When will we finally end the party of the arms companies? (tags)
The people, however, want the opposite. They are afraid of war. They want peace and civil conflict resolution. They want social welfare and a decent standard of living.That is what politics should focus on. Unfortunately, in the current hysterical mood, there are only a few who have the courage to be pilloried as "party crashers", pro-Putin, pro-Hamas, pro-Mullah and other autocrats
Global Economic Losses Since Dawn of Pandemic Hit $3.3 Trillion (tags)
Since 2020, the global economy lost $3.3 trillion. The loss affected the most vulnerable countries hardest noted International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva.
Global Economic Losses Since Dawn of Pandemic Hit $3.3 Trillion (tags)
Since 2020, the global economy lost $3.3 trillion. The loss affected the most vulnerable countries hardest noted International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva.
Preserving Democracy and the Welfare State (tags)
We are confronted with war and endless suffering, with flight, with poverty and social insecurity, with a global pandemic... The arms buildup planned for decades will not end the deaths in Ukraine, will not make our world more peaceful and will not make it safer.
Austerity's Hidden Purpose & From California Economics to Bidenomics (tags)
For governments pursuing austerity, spending cuts mean lower national income and fewer taxes. Unlike a household or a business, if the government cuts its spending during tough times, it is cutting its revenues, too.
President Trump Authorizes Somalia Debt Relief (tags)
President Trump signed a year-end spending bill which authorizes the first phase of debt relief for Somalia.
Congress Passes Somalia Debt Relief (tags)
As part of the Federal government's year-end spending package or "minibus," Congress passed the first phase of debt relief for Somalia.
More Public Investment is Sensible and Necessary (tags)
Low-interest rates should create possibilities for expansive budgetary policy. Public investments in the infrastructure and education could benefit future generations by helping raise long-term prosperity and well-being. The one-sided narrowing of budgetary possibilities is excessive
Austerity Policy as Momentous Mistake (tags)
The IMF's austerity policy of the last years was misguided. That austerity policy led to intensified growth declines and increasing unemployment and did not reach its goal of permanently calming the financial markets. Public investments could raise economic growth.
New Law Provides Disaster Relief and Medicaid Funds for Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (tags)
As the Sun rose over the Capitol, Congress voted for a bipartisan spending package to end a brief government shutdown.
Neoliberal Austerity Leads to Deeper Crisis (tags)
A high state share in the economy, developed social states and readiness to intervene actively and anti-cyclically prevent falling into a depression. Trump's demonizing regulation, Medicaid, public schools, Head Start, Meals on Wheels, taxation and democracy must be resisted
Trumponomics: Failure Pre-Programmed (tags)
Macro-economic and ecological connections are simply ignored with the concentration on short-term profit. The planned reduction of corporate taxes from the current 35% to 15 or 20% recalls the Laffer-curve as the basis of Reagan's fiscal policy error.
No wonder Americans aren’t freaking out about how much of their tax dollar goes to the military. They think it’s 16 cents of each dollar, when it’s really the percentage of the discretionary budget, which is that 63 cents on the dollar.
Can Keynes Rescue Europe from the Euro Crisis? (tags)
Keynes' theories and concepts were pushed back with the rise of neoliberalism in the 1980s. A complete change of course occurred when state spending cuts, lower wages and devaluations failed. The state spent money to create demand for products and services.
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Nominee Irresponsibly Calls Russia America's "Greatest Threat" (tags)
anti-war
Israel
US Spending Bill Bonanza for Wall Street (tags)
Wall Street
Austerity Policy as Momentous Mistake (tags)
The IMF's austerity policy of the last years was misguided. That austerity policy led to intensified growth declines and increasing unemployment... Public investments could raise economic growth both in the short- and long-term.
Washington's Bloated Defense Budget (tags)
anti-war
Making the World Safe for War Profiteers (tags)
anti-war
Venezuelan v. US Budget Priorities (tags)
Venezuela
Congressional Budget Deal Betrayal (tags)
class war
Seven Good Reasons for a More Just Tax Policy (tags)
In the US, the top tax rate was over 70% from 1938 to 1982. Reagan cut the top rate to 35% and changed taxation from corporate to individual leading to exploding inequality and generalized insecurity. Taxation, investment, labor market, trade and distribution policies must change.
VIDEO: Austerity - The History of a Dangerous Idea (tags)
Mark Blyth is Professor of International Political Economy in the Department of Political Science at Brown University and a Faculty Fellow at Brown's Watson Institute for International Studies
When Theory and Reality Diverge (tags)
Politics forces crises and prevents their ending every day by holding to its ideological blinders. The state is not a private household and spending cuts always strike back on other actors of the economy. When theory and reality diverge, the theory is wrong, not the reality.
More Economic Straight Talk (tags)
class war
US Economy: Troubled or All's Well? (tags)
economy
Policy makers leave HUD's housing programs at risk (tags)
More than 900 organizations nationwide have spoken out against the massive spending cuts scheduled to take place. In a call to action, activists continue to urge low-income families in the federally subsidized housing programs to immediately contact their representatives, and to urge the Obama administration and Congress to stop the automatic spending cuts scheduled to go into effect on March 1, that could result in the eviction of 250,000 voucher holders in HUD housing programs!
