Tag Archives: Out of control spending

Dec 6 2017

How China will Surpass the West


Armstrong Economics Blog/China

Posted Dec 6, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Marty

I just finished watching “The Forecaster” and I am impressed that you survived what the government did to you. As a former Green Beret from back in the day, I can appreciate what you endured more than most, my hats off to you.

All I can add is I hope to hell that no government including ours every gets your source code; as a former military officer and student of history, I know what our government is capable of.

I do wonder if China will survive the coming collapse in the west, aren’t they too tied to us?

Keep up the good work!

D

ANSWER: They will push you to the edge, hoping you break. There is a fine line and if you cross it you lose all fear of death. Then the table is turned. There is no threat they can make that will change your position. Some ask, “Why did you not just turn over the code?” They assume that they will actually honor what they tell you. They NEVER tell the truth, and if you turn over what they demand, you lose everything for they can kill you and pretend it was some accident, heart attack, or whatever. The press will believe them of course. That’s why they are there. You are dancing with the devil and it becomes a dance to the death. I was released ONLY because I got into the Supreme Court. Once they were taking the case, the New York boys had to release me.

Concerning China, the reason that they will succeed is because they are turning inward by building their economy into a consumer reservoir and eliminating their dependence upon the West. They will decline at first, but they will recover and make new highs when the West fails.

Categories: China
Nov 29 2017

Super-Creepy Expanded Predatory Sexual Assault Claims Against Matt Lauer …


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree house on November 29, 2017 by

Good grief, when does this get accurately labeled as super-creepy, villain-level, ‘work-place rape‘?

According to updates reports in Variety and The New York Times, NBC Today Show creep, Matt Lauer, actually had a button installed on his desk to auto-lock his office door, and forcibly sexually assaulted a married woman in his office.

VARIETY – […]  These accounts of Lauer’s behavior at NBC are the result of a two-month investigation by Variety, with dozens of interviews with current and former staffers. Variety has talked to three women who identified themselves as victims of sexual harassment by Lauer, and their stories have been corroborated by friends or colleagues that they told at the time. They have asked for now to remain unnamed, fearing professional repercussions.

Several women told Variety they complained to executives at the network about Lauer’s behavior, which fell on deaf ears given the lucrative advertising surrounding “Today.” NBC declined to comment. For most of Lauer’s tenure at “Today,” the morning news show was No. 1 in the ratings, and executives were eager to keep him happy.

[…]  His office was in a secluded space, and he had a button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up. This afforded him the assurance of privacy. It allowed him to welcome female employees and initiate inappropriate contact while knowing nobody could walk in on him, according to two women who were sexually harassed by Lauer.  (read more)

New York Times: […]  One complaint came from a former employee who said Mr. Lauer had summoned her to his office in 2001 and then had sex with her. She provided her account to The New York Times but declined to let her name be used.

She told the Times that she felt helpless because she didn’t want to lose her job, and that she didn’t report the encounter at the time because she felt ashamed.  (read more)

These latest reports are way beyond “inappropriate sexual conduct”; way beyond.

I mean – how does a person, working in a modern corporate setting, get a button on their desk to lock their office doors and nobody questions the HR risk therein?

Either there’s an entirely different set of common HR rules in the workplace over the past several years, with a complete disconnect from all well-known historic HR practices and procedures….  or there’s an entirely different cultural world that I never even knew existed.

Anyone who is well versed in HR compliance standards, and/or who has ever attended a post-1970’s HR seminar on corporate behavior and personal risk mgmt avoidance, can see the basic level of HR-101 missing here is jaw-dropping.

Perhaps it’s just a different set of HR standards in liberal corporations as opposed to conservative ones?  Dunno, but this crap -as described- is way outside the boundaries.

♦Harvey Weinstein – Hollywood Film Producer; ♦Mark Halperin – MSNBC Senior Political Analyst; ♦Matt Lauer – NBC television journalist and co-host of “The Today Show”; ♦Matt Zimmerman – NBC Senior Vice President of Booking, News, and Entertainment; ♦Charlie Rose – CBS television journalist; ♦Mike Oreskes – NPR News Executive; ♦David Sweeney – NPR Chief News Editor;  ♦Louis C.K. – Comedian who lost his ties to HBO and FX, has had his new movie canceled Netflix special; ♦Kevin Spacey – Actor who is being cut from an upcoming film and was fired from the House of Cards Netflix series; ♦Garrison Keillor – Minnesota Public Radio….

