Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- October 16, 2011

Student banned after debit card/student ID card complaint is reinstated - NBC - Bob Sullivan - October 14, 2011 - A North Carolina community college student who was banned from campus after complaining about being forced to use a school-branded debit card has been reinstated. Reversal of the decision leaves a critical question unanswered, however: Why are schools around the country forcing students to get into bad financial habits by using MasterCard-branded debit cards laden with booby-trap fees?.....      Catawba Valley Community College student Marc Bechtol was suspended for two semesters earlier this week after complaining about the debit card on the school's Facebook page, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Bechtol's Facebook complaint included a suggestion urging readers to find "good viruses" to send to the school or register it for porn sites. On Oct. 4, Bechtol was pulled from class and told he was no longer allowed on campus.....      After the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) intervened, Bechtol was reinstated. The school viewed Bechtol’s post as a threat, but FIRE argued that it was protected free speech and not a serious threat.



US budget gap widens, tops $1 trln for 3rd year - Reuters - Pedro Nicolaci da Costa - October 14, 2011 - The U.S. budget gap widened slightly in fiscal 2011, staying above $1 trillion for a third straight year and providing fodder for a political battle over taxes and spending ahead of next year’s presidential election. The Treasury Department report on Friday comes just over two months after an epic showdown over the nation’s debt ceiling that pushed the United States close to a debt default and led to a downgrade of America’s prized AAA credit rating. The shortfall in September, the final month of the fiscal year, widened to $64.57 billion compared to the same month a year earlier, although it came in at a few billion dollars less than economists had projected. The annual deficit was $1.299 trillion, up from 1.294 trillion in fiscal 2010.


Energy firms' profits per customer rise 733%, says Ofgem - Terry Macalister, Dan Milmo and Lisa Bachelor - October 14, 2011 Energy regulator proposes 'radical reform' of energy market and simpler tariffs as it reveals net margin for typical customers has risen from £15 in June to £125 in October - The Guardian - Terry Macalister, Dan Milmo and Lisa Bachelor - October 14. 2011 - A furious row has broken out today between the energy regulator and the "big six" power companies after Ofgem in effect accused the utilities of profiteering by increasing their profit per dual-fuel customer by 733% – from £15 to £125 – through a slew of price rises.....



“It’s Going to Get a Lot Worse”: ECRI’s Achuthan Says New Recession Unavoidable - Aaron Task - Yahoo - Daily Ticker – Fri, September 30, 2011 - Weakness in leading economic indicators has become so pervasive the Economic Cycle Research Institute now predicts a new recession is unavoidable. "The vicious cycle is starting where lower sales, lower production, lower employment and lower income [leads] back to lower sales," co-founder Lakshman Achuthan declares in the accompanying video. Whereas Achuthan said the jury is still out in late August, the weakness in leading economic indicators — and ECRI uses a dozen for the U.S. alone, he notes — has become a "contagion" that is spreading like "wildfire."


U.S. Collapse Predicted - GoldSeek - October 14, 2011 - Casey Research Chief Economist Bud Conrad believes the United States is acting as a late-stage empire, acting aggressively on the world stage, lowering its moral standards and debasing its currency. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report at the Casey Research/Sprott Inc. "When Money Dies" Summit, he explains the options for how the inevitable collapse will occur. The Gold Report: At the Casey Research/Sprott Inc. Summit, you gave a presentation called, "A Crisis of Confidence." After all the government stimulus from the U.S. and the rest of the world aimed at injecting liquidity and keeping interest rates low, why didn't any of it work? Why is the economy still hurting? Bud Conrad: First, printing money doesn't create wealth. Putting bits in a computer doesn't create wealth. When politicians hand out money, they are the ones who get powerful and the banks get wealthy. The middle class with savings gets hurt. What creates wealth is people working and creating things. Internationally, the Chinese are papering over their slowing growth rate by providing liquidity, but paper money systems will collapse. That is the reality. The global financial system is supremely unstable. When people wake up to the fact that this is a "king ain’t got no clothes" economy, we will see a run to the exits.



The Officials in New York are out of Control - These protests will not stop!!!

The Real Herman Cain says "We didn't need to Audit the Federal Reserve"

Herman Cain Lies to Ron Paul's Face About the Federal Reserve at GOP Debate



Always falling back on the old "You can't believe everything you read on the internet, yada, yada, yada... Mantra. I agree you can't believe everything you read on the internet, but you can believe even less from the Conditioned Programming Lame Stream Media. The Internet is a resource receptacle just like a library. You go there to find information. If you have a couple of well-rounded resources with in-depth research of information, then it is as good as gold. It all depends upon the researcher, not upon the resource. Antone who doesn't understand this is intellectually lazy and I doubt they have done much research themselves.


Many of the lazy reporters covering the debate went along with Mr. Cain's response that you can't believe everything you read on the internet and then called Ron Paul out as though he didn't have his facts straight? As was pointed out on the United Liberty Blog. by author Jason Pye:

Well, there’s a problem with this. Herman Cain wasn’t misquoted. While filling in for Neal Boortz back in Decembert 2010, Cain was very dismissive of calls to audit the Federal Reserve (you can hear it in his voice) and did in fact say that people were calling for such a statutory measure “don’t know enough about [the central bank]” (emphasis mine):

[T]he Federal Reserve already has so many audits, it’s ridiculous. I don’t know why people think we’re gonna learn this great amount of information by auditing the Federal Reserve. Now, I no longer serve on the board of the Federal Reserve. I’m not being defensive of the Federal Reserve; in fact, some of the policies and some of the actions of the Federal Reserve, I don’t agree with because the attitude and the non-politization in the 90’s when I served is totally different than what’s going on today. But that’s another matter.

