DAVID: So it’s hard to draw any other conclusion than that the government is operating in a complete fantasy. That everything is completely off the rails. Then you look at the judiciary and some of the things they have approved and looked the other way on, and it sure begins to look like fascism to me.Vieira goes into detail on the monetary evolution in the U.S. to the creation of the Fed and cutting of the gold standard by Nixon in 71'. The whole interview is rather long but is highly recommended.
You and I see it, a lot of our readers look at it, but most people are so passive about it. Everybody is so quiet, and there is nobody making any waves – is that because it's too late? Before you answer, I'll give you just a quick anecdote that I think makes the point.
I was at a party not too long ago with a bunch of young people, and we were talking about some topic that was mildly controversial, and one of them said, "I’d love to look up more about that online, but I don’t want it to be part of my permanent search record.” So, the youth of America already have it in their heads that anything they do online is being monitored and will be in their search records forever and accessible to the government.
Back to my question, have we reached that stage where people are quietly huddling behind the doors of their houses, trying to keep a low profile so the government will leave them alone?
EDWIN: Given the current state of things, I'm sure there are a lot of people deliberately deciding to adopt a low profile, politically or socially. A lot of this has to do not so much with politics but what your neighbors or your coworkers will say about you, right? If you tell them something that is actually happening in the world, you will be labeled a conspiracy theorist; they’ll look at you as if you're crazy.
But what about the activists? At a certain stage, the great mass of people will look around for leadership figures. When the economic crisis comes, they’re going to want someone to tell them how to get out of it. They’re not going to know the answers themselves. The question is, will there be activists, leadership figures, proposing the right solutions – and how soon will they come along?
That's why I look at this Tea Party Movement, using that in a generic sense, an indication of the ground swell of discontent that's out there. There's a huge amount of that, but at this point it's not particularly directed. Of course the establishment is trying to co-opt it, with Gingrich and others trying to claim that they’re leadership figures in this movement, and that deflects it from the direction in which it ought to go.
By contrast, you do have the Ron Paul-type movement. I mean, look at Ron Paul as an example. This is not a charismatic figure. He's a very diffident individual, a very shy individual, not someone that you could possibly imagine as a man on a white horse in a political sense. He certainly has had very little real effect in Congress. He's been the gadfly, he's been the critic, but he hasn’t put in any legislation of consequence that has been passed. He's made a lot of noise about the Federal Reserve, but he's constantly being blocked by the real power structure in Congress in terms of getting anything done there. Yet nevertheless a whole political movement has essentially crystallized around him.
I look at him as the surfer on the wave. The surfer is not the important thing, the wave is the important thing. The surfer would be nowhere without the wave. That wave is out there, and it's just waiting for the right surfer. He's the first one that's come along, but there will be others, perhaps some state governor who is actually competent, and he looks at this monetary system and he says, "To hell with this. Here's what we have to do," and they put in that alternative currency statute, the proper one, not the kind of statement that was made in Utah, but a proper functioning one. In which case he will become the next president of the United States, and then we will see what will happen.
Mish has part 2 of an interactive map on job sector gains and losses from 2008 to 2011. Have fun:
Some more charts:
| Jobs Gained or Lost Since Dec 31, 2007 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Health Care | 461,860 | 792,679 | 1,023,907 | 1,278,794 |
| Finance & Insurance | 323,802 | 629,082 | 490,384 | 444,530 |
| Mining & Oil | 195,813 | 345,116 | 337,917 | 422,752 |
| Educational Services | 121,337 | 195,899 | 236,766 | 295,498 |
| Government | 358,591 | 451,680 | 398,853 | 90,393 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 92,418 | 108,263 | 77,181 | 65,855 |
| Management | 60,985 | 25,371 | 16,323 | 26,615 |
| Utilities | 13,019 | 20,773 | 13,771 | 11,275 |
| Professional | 203,493 | -107,607 | -164,853 | -39,124 |
| Agriculture & Forestry | -18,909 | -26,033 | -33,643 | -71,928 |
