---
Have no doubt.. government, banks and corporations WILL find ways to increase revenue at YOUR expense!
---
by SIMON BLACK · VIEW COMMENTS
In the pre-dawn darkness of a chilly LA morning, my day started off with a chuckle. A friend in the reforestation business sent me an email detailing the US Department of Agriculture’s new ‘Christmas Tree’ tax that was approved yesterday. I thought it was a joke. It wasn’t.
One can only laugh at the absurdity of the government getting involved in such a matter. But it’s happening more and more.
You see, the United States is on a one-way collision course with its financial judgment day; the country long ago passed the historical point of no return– the point at which it has to start borrowing money simply to pay interest on the money it has already borrowed.
Throughout history, countries that passed this point of no return soon defaulted on their debts, entered into extended periods of severe inflation, or both. This is nothing new– the idea of a government going bankrupt is practically as old as the concept of government itself.
Along the way as they slide down the slippery slope of economic calamity, governments typically hit the accelerator by resorting to financial repression; rather than making the economy open and attractive to talented people and investment capital, they instead confiscate, inflate, and overregulate.
These tactics include oldies but goodies like civil asset forfeiture, capital controls, and a host of whacky new taxes. Like a Christmas Tree tax, for example.
Sumptuary laws (regulation and taxes over lifestyle habits) are quite common, dating back to the Renaissance period ‘beard taxes’. If you wore a beard during the time of Peter the Great in Russia, or Henry VIII in England, you paid a tax to the government for the privilege.
There are many modern day equivalents of the beard tax– taxes on cigarettes, mobile phones, vehicles, luxury goods, etc. We should expect the introduction of even more– a national sales tax, an Internet tax, a carbon emissions tax, and a financial transactions tax.
After this, the next mind-boggling category of taxes that will be introduced are ‘social taxes’. In other words, you get taxed on what everyone else is doing… like an anti-terrorism security tax, or better yet, national healthcare where you pay for other people to go to the doctor.
During the Tokugawa period in feudal Japan, they called this ‘honto mononari’. Village peasants were taxed by the local daimyo on the basis of the entire village’s rice yield for that season. Even if you didn’t grow a single grain, you still paid.
Perhaps the most heinous forms of taxes to come, though, are asset taxes. And at roughly $5 trillion in total value, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are the lowest hanging fruit that the federal government can grab.
It’s not that far-fetched. Argentina has done it. Hungary and Ireland have done it. Even France passed a law last year authorizing the government to use pension fund assets to pay off its debts. And if you recall, the US Treasury raided public pensions this year to tide itself over during the budget debacle.
The next step will be for the government to nationalize a portion of IRA assets. They’ll wait for a severe market downturn that wipes a huge chunk from most IRA accounts, blame capitalism for the failure, and then pass a law requiring that X% of IRA funds be held in the ‘safety and security’ of government debt.
If you think this can’t happen, then I encourage you to do absolutely nothing. Keep your IRA funds parked with a big, conventionally-thinking financial institution that has absolutely no interest in your financial security.
If, on the other hand, you can see the writing on the wall, then one of the biggest no-brainers you can undertake is establishing an Open Opportunity IRA.
This is a structure where YOU take control over your own retirement funds, opening up your savings to a world of possibilities and protecting against government confiscation.
Many Sovereign Man subscribers have written in to tell us about their successes with this approach. Subscribers have shipped their retirement funds overseas, bought foreign property, purchased precious metal coins, funded early stage technology ventures, and more.
Best of all, their hard earned retirement savings accounts are out of the government’s control, and back into their control. It’s a very elegant solution, and you can find out how exactly how to set this up by picking up a copy of Terry Coxon’s book Unleash Your IRA. Find out more about it here.
Source
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
CONFIDENCE IN THE MONEY
---
Here is WHY I often say worthless imaginary paper fiat!
"public confidence in, and hence demand for, paper
money depends on the ultimate confidence, or lack thereof, of
the public in the viability of the issuing government"
My money, your money, our money, is merely WORTHLESS PAPER! Being backed by the government of the United States of America is just NOT reassuring enough to me!
Use your worthless paper to buy & hold some GOLD!
