Category: Economy

  By now most people are aware of how Dubai got itself in over its head. What exactly is the perfect metaphor for Dubai’s excesses? The palm-tree shaped islands? The underwater hotel? The indoor ski resort? It all had the feel of Disneyland meeting the dot-com mania.

  In the end it was all about borrowed money. Lots of it. In that context Dubai is not alone.

 Dubai’s default has the world’s investors asking the question: Who’s next?

The Invisible Hand

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, says: “the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.” [7][8] Stiglitz explains his position:

Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, is often cited as arguing for the “invisible hand” and free markets: firms, in the pursuit of profits, are led, as if by an invisible hand, to do what is best for the world. But unlike his followers, Adam Smith was aware of some of the limitations of free markets, and research since then has further clarified why free markets, by themselves, often do not lead to what is best. As I put it in my new book, Making Globalization Work, the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.

…

  The weekly unemployment claims were very positive today.

 (Bloomberg) — The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since September 2008 as the economic recovery encourages companies to fire fewer workers.

  Initial jobless claims declined to 466,000 in the week ended Nov. 21 from 501,000 a week earlier, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people collecting unemployment insurance dropped in the prior week, while those getting extended payments also declined.

Great news all around, right? Wrong.

 The non-seasonally adjusted numbers tell a far different story.

  Wall Street CEO’s are deaf to Main Street while awarding themselves record bonuses from taxpayer bailout money.

  Democrats in Congress, in the White House, and regulators in the Federal Reserve who propose a permanent TARP bailout program are also deaf to Main Street.

I thought I’d do something different today for comparison’s sake.  With everyone sufficiently indignant at our banking system, our government’s response, and at the abuses within the Bailout, I thought I might provide some needed contrast.  The details which follow first are the literal steps one has no choice but to follow to attain food stamps in Washington, DC.  I pulled certain phrases off of an advocacy website PDF here but the construction is largely mine.

How to Obtain Food Stamps in the District of Columbia

1.  Sit in line at the Food Stamp office nearest you and, while waiting, fill out a 12 page form.

OR

Print the form and fill out all 12 pages.

2.  To make sure you do not try to cheat the system, you will first be required to reveal your

a) Household income

b) Cash present on hand

c) Rent and utility costs

3.   You will then be asked to provide

a) where you work (if you are, in fact, employed)

b) your employer’s name and telephone number

c) when you started working for them

d) how much your paycheck is before taxes

e) and how often you get paid

4.  If you or anyone else in your household makes some degree of income, repeat step 3

5.  If you have a bank account, you are required to prove it by providing a bank statement

6.  If you own anything else besides your home, you are required to state that you do.

7.  If you have stocks and/or bonds, please respond in in the affirmative.

8.  Did you sell, trade, or give away anything more than $1,000 in the past three (3) years?  If so, please mark “yes” and attach a description to this form.

9.  Provide the exact dollar amount of that which you pay in rent.  Don’t forget to leave out utilities if not included in rent and whether or not you pay for air-conditioning and heating costs separate from your rent.

10.  Mail form.  Wait approximately three and a half weeks for a reply, only to be told after four separate phone calls spent futilely trying to speak to an actual person that, due to a severe backlog in unprocessed claims, it may be up to a month and a half before your paperwork is processed.

OR

Drop off form at Food Stamps office.  Speak to case worker after waiting for several hours.  Turn in form.  Wait approximately three and a half weeks for a reply, only to be after four separate phone calls futilely trying to speak to an actual person that, due to a severe backlog in unprocessed claims, it may be up to a month and a half before your paperwork is processed.

11.  Wait

12.  Keep waiting.

13.  Finally receive form in mail informing of date to meet with caseworker to determine whether Food Stamps will be granted.  Date is eight business days from when one received notice.

14.  Collect necessary documentation to prove identity.  This includes:

a) Photo ID/Drivers’ license

b) Recent rent receipt, copy of lease, mortgage payment, or landlord’s name and phone number.

c) Proof of income, last three pay stubs, VA benefits, educational scholarships, grants or loans, unemployment payments, or your employer’s name and phone number.

d)  Proof of Housing Expense:   Recent rent or mortgage payment receipts.  This includes receipts of all recent utility bill(s): phone, gas, electric, and water.  All of these documents must have your address printed on them.

e) Bank statements:  If one has an account at a bank or credit union, bring a  recent bank statement or bankbook. Also if you have any other type of financial account (for example, a CD) be sure to bring that, too.

f) Social Security Card

g) Proof of any Assets:  Bring proof of ownership for buildings, land, policies, burial arrangements or plots, and/or other property (not your home that you stay in) you reported in your application.

15.  After all hoops have been jumped through and forms brought to the attention and signed off by the appropriate party, wait for judgment about food stamps.

16.  Ten days later, judgment is granted.  Realize that $100.12 per month means approximately one week’s worth of groceries for one person.  Shrug and say to self that every little bit matters.

17.  Attend mandatory EBT Card (Food Stamp) card training before receiving.  Training lasts approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

18.  Proceed directly to grocery store.



How to Obtain Bailout Money in the District of Columbia



1.  Be a CEO of a large financial institute.

2.  State that you are nearly bankrupt, but too big to fail.

3.  Collect emergency funds.

NOTE: This is my own version of the entry produced the other day by MinistryOfTruth.

