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Austerity's Spreadsheet Error - Graduate student Thomas Herndon identifies little staggering omissions in a prominent academic paper, "Growth in a Time of Debt." (04:19):
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Background: If Snowden Is A Traitor For Leaking Info To The American People Does That Make Citizens The Enemy? Austerity's Spreadsheet Error - Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff's 2010 debt study inspires austerity around the world, but grad student Thomas Herndon debunks the results. (07:43): The Colbert Report ... that provides a way for a person to measure the levels of democracy and despotism in a society. This documentary is made in 1946 in collaboration with Harold D. Lasswell PhD of Yale University a political scientist. Harold D. Laswell PhD begins with the statement, Avoid the comfortable idea that the mere form of government can of itself safeguard a nation against despotism. He then encourages a person to look beyond fine words and noble phrases and to use a couple of scales as yardsticks to measure the levels of democracy or despotism that may exist in a community. Notes: Democracy & Despotism: 1940s Encyclopedia Britannica Films by Maria Popova Vintage lessons in civic harmony, or how small-scale common courtesy paves the way for large-scale peace. In 1945 and 1946, immediately following the end of World War II, Encyclopedia Britannica’s films division produced two educational short films, one on democracy and one on despotism, exploring how societies and nations rank on the spectrum from democracy to despotism by measuring the degree to which power is concentrated and respect for individuals restricted. More than half a century later, these analyses remain a compelling metric of social harmony and discord, in an era when we’re still struggling to understand the psychology of riots in a global political climate where the tension between despotism and democracy is in sharper focus than ever. (read more) Despotism (1946 Encyclopedia Britannica educational film) The essence of freedom is the proper limitation of Government "There is a reason we refer to "the rule of law and not of men" when discussing the American political system. It is because a republican form of government seeks to restrain the unbridled and quixotic passions of pure democracy, rather than yield to them. It also rejects the desire of the majority in favor of individual rights. Democracy seeks to assert the right of the group, but so does a mob with a hangman's noose. There's also a reason why lady justice is blindfolded: She is not to see the individuals, interest groups, race, or any characteristic at all of those that plead before her--her proper concern is not directed towards them; her care is to decide the law. It's also why the question of justice as presented before judges is not one of mercy (that belongs in the will of the people as expressed through their representatives in law), but one of exacting only what the law requires be exacted. The rule of law is all about the removal of arbitrary will from its application. A judge who seeks to apply his own notions of justice and mercy (as opposed to those notions being defined by the people through law) is a judge who seeks to impose arbitrary will in opposition to the rule of law. And it is arbitrary will that is the very definition of tyranny. Notes from the above documentary... You can measure any community on this simple scale; Be careful NOT to assume that the 'mere form of a government can guard you against despotism'. Germany was a Republic and yet a despotic ruler was able to take root (i.e. Hitler). A competent observer looks beyond fine words and noble phrases. [even Hitler used fine words and noble phrases - You look instead at history, actions, behaviour results of policies (and who was the controller behind the scene NOT just the face of an action)... Then follow the dots into the present using a holistic perspective] Two yardsticks have been proven to help any community to discover how close it is to despotism; The Respect Scale As a community moves towards despotism, respect is restricted to fewer people (such as restricting respect to ONLY members of a small group or one political party). A community is becoming despotic is respect is withheld from a large group of people on account of thier political attitudes. (such as persecution because someone is wealthy, of a different race or religion etc.). The ability of every citizen to better themselves (and educate themselves) is another important measurement of determining the level of respect in society. The opportunity to develop useful skills is important but not enough as the opportunity to put such skills to use (make a living) is another important measurement on the respect scale. The Power Scale This scale is useful to determine the citizens share in making decisions for thier community. When decision making is left in a few hands (or compiled into a huge bill so that there is at least one issue you feel so strongly for that you have to vote for it even if other aspects of the bill is bad for the community/country - then you have limited choice {and have been tricked!