Fiscal Cliff deal leaves HUD's housing programs at risk (tags)
In a call to action, activists urge all low-income families in the federally subsidized housing programs to immediately contact their representatives, and to urge the Obama administration and Congress to stop the automatic spending cuts scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2013, that could result in the eviction of 250,000 voucher holders in HUD housing programs!
Fiscal Cliff Postmortems (tags)
class war
Flim Flam Fiscal Cliff Legislation (tags)
class war
The Fiscal Cliff Is A Diversion: The Derivatives Tsunami and the Dollar Bubble (tags)
The fiscal cliff is a bipartisan excuse to introduce austerity measures in the form of "needed" cuts to social safety net programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The stage is set for "Jason vs. Freddy" or Obama vs. Boehner as we the people wait to see which politician serial killer will be cutting the U.S. people with their sharp knives of austerity.
Dear Democrats, Please Hold to These 8 Principles by Robert Reich (tags)
Education and health care are investments, not spending. Hold your ground, the wealthy must pay their fair share. Don't cut spending when unemployment is high. Jobs come first
Fiscal cliff is a hoax, may be bipartisan excuse to kill off U.S. poor people! (tags)
The media hype about the so-called fiscal cliff is just another bipartisan excuse to increase the gap between the wealthy and ever increasing number of poor people in the U.S. Notice both parties are advocating large cuts to social safety net programs when people are already struggling with poverty, while U.S. military bases remain operational on foreign soil through the Earth and only Presidential candidate Ron Paul was willing to save money by closing ALL overseas bases.
Is Capitalism Collapsing? (tags)
One of the causes for the obvious helplessness of the governments is that they function as simple receivers of orders of the financial industry. The financial industry has no interest in a policy that would make it liable for its inflicted disaster..
Paul Ryan's Socially Destructive Agenda (tags)
class war
Out of the Slump: The Only Road (tags)
A real analysis of the United State’s economic history is rarely discussed by politicians or media alike, since the conclusions that would be inevitably drawn would be out of step with what politicians are currently advocating.
class war
For a European Anti-Crisis Front (tags)
Lowering the public debt burden is not an end-in-itself. Debts could serve to stimulate the economy and improve the living conditions of the victims of the crisis. Debt reduction must occur mainly by increasing the tax revenues (higher tax rates and combating tax evasion), not only by cuts.
The Disclose Act vote today: Legislation to prevent anonymous campaign donations (tags)
The Senate has failed to advance legislation that would require independent groups to disclose the names of contributors who give more than $10,000 for use in political campaigns.
New Economic Thinking - Turning Away from the Market Fetish (tags)
"New economic thinking" rejects the view of the person as "homo oeconomicus" reduced to maximization of individual benefits and offers a more comprehensive and realistic concept in which justice, norms, routines and emotions appear. "Homo recipocans" is an alternative.
The high cost of private profit in health care (tags)
The extra money, extracted from people and from government, are massive subsidies for corporate profit, and gigantic payouts for executives and financiers.
How could they [SNWA] not have known? (tags)
Drought and over extended water rights to developers resulted in the SNWA pushing the panic button and proposing the rural water grab pipeline as a needed measure to prevent an "urban collapse" scenario. The SNWA propaganda may be serving the interests of developers looking to build suburban sprawl along the U.S. 93 corridor parallel to the proposed pipeline route.
Will Johnson: Occupy Activist Says Movement's Alive & Well (tags)
According to Occupy San Diego activist Will Johnson, the movement is alive and well. It may no longer be running law-defying occupations in prominent public places, but it's still working out ways to challenge the vast and increasing inequality in the distribution of wealth and income in the U.S.
The Act of Voting Will Co-Opt Dreams of Real Democracy (tags)
Why should I, like Mr. Obama, allow my ideals to be co-opted in case of an emergency. Fuck it. If I did that, I'd be the same liberal ass-wiper that I rail against every day. I'm done.
The Keynesian past is past: Nostalgia is not the future (tags)
Keynesianism would be much better than austerity, but would do nothing to solve the underlying structural crisis of capitalism.
BTL: 2012 Campaign Spending Breaking New Records as Groups Fight to Overturn Supreme Court (tags)
Interview with Jeff Clements, author of the book, "Corporations Are Not People", conducted by Scott Harris
Mitt Romney's Hard-Right Agenda (tags)
class war
Obama Year Three: Continuing His Rogue Agenda (tags)
police state
Holiday Season Hypocrisy (tags)
consumerism
Destroying the American Dream (tags)
class war
Supercommittee Strikes Out (tags)
debt crisis
Eurozone Doomsayer Got it Right (tags)
economy
Philippines: Education underspending is not "straight path" (tags)
Statement of the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) on the 2012 Proposed Budget
Obama's Budget Deal: Neoliberal March in the US (tags)
What should be the state's role in the future? What values and priorities should be set in a time when public resources become scarcer under the pressure of state indebtedness? Less state, less support for the unemployed, poor and sick occurs along with a free ride for billionaires and big corporations.
