 |
| DAYLEE PICTURE: A volcano on Reunion Island off of France. From the Daily Mail of the UK. |
Monday, June 30, 2014
News Nuggets 1465
TODAY'S BIG NUGGET: Who Destroyed the Neocon's Credibility -- They Don't Have to Look Far
Dick Cheney Just Buried the Bush Doctrine (Peter Beinart) from the Atlantic
"The former vice president rejected democracy-promotion in the Middle East. And today's conservatives agree with him."
"The former vice president rejected democracy-promotion in the Middle East. And today's conservatives agree with him."
The "New Normal" for the US Economy ... and Others
Get Ready for the Perma-Slump (Daniel Altman) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Sorry to be a downer, but the American economy’s best days are behind it. (And China’s are too.)"
"Sorry to be a downer, but the American economy’s best days are behind it. (And China’s are too.)"
Armed and Loaded Torpedoes Aimed at Our "Recovery"
Central Bankers Issue Strong Warning on Asset Bubbles from the New York Times
"Investors, desperate to earn returns even as official interest rates are at or near record lows, have been driving up the prices of stocks and other assets with little regard for risk, the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, said in its annual report published Sunday."
It is incredible that central bankers have the chutzpa to suggest making it “easier to fire people” and effectively tighten credit by “raising more capital”. The origins of this malaise can be traced to Bush’s success in funding the Iraq War entirely through debt. The common sense “Guns or Butter” principle was jettisoned for supply side fantasy. In fact, Americans were engaged in an orgy of credit fueled consumption at the height of war spending. Of course these profits went straight into the pockets of the wealthy. The resultant crash, triggered by inflation and nefarious financial practices, resulted in further upward wealth transfer. First the wealthy were forgiven the vast majority of their corporate debt, and then they snapped up securities, real estate and commodities at fire sale prices, largely by leveraging zero interest government securities (government securities only available to the wealthy). Keep in mind, at these financial levels, there is no distinction between corporate and personal wealth. The wealth transfer to the 0.01% over the past 6 years is tantamount to the sacking of Peru by the Conquistadors.
"Investors, desperate to earn returns even as official interest rates are at or near record lows, have been driving up the prices of stocks and other assets with little regard for risk, the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, said in its annual report published Sunday."
It is incredible that central bankers have the chutzpa to suggest making it “easier to fire people” and effectively tighten credit by “raising more capital”. The origins of this malaise can be traced to Bush’s success in funding the Iraq War entirely through debt. The common sense “Guns or Butter” principle was jettisoned for supply side fantasy. In fact, Americans were engaged in an orgy of credit fueled consumption at the height of war spending. Of course these profits went straight into the pockets of the wealthy. The resultant crash, triggered by inflation and nefarious financial practices, resulted in further upward wealth transfer. First the wealthy were forgiven the vast majority of their corporate debt, and then they snapped up securities, real estate and commodities at fire sale prices, largely by leveraging zero interest government securities (government securities only available to the wealthy). Keep in mind, at these financial levels, there is no distinction between corporate and personal wealth. The wealth transfer to the 0.01% over the past 6 years is tantamount to the sacking of Peru by the Conquistadors.
Posted by: hopeandespair
The Enduring Power of Bad Ideas
Charlatans, Cranks and Kansas (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"Two years ago Kansas embarked on a remarkable fiscal experiment: It sharply slashed income taxes without any clear idea of what would replace the lost revenue. ... And Mr. Brownback predicted that the cuts would jump-start an economic boom — “Look out, Texas,” he proclaimed. But Kansas isn’t booming — in fact, its economy is lagging both neighboring states and America as a whole. Meanwhile, the state’s budget has plunged deep into deficit, provoking a Moody’s downgrade of its debt. ... The real lesson from Kansas is the enduring power of bad ideas, as long as those ideas serve the interests of the right people."
"Two years ago Kansas embarked on a remarkable fiscal experiment: It sharply slashed income taxes without any clear idea of what would replace the lost revenue. ... And Mr. Brownback predicted that the cuts would jump-start an economic boom — “Look out, Texas,” he proclaimed. But Kansas isn’t booming — in fact, its economy is lagging both neighboring states and America as a whole. Meanwhile, the state’s budget has plunged deep into deficit, provoking a Moody’s downgrade of its debt. ... The real lesson from Kansas is the enduring power of bad ideas, as long as those ideas serve the interests of the right people."
GOP WIse Men - Not So Wise Anymore
Where Did the GOP’s Foreign Policy Wise Men Go? (John Dickerson) from Slate
"They better speak up. Because Dick Cheney and Rand Paul are speaking for them."
"They better speak up. Because Dick Cheney and Rand Paul are speaking for them."
The Past (and Future?) of GOP Noninterventionism
1952 All Over Again (Michael Gerson) from National Journal
"It's been more than six decades since Republican noninterventionists were this influential. They lost the battle to control the party then—and chances are, they're going to lose this time, too."
