Tag Archives: Central Planning

Aug 9 2017

North Korea – Beware August 2017


Armstrong Economic Blog/War

Re-Posted Aug 9, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

I have warned in the Cycle of War reports that for whatever reason, August is always the number one period where war tends to begin. Indeed, the world is holding its breath as fears rise with the crisis over North Korea potentially escalating in to global war after Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un made threats to trade missile strikes. The two key dates on our war model with North Korea to watch are August 12/13, 2017 and September 11/12, 2017. We must be on guard for these are the prime periods where a confrontation could emerge.

Pyongyang’s volatile dictator Kim Jong-un has warned he was ‘carefully examining‘ plans to make ‘an enveloping fire’ around the US island of Guam which is home to about 163,000 people and an important American military base. He made these comments following Donald Trump’s apocalyptic warning that North Korea faces ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen‘ over its nuclear program.

The US then released images of supersonic bombers flying over the Korean peninsula.Then Kim Jong-un said the training mission ‘proves that the U.S. imperialists are nuclear war maniacs‘. Kim, loves to boast that his intercontinental rockets can reach the west coast of America declaring that the US would ‘pay dearly‘ for UN sanctions it successfully imposed with the support for the first time of China and Russia.  In fact, Trump has managed to do what no president has done before – get the cooperation of both China and Russia. Nixon opened the door to China as a counter-measure against Russia – the old divide and conquer tactic. But Trump has pulled off a real politic coup globally despite CNN and Congress.

Beijing has joined Trump and staged ‘large-scale‘ military exercises with dozens of  warships, fighter jets and submarines adjacent to the Korean Peninsula on Monday. They have also moved 150,000 troops to its border with North Korea. Meanwhile, Russia moved military equipment including helicopters and combat vehicles to its southern frontier with North Korea. Putin has displayed its own massive military strength at a war games event in Siberia with a huge Navy Day parade in Vladivostok – about 100 miles from North Korean territory.

So why are these two dates coming up on our computer? The division of Korea between North and South Korea was the result of the allied victory in World War II in 1945, ending the Empire of Japan’s 35-year rule of Korea. The United States and the Soviet Union occupied the country, with the boundary between their zones of control along the 38th parallel. The United States supported the South, and the Soviet Union supported the North, and each government claimed sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula. American troops occupy southern Korea, while the Soviet Union occupies the north, with the dividing line being the 38th parallel of latitude, which was established on September 8th, 1945 (1945,68). This arrangement proves to be the indirect beginning of a divided Korea which will lead to the Korean War in 1950.

The Korean War (1950–1953) left the two Koreas separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the later part of the Cold War and beyond. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 deprived North Korea of its main source of economic aid. Without Soviet aid, North Korea’s economy went into an economic free-fall in 1992 pretty much in line with the Economic Confidence Model calculated from the birth of the 38th Parallel.

 

At our Hong Kong WEC I went through the markets are illustrated that August would be the key turning point. The computer need not comprehend the fundamentals. It interlaces everything globally to product the result for turning points. This is just a time we need to be on guard about market reactions. (see private Blog Post later today)

Aug 9 2017

North Korea & Pushing the Button


Armstrong Economics Blog/War

Re-Posted Aug 9, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The United States for the first time in a very long time, won a major victory in the United Nations.  The Security Counsel unanimously approved sanctions against North Korea. Typically, Russia and China have opposed to such sanctions in the past. This is demonstrating that the North Korean problem is serious. Despite all the doom and gloom about nuclear war, China and Russia have no interest in actually pushing the button.

Some think that winning the sanctions at the U.N. removes the possibility of some kind of US attack on North Korea in the near future.  This is wishful thinking for as always, the sanction will NEVER work. The whole idea is you punish the people and they will rise up and overthrow the government. That failed with Russia and all sanctions have ever done is stiffen the opposition. If any such political leader yielded because of sanctions, he would be seen as ineffective and weak. That would open the door to them losing power. It is no different than the Democrats admitting that Obamacare raised the cost of healthcare for everyone. No matter what the issue, politicians will NEVER admit they made a mistake.

Aug 8 2017

Mitch McConnell Complains President Trump Has “excessive expectations” of Republican Congress (video)…


Re-Posted from The conservative Tree House on August 8, 2017 by

During a Monday Rotary Club meeting in Kentucky senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took questions from audience members who asked McConnell to explain why Republican lawmakers have been unable to deliver major legislative accomplishments for the president.

Senator McConnell responded by saying President Trump’s expectations are too high.

“I’d ask for a show of hands, but I know everybody’s saying, ‘been there, haven’t done anything,’ which I find extremely irritating — and I’m going to tell you why. A Congress goes on for two years. Part of the reason I think that the storyline is that we haven’t done much is because, in part, the president and others have set these early timelines about things need to be done by a certain point.”

“Our new president, of course, has not been in this line of work before, and I think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the Democratic process.”

