Tag Archives: Hunt for Taxes
Portugal’s Miracle?
Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics
Re-Posted Jun 27, 2019 by Martin Armstrong
The Portuguese economy was bailed out by the European Union eight years ago. It is now booming, also in part for its aggressive attraction of courting foreign investors. If you want to live in Portugal long-term or permanently, you will need to apply for Portuguese citizenship or Portuguese permanent residency. Portuguese permanent residency is available after five years of residence, while Portuguese citizenship is available after six years, or three years if claiming Portuguese citizenship by marriage. Both Portuguese citizenship and permanent residency allows you to remain in Portugal indefinitely and access similar benefits, although there are some differences between the two. While residents can stay in Portugal indefinitely by continually renewing their permanent residency, there are certain added Portuguese citizenship benefits to entice foreigners to take on the Portuguese citizenship application process.
This movement has been a major factor behind Portugal enjoying its highest economic growth in nearly two decades, with the major trend fueled by record tourism, an upswing in the housing market from foreign investors, a growing tech sector, and strong exports. Private investment has returned to 2009 levels, helped by foreign investors including Chinese companies who have focused on Portugal.
But for every glitzy new hotel and fancy restaurant in Lisbon, there is growing concern that the infrastructure is aging. This was illustrated by the locomotive that fell apart in late February, which was rented from Spain as a stopgap measure. There has been a lack of public investment which is beginning to become obvious. Its total debt is close to 120% GDP, which is one of Europe’s highest. The ruling socialists have limited room to finance their dreams under the EU rules and at the current artificially low interest rates maintained by the ECB. The budget deficit of the 2010 era of 11% of GDP has been reduced by attracting foreign capital and cutting spending on public infrastructure. The problem that Portugal faces is that its success of late has been constructed on the immediate results, not long-term.
Universal Basic Income & Gaming the System
Armstrong Economics Blog/Opinion
Re-Posted Jun 27, 2019 by Martin Armstrong
COMMENT: I was just reading your post, Universal Basic Income, and I feel the need to respond. I have always worked, always found whatever work I could. I have worked on market stalls and also on installation of Active Directory in a government institution. I managed to graduate with honours from uni. I am now retirement age. I brought my children up single handed and have never had any wealth but I have to point out that people who are living in poverty don’t automatically become criminal. There’s so much talk about playing the system, but we have to ask why so many people need support. It’s because industry has disappeared and we have developed a class system where the difference between haves and have nots has widened. I live in UK and it’s an industrial wasteland, we had jobs to go around not all that long ago but now there are none for the majority, except in self-policing call centres. It isn’t due to population increase alone, there is nothing for us. Closing the pits was a mistake. There’s no significant increase of carbon and when it becomes Cold which it will in a few years, we’ll be scratching for surface coal to cook and be warm, trees will be decimated. We import things that we used to make, steel, textiles etc, and we gave away our ship building and our fishing waters. Governments are using surveillance to protect themselves from our scrutiny of them, and putting the blame on the people for everything they have done wrong. I know this is simplistic but this is my perspective.
K
REPLY: I place most of the blame on Socialism. The unions became greedy and abused their power. New York City was once the major port. They chased all the shipping out to other ports who were more competitive. Today, no ships go to New York City. Then add the greed of politicians. Before World War II, yes the woman stayed home and raised the kids and managed the house. I knew European men who married Eastern European girls when the wall came down and they retained those old values and did not understand they were expected to go out and work. Taxes kept increasing so today, women lost the right to stay home and raise the kids. It now takes TWO incomes to do what one used to do prewar. In Europe, you pay unbelievable taxes not just on income, then 20% VAT on average. Taxes lower the standard of living for you will NEVER get your money’s worth in service in return.
As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If you create a network with social services, there will ALWAYS be people who game the system. Prisons have plenty of doctors for Medicare fraud in the USA submitting bills for people that did not exist.
Julius Caesar also confronted the abuse of welfare rolls in ancient Rome. He conducted a census and found that out of 320,000 pretend people getting free bread, only 150,000 were real.
“Caesar changed the old method of registering voters: he made
the City landlords help him to complete the list, street by street,
and reduced from 320,000 to 150,00 the number of
householders who might draw free grain. To do away with the
nuisance of having to summon everyone for enrolment
periodically, he made the praetors keep their register up to date
by replacing the names of the dead men with those of others
not yet listed.”
(Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Julius Caesar 41,3)
(Penguin Classics ed., translation by Robert Graves)
Therefore, people have been gaming the system for thousands of years. It is just part of human nature.
How the World Economy Works without Government
Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics
Re-Posted Jun 27, 2019 by Martin Armstrong
Round One of First Democrat Debates – 9:00pm Tonight on NBC – Open Discussion Thread
June 26, 2019
Due to the size of the field, the first Democrat presidential primary debate takes place over two nights: tonight Wednesday, June 26, and Thursday, June 27, in Miami.
NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo are hosting the debate and hold exclusive rights to broadcast from 9pm EST to 11 p.m EST on both nights.
The moderators for the debate are: NBC News’ Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie and Chuck Todd; MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, and Telemundo’s José Diaz-Balart.
The candidates for the first night are: Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro; Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas; Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland; Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City; Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii; Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey; Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; and Washington Governor Jay Inslee.
If you are a communist, socialist, communal activist; or if your hobbies include sitting around a campfire picking parasites off your friends; then grab your sustainable algae cakes and consider this an open discussion thread.
Or if you are just looking for a laugh by watching Moonbats howl, well, that’s OK too.