But people who say, “we outta audit the Federal Reserve because we don’t know enough about it.” Well, here’s the advice I’ve given to people who ared worried about an audit of the Federal Reserve; call ‘em up, and ask ‘em if you can stop by and have one of their PR people or one of their Public Relations people explain to you how the Federal Reserve operates.

I think a lot people are calling for this audit of the Federal Reserve because they don’t know enough about it. There’s no secrets going on in the Federal Reserve, to my knowledge. And I tell people, we’ve got 12 Federal Reserve banks, find out which district you’re in, call ‘em up and go from there.

We don’t need to waste money with another commission, or an audit that’s not necessary, because, folks, we’ve gotta lot of other problems we need to worry about.

Cain’s TARP talk, praise of the Fed could hurt him with conservative voters - The Hill - Cameron Joseph - October 13, 2011 - Businessman Herman Cain has shot to the top of the polls with support from Tea Party members, but his backing of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and opposition to auditing the Federal Reserve could hurt him with those same voters... “Among the Tea Party audience, the TARP bailout is something they’re adamantly against, and they’re going to absolutely need to hear more from him on this issue to be comfortable with him,” said Russell. “I don’t know one Tea Party activist who’d say it’s a bad idea to audit the Fed, that’s not a popular position for him to be staking out.”... Cain served as chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve in the mid-1990s and, in Tuesday’s debate, expressed his admiration for former Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. “The way Alan Greenspan oversaw the Fed and the way he coordinated with all of the Federal Reserve banks, I think that it worked fine back in the early 1990s,” Cain said.


Tax group: 9-9-9, a 'major tax cut' for the rich, 'substantial' increase on others - NBC - Domenico Montanaro, Political Reporter, NBC News - October 13, 2011 - The non-partisan Tax Policy Center is readying a report on Cain’s plan, though it is waiting for more details from the campaign. But it has come to some conclusions already.    Cain’s plan "cuts taxes for the rich and raises taxes on the poor,” Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the center, tells First Read. He added that it would create a "much more regressive tax system.”    The plan would represent a “major tax cut” for the rich and raise taxes “substantially” on the poor and middle class, Williams said. "Given that a big chunk doesn’t pay any income tax, this would be a big tax increase on people at bottom end. At the top end, the opposite happens."    The top end would go from about a 35% income tax rate to 9%. "That's a big, big drop," Williams said, adding that the capital-gains tax would be another added benefit for the wealthiest. "People at the top would see far and away the largest share of the gains. Those people are going to see a huge tax cut."    Currently, there is no federal sales tax. There are state sales taxes, however, and Cain’s plan would add 9% to those. So, in Iowa, for example, where there is a 6% sales tax, that would mean a 15% sales tax.

Huge Victory as Morganton endorses Mayor Cohen coasting to 30 year reign

Sent to me by my informant in Morganton:

Well you guessed it ! Mel Cohen sailed to a HUGE victory over challenger Robert Griner on Tuesday. Newcomer to city council Sidney Simmons - hand-picked by Mel Cohen also won BIG on Tuesday. Tuesday's Vote brought out 1,457 voters, 919 during the early absentee period and a whopping 547 on Tuesday. 35 provisional votes will be added to the overall total, but even with about 1,492 votes, the turnout percentage will still be less than 15% !

Like we have discussed, this low turnout problem is something that apparently affects our entire area, especially when we look at what is at stake.At 547 votes divided by 13 hours (6:30 am - 7:30 pm), about 42 votes an hour or 21 per hour in the two precincts designated for the October 11th vote. Considering Morganton has 10,153 registered voters this number is really infinitesimal. I heard more than 500 people tell me that they did not support the Mayor prior to this election, but the majority of those people apparently sdidn't even care to leave their home to vote on Tuesday.

So now Mayor Cohen gets his wish to complete 30 years as Mayor of Morganton Sidney Simmons replaces Larry Whisnant, who recently authored a letter in the Morganton News Herald endorsing Sidney Simmons by saying he had known Sidney....the entire of his life, using this incorrect grammer in his letter.

Larry Whisnant didn't finish high school, but managed to work for Morganton Public Safety for 30 years and then get elected to City Council in 1994. He served 17 years as Morganton City Councilman...without a high school diploma. Betcha can't say that about Hickory City Council !!!

Mr. Simmons opponent in  District 1 was Candidate Ron Lewis, the retired County Manager of Burke County having served as county manager in (6) NC counties with more than 30 years of experience.

The Hound: Good to see that the percentage turnout in Morganton was double what we saw in Hickory during the last go around in 2009. Yes I am being sarcastic, because this is pathetic. The even sadder thing is that I am sure that those numbers will dwarf what we see in the upcoming coronation of the three unopposed candidates here in the city of Hickory. During the 2009 election, we saw an 8.5% turnout when less than 2,300 of Hickory's 27,000 registered voters cared to vote. I also notice that it appears that Morganton also has the Modified At large electoral system.

