
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2014/01/alabama-blogger-jailed-since-october.html
The corruption of Britain: UK’s key institutions infiltrated by criminals
ReplyDeleteThe report states that the infiltration made it almost impossible for police and prosecutors to successfully pursue the organised gangs that police suspected controlled much of the criminal underworld.
The author of Tiberius, which was compiled from intelligence sources including covert police informants, live telephone intercepts, briefings from the security services and thousands of historical files, came to the desperate conclusion: “Quite how much more damage could be done is difficult to imagine.”
The fresh revelations come a day after The Independent revealed that Tiberius had concluded the Metropolitan Police suffered “endemic police corruption” at the time, and that some of Britain’s most dangerous organised crime syndicates were able to infiltrate New Scotland Yard “at will”.
In its conclusions, the report stated: “The true assessment of the damage caused by these corrupt networks is impossible to make at this stage, until further proactive scoping has been undertaken.
Another case of corruption beyond the Met, identified by Tiberius, included intelligence of alleged foul play within HMRC, which is supposed to lead the UK’s fight against white-collar crime such as money laundering.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-corruption-of-britain-uks-key-institutions-infiltrated-by-criminals-9052617.html
As an example of the cesspool down in stinkin' D.C. Richard Anderson wrote a piece which best describes the kind of crap that we Americans are shoveled :The Difference Between Bridgegate and Obama’s Scandals
ReplyDeleteRead more at http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/01/difference-bridgegate-obamas-scandals/#lasa3tvo3eQ5qZIY.99
Just goes to show you that the stink is getting worse day by day.
Want to see where some of Bernanke's 85 Billion per month ended up ? You don't have to look too far : http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-12/how-much-your-congressional-representative-worth-complete-infographic
ReplyDeleteIf people need these guys in a low rate environment, what's going to happen when things tighten up?...and this is high end borrowers...
ReplyDeleteNeed Cash? Own a Bentley? Take a Pawn Ticket
“Certainly conventional lenders over the past five to six years have become increasingly reluctant to advance credit on all fronts,” he said. “The time it takes those institutions to make decisions has lengthened as their appetite has shrunk. You can walk into our location in New York and walk out with your funds in an hour or two.”
For a fee — a high one — of course. For those who borrow a couple of thousand dollars against, say, a Rolex watch — which seems to be one of the most popular items to pawn — the rates range from 12 percent to more than 60 percent on an annualized basis for online pawnshops and into triple digits for brick-and-mortar operations throughout the country.
The first loans, he said, were at a rate of 5 percent a month, but more recent ones have been for 3 percent — or 36 percent a year. But to him, it is better than a typical pawn loan. “Instead of paying $1,800 a month for a $10,000 loan I’m paying $300 a month,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/your-money/need-cash-own-a-bentley-take-a-pawn-ticket.html
Backward! Since 1999, Real Median Household Income Has Fallen 9%, “Not In Labor Force” Increased 34%
ReplyDeleteRising “not in labor force,” falling/stagnant real income, and profits/house prices are skyrocketing.
Can we try something else?
http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/backward-since-1999-real-median-household-income-has-fallen-9-not-in-labor-force-increased-34/
Dollar stores are now getting too expensive for many Americans
ReplyDeleteThere’s a catch. While about 50% of Americans own some kind of stocks—either individual shares or mutual funds—the richest Americans own most of the market. That means most of the exceptional stock market gains accrued to what Federal Reserve research describe as “a small number of wealthy families.”
No, the poor rely not on asset prices, but on wages, Social Security, and government transfer payments for their income. That hasn’t been a good place in recent years. Wages have been stagnant. Government transfer payments have been under fire.
The fact that so many Americans are being forced to curtail spending at the cheapest discount retailers should give anybody cheering the US recovery something to think about.
http://qz.com/165733/dollar-stores-are-now-getting-too-expensive-for-many-americans/
mission demolished??????????????
JPMorgan and Madoff Were Facilitating Nesting Dolls-Style Frauds Within Frauds
ReplyDeleteBy Pam Martens: January 13, 2014
This was an operation structured like those Russian nesting dolls, with the Ponzi scheme as the outside doll with many more frauds layered inside the big one.
After reading the documents released by the Justice Department in connection with the settlement, the Los Angeles Times asked in a photo caption of a smirking Madoff outside of Federal Court: “Bernie Madoff: Was he part of the JPMorgan ring, or was JPMorgan part of his ring?”
Interestingly, the folks in sunny California, 2400 miles away from Wall Street, had an epiphanous moment in that photo caption while the Times assumed an all too common ostrich position when it comes to Wall Street.
According to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), the Justice Department prosecutors who settled the case against JPMorgan Chase used the investigative material from Picard to bring their charges and settle the case. Those court filings show layers upon layers of frauds within the Ponzi scheme.
JPMorgan Chase loaned $145 million to Madoff’s business at a time when the bank was on “notice of fraudulent activity” in Madoff’s business account and when, in fact, Madoff’s business was insolvent. The reason for the JPMorgan Chase loans was because Madoff’s business account, referred to as the 703 account, was “reaching dangerously low levels of liquidity, and the Ponzi scheme was at risk of collapsing.” JPMorgan, in fact, “provided liquidity to continue the Ponzi scheme,” according to Picard.
Clearly, this is fraud number two on the part of someone – loan fraud.
http://wallstreetonparade.com/2014/01/jpmorgan-and-madoff-were-facilitating-nesting-dolls-style-frauds-within-frauds/