---
An intangible, but highly important determinant of the demand for money, is the basic confidence that the public or market has in the money itself. Thus, an attempt by the Mongols to introduce paper money in Persia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries flopped, because no one would accept it. The public had no confidence in the paper money, despite the awesomely coercive decrees that always marked Mongol rule. Hence, the public's demand for the money was zero. It takes many years, in China it
took two to three centuries, for the public to gain enough confidence in the money, so that its demand for the money will rise from near zero to a degree great enough to circulate throughout the kingdom.
Public confidence in the country's money can be lost as well
as gained. Thus, suppose that a money is King Henry's paper, and
King Henry has entered a war with another state which he seems
about to lose. King Henry's money is going to drop in public
esteem and its demand can suddenly collapse.
It should be clear then, that the demand for paper money, in
contrast to gold, is potentially highly volatile. Gold and silver are
always in demand, regardless of clime, century, or government in
power. But public confidence in, and hence demand for, paper
money depends on the ultimate confidence, or lack thereof, of
the public in the viability of the issuing government. Admittedly,
however, this influence on the demand for money will only take
effect in moments of severe crisis for the ruling regime. In the
usual course of events, the public's demand for the government's
money will likely be sustained.
See this and a lot more in The Mystery of Banking
Here is WHY I often say worthless imaginary paper fiat!
"public confidence in, and hence demand for, paper
money depends on the ultimate confidence, or lack thereof, of
the public in the viability of the issuing government"
My money, your money, our money, is merely WORTHLESS PAPER! Being backed by the government of the United States of America is just NOT reassuring enough to me!
Use your worthless paper to buy & hold some GOLD!
---
An intangible, but highly important determinant of the demand for money, is the basic confidence that the public or market has in the money itself. Thus, an attempt by the Mongols to introduce paper money in Persia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries flopped, because no one would accept it. The public had no confidence in the paper money, despite the awesomely coercive decrees that always marked Mongol rule. Hence, the public's demand for the money was zero. It takes many years, in China it
took two to three centuries, for the public to gain enough confidence in the money, so that its demand for the money will rise from near zero to a degree great enough to circulate throughout the kingdom.
Public confidence in the country's money can be lost as well
as gained. Thus, suppose that a money is King Henry's paper, and
King Henry has entered a war with another state which he seems
about to lose. King Henry's money is going to drop in public
esteem and its demand can suddenly collapse.
It should be clear then, that the demand for paper money, in
contrast to gold, is potentially highly volatile. Gold and silver are
always in demand, regardless of clime, century, or government in
power. But public confidence in, and hence demand for, paper
money depends on the ultimate confidence, or lack thereof, of
the public in the viability of the issuing government. Admittedly,
however, this influence on the demand for money will only take
effect in moments of severe crisis for the ruling regime. In the
usual course of events, the public's demand for the government's
money will likely be sustained.
See this and a lot more in The Mystery of Banking
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Consumer borrowing up, but credit card use falls - Yahoo
---
"Americans borrowed more in September to buy cars and attend college" Stop it! Don't borrow ANY money from the elite money changers!
---
In this Oct. 13, 2011 photo, a FedEx employee arranges stacks of boxes for delivery, in New York. Americans borrowed more in September to buy cars and attend college, but they cut back on using their credit cards for a third straight month. The latest data suggest consumers are being cautious about taking on high-interest debt in the weak economy. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Consumer borrowing rose in September although credit card borrowing dropped for 3rd month
Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer, On Monday November 7, 2011, 4:50 pm EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans borrowed more in September to buy cars and attend college, but they charged less to their credit cards for a third straight month. The figures suggest that consumers are growing more cautious about taking on high-interest debt in a weak economy.
Total consumer borrowing rose by $7.4 billion in September, the Federal Reserve said Monday. In August, it had fallen by the most in 16 months.
The September increase reflected a 5.8 percent increase in borrowing in the category that includes car and student loans. But the category that covers credit card purchases dropped 1 percent after larger declines in July and August.
Credit card use has sunk nearly 19 percent since September 2008, the height of the financial crisis. For many consumers, adding debt with high interest rates is too risky when jobs are scarce, pay raises are few and unemployment has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years.
"Households continue to prefer cash over credit as employment, income and wealth prospects remain feeble," said Gregory Daco, principal U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.
The average annual percentage rate, or APR, on credit cards ticked up for variable-rate credit cards to 14.46 percent and was unchanged at 13.71 percent for fixed-rate credit cards, according Bankrate.com.
