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The Centre for Performing and Visual Arts in Newnan continues its 10th anniversary year with several community performances in the coming months.
Located at 1523 Lower Fayetteville Road in Newnan, the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts is the Coweta County School System’s premier arts facility, and was constructed by the Coweta County Board of Education in 2004 through the community-supported Education Special Purpose Local Sales Tax (ESPLOST).
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During those seven years spent growing up at 110 Flamingo Street, it’s true that I learned a bunch about life, people, and worldly things. Even so, fully understanding some concepts did escape my grasp. The idea of the slumber party was as baffling then as it is now.
via The Citizen http://ift.tt/1nwzASk
As far as snows go, the recent snow wasn’t much. Where I live, in Coweta County, Ga., the accumulation amounted to 2.5 inches. In northeastern Tennessee, where I grew up, the snow was 5 inches.
Compared to what the folks in the North experience on a regular basis, our local blizzard was a mere dusting. In Colorado, where I used to live, I actually got caught driving a Ford Escort in a blizzard over the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Grand Junction. That snowfall was measured in feet.
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Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,
Monopoly power in all its forms–in our system, crony capitalism and its partner, the neofeudal state–enables theft on a systemic scale.
If a monopoly forces its customers to pay more for low-quality goods and services because they have no choice, how is that not theft?
If the Mafia raises the price of "protection" on small businesses (another case of monopoly and no other choice), how is that extortion not theft?
When a local government raises junk fees to fund its cronies' excessive (i.e. non-market-rate) salaries and pensions, how is that monopoly power to extort more money from those with no other choice any different from Mafia extortion/theft?
If a pharmaceutical company extends a patent on a costly medication by changing the dosage slightly, how is that not theft via regulatory capture? If a government contractor charges the Pentagon $1,000 for a hammer (all those overhead charges, tsk-tsk–lobbying corrupt politicos costs a lot, you know), how is that not theft of taxpayers' money?
When the Federal Reserve drops the yield on savings to near-zero to funnel all that stolen wealth to its cronies on Wall Street, how is that not theft?
Monopoly power in all its forms–in our system, crony capitalism and its partner, the neofeudal state–enables theft on a systemic scale. When crony capitalism and the state are essentially one system, the propaganda organs of the state and mainstream corporate media combine to persuade the stripmined populace that their theft is not theft, it's "capitalism and democracy at work." This is known as The Big Lie. What we have is systemic theft, predation and exploitation.
Calling things what they really are would upset the apple cart of systemic exploitation. Let's Call Things What They Really Are in 2014 (January 15, 2014)
Correspondent Jeff W. explains that all this systemic theft is inherently deflationary:
ll forms of stealing are deflationary. Stealing cuts into the average citizen’s disposable income, it reduces how much he can buy. Because there are now fewer dollars chasing more goods, deflation is the inevitable result. Stealing is actually worse than a zero-sum game. Society loses more than the thief takes. In addition to losses from theft, a victim often has to spend more on security measures. Theft also has a chilling effect on capital investment and commerce in general.
Consider how many different kinds of theft the American citizen is exposed to: street crime, sickcare industry ripoffs, legal system ripoffs including huge fines for traffic violations, high taxes, interest earnings on his savings that amount to ZIRP, a corporatist state determined to suppress his wages by any means necessary, unending victimization at the hands of predators enabled and protected by the state. If he owns a small business, he has to deal with a corrupt regulatory state, higher taxes, and an enlarged menagerie of predators. Today there are thieves everywhere.
So one big deflation trend is theft. As theft increases, deflation increases. As society collapses and thieves start roaming freely all over the landscape, a deflationary collapse can be expected—absent a determined and persistent campaign of money printing.
Exhibit A for the case that stealing is deflationary is the Dark Ages. Stealing was rampant in the Dark Ages. How did people react to that? By “going medieval.” They wore clothing that made them look poor so as to avoid attracting the attention of thieves. Their dwellings looked poor for the same reason. If they had cash, they would bury it in the ground; no one could be trusted. Unless one was an insider who could get protection from the state, no one’s property was safe.
