The Greatest Threat To Our Standard Of Living
The Greatest Threat To Our Standard Of Living
(The U.S. current account deficit widened to a record $225.6 billion in the third quarter, officials announced yesterday. Below, American Progress Senior Economist Christian Weller explains why it matters.)
The greatest current threat to our standard of living is the current account deficit, which now stands at a whopping $225.6 billion in just the third quarter of 2006. This is the equivalent of 6.8 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP). Current account deficits above 5 percent flash a threat level of “red” to economists.
The current account is the broadest measure of our international transactions. It includes, among other, smaller items, exports and imports, as well as the interest U.S. residents earn on their investments abroad, minus the interest paid on debt that U.S. residents owe to the rest of the world.
For most of the past three decades, the current account was in the deficit, largely because imports were larger than exports. Now, we also pay more in interest to the rest of the world than we earn on our assets abroad, adding to the deficit.
A current account deficit means that we spend more than we earn. To pay for this, we borrow from the rest of the world, most importantly by foreigners financing 78 percent of our budget deficit. As a result, we send a lot of interest abroad. In the third quarter of 2006, the federal government spent $37 billion — or 1.1 percent of our economy - on interest payments to the rest of the world. Now, we actually spend more on interest payments than we earn. The last four quarters have been the first time since the government has collected these data in 1960 that this has happened. With trade deficit continuing to be large, we will add more to our debt and interest payments abroad will continue to rise.
Why is this bad? At some point foreigners will not want to lend us money at low interest rates, especially if an ever larger share of U.S. income is dedicated to interest payments on international debt and not on important investments, such as education or health care. Already, Japan — the largest foreign creditor of the U.S. government — has slowly been selling off its T-bills. If other countries follow suit, interest rates will go up to attract more money to the U.S. This means higher mortgage and credit card payments for families, but also less investment by firms, all of which spells less growth and fewer jobs.
Conservatives contend that our trade deficit is a sign of U.S. economic strength: we consume, therefore we are! This is like celebrating a satisfying drinking binge. It ignores the hangover. Our past debt is coming due, and if we continue on this path, we will have to spend an ever larger share of our economic resources to pay for this debt, automatically leaving less money for investments and possibly leading the way for a serious economic slowdown. Ignore this economic logic at your own risk.
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To summarize; the economy is f!*%ed-up
December 19th, 2006 at 6:15 pma standard of living denotes an acceptable lack of any viable standard for living
December 19th, 2006 at 6:15 pmSorry, this is another no brainer to every one in the poor and working class....We have known this was going to happen and stated so since bull shit bush and his administration took office......Blessings we need them..Impeach now
December 19th, 2006 at 6:16 pmThank you TP for reminding this country that terrorism is FAR from the most serious problem facing America! You need to do this more often.
The runaway national debt and unregulated hedge funds are a SUBSTANTIALLY greater threat to our country then terrorism. But they are complex issues that the corporate media either cannot or will not take the time to explain.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:16 pmWhat? No arab name in all that danger????
December 19th, 2006 at 6:25 pmOur national credit card is about to get called in.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:26 pmWe're in deep shit.
Obviously Clinton's fault. Don't dare blame Bush. He's only been president for 6 years.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:37 pm#4
i don't think it is so much of being complexed i believe by 'fixing it' is going to unveil the corruption upon the american people. there hasn't been an administration as delved into the 'reich' world has this and everyone wonders why everything that has happened is magnified by a thousand. bushyco sleeps, eats and shits with the real enemies(rothchilds=Zionists who rule and run the world, irs, 1913 federal reserve act, fed. reserve bank, duponts, remingtons, murdochs, rockefellers).
'mission accomplished' folks. that sign had nothing,absolutely nothing to do with the war. it has to do with the 'moneychangers', ruling the world. that sign represented the NWO=new world order. after decades of trying they can finally say 'mission accomplished'.
welcome to zionist owned,nazi ran,fascist america.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:38 pmNow that BushCo has taken all of our money, what are they going to do to us next ---Send us to the Halliburton camps? This is not too far fetched--Today in a middle class suburban neighborhood of Atlanta, the SWAT team brought in a tank--Yes a TANK in a residential neighborhood--that was used to kill a murder suspect. See WBSTV.com for story & scary photos/video. I never thought I would be living in a country where it was OK to attack criminal suspects with tanks.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:40 pmThere is a very simple solution to the problem, however, it is painful to everybody except the INDIVIDUAL AMERICAN TAXPAYER, THE LEGITIMATE OWNERS OF THE UNITED STATES.
The solution:
1. No foreign entity shall claim ownership to any asset located within the Borders of the United States.
2. No Business or Corporation registered in the United States may claim ownership to any asset located outside the Borders of the United States.
3. All laws will be constructed to recognize this distinction, specifically income and excess profit taxes and import and export levies.
Granted, a full discussion of this approach would entail more time and space allotted here but maybe we could engage in a mini-debate with merit but I doubt the trolls are capable of a meaningful short dialog.