Auto loans are far cheaper. The average rate for a 48-month new-car loan was 5.31 percent last week.
The average rate for subsidized student loans was 4.5 percent last year, according to Student Loan Consolidator.com. Loans not subsidized by the federal government are capped at 6.8 percent through 2012.
Earlier this year, many economists worried the economy was at risk of slipping back into another recession. In August, the government said the economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.9 percent in the first half of the year, and Europe's debt crisis jolted financial markets.
Those fears have since eased. The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September period, the government said, the best quarterly growth in a year. Consumer spending grew three times as fast as it had in the spring.
Still, growth would have to be nearly twice as high -- consistently -- to make a major dent in the unemployment rate, which has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years.
And economists worry that the summer spending gains can't be sustained. Americans spent more in the July-September quarter even though they earned less. And they used their savings to make up the gap.
Troy Davig, an economist at Barclays Capital, said he expects consumers to borrow more in the coming months as the economy improves.
"Barring any major shocks, I think we will see gradual improvement," Davig said. "But we are not expecting anything dramatic in terms of credit growth."
Without more jobs and higher pay, consumers may be forced to cut back on spending. That would slow growth. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
On Friday, the government said the unemployment rate dipped to 9 percent in October from 9.1 percent, where it had been stuck for three months. The nation added 80,000 jobs, barely enough to keep pace with population growth.
Households began borrowing less and saving more when the country fell into a recession and unemployment surged. While economists believe Americans will gradually increase borrowing in coming months, they do not expect consumers to load up on debt the way they did during the housing boom.
Americans felt wealthier then and were more willing to take on added debt because of the soaring value of their homes.
The Federal Reserve's borrowing report covers auto loans, student loans and credit cards. It excludes mortgages, home equity loans and other loans tied to real estate.
AP Economics Writer Derek Kravitz contributed to this report.
Source
"Americans borrowed more in September to buy cars and attend college" Stop it! Don't borrow ANY money from the elite money changers!
---
In this Oct. 13, 2011 photo, a FedEx employee arranges stacks of boxes for delivery, in New York. Americans borrowed more in September to buy cars and attend college, but they cut back on using their credit cards for a third straight month. The latest data suggest consumers are being cautious about taking on high-interest debt in the weak economy. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Consumer borrowing rose in September although credit card borrowing dropped for 3rd month
Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer, On Monday November 7, 2011, 4:50 pm EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans borrowed more in September to buy cars and attend college, but they charged less to their credit cards for a third straight month. The figures suggest that consumers are growing more cautious about taking on high-interest debt in a weak economy.
Total consumer borrowing rose by $7.4 billion in September, the Federal Reserve said Monday. In August, it had fallen by the most in 16 months.
The September increase reflected a 5.8 percent increase in borrowing in the category that includes car and student loans. But the category that covers credit card purchases dropped 1 percent after larger declines in July and August.
Credit card use has sunk nearly 19 percent since September 2008, the height of the financial crisis. For many consumers, adding debt with high interest rates is too risky when jobs are scarce, pay raises are few and unemployment has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years.
"Households continue to prefer cash over credit as employment, income and wealth prospects remain feeble," said Gregory Daco, principal U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.
The average annual percentage rate, or APR, on credit cards ticked up for variable-rate credit cards to 14.46 percent and was unchanged at 13.71 percent for fixed-rate credit cards, according Bankrate.com.
Auto loans are far cheaper. The average rate for a 48-month new-car loan was 5.31 percent last week.
The average rate for subsidized student loans was 4.5 percent last year, according to Student Loan Consolidator.com. Loans not subsidized by the federal government are capped at 6.8 percent through 2012.
Earlier this year, many economists worried the economy was at risk of slipping back into another recession. In August, the government said the economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.9 percent in the first half of the year, and Europe's debt crisis jolted financial markets.
Those fears have since eased. The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September period, the government said, the best quarterly growth in a year. Consumer spending grew three times as fast as it had in the spring.
Still, growth would have to be nearly twice as high -- consistently -- to make a major dent in the unemployment rate, which has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years.
And economists worry that the summer spending gains can't be sustained. Americans spent more in the July-September quarter even though they earned less. And they used their savings to make up the gap.
