Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- April 15, 2012

China's economic growth falls to nearly 3-year low - AP - Joe McDonald - April 13, 2012 - China's economic growth fell to its lowest level in nearly three years in the first quarter but analysts said the economy should rebound in coming months.               Growth in the world's second-biggest economy declined to a still-robust 8.1 percent in the three months ending in March, data showed Friday. That was down from the previous quarter's 8.9 percent and the weakest rate since the second quarter of 2009.            China's rapid growth has declined steadily since 2010 as a slump in global demand battered its exporters and Beijing tightened lending and investment curbs to cool an overheated economy and surging inflation.


Major Economists Everywhere Are Freaking Out Over The Scarcity Of Safe Assets - Business Insider - Simone Foxman - April 13, 2012 - Amid elevated market uncertainty, investors have been clamoring to get their hands on so-called "safe assets," privately and publicly issued securities with little risk used to hedge against more volatile investments.               Of primary focus has been sovereign bonds. U.S. government Treasuries, Japanese government bonds, and German bunds are trading at record highs, yielding little profit for investors.
But the scarcity—and thus the high price of these securities—has been exacerbated by central bank measures taken to mend the troubles of the crisis.                     Since the financial crisis, quantitative easing has essentially given banks in the U.S. and U.K fast cash in exchange for Treasuries and gilts, and immediately freed up funds to put money in riskier places that would spur corporate growth.
However now investors are worried that the long-term effects of driving up the cost of safe assets will make it harder for institutional investors like investment banks and hedge funds to meet the stricter standards of new rules put in place to ensure financial stability.           PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian expressed this anxiety in a speech to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis yesterday. "In the last three plus years, central banks have had little choice but to do the unsustainable in order to sustain the unsustainable until others do the sustainable to restore sustainability," he said. "In the case of three institutions in particular (the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Fed), they also change the balance between “safe” and other assets in the financial system."



Thieves Stealing Plaques, Vases From Plots At Plain Lawn Cemetery in Hicksville - CBS New York 2 - April 11, 2012 - HICKSVILLE, N.Y.  –  For the past few days, Adele Meyer has spent a lot of time thinking about her deceased aunt and uncle, and that’s because the Freeport resident recently learned that one of her family’s cemetery plots was robbed.               “I had come to decorate the graves for Easter,” Meyer told CBS 2′s Elise Finch on Wednesday, “and I turned around and noticed that the plaque wasn’t there. It was just dirt where their names used to be.”             A large brass plaque with Charlie and Virginia Bailey’s names on it was ripped out of the ground.                 Over the past few months thieves have ravaged the tiny Plain Lawn Cemetery in Hicksville. They’ve stolen almost every bronze vase on the property and at least seven brass plaques , each of which is valued at $1,700.


Principal forgiveness on mortgages gains appeal - USA Today - Julie Schmit - April 11, 2012 - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could save $1.7 billion if they forgave principal on some distressed mortgages, new analysis shows.            The Federal Housing Finance Agency— which regulates the mortgage giants — may decide in the next few weeks about whether to use principal forgiveness as a foreclosure prevention tactic, said Edward DeMarco, acting director of the FHFA while speaking Tuesday at the Brookings Institution...                

Principal reduction "is clearly getting more traction" as a foreclosure prevention tactic, says Laurie Goodman, senior managing director of Amherst Securities. The recent $25 billion mortgage settlement requires loan servicers to do at least $10 billion in principal reduction. That doesn't cover Freddie or Fannie loans.             Principal forgiveness supporters say it'll lead to fewer foreclosures and help stabilize housing prices. FHFA's new analysis — and DeMarco's discussion of it — signals that a change is likely, says Ira Rheingold of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

88 Million (That’s One In Three Americans) Are Invisible to Government Employment Statistics - SHTFplan.com - Mac Slavo - April 13th, 2012 - With recovery in full swing and unemployment dropping to an Obama administration near record low of 8.2%, the US economy seems to be bouncing back stronger than ever. Unless, of course, you look at the numbers no one in mainstream media, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, or the administration is talking about. As many of our readers already know, the official unemployment rates released monthly by the BLS (U-3, U-6) fail to account for one very key figure – those individuals who are no longer in the labor force.