Nov 27 2017

Monopoly – Gov’t Violates its Own Anti-Trust Laws


Armstrong Economics Blog/The Hunt for Taxes

Re-Posted Nov 27, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty,

Really enjoyed the WEC. My only disappointment was not getting to meet you at the Friday evening event and share a drink and a few minuets conversation. Next time for sure.

By the way, your team and especially your daughter were absolutely terrific. Very helpful and efficient.

Just read your piece on the Leonardo de Vinci’s painting.  Of special interest I note your statement:

That is counter to capitalism which dictates that prices decline with scale. Government costs rise with the scale showing something is just not right!

By definition, the ability to raise costs (prices) on increasing volume (scale) makes that entity a predatory Monopoly. That is the “something” that ‘is just not right’ about the whole thing.

Joe

REPLY: You are correct. Government violates its own anti-trust laws and proof of that is indeed just look at cities like Philadelphia and New York City. Both tax over and above all other municipal government around them. The Sherman Act is divided into three sections. Section 1 prohibits specific means of anti-competitive conduct. Section 2 deals with end results that are anti-competitive in nature. Thus, these sections prevent businesses from violating the spirit of the Act, while technically remaining within the letter of the law. Section 3 simply extends the provisions of Section 1 to U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Since local government municipalities are actually corporations, it appears that there is no exception for a government corporation from the Act.

Section 1:
“Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal.”
Section 2:
“Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony…

A municipal corporation is a legal term for a local governing body, which includes cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally-owned enterprises. Consequently, municipal corporations exist when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located. They receive a declaration of a municipal charter, which is actually a corporate certificate. Such charters are the legal document establishing a municipality.

Ford Motor Company created the assembly line in order to bring down the cost of a car from $850 in 1908 to $300 by 1925 so everyone could afford one. The price declines with scale. Government is clearly a monopoly because the cost of government only rises. They pass the laws and will seize your property or throw you in prison if you do not pay your taxes. That is EXACTLY the same scheme as the Mafia Protection scam – pay or you get trouble.

Government violates its own laws and acts the same as any criminal organization. They know then are a monopoly for they control the rule of law and the means of prosecution. This is a deadly combination that defeats liberty. There is no possible way that we live in a “free society” for we are “free” only as long as we obey whatever law they write even if it conflicts with the Ten Commandments, ethics, or morality.

 

Nov 16 2017

Deadlocked Jury – Trial of Senator Bob Menendez Ends in Mistrial…


Re-Posted from the Conservative Tree House on November 16, 2017 by

According to the general legal outline that surfaced in the trial of Senator Bob Menendez, quid-pro-quo agreements between “abiding friends” can never be considered corruption or defined as ‘bribes’ because,.. just like non-public officials or business associates, close friends would do favors to help and repay each other.

In essence the legal definition of bribery for public officials now comes down to how long the two parties have known each other, and if they can show an abiding friendship. If two parties can show an “abiding friendship“, of undefined duration, no action taken by one party -to the benefit of the other party- can ever be considered bribery, regardless of the scope of the action.

You can bet a social networking strategy and Christmas Card lists of a whole bunch of politicians and public officials will be much longer this year. Everyone involved in paying-off public officials will now begin creating evidence of a much deeper friendship – which is now a proven legal defense.

(Reuters) – The corruption trial of New Jersey’s Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Menendez ended in a mistrial on Thursday, after the jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked on bribery, fraud and other charges.

Menendez, 63, a longtime fixture in the state’s political circles who first joined the Senate in 2006, was accused of accepting private flights, campaign contributions and other bribes from a wealthy patron, Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, in exchange for official favors.

The hung jury was a victory for Menendez and a major setback for federal prosecutors in what was the Justice Department’s first high-profile corruption trial since a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year limited its ability to bring such cases.

It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors would seek to retry Menendez, who is running for re-election next year, and his co-defendant Melgen. In a statement, the Justice Department said it would “carefully consider next steps in this important matter.”

[…] The case was seen as a test for prosecutors in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court ruling vacating the bribery conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. In doing so, the high court narrowed the grounds for corruption cases.

The trial judge, Williams Walls, strongly considered a defense motion to throw out the case mid-trial in light of the McDonnell decision before deciding against it.  (read more)

Nov 15 2017

Middle East – Who is Who?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Middle East

Re-Posted Nov 15, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I am confused. On the one hand, you said the Saudis could be sued for 911 and that they have been funding ISIS with the USA. Then Iran is supposed to be a terrorist state. Who is who?