I don't know much about the Morganton's governance, but it sure seems to be indicative of the political system in our area. This is a symptom of a big problem. But as has been pointed out, "The people get the form of government that they deserve." If they choose not to participate in the system, then they really shouldn't expect much from their leadership. Although this isn't an endorsement of support for the leadership of Morganton. It is an endorsement that they can do whatever they please, because apparently nobody cares.

Herman Cain is a Tool for the Federal Reserve -- DoGood and the Hound

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/02/ftn/main20117827.shtml

On October 9th, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich appeared on the ‘Face the Nation.’ Some of you reading this may already know that. You may likewise know parts of the conversation coming from that show. In part, here are some excerpts from the transcript of that show, as broadcast (You can magnify the text below by pressing Ctrl and +):

Schieffer: “…---there are thousands of protesters camped out on Wall Street and around the country. Mr. Cain, you suggested they might be there just because they're jealous of people that have good jobs. Here's a little of what you said:”

"And to be angry at somebody because they're successful is anti-American in my opinion. Secondly, this is a distraction from the failed policies of the Obama administration. Why be made you don't have a job at the bankers on Wall Street? They're the ones that help create the jobs."

Cain: “The proof is quite simply the bankers and the people on Wall Street didn't write these failed policies of the Obama administration. They didn't spend a trillion dollars that didn't work. The administration and the democrats spent a trillion dollars. They're not proposing another 450 billion dollars, the administration is proposing another 450 billion dollars wrapped in different rhetoric so it's a distraction so many people won't focus on the failed policies of this administration. So I stand by that.”

Schieffer: “I don't want to interrupt so you're saying that these people all got together up there to draw attention away from Barack Obama. That's why they're there?”

Cain: “They were encouraged to get together.”

Schieffer: “Who encouraged them?”

Cain: “We know that the unions and certain union related organizations have been behind these protests that are going on on Wall Street and other parts around the country. It's coordinated. To create a distraction so people won't focus on the failed policies of this administration.”

Schieffer: “And why is that anti-American?”

Cain: “It's anti-American because to protest Wall Street and the bankers is basically saying that you're anti-capitalism. The free market system and capitalism are the two things that have allowed this nation and this economy to become the biggest in the world. Even though we have our challenges, I believe the protests are more anti-capitalism and anti-free market than anything else.”

Schieffer: “What's your take Mr. Gingrich?”

Gingrich: “I think the sad thing is, this is the natural product of Obama's class warfare. And Ronald Reagan used to tell the story about the British worker who stood by the road with his sign as a Rolls Royce went by and said someday we're going to get that guy out of that car. And the Americans stood by the road as a Cadillac went by and he said someday you're going to buy that car. Now Reagan represented the real American tradition which is that you and your children have a chance to go out and work hard, the Steve Jobs experience. You can create a better future. You can do something better. We have had a strain of hostility to free enterprise and frankly, a strain of hostility to classic America starting in our academic institutions and spreading across this country and I regard the Wall Street protesters as a natural outcome of a bad education system teaching them really dumb ideas.”

Schieffer: “Well do you agree with Mr. Cain who says they're just jealous of people who have jobs?”

Gingrich: “Well I'm not even sure that the people actually protesting..look, there are a lot of people in America angry. I was with 35 realtors in Buford, South Carolina on Wednesday who are looking at a disaster in housing but they know that it's the Dodd-Frank bill, it's the Obama administration, it's Bernanke and Geithner and they're focusing their anger on the people who are causing them pain. They're not angry about other people being successful, they're angry about an Obama administration stopping them from having the chance to be successful.”

Schieffer: “Well did you really mean that literally, you think they're just jealous? You think that's the driving force? Couldn't it also be that these people don't have a job, they don't know where to turn, they don't see any answers to the problems they have and you think it comes down to jealousy?”

Cain: “Bob, yes I do.”

Schieffer: “Really?”

Cain: “Because it's class warfare. Some of them are there because they don't have a job. Yes. But the fact of the matter is, why aren't there jobs? Go and picket the white house. Demonstrate in front of the white house. The thing that this administration does not get is that the business sector is the engine of economic growth. That's key. They don't get that. So this president and administration wants to continue to try to spend our way to prosperity. Part of it is jealousy. I stand by that. And here's why I don't have a lot of patience for that. My parents, they never played the victim card. My parents never said that we hope the rich people lose something so that we can get something. No. My dad's idea was I want to work hard enough so that I can buy a Cadillac, not take somebody else's. And this is why I don't have a lot of patience for people who want to protest the success of somebody else.”



Silence DoGood
I guess that I could have shortened the transcript above by redacting certain parts of the conversation that didn’t support what I want to write about, but that conveys precisely what it is I loathe about what goes on in this City, County, and Country, so I left it all in and gave you the link to read the entire transcript if you so choose.

Herman Cain has spunk, I’ll give him that. Where he’s wrong in entirety, is comporting to the notion that it is “un-American” to protest. It is entirely American to do so. Now, there are certain things you can’t engage in while so assembled, but you have that right to assemble and speak. To pronounce otherwise, as Cain so vehemently does, demonstrates either an ignorance of the Constitution or disdain for what it says. And he is wrong to suggest that one man can change the unemployment situation and then, proposes that people should engage in picketing the White House. Something he is entirely against. Not that I think he is the only one that thinks that way. I’m sure if all candidates were truthful, at any level of government service, it would be shocking how many comport to the notion we have too many rights. Not unlike some employers thinking workers have too many benefits.

