Posted originally on Dec 3, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
What began as a special military operation has turned into the start of the next world war, and Russia is paying heavily. Russian President Vladimir Putin passed a new budget over the weekend that will allocate 32.5% of the total budget (13.5 trillion rubles) for FY25 to defense spending, which accounts for 6.2% of total GDP.
The amount in proportion to the total budget spent on defense in FY24 was 28.3%. Notably, the budget is factoring in military costs for the next three years – this war will not simply end with Trump. Russia’s pre-war military expenditure was only 3.6 trillion rubles, rising to 5.5 trillion at the beginning of the war from 5.5 trillion rubles in 2022 to 6.4 trillion rubles in 2023.
Russia must find a way to finance this war. The Kremlin estimates GDP for 2024 to come in at 195.8 trillion rubles, although last year’s GDP was 172.1 trillion rubles. The GDP for 2025 is anticipated to be 214.6 trillion rubles. The nation is confident it will continue earning but that is not enough to fund the growing war.
Putin has already raised taxes for the first time in nearly 25 years. The corporate tax rate will rise by 5% from 20% to 25%. The government expects to generate an additional 2.6 trillion rubles in revenue once the tax is implemented in 2025. Russia’s Finance Ministry believes that 2 million people, 3.2% of the working population, will see a rise in their taxes. Taxes on investments will not change. “The changes are aimed at building a fair and balanced tax system,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said, adding that the additional funds would bolster Russia’s “economic well-being.”
The flat tax rate of 13% that Putin implemented when he took over for Yeltsin in 2001 accounted for much of his popularity. Still, the people overwhelmingly have a sense of patriotism and support Russia as well as Putin. Even with the ongoing war, Russia still only spends about one-fourth of what America and China do on defense. Even India spends more than Russia on its military. We can obviously see where these nations believe the war effort is heading when looking at future budget forecasts. Three years from now brings us to the pivotal year of 2027/2028, where all bets are off, and it would come as zero surprise if/when Russia raises its military spending budget projections.
Posted originally on Dec 3, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has said he would do everything in his power to prevent Trump from deporting migrants. One must question why Johnston is eagerly putting the taxpaying citizens of Denver last. The city may be a sanctuary for illegal trespassers but has become a nightmare for residents. The latest reports reveal that the city spent $356 in taxpayer funds, 8% of its budget, on migrants.
Roughly 45,000 migrants made their way to Denver since 2022, according to the Common Sense Institute (CSI). The city has spent $256 millioneducating 16,000 migrant children. The local healthcare system cannot accommodate the large influx but the city has spent $49 million on migrant healthcare after 8,000 migrants recorded around 20,000 visits to Denver Health alone last year. Doctors are calling the strain on the system a “humanitarian crisis”that has pushed the state hospital system to a breaking point. The hospital was forced to remove 15 beds in 2023 after finishing FY2022 $22 million above budget.
Surrounding suburbs have attempted to sue the city to no avail. Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan gang, has taken over numerous apartment complexes as they terrorize citizens with no repercussions. Yet, Johnston and others in the far-left camp will not admit that open borders have ruined their cities. Instead, they focus on the “human rights” that should be awarded to everyone but American citizens.
Johnston said that he would prevent all measures to deport the migrants syphoning resources from his city AND he will encourage the people to protest. “More than us having DPD stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston told reporters. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.” He is inciting civil unrest with this political rhetoric. Johnston believes he can offer himself as some sort of martyr to the Trump Administration as new border czar, Tom Homan, said he would happily arrest the mayor for interfering with federal law.
The Democrats are planning mass protests on January 20 when Trump is sworn into office, with the hope that he will be perceived as a dictator for calling in the National Guard. These sanctuary city leaders are playing the same dirty game as they are eager to see the National Guard arrive to spin it into a “Tiananmen Square moment.”
Kamala Harris’ campaign may very well be remembered as the WORST in election history. Installed but not elected, the Democrat nominee blew through close to $1.5 billion attempting to make Harris relevant. Top political strategist James Carville believes the Harris campaign has done “almost unfathomable damage” to the Democratic Party who will be met with “resistance” when attempting to raise money in the future.
More people associated with the Harris-Walz failed campaign are beginning to speak out. The campaign managed to dig itself into $20 million worth of debt, and employees and vendors are now concerned that they will not be paid. “The resistance is going to have trouble raising money. These fundraisers are burnt,” Democratic strategist James Carville told Politics War Room. “They’re really pissed now.”