Thanks

KW

ANSWER: It is confusing. Bin Laden was Suni, not a Shia, and he considered Shia Muslims were in the same class as heretics, America, and Israel. He believed these were the true enemies of Islam. So there have been terrorist on both sides of the issue. They are not one group compared to another. I was merely explaining the major religious battle. Each side has its extremes just as do the Jews and Christians. Bin Laden subscribed to the Athari school of Islamic theology which believes in the STRICT interpretation of the Quran. That would be the same as the Born-Again Christians and the Hasidic Jews.

The USA was funding ISIS because they wanted to support Qatar trying to get a pipeline through Syria to compete with Russia. That is why Russia went into Syria. It was the Obama Administration that was giving the blessing to terrorism to overthrow Syria.

Nov 15 2017

At Last – Clinton Foundation Gets Investigated


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption

Re-Posted Nov 15, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

What goes around, comes around. The Washington Post has reported that the Department of Justice has instructed the US Attorney’s Office to investigate the controversial sale of a uranium group to Russia during the presidency of Barack Obama and the role of the Clinton Foundation. The Obama administration approved the deal in 2010 giving Moscow control of a much of the American uranium sources. It turns out that the FBI had gathered significant evidence that Russian nuclear industry officials were engaged in bribery, kickbacks, extortion and money laundering to get the deal in the USA. According to a letter released on Monday, Justice Secretary Jeff Sessions instructed the prosecutors to consider, inter alia, the appointment of a special investigator and an extension of the investigation.

The list of topics to be investigated includes the handling of the FBI investigation of the full Hillary Clinton’s private email server used during her time as Secretary of State, various affairs of the Clinton Foundation, and most importantly, the role of the Clinton Foundation Sale of the Canadian mining company Uranium One to Russia’s Atomic Energy Agency. The role of former FBI director James B. Comey in protecting Hillary is also fair game for investigation. We may have a clash of two titans – two special prosecutors doing battle to overthrow Trump and Hillary.

Despite all the claims that the Clinton Foundation was a real charity, it was quickly shutting its doors as soon as Hillary lost. Guess it was just about buying influence in the future White House.

Nov 12 2017

The Unseen Cause of Rampant Violence in America


The university-bred doctrine of moral relativism, which influences all levels of education in America, spawns moral confusion and violence throughout American society.

By denying the existence of objective rational standards by which to distinguish right from wrong or good from bad, the academic doctrine of moral relativism fosters the primacy of force or violence as opposed to the primacy of reason and persuasion, as the only effective  means by which to resolve differences of opinion and interests among men.

Therefore, to diminish the violence now rampant in America, it will be necessary for the religious and political leaders of this country to criticize the academic doctrine of moral relativism by exposing its logical consequences and pernicious influence on the attitudes and public behavior of American citizens.

Prof. Paul Eidelberg

Nov 9 2017

Hillary What Happened – She Rigged the Democratic Party


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Nov 7, 2017 by Martin Armstrong


Donna Brazile’s new memoir, Hacks, has exposed Hillary Clinton for what she really is – a corrupt manipulative politician. Brazile is the former Democratic party leader.  Behind the curtain, she is known as a foul-mouth boldface liar.  Now Brazile’s book,  reveals that Clinton took control of the party long before deciding who would be the Democrat final candidate. This is what the Clinton’s have been known for – behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Clinton knew that the Democratic party was heavily in debt.  Brazile describes Hillary’s acquisition of the party as an extortion. The Party left behind by Barack Obama inherited $24 million debt of which $15 million was bank debt, and $8 million was owed by the party to suppliers who had not been paid. In real terms, the Democratic Party was bankrupt confirming what our models had been forecasting about the decline in that party.

It was rescued by the Clintons, who had collected massive campaign contributions through their own promises and the use of the State Department. The Clintons steered the party to ensure the nomination would be Hillary’s alone. Clinton secretly took control of the strategy, finances, and staffing of the Democratic Party. That claim has been supported by the publication of fundraising agreements in question. Clinton ensured that Bernie would lose. That is why he went to the White House and met with Obama. Only after that meeting did Bernie appear to support Hillary.

Brazile has revealed that the Democrats suffer from “internal corruption”. The Clinton campaign was keeping the bankrupt Democratic Party alive with their monthly grants. Hillary did not campaign against Trump in many areas because she knew the fix was in. At the same time, the campaign had used the party to circumvent the statutory limits on a number of campaign donations. These limits are much higher for donations to party organizations than for presidential candidates. That, of course, was criminal.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has openly admitted with Brazil’s statement that Clinton’s rigging of the Democratic Party had hurt her. The primaries were “manipulated,” Warren said on demand on CNN. Warren said that the party must immediately move to a fair deal with all candidates so as not to become marginalized.

