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Other • Source: Focus tightens on widow of dead Boston bombing susp
Source: Focus tightens on widow of dead Boston bombing suspect
May 3, 2013
By KEVIN DEUTSCH AND ANN GIVENS kevin.deutsch@newsday.com, ann.givens@newsday.com
BOSTON — Investigators have stepped up their interest in the widow of one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings after finding radical Islamist material on her computer, according to a federal law enforcement source.
The material included Inspire, al-Qaida’s online magazine, the source said.
The new focus on Katherine Russell, 24, the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, came as forensic tests detected residue from explosives in the bathtub and kitchen sink in the couple’s Cambridge apartment.
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The results, according to the source, appear to corroborate the surviving suspect’s statements to federal investigators that the brothers built the bombs in the apartment.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, had told investigators that he and his older brother learned to make the pressure-cooker bombs detonated at the marathon using instructions from Inspire, which advocates jihad in the name of Islam.
DNA found on a piece of one of the marathon bombs did not match a DNA sample from Russell, the source said.
Phone call in question
Investigators hope to learn more about a phone call Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, made to his wife on April 18, three days after the bombings — and after the FBI first circulated photographs of the suspects. The content of the phone conversation hasn’t been disclosed.
Key questions for investigators are what role, if any, Russell played in the plot or its aftermath — and whether she downloaded the material found on her computer.
Her attorney, Amato DeLuca, has said his client played no role and was shocked to learn of her husband’s involvement.
But Russell did not report the phone call to authorities when the massive manhunt was under way, the source said, and she is no longer cooperating with investigators.
Investigators have said the brothers had planned to wait until July 4 to launch an attack but moved the date up and decided to act on April 15 — Patriots Day in Massachusetts — because the explosives were ready.
The bombs, set off near the marathon finish line, killed three people and injured more than 260. In the days after the bombings, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer was shot dead and a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officer was wounded by the Tsarnaevs as they tried to escape, authorities said.
Federal, state and local authorities on Friday began searching a wooded area near Dartmouth, Mass. — close to where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had attended college — for evidence of explosives, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts.
Federal agents were acting on information that University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth students reported hearing explosions in the wooded area about a month ago, raising the possibility that the area was used as a testing ground for the homemade bombs. Bomb-sniffing dogs will be used in the search, authorities said.
Three of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s former classmates have been arrested, accused of removing a backpack and laptop from Tsarnaev’s dorm room after the bombings in an attempt to help their friend evade arrest.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is in federal custody but remains in a hospital recovering from wounds. His brother died after an early morning shootout with police in the suburb of Watertown four days after the bombings.
The death certificate released Friday says Tamerlan Tsarnaev died from gunshot wounds to his "torso and extremities and blunt trauma to head and torso."
The funeral director of a Worcester mortuary confirmed Friday that it will handle the arrangements.
Plans for suspect’s funeral
Peter Stefan, of Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors, said his staff collected Tsarnaev’s body from a North Attleborough funeral home around midnight Thursday after that facility was "overwhelmed" by news organizations and community protesters.
Stefan said he’s not daunted by the task of burying a suspected terrorist. "I can’t separate the saints from the sinners. I bury the dead. That’s what I took an oath to do, and that’s it."
He said he’s known in town for burying the indigent and criminals — even murderers.
"If someone wants to make a law that all dead terrorists and murderers get thrown in the garbage, that’s fine, but that’s their job," he said. "Right now, I’m just doing mine."
Stefan said Tsarnaev’s uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, is handling the arrangements.
The funeral director said he’s been told that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers are requesting an independent autopsy.
After the possible second autopsy, he said, the body will be repaired, and relatives will arrange for it to be washed by Islamic men as part of a traditional death ritual. The body will be wrapped in a shroud before it’s taken to the cemetery for a simple graveside ceremony.
Where Tamerlan Tsarnaev will be buried is the next headache for Stefan. Cemeteries in Massachusetts and New Jersey have refused to accept the body, and the logistics of getting it to Tsarnaev’s family in Russia proved insurmountable, he said.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/sour … -1.5190842
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sat May 04, 2013 9:15 am
View full post on opinions.caduceusx.com
Gold and Silver • The Gold Bull Is Far from Dead (Video) Peter Schiff
The Gold Bull Is Far from Dead (Video)
http://blog.europacmetals.com/2013/02/t … ead-video/
Posted on February 21, 2013 by admin
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In a new, exclusive video on the gold market, Peter Schiff responds to skeptics who claim gold’s bull run is over. Many believe the economy is improving and therefore that gold’s rise has ended. However, Peter explains why the longterm fundamentals for gold have never been better, and how investors still have time to take advantage of gold’s temporary decline.