Let me go on however. Yes, this President spent one trillion dollars, using the number from the transcript, in true Keynesian economic fashion, to get the economy moving again. It is my rebuttable presumption that money was placed with the financial institutions of this nation to loan, put into circulation, and finance projects, which in turn would serve to put people back to work and thus, get their money back into circulation, allow them to buy things. The big economic wheel goes round and round. From my discussions with others, this isn’t what happened however. The banks either sat on the money or lent it out for things other than what it was intended. Was that the fault of the President? Probably, as a lawyer he should have known better than to give cash to bunch of Wall Street types carte blanche and trust them to do the right thing with it.

Both candidates in their conversation with Bob Schieffer eluded to “class warfare” being waged by the President. I think that a war of sorts is brewing in this country. Whether or not it will be a bullets and bombs affair or merely a social ‘revolution’ remains to be seen. But the fact is, this President didn’t start it. I sometimes wonder if he is even aware of it himself. This class dispute has been brewing for quite some time and for an operative illustration of how class works in this area, I’ll refer you back to ‘The Hickory Hound’ on Monday, October 10th, 2011 about Burke County. This is how it works folks. If a class war is building, it isn’t the fault of this President, or unions, or anything else, it is because those in the under classes are tired of being used and then cast aside as those who reside atop the socioeconomic scale continue to amass wealth, even in this time of severe economic downturn. Right here, let me say this to you if you reside in the upper elevations. I don’t want a thing you have nor am I jealous or envious of you. By the same token, the folks not within the confines of that elite circle are tired of seeing everything they’ve worked and scraped to provide themselves in that capitalistic reflection of you being taken away. Crude oil is down per barrel, but the gas price is still way over $3.00. Right now, gas in Denver, NC is $3.12 a gallon. Look at what it’s selling for in Hickory. Bank of America has added a $5.00 per month fee because the CEO of BOA has a responsibility to the stockholders to provide a dividend. Duke/Progress Energy wants a 17% pay hike to fund future projects. Food has increased by around 30% in the past 18 months. Who pray, tell, is taking from whom? And what the folks in the small business community fail to realize is, they are in the same boat as the blue-collar skilled workers and lower scale white-collar workers.

The Occupy

I like to refer to these parameters as ‘blissful ignorance.’ As long as the under classes could go out to eat every Friday night, had something to do like watch NASCAR or football, and money to make all those installment payments, life, as they say, was good. But that came to a screeching halt, didn't it? People finally began to look around and say, “What the heck is going on here?” They began to question what they had taken no prior interest in. The classic mantra used to be, “if you work hard, you too will succeed.” And in a generalized manner of speaking, that was true. It isn’t true today however. Think about this, I along with others, have talked for months and years, here and elsewhere, about how money buys you access and influence and how political power attracts money. Look at the billions of dollars spent on lobbying and PACs (Political Action Committees) as a means of garnering that influence. Look at how many companies in this City and County alone fled when the door opened to China. Do you think that your legislators were just sitting around one day twiddling their thumbs and one said, “Hey, in the interest of free trade, lets open up trade agreements and allow our companies to off shore jobs and their businesses, because it will be good for everybody.” They didn’t propose the concept and no one ever paused to ask who was within the use of the word ‘everybody’. While the workers here were hardly making a fair wage for what they did, they were left high and dry just as soon as cheaper labor became available after decades of working for less than median wages. So don’t try and hand me this ‘family’ company atmosphere in business for workers. It got penciled, papered, and stamped for the benefit of those other than the common everyday people. We are now living the result.

Is that the fault of the wealthy? I read a letter to the editor a couple of years ago written by someone from the Northwest in response to a letter written by a citizen. I don’t recall the exact words but the gist was, my father worked hard and did this, that, and the other and don’t blame me because I’m wealthy. Ok, Daddy worked hard. Others have likewise worked hard and not enjoyed that apparent level of success. The implication that one has not worked hard is like a slap in the face. To be perfectly candid, that is the same attitude that has brought about some of the problems that we face. Conceit and arrogance are not valid replacements for grace, class, and being humble. Luck has a little bit to do with success, along with work ethic. Either way though, your fault or not, that isn’t going to stop you from being blamed.

So while this infernal finger pointing continues, lives continue to falter and deteriorate as well as the status of this nation. People are fed up and the number of protests is growing, if you haven’t noticed. Frankly, I’m not all that interested in assigning fault or blame. I’m interested in right and I’m interested in fix. One man can’t do it. One group alone can’t do it. It will take everyone working together. Business, labor, republican, democrat, I don’t care what label you choose to identify with. We’re all Americans. It’s time we came together as Americans.

The Hound: I agree with a good portion of this. Herman Cain is a tool. He was the head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is the Central Bank and the conduit of the Mega Bank Cartel that today rules this country. If you buy into Cain's 9-9-9 tax scheme, then you haven't paid attention. This is just a scheme to get their foot in the door by introducing a Federal (VAT) sales tax.  Can you afford a new tax? Oh, they talk about reducing the income tax and they might reduce it by a few percent, but the goal is to drastically increase the taxes paid by the middle class at the same time they implement their austerity measures. And Cain is a Republican?!?!?

