Picking Old Bones



Fingers worked to the bone.

In a once sane America, people who spent their working years preparing for their retirement were valued...even revered.

They were once held up as the standard for the now meaningless over-hyped bumper-sticker slogan called.. American exceptionalism.
Now these same people once honored are being thrown to wolves of capitalism for a final stripping of any financial meat still clinging to their fragile bank accounts.

The bone picking banks and Wall Street cronies having robbed the middle and working classes blind.. set their sights on a weaker easier prey, and with the help of Republican vultures like Paul Ryan with his Medicare killing 'Pathway to Prosperity' Plan, it appears the once staunch defenders of the American exceptionalism myth...the GOP, have turned it on its head.. transforming its meaning to be one of American misery..except for those well heeled in the financial world..


When CD rates were 7% retirees had enough interest income to live comfortably-but once that rate dropped to barely 1% more seniors woke up to find themselves neck and neck for first place-in the race to the bottom.Now that inflation is kicking in these same seniors are forced to dip into their principle amount further evaporating their wealth.

And this is just fine to the ruling class who have become so insulated in their own world. They live in the world view that sees opportunity in- "never letting a good crisis go to waste." And when there's money to be made..everything and everyone is fair game.

When society changed the rules these people who did everything right as guided by their generational up bringing which said "stay out of debt...live within your means and save for your old age", now see they are being picked clean by financial predators while their government coldly stands by.

The Federal Reserve and the banking cartel have set about a plan to discourage saving as it depresses the economy by reducing consumer spending and puts money into the wrong hands- not those of the average American. By pulling the plug on interest rates the Federal Reserve has forced seniors and other would be savers to become dependant on social programs which for retirees.... used to be an exception rather than today's rule.

Since saving has been replaced by borrowing there doesn't seem to be much incentive for future generations to continue to save-leaving the only choices people have to prepare for retirement is playing in the Wall Street casino. In the Federal Reserves eyes -providing lots of cheap money for the banks to borrow..then lend back to you at a higher rate-they have created a tremendous windfall worth billions to the banksters, corporate crooks, and wealthy elite. Anyone counting on a nest egg to supplement their retirement ends up with nothing but a hollowed out shell..its contents sucked out by the financial vampires.

Older people have become collateral damage in this class war.. and a necessary evil. This war was started long ago way back in 1913 with the creation on the Federal Reserve-a self appointed King of the banks whose only real attachment to the United States is in the word Federal since it isn't part of the government at all.

Since both political parties are equally responsible for allowing the Federal Reserve to set our economic policies they are all to blame.They prefer to keep the lie going , enshrining the Fed with a god-like status that can never be questioned let alone changed in anyway that is beneficial to real working and retired Americans.

We The People does not apply the the average American anymore. The only America worth rescuing in the eyes of the Wealthy ruling elite-and the Federal Reserve is that of the corporations and gangsters and crooks in the financial sector.

The government expects to hit a $14.3 trillion debt ceiling on May 16 or before. Timothy Geither implored Congress to extend the debt ceiling by that deadline and said that if Congress does not, Treasury will be forced to borrow money from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.

Geithner said borrowing money from the federal retirement programs and other "extraordinary measures" available to the government would stave off the need to raise the debt ceiling until around July 8. Once those measures are exhausted, the government "will be limited in its ability to make payments across the government."

In that case, retirees' pensions could be affected and if that were to happen, any impact on retirement payouts would be the least of their problems because we'll face a worldwide economic collapse.

As of January, the average interest rate paid on relatively safe vehicles such as short-term savings accounts, time deposits and money-market funds stood at only 0.24%. That’s one-tenth the level of late 2007 and the lowest on records dating back to 1959. Such depressed rates don’t come close to compensating for inflation, which was running at an annualized rate of 5.6% in the three months ended February.
Low rates don’t just hurt retirees. They also penalize people of any age hoping to build up funds for the future, and discourage rainy-day savings that could make U.S. consumers more resilient to job losses and other financial jolts.