“People who are saying there is no reason to buy gold now, never understood the reason people were buying it in the first place. People weren’t buying gold because they were worried about a crisis in the Eurozone or weak US stocks. People were buying gold because central banks were printing too much money. It’s inflation that drives the gold train, not political uncertainty.”
Statistics: Posted by DIGGER DAN — Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:05 pm
View full post on opinions.caduceusx.com
Protectionism: Not Dead Yet
Simon Lester
Paul Krugman has a post in which he proclaims “The Death of Protectionism.” He refers to this chart from the U.S. International Trade Commission:
And he says:
In doing course prep for trade policy, I looked, as I always do, at the latest edition of the USITC publication on the economic effects of import restrictions — and discovered that my subject was gone. At least according to the ITC estimates, there’s almost nothing left to talk about.
…
What happened? Mainly the end of the Multi-Fiber Agreement; also, US and world sugar prices have converged. But now that protectionism is a trivial issue, what will economists inveigh against?
The ITC chart shows tariffs falling from about 3.5% in 1993 to under 1.5% in 2011. That sounds like they started low and got lower.
But it’s important to note that these are average tariffs. Tariffs on certain goods are still quite high. A publication called World Tariff Profiles illustrates this nicely. If you look at p. 170 for U.S. statistics, you will see tariff duties for four general product categories of over 10%. You’ll also see maximum tariffs (i.e., the high tariff on particular products) of over 100%!
And if you look at the duty rates for other countries, they are generally much higher.
And none of that includes special “trade remedy” tariffs (anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguards), subsidies, discriminatory government procurement, or domestic laws and regulations that discriminate (such as local content requirements).
So, protectionism is alive and well.
I have little doubt that Krugman knows this. So why is he doing a post proclaiming the death of protectionism? I don’t know for sure, but allow me to speculate. He wants the focus of economic growth policy to be on fiscal and monetary stimulus. He doesn’t want free trade agreements to be offered up as an alternative growth strategy. Thus, he is telling people that there is not much for free trade to do.
I don’t know if that’s really what’s going on. But it could be.
View full post on Cato @ Liberty
Bankrupt, Decaying And Nearly Dead: 24 Facts About The City Of Detroit That Will Shock You
If you want to know what the future of America is going to be like, just look at the city of Detroit. Once upon a time it was a symbol of everything that America was doing right, but today it has been transformed into a rotting, decaying, post-apocalyptic hellhole. Detroit was once the fourth-largest city in the United States, and in 1960 Detroit had the highest per-capita income in the entire nation. It was the greatest manufacturing city the world had ever seen, and the rest of the globe looked at Detroit with a sense of awe and wonder. But now the city of Detroit has become a bad joke to the rest of the world. Unemployment is rampant, 60 percent of the children are living in poverty and the city government is on the verge of bankruptcy. They say that Detroit is just a matter of “weeks or months” away from running out of cash, and when Detroit does declare bankruptcy it will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the United States. But don’t look down on Detroit, because the truth is that Detroit is really a metaphor for what is happening to America as a whole. In the United States today, our manufacturing infrastructure has been gutted, poverty is absolutely exploding and we are rapidly approaching national bankruptcy. Detroit may have gotten there first, but the rest of the country will follow soon enough.
Back during the boom years, Detroit was known for making great cars. Today, it is known for scenes of desolation and decay. It is full of vandalized homes, abandoned schools and empty factories. The following description of what Detroit looks like at this point is from an article by Barry Yeoman…
It’s hard to describe the city’s physical landscape without producing what Detroiters call “ruin porn.” Brick houses with bays and turrets sit windowless or boarded up. Whole blocks, even clusters of blocks, have been bulldozed. Retail strips have been reduced to a dollar store here, a storefront church there, and a whole lot of plywood in between. Not a single chain supermarket remains.
So what caused the downfall of one of the greatest cities on earth?
Well, here is a hint…
Between December 2000 and December 2010, 48 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Michigan were lost.
When you are a manufacturing area, and you lose half of your manufacturing jobs over the course of a single decade, of course things are going to get really, really bad.
So just how bad have things gotten in Detroit?
The following are 24 facts about the city of Detroit that will shock you…
#1 Detroit was once the fourth-largest city in the United States, and it was once home to close to 2 million people. But over the last several decades people have been fleeing in droves. According to the 2010 census, only 713,000 people now live in Detroit, and city officials admit that the population has probably slipped under 700,000 at this point.
#2 The population of Detroit has declined by about 25 percent over the past decade. The last time the population of Detroit was this low was all the way back in 1910.
#3 Today, Detroit is only the 18th-largest city in America. It is now smaller than Austin, Texas and Charlotte, North Carolina.
#4 Back in 1960, the city of Detroit had the highest per-capita income in the United States.
#5 Today, the unemployment rate in Detroit is more than 18 percent, which is more than twice as high as the nation as a whole.
