“Sen. Ted Cruz: “The
Obama economic agenda has exacerbated income inequality” is the
latest from Reason TV. Watch above or click the link below for full
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Tag: news
Video-Sen. Ted Cruz: "The Obama economic agenda has exacerbated income inequality"
“Sen. Ted Cruz: “The
Obama economic agenda has exacerbated income inequality” is the
latest from Reason TV. Watch above or click the link below for full
text, links, and more.
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via IFTTT
The REAL State of the Union in just 889 words…
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, fellow citizens:
This summer we will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I.
This senseless, destructive war was started and championed by politicians who cared nothing for the 9 million people who lost their lives.
And in doing so, they began a century of warfare which continues to this day.
Our military industrial complex is larger than ever. We have nearly 2 million troops and national guardsmen, plus 3.5 million civilians employed in the defense sector.
With such awesome capabilities, we continue to resort to violence and death to exact political goals which benefit a tiny elite.
All of this has created a police state in the Land of the Free that is a far cry from the country we all grew up in.
Your government has spawned a culture of fear and intimidation. Nearly every federal agency, including the Fish and Wildlife Service, has its own gun-toting police force to pistol-whip citizens into submission.
And we’re stocking up. Your government has recently procured 1.6 BILLION rounds of hollow-point ammunition to supplement our existing supplies.
But frankly, we don’t need guns to harass citizens.
Our tax authorities have become more threatening than mafia warlords. The plunder is so severe that record numbers of Americans are renouncing their citizenship and leaving the country.
There are now dozens of federal, state, and local agencies and courts which have the power to confiscate your assets without any due process.
In addition to your house, your business, and your savings, we also have the authority to take your children away from you as if they are property of the state.
We are here to tell you what you can and cannot put in your own body, or whether you can collect rainwater that falls on own property.
In fact, on any given business day, the federal government issues hundreds of pages of new ‘rules’, proposed regulations, draft bills, executive orders, and/or regulatory notices.
And if you are not compliant with these rules, you may be committing a crime. Whether you know it or not.
When this nation was founded, there were four federal crimes on the books. Today there are THOUSANDS. Plus we have millions of government employees at all levels to enforce the penalties.
All of this, of course, is financed by you the tax slave.
You (plus unborn generations) are the poor suckers charged with paying off the national debt we politicians have created.
Officially the debt is just north of $17 trillion. But if you include Social Security and pension shortfalls, the figure is several times higher.
You’ll never know for sure because we have become masters of deceit regarding official statistics, whether inflation, unemployment, or our liabilities.
But the situation is so dire that the Congressional Budget Office projects the Social Security Administration’s disability insurance trust fund to RUN OUT by 2017.
We get by year after year by increasing the debt. And at well over 100% of GDP, we have truly reached the point of no return.
We are now in a position where we must default. Either we must default on our national debt, or we must default on our obligations to you the citizens.
We may end up stealing your savings. Robbing your Social Security. Taxing you to death. Or simply inflating away the value of our debt.
Naturally, we’re going to screw you in the process somehow… so be prepared for that. Especially the inflationary tidal wave that’s coming.
Our central bank has expanded its balance sheet at an unprecedented pace, creating massive asset bubbles in its wake. These asset bubbles have disproportionately benefited the ultra-wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
Such wanton money printing has also been tremendously destructive to our credibility. Other nations worry about our reckless irresponsibility. That’s why we keep spying on them.
Make no mistake: the consequences of our actions are here. And the days of the United States as the world’s dominant superpower are finished.
As the decline hastens, we will struggle to sell our debt to the world and to ship our dollars abroad. Fewer nations will be interested in our empty promises.
And without the generosity of other nations loaning us money at record low interest rates that fail to keep pace with inflation, you will really be screwed.
When this happens, you can absolutely count on us to clamp down even harder on the economy and control even more of your lives. For your own good, of course.
No, this may not be the country that you all grew up in. But it is the state of our union… whatever remains of it.
And so my fellow Americans, I urge you to grab your ankles and get ready for a little ‘shared sacrifice’.
But don’t worry about me, or my senior staff. We will leave government with cushy pensions, $750,000 speaking fees, board seats on public companies, and top positions in the industries that we have accommodated at your expense.
And of course I will be paid handsomely for the arrogant memoirs I will write in which I deny any responsibility for the shit I’ve gotten you all into.
So when I say “shared sacrifice”, I really mean “your sacrifice”.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless these United States of America.