"It's been more than six decades since Republican noninterventionists were this influential. They lost the battle to control the party then—and chances are, they're going to lose this time, too."
The Consequences of a World with Many Older People
The Shifting Shape of Age Around the World (Uri Friedman) from the Atlantic
"Age breakdowns used to resemble pyramids. Now they're rectangles."
It’s not hard to figure out what happens to all the baby boomers. Just take a look around and you’ll see them working lousy minimum wage service jobs everywhere. Many boomers dreams of retirement have become nightmares of financial insecurity. Boomers have been fleeced by their corporate masters, ruthlessly targeted by the parasitic “retirement planning” industry, and have undermined their own financial security through a life of excessive consumption. Many if not most of the corporate retirement plans boomers were counting on have been, or soon will be, transferred to the wealthy through bankruptcies, takeovers, mergers, and other forms of corporate legerdemain. Even municipal and state retirements are in jeopardy; it appears that Federal retirement is the only unassailable nest egg. Now the very same financial companies who engineered this colossal theft, have not missed the opportunity to profit from the fear and insecurity they themselves created, by selling fleeced boomers “retirement products”, parasitically managed little spoonful’s’ of money which provide nobody a decent retirement save the charlatans who created them. Add to all this the pathetic state of the average boomers personal spending and savings habits, and the result is a 70 something grandma or grandpa, earning minimum wage to stock shelves at Wal-Mart just to make the Medicare co-pay. It used to embarrass me to have an exhausted grandmother serving me cheeseburgers, but it has become so common that I hardly notice it anymore.
Posted by: hopeandespair
"Age breakdowns used to resemble pyramids. Now they're rectangles."
It’s not hard to figure out what happens to all the baby boomers. Just take a look around and you’ll see them working lousy minimum wage service jobs everywhere. Many boomers dreams of retirement have become nightmares of financial insecurity. Boomers have been fleeced by their corporate masters, ruthlessly targeted by the parasitic “retirement planning” industry, and have undermined their own financial security through a life of excessive consumption. Many if not most of the corporate retirement plans boomers were counting on have been, or soon will be, transferred to the wealthy through bankruptcies, takeovers, mergers, and other forms of corporate legerdemain. Even municipal and state retirements are in jeopardy; it appears that Federal retirement is the only unassailable nest egg. Now the very same financial companies who engineered this colossal theft, have not missed the opportunity to profit from the fear and insecurity they themselves created, by selling fleeced boomers “retirement products”, parasitically managed little spoonful’s’ of money which provide nobody a decent retirement save the charlatans who created them. Add to all this the pathetic state of the average boomers personal spending and savings habits, and the result is a 70 something grandma or grandpa, earning minimum wage to stock shelves at Wal-Mart just to make the Medicare co-pay. It used to embarrass me to have an exhausted grandmother serving me cheeseburgers, but it has become so common that I hardly notice it anymore.
Posted by: hopeandespair
The Meanings of "Meaningful Work"
What Jobs Do People Find Most Meaningful? (Rebecca Rosen) from the Atlantic
"For meaningful work and high pay, become a doctor. For work that doesn't feel meaningful, become a lawyer."
"For meaningful work and high pay, become a doctor. For work that doesn't feel meaningful, become a lawyer."
The Legacies of the Boomer Generation
As Leaders, Boomers are a Bust (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"Generational boundaries are inexact. McConnell, Reid and Nancy Pelosi are all, technically, the last of the Silent Generation, though their uncompromising, values-based politics are closer to that of the boomers they lead. Obama, though technically one of the last boomers, is in his detached leadership more representative of Generation X. But if the dates are fuzzy, the damage the boomers have done to our politics becomes clearer all the time."
"Generational boundaries are inexact. McConnell, Reid and Nancy Pelosi are all, technically, the last of the Silent Generation, though their uncompromising, values-based politics are closer to that of the boomers they lead. Obama, though technically one of the last boomers, is in his detached leadership more representative of Generation X. But if the dates are fuzzy, the damage the boomers have done to our politics becomes clearer all the time."
Clinton's Real Strength in the Democratic Party
How Hillary Won Over the Skeptical Left (Noam Scheiber) from the New Republic
"The surprising source of Clinton's invincibility."
"The surprising source of Clinton's invincibility."
Why the Tiny House Movement is Taking Off
Living Large in 150 Square Feet from Salon
""It's not about the tiny house, it's about the life you're going to lead in it""
""It's not about the tiny house, it's about the life you're going to lead in it""
The Sources of Hillary's Problems and Her Promise
A Unified Theory of Hillary (Peter Beinart) from the National Journal
"To understand what kind of president she would be, consider that her greatest successes and worst failures have the same explanation."