From the Debt Showdown into Recession (tags)
The scenario of an economic double-dip is very likely without additional economic measures. The budget cuts may bring about a recession. The republicans in Congress threaten to concoct an economic crisis if they are not allowed to cut spending. Our greatest problem is low spending.
Strikes, riots, revolutions. This is the shape of the new Class War.
The US, the Debt Superpower (tags)
The state bailout of these gigantic real estate institutes, banks and insurances and the enormous economic package to get the crisis-weakened economy on its feet again is one of the essential causes of the present debt crisis. In two decades, $5.5 trillion was spent on a dozen wars.
FAV ON THE ?DEBT CEILING? DRAMA AND ?COMPROMISE? IN THE US CONGRESS (tags)
? The Dark Days of August Spreads its Gloom.? The Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) and its allied organizations is appalled by the so ?called ?debt ceiling crisis? drama and its compromise solution that did not tax the rich but passed the burden to the working poor of this nation. The JFAV is alarmed due to the fact, the bill speaks not of cutting ?defense spending? but ?security spending,? which includes the Department of Veterans Affairs. (DVA) Instead of scaling back the forces of war, repression and domestic surveillance, these ?security? cuts may easily be aimed at veterans' health care and retirement benefits.
U.S. Election 2012- Alexander to Obama: Feed the Nation?s Hungry (tags)
As the lines for the nation?s hungry have increased, President Obama and Congress have consistently subsidized big corporations and banks, billionaires and big corporations have received big tax breaks, the U.S. military and foreign operations are expanding abroad, the U.S. has engaged in a war with Libya, and it is now being estimated that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost the U.S. government $4 trillion.
America: Heading for Tyranny and Impoverishment (tags)
scoundrel government
Debt Ceiling Debate Charade Masks Planned Entitlement Cuts (tags)
criminal plan
A Decade of US War Costs (tags)
anti-war
California Democratic Party Passes Anti-Workingclass Budget (tags)
Instead of putting a tax the rich proposal on the November 2008 ballot, the presidential general election which always has the highest voter turnout, the Democratic Party majority Legislature, this time in cahoots with a Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, voted for a viciously anti-workingclass budget that destroys the public school system, social services, court system, public transporation and just about all other publicly funded services. AND JERRY BROWN BRAGS ABOUT IT ON HIS WEBSITE.
Attack on Democratic Traditions (tags)
The situation of the US public budget is really dramatic. This indebtedness is the result of excessive military spending and the neoliberal policy launched at the beginning of the 1980s. A progressive counter-movement in the form of a broad Obama coalition is emerging.
Spanish Voters Reject Austerity (tags)
financial terrorism
"We will not abandon our committment to Social Security" (tags)
"This is my vision for America-a vision where we live within our means while still investing in our future; where everyone makes sacrifices but no one bears all the burden; where we provide a basic measure of security for our citizens and we provide rising opportunity for our children.."
Obamanomics: Waging War on American Workers (tags)
exploitation
.S.: Decline Monies from Japan's "Sympathy Budget" and End Military Dependence Now (tags)
The International Women's Network Against Militarism (IWNAM) demands that the U.S. and Japanese governments stop spending U.S. and Japanese taxpayer monies for the upkeep of U.S. military facilities in Japan and other territories. During these times of natural disasters, funds should directly help the needs of victims of the earthquake, tsunami, and radiation poisoning from damaged nuclear power plants in Japan, and also create alternatives for employment world wide that do not rely on militarism, or further interpersonal and ecological violence. (updated version).
Obama Again Capitulates (tags)
sellout
Republican Plan to End, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (tags)
ending vital rights
Press Release Immediate Contact: Anonymous
US military spending marches on (tags)
Sec. Gates astounded many this week in declaring that anyone desiring a long-term land war in the Middle East "should have his head examined." Empires like Narcissus fall in love with their reflection and drown. The US empire could become a republic (Chalmers Johnson).
U.S. Election 2012- Stewart Alexander: Obama’s Budget is a Plan for Austerity (tags)
President Obama’s budget will face an uphill battle in Congress because it fails to reign-in spending and will increase the federal debt by more than $20 billion over the next decade. Republicans in Congress have failed to offer any viable alternatives to the president’s budget proposals, leaving millions of working people discouraged, believing that congressional Republicans are part of the problem rather than offering leadership for solutions.
BTL:Coordinated Attacks Target Public Employees Unions Across the U.S. (tags)
BETWEEN THE LINES - A four-time winner of the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcast Award for Best Feature in the non-commercial category, this syndicated, half-hour program provides a platform for individuals and spokespersons from progressive organizations generally ignored or marginalized by the mainstream media. Between the Lines covers a wide range of political, economic and social topics.