Fortunately, this ridiculously elitist and arrogant establishment tone will likely not play well. This, along with a host of other ridiculous comments and realities could doom Luther Strange in the upcoming Alabama special election. Luther Strange is the loyal Decepticon favorite of Mitch McConnell and Karl Rove.  Mo Brooks and Roy Moore are more aligned with President Trump.

Aug 8 2017

Red Dragon Plays Panda: China States It Will Enforce U.N. Resolutions Against North Korea….


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on August 7, 2017 by

We’ll see.  The red dragon has a tendency to say one thing publicly and manipulate another thing privately.  However, the baseline for China to take the role of Big Panda is the reception of Secretary Rex Tillerson’s “Four No” remarks on North Korea during his State Department briefing.

TILLERSON”S FOUR NO’S: The United States does not seek •regime change, •the collapse of the regime, •an accelerated reunification of the peninsula or •an excuse to send the U.S. military into North Korea.

So long as the ‘four-no’s’ remain visible and discussed in the international dialogue, the options for China are to comply or to be called out as a deceiving enabler.  The economic consequences for China to break the sanctions are looming and severely consequential.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will pay the biggest price from the new United Nations sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic relationship with the country, but will always enforce the resolutions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday that could slash its $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.

Speaking at a regional security forum in Manila on Monday, Wang said the new resolution showed China and the international community’s opposition to North Korea’s continued missile tests, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Owing to China’s traditional economic ties with North Korea, it will mainly be China paying the price for implementing the resolution,” the statement cited Wang as saying.

“But in order to protect the international non-proliferation system and regional peace and stability, China will as before fully and strictly properly implement the entire contents of the relevant resolution.”

China has repeatedly said it is committed to enforcing increasingly tough U.N. resolutions on North Korea, though it has also said what it terms “normal” trade and ordinary North Koreans should not be affected.

The latest U.N. resolution bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the numbers of North Korean laborers currently working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures.

Wang said that apart from the new sanctions, the resolution also made clear that the six party talks process, a stalled dialogue mechanism with North Korea that also includes Russia and Japan, should be restarted.

That was promise that all Security Council members made, including China, Russia and the United States, and which ought to be carried out, Wang added. (read more)

Aug 8 2017

California Voter Fraud – 11 Counties Posted Votes in Excess of their Population


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Aug 8, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Judicial Watch has filed a letter of intent that reflects a very serious problem in California voting. Eleven California counties posted more votes for Hillary than the population. We are looking at massive voter fraud in California that could serious rock the nation when we consider that if we eliminate California, Trump won the majority of the vote everywhere else. This is not about supporting Trump. That is long since done. This is about going forward. Can any election be trusted any more?

If we can buy goods online in a secure manner, we can also vote on line. Even those who do not have a computer posses usually a smart phone which can also be used to vote. For those people who do not have either, then they can go to the public library or town hall to vote. Voting online will eliminate voter fraud for you cannot vote without a Social Security card. Plain and simple.

Aug 8 2017

Obamacare is Officially Destroying the Economy & Has Reached 60% of total Retail Sales


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption

Re-Posted Aug 8, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The retail sector has been stagnant and most people are blaming AMAZON. A closer look is really required rather than the typical superficial analysis. Today, online sales represent only 8.5% of total retail sales. Amazon comes in at $80 billion in sales, but this merely amounts to just 1.5% of total U.S. retail sales, since 2016 total retail sales were around $5.5 trillion. What John McCain did to kill the repeal of Obamacare is devastating to the economy. The Democrats refuse to review what they have done and cannot see past their ego that Obamacare is destroy the economy.

The health-care inflation is the greatest rising cost to everyone and the proliferation of high-deductible plans has devastated Millennials. Some are paying $300 a month yet have $3,000 deductibles. In effect, the cost of health-care has been one huge fraud that is enriching the insurance companies who are major contributors to the Democrats. Obamacare has drastically increased consumer direct health-care costs and further chipped away at discretionary dollars far more than AMAZON. Health-care spending in the U.S. is $3.3 trillion, and even a 3% rise in costs would be close to $100 billion. With total retail sales at $5.5 trillion, heath-care now consumes 60% of retail sales and it is retail sales that are the backbone of the US economy that is holding up the entire world economy. What John McCain has done is far worse than anyone in the media is even contemplating.

While politics just basks in the corruption and the Democrats will not review what they have done, from 2018 to 2021, the future is looking darker and darker. Heath-care is single-handedly destroying the entire world economy.

Aug 7 2017

Gallup Poll: Reaches Highest Level of Small Business Confidence in Decade…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on August 7, 2017 by

The latest quarterly poll of small business owners shows an overall confidence index of +106, the highest level in a decade.  This 3rd quarter results is a full 11 points higher than the Quarter 2 confidence level that was also high.