Your first argument: "That's Isolationism."
December 19th, 2006 at 6:44 pmMy First answer: "No Shit! Let's go from there."
Good post's bs and Kid Clu....I never thought I would see hired Hallaburton killer's with automatic weapons pull a poor skinny woman out of her house in N.O. either but I did, on CNN. ....6.000 prisoner's are being held in secret location's all over the world by this bunch.....We must Impeach and indict them all....Stop the war's and it must be done the minute the new congress is put in....Write and prepair to fight..Blessings..Bring truth back to the U.S. and the world.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:51 pmBravo, Clyde...Blessings
December 19th, 2006 at 6:53 pmMaybe the rich want the middle class wiped out and have us all be destitute and ignorant.
Easier to sustain your position as the ruling class that way!
December 19th, 2006 at 6:58 pmOur grandchildren will be working three jobs to pay the Chinese back for buying the treasury notes that financed the Iraq War and the Tax Cuts for Billionaires.
December 19th, 2006 at 7:04 pmJust like the USSR - the economics took them down the tubes! It's coming and coming sooner than we can imagine. The USA, just another Third World Country - coming to your theatres soon - too bad that no one will be able to afford a movie ticket though.
December 19th, 2006 at 7:06 pmSharon,
Thanks, but you can do better than that!
Point one: You and I can buy American made medicines in Canada and Mexico cheaper than we can buy them at home. Solution: a levy enforced on medicines exported from this Country. That levy is to be allocated to and deducted from the cost of medicines sold here. The levy to include the external logistics cost of the medicines, i.e. pharmacists, distribution and PROFITS of all concerned entities.
December 19th, 2006 at 7:07 pmWhile the national problem of falling dollars and soaring interests will take stiff action in the short run, such as increasing taxes (especially corporate taxes) and clamping down on trade agreements that screw US citizens so that a few greedy people can make a lot of money, the longer term solution to economic problems involves a rejection of globalism as it is currently defined. We need more local economies, where money doesn't flow to the corporations, but local businesses. Obviously, this can't be done for every possible product currently available, but I believe that most areas would find, especially as pertains to agricultural products, and increasingly energy production (with the advent of distributed generation facilities) that most of their needs could be met without exporting all of our money and resources to China (e.g.)
December 19th, 2006 at 7:16 pmGrover Norquist did say his goal is to shrink government "down to the size where you could drown it in a bathtub."
How do you go about doing that? You have to blow the budget up so large that we go into default. Then they can start cutting all the social programs. They've got the New Deal squarely in the scope. I'm sure they already have a new, shrewder plan to con Americans to support the privatization of social security.
The government will then claim that there's only money in the budget to fight wars. Wars, which I'm sure, we'll be told are necessary for our very survival. Wars, which I'm sure will have no end. This is the nirvana vision of the neo-cons.
December 19th, 2006 at 7:19 pmJust one more symptom of the "Bush League Economy."
December 19th, 2006 at 7:30 pm#18
Except they overdid it. There won't be any money to fight their wars either. Arms dealers don't work on credit.
December 19th, 2006 at 7:39 pmThe return of stagflation is at hand. We will see high unemployment, high inflation, and high interest rates.
There is a solution, which is to start producing biodiesel and biofuel made from algae. The technology is here today.
The systems are innexpensive and are easy to build, even built for home use. The fuel is biodegradable when spilled. The fuels are carbon neutral, which will help to stop global warming.
Best of all, we will no longer have to rely on expensive gas or heating fuel from oil companies who are a major cause of the current account deficit, and who are funding terrorists in the Middle East.
This will come about within the next five years.
December 19th, 2006 at 7:44 pmClyde, Yep!, you're right as usual but I'm to tired to think tonight..."I'll cry tomorrow.",,again..Blessings....
December 19th, 2006 at 7:51 pmWon't anyone argue?
Point 2. Walmart sells Noname athletic shoes made in China for $10 per pair. Macy's sells Nike shoes made in China for $100. Walmart makes a profit by not indirectly paying Union dues and selling for a reasonable price, Macy's makes a profit by selling to Union Officials at an inflated price.
Solution: Charge an import duty on all shoes made outside the United States equal to the difference between the foreign wages and the non-union wages in the United States with the levy to offset the price of all shoes to the individual taxpayer. If Jimmy Hoffa wants a pair of shoes to replace his cement booties he can buy them at any price he wants to pay. If Granny wants a pair of black hightops she should be able to get them with the whopping $12 per month increase in her Social Security next year.
December 19th, 2006 at 7:52 pmIn other words, the greatest threat to our standard of living is -->
December 19th, 2006 at 7:57 pmhttp://thumbsnap.com/v/6YvXAPG0.jpg
#21 - You're probably right, Kevin.
Mr & Mrs Suburbia won't stop driving their Tahoe, won't stop building that house three times too big for them, won't stop living the "good life" via credit card until they are in absolute ruins along with the economy.
Then they will demand to know who is responsible, while forgetting to check the mirror, and will expect instant remedies for their foolish choices.
