Zodiac Times » Bush

THE ENEMIES IN OUR MIDST OR HOW TO KILL THE WORLD’S LARGEST ECONOMY

Ella Moss — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 03:02:02 +0000

I just heard on the news that the 3rd Al Queda biggie was killed, giving the U.S. the edge on that murky shapeless war on terror we have been officially waging since 2001.
While I am happy to hear these news, I think that even we were to win the 4 wars (1.this “war on terror”; 2. in Afghanistan; 3. in Iraq; 4. in Lybia), we’ve been waging since the fateful 2001 (and I am not counting the “war on drugs”), we are heading to lose our way of life.
It’s not the democracy I am worried about here, but material comfort and relative peace on the streets (outside of occasional shootings and muggings).
It appears that there has been another war waging, and it is on American economy.
It’s beginnings are murky. But I would trace it as far back as Reagan’s Administration, that first began an unofficial war on unions. Unions make labor-intensive manufacturing very expensive and eat into profits of investors.
Well, nobody likes unions (except for unions’ bosses), so what’s the big deal?
The big deal is that everybody likes the middle class.
The middle class is as essential to any economy, as an engine to a car. Without it, economy is dead.
Even if we were to end up with a few thousands of super rich dudes, while the rest of us would struggle to survive (i.e. the middle class would disappear completely), all the many billions of these super rich would not create the job growth a multi-million population requires. They would invest into emerging markets, not the dying ones.
Why would they create a factory of any kind in the U.S., where people are struggling to stretch a dollar to pay rent, bills and buy groceries and their discretional income is so tight that all they can afford is cheap Chinese goods in Walmart, when these super rich investors can build a factory in Brazil, or India, or same China, where people are eager to spend their increasing earnings?
By the way, is not it one of the main reasons, that the numbers of unemployed right now stay where they are despite us giving continuous tax breaks to these super rich?
Yes, the second attack on American economy began during the prosperous 1990s, when Clinton Administration signed away any kind of protection of American labor force, and internet was born (internet makes outsourcing a breeze).
Suddenly, American labor force had to compete with the labor force of other countries, and American people could no longer ask for wage increase, because the majority of the world’s labor force was so much cheaper and just as good.
It took about 10 years for Americans to notice that their incomes were stagnating while their bills grew. They kept waiting for their personal prosperity to come, while changing jobs, professions and investing into 401K and increasingly expensive real estate.
But Clinton Administration also approved the deregulation of financial markets.
Suddenly, the credit was so cheap and so available, that the American people have not noticed that their actual discretional income was dwindling to nothing.
Why worry, if one could still buy a McMansion, and buy even more stuff by turning the McMansion into an ATM machine?
Yes, 1990s were prosperous. The economy was booming as people were eager consumers. The problem was that everything was bought on credit rather then with actual money.
Everyone was expecting the actual income to catch up, as it used to.
But it did not, because so many jobs have either left the country or paid as much as in other (read CHEAPER) countries.
Eventually, the credit bubble had to burst, and it did in 2008.
If the federal government did not pump money into the banks that lost the money by lending it to population so indiscriminately, The economy would have simply collapse like it did in Argentina in 1990s.
Americans were saved, although suddenly they came face to face with their economic reality and realized they were so much poorer than a decade ago.