Carville continued:
“I have people that are contacting me to run for DNC chair — promise you I’m not going to to get in the middle of that … But I would say the policy, number one, is we’re going to audit everything. We’re going to audit the campaign. We’re going to audit Future Forward. We’re going to audit the DNC so people can know,” he added. “But I’m telling you, without complete transparency, the campaign — we think — raised a billion and a half dollars. Okay, we know that Future Forward, the last we saw, was $900 million, so we can assume that they got to a billion before election. That’s two and a half freaking billion dollars.”
The strategist who always speaks extremely favorably of the Dems said the number of lobbyists involved in the campaign is “staggering.” Worse, Kamala Harris is now asking her supporters to cover the $20 million in debt. Democrats and political strategists are again warning Harris to STOP sending out requests for funding her failed campaign. Mike Nellis, founder of the Democratic digital firm Authentic, has said that expecting supporters to continue donating money “erodes trust,” to say the least.
“The fight that fueled our campaign, a fight for freedom and opportunity, that did not end on Nov. 5. A fight for the dignity of all people? That did not end on Nov. 5,” Harris said after her Hawaii defeat vacation. She ran into hiding after her loss and re-emerged disheveled in her first public message. “A fight for the future, a future in which all people receive the promise of America? No,” she continued. “A fight that is about a fight for the ideals of our nation, the ideals that reflect the promise of America? That fight’s not over.” It is interesting that there have been fewer protests since the election ended. Perhaps the DNC can no longer fund these orchestrated civil unrest spectacles. What exactly is Harris “fighting” for when the people have chosen the path of this nation with their vote? Her campaign is now emailing supporters to ask for $50 donations to continue the fight.
She blew through all of the donated money yet has the audacity to request more. This is how she would have operated if elected. Harris and Walz underestimated the intelligence of the American people. She appeared on the scene without any firm policies or platform to run on aside from abortion. All of her hand-selected interviews were disastrous. President Joe Biden did not support Kamala Harris, and Harris refused to acknowledge any mistakes of the current administration while chanting WE CANNOT GO BACK. Why anyone would continue to donate to the Democrats or Harris campaign is beyond comprehension.
Posted originally on Dec 2, 2024 by Martin Armstrong |
The pardon Biden gave his son identified these two cases and any offenses that Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024. However, reliable sources suggest that Hunter was involved with the bio-labs in Ukraine before 2014 to the extent that Putin wanted to discuss Hunter’s involvement with Papa Biden. You cannot accept money from a foreign government without registering as an agent of that government. Ukraine has been the largest money laundering scam in modern history.
Posted originally on Dec 1, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
Well, as expected, Biden pardoned his son. I suppose Trump could pardon himself, but he does not have a federal conviction. What difference does it make when you are always remembered for the last thing you do? The NEOCONs are trying really hard to create World War III, so Biden may be remembered for that just as Bush Jr. was remembered for Iraq when he, too, was the patsy for the NEOCONs led by Dick Cheney.
So, when history is written, Biden will be remembered as the most incompetent president in American history, and if Antony Blinken has his way, he may be the one remembered for World War III. So, in the scheme of things, he should just pardon Obama and all the Democrats. History will be concerned about war more than corruption.
Posted originally on the CTH on December 1, 2024 | Sundance
President Joe Biden has issued an executive grant of clemency (pardon), “For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss.”
WHITE HOUSE – Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.
The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.
No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.
For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision. (LINK)
Posted originally on the CTH on November 27, 2024 | Sundance
Unburdened by the agency of what has been, Kamala tells the remaining voices shouting at trees, “they still have power.”
While it is never polite form to laugh in public as the Moonbats step on rakes, sometimes it is impossible to retain a straight face and watch them do it.
Posted originally on the CTH on November 25, 2024 | Sundance
Ignore the prices you see on the supermarket shelves and listen to the Farm Bureau folks. The price of a Thanksgiving dinner for ten people is five percent lower this year. You can feed a family gathering of ten people for a mere $58.08, cool.
Farm Bureau: “Americans stocking up for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner will see a dip in their grocery bills for the second year in a row. The 39th annual American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Thanksgiving dinner survey finds that the classic feast for 10 will run you $58.08, down 5% from last year. However, this is still 19% higher than five years ago.” (link)
I mean, seriously? A Thanksgiving dinner for ten people for around $58?
Does anyone else find this a little challenging to believe?
Suspicious Cat has gone from, well, suspicious to shocked!
Posted originally on Nov 26, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
Janet Yellen will finally step down from her role as Treasury Secretary in January, leaving a massive mess for her replacement, Scott Bessent. The budget deficit surpassed $36 trillion under the Biden-Harris Administration, with Yellen touting that the US had an endless supply of funds to spend and imaginary success of Bidenomics.