Where I hugely disagree with DoGood is in his assessment of Obama. While he is completely correct about the fact that the Unemployment situation should not be laid at Obama's feet, Obama has been foot to the floorboard on the schemes of the Federal Reserve and the Crony Social Capitalists. Look at his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner who was the head of the Federal Reserve's largest branch -- New York. He has worked in conjunction with the Fed to print the Monopoly money and continue offshoring our economy. The issue of offshoring has developed for a couple of generations. I, myself, am not against foreign trade. What I am against is the American workforce having to compete against Third World Slave Labor, which is essentially a form of Corporate Mercantilism. The Mega Corporations (Fortune 100) are the only people who have benefitted from this scheme.

Obama is a tool of the Federal Reserve just like recent Presidents. The monies for the Economic Stimulus package of 2009 went to specific packages that were, for the most part, given to local governments and went mostly to Democrat Party cronies as part of the Democrat wave that was elected in 2008. The money was definitely spent. It isn't sitting somewhere in a reserve vault. It was a pay off to cronies, such as Jeffrey Immelt and George Soros. Monies have gone to projects that have allowed GE and GM to increase factory capacity in China, to hand over Chrysler to Fiat, and for offshore exploration of oil in Brazil. How is that operating in the favor of the little people who Obama said he would bring Hope and Change to?

It isn't only the stimulus money, but you had the revolving door of TARP money that was passed during September 2008. I wrote about this in the articles The Federal Government's Ponzi Scheme and Let's Add this up - $1.979 trillion in bailouts and counting. This has gone on and on and on... The money of the citizens of this nation thrown at a black hole. Nothing has changed in the last three years and this went on during George W. Bush's administration, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, and all the way back to 1913. All Democrat and Republican alike. The only President who took any action to rein in the Federal Reserve was John Kennedy and we all know how that ended.

I can't get people to move away from their loyalty to WWE style party politics. Herman Cain is telling people to buy lock, stock, and barrel into Party identity and Politics. It is all about divide and conquer. He's preaching a notion, as Republicans do, that anyone who is struggling is doing so because they are lazy. Tell that to the people who still have factory jobs and are basically making the same wage or less than what they were making years ago. Herman Cain's words show that he doesn't respect the people who are struggling in this economy. As DoGood points out, the prices keep escalating and he wants to 9-9-9 us. Flip that one upside down and that is where these shills are taking us. There is very little difference between the Party Republicans and the Party Democrats. The differences people see are convolutions spinning in their minds related to the frustrations of their personal lives and the corruption and greed they see associated with the marriage of Big Government and Transnational Big Business. Both Parties support and foster that marriage, because it personally empowers them. There is no loyalty towards this nation and its people or founding principles. What I define above should not be mistaken for Capitalism. It is a controlled form of socialist economy.

It is time to make our representatives prove themselves. It is time to start voting FOR candidates, instead of AGAINST others. It is time for some real choices. I am a Republican, but I am not considered a Republican by the establishment. You Democrats aren't considered a part of the Democrat Party establishment, so at the end of the day the decision makers aren't listening to you. TARP should have proven that. TARP proved who the politicians are working for. The reappointment of Ben Bernanke, after years of colossal failure, proved who the politicians are working for. The Presidential Nominees who have been marketed by the Parties show what the Parties are all about. Smaller Government, Cutting Spending, and Lower taxes are lip service issues for the Republicans and ending the wars and investing in the Middle Class are lip service issues for the Democrats. The governmental leadership in this nation does not identify with Registered Voting members of their respective parties. They are only loyal to those who give them campaign contributions and the lobbyists that pay for their perks and privileges.

These people who are today in positions of power are Vampires looking to suck the life force out of us. They aren't looking to empower the people. They are looking to empower themselves through us. They will spend our energy and once they are through with us, then they will discard us, because we have no value to them. People need to take the blinders off and understand what is happening all around them.

The 4 categories of people who live in our area in relation to Politics and Power

The following is a message that was left as a comment at the BurkeEd blog in relation to an e-mail that was sent to me a couple of days ago. The information is laid out succinctly in this blog article entitled Taped Conversation with the Former Superintendent. I have to be honest about the fact that I really did not know about what was going on with the Burke County school board a few years ago not wanting to renew the contract of then Superintendent David Burleson.

Our local media made a point of covering the issue, but it seemed to be very nebulous at that time. No one here in Catawba County seemed to understand what the vitriol was about, when it was purported that Mr. Burleson was an outstanding Superintendent and a few rogue School Board Members were behind his non-contract renewal/dismissal. The BurkeEd blog has more in-depth information than any of us ever received from our local media. This issue has long since left the radar of the people in Hickory or the coverage it received from the media in Charlotte.

The BurkeEd Blog is very thorough and lays out a lot of issues that definitely weren't relayed to the public a few years ago by the media. One of the comments posted relating to the Taped Conversation article hits the nail on the head and so I am going to repost it here on the Hound. It relates to the 4 classes of people who live in Burke County (but I think it relates perfectly to the whole area) in terms of understanding and action towards Power Politics. I could not have written the following any better. It defines the issues that we face when it comes to the Powers That Be in our area's control of our governance versus the average working class citizens who mostly don't participate in the political process, because of the complexity and murkiness of the dynamics in which it operates.