BTL:Conflict of Interest Charge Triggers Effort to Vacate Supreme Court Ruling in Citizen' (tags)
BETWEEN THE LINES - A four-time winner of the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcast Award for Best Feature in the non-commercial category, this syndicated, half-hour program provides a platform for individuals and spokespersons from progressive organizations generally ignored or marginalized by the mainstream media. Between the Lines covers a wide range of political, economic and social topics.
worse coming nationwide
The history of the crisis of the western world that we all experience more or less consciously or unconsciously (or partly ignore) is a history of boundless lobbylism, political corruption, market fetishism and unbroken faith in growth..Economic theories were and are children of their time.
Destructive Neoliberal Austerity (tags)
austerity, not stimulus coming
Obama Team's Deficit Cutting Proposal: Benefit the Few, Harm the Many (tags)
Obama's Robin Hood economics
French Lessons for U.S. Workers (tags)
The world watches as France once again erupts in protests, demonstrations, and strikes. So much is at stake. If France's corporate-dominated government is able to increase the retirement age, other governments will be empowered to follow through with their plans to do the same. If labor, student, and community groups succeed in stopping the pension reform -- or toppling the government -- workers in other countries will likewise be inspired to fight back and organize in the French fashion.
HONEST VOTING AMERICANS ARE LOOKING AT KARL ROVE QUITE DIFFERENTLY THESE DAYS ! (tags)
SINCE THIS GEORGE BUSH JR ~ KARL ROVE CABAL HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN OUR AMERICAN POLITICS, THERE HAVE BEEN 2 PREVIOUS QUESTIONBALE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS THAT MANY U.S. VOTERS BELIEVE WERE FIXED, AND NOW THESE 5 CONSERVATIVE U.S.SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ~ 3 REPUBLICAN FEC BOARD MEMBERS~ KARL ROVE 501C4 UNLIMITED SLUSH FUNDS ~ BILLIONS OF STOLEN BUSH JR ~ KARL ROVE WALL STREET~ BANKERS TARP BAILOUT PONZI SCHEME $$....
STOLEN BUSH JR ~ KARL ROVE TARP BAILOUT $$ HAVE DESTROYED OUR AMERICAN ELECTIVE PROCE$$ .. (tags)
AMERICAN TAXPAYING VOTERS DESERVE MUCH BETTER FROM OUR 5 CONSERVATIVE U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES, 3 REPUBLICAN FEC MEMBERS & ALL OUR REPUBLICAN U.S.CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS THAT FAILED TO VOTE AGAINST TARP BAILOUT FUNDING CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS OBVIOUS DESTRUCTION OF ALL OUR FUTURE AMERICAN ELECTION$$$$$....
The Political Consequences of Stagnation (tags)
My apologies to T. S. Eliot, but September, not April, is the cruelest month. Before 9/11/2001, there was 9/11/1973, when Gen. Pinochet toppled the Allende government in Chile and ushered in a 17-year reign of terror. More recently, on 9/15/2008, Lehman Brothers went bust and torpedoed the global economy, turning what had been a Wall Street crisis into a near-death experience for the global financial system.
"Severe Austerity Programs will have Catastrophic Consequences" (tags)
"Instead of real growth, the financial sector has only promoted phantom growth. The state functions differently than a family. Less should be spent for unproductive purposes like the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and unconditional bank bailout packages.."
Emergency Senate spending bill approved $600M for Border protection (tags)
The new legislation if approved by the House and Senate committee's will include $176 million for 1,000 new border patrol agents to form a new and bigger task strike force to be deployed at critical choke points of the Mexican Drug Cartels smuggling corridors along the border and inland, that are used to bring drugs, undocumented immigrants and possible terrorist into this country.
Public Anger and Distrust of Business and Government (tags)
opposition to business and government
Video: Productivity is up so why cut social programs? (tags)
Private sector borrowing and spending is not happening. The long-term structural deficit, spending more than revenue, can be solved by raising the tax rates on the wealthy. Tax excess reserves of banks until they lend money. Tax transactions to reduce speculation.
BTL:Poll Finds Majority of Americans Support Limiting Corporate Spending in Election Campa (tags)
BETWEEN THE LINES Syndicated Radio Newsmagazine
PRESIDENT OBAMA NEEDS ALL OUR PRAYERS WITH THIS CABAL OF SELFISH WEALTHY ELITE AMERICANS ~ (tags)
TAX CUTS & TAX FREE SLUSH FUND FOUNDATIONS FOR OUR WEALTHY ELITE AMERICANS AND LOSS OF HOMES,CARS, APARTMENTS etc...4 OUR MIDDLE~CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS.....
BTL:U.S. Spending on Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Exceeds $1 Trillion (tags)
BETWEEN THE LINES Syndicated Radio Newsmagazine
Schwarzenegger Pledges Education Not Incarceration: So, where’s the Action? (tags)
While the Governor proposes measures to protect higher education funding, administration plans massive prison expansion.
Obama Praises Repub Bob Gates & Signs More War & Fascism Spending Bills (tags)
Honesty is always the best policy and Democrat Obama told the truth as to who he is on 10/28/09 when he praised Bush's War Sec, Republican Bob Gates as he signed the National Defense Authorization Act and on 10/29/09, a bill for the Gestapo, the "Homeland" Security Dept, giving $724 billion for war and fascism while we have poverty, no schools, no healthcare, no jobs. Democrat Obama ALWAYS WAS AND STILL IS a millionaire, warmonger, death penalty promoter. This is what you voted for when you voted either Democrat or Republican in November 2008.