As head of the Federal Reserve under Obama, Yellen was an outspoken advocate for QE. She worked closely with Bernanke and Greenspan, but is actually considered the main architect of the Fed’s now dead quantitative easing program that began in December of 2008. “Potentially anything – including negative interest rates– would be on the table. But we would have to study carefully how they would work here in the U.S. context,” Yellen argued back in 2015. This academic and longtime Fed insider spent her career pandering to the White House.
Perhaps part of her legacy as America’s CFO under Biden-Harris would be her insistence that inflation was “transitory.” Yellen called the US debt downgrade “arbitrary” when Fitch Ratings downgraded US long-term debt late from AAA to AA+.
She never spoke as an authority on economics, but rather, she spoke as if she were a puppet of the WEF implanted in government to spread economic-related propaganda. Yellen is akin to the Karine Jean-Pierre of America’s financial system insofar as her job is to openly lie to the public and convince them that their reality is not as it seems.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is proof that the establishment is completely clueless when it comes to the lives of the average citizen. “People are better off than they were pre-pandemic,” Yellen touted on national news last week. Perhaps she meant to say “politicians” rather than people, and no, one cannot point at rising US indexes and claim that is sufficient evidence that the overall economy is sound.
Despite millions of Americans struggling financially amid inflation in the post-pandemic landscape, Yellen had the audacity to claim that most Americans are happy with their financial situation despite every bit of data indicating otherwise. “So, they seem to perceive the economy as a whole as doing less well than they are personally. But most Americans feel good about their own economic situation.”
Yellen insisted that inflation was under control. Completely out of touch, Yellen even denied the prevalence of food inflation. “I think largely it reflects cost increases, including labor cost increases that grocery firms have experienced, although there may be some increases in margins,” Yellen, who has a net worth of $20 million, stated before advocating centralized agriculture.
Yet, she promoted every major spending package Biden signed off on. Yellen was the first to admit the true reason behind the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest spending package in US history, was to propel the climate change agenda. “The Inflation Reduction Act is, at its core, about turning the climate crisis into an economic opportunity,” Yellen admitted.
Biden later admitted that the bill was never intended to reduce inflation. “We should have named it what it was!” Biden said at an event in Westby, Wisconsin, where he unsuccessfully attempted to tout the success of Bidenomics. The president referred to the Inflation Reduction Act as “the most significant CLIMATE CHANGE LAW ever,” adding, “by the way, it is a $369 billion bill, it’s called the–we we we should’ve named it what it was.”
Janet Yellen declared that it will take $3 TRILLION ANNUALLY into 2050 for nations to meet their climate objectives. They deem climate change “the single-greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century,” but logical minds will see it as the biggest economic obligation. “Neglecting to address climate change and the loss of nature and biodiversity is not just bad environmental policy. It is bad economic policy,” Yellen told the G20. Not one member objected or questioned her proposal.
Unbothered by the growing deficit, Yellen’s plan all along was to mobilize the Internal Revenue Service to hunt down American citizens. She was an advocate for tracking all transactions above $600 to ensure not a penny went unaccounted for. Yellen praised the Biden-Harris regime for “giving the Internal Revenue Service the resources that they need to close what is estimated over the next decade to be a $7 trillion tax gap.” The IRS could confiscate all of our wealth, but it would still not be enough to pay off the growing deficit and the costs of financing that deficit.
Many have criticized how she chose to finance the deficit. An estimated 30% of US debt is held in short-term bonds, doubling the amount held in the short-term since 2023. This debt must be refinanced at likely higher rates compared to if she locked 10- and 30-year bonds at historically low rates. Yet, that would have shown the public that Bidenomics was not working, as consumers would have felt the blow firsthand. At the same time, we have seen China offload massive amounts of US debt under Biden. Yellen begs China to continue purchasing and then turns around and agrees with the neocons that we must defend Taiwan – oh, but please continue purchasing the debt of your enemy.
Janet Yellen has left an utter mess for the next US Treasury secretary. One must wonder if this was a calculated move to paint Bidenomics in a positive light before he and his cabinet fled for the hills. Our models indicated that 2024 is the peak in foreign holdings of US debt, nearly 24% of the total debt. So, if you are paying $1 trillion in interest, about $230 billion is going outside the country, and there is no domestic stimulation factor whatsoever. Thanks to the failure of monetary and fiscal policies, notably stemming before Bidenomics, Socrates has stated that the national debt will surpass $100 trillion by 2027/2029. Not to worry as our current form of government is indeed “arbitrary” and “transitory.”
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This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America