Troy Davig, an economist at Barclays Capital, said he expects consumers to borrow more in the coming months as the economy improves.
"Barring any major shocks, I think we will see gradual improvement," Davig said. "But we are not expecting anything dramatic in terms of credit growth."
Without more jobs and higher pay, consumers may be forced to cut back on spending. That would slow growth. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
On Friday, the government said the unemployment rate dipped to 9 percent in October from 9.1 percent, where it had been stuck for three months. The nation added 80,000 jobs, barely enough to keep pace with population growth.
Households began borrowing less and saving more when the country fell into a recession and unemployment surged. While economists believe Americans will gradually increase borrowing in coming months, they do not expect consumers to load up on debt the way they did during the housing boom.
Americans felt wealthier then and were more willing to take on added debt because of the soaring value of their homes.
The Federal Reserve's borrowing report covers auto loans, student loans and credit cards. It excludes mortgages, home equity loans and other loans tied to real estate.
AP Economics Writer Derek Kravitz contributed to this report.
Source
Always the lowest prices is @WalMart half #truth @PeopleOfWalMart
---
Ok WalMart.. if you want to qualify your statement by saying something like "Always the lowest prices on corporate selected, special deal cut, name brands"
Ok..
But come on, we're not stupid WalMart, we know how it works. You cut special deals on pricing from select vendors and in return promise limited competition from other brands. DUH!
We started buying our eggs from Aldi's because WalMart eggs, here, are 1.98 p/dozen large. Aldi's are 1.30 a dozen.
That's a 35% savings on large eggs..
We also buy block cheese at Aldi's. Sure it's a different brand, not something "fancy" like Great Value, but it's f'ing cheese!
WalMart store brand 8 ounce block cheese is 2.48, here. Aldi's is 1.99 for 8 ounces.
That's 20% cheaper.
Ditto canned goods, Aldi's 59 cents, WalMart 69 cents.
That's 15% cheaper, Aldi's.
I think the average cost for ribeye steak around here is about 9.00 p/pound, including WalMart.
We buy ALL of our beef from a local area grocer. We don't buy it there because it's cheaper but because we think their beef has better quality, better flavor.
We bought 1" thick ribeye steaks there recently on sale for 4.98 a pound.
That's 44% cheaper than the going rate! And as an added bonus it TASTES better!
We buy our onions there too, now. Why? Because they run 1.99 for a 3 pound bag vs 3.34 for the same amount at WalMart.
That's 40% cheaper!
So WalMart, your most recent ad campaign is directed at reassuring people that you "always have the lowest prices".
Good luck because that simply is not true unless further "qualified".
Greg
Ok WalMart.. if you want to qualify your statement by saying something like "Always the lowest prices on corporate selected, special deal cut, name brands"
Ok..
But come on, we're not stupid WalMart, we know how it works. You cut special deals on pricing from select vendors and in return promise limited competition from other brands. DUH!
We started buying our eggs from Aldi's because WalMart eggs, here, are 1.98 p/dozen large. Aldi's are 1.30 a dozen.
That's a 35% savings on large eggs..
We also buy block cheese at Aldi's. Sure it's a different brand, not something "fancy" like Great Value, but it's f'ing cheese!
WalMart store brand 8 ounce block cheese is 2.48, here. Aldi's is 1.99 for 8 ounces.
That's 20% cheaper.
Ditto canned goods, Aldi's 59 cents, WalMart 69 cents.
That's 15% cheaper, Aldi's.
I think the average cost for ribeye steak around here is about 9.00 p/pound, including WalMart.
We buy ALL of our beef from a local area grocer. We don't buy it there because it's cheaper but because we think their beef has better quality, better flavor.
We bought 1" thick ribeye steaks there recently on sale for 4.98 a pound.
That's 44% cheaper than the going rate! And as an added bonus it TASTES better!
We buy our onions there too, now. Why? Because they run 1.99 for a 3 pound bag vs 3.34 for the same amount at WalMart.
That's 40% cheaper!
So WalMart, your most recent ad campaign is directed at reassuring people that you "always have the lowest prices".
Good luck because that simply is not true unless further "qualified".