So many of them have lost their job, that those who did not no longer dared to ask for a wage increase or benefits or union perks. In fact, they started giving up their last benefits and perks just so they could keep a job.
And that is when the final attack on American economy began.
Since it was now the federal government that was pulling the economy down the road as its engine, the middle class, stalled, the enemies in our midst began to attack the federal government.
The ideas Obama put on the table were nothing short of brilliant: invest federal dollars into aging crumbling infrastructure and green economy – labor-intensive enterprises that must hire domestic labor force. Every created job would spur on 10s of other jobs, and the economy would begin humming again.
But the enemies in our midst thought otherwise. Suddenly, federal deficit began to be used as a panic-inspiring weapon of choice.
Of course, the surplus that Clinton Administration left the country with would have been a much better deal. But if credit is sparse everywhere else, how else would you come up with money needed to pump the economy?
The enemies in our midst said, “Let starve the federal government of tax income, let’s keep taxes low so the few super rich would invest their money into economy. The government is too big and lives beyond its means. Its deficit is going to bankrupt our children”.
Americans love their children, so anything threatening the kids works as a great scarecrow.
They are also badly educated (read my American Education Reform ).
So Obama’s proposals were decimated, the government began shedding its work force, unemployment came back to its pick numbers, and unions everywhere lost their power and benefits.
Now there is no one to pull our economy from the brink. Those who are employed, work at REDUCED wages, that are getting closer to the 3rd world range.
Meanwhile, every single life staple, like groceries, rent, cable bills, insurance, etc. doubled or more in price (as compared to 10 yrs ago or less). Even those who work at median salaries have less money to buy desirable but unnecessary things.
This means that businesses producing and selling anything that is not a life staple make less profit so they begin to shed their labor force.
The less there is labor force, the less income the government gets. Since deficit is now a dirty word, the government has no choice but shed its work force and cut services to the impoverished population.
Now the time came to put the final nails into the coffin of what used to be the largest world economy: refuse to raise the ceiling on federal credit.
Once the federal government loses its credit-worthiness, watch American economy collapse into THE GREATER THAN THE GREAT DEPRESSION ditch.
The idiot dream of labor-intensive manufacturers like Koch brothers would come true:
labor in America would become as cheap as in Africa.
Unfortunately, the American workers would no longer be able to afford using the toilet paper they manufacture for Koch brothers. Like their African brethren, they would have to use tree leaves to wipe their asses. So Koch brothers would eventually go broke too.
No, it is not the federal deficit that threatens the future of our children. It is our inability to discern the enemies in our midst.
As for the scary federal deficit, it was Reagan administration that first racked it up into the trillions. Then Bush administration turned the surplus into another multi-trillion dollar debt. No one screamed of deficit while republicans were in power. The congress did not attack neither of the republican presidents for taking us into expensive wars (Reagan’s Panama blitz, Nicaragua fiasco, etc.; Bush’s Afghanistan, Iraq and the amorphous war on terror).
No, I am not happy at all with Lybia war either. I just don’t think it matters much anymore.
Like I predicted in 2008, “FINANCIAL CRISIS – IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER”