Burke County is an odd place. We are segregated into four distinct groups: 

a) There's the Elite Viewpoint held by those whose noses are firmly planted in the clouds; most of them are condescending, high-maintenance, snooty people who simply do not associate with the under-educated "rednecks" of Burke County. They're religious, but not overly-so (not your Holy Roller types at all). They're more your Sunday-only County Club Christians. These people are also known as "Townies". They expect and almost always receive the edge of favoritism from our local governmental entities. Money talks. Loudly. And so does the old family name. They managed to get two new high schools built for their children, and they can attend them whether they live within that school's boundaries or not. Their children are allowed to transfer to the elem-middle-high schools of their choice regardless of where they live and how overcrowded the school is (Patton High and Forest Hill Elem), their spouses/relatives/friends are given cushy local gov't jobs they may/may not be qualified for, etc. Of course, these special people are a small minority of people in the county. Superintendent David Burleson was at the beckon-call for this group, as are the SWAT board members. With their mouths they say they're for "all children"; with their actions they show their true allegiance.

b) Then there are the people who believe everything that those in category (a) say without verifying the facts. Even if they knew the truth, it appears they wouldn't even care. This is the majority of the county's population. They'll take the short-end of the stick without questioning it; it's just always been that way. (Of course they have the voting power to overrule those in category a; they simply choose not to recognize or use it).

c) Then there are the people who know the truth about how things work around here - and about the corruption - but are too afraid to do anything about it. Reason? See item d.

d) Then there's the regular guy who has wised up and does publicly speak out about it. I'd say that's where I fall. People in this category are "persecuted" or vilified for their beliefs' retaliation is the name of the game. Those in category (a) will, without mercy, make up rumors about the category (d) people (affairs, "open marriages", financial problems, say we threw a fit in a library about a book, say we called a politician on the night of the election at 11pm, waking up her children, to gloat about her losing the election, etc.) they'll boycott our businesses, send letters to our franchisors (those of us who have one), refuse to do business with us - even to the point of not selling us products we'd like to buy (hint: cutting their nose off to spite their faces), remove us from receiving band parent notifications (shun them), etc. 

So those in category (d) above do try to avoid the repercussions of speaking out by remaining as anonymous as possible. Hence, no author names on burkeed.

And there you have it! This isn't from a "Conspiracy Theorist," this is something that a lot of us have witnessed. But, we need to ever vigilantly shine the light.

Do you understand the symbology of Vampires and why they operate at night under the cloak of darkness and are fearful of the day and light. Vampires stalk their prey and increase their energy level by sucking the blood (life force) out of their victims. They do this through deception and they always operate in the shadows, not out in the open. When light is shined on them (ie they are exposed) it destroys them.

We aren't out to destroy people. We are seeking understanding through truth and love. We are out to give people freedom. The Vampires complain that we don't talk about positives, which means that they don't want us to talk about the Powers That Be and accountability. They want us to talk about hyperbole and fluff like they do. They are the ones always trying to bring others under their control for their personal benefit. You pay the taxes. They reap the rewards. All anyone is doing by operating Blogs is bringing you a message. It is what the media used to do -- investigative Journalism and Opinion. Now the mainstream media has become a propaganda arm for governments at all levels.

If you don't agree with the commentary on blogs, then you are free to move the dialogue forward and give reasons why things were done in a certain manner. I know that all I want to do is ensure Freedom of thought and expression -- Critical Thinking. That is what this country was founded upon. We have lost that to a great extent. The Vampires want to control us and operate in the shadows. Their worst fear is when anyone uses their tactics against them. That is why they always complain about anonymous comments. They can govern anonymously, behind closed doors; but you are supposed to do everything out in the open, while they sit behind the mirrored glass spying on you. When you accept the way that they operate, then you are doomed. There are way too many people who accept this Shadow Governance. It is not the way that this country is supposed to operate. Shine the light!!! Our Freedom is at stake!!!

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- October 9, 2011

Reliance on government benefits even higher than during depth of recession - The Lookout - Zachary Roth – October 6, 2011 - More evidence that for many, the "recovery" hasn't been much better than the recession. Nearly half of all Americans lived in a household that received some kind of government benefit during the first three months of last year, the Wall Street Journal reports, based on new Census data. That's even higher than the figure recorded during the depths of the Great Recession. Just over 48 percent of Americans lived in households that took in benefits during the first quarter of 2010--up from 44.8 percent in the third quarter of 2008, the heart of the downturn. The bleak economy appears to be driving the increase. The largest single category of benefits was means-tested programs that are designed to help the needy--things like food stamps, subsidized housing, or Medicaid. Just over 34 percent of Americans lived in a household that received means-tested benefits. The recession officially lasted from December 2007 until June 2009. But growth and job creation since then has been anemic, leaving a growing number of Americans dependent on government help.