Greg
CPI changes would hit the poorest hardest - #ows reading #99Percent to pay
---
'They' prey on your stupidity
"Despite fierce opposition from seniors groups, the proposal is gaining momentum in part (because it would let policymakers gradually cut benefits and increase taxes in a way that might not be readily apparent to most Americans.)"
“I think the thought process behind this is, slip this in, people won’t understand it,” said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
It ain't the banks that will be paying billions more.. it's you..
---
BY STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Associated Press
November 08, 2011
WASHINGTON — Just as 55 million Social Security recipients are about to get their first benefit increase in three years, Congress is looking at reducing future raises by adopting a new measure of inflation that also would increase taxes for most families — the biggest impact falling on those with low incomes.
If adopted across the government, the inflation measure would have widespread ramifications. Future increases in veterans’ benefits and pensions for federal workers and military personnel would be smaller. And over time, fewer people would qualify for Medicaid, Head Start, food stamps, school lunch programs and home heating assistance than under the current measure.
Taxes would go up by $60 billion over the next decade because annual adjustments to the tax brackets would be smaller, resulting in more people jumping into higher tax brackets because their wages rose faster than the new inflation measure. Annual increases in the standard deduction and personal exemptions would become smaller.
Despite fierce opposition from seniors groups, the proposal is gaining momentum in part because it would let policymakers gradually cut benefits and increase taxes in a way that might not be readily apparent to most Americans. Changes at first would be small — the Social Security increase would be cut by just a few dollars in the first year.
But the impact, as well as savings to the government, would grow over time, generating about $200 billion in the first decade and much more after that.
The proposal to adopt a new Consumer Price Index was floated by the Obama administration during deficit reduction talks in the summer. Now, it is one of the few options supported by both Democratic and Republican members of a joint supercommittee in Congress working to reduce government borrowing.
The committee of six Democrats and six Republicans is struggling to come up with a plan to reduce government red ink by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade. Changing the inflation index alone would put them a sixth of the way there.
“I think the thought process behind this is, slip this in, people won’t understand it,” said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
Richtman’s group is spending about $2 million on radio, TV and direct mail ads to fight cuts in Social Security and Medicare. His message to Congress: “Don’t believe that taking this approach to cutting Social Security will not be noticed. You will pay for it.”
A TV ad by AARP puts it this way: “We are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits, and you will be hearing from us today — and on Election Day.”
The inflation measure under consideration is called the Chained Consumer Price Index, or chained CPI. On average, the measure shows a lower level of inflation than the more widely used CPI for All Urban Consumers.
Many economists argue that the chained CPI is more accurate because it assumes that as prices increase, consumers switch to lower-cost alternatives, reducing the amount of inflation they experience.
A report by the Moment of Truth Project, a group formed to promote the deficit-reduction package produced by President Barack Obama’s deficit commission late last year, supports a new inflation measure. “Rather than serving to raise taxes and cut benefits, switching to the chained CPI would simply be fulfilling the mission of properly adjusting for cost of living,” it argues.
The new measure would reduce Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, by an average of 0.3 percentage points each year, according to the Social Security Administration. Next year’s increase, the first since 2009, will be 3.6 percent, starting in January.
Under the chained CPI, yearly benefits for a typical 65-year-old would be about $136 less, according to an analysis of Social Security data. At age 75, annual benefits under the new index would be $560 less. At 85, the cut would be $984 a year, and at 95, the annual income loss would amount to $1,392.
“For someone in the first year, it may not seem a lot,” said AARP’s David Certner. “But as people get older and then they get poorer and more reliant on Social Security, the cut gradually gets larger and larger.”
In all, adopting the chained CPI would reduce Social Security benefits by $112 billion over the next decade. Federal civilian and military pensions would be $24 billion lower, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
If adopted across the government, fewer people would be eligible for many anti-poverty programs because the poverty level also would increase at a lower rate each year. That would result in fewer people living below the official poverty line, despite having the same income.
The tax increases would hit low-income families the hardest, while high-income taxpayers would see smaller changes. The wealthiest taxpayers already pay taxes at the highest marginal rate, currently 35 percent.
For example, by 2021, taxpayers making between $10,000 and $20,000 would see a 14.5 percent increase in their federal taxes with a chained CPI, according to an analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation. Taxpayers making more than $1 million would get a tax increase of 0.1 percent.