Were it not for people dropping out of the labor force, the unemployment rate would be well over 11%.
Over the past several years people have dropped out of the labor force at an astounding, almost unbelievable rate, holding the unemployment rate artificially low. Some of this was due to major revisions last month on account of the 2010 census finally factored in. However, most of it is simply economic weakness.
…
In the last year, the civilian population rose by 3,604,000. Yet the labor force only rose by 1,315,000. Those not in the labor force rose by 2,289,000.
The Civilian Labor Force fell by 164,000.
Those “Not in Labor Force” increased by 310,000. If you are not in the labor force, you are not counted as unemployed.
Those “Not in Labor Force” is at a new record high of 87,897,000.
Source: Townhall Finance

The number of those folks – the ones that don’t matter anymore because counting them would hinder the President’s reelection bid – is absolutely staggering for what is supposed to be the engine of the global economy and the world’s only super power:


Federal Funds to Train the Jobless Are Drying Up - New York Times - MOTOKO RICH - April 8, 2012 - ... Across the country, work force centers that assist the unemployed are being asked to do more with less as federal funds dwindle for job training and related services...              

The Labor Department announced on Friday that employers had added only 120,000 new jobs in March, a disappointing gain after three previous months of nearly twice that level. But with 12.7 million people still searching for jobs, the country is actually spending less on work force training than it did in good times.             Federal money for the primary training program for dislocated workers is 18 percent lower in today’s dollars than it was in 2006, even though there are six million more people looking for work now. Funds used to provide basic job search services, like guidance on résumés and coaching for interviews, have fallen by 13 percent.                Political fights have focused primarily on extensions of unemployment insurance, while the cuts in funds for training have passed with little debate and little notice.                    At the peak in 2000, the federal government was spending more than $2.1 billion a year in today’s dollars for training programs aimed at dislocated workers under the Workforce Investment Act. Stimulus funds added close to $1.5 billion over two years, but now annual spending has receded to about $1.2 billion...              In his latest budget proposal, President Obama also requested an additional $2.8 billion a year for job training over the next decade. “Even in this very tight budget,” said Gene Sperling, national economic adviser, “the president felt that there was an imperative to call right now for a more simplified and effective training system” that also had an increase in funds.                Whether Congress is willing to consider more aid is uncertain. The federal budget endorsed by House Republicans calls for reductions in a broad category that includes job training.

Keeping up with the 1 percent - Reuters - Chrystia Freeland - March 23, 2012 - We know now that trickle-down economics doesn't really work — the past decade in the United States has seen incomes at the very top soar, while the earnings of the middle class stagnated or declined.                 
But a growing body of academic research is suggesting that this benign force's wicked stepsister, a phenomenon two economists have dubbed "trickle-down consumption," is having a powerful impact on the economy and politics of the United States.                   The idea is that income inequality has a significant impact on the 99 percent: It drives the rest of us to consume more, whether we can afford to or not...



Lower U.S. Crop Reserves Raising Food Costs in Election Year - Bloomberg - Jeff Wilson - April 9, 2012 - U.S. corn stockpiles are poised to be the smallest in 16 years by August and soybean reserves will be lower than the government expected, potentially accelerating food-price inflation in an election year.             The U.S. Department of Agriculture may say tomorrow that corn inventories on Aug. 31 will be 37 percent lower than a year earlier at 715 million bushels (18.2 million metric tons), the average of 32 analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg show. That compares with a projection of 801 million bushels last month. Soybean stockpiles will be 242 million bushels, down from a March prediction of 275 million, the survey showed...         “U.S. supplies are going to be tight and that means we need good weather this year to improve inventories,” said Shawn McCambridge, the senior grain analyst for Jefferies Bache in Chicago. He said reserves before the harvest will fall to 626 million bushels, or equal to 4.9 percent of consumption, below the record low of 5 percent in 1974.             The U.S. was the world’s biggest shipper of corn, soybeans and wheat last year, USDA data show.              The country’s wheat surplus on May 31 may fall to 794 million bushels, compared with 825 million estimated by the USDA in March and 862 million a year earlier, according to the analysts surveyed. Futures in Chicago rose 0.7 percent today to $6.43 a bushel.