I’m not homeless (not yet), but every day holds over it the threat of existence on the streets.  Although I’ve been technically unemployed since December of 2007, nearly two years, my official period of unemployment goes back to March 2006 – at least.  This is because my last “official” job was for a telemarketing firm that laid me off after four weeks in 2006.  My last actual job was as an Americorps VISTA (a volunteer position that offers a monthly stipend), which went from December 2006 to December 2007.  Since then, I’ve been enrolled in classes at the Parma campus of my local community college.  I’ve had to subsist on what money I get from financial aid as my sole source of “income.”  Often, I must raid the student food bank just to get myself through the weeks between semesters.

I have no car, public transit options are increasingly limited, and the longer I go without work further cripples my chances of obtaining employment.  No one wants to hire someone who can’t get a job.  It’s a vicious catch-22 situation.  I’ve had exactly one interview this year, with a bagel restaurant, and that went nowhere.

Like MinistryOfTruth, I need a job – BADLY.  It has to be in Cleveland’s west side or Middleburg Heights, Ohio, along bus routes.  At this point I couldn’t care less what job it is.  I just need one I can get out to in a timely manner so the manager will deign to hire me.  The problem is that I don’t know what else I can do besides what I’ve been doing, which is to keep my résumé updated and keep filling out applications.  I can’t relocate, because I haven’t got the money.  I can’t get a job because no one will hire me. I’m thirty-five, always broke, jobless, and ever on the brink.  I can’t keep doing this.  So, like MoT, I’m asking you for help.

  I don’t believe there is any investment, outside of a mania, that elicits more emotion, both positive and negative, than gold. People love it or hate it, there isn’t much in between. It’s because of these strong emotions that there is so many misconceptions about the yellow metal. Emotions tend to cloud normally reasonable minds to the point that they miss either opportunities or dangers.

 Which brings us the current bull market in gold. What does gold hitting all-time record highs mean? To answer that you must brush away the myths and misunderstandings of what gold is and why someone would purchase it.

 I am going to attempt to do that.

If you DON’T Study, DON’T play by the Rules, and DON’T CARE who is hurt by your careless actions — would you expect an “all expenses paid” Scholarship?  … or record Bonuses?  … or more free Mad Money than you know what to do with?

Hardly!

Yet that is exactly what the reckless Wall Street Bankers got — HUGE Rewards — FOR BEHAVING BADLY!

In some circles, this is call Co-dependency and “Enabling” …

In America we call it “Too Big to Fail”.

Well Alan Grayson and Ron Paul, are about expose this Trillion Dollar “reward for failure” system, for what it is …

Rep. Alan Grayson on the Fed Bailing Out Big Banks:

“You Don’t Give Scholarships to Kids Who Fail”



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

This is the second in a series of interviews with Political Economist Tom Ferguson. Yesterday we saw him saying that the stimulus program was far too small, a much larger one is still needed, and predicted that the Democrats must start a new jobs program to bring economic growth to the bulk of the population or face losing badly in the 2010 mid-terms.

Today he continues his talk with Paul Jay and says that the Obama Administration asked for too little in the banking bill, nothing is preventing another banking crisis, the big players in the banking industry are writing their own regulations and colluding against the public to profit from every boom and bust cycle at your expense. The Federal Reserve must be reined in.

Our favorite irascible media tyrant is in the news once again, and once again it’s time for me to bring you a story of doing one thing while wishing for another.

In a November 6th interview, Sky News Australia’s David Speers spent about 35 minutes with the CEO of NewsCorp, Rupert Murdoch; the conversation covering topics as diverse as software piracy, world economics, the role of Fox News (and Fox NewsPinion©) in American politics, a strange defense of Glenn Beck, and, not very long afterwards, an even stranger defense of immigration.

We have heard a lot about the…how can I put this politely…challenges Murdoch seems to face associating factual reality with his reality, and we could have lots of fun going through his factual misstatements-but instead, I want to take on one specific issue today:

Rupert Murdoch says he hates it when people steal his content from the Internet to draw readers to their sites…which is funny, if you think about it, because he has no problem at all stealing my content (and lots of yours, as well) for his sites.

  Maybe you remember news stories like this from last December, when it seemed the entire world’s economic system was about to break down.

 Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Treasuries rose, pushing rates on the three-month bill negative for the first time, as investors gravitate toward the safety of U.S. government debt amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

 Negative yields essentially mean that you are paying the government to loan it money. It’s a flight to safety at any cost. Last December was the first time it had happened since the Great Depression.

Thomas Ferguson is a political scientist and author who studies and writes on politics and economics, often within an historical perspective. He is a Political Science professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston, a contributing editor of The Nation, and is also the author of several books, the most recent of which is Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-Driven Political System.

Back in April 2009 Ferguson was interviewed by Real News CEO Paul Jay, and at the time called the Obama/Geithner/Summers economic/stimulus plans a “recipe for disaster”.

Today, Ferguson again talks with Jay, and with the hindsight of the past 7 months now says that the stimulus program was far too small, a much larger one is still needed, and predicts that the Democrats must start a new jobs program to bring the economic growth to the bulk of the population or face losing badly in the 2010 mid-terms.