"To understand what kind of president she would be, consider that her greatest successes and worst failures have the same explanation."
BASEBALL NUGGET!!
Billy Beane’s Ascendant A’s Are Playing a Brand-New Brand of Moneyball (Will Leitch) from New York Magazine
"Beane’s A’s are comfortably atop the American League West—the division they’ve won the past two seasons—and have the best record in Major League Baseball. They’re still in the same stadium, with the same uncertainty, with the same owner. They have the sixth-lowest opening-day payroll in the game. Everyone knows their old tricks. And yet here they are: on top of the baseball world again. How have the A’s done it?"
"Beane’s A’s are comfortably atop the American League West—the division they’ve won the past two seasons—and have the best record in Major League Baseball. They’re still in the same stadium, with the same uncertainty, with the same owner. They have the sixth-lowest opening-day payroll in the game. Everyone knows their old tricks. And yet here they are: on top of the baseball world again. How have the A’s done it?"
Friday, June 27, 2014
News Nuggets 1464
 |
| DAYLEE PICTURE: Chinchaycocha Lake at Junin in Peru. From the Daily Mail of the UK. |
TODAY'S BIG NUGGET: Controversy is Far More Profitable than the Truth
If You Were An Iraq War Critic, You're Probably Not Being Asked To Go On TV from the Huffington Post
"Despite catastrophic misjudgments -- that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, that U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators, that the war would pay for itself with oil revenues -- the Iraq war boosters keep getting booked, while those politicians and journalists who were skeptical of the Bush administration's “slam dunk” case for war remain largely on the sidelines. ... Though Cheney and Wolfowitz “got things so disastrously wrong,” he said, the media gives them platforms “to create controversy, and that controversy will be enhanced by whatever they say, irrespective of whether it's accurate or not.”"
"Despite catastrophic misjudgments -- that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, that U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators, that the war would pay for itself with oil revenues -- the Iraq war boosters keep getting booked, while those politicians and journalists who were skeptical of the Bush administration's “slam dunk” case for war remain largely on the sidelines. ... Though Cheney and Wolfowitz “got things so disastrously wrong,” he said, the media gives them platforms “to create controversy, and that controversy will be enhanced by whatever they say, irrespective of whether it's accurate or not.”"
The Ghosts of World War I Now Haunt the Middle East
The Middle East That France and Britain Drew Is Finally Unravelling. And there's very little the U.S. can do to stop it (John Judis) from the New Republic
A big excerpt is in order here:
"... these various bad actors are bit players in a drama that goes back at least to World War I. What is happening is that the arrangements that the British and French created during and after World War I—which established the very existence of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan, and later
contributed to the creation of Israel—are unraveling. Some of these states will survive in their present form, but others will not. ... The British and French created the future states—not in order to ease their inhabitants’ transition to self-rule, as they were supposed to do under the mandate of the League of Nations, but in order to maintain their own rule over lands they believed had either great economic or strategic significance."
A big excerpt is in order here:
"... these various bad actors are bit players in a drama that goes back at least to World War I. What is happening is that the arrangements that the British and French created during and after World War I—which established the very existence of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan, and later
contributed to the creation of Israel—are unraveling. Some of these states will survive in their present form, but others will not. ... The British and French created the future states—not in order to ease their inhabitants’ transition to self-rule, as they were supposed to do under the mandate of the League of Nations, but in order to maintain their own rule over lands they believed had either great economic or strategic significance."
UP FRONT JON STEWART NUGGET!!
The Problem with "Warfare Queens" from the Daily Show
"You know what, I'm worried. I'm really worried about the Republicans. Their inability to wean themselves off of military intervention. They have a culture of defendency, if you will. And I believe it's turned them all into warfare queens. (audience laughter) And I think we need to cut them off for their own good. (audience cheering and applause)"
I think we have a new term for the neocon nutjobs who have been filling your TV screen for the last two weeks! Nuggetsman
"You know what, I'm worried. I'm really worried about the Republicans. Their inability to wean themselves off of military intervention. They have a culture of defendency, if you will. And I believe it's turned them all into warfare queens. (audience laughter) And I think we need to cut them off for their own good. (audience cheering and applause)"
I think we have a new term for the neocon nutjobs who have been filling your TV screen for the last two weeks! Nuggetsman
So Much for Obamacare Not Working
The Incompetence Dogma (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"... it’s worth pointing out just how completely ideology has trumped evidence in the health policy debate. And I’m not just talking about the politicians; I’m talking about the wonks. It’s remarkable how many supposed experts on health care made claims about Obamacare that were clearly unsupportable."
"... it’s worth pointing out just how completely ideology has trumped evidence in the health policy debate. And I’m not just talking about the politicians; I’m talking about the wonks. It’s remarkable how many supposed experts on health care made claims about Obamacare that were clearly unsupportable."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)