Damon Vickers : NWO, Surveillance, & Investments Coast to Coast AM - April 11, 2012 -
NWO, Surveillance, & Investments Coast to Coast AM - 11.4.2012 with Guest : Damon Vickers . Damon Vickers, author of The Day after the Dollar Crashes and managing director at Nine Points Management and Research, speaks to Coast to Coast AM about what he believes to be the looming crash of the US dollar.This is why China is telling its citizens to buy gold and silver--to prepare for the day in which all heck brakes loose upon telling the USA "no more treasury purchases.

Greg over at Backburner news was kind enough to share his video footage of Max Keiser and Reverend Bill Masters on Mott Street 4/12/2012. Max covers some important issues including fraud in the markets, Wall Street, the role of collateral, Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan, crap deals of JPM, congress, Goldman Sachs, fraud, ECB, IMF, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Germany, derivatives, financial terrorism, global raping-destruction of nation states, toxic securities, credit default swaps, and silver. This video is both entertaining and important.

Reverend Billy of OWS here on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/user/reverendbillytalen?ob=0&feature=results_main

Blue Ridge Harley Davidson - A Visit with the New Owners - Hickory, North Carolina

I was invited to attend a viewing of the re-opening of Blue Ridge Harley Davidson, which has been bought by a new management group. This new management group has expanded Blue Ridge Harley Davidson's territorial footprint to include Gastonia, which nearly doubles the size of the store's marketplace. Below is a press release sent by the group to me this week.

BLUE RIDGE HARLEY-DAVIDSON UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP & MANAGEMENT, TO OFFER MORE SERVICES AND PRODUCTS HICKORY, NC – April 2, 2012 – Blue Ridge Harley-Davidson is excited to announce they are now officially part of the Scott Fischer Enterprises family of Harley-Davidson stores. In addition to Blue Ridge, Scott Fischer Enterprises owns and operates four additional Harley-Davidson stores in the United States. Kicking off the change, Blue Ridge Harley-Davidson will be holding a Grand Reopening Customer Event on Saturday, April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The public is invited to attend and meet the team, learn about what’s coming up this year, and enjoy great, free food and live entertainment.

Attendees will meet the new management team and learn about all the exciting things to come. Try out the “Jumpstart,” an actual, running Harley-Davidson motorcycle on a specially-designed, stationary support stand. There will be something for everyone, including a drawing for a free t-shirt every hour and one grand prize drawing for a $250 Blue Ridge Harley-Davidson gift certificate!

“We are thrilled to be a part of this community and look forward to growing this successful dealership even more,” commented Ron Hall, newly appointed General Manager of Blue Ridge Harley-Davidson. “We’re keeping the core Blue Ridge’s success was built on and adding SFE’s experience to achieve even more for our employees and customers, while giving more back to the community through our charitable endeavors.”

Those that can’t attend the Grand Reopening are welcome to stop by any day. Soon you’ll start seeing more rides, more events, more gear and just a general increase in activities for our customers to participate in at the store. Check out the changes and enjoy the soon to be opened Refueling Station Café where the coffee, soda, and snacks are always on the house!

ABOUT SFE: Scott Fischer Enterprises has been serving the motorsports community for over 20 years. Founded and operated by Scott Fischer, SFE owns and operates stores in Alabama, Florida, New Mexico and now North Carolina. SFE operates with the clear mission of selling, servicing, renting and riding Harley-Davidson Motorcycles while sharing a passion for the riding lifestyle. All locations are full line authorized Harley-Davidson dealerships with new and used motorcycle sales, service, parts and  accessories, plus clothing and collectibles. For more information, please visit http://www.SFE-US.com.


