Monthly Archives: May 2016

May 9 2016

The Subsidized Education & Health Care Disaster


Armstrong Economics Blog

Re-Posted May 7, 2016 by Martin Armstrong

Education-Healthcare-Subsidization

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; What do you think about Bernie Sanders saying education should be free? Is this socialism or doable?

ANSWER:The two areas that constantly rise in price are education and health care. Both are a total disaster because the government subsidizes them.

Bernie’s idea of free education sounds nice. However, it will fail and constitutes Marxist socialism if it simply seeks to pay the educators and institutions their current price, as that would bankrupt the state completely. The idea is admirable. The only way to accomplish this is NOT to subsidize the current system. You must eliminate what the Clinton’s did to students and restore their right to file bankruptcy. Give them the right to sue a university if they cannot find employment with the degree they went to school for.

You have state-run universities. To inject competition, decree that whatever a parent or student pays for their education is tax-deductible from all taxation from Federal to local. If the educators must compete against the rest of government for their share of the taxes,costs will be kept in line.

Look at health care. In the 1980s, our company provided full health care to employees and their families. The cost was typically well under $2,000 annually. Obamacare made health care costs much higher. Whatever they name an act, the result is the opposite.

It sounds nice to provide people with free education, but that subsidizes the industry and eliminates the checks and balances needed to ensure it is in sync with the business cycle. It is insane that the only two industries that constantly rise in price against the trend are education and health care.

May 9 2016

Can You be Forced to Incriminate Yourself With Your Phone of Computer?


Armstrong Economics Blog

Re-Posted May 7, 2016 by Martin Armstrong

Apple Cell Fingerprint

The government is dancing between the raindrops. The 5th Amendment states that you cannot be compelled to testify against yourself. You have the right to remain silent. So how do they get around this? In my case, I personally was not held in contempt since that would have violated my constitutional right. Instead, the corporate officer was held in contempt, and since a corporation is not a person that right did not apply.

The bad news is that the government has held that anyone under investigation must submit a DNA sample, which they can then use to trace you or any member of your family who is suspected of a crime. Even worse is what courts have done with this regarding telephones. If you use a fingerprint scanner as a security feature on your computer or cell phone, they can trace it and throw you in prison until you do as the court demands because they regard any biological evidence as an exception. In other words, you are not being forced to testify against yourself. They are taking bodily evidence to find you guilty.

Now that measure may be acceptable in extreme cases such as rape. However, the government is simply using this to go after money. They need not even know that anything is on your phone. The mere fact that there might be evidence is sufficient to imprison you for life, without a trial, under civil contempt. Courts can and do order people to unlock their phones with their fingerprint. Providing a password is different from providing a fingerprint. So you might want to forget biotechnology for security. The legal implications are far different from a password.

May 9 2016

Congressional Elections for 2016


Armstrong Economics Blog

Re-Posted May 7, 2016 by Martin Armstrong

Congress - 2016

While the media focuses on the U.S. presidential election, the real power is dangling in Congress. The 2018 election will be far more important as there is a risk of Independents sweeping into Congress at that time. For now, there is a total of 469 seats in the U.S. Congress (34 Senate seats and 435 House seats) that are up for election on November 8, 2016.

John McCain is already concerned that he may lose his seat because he has come out in favor of Trump. Actually, I say good riddance. McCain voted to impose taxes on internet commerce. When asked why he supported raising taxes, he replied that he was not voting to raise taxes, rather he was simply voting to collect taxes that should be collected. McCain is a hypocrite. There is no country he would not invade, including Canada.

The big story of the 2016 election cycle will be in Congress. The congressional election cycle will determine whether the Democratic Party will be able to regain control of the Senate. In order to take that chamber back, the Democrats will need to gain five seats in 2016. That may not sound like a lot, but it could be very difficult. Republican incumbents, not Democrats, hold the majority of the vulnerable seats. Consequently, Democrats only have 10 seats to defend in 2016, while 24 Republican incumbents are up for re-election. There is a shot that the Democrats could accomplish a victory.

US Senate 1855-2015

The Democrats have been in a bearish trend since the Great Depression and have been making lower lows. Nonetheless, independents are turning up. The success of Bernie and Trump shows that the public is in a foul mood. As we begin to get closer to the elections, this should begin to flesh out, especially in August. We have to be concerned that August is often a time of civil unrest/war. So, we may begin to see activity rise at that time prior to the elections.

