The Cynical Economist

Sorry to finish the year with such a gloomy post, but nothing has been fixed in the US economy and around the world.

Wish my readers happy new year, more luck and successes in 2011, be healthy and do not worry too much!

Having your health and a loving family makes you a wealthy person

Medicare Bound to Bust as First Boomers Hit 65 – Starting New Year’s Day 10,000 Will Reach Eligibility for Program Every Day for 19 Years, Risking Its Bankruptcy by 2017

Home foreclosures jump in 3rd quarter: regulators – U.S. home foreclosures jumped in the third quarter and banks’ efforts to keep borrowers in their homes dropped as the housing market continues to struggle, U.S. bank regulators said on Wednesday

HOA Drives Down Property Values – This isn’t the typical story of Big Wall Street Banks colluding to foreclose on homeowners in record numbers, nor is it a story of overly high taxes causing a great migration. This housing crisis, the one you’ve never heard of, is a crisis caused by a Homeowners Association.

President and family on multi-million dollar Christmas vacation in Hawaii – Nobody questions a president’s right or need to take take away from the White House, but an investigation by Hawaii Reporter has turned up some eye-opening information about the costs and other aspects of the Obama get-away

Sanitation Department’s slow snow cleanup was a budget protest – Selfish Sanitation Department bosses from the snow-slammed outer boroughs ordered their drivers to snarl the blizzard cleanup to protest budget cuts — a disastrous move that turned streets into a minefield for emergency-services vehicles

Union leaders predict surge in strike action next year – In UK leaders of trade unions expect large numbers of public and private sector workers to take to the picket lines early next year in action that could affect the royal wedding

Disney unions may face ultimatum – accept final offer or strike – Disney has offered the 20,000 full-time employees bonuses and raises over the next few years, but the deal also includes higher health care costs. Now, thousands of cast members could soon face a big decision: Either accept the company’s contract offer, or walk off the job. Gee, that is tough one…do I want a job or not?

Audit Finds CDC Misplaced $8M in Equipment – “It’s just a good thing they haven’t lost any diseases,” …Are they sure about that?

Oil Could Push to $110

Oh Canada! Neighbors to the North Slash Corporate Tax Rate

China preparing for armed conflict ‘in every direction’ – China is preparing for conflict ‘in every direction’, the defence minister said on Wednesday in remarks that threaten to overshadow a visit to Beijing by his US counterpart next month.

Internet groups fear UN could threaten cyberspace – Autocratic governments like China and Iran attended the meeting, as did several democratic ones. Despite protests by Portugal and the United States, they voted to staff a working group on the future of the Internet Governance Forum — an important theatre of discussion on matters of cyberspace — by governments alone

China shuts down 60,000 porn sites and arrests 5,000 people in massive censorship crackdown – It has blocked a number of popular websites, including Google’s YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook, as well as Chinese content sharing sites. The communist government has accused them of carrying content harmful to China’s security and in breach of its laws, including images of protests in sensitive regions such as Tibet.

China makes Skype illegal – In the latest move dashing Western internet company hopes of breaking into China, it was announced that all internet phone calls were to be banned apart from those made over two state-owned networks, China Unicom and China Telecom.

U.S. gasoline appetite shrinking – The country’s thirst for gasoline is shrinking as cars and trucks become more fuel-efficient, the government mandates the use of more ethanol and people drive less. While America’s diminishing demand will temper global demand, it will be more than offset by rapidly growing demand in China, India, the Middle East and Africa. As a result, declining U.S. gasoline demand will not bring lower pump prices.

YOU WANTED TO KNOW WHY IS AMERICA STALED IN A DEPRESSION? WHY IS AMERICA LOOTED AND NO ONE IS HOLD ACCOUNTABLE? Apparently the people who write the laws of the land, now leave the government and go do work for the companies, that these same laws were suppose to regulate. ….read the articles below…

Regulators are finding opportunities at firms looking for government experience – In recent months, prominent officials from the White House, Justice Department, SEC, banking regulators and other agencies, both federal and state, have been walking through the proverbial revolving door to join Goldman, Citi, other financial companies and top law firms in Washington and New York.

Former NIH Director Spins Trhough Revolving Door, Ends Up at Sanofi-Aventis – The revolving door just keeps spinning, its revolutions suggesting how closely tied together big government and big corporations have become in what is now the health care business…

Rattner to Pay $10 Million to Resolve Cuomo Pension Fund Probe - Obama’s car czar fined $10 million for pay-to-play pension scandal

Why the Rich Are Getting Richer – IT’S THE GOVERNMENT, STUPID

China’s economy to slow on weak demand, prudent policy concerns: report – China’s gross domestic product (GDP) is predicted to grow by around 9.5 percent in 2011, 0.5 percentage points lower compared to the growth rate expected for this year, said a report issued Wednesday by the Bank of China (BOC). So much for the world’s recovery from the global recession… If China slows – everybody slows

More U.S. cities, even states face bankruptcy in 2011: report – Despite U.S. President Barack Obama’s argument that the U.S. economy is “past the crisis point,” more U.S. cities and even some states actually are facing bankruptcy in 2011 if they can not find out a way to balance the budget.