ABOUT BLUE RIDGE HARLEY-DAVIDSON: Built in 2003, Blue Ridge Harley-Davidson® is located in the beautiful foothills of North Carolina near the renowned Blue Ridge Parkway. Inside: stone columns; lots of natural light shining through the many windows and dormers; and wood plank and stained concrete floors add to the store’s lodge-like feel. Outside, visitors can park their bike along the 8,000 square foot covered porch. Guests are welcome to relax on the large sheltered deck and visit the in-store Refueling Station Cafe.

Blue Ridge Harley-Davidson is located at 2002 13th Avenue Drive SE in Hickory, right next to the convention center. Please visit http://www.BlueRidgeHD.com or call (828) 327-3030 for details on this and other dealership activities.

Blue Ridge Harley Davidson's Management Team Speaks

Dyno Room

Nice Bike

Inventory Room

Show Room Floor

Show Room Floor 2

The Shop

Show Room Overview

Showroom Overview 2

Showroom Overview 3

The Owners

The Store

The Calorie Economy

Calories - The Currency of All Economies - by Thomas J. Elpel - www.greenuniversity.com - (Below is a synopsis - Visit link to read the entire article on the theoretical basis of the real economy).

Most economists rely on computer printouts of numerical data for their financial planning. By comparing one series of digits with another they can find the immediate trends in the economy and take advantage of those trends. To most people that seems normal. To me it always was, and still is, artificial. I have always wanted to help both people and the environment, and I learned at an early age that knowledge of the economy could be one tool to reach that end. However, I wanted more than just the knowledge of how to generate a positive series of numbers. I was looking for something bigger. I was searching for universal truths. I wanted knowledge about the economy that was constant from year to year, from culture to culture. I wanted knowledge that would be useful to a poor person or a rich person, in our culture, or in any culture. The truths about economics that I found were not in the New York Stock Exchange, but in anthropology and nature...

The calorie is a unit of measuring energy. Specifically, it is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius. The caloric value of food is measured by igniting the food to find out how much heat it releases. As human beings, you and I require approximately 2,500 calories of energy to fuel us through each day. The calories we consume come from the sun. Plants convert sunlight into food that we and other animals can eat. Petroleum and coal also contain calories of solar energy, but that energy was captured by plants millions of years ago. The calories from these and other sources are ultimately the basis of all economies...

Money is simply a token we use today to represent calories of energy. Strictly speaking, we use it to represent human energy, or human productivity. Each of us produces goods or services to exchange to others for the goods and services we need. We put a great deal of energy into the goods and services we provide, as does everyone else. Money represents that energy and makes it easy for us to swap our energies. I can make a product and sell it, and I get paid for the energy I put into it. I can then take that money and buy a product from another person. I give them my money to compensate them for their energy. Ultimately I have exchanged my energy for theirs, and money is just something that makes the exchange process easier. For simplicity we can say that money is a token that represents calories of human energy or labor...

Ultimately, all aspects of our economy are tied to calories, including inflation, insurance, stocks and bonds, and interest. Consider, for example, insurance. Insurance in a primitive economy meant having neighbors who would share some of their calories with you if you had an accident, and you would do the same for them in their time of need. Insurance is similar today. We all pay calories into a common fund, and any person or family that is in need draws from the fund. For example, if a person's house is destroyed then that person withdraws enough calories from the fund to rebuild the house. Having built our own house, I can tell you that you expend a lot of calories building a house. So the person whose home is destroyed withdraws a large amount of calories form the common fund to fuel the carpenters as they rebuild the house, plus enough extra for the carpenters to exchange for the goods they need. There is only one main difference between insurance in our economy and insurance in past economies. In past economies every member produced calories and contributed them to the insurance pool. In our economy today the insurance agents do not produce for the pool. We sustain them with a share of the calories we produce, and they in return serve us by overseeing the pool of calories and by doling them out to those in need...

