Economic update

[ashedfc]

The Payments Network As Economic Weapon


http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmaton...onomic-weapon/

[newb]

Interesting as usual Ash....lots of catching up reading to do

Didn`t the U.S. do something along this back in the `30`s to England setting the stage for the U.S. dollar becoming the world reserve currency and replacing the pound sterling?

[ashedfc]

True, Now US will be receiving a taste of its medicine, as an alternate payment mechanism is being developed by BRICS.
What happened to UK then, will happen to US now...

[ashedfc]

MUST WATCH: ECB Banker STUNNED by Tough Questions From Irish Journalist Vincent Browne


Irish journalist Vincent Browne confronts the ECB’s (European Central Bank) Klaus Masuch demanding to know where the money is going. The fireworks start at 3:15 or so.
“Why are the Irish people required to pay BILLIONS to un-guaranteed Bond holders under threat to the ECB? You people are intervening in this society causing huge damage by requiring us to make payments not for the benefit of anyone in Ireland, but for the benefit of European financial institutions.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS-2f...layer_embedded

[ashedfc]

"You ain't see nothing yet"

US National Debt from 1940 to present (this the base for world reserve currency, or this debt directly or indirectly affects everyone on the planet)



Part 1: http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=32217
part 2: http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=32480
part 3: http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=32482

[ashedfc]

The War at the End of the Dollar (a must read, very informative)
US bases surrounding Iran..



http://www.321gold.com/editorials/hera/hera041212.pdf

[ashedfc]

Some Americans spend their tax refunds on high-tech gadgets and long-awaited vacations. Others use the cash to file for bankruptcy.
More than 200,000 money-strapped households will use their tax refunds this year to pay for bankruptcy filing and legal fees, says a new study by the NBER

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/...tcy/54227664/1

[ashedfc]

Gold investing yields no income. But does it make life cheaper in future...?

"Investing [is] the transfer to others of purchasing power now with the reasoned expectation of receiving more purchasing power – after taxes have been paid on nominal gains – in the future."

Everyone knows, what inflation numbers govt declares...... this is the real one.. check it for yourself in the graph..


http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/gol...ting-041320124

[ashedfc]

Spain is now the epicenter is of financial crisis. Greece is done (they have already defaulted; which was not declared a default)... if a common pay only 30% of his debts back its a default, but for Greece, its not... there are different rules for different entities..

Here is Spain.. (lots of other countries will follow; the crisis which started in 2007 isn't done yet)
Rising debt; No Jobs; Troubled banks: take your pick, spain's got problems.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/ris...GVzdAM-;_ylv=3


14 jaw Droppong facts about the Spainsh economy

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart...my-2012-4?op=1

[aemi]

@ashedfc excellent articles, keep them coming

[ashedfc]

@ashedfc excellent articles, keep them coming

Thanks; the purpose is to create awareness on what's in store for our future in general (& specially our kids future)

Here's something even more interesting.. watch & see the difference of the last 70yrs change..

[ashedfc]

Half of new grads are jobless or underemployed
A weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don't fully use their skills and knowledge.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47141463.../#.T5VidhzX4p0

[ashedfc]

In an apparent first, a public pension plan files for bankruptcy

In what's believed to be a first by a US public pension plan, the Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.
The public defined-benefit plan is in a big hole. At the moment, it's only 38.8% funded, thanks to low investment returns and a benefit structure that's been increased without raises in funding, according to the bankruptcy filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth consisting of three major islands in the Western Pacific.

http://www.investmentnews.com/articl...REE/120419909#

[i_forget]

I have really enjoyed reading many of the articles that you have posted. Now, I am going to take a nice long time to put my thoughts to keyboard and be as simple as possible.

WW2 was fought on European soil. It did a lot of damage beyond casualties. Many people were left with nothing and had to live a very frugal life, working very hard to make ends meet. It took many years for them to recover and rebuild, and some of the damage is still visible today.

After WW2, while the Europeans were rebuilding, the Americans were reproducing. They did not suffer the same damage from their role in the war, which put them at an advantage. As they years passed, a sense of American dominance took over because of this economic advantage and because of their "boom". Gradually, credit became looser, consumer confidence soared and the American Dream was distorted into this sense of entitlement.
With this sense of entitlement came a shift in values for many people. There has no doubt been an increase in greed, and there was also a change in the way people look towards work. America has pretty much turned their nose up at a lot of the jobs of the middle class, and coupling that with greed and the desire to get more for less, they have allowed corporations to outsource many of their jobs to places like Asia, where they have no problem making it cheaper and then importing it over here.
For example, a Cabbage Patch Kid doll in 1982 cost $25 and was made in a factory in New York State. Now you can buy a doll at Walmart for around $25 not on sale and it is made in China. Considering Inflation, that $25 from 1982 should be closer to $60.

There have been a few bumps and bubbles along the way. Like gas shortages in the 70s, and the dot.com bubble. Little things here and there that were signs that things were not alright. Yet, the American government did very little to fix these issues. There became less and less regulation, more and more outsourcing, MORE AND MORE SPENDING and CREDIT EXTENDING to keep the ball rolling now to the point where they are where they are now....which is tapped out and not a logical prayer in sight.

Europe and Canada are in similar situations that the US for similar reasons. Because things are cheaper in China, we all too have become hungry for more, but government regulation has put a lot of stops in place which have protected us from the same fate as the US. Europe is similar because of their Economic policies, and coupled with the effect of the war on them, they are really in a much better position as well. The only difference between us and the US is size. They are a lot bigger, so they are going to fall a lot harder. Some of us are in better positions that others. Canada and Germany are in a better position than places like Spain and Greece because we have stronger economic bases in things like Resources and Manufacturing, however we are not protected because we rely on exports to a lot of other countries.....and Canada's Natural Resources are not an endless supply, so once that is gone, things are not going to look so rosy here unless something is done.

So, what is going to happen next? I would put all of my eggs into the war with Iran basket. Doing this will allow the Americans to have control over the oil in the region, which will give them more power over places like China which are gas-guzzlers because of the demand from America. This will keep them going for a little while longer, because after all of this happens, they will go back to thinking that everything is alright until they are slapped in the face with a Depression much deeper than the Great Depression and then all heck breaks loose because of the socioeconomic issues that are there because of their lack of Universal Health Care, Drug and Violence problems, the breakdown of core family values and their sense of entitlement from many generations of over consumption.

What should they be doing? They should be tightening up trade from Asia. They should make it less profitable for items to be made in China and shipped to the US so that Corporate America is forced to bring jobs home. By doing this, they would be increasing the costs of all of the toys in their kids closets, which should stop this distorted sense of value that they have become accustomed to because of cheap goods from China. They should be investing in Universal Health Care instead of construction jobs. It is nice that they have all of these new homes but if people do not have jobs to pay their bills, what is the point in building them? They are just making the problem worse. They should be increasing taxes to pay for the Universal Health Care, they should be regulating Wall Street and the Bankers so that the rich are not getting richer....and they should tighten credit so that people are not so reliant on it to survive. I do not think that it is a coincidence that they are imploding around the same time that the boomers are starting to retire.

[ashedfc]

Absolutely true, I agree with every content of your post..

Meanwhile, here is something even more interesting & straightforward.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pES9C...layer_embedded