Despite the political backlash, some lawmakers see the new inflation measure as a way to help break the deadlock in Washington over tax increases and cuts in benefit programs. Most Republicans adamantly oppose tax increases, while Democrats have said they won’t support benefit cuts without a substantial increase in revenue.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat who serves on the supercommittee, helped lead the fight over the summer against adopting the chained CPI. But in an interview last week, he wouldn’t rule out supporting a package that included it.
“If you’re going to simply try to save money by changing the CPI, you can do that,” Becerra said. “But then be up front and tell seniors what you’re doing. You’re throwing them under the bus to save money.”
Source
'They' prey on your stupidity
"Despite fierce opposition from seniors groups, the proposal is gaining momentum in part (because it would let policymakers gradually cut benefits and increase taxes in a way that might not be readily apparent to most Americans.)"
“I think the thought process behind this is, slip this in, people won’t understand it,” said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
It ain't the banks that will be paying billions more.. it's you..
---
BY STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Associated Press
November 08, 2011
WASHINGTON — Just as 55 million Social Security recipients are about to get their first benefit increase in three years, Congress is looking at reducing future raises by adopting a new measure of inflation that also would increase taxes for most families — the biggest impact falling on those with low incomes.
If adopted across the government, the inflation measure would have widespread ramifications. Future increases in veterans’ benefits and pensions for federal workers and military personnel would be smaller. And over time, fewer people would qualify for Medicaid, Head Start, food stamps, school lunch programs and home heating assistance than under the current measure.
Taxes would go up by $60 billion over the next decade because annual adjustments to the tax brackets would be smaller, resulting in more people jumping into higher tax brackets because their wages rose faster than the new inflation measure. Annual increases in the standard deduction and personal exemptions would become smaller.
Despite fierce opposition from seniors groups, the proposal is gaining momentum in part because it would let policymakers gradually cut benefits and increase taxes in a way that might not be readily apparent to most Americans. Changes at first would be small — the Social Security increase would be cut by just a few dollars in the first year.
But the impact, as well as savings to the government, would grow over time, generating about $200 billion in the first decade and much more after that.
The proposal to adopt a new Consumer Price Index was floated by the Obama administration during deficit reduction talks in the summer. Now, it is one of the few options supported by both Democratic and Republican members of a joint supercommittee in Congress working to reduce government borrowing.
The committee of six Democrats and six Republicans is struggling to come up with a plan to reduce government red ink by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade. Changing the inflation index alone would put them a sixth of the way there.
“I think the thought process behind this is, slip this in, people won’t understand it,” said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
Richtman’s group is spending about $2 million on radio, TV and direct mail ads to fight cuts in Social Security and Medicare. His message to Congress: “Don’t believe that taking this approach to cutting Social Security will not be noticed. You will pay for it.”
A TV ad by AARP puts it this way: “We are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits, and you will be hearing from us today — and on Election Day.”
The inflation measure under consideration is called the Chained Consumer Price Index, or chained CPI. On average, the measure shows a lower level of inflation than the more widely used CPI for All Urban Consumers.
Many economists argue that the chained CPI is more accurate because it assumes that as prices increase, consumers switch to lower-cost alternatives, reducing the amount of inflation they experience.
A report by the Moment of Truth Project, a group formed to promote the deficit-reduction package produced by President Barack Obama’s deficit commission late last year, supports a new inflation measure. “Rather than serving to raise taxes and cut benefits, switching to the chained CPI would simply be fulfilling the mission of properly adjusting for cost of living,” it argues.
The new measure would reduce Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, by an average of 0.3 percentage points each year, according to the Social Security Administration. Next year’s increase, the first since 2009, will be 3.6 percent, starting in January.
Under the chained CPI, yearly benefits for a typical 65-year-old would be about $136 less, according to an analysis of Social Security data. At age 75, annual benefits under the new index would be $560 less. At 85, the cut would be $984 a year, and at 95, the annual income loss would amount to $1,392.
“For someone in the first year, it may not seem a lot,” said AARP’s David Certner. “But as people get older and then they get poorer and more reliant on Social Security, the cut gradually gets larger and larger.”
In all, adopting the chained CPI would reduce Social Security benefits by $112 billion over the next decade. Federal civilian and military pensions would be $24 billion lower, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
If adopted across the government, fewer people would be eligible for many anti-poverty programs because the poverty level also would increase at a lower rate each year. That would result in fewer people living below the official poverty line, despite having the same income.
