Economics and Such

This item deals with economics in a way that the government and mainstream media do not.  They prefer we not know or understand these things and their implications.  If time is limited please at least read the first four items, especially the third and fourth items.

This is a very good discussion regarding "so called" experts like the FED dealing with unemployment.  I found it to be an exceptionally good piece.  http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2015/04/09/mishs-core-unemployment-thesis-vs-bernankes-natural-unemployment-thesis-n1982473?

This is another excellent piece which discusses the shadow economy.  Well worth the read.  Quote: "There aren't many recent numbers estimating the size of the shadow economy but few economists doubt its strength. In April and May 2013 there was a flurry of articles after a study by Edgar Feige, an economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suggested that the shadow economy had doubled in size since 2009." http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/04/stiffing_the_tax_man_the_part_of_the_economy_that_has_grown_under_obama.html

Many of us do not really understand the hold banks have over "our" money.  As this item reveals our money, by law, when held by banks is really an "unsecured" loan from us to them.  In other words our money becomes their money.  Quote: "Court cases have upheld for decades that putting your money in savings, a CD, or other banking products means you've become an “unsecured creditor.” Your deposit is actually an unsecured loan to the bank with all the problems of counterparty risk! Instead of being presented with collateral, you get an IOU that pays a pittance in interest, or in many cases nothing. A busted bank doesn't have to return your principal deposits. Unlike when YOU are the borrower and THE BANK is the lender, the bank didn’t tender you a lawyered up promissory note or offer you a lien on its assets. Legally speaking, you may as well have handed your money to a stranger in the alley."  This is an example of how the government looks out for the banks and its own interests over our interests.    https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2015/04/15/fdic-plots-a-bank-heist-involving-your-accounts-000694?  Survival of the government and the nation's financial institutions in a severe economic disaster is far more important than the survival of  and well being of ordinary citizens.

This provides a picture of 102 years of federal taxation practices.  It is not pretty. Quote:  After federal income taxes were launched in 1913, Richard Byrd, then the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates foresaw what income taxes would become.  He said, "A hand from Washington will be stretched out and placed upon every man’s business; the eye of the Federal inspector will be in every man’s counting house. The law will of necessity have inquisitorial features, it will provide penalties, it will create complicated machinery. Under it men will be hailed into courts distant from their homes. Heavy fines imposed by distant and unfamiliar tribunals will constantly menace the tax payer. An army of Federal inspectors, spies and detectives will descend upon the state. Who of us who have had knowledge of the doings of the Federal officials in the Internal Revenue service can be blind to what will follow?"  Was he ever right!!!http://www.thedailysheeple.com/102-years-of-taxation-chart-shows-how-out-of-control-the-irs-has-gotten_042015?

This next item addresses the purposeful lies told the public about who pays how much in taxes.     http://townhall.com/columnists/donaldlambro/2015/04/17/obamas-big-lie-that-wealthy-americans-arent-paying-their-fair-share-in-taxes-is-exposed-n1986412/page/full  

More about the unemployment situation. The author cites five items that contribute to the jobs situation and says "These may seem like old-fashioned and even outmoded ideas. But the decline in work among the young bodes ill for the future. Many European nations have removed the young from the workforce and the repercussion appears to be lower lifetime earnings. A renewed focus on working would also help erode the entitlement mentality ingrained in so many millennials. Instead of more benefits and handouts, this generation needs to get a job."  http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/06/with-unemployment-still-high-why-are-so-many-employers-unable-to-fill-jobs/?

This study suggests that as many as 300000 jobs could be lost because of new EPA regulations to be issued this summer. Quote: "Combating climate change has been a priority of the Obama administration, and there’s a new regulation to be released this summer that outlines significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It aims to cut them by nearly 30 percent between 2025-2030. Based on the calculations by American Action Forum (AAF), this new regulation would force one-fifth of coal plants to close at an initial cost of 80,000 jobs. Yet, AAF also noted "secondary employment impacts," which could soar to nearly 300,000 jobs lost, which is roughly the population if Cincinnati."  http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2015/04/16/epa-puts-nearly-300000-jobs-on-the-chopping-block-n1986274?

The Export-Import Bank is a taxpayer funded bank that provides big subsidies to foreign firms as well as US firms.  It is a source of crony capitalism and has long since lost its usefulness.  It needs to be eliminated.  Urge congress to defund the bank and end its existence.  Details here. "“I don’t think that what people realize is that concretely, independently of the validity of these claims—whether jobs are really created—I don’t think that they realize that the real way Ex-Im operates is by giving such an edge to foreign companies that then end up competing on U.S. soil, or even in the global market,” she said. “It’s the always, never-ending unfairness of government redistribution.”   http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/13/bank-rolled-how-foreign-airlines-win-big-with-government-subsidies-and-u-s-taxpayer-backed-loans/?   Bribery in the Export-Import Bank.  Employee indicted.  http://www.responseaction.com/Article/bribes-export-import-bank

Is keeping our earned income un-American?  The government thinks so and believes it owns our income and that any of it we can keep is a benevolent handout to us. http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2015/04/20/in-the-lefts-orwellian-world-taxpayers-who-get-to-keep-their-income-are-getting-handouts-n1987508/page/full

George Burns