Average Americans pay a tax rate of about 20-25% of gross income. The super rich pay anywhere from 0 to 20% depending on the expertise of their well paid accountants. Corporations on the other hand are supposed to pay 35% in taxes pay nothing in too many cases-and are even given a few billion..as in the case of  GE. in refunds even though they didn't pay a single dime.


And as corporations are raking in unprecedented tax free profits without creating any jobs, and the near-trillion dollar military machine remains safe from budget cuts. Wall Street continues its business as usual plunder of reckless greed-Americans are told these things must be protected because they are “too big to fail.”

The sad truth behind this charade of too big to fail.. is it's only true in the eyes of the wealthy beholders who see 2% as a greater number in terms of worth than 98%.

And that tired argument being repeated by the corporate owned media that says; rich people will leave the state, or even the country, to avoid property or income tax?

Then don't build an economy that depends on a small number of people with all of the resources.

Don't build an economy that depends on a hand full of rich people doing all of the hiring.

And most important;


Too big to fail is a myth

Don't build an economy so heavily dependent on financial markets.


The only things keeping the rich safe for now is unemployment, welfare and food stamps, as soon as they remove those the dam will break.


And the rich may find that the figure of 98% has far more weight than 2%
ever did.


Then they will understand what too big to fail really means.



ickenittle 

Fast Track to Fascism

 Mussolini

Americas' second most hated Governor, Scott Walker is now preparing his next assault on Wisconsin and democracy at large.  If successful he will usurp Arizonas' Jan Brewer as the most hated governor in the US.

Walker is following the lead of Republican Governor/Dictator- Rick Snyder of Michigan,by preparing a nearly identical plan that would make his bogus budget repair bill- seem like a walk in the park with a fuzzy puppy. This plan will allow him and to declare a  state of financial emergency  on cities and towns giving him the power to strip duly elected officials of authority.

Once declared a "financial emergency" local governments would be forced to undergo a so-called stress test giving Walker the right to lock-step in and take over by appointing a financial manager of his choosing. With unlimited power Walker could cancel union contracts, push aside elected officials and school board members and take over cities and towns as he pleases.

Such a law would additionally give Walker omnipotent power to end municipal services of which he disapproves, including safety net assistance to those in need.

All at the whim of this wanna be Mussolini.

This plan is the mirror image of the legislation signed into law by Michigans' Mussolini, Gov. Rick Snyder which gives him extraordinary powers to take over municipalities when he decides they are in financial trouble.Using this scheme he- like Walker can manufacture a crisis then swoop in to take over.

Governor Snyder's law is now a reality as he has already placed as Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris. He was put in place to "manage" Benton Harbor,Michigan, and has issued an order which has taken away all of the powers of the city's elected officials.

Read this again; has issued an order which has taken away all of the powers of the city's elected officials!

Is this still America?

This isn't the stuff of conspiracy theories anymore. This is concrete evidence that GOP Governors with Republican majorities in their state legislative bodies are part of a well coordinated plan to enforce a right-wing agenda designed to not only destroy state, county and municipal employee unions, but to take control of local governments by replacing elected officials with appointees-either corporate or individual by the states highest executive officer creating a dictatorship and destroying democracy in the process.

This is effectively a political coup d etat on a the state level. This is how fascism begins.


Definition of Fascism;

Fascism is a  radical, authoritarian,nationalist, political ideology. Fascists advocate the creation of a totalitarian single party state that seeks the mass mobilization and mechanization of a nation and the creation of an ideal "way of life."

Fascists believe that a nation requires strong leadership, singular collective identity, and the will and ability to commit violence and wage war in order to keep the nation strong.

As an ideology, Fascism represents a synthesis of nationalism (devotion to one's nation as the highest ideal)  and the rejection of materialism, liberalism, Marxism, and democracy. It calls for the absolute political rule of the leaders, and deplores the democratic ideal of the common people making important decisions.