After the recent unemployment numbers were announced, smug politicians promising economic recovery stuttered a bit. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Mainstream economists were predicting a smooth upswing in employment, but in September 263,000 more jobs were lost, 62,000 more than August. Obama reacted predictably to the surprise. He first pointed out that “employment is the last thing to recover from a recession,” and concluded that “…we are going to need to grind out this recovery, step by step.” Brilliant.
Stimulate or Die by Joseph Stiglitz (tags)
Joseph Stiglitz received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001.
Real Health Care Reform - Universal Single Payer (tags)
real health care reform
BTL:Military Budget Climbs as Obama Spends More in Afghanistan and Less on Iraq War (tags)
BETWEEN THE LINES Syndicated Radio Newsmagazine
Socialist Stewart Alexander: Washington and Capitalism in Shambles (tags)
Since President Barack Obama took office in January, the U.S. economy has gone from bad to worst. Nationwide, home foreclosures continue to climb, consumer spending is down due to the credit crisis, more than 6 million Americans remain unemployed, and while paychecks are shrinking, inflation and gas prices are on the increase. The U.S. economy and capitalism is in a total mess.
EPCC COMMENDS CALIFORNIA VOTERS FOR REJECTING ANTI-PEOPLE BUDGET MEASUREs (tags)
The Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC) highly commends and congratulates the California voters for rejecting a package of budget-balancing measures that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said were needed to keep a $15 billion deficit from widening to $21 billion. Only the proposal to limit lawmaker pay passed. Five of the propositions failed with 64 percent of the votes counted, according to California’s elections office. Despite threats from lawmakers and fear mongering that the crisis would aggravate because of the a record $42 billion budget gap, the people voted against the measures. The losing proposals would have capped spending and
Obama's Middle East Imperialism (tags)
The velvet gloves are off and the reality of Obama’s Middle East plans are being revealed: a bare-fisted pummeling of Afghanistan and Pakistan — with Iraq’s fate yet to be determined. The media have been preparing this for months, with incessant talk about the alleged “troop drawdown” in Iraq, the “surge” in Afghanistan and the “immediate threat” that supposedly is represented by Pakistan.
Obama Draws Fire from Socialists and Conservatives (tags)
Socialists and conservatives alike believe bigger government and heavy spending is not the answer to restructuring the U.S. economy; and even though the ideas of socialists and conservatives are vastly different, both groups are opposing the president on his enormous spending proposals that are lacking any clear plans on how to revive the economy and limit an ocean of future debt for the nation.
What They Don't Tell You About Leftist Delegations (tags)
Know before you go.
Dave Lindorff: Kiss the Banks Goodbye and Refocus on Rebuilding the American People (tags)
"The point here is that if people aren't willing to spend money, then what good is it to give more money to banks and their shareholders, in hopes that they will start lending it?.."
Fear of the Great Depression (tags)
The acute danger exists of a self-reinforcing downward spiral from deflation, increasing debts and new problems in the financial sector..Degenerate banks must be closed by the state in a controlled way. Politics must try to reduce the uncertainties of consumers.
Obama Declares Social Security a "central part" of his deficit-reduction plan (tags)
What will it take for progressive Democrats and KPFK talks show hosts to realize that they lost the election?
The State Invests and Memorandum 2008 (tags)
When the state invests, it ensures that the economy will grow faster tomorrow than today: new streets, better schools and new eco-techniques. In a few years we will all earn more. Even German bank president Axel Weber urges a state economic program.
Democrat's Reality Check: Obama Provides No Hope of Change of the Permanent War Economy (tags)
The Obama campaign reply to the Corsi smear book, Obama Nation, "Unfit for Publication: An Investigative Report on the Lies in Jerome Corsi's `Obama Nation,'" leaves no doubt: Obama has no intention of reversing America's permanent war economy.
Conservation, Conservation, Conservation! (tags)
We have lost our consumer control to the corporate dictatorships.
Funding for HIV/AIDS prevention tripled by House panel (tags)
A House panel today voted to more than triple spending for a global AIDS program that has proven to be one of the Bush administration’s most successful foreign policy initiatives.
Interview with Kurt Richebacher (tags)
"The dangers that loom on the currency front are immense. The US trade deficit and the accumulated foreign indebtedness have reached a scale that defies any possible action by central banks." Dr. Richebacher is a former economist of the Dresden Bank.
Holiday Season Hypocrisy (tags)
Consumerism corrupts the holiday season.
Beyond the lies: How Pelosi or Reid can end the war now (tags)
Nancy Pelosi herself has the power to stop funding the occupation of Iraq; all she has to do is refuse to allow any more Iraq spending bills to come up for a vote in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid has the same power.
Can We End the American Empire Before It Ends Us? (tags)
Can We End the American Empire Before It Ends US?