The tax increases would hit low-income families the hardest, while high-income taxpayers would see smaller changes. The wealthiest taxpayers already pay taxes at the highest marginal rate, currently 35 percent.
For example, by 2021, taxpayers making between $10,000 and $20,000 would see a 14.5 percent increase in their federal taxes with a chained CPI, according to an analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation. Taxpayers making more than $1 million would get a tax increase of 0.1 percent.
Despite the political backlash, some lawmakers see the new inflation measure as a way to help break the deadlock in Washington over tax increases and cuts in benefit programs. Most Republicans adamantly oppose tax increases, while Democrats have said they won’t support benefit cuts without a substantial increase in revenue.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat who serves on the supercommittee, helped lead the fight over the summer against adopting the chained CPI. But in an interview last week, he wouldn’t rule out supporting a package that included it.
“If you’re going to simply try to save money by changing the CPI, you can do that,” Becerra said. “But then be up front and tell seniors what you’re doing. You’re throwing them under the bus to save money.”
Source
Monday, November 7, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Greece's prime minister survives confidence vote - Bloomberg
---
So.. finally this Greek debt, Italian debt, Spanish debt, European debt thing is laid to rest.. All solved now it looks like LMAO
We need the same solution here in the United States.. Just BORROW more fiat! LMAO
Greg
---
By DEREK GATOPOULOS and ELENA BECATOROS
ATHENS, GREECE
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou survived a confidence vote early Saturday, calming a vicious revolt in his Socialist party with an emotional pledge to step aside if necessary and seek a cross-party government lasting four months to safeguard a new European debt agreement.
Papandreou won the critical parliamentary confidence motion 153-145 after a week of drama in Athens that horrified Greece's European partners, spooked global markets and overshadowed the Group of 20 summit in the French resort of Cannes.
The threat of a Greek default or exit from the common euro currency has worsened the continent's debt crisis, which is already struggling under bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, who warned that the debt-ridden country still faced "mortal danger," said the new government would last until the end of February.
But main opposition leader Antonis Samaras, who had demanded Papandreou resign and a new government be formed that did not include members of any political party, called for snap elections. He did not say whether his conservative party would join coalition talks, due to be formally launched later Saturday when Papandreou meets the country's president.
"The masks have fallen," Samaras said. "Mr. Papandreou has rejected our proposals in their entirety. The responsibility he bears is huge. The only solution is elections."
Papandreou's government, midway through its four-year term, came under threat after his disastrous bid this week to hold a referendum on a major new European debt agreement. The idea was swiftly scrapped Thursday after an angry response from markets and European leaders who said any popular vote in Greece would determine whether the country would keep its cherished euro membership.
They also vowed to withhold a critical euro8 billion installment of loans from an existing bailout deal that Greece needs urgently to stave off an imminent and catastrophic default.
Papandreou's surprise referendum plan, and the international backlash against it, horrified many of his own party stalwarts. It led to an open rebellion with high-ranking socialists saying they would only support him in the confidence vote if he pledged to seek a cross-party coalition whose mandate would be to secure the new debt deal and the disbursement next bailout loan installment.
Struggling to face down the revolt, Papandreou insisted his main concern was to save the country. He insisted he was not concerned with retaining the premiership, but warned that elections now would have been "catastrophic," jeopardizing Greece's continued bailout funding, the new debt deal and the country's euro membership.
He sought the vote of confidence "to safeguard a steady course for the country -- with no power vacuum, without being dragged to election," he said.
"We must proceed in an organized way. And regardless of developments, the country must be governed tomorrow without turbulence."
After seeing nearly two years of harsh austerity measures spur crippling strikes, violent demonstrations and street attacks against his lawmakers, Papandreou insisted the burden could not be carried without help from opposition parties.
"We, the Socialist party deputies, carried the cross of reform ... But one group in Parliament is not enough," he said. "This great task requires sincere and broad support."
Greece has been surviving since May 2010 on a first euro110 billion bailout. But its financial crisis was so severe that a second rescue was needed as the country remained locked out of international bond markets by sky-high interest rates and facing an unsustainable national debt increase.