It's become the American way, sadly enough.
House of cards.
December 19th, 2006 at 7:59 pmIn 1979, we were the world's largest creditor. Today, we are the world's largest debtor. What happened? Simple. Reagan and the "modern conservative revolution." After 26 years, I think we've had enough.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:00 pmSorry Clyde. It is hard to argue with good ideas.
I think America is in for a big wake up call. I think a lot of people are going to be very shocked real soon. The American public acted on November 7, but they should have acted a long time ago. Hell, they should have never elected Bush in the first place.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:03 pmI'm on a roll.
Point 3. OPEC sells crude oil at $63 per barrel.
Solution: The United States removes ALL technical assistance from the OPEC Nations and trades ALL US held assets in foreign countries for all foreign held assets in the United States. No US oil company has ANY assets outside the US except contracts for US TECHNICAL manpower at a price controlled by the Government Taxpayers Oversight Committee (i. e. The Voters). No foreign entity will have an ownership claim on any US asset. The service stations here may have to hire employees that speak English and where the restrooms don't face East. No US oil products of any kind will be sold to a foreign entity and no US business will purchase or deal in foreign oil products either in or outside the US. All oil imports will be made by the US Government at a price determined to be in the best interests of the AMERICAN INDIVIDUAL CONSUMMER.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:07 pmWoo... for once it's about Economics and one of the first things I read is a sick rant about Zionism? Economics 101 beckons, "bs". Bletch.
The Ripper has more to say though:
1. No foreign entity shall claim ownership to any asset located within the Borders of the United States.
2. No Business or Corporation registered in the United States may claim ownership to any asset located outside the Borders of the United States.
This is wrong in too many ways. This is going to help how? This is going to be implemented how? You can implement Albania-style isolation of course, but that's a one-way street.
Anyway, that deficit thing just means: US citizens and companies buy lots of goods from abroad (i.e. they shop instead of saving money - saving would free up money for domestic investments an domestic interest payment etc.). What do US citizens and companies pay with? Ultimately, Dollars. As foreigners do not shop for as much US goods, lots of US cash accumulates in foreign hands. What are foreigners gonna do with it? They can use it among themselves (the Dollar is always good to see e.g. in Iraq). Or they can exchange it against something the US govt. hands out - like American Treasury securities (cash flows back, but the US hands out promises to 'pay out' in the future and interest on top of that). Foreigners can invest their Dollars in the US (creating jobs!), possibly at inflated prices because there's so much Dollar floating around (yeah - inflation! economic bubbles!). Now, guess where most of the Dollar is flowing back from - from the Middle East of course (~430 billion go there, only around 250 billion go to Asia). Oil is the Big Problem.
What's gonna happen is that at some point, the Dollar will have be of devalued because there is so much of it around and people will lose interest in it - for US citizens this will mean inflation, rising prices for oil and other imported goods, serious economic slowdown. Investments will go someplace where perceived interest rates are higher, like emerging economies. Less jobs. Whether all that happens before China does it painful reappraisal of the yuan remains to be seen.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:09 pm#27 Spudge Boy
Friend you will have to change the subject to get an argument out of me. You are right on! Actually we, the American People did not elect Bush in the first place. Attribute that "Win" to Katherine and the Supremes. What a name for a rock group but my failing memory tells me I am about 50 years too late.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:13 pm> No foreign entity will have an ownership claim on any US asset.
And you are paying them off how? By selling off pieces Hawaii and Alaska?
> All oil imports will be made by the US Government at a price determined to be in the best
> interests of the AMERICAN INDIVIDUAL CONSUMMER.
Hmm..... soooo... what would that price be? 200 USD per barrel? 300?
December 19th, 2006 at 8:14 pmThe issues of trade deficit, budget deficit, and global warming show this incompotent bunch as the least suited to deal with these huge problems at a critical time in our history. I fear that Bush et al have weakened this nation for decades.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:25 pmNow this doesn't come as a too big of a surprice, right?
Any Suggestions, beside the ones that leave the biggest obstacle for PROGRESS in this country 'The Republican Party And Her Greatest President Of ALL times (not only US times, no ALL of the times...), in power? Hmm?
December 19th, 2006 at 8:28 pmBefore we can do anything for ourselves we must do something for our country:
Rid our country from any form of 'Republicanism' and make sure that it will never happen again.
I would love to believe it.
Okay, any suggestions?
#29 El Tonno
Please consider this:
I contend that the National Debt (the deficit being a yearly factor accumulating to the total debt) does not exist. It is an accounting function. All capital purchases of the United States are written off in the year purchased. For instance, if the US buys a hammer for $1000 from Halliburton or a space rocket for $300 from a company with a Democratic CEO both are written off the books in the year purchased. In any Corporation the hammer would cost $2 and the rocket would cost $3,000,000 and be written off (depreciated) over 30 years or so. The point being that the assets of the US Taxpayers has been reduced to a zero value by the politicians. Should the actual value of the holdings of the "US Government" be calculated and entered into the accounting equation the "Taxpayers Equity" would replace the "National Debt." This won't be done anytime soon because it would prevent politicians like the bushco from destroying all OUR property, such as the National Forests, etc.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:29 pmAnd then: Here:
December 19th, 2006 at 8:33 pm"The greatest threat to 'our' standard of living" is not that
little graph and the numbers. It's Republicanism and this
administation.