#6 According to a report that was just recently released, approximately 60 percent of all children in Detroit live in poverty.
#7 Approximately one-third of Detroit’s 140 square miles are either vacant or derelict.
#8 The city government of Detroit has closed dozens of schools and has decided to cut off public services to the “heavily blighted areas“.
#9 According to one estimate, there are 33,500 empty houses and 91,000 vacant residential lots in the city of Detroit today.
#10 The median price of a home in Detroit is just $9,000, and there are some areas of Detroit where you can still buy a house for $100.
#11 There are more than 85,000 streetlights in Detroit, but thieves have stripped so much copper wiring out of the lights that more than half of them are not working.
#12 Mayor Bing has announced a plan to reduce the number of streetlights in the city of Detroit to just 46,000.
#13 According to one very shocking report, 47 percent of all people living in the city of Detroit are functionally illiterate at this point..
#14 The murder rate in Detroit is 11 times higher than it is in New York City.
#15 There were 377 homicides in Detroit in 2011. In 2012, that number rose to 411.
#16 Justifiable homicide in Detroit rose by an astounding 79 percent during 2011.
#17 In one recent year, the rate of self-defense killings in the city of Detroit was 2200% above the national average.
#18 Ten years ago, there were approximately 5,000 police officers in the city of Detroit. Today, there are only about 2,500 and another 100 are scheduled to be eliminated from the force soon.
#19 Due to budget cutbacks, most police stations in Detroit are now closed to the public for 16 hours a day.
#20 Crime has gotten so bad in Detroit that even the police are are telling people to “enter Detroit at your own risk“.
#21 At one point, 100 bus drivers in Detroit refused to drive their routes because they were afraid of being attacked out on the streets in broad daylight. The head of the bus drivers union, Henry Gaffney, said that the drivers were literally “scared for their lives“….
“Our drivers are scared, they’re scared for their lives. This has been an ongoing situation about security. I think yesterday kind of just topped it off, when one of my drivers was beat up by some teenagers down in the middle of Rosa Parks and it took the police almost 30 minutes to get there, in downtown Detroit,” said Gaffney.
#22 There have been reports that gangs of young men with AK-47s have been terrorizing gas stations all over Detroit.
#23 Detroit was once known for making some of the greatest cars in the world. Now, it is known around the world as a dumping ground for the dead…
From the street, the two decomposing bodies were nearly invisible, concealed in an overgrown lot alongside worn-out car tires and a moldy sofa. The teenagers had been shot, stripped to their underwear and left on a deserted block.
They were just the latest victims of foul play whose remains went undiscovered for days after being hidden deep inside Detroit’s vast urban wilderness — a crumbling wasteland rarely visited by outsiders and infrequently patrolled by police.
#24 Detroit’s public schools are an absolute nightmare. The following is from one of my readers that actually attended one of the “best” public schools in Detroit…
The school was a new seven story building just a couple of years old. The bathrooms would often lack toilet paper & soap beyond the second floor (the main floor), the bathroom sinks would often not work. The water fountains on north side of the building on from the third floor & up did not work. The elevators would constantly break down. I even got stuck on the elevator before. I almost tripped down a half a flight of stairs because the elastic seal (it was the metal bar at the front of a treader of I don’t know the name of it.) the stairs was not properly installed.
Students would often have sex on the stairs & throughout the school. Parents actually called the school many times & reported kids having sex on the stairs because all of them had glass windows 270 degrees.
Even over in Europe they write stories about the dramatic decline of Detroit. For example, the following is how one British reporter described his visit to Detroit…
Much of Detroit is horribly dangerous for its own residents, who in many cases only stay because they have nowhere else to go. Property crime is double the American average, violent crime triple. The isolated, peeling homes, the flooded roads, the clunky, rusted old cars and the neglected front yards amid trees and groin-high grassland make you think you are in rural Alabama, not in one of the greatest industrial cities that ever existed.
For those that want to read even more about the horrifying downfall of Detroit, there are some amazing charts that graphically show the decline of Detroit right here.
So what is the solution?
How can we fix Detroit?
Well, why don’t we just build a monorail! Of course that sounds ridiculous, but the federal government has actually committed $25 million to construct “a streetcar line” that nobody really wants and that very few people would probably actually use. Perhaps they could be excused for wasting so much money on a bad idea if there had not already been 24 failed attempts to develop a successful public transit system in Detroit over the past four decades.
Well, why don’t we just build a bunch of theme parks instead? After all, tourists would just flock to Detroit, right?
It has been suggested that Detroit would be ideal for an “automotive theme park”, and there is actually one group of investors that wants to turn some of the worst areas of Detroit into a “zombie theme park”.
What will they think of next?
Actually, a much better idea would have been to not allow millions of our good paying manufacturing jobs to be shipped to the other side of the world, but it is too late for that at this point.