Announced Job Cuts Rise 212% From Year Ago - Bloomberg - Alex Kowalski - October 05, 2011 - U.S. employers announced the most job cuts in more than two years in September, led by planned reductions at Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and in the military. Announced firings jumped 212 percent, the largest increase since January 2009, to 115,730 last month from 37,151 in September 2010, according to Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Cuts in government employment, led by the Army’s five-year troop reduction plan, and at Bank of America accounted for almost 70 percent of the announcements. While the bulk of firings are not “directly related” to economic weakness, they “could definitely be a sign of more cuts to come,” John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. “Bank of America is not the only bank still struggling in the wake of the housing collapse, and the military cutbacks are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to federal spending cuts.”



U.S. stocks' massive "melt-up" fans investor fears - Reuters - Edward Krudy – October 5, 2011 - NEW YORK (Reuters) - In less than one hour on Tuesday, the U.S. stock market surged by 4 percent -- for no apparent reason. The last hour of trading was the most volatile final hour in two months -- and it occurred at a speed that frightens many, from experienced hedge-fund managers to mom-and-pop investors. The late-day "melt-up" that pushed the S&P 500 index <.SPX> out of bear-market territory might be construed as good news. But it brings back echoes of the "flash crash" that saw markets dive by several hundred points in a matter of minutes, and it's a big reason many are staying away from the market. "Everyone is scared in both ways -- the shorts are scared, the longs are scared, everyone is scared. The high-net-worth investor is very, very scared," said Stephen Solaka, managing partner at Belmont Capital Group in Los Angeles, which manages money for independent wealth advisers and family offices. Tuesday's move was the latest example of an erratic, high-octane stock market increasingly driven by levered exchange traded funds and complicated hedging and options strategies that unwind with dizzying speed.


Obama Has Now Increased Debt More than All Presidents from George Washington Through George H.W. Bush Combined - CNSNews - Terence P. Jeffrey - October 5, 2011 - (CNSNews.com) - The Obama administration passed another fiscal milestone this week, according to new data released by the Treasury Department. As of the close of business on Oct. 3, the total national debt was $14,837,099,271,196.71—up about $44.8 billion from Sept. 30. That means that in the less-than-three-years Obama has been in office, the federal debt has increased by $4.212 trillion--more than the total national debt of about $4.1672 trillion accumulated by all 41 U.S. presidents from George Washington through George H.W. Bush combined. This $4.212-trillion increase in the national debt means that during Obama’s term the federal government has already borrowed about an additional $35,835 for every American household--or $44,980 for every full-time private-sector worker. (According to the Census Bureau there were about 117,538,000 households in the country in 2010, and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 93,641,000 full-time private-sector workers.) When Obama was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2009, according to the Treasury Department, the total national debt stood at $10,626,877,048,913.08. At the end of January 1993, the month that President George H. W. Bush left office, the total national debt was $4.1672 trillion, according to the Treasury. Thus, the total national debt accumulated by the first 41 presidents combined was about $44.8 billion less than the approximately $4.212 trillion in new debt added during Obama’s term. As of Monday, Obama had been in office 986 days—or about 32 and a half months. During that time, the debt increased at an average pace of $4.27 billion per day. Were that rate to continue until Obama’s term ends on Jan. 20, 2013, the debt would then stand at about $16.86534 trillion—an increase of more than $6.2 trillion for Obama’s four years. That would equal nearly $53,000 for each American household or more than $66,00 for each full-time private-sector worker. That total national debt did not exceed $6.2 trillion until 2002, when George W. Bush was president.


Charles Koch (Tea Party Inc.) to Friedrich Hayek (Austrian School Economist): Use Social Security! - The Nation - Yasha Levine and Mark Ames - There’s right-wing hypocrisy, and then there’s this: Charles Koch, billionaire patron of free-market libertarianism, privately championed the benefits of Social Security to Friedrich Hayek, the leading laissez-faire economist of the twentieth century. Koch even sent Hayek a government pamphlet to help him take advantage of America’s federal retirement insurance and healthcare programs. This extraordinary correspondence regarding Social Security began in early June 1973, weeks after Koch was appointed president of the Institute for Humane Studies. Along with his brothers, Koch inherited his father’s privately held oil company in 1967, becoming one of the richest men in America. He used this fortune to help turn the IHS, then based in Menlo Park, California, into one of the world’s foremost libertarian think tanks. Soon after taking over as president, Koch invited Hayek to serve as the institute’s “distinguished senior scholar” in preparation for its first conference on Austrian economics, to be held in June 1974. Hayek initially declined Koch’s offer. In a letter to IHS secretary Kenneth Templeton Jr., dated June 16, 1973, Hayek explains that he underwent gall bladder surgery in Austria earlier that year, which only heightened his fear of “the problems (and costs) of falling ill away from home.” (Thanks to waves of progressive reforms, postwar Austria had near universal healthcare and robust social insurance plans that Hayek would have been eligible for.)


Solyndra loan deal: Warnings about legality came from within Obama administration - Washington Post - Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig - October 7, 2011 - Energy Department officials were warned that their plan to help a failing solar company by restructuring its $535 million federal loan could violate the law and should be cleared with the Justice Department, according to newly obtained e-mails from within the Obama administration. The e-mails show that Energy Department officials moved ahead anyway with a new deal that would repay company investors before taxpayers if the company defaulted. The e-mails, which were reviewed by The Washington Post, show for the first time concerns within the administration about the legality of the Energy Department’s extraordinary efforts to help Solyndra, the California solar company that went bankrupt Aug. 31. The FBI raided Solyndra last month, shortly after it closed its doors. The records provided Friday by a government source also show that an Energy Department stimulus adviser, Steve Spinner, pushed for Solyndra’s loan despite having recused himself because his wife’s law firm did work for the company. Spinner, who left the agency in September 2010, did not respond to requests for comment Friday. The documents offer new evidence of wide disagreement between officials at the Energy Department and officials at the Treasury Department and Office of Management and Budget, where questions were raised about the carefulness of the loan vetting process used to select Solyndra and the special help it was given as its finances deteriorated. Energy Department officials continued to make loan payments to the company even after it had defaulted on the terms of its loan.


