Category Archives: economy

The man behind the curtain

by

…apparently is Pete Peterson.  He is behind the curtain to economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart’s seriously flawed work that advocated austerity measures:  http://www.prwatch.org/NODE/12065

From the article:

Reinhart, described glowingly by the New York Times as “the most influential female economist in the world,” was a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics founded, chaired, and funded by Peterson. Reinhart is listed as participating in many Peterson Institute events, such as their 2012 fiscal summit along with Paul Ryan, Alan Simpson, and Tim Geithner, and numerous other Peterson lectures and events available on YouTube. She is married to economist and author Vincent Reinhart, who does similar work for the American Enterprise Institute, also funded by the Peterson Foundation.

Kenneth Rogoff is listed on the Advisory Board of the Peterson Institute. The Peterson Institute bankrolled and published a 2011 Rogoff-Reinhart book-length collaboration, “A Decade of Debt,” where the authors apparently used the same flawed data to reach many of the same conclusions and warn ominously of a “debt burden” stretching into 2017 that “will weigh heavily on the public policy agenda of numerous advanced economies and global financial markets for some time to come.” (Note that not everyone associated with the Institute touts the Peterson party line.)

~~~~~

Reinhart, a senior fellow at Peterson’s Institute and married to an economist also funded by Peterson.  Um-hmmm….

Rogoff, on the advisory board for Peterson.  (things that make your head spin…)

Yep.

(Stephen Colbert covered this, too.  He had Herndon on the show to explain how they discovered the errors.  Herndon is an econ student who was assigned to replicate someone’s study.  He chose Rogoff and Reinhart’s work, and to his surprise, could not replicate it.  Previously, they refused to share their data with others asking to see it, but gave it to Herndon, who found the flawed research that omitted countries that were against the Rogoff and Reinhart hypothesis.)

 

Thatcher

by

Protests at her funeral here.

On the Mirror site, someone commented that they should put her in a black bag and put her out with the rest of the trash.  Okay, that’s a little harsh.  But spending  10 million is too, too much, especially for someone who promoted austerity.

Funny how people who advocate austerity measures never include themselves as recipients.

…because even the low minimum wage is too much to pay…

by

As Susie Madrak says, just when you think WalMart can’t get any lower…they provide you with even more reasons to loathe them….

As a side note, here is a list of the companies paying the least in taxes.  (hat tip to huffington post)

Note that Verizon is on the list–Verizon in recent years was sending their sales folks out on the street (door to door) to sell their product.  They paid them nothing. Not one cent.  Meanwhile, the poor sap employee used their gas/vehicle to get to the assigned area….only getting a paycheck if they signed someone up–low pay that maybe, just maybe covered their gas expenses…or not.

Here’s another post on companies that pay employees the least. Note Walmart on here, too.  Shock. Surprise. /snark

More here on employees not being paid.  More here.

And here. 

And this on Walmart doing what it does best–using the law for its own purposes to avoid paying health insurance: forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/12/09/walmart-bails-on-obamacare-sticks-taxpayers-with-employee-healthcare-costs/

Same here: gawker.com/5950331/olive-garden-red-lobster-scale-back-employee-work-hours-to-avoid-paying-for-health-insurance

(A note here–when I did my search, page after page came up with links for business owners and helping them with legal questions of not paying their employees.  I’m thinking WTH?)

And given the golden parachute….um, yeah, paying one or a handful of people millions of dollars as they leave a company…paying someone for not working versus not paying folks who do work…makes no sense at all….

Krugman on Cyprus

by

(hat tip to common dreams)

Paul Krugman has a few thoughts on Cyprus:  Leave the euro now.

The only issue with Krugman’s column is that he should get a little more detailed and put it into context.  Most folks are not literate in the financial world (which I think they bank on (pun intended)), so a little “lesson” on the history of economics and why we continually bail out banks and financial institutions and anyone else they deemed “worthy”…just as long as they don’t give those sleazy poor people food stamps!!

Banks and profiteering on food.

Christie private profiteering

by

Well, the good feelings towards Christie for his actions during the storm crises is evaporating rapidly…with the news of him continuing to destroy public education for private profiteers.

Looking at the comments, Amitola mentions how the town has gone the way of most in the U.S.–jobs dry up, people move or the ones that stay are scraping by–not able to support a robust economy.  And the schools follow–poverty is the number one reason for school’s poor performance.  It’s hard to concentrate on school work when you’re hungry, dirty, and your folks are stressed out because you’re *this close* to being out on the street.  (or worse, you’re already out on the street, living in a shelter, with noise all night long and no privacy and no life).

Another poignant comment is by John Randolph:  the 1% bring the city to its knees and then profit off of the carcass.