Son leaves Mon's Basement

You do have a young (and over-the-hill) socialist movement against Trump. They actually claim this is some new form of socialism where you can give them more without robbing the rich. Very strange. They are throwing words around that Trump is a racist as they are doing in Britain against Nigel Farage. They are completely ignorant since “Muslim” is a religion and not a race. The benefit of being young is you can also be stupid.

May 6 2016

STORM CLOUDS ARE FORMING . . .


I agree there isn’t much time time before all hell breaks loose.

May 6 2016

Donald Trump Is The Nominee But Every State Needs To Keep Voting…


Keep in mind that Trump still needs to wing the primaries in enough states to actually go over 1237. The citizens still need to vote for him so pulling out could also be a diversion to get to a contested convention!

May 6 2016

Gov’t Is Incapable of Managing Anything – The Electric Crisis in Europe


Armstrong Economics Blog

Re-Posted May 5, 2016 by Martin Armstrong

Electric Cars

Part of the global warming/climate change deals, many people do not realize that in Europe there will be no more gasoline and diesel cars on the streets come 2020. From Norway to India the year 2020 will mark the end of petrol or diesel vehicles. This is part of the long-term bear market in energy. Germany wants to bring at least million electric vehicles on the roads. However, this energy policy presents a crisis. They never realized that to prevent cars from using oil based energy, they have to get ready for a 25%-30% increase in power consumption. Shutting down nuclear power plants means you are transferring one pollution source for another.  Meanwhile, Germany was to shut down all nuclear power by 2022. Nobody seems to have figured out the coordination of these two trends.

May 5 2016

Tripwire Alert – Arrogant Speaker Paul Ryan Refuses To Support Donald Trump…


We know from the past six years that the GOPe/RNC wants the same things as do the progressives and the DNC so Trump can expect no cooperation in making any changes to existing programs. In my opinion he will need to start a media campaign no later than March or April 2017 to get the people to put pressure on the congress to make the changes they want so he can sign them.

May 5 2016

Sharia and Kafirs


Sharia law is the most important part of Islamic doctrine. Sharia is Islam; Islam is Sharia. Sharia includes law, but it also includes how to raise a family, theology, philosophy and every aspect of daily living. Sharia law includes pronouncements for both Muslims and non-Muslims (Kafirs). Sharia is a manual for a civilization.

Sharia does not allow free speech. It is forbidden to make a joke about Mohammed. Blasphemy is forbidden. The US is following Sharia when it allows the UN to determine that Muslim refugees come to America and not Christians.

We have Sharia compliant textbooks now in Tennessee. We hesitate to anger Muslims or criticize Islam. In Europe Islamic rape is accepted behavior.

Sharia says that our Constitution is manmade and a product of ignorance. Sharia is Allah’s law and must replace all other governments. Countries that adhere to all of Sharia are Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen. Most Islamic nations do not apply all of the Sharia, but it is there when more stringent laws are wanted.

All Kafirs are involved in the Sharia; it is just a matter of how much. We should recognize it and resist its expansion in our civilization.

May 5 2016

Euro Collapsing thanks to Another Brain-Dead EU Proposal


Armstrong Economics Blog

Re-Posted May 5, 2016 by Martin Armstrong

Merkel-Forcing Refugees

Merkel’s failed refugee policy is destroying the fabric of Europe and raising international concerns that Europeans may need visa’s because she has introduce the prospect of ISIS using Europe as a stepping to get into the USA. Now, Merkel’s policy is to force other countries to take refugees. The European Commission now wants to compel European member states to accept  refugees by imposing a fine of 250,000 euros per applicant they deny. Instead of admitting a huge mistake, they are creating a mandatory option that will only bring in more people. Merkel’s policy is tearing Europe apart at the seams. Instead of dealing with the issue directly and publicly stating ALL refugees will be turned away, the crisis only get worse. About 80% are not even refugees from Syria. These are people migrating to Euro from northern Africa and other places using this as the great way to the promised land. The euro has been collapsing as a result of this new brain-dead idea where politicians REFUSE to every admit a mistake. They take their countries down in the process. Friends in London are starting to say if Britain does not exit the EU, they will migrate to the USA. This is becoming completely an insane Brussel’s policy and the member states who do not get out are out of their mind. The economic union has become a political union with dictatorial powers from Brussels as the Troika never even stand for election so there is no way to vote the people out of power.

May 5 2016

How Ugly Will This Get? – Many 2016 Voters Don’t Know About Team Clinton Destroying White House…


The Clinton’s have taken a lot of money around the world and for that money they are expected to produce results for those donner’s. Further those said donner’s would not be happy if their money had no return if Clinton lost; so we can expect this campaign to be the dirtiest one ever seen. The Republican primary was just the warm up to what is coming.