President Trump Impromptu Presser Departing White House…
June 26, 2019
Chopper pressers are the best pressers. As President Trump departs the White House en route to Osaka Japan for the G20 summit, the president delivers answers questions from the press pool on current events. [Video and Partial Rough Transcript]
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[partial rough transcript] President Trump – “I spoke with Nancy Pelosi and we had some conversations having to do with the bill for humanitarian aide at the border for the children. We’re moving along very well with the bipartisan bill in the senate, spoke to a lot of people and we’re doing very well, we’re very far along. The House is getting it together with the Senate to get something done. It’s humanitarian aide it’s very important, and I think a lot of people are starting to realize I was right when I said there was a the crisis at the border, it wasn’t a manufactured crisis.”
“I’m heading to Japan, Osaka, and were going to be meeting with a lot of people from different countries many of whom have been taking advantage of the United States, but not so much anymore, in fact not at all anymore.”
[In response to inaud. Q]: “The Mueller things never stops, there was no collusion … it never ends it goes on and on … the criminal activity was on the other side …. With the insurance policy by Strzok and his lover Page … At what point does it end? It’s a disgrace. No obstruction! No collusion! Now the democrats want a do over. They had a do over in the House, that didn’t work, we had a do over in the Senate, that didn’t work.”
Q: Who will you be meeting with at G20?
A: “I’m meeting with Russia, I’m meeting with China, I’m meeting with many countries … We’re meeting with China, just so you know China has been paying us billion sand billions of dollars, before I got here they never paid us 10 cents.
Q on Iran
A: Iran can do whatever they want, it’s fine, I have plenty of time. Iran is in economic distress, they’re in an economic disaster right now. Whatever they want is fine with me, I have all the time in the world. They could solve it quickly or they could solve it 10 years right now .. In the meantime they have very strong sanctions and they deserve those sanctions, they have to do what’s right for their people, but I don’t think they care for their people. They’re selfish and they’re stupid.
Q: Will you be meeting with Kim Jong Un?
A: I’ll be meeting with, uh, a lot of other people, not quite him, but I may be speaking to him in a different form. I’ll be going to South Korea after G20 and I’ll be there for about a day, we have a lot of meetings planned with a lot of different countries.
[A full transcript will follow]
Secretary Ross Discusses China Issues Ahead of G20 Summit…
June 26, 2019
In the dynamic of President Trump confronting Chairman Xi over Chinese trade and manufacturing practices there are critical members of the U.S. team, each with a role to play. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are the most important members.
Secretary Ross explains the position of the U.S. team as they head to the G20. WATCH:
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As we discussed yesterday, Chinese anxiety is off-the-charts. When China gets into this high-anxiety disposition, they immediately -predictably- drop the Panda mask, and lash-out with Red Dragon antagonisms. This is happening right now.
“There are some inappropriate activities underway by the Chinese. They must cease. If they do, if we make some redressing of the trade imbalance, then that’s a reasonable deal for both parties.” ~ Secretary Wilbur Ross
In previous administrations the economic/trade teams were filled with think-tank wonks and esoteric public officials. Their response to the Red Dragon was always from a position of inherent fear combined with political evaluations. This is the historic frame-of-reference for Beijing, a view of inherent weakness. This history also contributes to why China is perplexed by the Trump administration.
In the Trump administration the economic/trade teams are directed by dragon-slayers from the private sector. Business giants, billionaires, who are familiar with the granular details of negotiation and comfortable with adversarial battles where billions of dollars can make or break a deal. There is no position of structural fear or political ramification at the apex level of business dealing. The fights are on the merits of the position(s).
As President Trump has moved from negotiation to confrontation, Beijing’s leadership is starting to realize their opponent isn’t their typical weak U.S. government negotiators; nor is it the U.S. Chamber of Commerce who will cut the ‘deal’ for their Wall Street clients and DC lobbyists regardless of Main Street’s best interests.
As a direct consequence, the team around Chairman Xi have a much more difficult time trying to outwit the U.S. delegation. President Trump has brought “killers” from the U.S. corporate and business community, into the battle – to fight on behalf of America.
Brilliant Play – President Trump Invites U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to White House “Win or Lose”…
June 26, 2019
Megan Rapinoe is the co-captain of the U.S. women’s national soccer team and a rabid hater of President Trump. Ms. Rapinoe refuses to sing the U.S. national anthem; kneels during ceremonies to make her hatred for America visible; and grabs every microphone to tell the media about her politics in an effort to increase her resistance credentials.
The age-old axiom is: ‘be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it”. Today, President Trump brilliantly responded to Ms. Rapinoe. First, by calling out her arrogance in declaring victory before she even played the World Cup matches; and secondly, by inviting the entire team to the White House “win or lose”.
The pressure is now upon Ms. Rapinoe. That pressure overlays a preexisting, unstable and tenuous psychological condition related to her tribal self-identification and commercial aspirations. This dynamic is a recipe for implosion. It will not end well for her.
President Trump Interview With Maria Bartiromo…
June 26, 2019
President Trump calls in to Maria Bartiromo for an extensive interview on multiple subjects. The president discusses his perspective on Mueller testifying; the state of the economy; the upcoming G20 talks with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping and the status of the trade negotiations; the status of tariffs; and the U.S-Mexico border issues.
On China, President Trump doesn’t sound like he’s willing to make any concessions or retreat on any tariffs. “They want to make a deal more than I do”, he said.