I will watch when the head bashing starts here. People that no matter how many hours they put in can't really make it. Others rake in $100 Million a year.
The problem is that we here know what has to happen.
But is doesn't happen by itself.
Can you handle the truth? Take the red pill and read on or take the blue pill and skip on over and read about Mrs. Bush's skin irritation or Britney Spear's underwear dilemma.
The issues with the economy are much more complex than many here give credit for (pun intended). When it comes to individual’s debt it is a major problem and, unfortunately, it will correct itself. Does anyone remember the 19% interest rates in the late 70's? Though, this is not the real problem.
When you talk about national debt and financing that comes from outside the US, it is discussed in a vacuum. Here is just a primer of what needs to be looked at when examining this issue:
The "offshore" accounts (Cayman Islands, etc...) and businesses that corporations set up tax free are a despicable reality that no one wants to talk about and definitely no one in congress wants to do anything about. There are many reasons for this but here's one that I suspect many of you have never considered - what do those banks do with all of that money (not billions, but trillions!)? Well, gee, you loan it back to the US. So, not only can you shelter your earnings completely from taxes, but then you are able to loan it back and receive solid interest on it. But the kicker is, because of the structure the interest is also tax free. Which then gives you more money to loan back and get tax free interests and profits and so on an so on.
I've over-simplified somewhat but can you see the mechanism? This is not fantasy or science fiction, this is as real as it gets. It is not the Chinese buying up the US, it is a cabal of wealth, most of whom reside in the US. What makes it the deal of the millennium is that the "countries" that these scams (and that's what they are) are based in have little if any regulations. No documentation problems. No easy trail to follow unless you are on the inside.
Welcome to the matrix my friends. And now you'll probably wish you took the blue pill.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:35 pm#31
They will be compensated by the return of their assets owned by US entities. Corporations can make their own deals but inaccordance with the Governmentdictates. Tit for Tat but if your tat is bigger than my tit, tough.
Try $1.00 per gallon at the pump with such Federal and State taxes as approved yearly BY THE VOTERS.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:36 pmAh, I remember!
There is a real easy solution to the whole problem.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:42 pmIt's called NATIONALIZATION.
Then, We The People are debt free and can start
over to do it right.
No more banking were you have to pay 30 percent
interest if you need some money
and 0.5 % percent if you have it in your account.
The whole thing is not working, everybody knows
that.(?)
Might as well have some fun, enjoy some good food
and company over the hollidays, knowing that the
pendulum will swing back right into our balls.
#36 Tuber
You have just made a case for my argument in comment #10.
There are many, many examples of tax evasion, or avoidance, if you are into euphemisms, that could be corrected with a minimum impact on the AVERAGE AMERICAN TAXPAYER. Unfortunately the only euphemism that applies to same is "fool."
December 19th, 2006 at 8:44 pmIf El Tonno in #29 is correct (I don't know I've never checked it) and $430b go to the middle east while $250b go to asia the most effective thing the US govt could do would be to slap a hefty (lets say $2 per gal) tax on gas. This would encourage people to drive more economical cars, help fight the deficit, and ultimately curb global warming. People like construction guys, farmers, and snowplowers (who actually need big 4x4's) could justifiably get a tax break on fuel. All anybody needs to do is look at the local parking lot and see the huge gas guzzlers to understand that most people don't need to be driving these behomeths. As a matter of fact it is partly detroits fault for this situation. Auto interests succesfully lobbied the govt to exclude trucks and suv's from the cafe mileage standards. Detroit ignored the small car market (Saturn anyone?) in the rush for the more lucrative suv market. Sadly, as much as I like to blame Bush for everything, Clinton is equally culpable for this mess.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:44 pmHmmm Clyde..
> Try $1.00 per gallon at the pump with such Federal and State taxes as approved yearly BY
> THE VOTERS.
I'm not sure I follow. Do you mean to subsidize the oil? You can set that price of 1 USD in a command economy working in a closed cycle, but once you need more oil from abroad, you need to pay somebody abroad. You cannot pay him in Dollar, because he can't spend them (you forbid it, and if he could spend them he could buy the oil at $1/gal cheap and re-sell it dearer) - So what are you going to pay with? Not in gold I hope (who wants that?)
December 19th, 2006 at 8:49 pmThe greatest threat to our standard of living is the Muslims in the world.They number 1.4 billion.That is why we are starting up a democracy over there,so they don`t start one over here.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:52 pm39 IJK you mention nationalization. I'm all for it for the oil co.s like Exxon. For no economic reason at all. Just as compensation to the US people for the ongoing robbery that they have been perpetuating at the hands of Cheney.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:55 pmRandom thought #39080:
The fun thing about Economics is that on the one hand it's about producing goods but on the other hand it's about money, and money is just a way of assigning an arbitrary ownership relation onto the existing or perceived set of goods.