G. Edward Griffin (Wikipedia - born November 7, 1931) is an American film producer, author, and political lecturer.^[1] He is perhaps best known as the author of The Creature from Jekyll Island (1994), a critique of much modern economic theory and practice, specifically the Federal Reserve System.
Starting as a child actor, he became a radio station manager before age 20. He then began a career of producing documentaries and books on often-debated topics like cancer, Noah's ark, and the Federal Reserve System, as well as on libertarian views of the Supreme Court of the United States, terrorism, subversion, and foreign policy. Since the 1970s, Griffin has promoted laetrile as a cancer treatment,^[2] a view considered quackery by the medical community.^[3][4] He has also promoted the Durupınar site as hosting the original Noah's ark, against skeptics as well as near-Ararat Creationists. He has opposed the Federal Reserve since the 1960s, saying it constitutes a banking cartel and an instrument of war and totalitarianism.^[5] In 2002, Griffin founded the individualist network Freedom Force International.

Universal Serfdom

The Hound continues to grow!!!

The subjects talked about here on the Hickory Hound aren't for the feint of heart. I constantly have people fussing at me about not providing a positive message for public consumption. If you want pablum, there are a plethora of sources out there that you can go to to get that. I am here for an exercise of information for critical thinkers. I am here to provide information and you the consumer of this information can choose what emotion you personally want to attach to it.

On September 6, 2011 the Hound went over 50,000 unique views. In keeping a log of these numbers since this blog's inception, we have seen a gathering of momentum that is building constant steam and feeding off of itself. I have kept track and informed the public every time we have reached a milestone in this journey. At first, I was marking 5,000 unique viewer increments, but since we have become more dynamic, I would have been marking that number every few months.

It only took 154 days (5 months and 1 day) to go from the 40,000 unique view milestone to 50,000. The previous milestone (30,000 to 40,000 unique viewers) took 179 days. The milestone previously to that last October (25k to 30k) unique view milestone took 82 days compared to the previous 5,000 increment (from 20k to 25k) that took 130 days. That means in total it took 212 days to go from 20,000 to 30,000 unique viewers.

Last April I remarked that it was my hope that "we are getting to the point where the next milestone, 50,000 unique views, will be attainable in 5 months or less, but you never know." I think 5 months and 1 day met that target.

I have personally been through  a lot in my personal life over the last 5 months. My grandmother passed away on August 6th and my mother had broken her hip the week before that and she is still recovering. It is a challenge to move forward on this mission sometimes and at times I feel that it is an obligation. From the beginning I have believed that this has been a divine mission devoted to progress. I know that this blog causes some people in our community to despise me. I am not here to see whose enemy list I can join. I am here to talk about relevant public issues that need to be addressed. If you are operating out in the open, honestly, and above board, then this blog is your friend. If you are doing some shady stuff, then I can understand the paranoia.

This blog does receive attention and a lot of that is very positive. This blog had a role that it played in the creation and implementation in such notable processes and events, such as the "Innovation 2010" event and the Edison Project. Issues that have been discussed on this blog are being considered for Catawba County's Strategic Economic Development plan moving forward. We have also made contact and move forward ideas with other hosts of New Media outlets and we have had articles linked to and reposted by other internet users in places around the world.

Now I am not boasting about this. I don't know if this growth will continue at the pace it has. If we look at full years when considering growth, the first full year began in 2009, and in looking at 2010 we see a 15% increase in viewers and being conservative about projections about where we are headed towards the final numbers of this year, it looks as though we will see 22,000 unique views, up from 16,058 last year. That translates to a growth rate of over 27% for this year. I think that is pretty good growth.

Sure, I would like to see more growth, but I don't take the readers of this blog for granted. Sure, I get peeved at some viewers on occasion and I know that viewers have been peeved at me on more than one occasion, but you are appreciated. I even have been banned by a moderator on the Pack Pride website because I promoted some of my stories on there and they went against the tendencies of that mod and there were people on there that "pure T" hate Hickory.

I know that Hickory is like family to me. I can talk smack about it, because I get P.O.ed about a lot of what I see going on around here, but I take up for this place and I don't want to hear other communities talking about us being the backwoods of North Carolina. You hear that more these days than you heard a decade ago. I want us to move forward towards positive progress. That doesn't come from Used Car Salesman marketing. That will come from a focused and concerted effort of honestly assessing our strengths and weaknesses and addressing the negatives in an aggressive manor.

Let's see where the next while takes us. In the last month we have pushed forward with another 2,000 unique views. I promise that I will continue to attack the news, views, and issues in an aggressive manner and we will continue to work towards waking people up to the fact that they have a vital role to play in personally participating in the Economics and Governance of our area.

Thanks!!!