But once again, please do not look down on the city of Detroit. Instead, let the city of Detroit serve as a warning for the rest of us.
The truth is that the entire U.S. economy is in an advanced state of decline…
-The percentage of the civilian labor force in the United States that is employed has been steadily declining every single year since 2006.
-An astounding 53 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.
-Amazingly, there are hundreds of thousands of Americans with either Master’s degrees or Ph.D.s that are enrolled in the food stamp program at this point.
We are a nation that consumes far more wealth than we produce, we are a nation that is constantly bleeding jobs, businesses and wealth, and we are a nation that is going deeper into debt with each passing day.
Yes, Detroit may have gone over the edge into economic oblivion first, but the rest of the nation is steamrolling down the exact same path that Detroit has gone.
Is it too late for us to change direction?
Please feel free to share your thoughts on that question by leaving a comment below…
View full post on The Economic Collapse
Other • France Is Dead Broke, But At Least Its GDP Came In Positive
France Is Dead Broke, But At Least Its GDP Came In Positive
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2013 1:26 AM
US GDP came out today and it was a stinker: -0.1%. Enter a choir of 10,000 pundits who all figured out that all that bad smell was the result of one thing only: cuts in military spending. That’s the sort of thing that tells me – or more correctly: confirms – that the optimism bias has become so strong and infectious it’s no longer worth even discussing. And that’s before I notice – caveat: I haven’t read all the eerily similar comments – that nobody I read bothers to explain by how much military spending has raised US GDP lately. Or to what degree they hope it’ll go up again. Soon.
So, I then think – I have a hard time focusing when confronted with blinders -, by how much would US GDP have been raised with more military spending? Would it perhaps have reached the same lofty level as French GDP? Here’s a graph:
Yes, French GDP rose by 0.3%. Ergo: France is doing better than the US, and quite a bit. Well, you know, assuming that the nouveaux Français theatre de warfare in Mali is not yet included here. Here’s a safe prediction all 10,000 can pen in right now: French GDP will rise significantly next quarter; ain’t nothing like guns and ammo and military funerals to raise the outlook of an economy.
There is just one problem with this seemingly watertight argumentation. That graph comes from a series of articles by the Daily Mail on French…. drumroll….. bankruptcy. Which is translated as "Banqueroute"; they even invented the word, and imported it into Britain right after 1066, we may assume. Now if France is bankrupt with a 0.3% GDP growth, what is the US with 0.1% shrinkage? Could the answer be: looking for a theater?
Back to France, which, despite those far better GDP numbers, gives the US a run for its money when it comes to make-believe. This week, French labour minister Michel Sapin provided a glimpse behind the Elysee curtain, which of course was promptly denied as soon he spoke out, in these hilariously priceless words by finance minister Pierre Moscovici, as per The Telegraph:
Pierre Moscovici, the finance minister, said the comments by Mr Sapin were "inappropriate".
He added: "France is a really solvent country. France is a really credible country, France is a country that is starting to recover."
Brilliant. Who said the French have no sense of humor? Nonetheless, be that as it may, French news daily Le Figaro did a poll that showed 80.5% of French think their country is indeed broke. And I don’t think all 80.5% were joking. What Sapin said comes down to something like: "There’s a state captain, but not as we know it, not as we know it". Here’s Tim Shipman’s Daily Mail piece on the issue:
France is ‘totally bankrupt’, jobs minister admits as concerns grow over Hollande’s tax-and-spend policies
France’s government was plunged into an embarrassing row yesterday after a minister said the country was ‘totally bankrupt’. Employment secretary Michel Sapin said cuts were needed to put the damaged economy back on track. ‘There is a state but it is a totally bankrupt state,’ he said. ‘That is why we had to put a deficit reduction plan in place, and nothing should make us turn away from that objective.’
In a frantic damage limitation exercise yesterday, colleagues in the Socialist administration said he was only highlighting faults of the previous government of Nicolas Sarkozy. Finance minister Pierre Moscovici said: ‘What he meant was that the fiscal situation was worrying.’ But a poll yesterday by Le Figaro newspaper showed eight out of ten readers agreed that France was indeed bankrupt.
Data from the Bank of France shows capital investment is leaving the country every day. Rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have both already removed France’s once-coveted AAA credit.
[UK] Tory MP Peter Bone said: ‘This is clearly a case of at least one Frenchman speaking the truth. ‘We need to hear more of this kind of honesty from the French. This man deserves promotion.’
While Mr Sapin’s admission was unlikely to have been intentional, it highlighted huge concern at President Francois Hollande’s handling of the economy. Despite all this, Mr Moscovici insisted: ‘France is a truly solvent country, France is truly credible country, France is a country which is starting its recovery.’ Mr Moscovici also insisted that France is in a position to ‘meet its financial obligations, including the payment of its employees, thankfully.’
