Tag Archives: Pension Crisis

Jun 11 2017

President Trump and President al-Sisi Confirm Unity Against Qatar Funding Terrorism…


RE-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 10, 2017 by

No leader in the region holds more anti-terrorism credibility than Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.   President Sisi has challenged all Muslim leaders to denounce the hate within Islamic extremism and rise up to confront evil.

Al-Sisi is a Muslim leader who steadfastly supports the entire Egyptian population regardless of their religious faith.  Sisi has stood firm to support Christians in Egypt.

WHITE HOUSE – President Donald J. Trump spoke today with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt. The two presidents agreed on the importance of all countries implementing the agreements reached in Riyadh to fight terrorism, counter extremism, and stop the funding of terrorist groups. President Trump also emphasized the importance of maintaining unity among Arab countries.  (Link)

EGYPT – President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has praised President Donald Trump for his role in “the formation of a united front to combat terrorism” after he called on Qatar to stop its financial support of extremist groups.



Al-Sisi’s praise-filled phone call on Saturday came after the US president echoed accusations made against Qatar by a Saudi-led group that cut diplomatic ties with the small oil-rich country earlier this week.

Al-Sisi thanked Trump for his participation in a counter-terrorism summit in Riyadh last May, in which he abandoned some of the harsh anti-Muslim rhetoric of his presidential campaign and vowed to fight terrorism in partnership with Middle East leaders.  (Link)

[…] I want to call on all other nations to stop immediately supporting terrorism. Stop teaching people to kill other people. Stop filling their minds with hate and intolerance. I won’t name other countries, but we are not done solving the problem, but we will solve that problem. Have no choice.

This is my great priority because it is my first duty as President to keep our people safe. Defeating ISIS and other terror organizations is something I have emphasized all during my campaign and right up until the present. To do that, stop funding, stop teaching hate, and stop the killing.

For Qatar, we want you back among the unity of responsible nations. We ask Qatar, and other nations in the region to do more and do it faster.

I want to thank Saudi Arabia, and my friend, King Salman, and all of the countries who participated in that very historic summit. It was truly historic. There has never been anything like it before and perhaps there never will be again.

Hopefully, it will be the beginning of the end of funding terrorism. It will, therefore, be the beginning of the end to terrorism.

No more funding.

~ U.S. President Donald J Trump

Jun 11 2017

Judge Jeanine Pirro Interviews Donald Trump Jr. About Comey Testimony…


RE-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 10, 2017 by

Judge Jeanine Pirro interviews Donald Trump Jr. about why he has decided to take a lead position in pushing back against the insufferable ‘muh Russian conspiracy’.

Factually, who can blame him?  Don Jr. has to watch these ridiculous media attacks against his father, his brother, his sister and his family 24/7.  Eventually anyone in that position is going to say ‘enough’ and start confronting those determined to undermine his father’s administration.

Jun 11 2017

SEC Statute of Limitations Applies to Disgorgement


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law

Re-Posted Jun 11, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Justice Sotomayor in the Supreme Court just held that the 5-year statute of limitations for penalties under 28 USC 2462 applies to SEC disgorgement claims. This is a monumental decision for in every case the SEC claims they has disgorge you back to birth. In KOKESH v. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION decided June 5th.

Because disgorgement sought by the Securities and Exchange Commission operates as a penalty under 28 U.S.C. § 2462, in that it is imposed by the courts as a consequence for violating public laws and for punitive purposes, any claim for disgorgement in an SEC enforcement action must be commenced within five years of the date the claim accrued.

This is a major decision that would prevent many of the abuses that the SEC has carried out for decades.

Jun 10 2017

Illinois In Deep Financial Trouble


Armstrong Economics Blog/Sovereign Debt Crisis

Re-Posted Jun 10, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza was ordered to make a “substantial” dent in a $2 billion backlog of bills owed to Medicaid providers. The courts ruled that according to the State Constitution, it cannot reduce the pension payments to state employees. What is happening in Illinois is indicative of how governments are imploding and why I am warning get out of all State and Muni-debt before it is too late. Since State and local governments cannot “print” (create) money, they are forced to borrow and raise taxes. Consequently, they have hit the ceiling in tax resistance. What is happening is people are gradually migrating because there is absolutely no hope for states like Illinois. The only way out will have to be bankruptcy and a default on all the pension promises.