Gotta catch some Z's now...
December 19th, 2006 at 8:57 pm#39 Clyde,
Yes, your solution could work and would begin to address some of the real issues. There are two major hurdles.
1. This is a complex issue that most Americans would not put in the effort to understand and therefore they would be easily manipulated to either ignore it or even work against the solutions.
2. The cabal of wealth is very powerful. For perspective, where does TP get its money? Soros. Where do you think his money is? Hmmm?
December 19th, 2006 at 8:59 pmHey everybody Judd is on Sacarorough right now.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:10 pmNATIONALIZATION of all 'companies, corporations' et al that are engaged in either
1) Energy production and distribution
2) Banking
3) Health Insurance
4) Social Security (? ;-)
5) Airlines
6) Communication Networks
7) Space
and last but not least
8) Military Complex
I know, I know, Iknow. But still, the U.S.S.R. aka 'Eastern Block' didn't go down because of Communism.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:13 pmNo, they just had the same thing that we have here now.
Totalitarian Economic Control and Exploitation by a few.
So we will share the same destiny, different prefixes, same
result.
Who's going to switch the light off?
I could agree with all except: banking airlines, and communication. I would expand health insurance to all forms of mandatory insurance(home & auto for instance).
December 19th, 2006 at 9:20 pmwhat are the options?
1) keep spending = hyperinflation = dollar collapses = north american union = Amero
2)??? Assume the international elite bankers won't allow their baby (The Dollar) to collapse?
only solution is to get rid of the illegal / fake Federal Reserve that pays tax payer funds to the elite bankers
we should start treating our lying politicians to a bit of Iraqi justice
buy gold!
December 19th, 2006 at 9:23 pmTuber, El Tonno
I didn't say it would be easy.
I didn't say it could be done.
Please don't you (collectively) say it can't be done.
Just help me do it!
El Tonno has just demonstrated one of the fallacies that so many people fall victim to. He makes an assertion first and then argues against his own given as fact and cannot present a tenable argument (#41). The law of supply and demand will prevail. The Arab countries cannot produce the oil without American technology in oil production or with American technology in smart bombs. You can take it from there. The only reason we are in Iraq today is because Sadam threatened to trade Iraqi oil in Euros. Bushco had to keep the oil traded in USD to even the field with China. Oil traded in Euros would lead to the devaluation of the dollar and with the debt owed China in a few years all our kids, to the Nth generation, would be eating with chopsticks.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:26 pm#48
It would make sense in my eyes to Nationalize everything that is of utmost and existential importance to the public.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:37 pmOtherwise I believe we will suffer big time. Politics should have nothing to do with energy. Energy is our blood. The fuel surcharge on electric energy in Hawai'i is bigger than the actual usage of energy.
As everything is densly interconnected in an interdependend fashion, energy would be good to begin with.
Because they are OUR RESCOURCES. This planet is not privat property. Nationalization will take care of CEO wages in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
But first we have to Nationalize our Government, because we lost that to some nasty people.
I like Chop Sticks. Just not the disposable ones.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:40 pmAnother idea with some merit.
Slow down the pace of consumption.
Buy less. Save more. I know that's not real feasible for many on month to month, paycheck to paycheck home budgets.
But for many of us, consumerism is an addiction we can beat.
Don't buy anything with a credit card unless you can pay off the card each month. This takes discipline, but once your card is cleared, it's a great feeling, knowing the big lenders aren't making a damn dime off you.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:44 pmMake sure you actually need something before buying it.
What a concept.
I'm going to laugh when the trolls wake up and realize that turrurusstses haven't chopped their heads off, but the Chinese (still a communist country) are who they're making out their mortgage payment checks to.
Once upon a time, many of our ancestors told their children that they should seek their futures and fortunes overseas. Others told their parents they were going, whether their parents agreed or not. I am telling my kids to do the same thing now, and that makes me feel more connected to those forebears of mine than I ever have before.
The USA: a great idea whose time has, unfortunately, passed.
We peons can bitch ourselves blue in the face, but it won't stop the oligarchs from doing whatever enriches themselves, and perpetuates the system that made them rich, which, inevitably, leads to the situation we find ourselves in now.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:44 pm"As I see it, the great contribution which Dr. Carroll Quigley unintentionally made by writing Tragedy And Hope was to help the ordinary American realize the utter contempt which the network leaders have for ordinary people. Human beings are treated en masse as helpless puppets on an international chess board where giants of economic and political power subject them to wars, revolution, civil strife, confiscation, subversion, indoctrination, manipulation and outright deception as it suits their fancy and their concocted schemes lot world domination.
