Blogs

BlackRock AIG Presentation Online - Read it Yourself

The actual Black Rock presentation which proves Goldman Sachs was willing to take a hair cut on AIG CDS payouts is online.

The document availability is by the good graces of Zero Hedge, who I also highly recommend reading their analysis and details on the ongoing AIG payout saga. Here are some of their BlackRock presentation document conclusions on Goldman Sachs:

BASIC DUAL NATURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY

Most people probably think of Social Security as a retirement system, which it is in part.  But at the same time it is also a welfare system, which explains why the retirement part is so minimal as compared to actuarially based pension systems.  That is, the welfare aspect costs money, to the detriment of the retirement aspect. 

My aim is to flesh out the details of this a bit.  My source of data is the official website of the Social Security Administration: www.socialsecurity.gov. 

ELEMENTS OF THE WELFARE ASPECT

1. SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and Disability

Full Spectrum Inequality

The Plunder, Pillage and Destruction of the American Tax Base

We don’t pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes. – Leona Helmsley

PREAMBLE:
This brief blog is an attempt at a synthesis of the excellent and exemplary research of superior individuals who have sought out the ways and manner of tax evasion and tax avoidance.

When such avoidance and evasion becomes institutionalized, the impact on any society can be quite severe. Seldom do people understand the connection between massive and institutionalized tax loss and deficit (debt) spending and the existence of debt-financed billionaires (that is, debt-financed wealth).

These activities are extremely antithetical to all forms of progress, as I endeavor to illustrate here.

In the virtual economy, tax shelter design and securitized financial instrument creation rules the day. From the information presented below, one would not be remiss to believe that those with American citizenship who work to evade taxation are truly only citizens of transnationals and multinationals, not citizens of any country.


1913

The sense of responsibility in the financial community for the community is not small. It is nil. – John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash

The year 1913 was fraught with momentous change. That was the year America saw the establishment of the oil depletion allowance, the Federal Reserve System, the federal income tax and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The federal income tax as we know it today was, not unexpectedly, introduced in Congress by a Republican, to be adopted as the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

What should be in Obama's State of the Union address, but isn't

My, my, my. Today we have a preview of President Obama's State of the Union address. What is most offensive is the claim this administration is trying to help the middle class.

We are being bombarded with these misleading headlines:

  • Obama announces initiatives for middle class
  • Obama announces economic aid for struggling middle class families

Right. So, guess what policy initiatives are in the speech? Tax cuts.

A doubling of the child care tax credit for families earning under $85,000; a $1.6 billion increase in federal funding for child care programs and a program to cap student loan payments at 10 percent of income above "a basic living allowance."

His initiatives also include expanding tax credits to match retirement savings and increasing aid for families taking care of elderly relatives. That program would also require many employers to provide the option of a workplace-based retirement savings plan.

Are these people shitting me? I'm sorry but we have massive unemployment. What a sorry ass excuse to help for the middle class. U.S. workers need jobs and they need good jobs now. Who cares about tax cuts! When your income is zero, what do tax cuts matter?

What should be in Obama's State of the Union Address?

How about these?

  1. Demand China float their currency. 83% of the non-oil trade deficit is due to China and their mercentile trade practices. It's pretty obvious too. China's GDP was 10.7% for Q4 2009. China holds the most U.S. treasuries. Meanwhile U.S. manufacturing shrank from about 15% of the economy to 12%.

Historic anniversaries in labor history

As a people we like to mark the anniversaries of important events in our lives. This is true for nations, individuals, corporations, and political groups.
The labor movement has been mostly left out of this tradition. This is my effort to change that. For instance, this Wednesday is the 160th Birthday of Samuel Gompers, founder of the AFL.

For this essay I would like to concentrate of events, such as this Tuesday is the anniversary of the very first worker's compensation agreement.

Friday Movie Night - Money Talks

hot buttered popcorn It's Friday Night! Party Time!   Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!

 

This week's documentary is on the unethical and corrupt sales practices of the pharmaceutical industry. Anyone who has gone to a Doctor who magically diagnoses a disease you have no symptoms of and each pill costs at least $4 a pop and makes you feel really bad....well, be wary, that's all one can say.

The film's website has a donate button for the filmmakers (although frankly they should attach ads as should all content makers whose work is online) but it's good of them to let us watch their film. With further ado....

The states budget crisis about to get much worse

Insolvency is no longer just for California. The dreaded word "bankruptcy" is now being whispered in Chicago.

While it appears unlikely or even impossible for a state to hide out from creditors in Bankruptcy Court, Illinois appears to meet classic definitions of insolvency: Its liabilities far exceed its assets, and it's not generating enough cash to pay its bills. Private companies in similar circumstances often shut down or file for bankruptcy protection.

Principal Reductions are Needed!

It was neo-liberal policies that created this mess and it will take progressive policies to fix it. There are several reasons why we have not seen progressive policies from Democrats: 1) They are owned by Wall Street and 2) Such policies require a shared sacrifice (which has been absent for quite some time) or the financial oligarchy to experience some pain. We have seen nothing but policies that support the financial sector. That will have to change if we are to move forward.

The mortgage crisis that triggered our economic crisis or Great Recession was created by a lack of regulation and increased financialization. But we have failed to address the underlying problems of the mortgage crisis. In fact, most programs intended to address the mortgage crisis have failed miserably.

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