The Hound: I have heard it expressed by others that we are headed into a period that will focus on the Calorie Economy. Food as a commodity is becoming from one perspective more expensive and from another perspective more valuable. This is the reason that I am urging people to focus on sustainability. We are going to start focusing more on the issues of the calorie economy and ways that you can take advantage of that. And over time you can see that this blog has addressed these very issues through articles such as:

The Possibilities of Urban Gardening,  
Garden Time - Ideas for the coming season, 
Agriburbia© possibilities in Catawba County, 
The Food Crisis -- February 19, 2011, 
Does anyone notice that food prices are rising?, 
Houndvision: Building a Raised Bed Garden - Ready to plant today,  
Icelandic volcano displays our vulnerability related to the World Economy,  
Last Frost Date - April 15 - Time to start planting, 
My Scientific Garden 2010.

I am far from what one would term a "Greenie." As a conservative, I do believe in conservation. Look all around you and you see waste. We have over the years based our entire economy on consumerism, consumption, convenience, and disposability. This accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s into a rat race lifestyle where people decided that working all of the time and paying for contrived material conveniences was good. People thought that this was the way to get ahead. Many people have very little to show for those efforts.

I believe that we must get back to basics in order to survive. We need to get off the Corporate Energy Grid. Now I am not saying that one needs to completely abandon the grid, but this addiction to everything offered as convenience and disposability will get you nowhere and leaves you very vulnerable. This is a cycle of dependence that will increase your odds of bankruptcy and/or an early grave. Interdependence is important, but we must not forgo the independent nature in which the nation was founded upon. It is time to get back to basics.

The Possibilities of Urban Gardening

AMERICA REVEALED - Urban Farming - PBS

Meet the ordinary people who bring food production back to basics in this clip from AMERICA REVEALED "Food Machine." New four-part series premieres Wednesday, April 11, 10/9c on PBS.

Urban Farming: Hydroponics in the City

Keeping agriculture sustainable increasingly means keeping it local. Besides the environmental benefit of reducing reliance on fossil-fuel guzzling transportation, eating local food is a more seasonal and often healthier experience. With concern about food security growing, it might turn out to be safer, too. The folks in charge of the Science Barge, a new urban farming experiment in New York, are bringing local food production closer than ever. In this video Vanessa Rae learns about the floating greenhouse facility, which is designed as a demonstration of how urban space, especially rooftop space in big cities like New York, can be used to efficiently produce food. Self-powered by solar panels, wind turbines, and a biodiesel generator, the Science Barge uses state of the art computer technology and an agricultural technique called hydroponics to grow fruits and veggies using much less water and space than field farming. Watch out, city slickers. Farm country is coming to your neighborhood.

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- April 8, 2012

NFP Big Miss: 120K, Expectations 205K, Unemployment 8.2%, "Not In Labor Force" At New All Time High - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - April 8, 2012 - March NFP big miss at just 120K. Unemployment rate declines from 8.3% to 8.2%. Futures slide, for at least a few minutes before the NEW QE TM rumor starts spreading. The household survey actually posted a decline in March from 142,065 to 142,034. Considering Birth Death added 90K to the NSA number, the actual number was almost unchanged. And as always, as we predicted when Goldman hiked its NFP forecast yesterday from 175K to 200K saying "if Goldman's recent predictive track record is any indication, tomorrow's NFP will be a disaster", Goldie once again skewers everyone. Finally, Joe LaVorgna's +250,000 forecast was just 100% off... as usual.                        The unemployment rate drops to 8.2% for one simple reason: the number of people not in the labor force is back to all time highs: 87,897,000.