Capital investments were much too risky, and out of the question. What were the price characteristics of the Dark Ages? Wages were low. Real estate valuations low. Prices of manufactured items (such as they were) were low. Only food was expensive. People can cut back on clothing and shelter, but there is a limit to how much they can cut back on food. In the Dark Ages, people really hunkered down and just focused on basic survival.
Exhibit B is Detroit. Detroit for many years has been a high crime area, i.e. it had lots of thieves running around. What are the price characteristics of Detroit? Wages low. Real estate valuations low. There is very little manufacturing being done inside the city limits today because of high property taxes and crime. There is also very little capital investment for the same reasons.
There is a vicious circle at work here.
1) Thieves control the government;
2) Which results in increased stealing;
3) Deflation results from that;
4) Which gives the thieves a reason to print money and give it to themselves;
5) Which enriches the thieves some more;
6) Which gives them more resources they can use to consolidate their control of the government;
7) Back to step 1.
Many people seem confused about how there could be deflation in the paper (or digital) money era. If they would recognize how much stealing is going on, and if they understood the powerful deflationary effect of stealing, then perhaps they would not be so surprised to observe price decreases, particularly in wages and the prices of manufactured products.
Thank you, Jeff, for explaining the causal connection between systemic theft and deflation. To all those terrified of deflation (for example, central bankers and their cronies holding trillions of dollars in phantom assets and illusory collateral), the solution is obvious: get rid of systemic theft. But since those terrified of deflation are at the top of the monopoly-power thievery pyramid, that is asking the impossible: for the thieves to relinquish their power to steal.
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1a7N6Io Tyler Durden
At a speech in December to celebrate the
10th anniversary of the left-leaning Center for American
Progress, President Barack Obama declared, “The combined trends of
increased inequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental
threat to the American Dream.” Earlier this week, the president
dropped the claim that income mobility was increasing and just said
that it had “stalled.” The president pointed out that it was easier
for people in our rich country cohort to rise from the lowest
income quintile to the highest. Reason Science
Correspondent Ronald Bailey points out that that is true, but it’s
largely because people living in Denmark, France, and Germay have
much shorter income ladders to scale due to massive income
redistribution.
from Hit & Run http://ift.tt/1bIjw7o
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At a speech in December to celebrate the
10th anniversary of the left-leaning Center for American
Progress, President Barack Obama declared, “The combined trends of
increased inequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental
threat to the American Dream.” Earlier this week, the president
dropped the claim that income mobility was increasing and just said
that it had “stalled.” The president pointed out that it was easier
for people in our rich country cohort to rise from the lowest
income quintile to the highest. Reason Science
Correspondent Ronald Bailey points out that that is true, but it’s
largely because people living in Denmark, France, and Germay have
much shorter income ladders to scale due to massive income
redistribution.
from Hit & Run http://ift.tt/1bIjw7o
via IFTTT
Not that Europe is lacking for economic basket cases, but Spain
has been an especially fascinating train wreck to watch, with the
unemployment rate hitting
27 percent last year. Official statistics are so dismal that
they could be expected to produce riots in the streets; that they
haven’t is evidence that, somehow, Spaniards are finding ways to
eat and pay the bills. If some sort of invisible economic activity
were not under way,
pointed out Victor Mallet and Guy Dinmore in a 2011 article in
the Financial Times, “Spain would not be as peaceful as,
barring a few demonstrations, it has so far been.” Now comes
confirmation from the country’s government that the people of Spain
have, in fact, retained their ability to work and create jobs and
wealth—by staying as far under the state’s radar as possible.
A new
report from Spain’s Finance Ministry reveals that the shadow
economy—underground activity that would be legal, if subject to the
usual tax and regulatory regime—has grown steadily every year from
2008 through 2012, the most recent year measured. In that time, the
shadow economy increased from 17.8 percent of official GDP to 24.6
percent.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a country troubled by state meddling
with the economy, the shadow economy is smallest in Madrid, the
seat of government, at 17.3 percent, and sharply larger in every
other region, hitting 31.1 percent in Extremadura.