Yes, Mr Moscovici, I’m sure we can all agree that that France is in a position to ‘meet its financial obligations, including the payment of its employees. However, there may be some disagreement on how long it can do that for. The statement itself is true even if it’s only good for just two weeks or so, though we all know that’s not what you intend people to take home from it. But it doesn’t deny that either.
Me, personally, I find it astonishing how little attention Mr. Sapin’s comments have attracted. I’m one of those rare people who are all for having these discussions out in the open. All of them, those about today’s US GDP embarrassment as well as France’s financial perils. Don’t tell me that you’re "in a position to ‘meet your financial obligations’", show me how and why. We can’t all go through life shying away from what really should be obvious questions, only to find out later we’ve been had by another bunch of lying and cheating politicians, just like generation upon generation of our ancestors before us. We need to have learned at least something from what they went through.
More from that Daily Mail piece:
Since Mr Hollande came to power, unemployment and the cost of living have continued to spiral, while ‘anti-rich’ measures have provoked entrepreneurs to leave the country. The President is currently trying to revive France’s economic fortunes by cutting spending by the equivalent of more than £51 billion.
The Bank of France has already produced data showing that capital investment is leaving the country every day, along with the business people who helped to build it.
[..] There have even been reports that Nicolas Sarkozy, the last President of France, is preparing to move to London with his third wife, Carla Bruni, to set up an equity fund. Prime Minister David Cameron has already said that Britain will ‘roll out the red carpet’ to attract wealthy French people.
My impression, but that’s just me, is the French are still suckers for authority figures – Charles the Gaulle and Napoleon engraved that into their very foreheads -, but they’ll have to wake up at some point. From the economical fairy tale that says they’re doing fine, and from the grandeur idea they’ve been fed forever now.
As far as President Hollande is concerned, I’m mostly neutral, but if I were to single out on thing he’s done for the biggest fool award, it’s his decision to reverse pension reforms, enabling his voters to retire at 60 or even earlier. While at the same time he’s part of the Troika cabal pressuring Greeks to work longer, and while all his Eurozone neighbors are pushing up retirement age to 67-68 and onwards. That one thing makes me doubt Hollande will sit out his term. You can fool some of the people all of the time and all that, and all of them some of the time.
The Daily Mail ran a little update by Daniel Miller today:
Bankrupt France’s latest efforts to save money… turn off all the lights
The French government has ordered shops and offices to turn off their lights at night in a desperate bid to save vital resources as the country struggles to prevent a looming financial crisis. From July 1, all non-residential buildings will have to switch off interior lights one hour after the last worker leaves the premises while all exterior and shop window lighting must be turned off by 1 am. The announcement follows an embarrassing incident for President Francois Hollande yesterday when employment secretary Michel Sapin admitted the country was ‘totally bankrupt’.
The French environment ministry hopes the move will both save energy and reduce light pollution. Local authorities will be able to allow exceptions for Christmas lighting and other local events. The new law will save about two terawatt/hours of electricity a year – the equivalent of the annual consumption of 750,000 households, the ministry said. Environment Minister Delphine Batho said it would also make France a pioneer in Europe in preventing light pollution, which disrupts ecosystems and people’s sleep patterns.
Oh boy, what’s not to love? Save face and change tack with "preventing light pollution". And to make it better, don’t do it right now, no, wait till July 1. The gift that keeps on giving if ever I saw one. Isn’t Paris known as the City of Lights? Well, those days are gone.
What this tells you is that France has not one, but two problems: finance and energy. And that prior to July 1, we can expect a bunch of real nasty announcements on both. Plus also, that François Hollande is not so sure he’ll last that long. That’s why he’s pushing it forward, hoping for a miracle.
Are things that bad in the US? Who knows, really, given the ever rising extent of opaqueness? Anybody want to bet their children’s lives one way or the other? GDP comes in negative and people fall over themselves to declare that it’s only because military spending fell. So what does that mean? Does it mean the US has to go back to war to raise its GDP? Look for a new off Broadway theater?
Why is it so hard to call a spade a spade? Because incumbent politicians and wealthy moguls fear that the truth will set them free in a way they don’t like. As in "The Truth Will Set You Free, But Not When You Dunnit." And so we make do with the few scrappy shrapnels of truth that fall off their tables. Is that really the best we can do?
Something tells me the French will lead the way, farming equipment and all, in front of the crumbling presidential palaces, come July 1 or so. And when the fires rage in Paris, Americans will still be talking recovery. And if there’s anything "positive" to be said about it, it will be that somehow it has something to do with somebody getting hurt in some new theater somewhere in the world.
http://theautomaticearth.com/Finance/fr … itive.html
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:14 am
View full post on opinions.caduceusx.com
Other • Why Employment Is Dead in the Water
Why Employment Is Dead in the Water
January 28, 2013
Employment is dead in the water because opportunities for organic expansion are few and the cost basis of doing business in the U.S. keeps rising.