US Needs To Generate 262K Jobs Each Month To Get Back To Breakeven - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - 04/06/2012 - This is the latest tally: since the start of the Second Great Depression, the US has lost a total of 5.2 million nonfarm payroll jobs, beginning with 138 million jobs in December 2007, and printing at 132.8 million as of 90 minutes ago. So far so good. The problem, however is that the denominator in the equation is not fixed, and as everyone knows the US labor force, despite the ridiculous BLS data fudging, is growing in line with population, albeit at a slower pace. According to all non-partisan budget forecasters, each month the labor force should be adding 90,000 people. Which in turn means that since December 2007, the labor force has really grown by 4.6 million. Adding these two together leads to a 10 million job deficit. So what has to happen for these 10 million to get promptly put back into jobs, and for America to get back to the ~5% unemployment rate it boasted just as the credit bubble peaked? Nothing too crazy: the country just has to create 262,000 jobs every month for the remainder of Obama's first, and now, by the looks of it, second term too. We are quite confident he can handle it.

Jobs Report: The Beginning of a Disappointing Trend? - Yahoo Finance - Contrary Indicator - Daniel Gross - April 6, 2012 - It's a good thing the stock market isn't open Friday. If it were, the disappointing March employment report, a rare piece of negative economic news this spring, would likely have caused stocks to nosedive. As it was, U.S. stock futures (which were open) slipped, the dollar is falling and Treasury prices are spiking on the report.                The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the U.S. economy added only 120,000 payroll jobs in March, a sharp decline from recent jobs growth. The unemployment rate slipped to 8.2 percent from 8.3 percent in February, but that's largely because the workforce declined. In short, this is the type of report that is more typical of an economy beginning to emerge from recession than one that has been growing for nearly three years.               The addition of 120,000 jobs represents the 15^th straight month in which jobs were added. Compared with March 2011, there were 1.9 million more payroll jobs in the U.S. in March 2012. But this represents a sharp slowdown from the pace of job creation. In each of the previous three months, the economy had added more than 200,000 positions. As is typical, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised the job creation for previously reported months. The January figure was revised from a gain of 284,000 to a gain of 275,000, while the February figure was revised up from 227,000 jobs created to 240,000. Looking back, BLS discovered an extra 4,000 jobs that it hadn't detected last month — a negligible figure.



World food prices rise further, raising fears of unrest - Reuters - Svetlana Kovalyova and Veronica Brown - April 5, 2012 - Global food prices rose in March for a third straight month with more hikes to come, the UN's food agency said on Thursday, adding to fears of hunger and a new wave of social unrest in poor countries.               Record high prices for staple foods last year were one of the main factors that contributed to the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as bread riots in other parts of the world.               The cost of food has risen again this year after coming down from a February 2011 record peak.


Higher gas prices could cause wider economic slowdown, economist says - Financial Post (Canada) - Jameson Berkow - April 4, 2012 - Gasoline prices, already near record highs of $1.40 per litre ($5.425/gallon) this week, could rise further if Middle East tensions escalate, further dampening the economic outlook.                   Oil prices are expected to remain relatively steady at about US$100 per barrel for the next year, which Mr. Guatieri said would either stabilize gas prices or even cause them to decline a little. However, he cautioned there was a “not insignificant” risk of the cost jumping another 25% (a 30% cumulative increase from last year) if tensions between the West and Iran continue to escalate.            A disruption in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz could push oil prices back up to their 2008 record highs of US$147 per barrel. Coupled with widespread refinery closures along the U.S. East Coast — more than one-third of refining capacity in the region has gone offline in recent months and Sunoco Inc. has threatened to close its massive Philadelphia facility this summer — and Mr. Guatieri believes Canada’s economic growth could slow to about 1.5% between this year and next, a full percentage point below BMO’s previous 2.5% growth forecast.