Gloria Arroyo’s Economy: NOT WORKING (tags)
Today, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo will again address the Congress to give a report on the achievements of her government, and at the same time express her primary focus for the next year. As she did during her previous State of the Nation Address (SONA) speeches, she may yet again boast the economic feats of her administration, including the strengthening of the peso and the recent booming of the stock market.
The Underrated Power of Economists (tags)
During the Great Depression between the two world wars, the Brit John Maynard Keynes came to an insight that was implemented in the 1960s. The state must guide the economy by its spending to avert the danger of depression.
The Record of the Newspaper of Record (tags)
Exposing the New York Times' shameless reporting on Venezuela.
Navigating the web of lies and hoaxes seeded against Venezuela’s Government (tags)
VHeadline en Español News Editor Jesus Nery Barrios writes: Continuing our cyber crusade, navigating the web of lies and hoaxes seeded against Venezuela’s Bolivarian Government, President Hugo Chavez and its brave people in the mainstream media, and to show readers the other side of the coin, allowing them to achieve some balance in the information they receive and to arrive at their own conclusions, we find yet another oft-reiterated topic concerning the land of Simon Bolivar, Luis Aparicio and Jacinto Convit (the Venezuelan physician who discovered a vaccine for leprosy).
$2.9 trillion US budget for 2008 - Thats $9,666 for every man, woman, and child in the USA (tags)
Wow! $2.9 trillion for the 2008 budget. Hmmmm thats $9,666 for every man, woman and child in the USA. And since children don't pay taxes thats about $19,332 for every adult in the USA. Which means that mythical family of 4 will pay $38,664 in taxes.
Bush to propose record US war budget (tags)
The Bush administration will seek congressional approval of more than $700 billion in military spending this year, including $245 billion to fund the ongoing wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, top officials told the press Friday. The gargantuan funding request will be formally unveiled and sent to Congress Monday.
Bush wants $800 of your money to help him kill (tags)
Bush wants you to pay $800 over then year and a half to help him kill Iraqi women, children, and freedom fighters. Think your getting your moneys worth?
Wartime military spending fuels economy (tags)
War is good for the military police state? Well good for the people that supply the military war machine!
US Senate votes 100-0 for $70 billion more in war spending (tags)
The unanimous vote by the US Senate on Friday to approve the Bush administration’s request for an additional $70 billion to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrates a basic truth of American politics: the Democratic Party, no less than the Republicans, is a party of imperialist militarism and war.
Yes on Prop 89 Gains Good Goverment Supporters (tags)
California's clean elections initiative is gaining support from key good goverment organizations working to clean up state politics.
China UN Ambassador Orders U.S. To Shut Up (tags)
By The Light Of A Burning Bridge -
Prisons: Alexander Propose Saving Californians $20 Billion (tags)
Widespread spending abuse in California’s prison system has more than doubled since Governor Schwarzenegger was elected in 2003 and the governor has failed to address a growing prison crisis. However the governor has been more concerned with building more prisons to deal with the state’s growing prison population; now over 172,000 inmates in a system designed to accommodate less than 100,000. Stewart Alexander, Candidate for California Lieutenant Governor with the Peace and Freedom Party, wants to cut the fat by $20 billion.
BTL:29 Cents of Every Tax Dollar Goes to Military Spending... (tags)
...a 20% Increase since 2000 ~ Interview with Anita Dancs, research director of the National Priorities Project, conducted by Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus
Schwarzenegger Alienates Many Groups (tags)
The people of California elected Governor Schwarzenegger to provide leadership, to cut wasteful spending and to control special interest groups; however Schwarzenegger has categorized most Californians as special interest groups.
BUILDING PRISONS IS NO SOLUTION (tags)
Schwarzenegger wants to build more state prisons to reduce overcrowding, however building more prisons will be wasteful spending and misguided planning.
It Would Be Funny If It Weren't So Tragic (tags)
If the U.S. spend proportionately as much as Venezuela on arms, the US military budget would be $12 billion, instead of $441 billion.
News Junkie Scott's Blog (12/21/05) (tags)
Rescuers free 110 beached whales in New Zealand
More Proof Republicans do not care about war Veterans (tags)
U.S. Spends Hundred Times More on Illegal Aliens Than on Assisting American Homeless Veterans
Special Call-In Day - Urgent Budget Cuts Updfate (tags)
Call 1-800-828-0498 and urge your senators to reject any budget reconciliation that includes cuts to Medicaid.
BTL:White House & Congress Link Gulf Coast Aid to Deep Cuts in Social Programs (tags)
Interview with Max Wolff, economist at the University of Massachusetts, conducted by Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus
Free Market Idiocy and Easy Money in the Big Easy (tags)
The federal government is paying $200 billion to bring in outside companies to rebuild New Orleans, while hundreds of thousands of the city’s evacuees languish in shelters across the country, jobless and penniless. What’s wrong with this picture?
"Since a capitalist democracy is a democracy of capital, `the people' simply don't count.."