The state government is how national unity---the major Fascist value---is manifested. Fascism tries to create a new civilization, based on the total community, in which all sectors and classes of the population will find their niche. As a result, the nation will be revitalized and strengthened, and each individual will be nothing more than a cell in the communal organism. Fascism even poses as a type of spiritual revolution.

Since fascism opposes democracy-and demands absolute power granted its political leaders you can't help but wonder exactly what the Tea Party Republicans are up to.They claimed to be libertarians when they first came onto the scene.But much has changed since then- and the so-called Tea Party Republicans are nothing more than wolves in sheep's clothing.

They have an agenda for America-one that would make the founding fathers shudder in their graves.

This is just the beginning.

Stay tuned...and pay close attention...and keep your pitchforks handy.

ickenittle

Still Stupid in Arizona




Welcome To Arizona Mr.Obama

 It now appears that the inmates of the Arizona Insane Asylum have taken over the state.

They don't call Arizona the Sunstroke State for nothing.

The Arizona Senate just passed what is dubiously called the "Birther Bill"

This is the new-and-improved version of the old bill requiring presidential candidates to provide a long-form birth certificate before Arizona will place them on the ballot. Even though it is already a federal requirement to run for president-Arizona wants to improve the law by giving it their own.. special flair.

Say you can't find your long form birth certificate, as in the case of President Obama the GOP has a solution to prove he-and you are real Americans....  unzip your pants and.... 

SHOW US THE CIRCUMCISION!

In a GRAND show of GOP stupidity this bill says it all;


1. A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE'S LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT INCLUDES AT LEAST THE DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH, THE NAMES OF THE HOSPITAL AND THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN, IF APPLICABLE, AND SIGNATURES OF ANY WITNESSES IN ATTENDANCE. IF THE CANDIDATE DOES NOT POSSESS A LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE AS REQUIRED BY THIS PARAGRAPH, THE CANDIDATE MAY ATTACH TWO OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS THAT SHALL TAKE THE PLACE OF THE LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE IF THE CANDIDATE SWEARS TO THEIR AUTHENTICITY AND VALIDITY AND THE DOCUMENTS CONTAIN ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO DETERMINE IF THE CANDIDATE MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS PRESCRIBED IN ARTICLE II, SECTION 1, CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES:


(a) EARLY BAPTISMAL OR CIRCUMCISION CERTIFICATE.(b) HOSPITAL BIRTH RECORD.
(c) POSTPARTUM MEDICAL RECORD FOR THE MOTHER OR CHILD SIGNED BY THE DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE OR THE PERSON WHO DELIVERED OR EXAMINED THE CHILD AFTER BIRTH.
(d) ) EARLY CENSUS RECORD.


Wonder what part of a woman's anatomy will be required for proof of citizenship to be placed on a ballot for the Presidency, or does Arizona's bill mean only males need apply?

Not only is this a foolish bill but... it's unconstitutional to boot-which doesn't seem bother Arizona lawmakers.

Doing so constitutes an interference with federal supremacy. It is not up to a state to decide who is qualified to run for president-but don't try to reason with Arizona Republicans-as they are guided by "other" voices.


Since this bill is unconstitu­tional because states cannot challenge federal law-then why did Arizona even put it forth in the first place?..... Because the "voices" told them to.



Proud member of the GOP

 But not everyone in Arizona is bat shit crazy.

Citizens for a better Arizona...

A non partisan political group is gathering signatures to recall Senate President Russel Pearce (R)

The group has two thirds of the signatures needed to kick the bum out and force a recall election on the senator they accuse of having an extreme agenda.

Citizens for a Better Arizona needs to collect over 7,700 signatures by May 31st to force a recall election.

"He's had racist letters read on the Senate floor, he's been reported to have accepted thousands of dollars of gifts from the Fiesta Bowl that he didn't report as required by law. He feels he's above the law and doesn't represent the best interest of Arizona and he's unfit for public office," said Chad Snow, chairman of Citizens for a Better Arizona.