| Other Services | -30,456 | -221,109 | -246,875 | -82,177 |
| Food & Lodging | 71,681 | -242,538 | -273,658 | -145,099 |
| Information | -30,863 | -203,185 | -299,866 | -331,269 |
| Real Estate | -76,068 | -232,452 | -335,391 | -359,874 |
| Transportation | -107,538 | -501,697 | -559,415 | -486,346 |
| Admin & Support | -389,951 | -1,226,173 | -1,097,484 | -774,404 |
| Retail & Wholesale | -428,934 | -1,759,253 | -1,977,146 | -1,854,109 |
| Manufacturing | -478,023 | -2,072,959 | -2,415,322 | -2,290,390 |
| Construction | -612,184 | -1,955,402 | -2,468,184 | -2,519,538 |
| Totals | -269,927 | -5,979,545 | -7,276,735 | -6,318,546 |
| Jobs Gained or Lost vs. Year Ago | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Totals | -269,927 | -5,709,618 | -1,297,190 | 958,189 |
| Admin & Support | -389,951 | -836,222 | 128,689 | 323,080 |
| Health Care | 461,860 | 330,819 | 231,228 | 254,887 |
| Other Services | -30,456 | -190,653 | -25,766 | 164,698 |
| Food & Lodging | 71,681 | -314,219 | -31,120 | 128,559 |
| Professional | 203,493 | -311,100 | -57,246 | 125,729 |
| Manufacturing | -478,023 | -1,594,936 | -342,363 | 124,932 |
| Retail & Wholesale | -428,934 | -1,330,319 | -217,893 | 123,037 |
| Mining & Oil | 195,813 | 149,303 | -7,199 | 84,835 |
| Transportation | -107,538 | -394,159 | -57,718 | 73,069 |
| Educational Services | 121,337 | 74,562 | 40,867 | 58,732 |
| Management | 60,985 | -35,614 | -9,048 | 10,292 |
| Utilities | 13,019 | 7,754 | -7,002 | -2,496 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 92,418 | 15,845 | -31,082 | -11,326 |
| Real Estate | -76,068 | -156,384 | -102,939 | -24,483 |
| Information | -30,863 | -172,322 | -96,681 | -31,403 |
| Agriculture & Forestry | -18,909 | -7,124 | -7,610 | -38,285 |
| Finance & Insurance | 323,802 | 305,280 | -138,698 | -45,854 |
| Construction | -612,184 | -1,343,218 | -512,782 | -51,354 |
| Government | 358,591 | 93,089 | -52,827 | -308,460 |
Since I am on the topic of interactive graphs, check these links out via Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture:
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.Bad news for soda lovers next month as Coca-Cola plans on raising prices. Via Reuters:
(Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co plans to raise prices on its soft drinks by 3 percent to 4 percent in July, in addition to a 2 percent increase taken earlier this year, a company spokesman said on Friday.When it comes to a college education, most people are under the impression that a Bachelor's Degree is a sign of intelligence. Well California definitely proves this wrong, via Cal Watchdog:
California legislators can’t seem to get a balanced budget passed or fix the state government’s ongoing problems. They are known for passing ridiculous legislation and taxing things you didn’t even know existed, so you would assume they aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. Well, interestingly enough, they are some of the most educated legislators in the entire United States.
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently conducted a study finding that California has the most educated Legislature with most legislators earning a bachelor’s degree or higher. If California’s Legislature is so intelligent and educated, why is the Capitol and the state economy in such bad shape?
Ironically, the 15 states that had the “least educated” legislatures consistently trump the top 15 “most educated” legislatures in six different economic metrics. Comparing the top 15 to the bottom 15 in unemployment rates, employment growth rates, economic freedom, fiscal freedom, economic performance and state economic outlook ratings, the “least educated” outperform the ”most educated” group every time.
The data once again proves that holding a bachelor’s degree does not translate into implementation of sound economic policies. Despite having an “educated” Legislature, only six of the 100 declared majors of those elected to the California Legislature have a degree in Economics.You mean increased taxation, regulatory hurdles, and constant promotion of "green" industries aren't key to economic growth? That's what college teaches after all right? I should also mention that the woman who wrote the post is pretty awesome...I hope she reads this.
Finally, this should speak volumes to the collectivists and Progressive era dreamers who believe intellectuals can accurately plan a society. California has all of these “educated” legislators and yet they are providing one of the the worst economically sound societies in America right now. As Friedrich Hayek wrote, “To act on the belief that we possess the knowledge and the power which enable us to shape the processes of society entirely to our liking, knowledge in fact we do not possess, is likely to make us do much harm.”
Update- Hilarious music video
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