BTL:Military Spending Cuts Could Enhance National Security and... (tags)
...Restore Funding for Some Social Programs ~ Interview with Anita Dancs, research director of the National Priorities Project, conducted by Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus
More money down the drain: War cost bleeds states, cities (tags)
As U.S. casualties in Iraq topped 1,600, the U.S. Congress approved another $82 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and related spending, with the bulk going to the Iraq occupation.
Bush budget assailed as ‘war’ on people (tags)
The 2006 budget Bush sent to Capitol Hill Feb. 7 ratchets up military spending 5 percent, to $419 billion from $400 billion in the current budget.
Tortured in the San Jose Main Jail (tags)
Martín Rodriguez, , says he was tortured in the San Jose Main Jail while spending 115 days there on drug charges. His public defender demanded he plead guilty and he is seeking adequate representation for a plea of innocent. His cause has been taken up by the Barrito Defense Committee of San Jose.
Bush seems to have learned the same thing as former president Reagan from the histori-cal experience of the 1930s.. What helps are tax cuts and cuts in social spending.
Less than a Thousandth of Military Spending (tags)
The $350 million that Bush finally made available is embarrassing compared to the current arms budget of $401.7 billion. US relief for the catastrophe in Asia amounts to less than a thousandth of military spending.
Could Americans vote for a French President? (tags)
John Kerry very much sound like a French politician. He has the same superior and rather snobbish look typical of French high civil servant. Kerry is brilliant but one never knows what it means. He is flipflopping all the time. Kerry would be worst than French appeasers and French socialists.
"For the richestg 1%, the Reagan tax cuts were pure elixer.. Reagan's budgets slashed social spending. Domestic discretionary spending was the special target.. Hardest hit were programs for low-income Americans.."
Our $8 Trillion Headache (tags)
Since taking office, George W. Bush taking has taken the national debt (in decline thanks to four years of surpluses) on an upwards trajectory -- and now he needs a $690 billion. Grand total? $8 TRILLION!
Did Ronald Reagan 'torture' blacks? (tags)
Nader condemns major parties (tags)
Mr. Nader also accused Democrats of being soft in their criticism of defense spending, which he said encompasses 50 percent of the nation's budget and has the most corrupt spending mechanism for contracts of any agency. Quoting another former president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mr. Nader said the continual costs of new fighter planes, tactical weapons and bombs could be invested into advancements for schools and hospitals.
US Economy as an Accelerated War Economy (tags)
"A recovery based on job losses, wage cuts, increased health care costs, an incomparable increase in student fees and growing poverty is not John Kerry's idea of an American economy that works for America's workers.."
As war's tab mounts, GOP questions strategy (tags)
"we need to restrain what are growing messianic instincts - a sort of global social engineering where the United States feels it is both entitled and obligated to promote democracy - by force if necessary" -- Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas
War costs to Pentagon approach $5 billion a month (tags)
Senior members of Congress, including some Republicans, urged the administration to detail war costs before the election, arguing it appeared that the military was running out of funds.
BTL:2004 Presidential Election Campaign To Break All... (tags)
...Spending Records Big contributors get what they pay for. Interview with Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris
BTL:Bush Avoids Accountability in Iraq-WMD Blame Game (tags)
Interview with Scott Ritter, former chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris
Gary Nolan has been called a Neocon. Absolutly NOT true.
Southwest showdown: Republican vs Republican (tags)
Grant Woods says that "mainstream" Arizonans support increased spending for key issues like education, health care and Child Protective Services -- that's why he's fight the Washington, D.C.-based "Club for Growth" who will spend $1 million in Arizona to oust moderate Republicans in the 2004 elections.
Betrayed by Bush, GOP's anger is moot (tags)
Small-government Republicans have been stirred up by conservative talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. But when the election comes, the libertarian faction's anger will be "almost irrelevant... Are they going to vote for Howard Dean?"
Is Bush a bigger liar than Clinton? (tags)
George W. Bush and his sleazy gang have but one guiding principle that dominates all they do. They use public power and influence for private gain and will do just about anything to keep the power in order to keep the gain.
CAFR - The Biggest Shell Game For Theft In History
Lawmakers block labeling food with Country of Origin (tags)
(In a massive sell-0ut) "Bargainers tying down the last details of a mammoth $390 billion spending bill agreed to block labels identifying which country food products come from for the next two years, lawmakers and aides said Saturday. "
Yes, indeed — the Bush boom has begun at last. (tags)
This week's report of a barnburner 7.2 percent rise in gross domestic product is very significant. It informs us of the likelihood of a true recovery boom — call it the Bush boom — in the months and quarters ahead.
Spy Finance and the Black Budget (tags)
".....a congressional investigation revealed that the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a supersecret agency whose existence was publicly acknowledged only a few years ago, lost track of a $2 billion slush fund because it was so highly classified even top intelligence officials had no control over it."
Conservative-Libertarian Split: Liberals Get It, Conservatives Don't (tags)
The left is aware of the emerging conservative-libertarian schism while the right for the most part remains in denial.
Interesting article from the Asia Times. A different perspective than the usual propaganda from our Wall Street-controlled media.