Disaster capitalism, folks….(speaking of unions, they announced on the news the other day that Indiana has now lost more union members than gained, thanks to “Right to Work” law.  Also, they are airing commercials promoting a tax break…yes, a tax break in this economy…for Hoosiers—Gov. Mike Pence, an APEC toadie, first spouted this hairbrained idea right after election.  Legislature said no.  Now *cough* Americans for Prosperity are taking it to the airwaves trying to get people to call their representatives.)

Unfortunately, charter school takeover is not just here in the U.S., but now in Haiti. (insert a few choice expletives here). Note that Bill Gates has his filthy little fingers in this, too.  Like I said before, he is not the philanthropist he tries to imitate.

See previous posts here. And here. And here. 

And here.

The people that you meet…

by

 

(PERSONAL BLOG)

I’ve been trying to get my car squared away for the last two days-we are expecting a winter storm that will require the housing folks to clear the parking lot, which means you have to move your vehicle–or else they will tow it.

I finally told my son about my flat tire I got in December. He actually chuckled at the whole story…

Anyway, I got a used tire with some mileage left in it put on.  Meanwhile, my battery continues to go dead.  They say the battery is good, so my alternator may be slowly dying on me.  Can’t blame it–the car is sixteen years old and has over 200k on it.  While I was waiting for them to recharge the battery, I sat in the customer wait area.

You know how you meet someone and they just have a presence about them?  An older African American gentleman sitting in the area had that quality.

They had a TV on in the wait area with the new version of “Let”s Make a Deal” on.  Now, I don’t normally watch it, but it was already on when I walked in the room, so I sat back for a look.

The older gentleman said, “They certainly seem to enjoy themselves, don’t they?”  (speaking about the contestants)

I answered in the affirmative (yeah, I know some of that is acting, but what the hey).   We chatted a little, but it was later when the noon news came on about a devastating fire overnight that he started a conversation.  He said he used to fight fires. Forest fires.  I asked if he worked for the National Parks system, and he said that he fought fires for the CC camp.  He continued to talk as I was wondering if he meant that he worked for the “New Deal” programs.

Yes, indeed, he did.

He was paid $1 per day.  He had his clothes and his meals provided for him.

He later said that he also worked the loading docks–carrying cargo up and down the planks.  He said it was hard work (probably back-breaking, too). I was unclear on whether it, too, was a part of the CC camp or whether he meant that was what he went to after his two years of CC camp.

I mentioned a large park in Illinois that has been largely untouched by the modern world.  It is a beautiful area that is so far off the beaten path, you would not know of the traffic, pollution, etc.  It’s preserved so well it’s stunning.

And, no, I’m not naming it because I want it to stay that way.

Anyway, this park was built with New Deal labor–small cabins and a huge lodge with dining room.  Trails blazed by their labor.

The older gentleman said no, he had not worked there.

We went on to talk about gardening–something we both love.  Love to play in the dirt.  Love to see the plants spring up from the ground.  I said it was amazing that you could put a seed in the ground, and see a plant shoot up with more food for you.  He said he used to grow watermelons when his wife was still living, but she has passed, he no longer does that.  I told him that I never could grow watermelons…just didn’t have the knack for it. (same with melons and pumpkins, too…)

He said he had two wives–one he was married to for 36 years and the other 24 (?) years.  He outlived them and five children.  Wow.  I don’t know how I would handle losing one child–let alone five.  One of his children started as a police officer and is now a detective.

We chatted a little while longer about nothing in particular, and then his vehicle was ready to go.  He slowly rose from his chair with his cane and shuffled out to the registers.

He had told me during our talk that he didn’t expect the auto repair to cost so much and he was short $20.  I overheard the customer service rep tell him “don’t worry about it, we’ll take care of it.”

This was not a mom and pop service shop.  This was a major national chain, folks.  Major national chains don’t do that.  They just don’t.  I imagine the manager put in his own $20–he was a personable person who actually seem to give a crap about his customers.

Then it was my turn to check out.  My windshield wipers were worn thin, and unsafe.  I purchased new ones, planning to put them on myself–we’re supposed to be getting blasted with a winter storm with up to 8 inches of snow and the ones I had just smeared the stuff on the windshield–not safe at all.  The service rep grabbed the wipers and took off for the mechanics’ bay area.  She then came back and said she had the mechanic put them on.  What a sweet kid.

So…now I have to take back every bad thing I’ve said about chains….

Sometimes, they do bend the rules and act like human beings. (And yes, I’m not mentioning what chain it was on purpose–I don’t want the young lady to get into trouble because they charge $2 for wiper installation.)

For the circumstances, it was an enjoyable and surreal morning.