Hillary is running around the world blaming everyone but herself when she manipulated everything to get the nomination and the blame reflects the fact that she had it all rigged so in her mind she was entitled to win.

Hillary is in London even blaming Nigel Farage and BREXIT. It certainly appears she is either on this vast ego trip, or she is so deranged, she actually believes that she can run again.

Nov 9 2017

Policeman Jeff Payne Arrests Nurse for Refusing to Take Blood from Unconscious patient


Armstrong Economics Blog/Gov’t Incompetence

Re-Posted Nov 6, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Salt Lake City and the university that runs the hospital have settled paying a Utah nurse Alex Wubbels $500,000 for an illegal and abusive arrest by a policeman Detective Jeff Payne who was demanding she take blood from an unconscious patient in violation of his rights. She refused to take his blood without a warrant. The video of her arrest had sparked public outrage at the abuse of the police. Because courts defend the police and they are rarely ever prosecuted, these policies encourage some to be just abusive knowing they can do whatever they want.

Those police officers who are respectful have got to realize that all police officers like this are ruining their own image of those who do respect the public.

Oct 30 2017

Some Logical but Unmentioned Conclusions


Paul Eidelberg

Seven years ago, Caroline Glick exposed “The high price of coalition stability” (Jerusalem Post, June 22, 2010).  Her article involved some unmentioned but logical conclusions regarding Israel’s system of coalition cabinet government.  The present writer has written of these unmentioned conclusions in policy papers, books, and countless articles during the past two decades. Indeed, I have systematically correlated Israel’s political failings with its flawed institutions – all in vain.

Before continuing, let me assure the reader than I am well aware of the fact that political institutions, however wisely designed, cannot prevent the election of inept and even treacherous office holders, including presidents of the United States such as Barack Obama.  In other words, there is no institutional substitute for virtue and wisdom.  It should be emphasized that properly designed institutions can mitigate men’s follies and vices.  Alas, this is not the case in Israel, whose governmental institutions maximize the disarray of politics in this country.

The disarray began and continues as a result of a simple political decision: when Israel’s government was established in 1948, its founders, headed by David Ben-Gurion decided to make the entire country a single electoral district.  This political arrangement necessitates a parliamentary system in which parties win Knesset seats on the basis Proportional Representation (PR). Given a low electoral threshold (it has risen from 1% to 3.25%), PR spawns a multiplicity of parties such that no party has ever come close to winning a majority of the 120 seats in the Knesset.  This fact necessitates coalition cabinet government, which results in a cabinet consisting of several rival political parties.

Let’s examine the grounds on which virtually every commentator fears to tread.

1) The multiplicity of parties produced by PR prompts major parties – recall Labor in 1992 and the Likud since then – to deceive the public by campaigning on a more or less centrist or more vote-getting agenda, only to shift in the opposite direction once the leaders of these parties become prime ministers.  Thus, Labor leader Yitzhak Rabin, who scorned the PLO in the 1992 election campaign, signed – after a “decent interval” – the Israel-PLO agreement of 1993. Likewise, Ariel Sharon, who campaigned against Labor’s policy of disengagement in 2003, adopted – after another “decent interval” – that very policy!

2) Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also devious.  He said nothing of the “two state solution” preceding the February 2009 election. But after a mind-numbing interval of four months, he endorsed a Palestinian state!

3) Some sixty years ago, David Ben-Gurion denounced Proportional Representation and revealed the pernicious nature of multiparty cabinet government, which remains solidly entrenched to this day.  The reasons are not pretty.  PR not only yields a multiplicity of parties in the Knesset.  It also compels citizens to vote for fixed party lists.  One result is this: the members of the Knesset are not individually accountable to the voters in constituency or regional elections.

4) Moreover, members of the Knesset know that this system of voting for fixed party slates – a system found only in four out of more than 80 countries classified as democracies – enables an incumbent MK to be re-elected without having to compete with a rival candidate (who would surely reveal the incumbent’s political failings).  For this reason alone, virtually all members of the Knesset oppose direct, personal, and democratic election of Israel’s parliament.

5) Furthermore, multiparty cabinet government enables any MK, regardless of his record, to become a cabinet minister – the road to power and political longevity.  This explains Glick’s characterization of Ehud Barak is a “serial bungler.”  One may add Shimon Peres, the father of Oslo, who became a permanent fixture in the Knesset until that conglomeration of self-serving politicians elected him Israel’s president!

Surely a well-informed and perceptive political analyst like Caroline Glick could add many other instances of the disastrous consequences of multiparty cabinet government.