Charities, Libertarianism failed by Human Nature (tags)
Contrary to the Libertarian View, non-profits face the very real prospect of significant, continuing declines in government funding, their second-largest source of revenue. Even worse, a recent study of 238 foundations found that they spent nearly $45 million on trustee fees, mostly to boards of directors, rather than using that money for charity.
$87 billion for Iraq: Another Vietnam? (tags)
President Bush stunned the nation Sunday night with his request for an additional $87 billion for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
BTL:D.C. Congresswoman Fights to Reprioritize U.S. Spending from... (tags)
...Weapons Programs to Social Needs. Interview with Eleanor Holmes Norton, U.S. representative, conducted by David Goodman and Marc Stern
HEHEHE American Infrastructure (tags)
HEHEHE it takes a report by a bunch of civil engineers for the Americans to realize their infrastructure is shit.
With polls showing that up to 16% of the electorate is philosophically libertarian, this could be the real swing vote in 2004. Will libertarians decide that the Democratic candidate is the lesser of two evils for once? Or will they simply stay home in disgust on Election Day?
Let the rich pay, Camejo says (tags)
Green Party candidate Peter Camejo has unveiled a budget proposal which calls for strikingly higher income tax rates on Californians who earn more than $500,000 a year, changing Proposition 13 to allow reappraisals of many corporate properties and tax cuts for low-wage earners.
Good news! George W. Bush's "free market" economic policies are working! (tags)
The biggest surge in defense spending since the Korean War era helped drive U.S. economic growth ahead at a surprisingly brisk 2.4 percent annual clip in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.
Republican spending orgy (tags)
So here we are three years later, with not only a Republican Congress but a Republican president, too -- and the federal spending train is racing out of control. The Bush administration estimated last week that the government will end the current fiscal year with a budget deficit of $455 billion. Over the next five years, the public debt is expected to rise by $1.9 trillion.
Working Clas U.S. Perspectives 2003 -2004 (tags)
Working Class
Bush's Fiscal Policy Not Creating New Jobs (tags)
How about that "jobs and growth" plan from the $350 billion in tax cuts that President Bush proposed and Congress signed?
The Demise of the European Continent
HUMAN NEEDS SPENDING VS. WAR SPENDING (tags)
Dear Folks, Some stats from the back of the War Resisters League Pie Chart Flier (Where your tax dollars really go, available at www.warresisters.org), breaking down the domestic costs of war. Peace, Brad Simpson War Resisters League 212-228-0450
More rightwing hypocrisy (tags)
"Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy." ~ Henry Kissinger ~ January-February 2003 edition of Eagle Newsletter. Don't believe the "We support our troops" crowd. Lying chickenhawks warmongers.
mindless defense spending is the PROBLEM (tags)
yes, making war for profit is wrong! we must stop the root cause which is OUT OF CONTROL DEFENSE SPENDING!
we are graced with 300 or so wordz or wizdom from the great educator, Prof. Walter E. Williams. "More Government Means Less Freedom, Our Founders Knew This Well."
On the subject of so-called "Trust Fund Kids" (tags)
I've noticed that some of the right-wingers and Bush lovers who post on IMC -- most notably those with nothing of substance to say -- are fond of using the term "Trust Fund Kids" as a pejorative to somehow diminish the contributions of those whose financial circumstances are anywhere above the poverty level. Let's dispel some of the "popular" misconceptions.
Reclaim the Media Sept-10 to 15 2002 (tags)
join us in Seattle September 10th through the 15th for Reclaim The Media: A community media convergence shadowing the NAB convention.
Consumers On Strike Against the War (tags)
Oklahoma activists have launched Consumers On Strike Against the War. They are advocating that people target an economic attack on the white collar big money psycopaths running our economy and government (collectively known as the War Party) by spending less money and shifting their remaining purchases to locally owned, independently operated, businesses and cooperatives or collectives.
WP: Senate GOP Ends Filibuster Over Judicial Nominations (tags)
After 2 weeks of partisan obstructionism, Senate Republicans abruptly gave up and "decided that the responsible thing for us to do at this time is to focus on those issues that need to be addressed as a result of the events of Sept. 11," according to Minority Leader Trent Lott. [Fortunately for him, the corporate media has totally ignored this prolonged attack on bipartisanship, which delayed the Foreign Aid Bill for 2 weeks.]
Public Citizen Report Exposes Drug Industry Spending Blitz to Keep Prices High (tags)
The pharmaceutical industry launched an unprecedented lobbying blitz last year to stop Congress from enacting a Medicare drug benefit, spending a record $262 million on political influence in the 1999-2000 election cycle, including $177 million on lobbying, $65 million on issue ads and $20 million on campaign contributions - more than any other industry in 1999-2000. It hired 625 different lobbyists last year - or more than one lobbyist for every member of Congress. More than half were either former members of Congress (21) or worked in Congress or other federal agencies (295).
STOP THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVERTISING BLITZ (tags)
An action alert about the corporate take-over of the U.S. judicial system and campaign finance laws during this campaign season. Parallels info heard on Democracy Now! today.
Media Spending on the Dems (tags)
This business news story reminds us that even entertainment businesses buy politicians.