~~~~~~~~~

While I’m on this, I wanted to talk about a conversation I’ve had recently with a black lady.  She said that she worked for the FW schools, and she also worked in nursing homes.

She said, “I’m not prejudiced, but black folks take care of their own.  White folks?  They just abandon their family (members).”

I told her that I didn’t think she was prejudice, because I’ve made the same observation.

Black folk in my building take care of each other.  They’ve helped me, too, when I’ve asked for it.  Even when I haven’t asked for it.  One gentleman asked about my flat tire when he saw it.  He even tried to help get it off, but the previous owner changed the rims and I can’t get them off with the lug wrench that came with the vehicle.  (I know, I know, I should get one, but with a car that is looking at perhaps another 20,000 miles, it doesn’t make much sense….) Anyway, he didn’t have the right lug wrench, either.

One white lady has been a Godsend because she has helped me out on several occasions (she even sat with me while the stupid battery was being charged the first time).  She has offered to help without expecting anything in return.  And we cry on each other’s shoulders about life as poor women.  Until one lives it, you just don’t understand how difficult the life is.  And to say that we’re poor because we just didn’t work hard enough is utter bullshit.  Nobody works harder than a cleaning woman or a ditch digger….but you don’t see them living in mansions, do you?  And my staying home for twelve years with my children was the best contribution to society I could have given –hard work and even better rewards that can’t be counted in $$.

In harmony with nature

by

Bhutan is the first country to go entirely organic.  Good for them!  Note that they see this as not only a practical idea, but they incorporate their spirituality in their reverence for nature.  It’s not easy, as the article states, because it’s hard to reorient oneself to farming without chemicals.  Chemicals are just too, too easy.  It takes creative thinking and hard work to do the right thing.

<sigh> I wish the so-called progressive America did the same.  (Remember when the United States used to lead the world?)

No, we’re not the leaders anymore….

…we’d much rather do stupid stuff like genetically engineer a life form and then persecute farmers into bankruptcy for using that technology unknowingly.

~~~~~~

In other environmental news, Canadian Prime Minister Harper is being urged to walk away from yet another trade agreement.

From the article:

The Australian government decided in 2011 it would stop including these rights and investor-state dispute settlement in its trade and investment agreements. Many countries, including South Africa and India, are rethinking their investment treaties because of the way corporations and law firms have abused them to undermine democracy and public policies globally. Several Latin American countries are cancelling their investment treaties for the same reason.

~~~~~~~

Again, I ask, “remember when the U.S. used to lead the world….?”  Why are other countries doing the right thing while America lists like a battered ship in the sea?

Farmers protests

by

I missed this when it was first published.  The family farm is in danger of being run over by not only Monsanto, but the Too Big To Fail corporate farms.  God help us.