Let’s start by reviewing the basics of employment in the U.S. Courtesy of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, here is the noninstitutional civilian population of the U.S. (Note that the Civilian Noninstitutional Population With No Disability, 16 years and over (LNU00074593)–roughly speaking, the workforce of the nation– is 215 million).
Here is the percentage of the population with some kind of job: note this could be self-employment that earns $1,000 a year or a job with 4 hours a week; recall that 38 million American workers earn less than $10,000 per year, 50 million earn less that $15,000 a year and 61 million earn less than $20,000 annually. All these numbers are drawn directly from Social Security Administration payroll data.
Here is real (adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP), which includes government spending: (in other words, as you borrow-and-blow trillions of dollars, GDP rises).
Unfortunately, employment hasn’t risen along with the population or the GDP: the only metric with any meaning is full-time employment, as self-employed and part-time jobs may pay a few thousand dollars a year and should not be included in the same category as full-time jobs.
In sum: the population and GDP have both expanded smartly since 2000, but full-time employment has barely edged above levels reached 13 years ago.
Academic economists and political progressives would have us believe that the only thing restraining employers from hiring millions more people is lack of access to cheap credit.
The explicit assumption here is that cheap credit is all employers need to expand their workforce. This is so out of touch with reality that it beggars description. Progressives and academic economists generally claim the Federal Reserve’s zero-interest policy (ZIRP) and its other policies of flooding the economy with liquidity "are working," i.e. boosting the economy.
Here is what the Fed’s policies are boosting: financial sector profits Please compare this chart with the chart above of full-time employment, and then decide where the Fed’s free money/easy credit is flowing.
Here are financial profits per capita:
The only way to understand why employment is dead in the water is to stand in the shoes of a potential employer or entrepreneur. Remarkably, this perspective is unknown to economists and progressive politicians because they have never been an employer (and no, hiring a grad student to grade papers or an illegal nanny to watch your kids does not make you an employer.)
I have described this vast divide between small business employers, entrepreneurs and the self-employed and those working in government or Corporate America as one of the least explored social/economic divisions in the nation.
Those who have spent their careers in government or academia have little idea what it takes to hire more people. Number one is a business with strong demand for one’s products or services. In a developed world with too much of everything except energy, that is no small challenge: the world is awash in over-capacity in every field except niche industries such as deepwater oil rigs.
Second, you need a process that generates so much value (specifically surplus value) that you will generate immediate profits by hiring more people.
If the value added by additional labor is low, then you have no reason to hire more employees, even if Ben Bernanke personally knocked on your door begging you to borrow a couple million dollars at low rates of interest.
If an additional unskilled worker will cost $10 an hour and might generate $100 a day in additional gross revenues, that is $20 in gross profit. But the overhead costs of operating a business are rising faster than inflation: junk fees imposed by cities, counties and states, workers compensation and disability premiums, healthcare costs (if you hire full-time workers), energy costs, and so on.
For most businesses, overhead costs 50% to 100% of total employee compensation–wages plus benefits and payroll taxes. So adding another employee to gross 20% more doesn’t make it worthwhile–it actually generates a loss once overhead costs are paid.
The only time it makes sense to hire another worker is if that worker will create 100% or more surplus value from their labor. For example, a worker paid $200 a day in total compensation generates $400 more in gross revenues–enough to not only support the added overhead but net the business a profit.
In a global economy, competition constantly lowers the premium most businesses can charge. That places most businesses in the vice of declining gross margins and higher labor/ overhead costs. The only way to stay solvent is to grow revenues and slash costs so declining gross margins are still enough to pay the bills and leave some return on capital/time/risk invested.
Cheap credit doesn’t create surplus value, increase gross margins or get rid of over-capacity. It is a financial non-sequitur for all but a relative handful of enterprises. The only firms interested in borrowing money for expansion are those relative few in sectors that are not burdened with overcapacity. That might include oil services, network security and a handful of others.
But high-margin sectors such as technology either get funding from venture capital or their high margins generate enough income to fuel expansion without taking on debt.
The only companies borrowing vast sums of money are those paying off higher-cost existing debt with new cheap-credit loans. The savings from lower interest payments don’t flow to new hires, they flow to the bottom line and from there to executives, owners or stock buybacks that boost the portfolios of institutional owners.
Employment is dead in the water because opportunities for organic expansion are few and the cost basis of doing business in the U.S. keep rising. That vise forces businesses large and small to reduce labor costs while boosting productivity. There is no other way to stay solvent in a post-bubble, over-capacity, over-indebted consumerist economy awash in too much of everything but energy, common sense and fiscal prudence.
http://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sun Jan 27, 2013 3:46 pm
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The Status Quo is Dead! Long Live the Status Quo!