And Spain’s economy is somewhat hobbled by government
interference. On the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, Spain ranks at
49, and 22nd out of 43 countries in Europe. “Its score is 0.8
point lower than last year due to declines in the management of
government spending, business freedom, and labor freedom that
outweigh small improvements in trade freedom and freedom from
corruption.”
For Spaniards looking to climb out of the country’s economic
doldrums, not only are taxes high, but “Incorporating a business
takes 10 procedures and about three weeks, but completing licensing
requirements takes over seven months and costs more than the level
of average annual income. Labor regulations remain largely
inflexible hindering job growth in the private sector.”
The country has actually improved its overall economic freedom
ranking a bit over the past 20 years, but unevenly and with decline
in recent years, even as the Euro crisis made life difficult.
As they grapple with the growth of the shadow economy, Spanish
officials, like officials everywhere, will have to deal with the
fact that underground activity can develop its own inertia as
people get accustomed to living that way.
Writes
economist Friedrich Schneider (PDF):
But even major tax reforms with major tax rate deductions will
not lead to a substantial decrease of the shadow economy. Such
reforms will only be able to stabilize the size of the shadow
economy and avoid a further increase. Social networks and personal
relationships, the high profit from irregular activities and
associated investments in real and human capital are strong ties
which prevent people from transferring to the official economy.
Having given people ample reason to hide their activities and
experience in doing just that, Spain’s government may have a tough
time getting those underground entrepreneurs back into the official
economy.
from Hit & Run http://ift.tt/1bIjvAl
via IFTTT
Not that Europe is lacking for economic basket cases, but Spain
has been an especially fascinating train wreck to watch, with the
unemployment rate hitting
27 percent last year. Official statistics are so dismal that
they could be expected to produce riots in the streets; that they
haven’t is evidence that, somehow, Spaniards are finding ways to
eat and pay the bills. If some sort of invisible economic activity
were not under way,
pointed out Victor Mallet and Guy Dinmore in a 2011 article in
the Financial Times, “Spain would not be as peaceful as,
barring a few demonstrations, it has so far been.” Now comes
confirmation from the country’s government that the people of Spain
have, in fact, retained their ability to work and create jobs and
wealth—by staying as far under the state’s radar as possible.
A new
report from Spain’s Finance Ministry reveals that the shadow
economy—underground activity that would be legal, if subject to the
usual tax and regulatory regime—has grown steadily every year from
2008 through 2012, the most recent year measured. In that time, the
shadow economy increased from 17.8 percent of official GDP to 24.6
percent.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a country troubled by state meddling
with the economy, the shadow economy is smallest in Madrid, the
seat of government, at 17.3 percent, and sharply larger in every
other region, hitting 31.1 percent in Extremadura.
And Spain’s economy is somewhat hobbled by government
interference. On the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, Spain ranks at
49, and 22nd out of 43 countries in Europe. “Its score is 0.8
point lower than last year due to declines in the management of
government spending, business freedom, and labor freedom that
outweigh small improvements in trade freedom and freedom from
corruption.”
For Spaniards looking to climb out of the country’s economic
doldrums, not only are taxes high, but “Incorporating a business
takes 10 procedures and about three weeks, but completing licensing
requirements takes over seven months and costs more than the level
of average annual income. Labor regulations remain largely
inflexible hindering job growth in the private sector.”
The country has actually improved its overall economic freedom
ranking a bit over the past 20 years, but unevenly and with decline
in recent years, even as the Euro crisis made life difficult.
As they grapple with the growth of the shadow economy, Spanish
officials, like officials everywhere, will have to deal with the
fact that underground activity can develop its own inertia as
people get accustomed to living that way.
Writes
economist Friedrich Schneider (PDF):
But even major tax reforms with major tax rate deductions will
not lead to a substantial decrease of the shadow economy. Such
reforms will only be able to stabilize the size of the shadow
economy and avoid a further increase. Social networks and personal
relationships, the high profit from irregular activities and
associated investments in real and human capital are strong ties
which prevent people from transferring to the official economy.
Having given people ample reason to hide their activities and
experience in doing just that, Spain’s government may have a tough
time getting those underground entrepreneurs back into the official
economy.