This indicates growing optimism in the most important economic index for MAGAnomics, Main Street.  President Trump continues to focus economic policy away from Wall Street and toward Main Street, with removal of burdensome regulations and improvements to capital access and national economic interests.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Small-business owners’ optimism about their business situation has edged up in the past quarter to a new 10-year high. The Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index for the third quarter is at +106, up 11 points since Quarter 2 and the highest since +113 measured in the second quarter of 2007. Index scores between the first and third quarters of 2016 ranged between 64 and 68.

These results are based on July 10-14 interviewing with a random sample of small-business owners nationwide. Owners are asked to evaluate both their present business situation and expectations about their business going forward.

Small business owners are more positive about the future than about their current circumstances, a pattern that has generally been the case historically. But, the overall increase in the index this quarter is mainly the result of an uptick in present situation ratings, rather than expectations about the future. The present situation score rose from +36 in the second quarter to +45 in the third quarter, while the future expectations score this quarter remained essentially constant — +61 compared to +59 last quarter. Both of these measures are as high as they have been since 2007.  (read more)

Aug 7 2017

HUD Secretary Ben Carson Poised to End Obama-Era Section 8 Housing Grants…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on August 7, 2017 by

Following his reelection victory in 2012 President Obama removed the bidding process from section 8 housing; instead Obama’s HUD initiated grants to their hand-selected organizations.  After years of lost lawsuits the HUD bidding process is set to return.

WASHINGTON DC – […] Section 8 housing is a federal program that pays rental assistance to landlords to help low-income people acquire affordable housing.

Because HUD had problems administering the program, in 1995 it started to contract out the management of Section 8 housing units through a competitive bidding process. However, in March of 2012, HUD suddenly shifted away from the competitive bidding process, and began using funding mechanisms which were more like grants.

Contractors who had previously gained HUD’s business under the bidding process appealed to the Government Accountability Office in 2012, just months after HUD changed course. And by August of that year, the GAO ruled that HUD’s actions were “unreasonable and in disregard of applicable statutory guidance.”

Undeterred, HUD pressed forward with their choice, which then made them the target of a lawsuit. From that point, HUD lost an embarrassing string of rulings which culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court denying to hear an appeal from the agency in April of 2015.

Despite all those rulings, HUD didn’t budge. But the Trump administration is now set to return to the previous methods.  (read more)

Aug 7 2017

Canada Looking to Tax Small Business 93%?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada

Re-Posted Aug 7, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

 

The Finance Minister of Canada, Bill Morneau, has announced that the government is now targeting private corporations and fundamentally changing the way businesses are taxed. The Canadian government is focusing in on income sprinkling, earning passive investment income in a corporation, and converting a corporation’s ordinary income into tax-preferred capital gains. Effectively, the Canadian government is looking at itself first with no consideration whatsoever for the people or the economy. It is always about them just surviving. As for democratic processes, they rely upon tell the ignorant that they will get a free lunch if they tear those who create jobs into pieces.

In Canada, the “income sprinkling” is where small business owners “sprinkle” dividends and capital gains among adult relatives. In other words, you cannot give your children any money whatsoever unless they work. So under socialism, you are not allowed to be charitable with your own family. This is what the new hunt for taxes in Canada is all about. Take this with the other two proposals for tax increases and the combination will send taxation on small business to potentially as high as 93%. Government never really cares about the impact of their proposals. It is always just about them. The question we will be confronted with which we will examine at the Orlando World Economic Conference November 3rd & 4th, 2017, just how far can society be pushed in various regions until we hit the reset button?

Aug 7 2017

Australia Hates Foreigners – Now Their Property Taxes Are Doubled if you are Not Australian


Armstrong Economics Blog/Australia & Oceania

Re-Posted Aug 7, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

New South Wales in Australia has doubled property taxes for foreign real estate buyers. Of course this violates international law, but governments are broke and they are doing their best to destroy the world economy from every which directions. The politicians are responding to Australians who see foreign buyers of property causing a real estate boom. Much like Britain who raised taxes to stop the real estate boom in London, the greatest problem with all these laws is rather simple. ALL LAWS ENACTED should automatically expire within 4 years. The patch work of draconian laws as Australia have been installing will isolate the economy and do far more harm than anyone suspects. The Japanese bought all sorts of property in the USA during their boom days. They then turned and sold it at a loss.
Until now, foreigners had to pay a 4% surcharge when buying properties in New South Wales. The surcharge has now been increased to 8%. New South Wales has become the second state in Australia to increase taxes for foreigners. Victoria announced a similar measure last year. The Australian government has also announced fines on foreign buyers who keep their homes unoccupied for more than six months in a year. The government claims that foreigners leave their properties vacant, which adds to housing shortage. This is clearly more of a racist view since the majority of foreigners buying properties in Australia are Chinese investors. They have accounting for two-thirds of a total A$47.3 billion invested in the property market in the 2016 financial year.
The government also plans to impose a 50% limit on foreign ownership in new developments, which the government sees as a way of ‘increasing the housing stock for Australian purchasers’. Yes, but what they are really doing is creating a real estate crash. Then Australians who have mortgages will be hurt where as the foreign buyers tend to pay cash.