'Massive Wealth Destruction' Is About to Hit Investors: Marc Faber - CNBC - Jeff Cox - April 2, 2012 - Runaway government debts have triggered uncontrolled money printing that in turn will lead to inflation that will decimate portfolios, according to the latest forecast from "Dr. Doom" Marc Faber. Investors, particularly those in the "well-to-do" category, could lose about half their total wealth in the next few years as the consequences pile up from global government debt problems, Faber, the author of the Gloom Boom & Doom Report, said on CNBC. Efforts to stem the debt problems have seen the Federal Reserve expand its balance sheet to nearly $3 trillion and other central banks implement aggressive liquidity programs as well, which Faber sees producing devastating inflation as well as other consequences.

The $15 Trillion Party - The Economic Collapse Blog

45 Signs That America Will Soon Be A Nation With A Very Tiny Elite And The Rest Of Us Will Be Poor - The End of the American Dream Blog - April 3, 2012


U.S. Corporate Tax Rate Consequences - Infowars.com - James Hall - April 4, 2012 - Now that Japan lowered its own taxes, the U.S. stands on top with the dubious distinction of having the highest corporate tax rates. Claims that, when you consider all the tax loopholes, subsidies, deductions and tricks, the effective rate is not really the 35% level seem less reassuring. However, if you view any tax policy that focuses upon revenue collection, you miss the entire significance of the dynamics in trade. The slogan “Free Trade” applied in real terms, means capitulation of domestic production and prosperity for the sake of maximum international return on equity. In essence, the global corporatist supersedes the home domicile country for the joy of worldwide plunder. The United States runs away from these hard cold consequences out of some distorted motivation to become a programmed society, connected to Asian computer devices that broadcast the social destructive culture, while destroying the work ethic. Not all countries admire or model their economies accordingly. Reflected in their internal tax policies, there is a sharp contrast to that of the Uncle Sam stamp – No Longer Made in the USA. As the country weakens and the industrial foundations crumble, the excuses multiply. What do other countries understand that evades the mindset of those who cannot grasp the supply and demand equation?

The American Legislative Exchange Council (for Corporate Interests) - Silence DoGood

The American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC for short.  Has anyone else out there heard of this group?  Yeah, me either.  I’m not the most politically savvy person in the world although I stay about neck deep in it most of the time, but today is the first time I’ve ever ran across this particular entity.  An eye opening discovery that could only be likened to driving a transfer truck into the side of an aircraft carrier at 70 miles an hour; it’ll get your attention.

It seems that ALEC is comprised of member corporations who draft legislation and then forward it to friendly legislators in each of the several states for those legislators to introduce and become future law in those states.  I think that bears repeating.  This is an organization of corporations partnered with legislators for the sole purpose of drafting legislation for the sole purpose of having that legislation turned into law in the respective states.  Are you starting to feel cold, lonely, and sober?

Reducing this to simplest terms, we have the best government money can buy.  I’ve stated that very phrase here on several occasions and seen it written by others as well.  Now, well, we seem to have proof of that premise.  This likewise brings an entire host of other premises into the fore.  States’ rights first coming to mind.  ALEC is active in every state in the nation.  Don’t you think it mildly convenient that ALEC counts among its members some of the largest and most lucrative corporations active in America and exists for the sole purpose of having laws drafted for the benefit of their members.  I keep emphasizing those points it seems, but this is insanity hiding in the open and thumbing its nose at the people.  Talk about your prime tactic of divide and conquer under the guise of independence and a constitutional ideal of a weak central government.  These people have 50 different ways to manipulate their way into prominence.  They buy influence through the legislators we elect to get what it is they want.  Influence and law that is favorable to the corporation and not to the people. It is easier in this regard to negotiate and deal with 50 separate legislatures than a single strong central entity with strong laws that prevent such action from occurring.  Oh sure, “we’re working hard to create jobs.”  And working even harder to have every law that favors the worker overturned and enact legislation to gain every possible advantage and favor they can to feed and propel this mindless unfeeling entity known as corporation.  Maybe Mitt Romney isn’t wrong in that regard; corporations are people.  It eats, it consumes, it exudes greed and self-indulgence.  A multi-layered sociopath that exists only for the perpetuation of self.  A cannibal that devours and consumes those weaker than itself and absorbs others comparable to itself, morphing into a monolith of dominance.