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JPM Sees 28% Withdrawal From Gold Vault In One Day As Another 10 Tons Depart
On Friday, when we remarked on the biggest recorded withdrawal from the JPM gold vault, we said: “Something tells us the next few days will see matching withdrawals from JPM’s gold vault, which at last check was officially owned by the Chinese.” As it turns out we were absolutely correct: according to the just released update from Comex, on Monday the infamous gold vault located below 1 C(hina)MP saw an identical withdrawal of 321,500 ounces, matching the record withdrawal, and amounting to 28% of all JPM gold in storage. Adding to Friday’s drop, this means that a record 47% of JPM’s gold has been withdrawan in a few short days: a trend we are certain will continue until the total holdings of the vault drop to new record lows.
This withdrawal means total JPM gold slides from 1.128 million ounces to 816,027 ounces, down from 1.459 million ounces a week ago.
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1crkuJk Tyler Durden
Kristallnacht on Wall Street? Bull!
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We have all heard what might be termed baloney, codswallop, tripe, bull. Call it what you will, it all boils down to the same old thing, especially when its intention is to deceive the public. Thomas Perkins is the latest perpetrator, when he writes in an open letter to the Wall Street Journal (oh! How they must have rubbed their hands together with glee when then they received that letter on the editorial board) that the second Kristallnacht is just around the corner. Fear not, Thomas Perkins, your windows are too heavily guarded for them to be broken by anyone.
The letter reads as follows:
“Regarding your editorial “Censors on Campus” (Jan. 18): Writing from the epicenter of progressive thought, San Francisco, I would call attention to the parallels of fascist Nazi Germany to its war on its “one percent,” namely its Jews, to the progressive war on the American one percent, namely the “rich.”
From the Occupy movement to the demonization of the rich embedded in virtually every word of our local newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, I perceive a rising tide of hatred of the successful one percent. There is outraged public reaction to the Google buses carrying technology workers from the city to the peninsula high-tech companies which employ them. We have outrage over the rising real-estate prices which these “techno geeks” can pay. We have, for example, libelous and cruel attacks in the Chronicle on our number-one celebrity, the author Danielle Steel, alleging that she is a “snob” despite the millions she has spent on our city’s homeless and mentally ill over the past decades.
This is a very dangerous drift in our American thinking. Kristallnacht was unthinkable in 1930; is its descendent “progressive” radicalism unthinkable now?
Tom Perkins”
Firstly, I am not certain that San Francisco can be classed as the very epicenter of progressive thought and just because Mr. Perkins is writing from there doesn’t mean that every Tom, Dick or Harry that churns something out gets to stick the label on his lapel. Secondly, the ‘rich’ are not a group of people that are a culture, a cultural group that can be classified anthropologically and certainly not the 1%.
The founder of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers should re-read his history books. Being part of the 1% isn’t a religion and isn’t a belief. It isn’t anything to do with credence or anything of that nature. It has everything to do with culture what the 1%-ers are and what they stand for in a society that has effectively had enough of the masses slaving away while the few get the benefits. Comparing the 1%-ers to the Final Solution and Kristallnacht has nothing in common except the fact that the author has probably fallen on his head. The parallels are nothing more than a litany of historical ineptitude that smacks of marketing-media spin doctoring at its worst.
The ‘rising high tide of hatred’ of which you speak Mr. Perkins should be understood in another way. It’s nothing to do with hatred. It’s everything to do with the belief that working for your entire life deserves more than just having your house repossessed and losing your job in an economy that has gone AWOL on itself. Working for your entire life merits a great deal more than the Federal Reserve pumping $85 billion a month into the banking system and seeing nothing come your way. It has nothing to do with ‘hatred’; perhaps Mr. Perkins is guilty of anthropophobia. Hell is not the other people!
Thomas Perkins may be a venture capitalist, but he certainly needs to revise his classics. Start calling the state a fascist and your whole argument that Barack Obama is a loonie-tune comedian with a tinge of Communism sprouting from under his arms just falls to pieces. It’s not possible to have it both ways, is it?
When will people start realizing that it’s okay to be rich, that we have nothing against making money and showing that the American Dream didn’t die as soon as you turned the last page of the Norman Mailer novel (it was only ever on paper for most Americans, even though it was sold lock, stock and barrel to the rest of the world)? Meritocracy is great. But, what people are against these days is the corruption, the state that takes everything through taxation and the masses working for the few and getting none of the benefits.
Originally posted: Kristallnacht on Wall Street? Bull!
You might also enjoy: China’s Credit Crunch | Working for the Few | USA:The Land of the Not-So-Free
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1hK0Ubp Pivotfarm
Dow Breaks Losing Streak As Bad-News Is Good-News Once Again
"Most shorted" stocks rallied their most in 10 weeks. Despite AAPL's tumble (and Seagate), the NASDAQ ended the day green along with the rest of the major US indices as the Dow broke its 5-day losing streak. Stocks in general recovered from the pre-Taper levels but remain notably down on the year. Most of the day's gains occurred in the first hour of the day as "most shorted" names were ripped higher (+1.8% vs the market's +0.75% at 11ET) which helped the Trannies outperform. The USD oscillated once again but ended practically unchanged (on the day and week) as AUD strengthens and JPY weakens providing just enough support to hold stocks higher. The USD stability was entirely missing from commodities which cracked around teh durable goods data with oil surging and bullion bulls purging. Treasuries were mixed but practically unchanged (despite some notable volatility around the Dur Goods data) with very modest steepening. VIX dropped 1.6vols to 15.8% – its biggest drop in 6 weeks.