}) THEN the community is moving towards despotism. Today, a community can move towards despotism by allowing power to become concentrated in the hands of a few. The test of despotic power is that it can disregard the Will of The People. Despotism can be official AND unofficial. The spread of respect and power in a community can be measured using the following 2 scales; Economic Distribution If a communities economic distribution becomes slanted then it is moving towards despotism. If middle income groups grow smaller, then despotism has a better chance to gain a foothold. One sign of a move towards a despotic society is the concentration of land in the hands of a few people. When farmers lose thier farms they lose thier independence. In communities that depend on almost on a single industry (such as a factory or mine) will have find that maintaining economic balance is a challenging problem Tax Burden Another sign of a poorly balanced economy is a taxation system that presses heaviest on those least able to pay. Larger amount of a poorer person's income is spent on food, so sales taxes press heaviest on the poor and middle class. The Information Scale A community rests low on the information scale when the press/media is controlled by a few people and when citizens HAVE TO accept what they are told. If students are not taught critical thinking skills (with a well rounded education so they have basic knowledge of history, politics, sophism, economics etc.) THEN despotism has a good chance of establishing itself. By keeping students unable to think critically, you get adults who can't think critically (or have any ability to evaluate facts from lies). These adults will accept whatever thier chosen authority source tells them. Communist Central - Obama's Socialist Scheme You know a socialist policy like the auto industry bailout has worked when a staunch capitalist takes credit for it with a hostile takeover. (03:35): Sarcasm SatireFox "Business" Doesn't Understand What Socialism Is! ECON 101: Mitt Romney Explains How Subsidies Can Help An Industry Start-up Query: Answer (with Sarcasm): GOP's Hypocrisy On Subsidies: They Support It For Big Oil Who Fund Them (Tax Breaks etc.) But Not For An Industry Using A Non-Polluting Source Of Energy, i.e. Fox News Is In The Business Of Picking Winners & Losers As Far As Energy IS Concerned! Will Thier Hypocrisy Ever Cease? GOP's "Non-Socialist" View On Solar Energy VS Oil Summarized: Background Fox News's Food Stamp "Hypnosis" - Following The Path Of Jesus? Fox News's Class Warfare "Hypnosis" - Using %s & Numerical Figures Interchangeably To Fit Their Personal Agenda Fox News's Class Warfare "Hypnosis" 2 - Taxing The Poor i.e. Those Least Able To Afford It GOP's Main Problem With Ron Paul In The GOP Primary Was That He Wouldn't PRE-AGREE To Invade Iran Ayn Rand's "Freedom" Was For The Ultimate Victor In A Might Is Right Battle, The Exceptional Man Was Also The Last Man Standing Communist Central -Jon has at various times described himself as socialist, independent, Whig, Rockefeller Republican, Teddy Roosevelt Democrat, and contrarian a**hole. (03:12): Here 'socialist' means a person who likes to help society. What's wrong with that? Jesus helped society. As it is even the economic definition of socialism means to have all of production run by the State. What America has is a Corporate Oligopoly or "Plutarchy". The State owns a car factory in Detroit which went bankrupt. How is this a socialist state in even the remotest sense of the word? To say what I'm saying isn't playing semantics. To say being a socialist is the same as being a fascist and communist and has nothing in common whatsoever unjust wars common amongst the self styled 'capitalists' IS the semantics switcharoo. Related: Frank Luntz Explains Emotional Manipulation In Jon Stewart's words... The "Conservative" RomneyCare.. er I mean, ObamaCare Hypocrisy: Or as Jon Stewart Put It... Notes: Obamacare, brought to you by Johnson & Johnson: When push comes to shove, corporate interests will always have the upper hand in determining public policy (i.e. it was made by a corporation - A CAPITALIST! ) Obamacare architect heads to Big Pharma: Liz Fowler again exemplifies the blurred lines betweenthe healthcare industry and Washington Big Pharma Allies: Cigna, Aetna, Blue Cross -- they're allies, not competitors, when it comes to stopping a public plan Lobbyists: Their influence on Washington dates back to the days of Lincoln -- and it only seems to be growing Background:What Was Being An Employee In D South Like In D 'good Ol days'? Case Study: Frank Luntz Convinces People That Corporations CAN Be People For The Colbert Report! Conservatives Don't Get Sarcasm Or Satire. They Lack The Education. The Colbert Report 1:45: 15 dollars an hour would make the fry guy the richest guy in detriot! Is McDonald's using my sites money saving tips in combination with Frank Luntz's techniques? This is nuts! McDonalds put together a little kinder-garden style kitMcyDees thinks the Penguins from Happy Feet are actually peopleHealth insurance is very cheap!But it's not even covered by the largest retailer in America who can afford the largest discounts, so , in theory should be able to provide the best workplaces!It gets better. Not only can't you afford the health insurance that the company provides... you have to work two jobs to not even get health insurance!Reminds me of 'Fine words but empty of truth or honor'. Fully covered here.What Karl Marx did valued Entrepreneurship at $0. Here the EXACT opposite is being done to such an extreme that it's effect is the same as it is in a communist State only the ruling group is much larger. What the USA has is 'welfare for the