Looking at the list of legislators friendly to ALEC in North Carolina, I’m quite delighted to say that none of the local contingent are affiliated with this organization although their political affiliation figures prominently with ALEC association.  Not exclusive affiliation, but it’s not far from being so.  The majority of State Representatives and Senators are Republicans with a smattering of Democrats thrown in.  I know, I’m just anti Republican.  Explain the predominance to me controlling for the political affiliation so as to make it irrelevant and believable.  I’ll listen.

More proof is required?  Ok.  Many of us have seen this new television campaign called “Common Sense Answers for NC” where this lady is on television talking about how the new legislature halted a tax increase, balanced the budget, funded 2,000 new teacher positions.  Have you looked at who is behind this campaign?  You’ve got to follow the money always.  Reading the fine print, you find that ads are paid for by the “Americans for Prosperity Foundation.”  Who are they?  They are a tax exempt organization with a stated purpose of “not supporting or opposing any specific legislation, but to inform the general public about public policy issues.”  Well, you dig into “Americans for Prosperity Foundation” and you discover that the foundation was formed by David Koch of Koch Industries.  It is a GOP/Conservative based foundation.  Now, flip on over to the member corporations of ALEC and there you have Koch Industries.  TV ads to blind you, brainwash you, deceive you to what is being done in your legislature.  David Koch has no interest in you or me.  He has every interest in amassing more wealth for himself and his corporate dynasty.  That’s the reality.

I’ve stated many times here that I’m not entirely anti-corporation.  I’m not entirely pro-labor, even though I do lean more that way since I think its people that make or break any organization and that no entity is greater than the sum of its parts.  Certainly you could argue that these corporations draft legislation to benefit the people who work for them.  You can try.  Look at who or what benefits from every piece of legislation that these fine people try to pass.  Not the spin, not what the “Americans for Prosperity” propagandists want you to believe, but what is actually provided for in each piece of legislation.

Below are the links, for those of you that may doubt the content.  You can read it for yourself.

http://endthelie.com/2012/04/06/more-proof-activism-works-kraft-coca-cola-and-pepsi-all-say-they-will-leave-alec/#axzz1rGdDhNEz

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_Corporations

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_Politicians

http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_State_Chairmen

http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/07/10887/cmd-special-report-alecs-funding-and-spending

http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2012/03/20/real-solutions-require-real-facts/

http://ncrealsolutions.com/

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/08/americans-for-prosperity/

The possibility of a World Physical Breakdown Crisis

To Concerned Citizen: I cannot submit the information that you sent me at this time. I have to have verification and that will take time to accrue. I appreciate the information, because it does paint a picture and gives further context to the issues. The problem is that I don't know the rules for all of these practices at this time and it will take time to research and to get advice from legal authorities. I am not saying that the trail ends here. All I am saying is there is no need to be redundant. Everyone understood the picture that was painted. If you would like to convey further information and subject material to me, please feel free to do so.

The Hound: Warren Pollock who is a contact and someone that I pay attention to in regards to "Big Picture" trends believes that we are moving away from the Financial Breakdown Crisis into a Physical Breakdown Crisis. He has written a document that goes into the subject material and I am reposting it here on the Hickory Hound. Mr. Pollock was an executive on Wall Street who was involved in creating the Programmed Computerized Model of Trading that has basically taken over all commodity markets today. The Derivatives market hinges on this form of trading. It is what has our current financial situation perilously close to tanking. The current market value is only supported by inflation and program trading. Remember the flash crash on May 6, 2010 when the DJIA fell 998.5 points in a matter of minutes or the DJIA 778 point crash of September 28, 2008? Whatever initiates such cascading negative momentum, just remember it can happen and when it does there is no guarantee that it will stop the next time. If it does not stop, then we move to the physical crisis talked about below.

Through the Breakdown Crisis - Warren E. Pollock