Davidowitz Interview About U.S. Retailers, Consumers – VIDEO. Recovery? What recovery?

CrossTalk on 2010: GoodYear, BadYear

Dark Ages: 2010 Uprisings just a start, Revolt 2011 coming? (uh-oh)

Obama’s Controversial Recess Appointments

Michigan Town Is Left Pleading for Bankruptcy – “We can make it until March 1 — maybe,” Mr. Cooper said of Hamtramck’s ability to pay its bills. Beyond that? The political leaders of this old working-class city almost surrounded by Detroit are pleading with the state to let them declare bankruptcy, a desperate move the state is not even willing to admit as an option under the current circumstances. Why not consider bankruptcy as an option??? Because if one of the cities that issuing muni bonds, perceived as a safe investments declare bankruptcy… hundreds of others will follow. Not just in Michigan, but all over the USA.

Are Unions to Blame for U.S. Cities’ Financial Crisis?

Ariz. Cities Aim To Protect State-Shared Revenue – A top priority of cities and towns during the upcoming session of the Arizona Legislature is protecting the tax revenue distributed back to them from the state. The state faces a budget deficit of $2.25 billion.

U.S. Health Premiums Outstrip Income Gains: Chart of the Day - In 15 states, health-insurance premiums are the equivalent of at least 20 percent of median household income for people under 65, according to the report. The reason is the government involvement and the fraud in the system - allowing the meds to  charge ALL OF US for unnecessary treatments and tests. When there are payments involving the government, there are always overcharges

Medicare will soon bulge with baby boomers – 77 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 who will become Medicare-eligible at the rate of one every eight seconds beginning in January. The implications of the population bulge are enormous – for government spending as well as for the care seniors will get.

Scandal of the deadly diabetes drug subsidised by French state – French politicians of both the right and left are facing severe embarrassment and legal recriminations with the forthcoming publication of an official report on what could become the worst health scandal in the country’s history. President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised “the most complete transparency” on how a drug which is now suspected to have killed up to 2,000 people was officially approved, and subsidised, for 33 years by the French health service. Mr Sarkozy, I will save you millions by naming the reasons for the failure – drug company lobbyists and government bureaucracy!

So Young and So Many Pills - More than 25% of Kids and Teens in the U.S. Take Prescriptions on a Regular Basis. Nearly 7% are on two or more such drugs, based on the company’s database figures for 2009. Wondering why the healthcare costs are skyrocketing? We turn our kids in drug addicts and the government is sponsoring that. That’s why….

Farm Animals Get 80 Percent of Antibiotics Sold in U.S. – Most of the drugs used in animal agriculture and in human medicine are functionally identical. That’s one reason why the overuse of antibiotics in animals is such a concern: When organisms become resistant on the farm to drugs used on livestock, they are becoming resistant to the exact same drugs used in humans.

Where are the jobs? For many companies, overseas – Corporate profits are up. Stock prices are up. So why isn’t anyone hiring? Actually, many American companies are — just maybe not in your town. They’re hiring overseas, where sales are surging and the pipeline of orders is fat. American jobs have been moving overseas for more than two decades. In recent years, though, those jobs have become more sophisticated — think semiconductors and software, not toys and clothes.The main reasons American companies hire foreigners – THEY ARE BETTER EDUCATED AND THEIR WAGES ARE HALF OF WHAT THE AMERICAN WAGES ARE….

Learning from Finland – How one of the world’s top educational performers turned around

China cuts rare earth export quotas – U.S. expresses concern over shrinking supplies of metals needed to make a range of high-tech products. Well is time to start mining here at home

China has carrier-killer missile, U.S. admiral says – China’s military is deploying a new anti-ship ballistic missile that can sink U.S. aircraft carriers, a weapon that specialists say gives Beijing new power-projection capabilities that will affect U.S. support for its Pacific allies.

Derivatives Clearing Group Decides Against Registration – The world’s largest clearinghouse for credit-default swaps, ICE Trust, has had second thoughts about registering with regulators, citing concerns over new rules devised to bring transparency to the $600 trillion derivatives market. Everything is under control here, no regulations needed…right?

Economic Optimism? Yes, I’ll Take That Bet – The era of cheap oil has ended

12/28/2010 – Peter Schiff: Misguided Economic Euphoria

What are the two workers going to expect as their punishment? Early fat pension, thats what…

President Obama under pressure to deliver on climate – It’s the day the Obama administration will officially start regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and critics have issued dire predictions of economic destruction

The Abiding Faith Of Warm-ongers – Nothing makes fools of more people than trying to predict the weather. Whether in Los Angeles or London, recent predictions have gone crazily awry. Global warming? How about mini ice age?

Napolitano: ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign isn’t Big Brother – The federal government’s “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign to encourage citizen vigilance against terrorism threats doesn’t amount to a Big Brother-style spying effort, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in an interview aired Sunday.

The power of unions: Average stagehand at Lincoln Center in NYC makes $290K a year – To repeat, that is the average compensation of all the workers who move musicians’ chairs into place and hang lights, not the pay of the top five.