The rightwing radio nooz casters mentioned the Indiana farmer with the case before the Supreme Court against Monsanto.  Vernon Bowman was portrayed as a greedy farmer who tried to get away with “stealing” Monsanto technology without paying for it.  I was just stunned.

More farmer protests here.

And British farmers’ action.

Protests in Poland.

And in India–farmers protesting pipelines.

In Canada.

Taiwan.

And here is a piece of history--farmers protesting the 1977 Food Bill–when the blizzard struck.

From the last link:

The protesters stayed, camped out on the Washington Mall. During that time a blizzard hit the city with 20-inches of snow. Farmers used their tractors to help dig out the city. Some tractors transported doctors and nurses to hospitals. AAM women even cooked and cleaned in hospitals when other staff couldn’t make it in.

~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

This from Occupy Monsanto. Stone Soup Day April 8, 2013.

 

Krugman vs. LaPierre?

by

They seriously want us to think that Paul Krugman is as extreme as LaPierre? As he states: How many times does he have to be right and the others wrong?

Along these lines are the discussions on raising the minimum wage and tying it to inflation.

From the NY Times.

I’m hearing over and over from the conservatives that we can’t raise the minimum wage because it will mean there will be massive layoffs, hours cut, blah, blah blah.  People can.not.live. on minimum wage! They cannot meet even their basic needs.  But that doesn’t seem to bother these people…all that matters is that the profits keep rolling in.

And, as always, they make exceptions for “their” folks–some of them need a pay increase, but entry-level folks, well, they’re just SOL.

This is an old piece, but bears repeating.  It’s always amazing to me that members of Congress tell the American public that we cannot afford to raise the minimum wage, while stating that they cannot afford to live on the measily $100k that they earn under false pretenses.

Here’s an updated version.  Note how they have increased their wages by $20,000 in a short time period.  The raises alone cost the American public $2 million!

The latest here.

And yet these people will browbeat the American public for holding out their hands and asking for the same treatment–wage increases to a point that they could actually afford to live more than just week to week.

Finally, the perks that we thought were gone…well, not so much…

Like the bad penny that keeps resurfacing…

by

…Dick Cheney has emerged once again to darken the airwaves…

As Jon Stewart illustrates, you don’t even have to be credible in your assertions to be put on the tube.  You could be wrong about everything and because you’re a conservative hack, you’re given more air time than someone with half a brain who is fair in their assertions.

I was watching a bit of Charlie Rose this morning, and didn’t realize his was conservative-leaning until this program–which was about fixing the economy.  Since I came in on the last part of it, I didn’t catch who the three white guys were who were speaking.  They all seemed to be conservative and wanting to cut “entitlements” (how I am beginning to despise that word–these are programs that people pay into their whole lives!) and they pretty much spewed the conservative lies about how Social Security was going to have to be cut or other programs were going to have to be cut  in order for Social Security to survive.

Paul Krugman’s take on the S.S. program.

From the article:

Social Security has been running surpluses for the last quarter-century, banking those surpluses in a special account, the so-called trust fund. The program won’t have to turn to Congress for help or cut benefits until or unless the trust fund is exhausted, which the program’s actuaries don’t expect to happen until 2037 — and there’s a significant chance, according to their estimates, that that day will never come.

~~~~~~~~~

President Obama mentioned Alan Simpson again last night in his speech….<sigh> …the guy is an ogre who believes he should be blessed while others suffer….

His 310 million teats comments. (hat tip to David Dayen at firedoglake.com)

And then there’s this. Greedy geezers? Seriously?  Does he not know that nobody is rich off of Social Security?  That it’s really not enough to live comfortably?  I suppose they should be happy they’re not eating dog food, but perhaps that is what he would like–that would show those “greedy geezers” for wanting to have enough money for food as well as rent, utilities, gas for the car (if they’re still able to drive, if not, money for a cab or public transportation), and heat in the winter.

(One of the sites I visited made a point that Simpson has been on the public dole for fifty years. )

Sure, I think Social Security and Medicare should be cut…

…let’s start with your benefits first, Alan Simpson (along with all of Congress).