But, as we have previously mentioned, this mass of world humanity is precisely the source of latent power which terrifies the Establishment. There is the constant fear that the masses might awaken and frustrate their gigantic schemes, particularly where they have acquired an education and accumulated a little property (which gives them a highly significant degree of independence).
That is what has happened to the mass of humanity in America. They now constitute the great and overwhelming majority of the people, called the middle class. And Dr. Quigley, as we have already seen, leaves no doubt as to the menace which middle-class Americans are believed to represent insofar as the Establishment is concerned.
It was once the great American dream to make as many people as possible a part of the great middle class because it was recognized to be the backbone of our society and the most important segment of the population in maintaining a progressive, self-governing, secure, and freedom-loving people. But, obviously, if you are trying to set up a virtual dictatorship, this group is an enemy. This group will resist a dictatorship. At least, it will do so if it knows what is happening.
So this is the fact of life which the super-rich collectivists of the Establishment face today. Everything they do must be accomplished in an atmosphere of propaganda and deception. Otherwise they keep running into a groundswell of resentment and resistance as they try to compel middle class Americans to give up their independence, their property, and their constitutional prerogatives."
The Naked Capitalist
http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Capitalist-W-Cleon-Skousen/dp/0899683231
December 19th, 2006 at 9:50 pmMy argument is not one of "Nationalism" but one of "Isolationism." I do not contend that the Government should take over the "Oil" industry for example. There is nothing in the laws of nature or "God" that gives one man, or group of men, ownership to a natural resource, particularly for this bit of wisdom, deposits of fossil fuel created millions of years before Man ever dreamed of a Corporation. The natural resources of this Country belong to you, to me, and to every legitimate citizen of this Country. The idea that an oil field lying off the coast of California, or Texas (unfortunately) belongs to the descendant of one outlaw or another or to some carpetbagger who bought the "mineral rights" to some fictitious tract of land is ridiculous on the face of it. For you to be walking across BLM land and stumble upon a gold nugget and claim "Finders Keepers" is no different than me going through the local WalMart and stumbling upon a large screen high density television and making the same proclamation. The bottom line: It ain't yours and it ain't mine. The difference: the TV belongs to WalMart; the gold belongs to you, to me, and to the rest of the millions of citizens of this Country. Same with the oil. It is ours. We can contract for someone to locate, pump, transport, refine, and distribute our oil and give them a FAIR, repeat FAIR profit but in the end it is ours and they work for us. And DAMN any REPUBLICAN POLITICIAN that thinks differently.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:52 pm#23 Clyde...why are you rippin' on unions? Or are you?
Unions MADE the middle class for one. And unions have been advocating "Build and Buy American" for over 40 years to stay on topic.
Unions are not the problem- they are a big part of the solution! (Read Chomsky et al.)
If there’s one thing the Neocons truly fear its unions. United people scare the crap out of BushCo and pals and they have done their utmost to crush them. And they have nearly succeeded. Unions are at their weakest point ever. No coincidence that executive compensation and worker salaries have become grossly out of whack.
The same MSM that feeds us BushCo's bull$hit are that same ones that
advocate union busting- albeit indirectly. When was the last time you heard a positive story about unions? (In this country at least). I’m sure if a survey was taken you'd find that unions are thought of as more EVIL than the corporations that are screwing America. (Overseas headquarters to avoid taxes, job outsourcing, etc.) Why is that? Because perception is obviously everything...thanks MSM. Contrary to popular belief American union workers are - or at least were- among the most productive in the world...bar none!
Unions have been SCREAMING for years what others are just waking up to. John Q laughed at them when they foretold the effect NAFTA, GATT, and other agreements would have on this country. They "told ya so".
Unions aren’t perfect by any means but their purpose is.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:55 pm#58 P'od
Damned if I know! I have nothing against the unionization of labor. I am dead set against the Labor Union Administration in terms of the"Jimmy Hoffa Syndrome."
The concept of the labor union was the backbone of this Country's industrialization but the application and utilization today is a crime against both the Union members and the unionized Companies. It is too late at night for a long dissertation but consider one point in light of the derision given the Government when they award a contract to the "lowest bidder:" If I am a Union Member, young, good looking, devout, energetic, motivated, and with a desire to improve myself, my family, my community, my church, and my Country why do I have to be saddled with the same wage and advancement opportunities as that lazy, useless, old, ugly, son-in-law of the Local's boss?
December 19th, 2006 at 10:10 pm#59
Clyde, your answer is rhetorical and echoes mainstream sentiment.
Several things wrong here in my opinion.
A young "energetic" individual as you describe always has the opportunity to opt for management. Don't know what you know about unions but I've personally never seen a case where advancement isn't available to anyone willing to do the training.
Most unions involve a trade of some sort. These ugly, old, useless (as you call them) individuals are the masters of their respective trades and pass their knowledge to the young through apprenticeship. I KNOW this to be the case.
Finally, defining unions by the actions of Jimmy Hoffa 40 + years ago and a few other bad apples along the way is as unfair as defining Americans thru Nixons actions.
December 19th, 2006 at 11:13 pmP'od
Dream on!