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via IFTTT
"Where's the bounce," asks (rhetorically) Bank of America's Macneil Curry, warning that despite the repeated signals that investor anxiety is at unsustainable levels and that this is a late stage "risk off" environment, given the blow off top conditions in several EM currencies, particularly $/TRY, and extreme readings in SPX volatility, with the VXV/VIX ratio recently breaking below 1, the S&P500 can't maintain a bid. "Risk assets are vulnerable," he concludes…
Via BofAML's Macneil Curry,
S&P500 key support at risk.
Despite the repeated signals that investor anxiety is at unsustainable levels and that this is a late stage "risk off" environment, given the blow off top conditions in several EM currencies, particularly $/TRY, and extreme readings in SPX volatility, with the VXV/VIX ratio recently breaking below 1, the S&P500 can't maintain a bid. Key support is vulnerable.
A break of 14m trendline support, now 1750/52 and risk markets are in big(ger) trouble.
Stay bullish US Treasuries
As such, we stay bullish Treasuries. US10yr yields target 2.544%/2.459%, potentially below. Meanwhile, 5s continue to stair step lower to 1.473%. This should be strong resistance, but a break below opens 1.245%/1.2245 (see charts for key support in 10s and 5s).
For risk assets to regain a more stable footing, ESH4 needs to regain 1790.75, with a move above 1801.25/1805.75 to confirm a base and turn higher.
Bullish the US $, but the Japanese ¥ is the fairest of all
With the risk off environment continuing the US $ and Japanese ¥ remain on strong footing. The €/$ setup remains bearish. Declines are impulsive and gains are corrective. We target the 200d (now 1.3377) ahead of 18m channel support at 1.3177. Watch the US $ Index. 7wk trendline resistance at 81.37 is fast approaching. Above here should provide further bullish momentum for the Greenback.
As much as we like the US $, we like the Japanese ¥ even more.
Indeed, $/¥ continues to roll over. Watch 14m trendline support at 102.00. Below here clears the way for the 200d (now 100.05) and eventually the summer/spring 2013 lows at 93.79/92.57.
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1frT9H6 Tyler Durden
"Where's the bounce," asks (rhetorically) Bank of America's Macneil Curry, warning that despite the repeated signals that investor anxiety is at unsustainable levels and that this is a late stage "risk off" environment, given the blow off top conditions in several EM currencies, particularly $/TRY, and extreme readings in SPX volatility, with the VXV/VIX ratio recently breaking below 1, the S&P500 can't maintain a bid. "Risk assets are vulnerable," he concludes…
Via BofAML's Macneil Curry,
S&P500 key support at risk.
Despite the repeated signals that investor anxiety is at unsustainable levels and that this is a late stage "risk off" environment, given the blow off top conditions in several EM currencies, particularly $/TRY, and extreme readings in SPX volatility, with the VXV/VIX ratio recently breaking below 1, the S&P500 can't maintain a bid. Key support is vulnerable.
A break of 14m trendline support, now 1750/52 and risk markets are in big(ger) trouble.
Stay bullish US Treasuries
As such, we stay bullish Treasuries. US10yr yields target 2.544%/2.459%, potentially below. Meanwhile, 5s continue to stair step lower to 1.473%. This should be strong resistance, but a break below opens 1.245%/1.2245 (see charts for key support in 10s and 5s).
For risk assets to regain a more stable footing, ESH4 needs to regain 1790.75, with a move above 1801.25/1805.75 to confirm a base and turn higher.
Bullish the US $, but the Japanese ¥ is the fairest of all
With the risk off environment continuing the US $ and Japanese ¥ remain on strong footing. The €/$ setup remains bearish. Declines are impulsive and gains are corrective. We target the 200d (now 1.3377) ahead of 18m channel support at 1.3177. Watch the US $ Index. 7wk trendline resistance at 81.37 is fast approaching. Above here should provide further bullish momentum for the Greenback.
As much as we like the US $, we like the Japanese ¥ even more.
Indeed, $/¥ continues to roll over. Watch 14m trendline support at 102.00. Below here clears the way for the 200d (now 100.05) and eventually the summer/spring 2013 lows at 93.79/92.57.
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1frT9H6 Tyler Durden