July 2011

Selling Out America

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kabukitheater.jpb_.jpegAs you know by now, the jobs crisis reality exploded Friday with only 18,000 jobs created for June and an even lower labor participation rate implying more people are falling out of the labor force count entirely.

While economists scream from the rooftops for policy to put America back to work, we have more debt ceiling games and calls for policy that will lose even more jobs.

The latest is Obama, as part of some debt ceiling negotiation offered to raise the age for Medicare. I kid you not.

According to five separate sources with knowledge of negotiations -- including both Republicans and Democrats -- the president offered an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare, from 65 to 67, in exchange for Republican movement on increasing tax revenues.

China Trade Surplus $22.3 billion in June

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China's trade surplus ballooned:

Exports hit a record high of $162 billion in June, while imports for the month were $139.7 billion. That left the country with a trade surplus of $22.3 billion in June, compared with $13.1 billion in May.

What is more frightening is how Reuters words their report. Because China once again dominates trade with exports, Reuters tries to claim their economy is softening. This is because China's imports were way below expectations, but imports do not imply weak China domestic consumer demand. Why? Unlike the U.S., Consumer spending is only about 35% of China's GDP. They save and invest, not spend money buying imports.

Therefore, a slowing of imports does not mean China's economy is slowing as it would the United States, if anyone bothered to read the basic GDP equation. China's GDP was 9.7% in Q1 2011.

Obama Touts Corporate Lobbyist Wish List Items as "Jobs" Program

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corporate states of AmericaWho all is sick to death of politicians claiming some policy will create jobs when in fact it will destroy them? Such is the outrage from Obama's reaction to the pathetic jobs report.

Obama touted the South Korean Free Trade Agreement as an answer to the jobs crisis. KORUS is projected to lose 159,000 U.S. jobs over 7 years. For Columbia, a loss of 55,000 jobs is projected.

What was the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results? The South Korean Trade Agreement is based on the same failed model as NAFTA. The South Korean Trade Agreement is projected to increase the trade deficit in auto and parts alone by $700 million. Why would one bail out the auto industry only to enable unfair imports of Korean autos?

Panama is a tax haven with over 400,000 corporations located there to avoid paying taxes. If that trade deal goes through what meager U.S. tax haven laws we have now will be challenged. How's that for balancing the budget deficit?

Even Ben Bernanke has shown how currency manipulation is going on unabated and as a result these emerging economies, such as South Korea, are unfairly increasing their exports.

Dow Jones-Wall Street Journal Head Drawn Into Murdoch UK Phone Jacking Scandal

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Les Hinton is the chief executive of Dow Jones and the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, the most prestigious and valued media holdings of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation media empire. Hinton is implicated as a key player in at least the cover up of illegal break-ins involving hundreds of voice mail accounts belonging to news worthy British citizens high and low. Hinton was chairman of News International, the parent company of Murdoch's London tabloids and newspapers (including the Times of London), at the time of the illegal activities and police investigations. (Image)

What Happened Under Hinton's Reign?

The UK phone jacking scandal started in 2007 when news broke that the News of the World, London's leading tabloid, had been breaking into to voice mail accounts of prominent British citizens: 
UPDATE  July 15  Dow Jones CEO - Wall Street Journal Publisher Les Hinton Resigns - CBS News, July 15
 
 

Screwing America Under the Cover of Deficit Reductions

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The validity of the public debt of the United States... shall not be questioned

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Except when one wants to screw over Americans by cutting social safety nets under the guise of a debt ceiling crisis.

After Congress and the Obama administration ranted and raved for months and under the cover of non-stories like Casey Anthony, we have Obama is putting social security, medicare and social safety nets up on the faux pas debt ceiling negotiation block, to be cut and slashed.

After putting controversial cuts to Social Security and Medicare on the table in negotiations with congressional Republicans over a plan to raise the nation's debt ceiling, President Obama still doesn't have a deal in the works. Emerging from a meeting with congressional leaders on Thursday, Obama said that both sides in the negotiations would find the ultimate outcome "painful." He also explained that the two sides had not yet arrived at an accord, but would reconvene talks on Sunday.

"I want to emphasize that nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to," Obama said, adding that the talks were conducted "in a spirit of compromise" but that the parties "are still far apart on a wide range of issues."

ADP Employment Report 157,000 Private Sector Jobs for June 2011

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ADP, a private organization, released their private payrolls jobs report. This month ADP is reporting a gain of 157,000 private sector jobs in June 2011. May was revised down to 36,000. Below are the reported private sector jobs from ADP. This report does not include government, or public jobs.

 

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