President Obama won last night, and this morning the country is waking up and contemplating what that means.
It appears that the message voters sent was that they want more of the same. (Even though they say they don’t.) The House remains in GOP hands, the Senate in Dem hands. As Matt Welch, the editor of Reason Magazine, explains in the video below, that is probably good news for anyone who fears any big initiatives coming from Washington.
Forbes warns this morning however that crony capitalism has been given new life and that Washington-centric economic planning will likely ramp back up.
We’ll be watching—closely.
The post The Status Quo is Dead! Long Live the Status Quo! appeared first on AgainstCronyCapitalism.org.
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The Staus Quo is Dead! Long Live the Status Quo!
President Obama won last night, and this morning the country is waking up and contemplating what that means.
It appears that the message voters sent was that they want more of the same. (Even though they say they don’t.) The House remains in GOP hands, the Senate in Dem hands. As Matt Welch the editor of Reason Magazine explains in the video below, that is probably good news for anyone who fears any big initiatives coming from Washington.
Forbes warns this morning however that crony capitalism has been given new life and that Washington-centric economic planning will likely ramp back up.
We’ll be watching – closely.
The post The Staus Quo is Dead! Long Live the Status Quo! appeared first on AgainstCronyCapitalism.org.
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Health • Fatal Third-World Disease Sweeping USA – 429 Dead
URGENT: Fatal Third-World Disease Sweeping USA – 429 Dead
http://cl.publicaster.com/ViewInBrowser … wQ&sysid=1
Because the U.S. government won’t warn you about this politically incorrect threat. You may be at risk of contracting a fatal Third World disease – West Nile virus.
But right now I’ll give you the heads up – it’s what you rely upon us to do. The most useful alert I’ve seen on this grave and growing crisis was just published by The Canadian Press on September 20. Details below…
A killer bug – completely unknown in the Western Hemisphere until 1999 – is now sweeping America. As just reported in The Canadian Press:
"Cases in the U.S. – which is having its worst West Nile year ever – are still on the rise. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control are reporting 3,142 cases in total so far this year, 1,630 of them involving the severe form of the disease.
"The U.S. has also reported 429 West Nile virus deaths so far in 2012."
West Nile virus cases in the continental United States in 2012.
(Aug. 28, 2012)This virus was originally found only in such impoverished West African nations as Uganda, the Congo, and Sudan. From there it jumped to Egypt and India. Now it’s sweeping the U.S.
We’re now seeing the absolute worst West Nile outbreak in U.S. history, and the number of cases is expected to climb through October. West Nile cases have been reported in every state within the continental United States.
You need to know how to protect yourself right now. I do not want you to wind up miserable, in the hospital, or even fighting for your life.
Third World Disease is Here to Stay
In Africa and the Middle East, West Nile virus is just a fact of life. Until a little over ten years ago, the disease was unheard here in the U.S. Some so-called authorities make the claim that the virus was brought here a distance of 3,500 miles by a mosquito – a rather unlikely scenario in my opinion. Another slightly more feasible explanation is that it was brought here by an infected horse. But considering that the first reported case of West Nile was in New York City (home to a lot more people than horses), it’s far more likely that the virus came to American via an infected Third World traveler.
Since that time, we’ve had annual outbreaks that usually result in hundreds of deaths each year.
West Nile has made its way into our native bird population. Mosquitos bite the birds and become carriers. Then they bite you, and you become infected.
In many cases, infection leads to West Nile Fever. West Nile Fever is the mild form of the disease. It causes stomach pain, diarrhea, fever, headache, muscle aches, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes and vomiting. This fever will make you miserable, but it won’t kill you.
But in other cases, West Nile virus causes serious complications including extremely dangerous meningitis – the swelling of the brain and spinal cord. Often confusion, muscle weakness, a stiff neck and loss of consciousness warn of these serious complications. In such cases, you need the care of a hospital. Three to 15 percent of patients with serious complications die each year from West Nile virus. Others suffer brain damage or permanent muscle weakness.
Once you’ve been bitten by an infected mosquito, you can’t stop the infection. You can only weather the storm.
Your best bet is to avoid infection altogether.
Mosquito Control: Your First Line of Defense
The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family and even your neighbors is to prevent mosquito infestations.
Mosquitos need standing water to breed. They lay their larvae in such places. So the first step to take is to eliminate stagnant, standing water from your yard. Ask your neighbors to do the same.
Get rid of anything that can act as a water catch – buckets, old tires, wheelbarrows, and plastic sheeting, for example. In some cases, the solution is as easy as turning the item over.
Clean out your gutters. Blocked gutters allow water to accumulate and become a perfect place for mosquitoes to lay eggs.