This was a squeeze day… "most shorted" stocks rallied by thei rmst in 10 weeks…
This is only the 4th day in thelast 4 weeks when all the major indices are green together… as the Fed hope for tomorrow remains… The short squeeze this morning lifted everything (led by Trannies) then once Europe closed we trod water..
Stocks remain notably weak on the year…
Treasuries rallied instantly onthe weak durable goods data; fade dback during day and leaked stronger nto the close…
Commodities were cracked around the durable goods data…
Charts: Bloomberg
Bonus Chart: AAPL dead cat bounce…??
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1hK0TUY Tyler Durden
L’Etat, C’Est Barry; House GOP Plans Immigration Proposals; New Jersey Starts To Sour on Christie: P.M. Links
Not that there were any doubts
about the current White House denizen’s love of the power of the
office, but President Obama reportedly plans to
announce executive orders hiking the minimum wage for federal
contract workers, and taking some sort of action on job training
and retirement, in an effort to bypass Congress. Memento mori,
Barry.- House Republican leaders say they’ll
put forward their immigration reform proposals, this week. You
probably shouldn’t hold your breath awaiting passage. - Chris Christie just may have found the limits of what even New
Jersey voters will tolerate. While he still polls 48 percent
approval,
that’s down 14 points from October. - The U.S. says it doesn’t want to release Guantanamo detainee
Abdel Malik al-Rahabi, who has never been prosecuted in his 12
years on ice, because he
could rejoin al Qaeda if released. Well…He could do
a lot of things… - Hillary Clinton has the
best wishes of 57 Democratic lawmakers if/when she announces a
run for the White House. Yay. - India’s Supreme Court
won’t revisit a ruling that recriminalized homosexuality under
a colonial-era law. - The Pentagon is
reviewing very generous pension hikes that have some
high-ranking retirees taking in more than they made on the
job,
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L'Etat, C'Est Barry; House GOP Plans Immigration Proposals; New Jersey Starts To Sour on Christie: P.M. Links
about the current White House denizen’s love of the power of the
office, but President Obama reportedly plans to
announce executive orders hiking the minimum wage for federal
contract workers, and taking some sort of action on job training
and retirement, in an effort to bypass Congress. Memento mori,
Barry.- House Republican leaders say they’ll
put forward their immigration reform proposals, this week. You
probably shouldn’t hold your breath awaiting passage. - Chris Christie just may have found the limits of what even New
Jersey voters will tolerate. While he still polls 48 percent
approval,
that’s down 14 points from October. - The U.S. says it doesn’t want to release Guantanamo detainee
Abdel Malik al-Rahabi, who has never been prosecuted in his 12
years on ice, because he
could rejoin al Qaeda if released. Well…He could do
a lot of things… - Hillary Clinton has the
best wishes of 57 Democratic lawmakers if/when she announces a
run for the White House. Yay. - India’s Supreme Court
won’t revisit a ruling that recriminalized homosexuality under
a colonial-era law. - The Pentagon is
reviewing very generous pension hikes that have some
high-ranking retirees taking in more than they made on the
job,
Follow Reason and Reason 24/7 on
Twitter, and like us on Facebook. You
can also get the top stories mailed to
you—sign
up here.
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Shikha Dalmia on One Tough Nerd’s Bailout Plan for Detroit
After swearing that there would be no bailout for
Detroit, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, aka One Tough Nerd,
announced, guess what last week? A bailout!
It doesn’t sound like a lot – only about $17 million every year
for 20 years – about a third of the annual subsidies that fat-cat
Hollywood producers receive from the state currently. The
money will be given to the Detroit Institute of Arts to give to
Detroit’s pensioners, saving both.
But Shikha Dalmia explains here what’s wrong with this
too-clever-by-half scheme.
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Shikha Dalmia on One Tough Nerd's Bailout Plan for Detroit
After swearing that there would be no bailout for
Detroit, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, aka One Tough Nerd,
announced, guess what last week? A bailout!
It doesn’t sound like a lot – only about $17 million every year
for 20 years – about a third of the annual subsidies that fat-cat
Hollywood producers receive from the state currently. The
money will be given to the Detroit Institute of Arts to give to
Detroit’s pensioners, saving both.
But Shikha Dalmia explains here what’s wrong with this
too-clever-by-half scheme.
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