The new European deal, agreed on Oct. 27 after marathon negotiations, would give Greece a euro130 billion ($179 billion) rescue package. It would also see banks write off 50 percent of the money Greece owes them, about euro100 billion ($138 billion). The goal is to reduce Greece's debts to the point where the country is able to handle its finances without relying on constant bailouts.
To receive funds from the initial bailout, Greece was forced to embark on a punishing program of tax hikes and cuts in pensions and salaries that sent Papandreou's popularity plummeting and his majority in parliament whittled down from a comfortable 10 seats to just two.
--------
Associated Press writers Demetris Nellas and Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed to this report.
Here's the source on http://www.businessweek.com
So.. finally this Greek debt, Italian debt, Spanish debt, European debt thing is laid to rest.. All solved now it looks like LMAO
We need the same solution here in the United States.. Just BORROW more fiat! LMAO
Greg
---
By DEREK GATOPOULOS and ELENA BECATOROS
ATHENS, GREECE
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou survived a confidence vote early Saturday, calming a vicious revolt in his Socialist party with an emotional pledge to step aside if necessary and seek a cross-party government lasting four months to safeguard a new European debt agreement.
Papandreou won the critical parliamentary confidence motion 153-145 after a week of drama in Athens that horrified Greece's European partners, spooked global markets and overshadowed the Group of 20 summit in the French resort of Cannes.
The threat of a Greek default or exit from the common euro currency has worsened the continent's debt crisis, which is already struggling under bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, who warned that the debt-ridden country still faced "mortal danger," said the new government would last until the end of February.
But main opposition leader Antonis Samaras, who had demanded Papandreou resign and a new government be formed that did not include members of any political party, called for snap elections. He did not say whether his conservative party would join coalition talks, due to be formally launched later Saturday when Papandreou meets the country's president.
"The masks have fallen," Samaras said. "Mr. Papandreou has rejected our proposals in their entirety. The responsibility he bears is huge. The only solution is elections."
Papandreou's government, midway through its four-year term, came under threat after his disastrous bid this week to hold a referendum on a major new European debt agreement. The idea was swiftly scrapped Thursday after an angry response from markets and European leaders who said any popular vote in Greece would determine whether the country would keep its cherished euro membership.
They also vowed to withhold a critical euro8 billion installment of loans from an existing bailout deal that Greece needs urgently to stave off an imminent and catastrophic default.
Papandreou's surprise referendum plan, and the international backlash against it, horrified many of his own party stalwarts. It led to an open rebellion with high-ranking socialists saying they would only support him in the confidence vote if he pledged to seek a cross-party coalition whose mandate would be to secure the new debt deal and the disbursement next bailout loan installment.
Struggling to face down the revolt, Papandreou insisted his main concern was to save the country. He insisted he was not concerned with retaining the premiership, but warned that elections now would have been "catastrophic," jeopardizing Greece's continued bailout funding, the new debt deal and the country's euro membership.
He sought the vote of confidence "to safeguard a steady course for the country -- with no power vacuum, without being dragged to election," he said.
"We must proceed in an organized way. And regardless of developments, the country must be governed tomorrow without turbulence."
After seeing nearly two years of harsh austerity measures spur crippling strikes, violent demonstrations and street attacks against his lawmakers, Papandreou insisted the burden could not be carried without help from opposition parties.
"We, the Socialist party deputies, carried the cross of reform ... But one group in Parliament is not enough," he said. "This great task requires sincere and broad support."
Greece has been surviving since May 2010 on a first euro110 billion bailout. But its financial crisis was so severe that a second rescue was needed as the country remained locked out of international bond markets by sky-high interest rates and facing an unsustainable national debt increase.
The new European deal, agreed on Oct. 27 after marathon negotiations, would give Greece a euro130 billion ($179 billion) rescue package. It would also see banks write off 50 percent of the money Greece owes them, about euro100 billion ($138 billion). The goal is to reduce Greece's debts to the point where the country is able to handle its finances without relying on constant bailouts.
To receive funds from the initial bailout, Greece was forced to embark on a punishing program of tax hikes and cuts in pensions and salaries that sent Papandreou's popularity plummeting and his majority in parliament whittled down from a comfortable 10 seats to just two.
--------
Associated Press writers Demetris Nellas and Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed to this report.
Here's the source on http://www.businessweek.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)