If you have a birdbath or wading pool, set up a reminder to change the water at least once a week. If you have a pond, look into making it home to a few mosquito-eating fish.
Finally, look for swampy areas in your yard and make arrangements to either fill or drain those areas.
Eliminating breeding grounds is just a first step. Once you do that, it’s time to look for ways to control the adult population.
Dense underbrush and weeds make an inviting refuge for adult mosquitoes, so clear undergrowth from your yard.
Another option is to set up a bat box in a tree or on the side of your home. Some bat species eat up to 1500 mosquitoes in a night. By attracting bats to your yard, you create an all-natural mosquito defense that is highly effective.
You can also look into pesticides for both larvae and adult mosquitoes. Pesticides aren’t my favorite option, but in light of the seriousness of the problem, they should be on the table. If you want to go that route, talk to your local home and garden center about different types of pesticides and the pros and cons of each.
Your Personal Defense Against Mosquitoes
When it comes to keeping the little, disease-ridden monsters off your own skin, you’ll find a lot of options at your local department store. Some are all-natural, using citronella and lemongrass to keep mosquitoes at bay. Others use the proven chemical barrier, DEET.
If you’re not sensitive to DEET, nothing works better. DEET is a powerful chemical, though, and, if you are sensitive or allergic, you want to avoid it. In that case, a little trial and error with natural options can help you discover what works best for you.
Most mosquitoes become active in the early evening hours, so another way to avoid getting bitten is to move indoors when the mosquitoes come out. You can also buy mosquito-repellant coils if you’re going to be spending time on your patio, balcony, or porch. You light the coil and the smoke drives most of the mosquitoes away – they work over a ten to twenty foot radius. I’ve tried these and had good luck with them. They’re cheap and effective.
Keep an Ace up Your Sleeve
As I said, once you’ve been bitten by a mosquito carrying West Nile virus, you can’t stop the infection.
But, a lot of infected people never even develop symptoms. Their bodies simply and silently annihilate the virus.
Your very best defense against the misery and potential life-threatening complications of West Nile, is to maintain good health and strong immune system.
In case you’ve forgotten the basics, this means you should…
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and lean protein.
Be physically active every day.
Drink lots of water.
Get enough sleep.
Have fun and beat stress.
We’re in the midst of the worst West Nile outbreak our country as seen since this nasty, Third-World virus has made its way to our shores. Take steps to protect yourself and your family.
Yours in Good Health,
Heather Robson, HealthEdge
Statistics: Posted by DIGGER DAN — Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:30 am
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Canadian • One person shot dead at PQ victory party
MONTREAL – One person is dead after shots were fired at the Montreal theatre where premier-elect Pauline Marois was giving a victory speech in a bizarre outburst of election night violence.
Montreal Police say a man in his 50s has been arrested after approaching the back of Metropolis and opening fire.
Witnesses said the suspect also threw what appeared to be a molotov cocktail in a nearby dumpster, igniting it briefly before the flames were doused. Some media reports said that the man yelled “the anglos are waking up" in French.
But an eyewitness, a stage technician waiting outside the theatre, told The Gazette the suspect said nothing before he was tackled by police.
Urgences Santé told The Gazette two people were taken to hospital.
“All I can confirm is that two people were transported to hospital. One is in critical condition, and the other is being treated for shock,” said a spokesperson for Urgences Santé shortly before 1 a.m. “Both of them are men.”
Minutes later, Montreal police confirmed via Twitter that a third person, who apparently was never transported to hospital, had been killed.
The Globe and Mail reported one of the victims was the driver of the PQ campaign bus, who happened to be outside the theatre when gunfire broke out.
A witness told The Gazette the second victim was a stage technician waiting outside to dismantle the set where Marois was speaking.
A section of Ste. Catherine St. in front of the Metropolis was been closed as a security perimeter was erected around the scene.
Television footage also showed police leading away a suspect dressed in a blue bathrobe and black balaclava being led away and put in a squad car.
There were also images of people lying on the ground and police examining what appeared to be a rifle.
Marois, Quebec’s premier-elect was rushed by her bodyguards from the stage Tuesday night after her Parti Québécois won the Quebec election with a minority government.
Marois returned to the microphone shortly after she was escorted away said an “unfortunate incident” had occurred. She asked supporters to leave the theatre and appealed for calm, saying: “That is what a woman head of government does.”
The incident put a damper on what was a noisy, happy celebration of Marois’s victory.
Sylvain Giguere, a PQ supporter, said after Marois was yanked offstage, “the room went deadly quiet.”
Marois herself is safe and sound after the eruption of violence.
The other party leaders, including outgoing premier Jean Charest and Coalition Avenir Québec leader Francois Legault denounced the tragic turn of events.
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/person+s … z25Zdv8mzX
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:24 am
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