Tagged: Al Queda, Bush, deficit, economy, financial crisis, global economy, great depression, India, Iraq, money, news, Obama, outsourcing, politics, predictions, Reagan, recession, taxes, unemployment, war, worry

ON TAXES, UNIONS, JOBS AND DANGEROUS POLITICS

Ella Moss — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:17:11 +0000

1. JOBS
What job would you prefer:
a) a job that has annual wage increase specified in the contract, over-time pay for all work done beyond 40 hours on weekdays, all benefits and pension one can live on after 10 years or so of service
b) 60+ hours per week, high stress job with no benefits, no over-time pay, no pension whatsoever and wages just above minimum specified by congress
If you said “a”, you prefer either government or a union job, if “b” (WHO ARE YOU?!) – you’re gunning for a private sector.
Since it is a buyer market, whether we talk real estate or jobs, that’s how private sector job looks like right now.
Our government is putting even more teeth into the buyer market by trying to cater to those we do not name who want less government, less unions, and, yes, less taxes. The government cuts down on hiring, and laying off as many people as possible. Our future governor Cuomo promises to cut agencies and authorities by another 20%. New York 18b panel is going to put another 1000 lawyers on the street.
Last December, a partner of a medium size law firm told me of a job interview for a associate position:
“She told me, ‘I was making $120,000 at so and so. I’ve said, ‘We do not pay above $75,000. And she took it!”
I would not be surprised, that next year he would offer $35,000 for the same job.
Now, you need at least 7 years of higher education to become a lawyer (all those student loans), and then you take on a 60+ hrs / wk high stress job. It used to be that at least salary was worth it. Not anymore.
Make no mistake, employers (me included) would really prefer slave labor. So with no competition, we would do our best to get as close to that ideal as possible.
Once “Tea buggers” are elected, we may even pass a slave law in congress.
2.Unions
We all hate unions. They make everything more expensive. Look at MTA: every year we pay more for public transportation despite lack of tangible improvements, while their workers get paid more than lawyers, have all benefits and can comfortably retire at 55 years of age. I personally may never be able to retire at all. And then they even have a nerve to strike once in a while!
Now teachers union is under fire. Just think, once you have a tenure, all you need is to show up at work – working itself is not required.
But do you know that before unions came into being, there was no tangible middle class at all? Do you realize that the U.S. became a prosperous country only when unions gained strength and created huge middle class?
When 90% of people earn subsistence wages only, they have no discretional income to buy all that producers of goods and services want them to buy. So producers cut on production and lay people off, and economy contracts even further. Take a look at how people used to live before unions: their houses hardly had closets (most people had only one or 2 dresses), the houses were much smaller and often 10 people would live in 1 room. Oh, by the way, most people in Africa or Bungladesh, or Mexico still live that way. They have no unions and lots of almost-slave labor.
Do you still want to get rid off unions?
3. TAXES
Like everyone else, I try to pay as little tax as possible. After all, it’s my money that the government takes away. The government is so wasteful, and it has no clue that I need another computer, or that I have to take my kitten to a vet.
But the grown up in me knows that taxes in a democratic society is really a money pool for services we all collectively need like:
schools, public transportation, law enforcement, firefighters, and even a helping hand when we become old and feeble or lose a job, etc.
Sometimes, of course, this money pays for something we don’t like. I don’t like wars. Some don’t like welfare.
But a strong society should have some military might (we do get attacked – 9/11 comes to mind, for instance), and a strong society should take care of its needy (or we may have riots, revolutions, or, at least, whole a lot of crime).
It tickles me that “Mama Grisly” and her brood are so against taxes and government. Alaska gets more government subsidies than any other state. What are they going to do out there once they cut our taxes: eat snow?
So the Republicans and people who drink spiked tea say that stimulus has not worked (even though their leader Bush Jr. approved it first – because they collapsed our economy). They want less taxes, less government jobs and strangle the unions out of existence. In other words, they want to create African way of living in North America (this way they would not have to import slaves, as we would have plenty of them right here).
Interestingly enough, many of them are not rich. They simply drink spiked tea and think they may become so.
They may be faithful followers of trickle-down economics. The latter was not invented by Reagan. It has been in existence until 20th century. But now the rich invest wherever they find the cheapest labor, and it is not the U.S. (yet).
The truly rich, by the way, tend to be democrats and are ready to pay taxes, because they are much better educated and they dig history and economics.
But they are spineless, and as soon as those on spiked tea yell at them, they too begin to talk cutting government (good jobs), unions (good jobs) and taxes that create those good jobs…

Tagged: Bush, economy, economy solutions, financial crisis, global economy, great depression, jobs, money, politics, taxes, trickle-down economics, unemployment, unions

FLYING P.I.G.S., ETC.