A federal judge has now intervened ordering the Comptroller to now prioritize who it pays. This is turning into the clash of titans – the epic battle between medical expenses that constantly rise regardless of the business cycle and state employees demanding pensions. Caught in the middle are the average middle class American who is being exploited from both sides. The judge now ordered the state to pay up towards Medicaid to keep doctors and hospitals from cutting off care for the low-income families that rely on the program.

I have often pointed out the fate of the city of Mainz. They had their technological boom with the invention of the printing press there. The politicians couldn’t wait to spend tax money assuming the business cycle would never end. So they spend the money before the taxes were due and borrowed against future tax revenues. The debt quickly became a Ponzi scheme issuing new debt to pay off the old as we are doing today. The interest kept rising so they just raised taxes. The rich began to leave and the city was quickly left with the people who didn’t really pay taxes. The bubble burst when they could not sell the next new issue of debt to pay off the last one. The city defaulted. The Pope excommunicated the politicians. And eventually the city was simply sacked and burned to the ground.

Politicians are the scourge of human society. They are the great destroyers of civilization and the instruments of war. People champion gold standards as if this would solve anything. The common fault is not what we call money, it is always, and without exception, those who we put in charge of it.

Meanwhile, Moody’s and S&P have both downgraded the general obligation debt of the state of Illinois as of June 1, on a combination of a state government budget impasse and a seemingly unstoppable unfunded pension obligation that has now ballooned into at least a $130 billion shortfall. You better get out of the State before it is too late. Property values will decline further because of the tax burden.

Jun 10 2017

Comey Proves He is Part of Gang of Four Against Trump


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption

Re-Posted Jun 10, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The most telling thing about Comey is he said he did not trust Trump and “thought” he might need notes to protect himself and the FBI when speaking to him. Yet, in the interview that was supposed to clear up Hillary Clinton’s involvement with countless scandals, including her private email server where Comey admitted she was careless with national security, according to James Comey, none of it was recorded. So why did Comey protect Hillary refusing to record anything she said thereby preventing any charges for lying to the FBI as they prosecuted Martha Stuart, and then he recorded conversations with Trump because he didn’t trust him?

Comey was part of the Gang of Four. The degree of pomp and circumstance and him calling Trump a liar is rather astonishing when absolutely EVERY proffer session with the FBI is routinely recorded so they can bring charges against you if you lie. I am shocked at the level of dishonestly that Comey has displayed and of course mainstream media refuses to expose anything negative about Comey or the Democrats. This only further proves the conspiracy brewing. The Deep State is fighting back very hard.

Comey protects Hillary and trashes Trump. Very interesting to say the least!

Jun 9 2017

CNN Fires Host Reza Aslan After Vulgarities Directed Toward President Trump…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 9, 2017 by

After initially stating that Reza Aslan was not an employee of CNN, the network has reversed course and decided not to continue a relationship with the toxic and vulgar host.

CNN – […] The network said Friday that it has “decided to not move forward with production” on Aslan’s “Believer” series.

Season one of “Believer” premiered in March. Season two was announced at an event for advertisers in mid-May. Aslan’s production company had already started working on the new episodes.

But the network decided to break off the production relationship after Aslan called President Trump a piece of excrement, using an expletive, last Saturday. (link)

Jun 9 2017

Secretary Rex Tillerson Delivers Update on Qatar – 1:30pm Livestream….


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 9, 2017 by

UPDATE:  Absolutely brilliant strategic approach taken by President Trump and Secretary of State Tillerson; essentially supporting the GCC against Qatar via a mediation role that resembles Bad Cop/Good Cop.   Those closely following the deep-weeds diplomacy will note the predictability of exactly this approach.

This is not the first time this issue has surfaced.  Qatar is a financier of terrorism and extremist Islamic sentiment via their support for the Muslim Brotherhood.  In 2014 the Arab nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), confronted Qatar and pulled their diplomats to force Qatar to expell the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood….