wealthy', everyone else be damned.For a company that's already a monopoly/oligopoly there is no way any CEO is worth that much money (all he has to do is keep things running, it's like a star ship captain using a whip on his crew while they row across the galaxy). This is a common problem going back to when I first started blogging on this in 2009 i.e. Link: Billions In Bogus Bonuses...The reason division of labor came about was to increase the standard of living... but now there is a skewed environment where workers are making far less than that promised in WW2 and is part of the American Dream (i.e. American Dream is dead beginning from the National Security Act of 1949)American Dream Promise Banned WW 2 Cartoon... Labour Cost With An Increase IN A Standard Of Living As Per The American Dream... With increased productivity wages can keep ahead of prices. Though this isn't what happened in the 1970's, for various reasons. With globalization there was a collapse of certain things while other things got distorted. So now our global economic policies might as well be called "Swiss Cheese Economics". However, the complete economic collapse of 2008 seems to be intentional in an unintentional way (these policies were bound to backfire at some point, especially when Bush started padding the countries balance sheets back in 2001. Even a socialist country can do better than the current status quo of robber baron capitalism). NOTE: The switch in emphasis in 2008 from problem to a solution that punishes the people who didn't cause the problem to begin with is explained in this article extract: *When this financial crisis began nearly four years ago the story seemed simple. The banks were broke and they told our leaders that unless the taxpayers bailed them out and took their private debts on to the public account, then the world would end. Our politicians believed them. We took on huge debts and bailed out the banks. Right or wrong, at least the story seemed straightforward: they owed us huge sums of money. Then as the crisis continued, a new group most of us had never heard of appeared – the bond holders. It turned out the banks owed huge sums to the bond holders too, and so did we. The story of who owed whom began to change. Gradually the story became less about the banks owing us money and more about owing the bond holders. It seems to me that our governments and their financial advisers from the banks have a double standard when it comes to debt and its repayment; one which greatly benefits the financial world and punishes the taxpayer. On the one hand, the debts of private banks and those who own that debt, the bond holders, are being protected from any losses by the publicly funded bailouts. Public debt, on the other hand, at the insistence of the same banks and bond holders we have bailed out, is being paid down at breakneck speed, no matter what the cost in unemployment and the destruction of social services.* http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/11/banking-bond-holders-debt The following represents the chain of production and each sector is supposed to get it's share. There is NO WAY this random white dude deserves 8.75 million dollars.Why is this following woman not white? Is the Southern Strategy being used here? Hint: If most workers are not white then that may be a factor (i.e.a correlation).The Colbert Report National Mental Health Institute: Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.2 Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who suffer from a serious mental illness.1 In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada.3 Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to comorbidity.1 In the U.S., mental disorders are diagnosed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV).4 1 in 4? Really? 25% of the USA suffer from mental illness at some point or another? Or half of the GOP? (Sounds like a profitable business... drive people crazy then sell em drugs and places to stay ETC. Problem with the inciting violence tactic is that most of thier followers are in wheelchairs... thus the emergence of the "Koch Brother Libertarian". These media sales tactics are driving people crazy, they know it and are continuing to do it INTENTIONALLY. I got Piers Morgan a month ago, or so it seems, yet he won't admit his basic statistics 101 mistake? Why? Simply by controlling the broadcast bandwidth Piers Morgan can continue this gun debate charade for as long as he likes. He just has to ignore the small minority of people who know about it or slander the ones that realize it but can do nothing about it because then never made it through college (I noticed & waited... I wasn't expecting a whole magazine to follow Piers Morgan but in retrospect maybe all of the US has become Disneyland).. A quarter of the population of the United States of America has mental problems? 155+ MILLION PEOPLE?... How did they figure out how to communicate with dogs? How could you possibly ask a dog if he/she is depressed? Do only psychiatrists get the dog talk translator? Dogs get their first antidepressant drug approved... Psychology: Are Psychiatrists, Like, Witchdoctors? Psychiatric Drugs For Dogs? Have Psychiatrists Gone Mad? One of the methods that can help with education, training, coaching, business and stress management is called NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) - by John Grinder and Richard Bandler. Current "Legend" Series... Next "Legend" Series...