Ella Moss — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:49:21 +0000

In my previous articles Financial Crisis: It’s Not Over Until It’s Over and More on the Great Financial Disaster of 2010, I’ve predicted 2010 being an interesting year that would go down in history as the year when the world we have known since the industrial revolution finally bursts its tires. We are already seeing pigs fly (these “pigs”, of course, being Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain). Italian finances have also been questioned recently. I doubt that Germany, France and Great Britain can bail out the rest of Europe.
Don’t forget that Eastern European countries are likely to be the next pigs to fly.
What’s in it for us?
As European Union falls on its face and euro devalues to almost nothing, American exports would stall, American manufacturing would dwindle to its lowest yet, American corporations would run to hire the best and the cheapest labor force on the planet (that would be the European one), and we here are going to struggle with unemployment of such proportions that 10% would seem like a reasonable figure.
We are already seeing enormous inflation when it comes to basic staples of life (rent, food, transit and all kinds of insurance costs went up significantly in the past 2 years). At the same time we are seeing deflation of real estate, clothing, furniture, electronics and luxury goods. These trends are likely to continue.
I really feel for Obama Administration and sincerely pray for them every day. This administration inherited the crisises created by the previous administration. These crisises are as grave as they come.
On top of it, the people who created these problems are trying to undermine Obama at every turn – just because he is not a republican.
Bill Clinton had to endure the republican ire too, and for the same reason – he was not a republican. Remember the impeachment debacle? That was the time when I stopped watching my soap operas and turned to politics for entertainment.
What tickled me the most then was how easily Larry Flint succeeded in outing the sins of the stone throwers. Do you remember how many republicans had to resign because of their extra marital indiscretions?
The republicans did not succeed then either because Clintons bit back or because they realized that they may loose all their leaders to Flint’s private investigators.
They have succeeded though by manipulating elections of 2000. Not many know the true story behind Bush Jr.’s victory.
The story goes like this: Bush the elder brother (the governor of Florida at that time) managed to eliminate thousands of voters from the list under suspicion that they were felons. The great majority of suddenly eliminated voters (who had no idea they were eliminated) were not felons. They were simply democrats.
Then that Bush places a call to the anchor of Fox news in the middle of vote count and tells him that Bush Jr. won in Florida long before all the Floridian votes were in. That anchor calls the vote. Dan Rather, dismayed that someone else got the results before him, immediately follows the suit, and the rest of TV anchors follow him.
The rest is well known.
Bush Jr. ascends to the throne and immediately proceeds to damage his country.
His first blunder: NEGLIGENCE THAT BORDERS ON THE TREASON. He had the report about the imminent attack by Al Qaida and sat on it. Now I pass by the hole in the ground where the WTC once was almost every day and it’s still hurts.
His second blunder: destroying Iraq and millions of American families, whose loved ones went to serve his whims. Some people thought he did it for oil. But he was too stupid to see that far. I’m certain he did it to show his daddy that he could do better.
To me, that’s treason. But democrats, spineless without Clintons, thought better of impeaching him and suing him as a war criminal that he was.
In a sense, their meekness enabled him to put everything in place in order to destroy global economy. Actually, he did not do it. He did nothing, and allowed his fellow republicans to deregulate all they could and for their greed to take over.
America voted for him in 2004, because people were running scared of terrorism and wanted guys toting guns in the helm. They did not trust John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam war hero, to tote the gun at spooky Arabs, because they believed the “swift boat” ads and mistook his dignified silence for weakness.
Instead, they voted for a guy, whose family was tight with those Arabs, and who lied and bought out of the service to his country during that long bad war.
Perhaps, because next to him stood big dick Cheney known for shooting ducks and people.
So republicans under his banner went ahead and destroyed the world.
They could hardly believe that they lost to Obama (THE BLACK GUY?!). They worked so hard to take Hillary out, so their man would take on the reins. They could never imagine a black guy becoming a president, so they did not bother to “swift boat” him.
They were so sure of themselves, that they gave their man Sarah Palin as a running mate.
Of course, it could have been that they secretly hated McCain too – after all, he had some friends on the other side of the isle.
So these Egotistical Vicious Ignorant Liars republicans miscalculated and got Obama + democratic congress.
And the only thing they can do now is preventing Obama to do anything he tries.
Of course, they also try to “swift boat” him in the most underhanded manner.
This is what I’ve received recently as a comment to one of my posts:
I also appreciate your work Ella and I too thought Obama was a great man in a time of peril, however I just watched a documentary called “XXXXXX”-(my editing), which I highly recommend, and it opened my eyes to the facts. Obama is worse than Bush as he has reached celebrity status and capured the hearts of millions of people but is just another puppet committing treason. I am not trying to slander anyone and again would like to praise your work Ella but think that the people NEED to know the facts of what is happening to the Government.
I bet, many people received something like this in e-mail or as a “comment”. This must be Republican way of making their disinformation “viral”.
Just recently, they tried to put Obama’s citizenship in doubt. Now they keep telling us that the stimulus did not work (well, my business is better because it DID WORKED)
Next it is going to be a rumor that he eats little white children for breakfast.
Poor Obama: he needs to fix the dirtiest mess on the planet with his hands tied by republican obstructionism and with “swift boat” mud all over his face.
So I am praying for him to succeed nonetheless, because I live in this mess and I need him to get me out of it. Don’t you?
By the way, historically (at least for the last 100 years or so), the republican administrations have lead our nation into wars and huge deficits, while democratic ones have brought us peace, prosperity and reduction in deficits.

Tagged: Arabs, astrological predictions, astrology, Bill Clinton, Bush, Cheney, dollar, economy, elections, elections of 2000, elections of 2004, euro, European Union, financial crisis, Florida, global economy, great depression, Greece, impeachment, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, John Kerry, McCain, Obama, P.I.G.S., politics, Portugal, republicans, Spain, stimulus, treason, unemployment, viral, war crimes, worry

IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!