Against President Trump renewed call to “drive out” the extremists and confront terrorism, the GCC is once again calling out Qatar.  President Trump is the big stick  enforcer expressing understanding for the GCC approach; Secretary Tillerson is the diplomat trying to change the behavior of Qatar with carrots.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be discussing the regional partnership issues with Qatar and their Arab coalition members.  State Department LINK

RSBN Livestream Link – PBS Livestream Link – Alternate Livestream Link

Jun 9 2017

Top Five Facts and Examples Showcasing Comey’s Political Motives…


RE-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 8, 2017 by

After watching James Comey and crew (Brennan, Yates, Clapper, etc.) testify for more than 11 months (July ’16 through June ’17), hopefully we don’t have to see any of their faces broadcasting false narratives on TV again.  That said, here’s the top five facts that showcase how badly James Comey politicized the FBI:

Number FIVE – James Comey stated under oath, and included in his written statement, that it was his decision to speak alone, one-on-one to President-Elect Trump on January 6th in Trump Tower as Comey asked everyone else to leave the briefing.  Comey held no issues with a private  conversation with the incoming President.

However, a month later on February 14th, in the oval office, when President Trump asked everyone to leave the room for a one-on-one, James Comey testifies it was “inappropriate” for a private conversation.

Number FOUR – James Comey stated to congress on March 20th, he intentionally did not brief congressional intelligence oversight/leadership of the counterintelligence investigation, that began in July 2016, until March 2017.  He intentionally kept congress in the dark.

There was no reason to keep congress in the dark, unless Comey held a political motivation to do so such that he could operate his agenda without any oversight.

Number THREE – James Comey told President Trump he was not under investigation three different times from January 6th through May 2017.  Comey also notified the congressional oversight Gang-of-Eight in March and April that President Trump was not under investigation.  However, Comey intentionally refused to tell the public the same thing he was telling President Trump and congress.

However, worse yet, James Comey was telling President Trump there was no factual or substantive foundation behind the ‘Russian Pee Dossier’; yet simultaneously Comey was using the ‘Russian Pee Dossier‘ as evidence to gain FISA warrants against Trump Administration officials.

Number TWO – James Comey admitted to congress than he personally leaked information to a friend with instructions to deliver to the media (New York Times), despite his own prior assertions to congress and to the American electorate, that leaks to the media by officials was toxic and damaging to the integrity of the FBI.

There were several avenues available to Comey to deliver the content of his memos to congress including directly delivering them to oversight; or holding a press conference.  There was no reason to manufacture media leaks, to accomplish a political goal, unless James Comey held a political motivation to do so.

Number ONE – James Comey justified in his statements that on February 14th he did not inform his recently confirmed boss Attorney General Jeff Sessions, of the content of the oval office meeting with President Trump – or his suddenly overwhelming feelings of impropriety, because he anticipated Jeff Sessions would be forced to recuse himself from anything to do with the Russian investigation..

There was nothing known on February 14th which would establish a need for Sessions recusal. There’s no reasonable basis for such an assumption on February 14th, unless it was Comey’s intention to leak FISA-granted surveillance of Russian Ambassador Kislyak, having an innocuous meeting with Senator Jeff Sessions, to the Washington Post.  A disingenuous, albeit politically framed, leak did factually surface on March 1st.

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Jun 9 2017

ECB In Serious Trouble


Armstrong Economics Blog/Central Banks

Re-Posted Jun 9, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The European Central Bank (ECB) left its stimulus programs and record low interest rates unchanged. Pundit was seeing some cyclical signs of what they hoped was a spreading recovery in the 19 countries that use the euro currency rather than just a bounce in anticipation of tourist season. The ECB dropped any wording that it could lower interest rates further, which is a claimed sign of greater confidence in the economy, but in reality, is more of a reflection of it being trapped in desperate nightmarish measures.