‘Perv’ teach, 75, logs 13 years – At age 75, Roland Pierre is the granddaddy of the rubber room — 13 years in the purgatory of teachers yanked from the classroom for alleged wrongdoing. Pierre was permanently removed from the classroom in 1997 after he was accused of sexually molesting a sixth-grade girl.  But since then, Pierre has continued to receive full pay and fringe benefits, including health, pension and vacation, officials said. He pulls down $97,101 a year.

Oil holds at $91 per barrel – Oil prices slid to $91 per barrel in light trading Monday, the first day after the Christmas break, as traders focused on efforts in China to to ease inflation.

World economy can withstand $100 oil price: Kuwait – The global economy can withstand an oil price of $100 a barrel, Kuwait’s oil minister said on Saturday, as other exporters indicated OPEC may decide against increasing output through 2011 as the market was well supplied.

Ex-Shell president sees $5 gas in 2012 – The former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, says Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012.

New global banking rules proposed on bankers’ pay – New banking rules are being proposed by an influential global regulatory panel that would give investors a better idea of when CEOs and other high-paid executives get bonuses even when their companies are lagging.

Baby Boomers’ Retirements in Jeopardy – Starting in January, more than 10,000 baby boomers a day will turn 65, a pattern that will continue for the next 19 years.

Home prices falling faster in biggest US cities -Home prices falling faster in major US cities; further declines expected in 2011

U.S. changes how it measures long-term unemployment – Citing what it calls “an unprecedented rise” in long-term unemployment, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), beginning Saturday, will raise from two years to five years the upper limit on how long someone can be listed as having been jobless.

111th Congress Added More Debt Than First 100 Congresses Combined: $10,429 Per Person in U.S. – During the Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) tenure as speaker, which commenced on Jan. 4, 2007, the federal government has run up $5.177 trillion in new debt. That is about equal to the total debt the federal government accumulated in the first 120 years of the nation’s existence, with the federal debt rising from $5.173 trillion on July 24, 1996 to $5.181 trillion on July 24, 1996.

Price of Silver Soaring – Investor-Fueled 74% Gains Dwarf Gold; Race to Open Mines

From Spiegel Online
By Peter Müller

Surveys show that many Germans are worried about the future of the euro, but the country’s political parties are not taking their fears seriously. The number of grassroots initiatives against the common currency is increasing, and political observers say a Tea Party-style anti-euro movement could do well.

As a playwright, Rolf Hochhuth knows how to use timing to achieve the greatest possible impact. In the 1960s, he criticized the pope for remaining silent about the Holocaust. When everyone in the world was talking about globalization, he took to the theater stage and unmasked consulting companies like McKinsey as exploitation machines.

Now Hochhuth is campaigning against the euro — and his stage is Germany’s Constitutional Court. “Why should we help rescue the Greeks from their sham bankruptcy?” he asks. “Ever since Odysseus, the world has known that the Greeks are the biggest rascals of all time. How is it even possible — unless it was premeditated — for this highly popular tourist destination to go bankrupt?”

In the spring, he joined a group led by Berlin-based professor Markus Kerber that has filed a constitutional complaint against the billions in aid to Greece and the establishment of the European stabilization fund, which was set up in May 2010. Hochhuth wants the deutsche mark back. “I don’t know if this is possible. I only know that Germany lived very well with the mark.”

It’s an opinion that suddenly places this nearly 80-year-old man in a rather unusual position, at least for him: on the side of the majority of Germans…

read the rest

Ducking Higher Taxes – Oregon’s vanishing millionaires

States With Lower Taxes, Smaller Government, Fewer Unions Seeing The Most Population Growth – An updated study by Americans for Tax Reform compared states gaining and losing Congressional seats in the decennial reapportionment process and found that states gaining seats had significantly lower taxes, less government spending, and were more likely to have “Right to Work” laws in place.

Federal Government Spent $823,200 On Studying Genital Washing – $175 million to maintain an unused monkey house. $1.8 million for a museum dedicated to old Las Vegas signs. $615,000 to digitize a Grateful Dead collection. And $823,200 to study genitalia washing in South Africa. Those are just some of the projects that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) uses as examples of government waste in his annual “Wastebook” report released today

Closing the books on the worst Congress – Fire them all

‘Citizen Soros’ now targeting messenger – “‘It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out” G. Soros

Obama’s insular White House worries his allies – The president famously relies on a tight circle of advisors. But with Republicans running the House next year, many say Obama will need some new faces to convey a new message.

Obama Returns to End-of-Life Plan That Caused Stir – Under the new policy, outlined in a Medicare regulation, the government will pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care, which may include advance directives to forgo aggressive life-sustaining treatment.

Meredith Whitney: Muni Defaults, Social Unrest Ahead – “I didn’t put the debt on these states. We’re looking at the numbers. This is how it plays out,” she said, adding that the federal government is also unlikely to bail out broke states.

Coburn: Control Government Spending or Face ‘Apocalyptic Pain’ – “Apocalyptic pain” from an out-of-control debt could cause 18 percent unemployment and a massive contraction in the economy that would destroy the middle class