Ella Moss — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:00:33 +0000

In this post, I am going to deviate a bit from the main theme of the blog in order to put in my 2 cents as to what is going on this Monday, 9/15 – which is surely to become a historic date with Lehman Brothers declaring bankruptcy, AIG struggling to hold on and begging for government to save it, and Merryl Lynch being bought out by surely overextended Bank of America that just gobbled up Country-Wide and another bank.
This is American economy tearing up at the seam.
In fact, it is in the contracting stage that may take us into black hole of true depression.
It goes like this:
Fuel + Energy go up -> food + other consumer goods go up -> discretionary income goes down -> affluent consumer dependent businesses go down -> unemployment rises -> discretionary + necessary income evaporate -> housing market that is undergoing righteous correction dips further -> more banks go down -> credit tightens further ->new ventures and investment in start ups go down ->market stagnates at the bottom
Is there a way out? GOVERNMENT MUST STEP IN to reverse this chain of events, but not by bailing out greedy investors or by expanding social welfare system.
When businesses begin to fail and unemployment rises, the government should increase its payroll and spend on infrastructure, and energy R & D. Then unemployment goes down -> discretional spending goes up -> more business thrive -> more people are employed -> more $ for everyone.
None of presidential candidates talk about the U.S.’ failing infrastructure. In fact McCain wants to rein in the government spending. THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO DO IT. Let our deficit grow, let us borrow money to keep the economy going, or the big U.S.A. can also become bankrupt. THIS IS VERY POSSIBLE!
In fact, as an astrologer, I certainly look at 2010 – 2011 as the time of economic earthquake of huge magnitude in this country.
I have business education, and have been in business all my adult life. My common sense and my experience both say that tightening of credit during economic downturn is the recipe for disaster.
One fact is particularly scary: McCain’s main adviser on economy is the mastermind of chopped up and repackaged mortgages – the investment instrument of “financial destruction” that got our economy into hot water in the first place.
Even though I stand by my prediction that McCain is going to be our next president, I do not favor him. He is planning to continue the Republican party economic policies, which, essentially boil down to trickle-down-economics theory.
This theory does not work because in reality it works like this:
With global markets and labor pools wide open, outsourcing lowers the wages ->the middle class and poor grow poorer -> the pool of unemployed and desperate rises -> more people would take low paying hard jobs ->the rich may lower the wages and demand more-> the rich grow richer -> the poor grows poorer.
If you don’t believe it, go back to history books: that’s how it has been throughout history, which has always had trickle-down economy. The middle class rose to empowering numbers in this country during the middle of the twentieth century only, and only thanks to FDR’s policies set to end depression – which was exactly what I advocate: spending government money, lowering credit and putting people to work.
Obama does not have the right solutions to problems of American economy either. But, at least, he is planning on spending. He also wants to tax the rich, while bringing welcome relieve to the middle class.
I don’t know how about you, guys, but I am voting for Obama as for lesser evil!
P.S. Hail to the Chief! After 8 years of stripping the country of much of its democracy, getting us involved in the war on 2 fronts, ruining economy by allowing unprecedented speculation in real estate mortgages, he now refuses AIG the bridge loan it needs to survive. AIG’s demise would send such ripples through the world economy, that would send American economy over the tipping point. SOS!
P.P.S. 9/16
Well, here we go: McCain just announced that he would create a special commission that would study the current financial problems. As we don’t know what got us into the hole. But it would certainly create another 2 years of government inaction. By that time, we all are going to be in the poor house, because McCain also thinks that AIG is expendable (just when they finally found a semblance of a brain in the White House and are considering helping AIG to stay afloat).
The reason we all are heading into the poor house once AIG sinks is because it insures and underwrites many, many other banks and such entities as NY state and NYC!…
And, just think, I have once considered voting for McCain! Shame on me for giving Bush the Third a benefit of a doubt…
Honestly, I don’t think this country’s economic infrastructure could take another 4 years of no brains at the top…
P.P.P.S
So the White House has borrowed the brains and lent AIG staggering amount of $$$. It also looks at owning 80% of AIG. So it would become insurance Fanny or Freddy… And then, maybe, it would be able to pay its debt to China :-))