The proposal to do a Euro Bond in the form of an Asset Backed Security (ABS) as they did with the mortgages that blew up in 2007, is a reflection of trying (1) to bailout the ECB, (2) provide funding for governments when the ECB stops buying since it owns 40% of Eurozone sovereign debt, and (3) a compromise with Germany who is against surrendering the power to issue debt to Brussels. The policies of Merkel have been to maintain the single currency at all costs, but there will be no single debt.  This is very much a policy of being just a little-bit pregnant.

The central bank’s announcement kept important wording that its bond-buying stimulus program could be stepped up if the economic outlook worsens. This is not very likely, it is simply a statement of denial that the ECB is trapped and in trouble. The entire policy has utterly FAILED to stimulate the economy and has only kept governments on life-support. When the plug is pulled, will their heart stop? That all depends upon finding buyers of government debt to (1) take up the slack that the ECB was buying 40% of all debt and a greater proportion of new debt. Remove the biggest bidder, and you end up with a NO BID crisis

Jun 9 2017

Bank Stocks Have a Completely New Risk


Armstrong Economics Blog/Banking Crisis

RE-Posted Jun 9, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Spain’s Banco Santander is paying €1 to take over troubled rival Banco Popular, in a deal that illustrates Europe’s new system to rescue failing banks without burdening taxpayers or stressing markets. This is being cheered around the world because the shareholders lost absolutely everything. The bank which was valued in the collapse at €1.6 billion was bought for €1. Forbes wrote:

“This is an excellent example of how the resolution of troubled banks should be done. The shareholders who employed the management which caused the problem lose all their money. The depositors, who were and are not responsible for the bank’s troubles, are protected. And we don’t end up with some great smouldering hole in the financial landscape where Popular used to be, we get new capital raised instead. Further, no taxpayer has been harmed in this operation.”

 

Santander said Wednesday it will take over all the shares in Banco Popular, which had lost more than half their value since last week as concerns grew about the lender’s financial health. It will raise around €7 billion in a share issue to strengthen Banco Popular’s balance sheet. This “takeover” was conducted in an auction sanctioned by European authorities after the main banking regulator in the Eurozone, the European Central Bank, said Tuesday that it believed Popular was “failing or likely to fail.”

This was the first time the ECB had pulled the plug on a bank since it was given new powers aimed at preventing the rescue of banks from overwhelming government finances. European leaders had all agreed to move banking supervision to the EU level. Hence, the ECB took over supervisory responsibility on in November 2014. The collapse was caused by €7.9 billion in non-performing assets, including €7.2 billion in real estate. Banco Popular shares fell about 38% last week and then another 20% this week, to 0.32 euros per share before regulators halted trading in its shares. The bank had 305,152 shareholders as of the end of March.

The sale is “in the public interest as it protects all depositors of Banco Popular and ensures financial stability,” said the European agency that manages failing banks in the 19-country Eurozone, of which Spain is a member. The Spanish government had previously ruled out bailing the bank with taxpayers’ money. The Spanish Economy minister Luis de Guindos said the sale was “a good outcome” given the shortfall of the lender over the past weeks. He added that this takeover “ensures the maximum protection for depositors and the continuity of the bank’s activity.”

So now comes the €64 trillion question. If government will not bailout banks, then eradicating all value to shareholders attaches a completely new kind of risk to shareholders. If they were investors in a manufacturing company that went bust, the assets would go into bankruptcy and there would be a realistic sale of assets.  What has just taken place is that if the net asset value of the bank, its own building, property etc., were say even 20% of the share value, then the shareholder face a 100% loss in bank stocks compared to any other share investment. That leaves one poignant question? Why buy bank stocks at all?

A new risk has just been created. Instead of a bailout loan to bridge liquidity problems as was the case with the original elastic money development of the Clearing House certificates during the 19th century, we now have no government support for which elastic money was invested and bank shareholder are subject to total usurpation of their assets and denied the normal property rights attributed to a free society. The “elastic money” is now central banks trying to “stimulate” the economy solely by means of purchasing government debt.

Something is seriously wrong in the development. Shareholders rarely have full transparency in bank management to be able to make prudent and informed investment decisions. Welcome to the new crisis created by yet another solution.