I lost my summer job in 1950 because the Teamsters Union, led by Jimmy Hoffa (et al), called a strike (I was 17, my Father was a Union member). I had nothing to do with the Union. I just wanted to work to save for college. I finally got my Masters Degree at age 40, founded my own company, and as CEO, President, Chairman of the Board, and BOSS told the Union to kiss my ass. I am alive, that particular union and Jimmy Hoffa in the figurative sense, are dead. When I was young I carried a grudge, as I grew older I retaliated and got even, now that I am nearing the end I get as far ahead as I can. Need I repeat myself?
December 19th, 2006 at 11:41 pmthe elite bastards will tell you recieve this mark if you want to buy your food, if you do, you have no hope!!!
December 20th, 2006 at 12:44 amthe elite bastards will tell you,( take this mark) if you want to buy your food. but ifyou take themark, you have no hope!!!
December 20th, 2006 at 12:52 amAnyway, the $225B deficit number is MEANINGLESS because it was not calculated according to "generally accepted accounting priniciples"!
Anyway, the difference between a yearly $225B and $500B deficit is IRRELEVANT when the total DEBT is $8.6T!
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
The $225B deficit number was calculated under the FALSE premise that the social security surplus for the year reduced the deficit, but putting an "Treasury IOU" in place of cash in the bank is not reducing anything!
Social Security is a balance sheet account, and therefore it is MEANINGLESS to talk about it in terms of a "year", because the "bottom line" is that at a point in time it is either positive, zero, or negative!
December 20th, 2006 at 12:54 amPlease do not let the muslims gain a foothold in America.It leads to all kinds of communications between them which invariably leads to thoughts of Allah which eventually leads to sleeper cells which eventually leads up to terrorists which eventually leads to bombings which eventually leads to killings.This viscous cycle of Islam and Islamists coming to America must stop now.You let them get setup,and before you know it they are like rabbits or mice,they are everywhere speaking that foreign lingo like no one knows what they are thinking.When we actually do know exactly what they are thinking.They go into a trance and then start murmuring Allah`s name and before you know it that demon spirit has taken ahold of the boy and twisted his soul up in black sashcloth trying to eat it alive for all eternity.This is why muslims and the muslim faith must be stamped out on a worldwide basis.I am all for congressman and senators to keep us safe from the roving bands.Muslims are trying to gain a foothold onto christian ideals and territories.We will not stand for this.I have alot of faith in Mr. Reid.He will vote to keep this war going so we can stamp out terrorism and the Muslims.They are threatening Christianity.This will not stand.When the Roman Catholic Church tell any nation to go to war,they go to war.Nations have no choice in the Vatican`s decisions.They all obey the Vatican.Even the United States of America.Our Vatican is the most powerful govt.and the most powerful banking establishment in the world.You cannot change this.Therefore you must come on board to be spared from noncompliance with the Lord our God.You have no real choice.Not at the end of the day.It`s God Almighty or nothing.
December 20th, 2006 at 12:59 amDebt is control. Whether its a nation or an individual the new world order marches on!
"We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected the promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world-government. The supranational sovereignty
December 20th, 2006 at 1:42 amof an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the National autodetermination practiced in past centuries"
--David Rockefeller in an address to a Trilateral Commission meeting
in June of 1991
This is off of this thread - House Armed Services Chairman ‘Extremely Concerned’ With Iraq Escalation Plans -Dec. 18 ,2006
Available in older posts section for free and at absolutely no charge. You have to read the whole thread to appreciate it.It`s a real gem.
Not so fast;I have one thing I’d like to add to this discussion.
Atleast twice in the last 50 posts,unbelievable said that she ‘doesn’t lie’.
Yet she told me,thus everyone else on this blog,last spring,that her Mother was dead.This turned out NOT to be TRUE.
Now answer your own question: What kind of person would say that about their own Mother just for the sake of winning an argument?
Now you all are beginning to see why I’ve had such acrimony with her in the past.
Just for the record,BnF, I never,ever,insulted her Mother,that’s if you were referring to something I might have said.
She told me her Mom was dead after I said she probably lives at home with her Mom.
All this can be found in the archives.
This is who you are dealing with,and she has no respect.
Comment by Si Byl — December 20, 2006 @ 2:22 am
Trueblue,
Of course, Unbelievable is offended by any remark about sexuality:
Men’s peak is 17, and women’s is 40. I’m guessing I’m closer to 40 than you are to 17? :)
Comment by unbelievable — April 17, 2006 @ 4:03 pm
and:
I think it’s a plot by women in their 40’s so they can get 17 year old men :)
Comment by Tundra — April 17, 2006 @ 4:19 pm
I assure you, that’s mostly a guy fanatasy. As men age they get better in other ways. :)
Comment by unbelievable — April 17, 2006 @ 4:29 pm
and this:
If a course is called “Shaving your legs†there is no reason to discuss how to braid leghair (That’s for unbelievable)
Comment by Tundra — April 17, 2006 @ 8:34 pm
Flirting with me again, I see ; )
Comment by unbelievable — April 17, 2006 @ 8:49 pm
finally capped of by this:
If I were asked for a one line answer to the question “What makes a woman good in bed?†I would say, “A man who is good in bed.â€
- - Bob Guccione (1978)
Comment by unbelievable — April 18, 2006 @ 4:51 pm
and the email Unbelievable misquotes?