With ALL the jobs being sent abroad and ALL the Government healthcare jobs gone, there will be just one place left to work... the military... Moment Of Zen: Colbert Report: Solutions to America's Financial Worries - World War III The Colbert Report Points to Ponder: 1. There are "900 bases in 150 countries" 2. From The Economist: Indeed, the one lesson that can be drawn from the data is that today's strategic priorities can shape deployments for decades to come, long after the original reason for putting G.I.s in a particular region has gone. 3. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report Use Humor To Tell Truths Senator Sanders on Continuous American Domestic Policy Under Bush & Beyond:"You have told the American people that you support a trade policy which is selling them out." ---Rep. Bernard Sanders to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on 7/16/03... (On sending PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS OUT OF THE US thus creating only one real job opening... war.) Video proof: Manufacturing jobs have become more specialized requiring less labor and more technical expertise - i.e. small companies making big ticket items such as fighter jets; this means less people are employed, smaller number of people make huge profits and these huge profits make the economy look like its growing when actually its just a few companies making huge profits benefiting a small group of people. Ron Paul on War Party Warmongerings: Ron Paul on Georgia and Military Provocation of Russia Ron Paul Wants to Abolish the CIA; His Largest Donor Builds Toys for It (Robin Hood?) Ron Paul Post Debate - Foreign Policy and Iran Ron Paul with Sean Hannity on Iran i e Warmongering and Foreign Policy Why Ron Paul's Plan of Cutting 5 Departments/Cabinet-Posts Is Reasonable. It's interesting that this whole move towards war is covered in a rather shallow way in this video: Alan Greespan (former head of the FED under Clinton AND Bush) pushed to move jobs abroad, destroying the manufacturing base of the US = Senator Bernie Sanders thinks Alan Greenspan shouldn't be sending jobs abroad. State today: Manufacturing jobs have become more specialized requiring less labor and more technical expertise - i.e. small companies making big ticket items such as fighter jets; this means less people are employed, smaller number of people make huge profits and these huge profits make the economy look like its growing when actually its just a few companies making huge profits benefiting a small group of people. So. No jobs. No Manufacturing sector. The housing bubble was fueled by Alan Greenspan's bad policies combined with the worst housing development plan known to man (passed by George Bush)... and that's how you bring down the economy folks! Notice that if the Federal Government didn't have so much power over mortgages and how these mortgages are given out then this housing bubble financial disaster would never have happened. And if Alan Greenspan, with his private bank controlling public interests, hadn't pushed to create policies to move private sector businesses abroad then this job crisis would never have been created. On top of all that, top controllers allowed the biggest Wall Street scam in history to occur... then bailed them out... then turned on the government for having too much debt! On the one hand, the debts of private banks and those who own that debt, the bond holders, are being protected from any losses by the publicly funded bailouts. Public debt, on the other hand, at the insistence of the same banks and bond holders we have bailed out, is being paid down at breakneck speed, no matter what the cost in unemployment and the destruction of social services. This double standard is creating two different groups with very different financial prospects: one group made of the bankers and their bond holders (the financial class), is doing rather well because, by not having to pay off its debts, its wealth – the money to make more money – is being maintained. The other group, the rest of us, find our wealth is disappearing because we are paying off not only our debts but theirs as well. Our welfare, pensions and pay are all being cut in order to appease the bond holders, while the banks and the money they owe us, seems to have almost disappeared from the story altogether. (read more) Best part is that the 700 billion, no questions asked, TARP bailout was just the tip of the iceberg as the Federal Reserve (again playing God with the US economy) gave out an additional 16 trillion to their close buddies. Notice that the Federal Reserve is a private bank and thus has no oversight. They can do whatever they want to the economy and NEVER have to face elections for this actions, i.e. no consequences! If you have access to a money printing machine and couldn't get in trouble no matter what you did, would you print yourself up some cash? If you could give this money away with no consequences would you give some to your friends? It's just paper, after all. Extracts for emphasis from the above video timeline 1987 The new Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, is a believer in Ayn Rand's philosophy -- free-market capitalism means no regulations, no government intervention. Read more In other words, Alan Greenspan is following UN-CONSTITUTIONAL CAPITALISM {Constitutional Capitalism} I'm sure there's a place for privatization. The problem with the "Government" messing up projects, for example roads, is corruption. Keep in mind that the government - according to the US Constitution - is for "we the people". When the government is not working for "we the people" we have to put it right. Giving it all to greedy corporations, is just silly... and unconstitutional. Related: 4 Videos Under 7 Minutes Illustrating Congress In Full Current "Legend" Series... Next "Legend" Series...
The Colbert Report Note: 3 mins and 30 secs - Says 'we didn't realize housing doesn't go up forever' yet the excuse for the derivatives housing nonsense (triple AAA rated toxic assets) is 'this is the normal financial crises that occurs every 5-7 years'.
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