“If I were asked for a one line answer to the question “What makes a woman good in bed?†I would say, “A man who is good in bed.â€
- - Bob Guccione (1978)
Comment by unbelievable â€
amen to that!!! (care to put the hypothesis to a test? —just kidding…)
Perhaps it is Unbelievable who is envious of my spirituality. She has derided the thought of breathing a cloud away, yet I’ve taught others to do so as well.
Perhaps she was offended because I was just kidding. After all, I have mentioned on these boards that I wear a kilt. And you know what they say about a woman scorned. I mean, to take what I wrote and somehow twist that into insinuating that I, a married man, was interested in having an adulterous affair with someone who lives a couple of thousand miles away takes either dimentia, a great imagination, or wishful thinking.
And Trueblue, as you can see, a shaman would say “Amen.â€
There’s another word, a greeting, I say to you:
Namaste.
Comment by Briseadh na Faire — December 19, 2006 @ 7:53 pm
December 20th, 2006 at 4:01 amDollar dropped in Iran asset move ( BBC REPORT this time )
Iran is to shift its foreign currency reserves from dollars to euros and use the euro for oil deals in response to US-led pressure on its economy.
December 20th, 2006 at 8:37 amIn a widely expected move, Tehran said it would use the euro for all future commercial transactions overseas.
Dollar dropped in Iran asset move ( BBC REPORT this time )
Iran is to shift its foreign currency reserves from dollars to euros and use the euro for oil deals in response to US-led pressure on its economy.
December 20th, 2006 at 8:39 amIn a widely expected move, Tehran said it would use the euro for all future commercial transactions overseas.
Our Vatican is the most powerful govt.and the most powerful banking establishment in the world.You cannot change this.Therefore you must come on board to be spared from noncompliance with the Lord our God.You have no real choice.Not at the end of the day.It`s God Almighty or nothing.
Comment by Answeil Vacherette — December 20, 2006 @ 12:59 am
December 20th, 2006 at 8:54 amThere should be a Federal law banning internet connections in mental wards.
#29
it's not a rant about zionism. it's the fact. all that complex stuff the older, wiser generation talks means nothing when YOU DO NOT CONTROL YOUR OWN MONEY. WHEN YOU DO NOT EVEN OWN YOUR OWN MONEY. the dollare bill is nothing but a receipt. they have over time gradually added to the sesspool(congress) the players necessary to accomplish the mission. though criminally but who is going to stop them. look at the one dollar bill for instance. on the 'one' in the upper right hand look just above the one and you will see a tiny figure, out of the norm. if you look close it, it is an owl. and who use the owl as their symbol? the rothchilds, zionism. these folks love symbols. bushyboys father was pictured holding a pyramid while laying bed. it's on the american dollar also. come on folks, the americans have been duped and people still think it has to do with labor, taxes, trade, deficits, yes but no. why because you have to go to where the CONTROL is. to the top. chop the head of the octopus(rothchilds) and you will then kill the arms, and then the tentacles. world bank, who controls it? wolfy and who is wolfy? nazi. federal reserve bank, no more federal than federal express and what does that do controls the MONEY. and who owns that, well private folks. and what does that do well....decides who is going broke and who is getting rich. the players: rothchilds, rockefellers, jp morgan(s). federal reserve act of 1913 should be abolished. it's stealing the hard working americans money and putting into the pockets of the elite. income tax, illegal. there is no law saying the american folks have to pay income tax. it was to tax the corporations on there goods not on americans labor. but got away with it because the majority of americans do not care and think their government are the good guys.
this is not economics 101 it's above that, this is 100% rothchilds, zionism, nwo, one world government, nazi ideology. folks the illuminati is not dead. the vatican is the most corrupt entity known and still is. these folks are all intertwined. FOLLOW THE MONEY.
December 20th, 2006 at 11:52 amThere are only two groups of people in the world:
1) Elites
December 20th, 2006 at 1:22 pm2) Slaves
What is that! Is that a big ol pink elephant standing right over there in the corner of the room?
The Federal Reserve Bank is a PRIVATE BANK. Its stockholders are ultimately majority non-American. They hold our debt and don’t report to the US government, but instead report to the Bank of International Settlements, which uses gold as its currency. Most of our ‘income’ tax goes against the interest of this debt/loan from this private bank! They have a monopoly on our currency even though the constitution gives that right to congress. The owners of this private bank ultimately have the ability to corrupt as much of our federal government as they want.
Any question why we are running mad like a pack of lemmings toward the cliff of our currency collapse?
December 20th, 2006 at 4:40 pmworld currency exchange rates
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