 Good luck to Chad Snow. Lets hope he's armed, because his adversaries are dangerous...and unwilling to give up those comfy straight- jackets.

Maybe Arizona needs to pass a bill that requires elected officials to undergo periodic psychiatric evaluations.


ickenittle

The Peoples Budget For America

Just when you thought there wasn't any hope-and your voice has been drowned out by Republican threats and fear-mongering the Congressional Progressive Caucus offers this;

Read the People's Budget

Read it and stop believing there are no solutions.

ickenittle

And stop listening to liars....including the ones in blue.

Choose Your Demon.

After burning the midnight oil, and playing their well rehearsed roles in the government budget/shutdown made for TV drama ..the parties that be have come to an earth shattering predictable compromise.

With much fuss and grandstanding over what to keep funding verses who to kick to the curb, the poorest Americans.. of course.. come out as usual with the short end of the pitchfork.

The rich keep their loot and the poor get looted some more to make up for the the lost gains incurred by the looting. In a twisted sociopath's logic..the Republicans justify making the victim of a robbery not only pay the robber for what he stole..but keep him in food, housing and job security because he keeps law enforcement fully employed.

So the big question is, What is the real difference between the two parties?

If you look at how things are run in Washington it makes you wonder if there really are two parties, or one party with a split personality. If Democrats really wanted to call the shots on the budget when they were in control they had plenty of time before the Republicans came in to get it done.

But they didn't...did they?

No they waited until the Republicans came in after the election and even wasted the time after the November elections during the lame duck session. Doing nothing seems their agenda even knowing full well that Republicans talked with the Tea Party about slashing the budget and knew the Tea Party's agenda was to take from the poor and give to the rich-and they did nothing.

By doing nothing they have allowed the Republican party to do their dirty deeds, and when government shutdown was hanging over every body's head they didn't call their bluff by making it clear in 2012 how bad Republicans are for this country they used it as an excuse to allow them to do their slashing.

To add insult to injury they then insult us with the good- cop- bad- cop scenario. trying to convince us they are on separate teams when in reality they are on the same side-playing the more.. or less.. extreme versions of each other.

Meanwhile they all expect us to run to the polls, cast our ballots believing the lie that either side is serving our best interests and not the interests of the rich and infamous who control Washington. It could be said that the ultimate goal of both the Republican and Democrat party is to maintain the status quo which is keeping the money going upwards in a predictable stream and keep the wealth disparity machine running at full speed.  They need uneducated poor people to serve in the military industrial complex, slave wage laborers and a battered disheartened populous that is easy to control.

Each and every time a third party is mentioned you will hear the lesser of two evils argument."If we don't support D-then this will happen. If we don't support R that will happen. Given as an only choice, the two devils try to convince you that it is better to stay with the devil you know.. then to risk it all.. on the one you don't.

We have heard this same argument about decreasing our dependence on oil. The devil we don't know is alternative energy. When we talk about not getting into so many wars the devil is an invisible enemy called terrorism.When we talk about cleaning up Wall Street, the banking cartel, the too big to believe monopolies that are strangling this nation the "devil" becomes the threat of "financial instability" and "collapse."  Every scary extreme term is thrown at us in one nightmare scenario after another in order to keep us distracted from looking at real solutions..ones that they don't like..ones that could fix our problems.

It's like letting someone convince you the only way to fix your car is buying new tires...even though your engine is leaking oil all over your driveway.

We could easily balance the budget in less than ten years by cutting the crap out of waste by the military spending, fixing government contracting business as usual policies, dumping tax loopholes for crooked banksters-and offshore companies, forgetting subsidies to big oil, big pharma and big Agra-corporations.Also by taxing speculation traders on their gambling trades, and make millionaires, billionaires and up and coming.. trillionaires.. pay the same tax rate they did under Reagan.

This is what happens when the ones in charge of the clean up.. keep catering and caving.. to the ones who created the mess in the first place.. and soon the supposed solution becomes indistinguishable from the problem.

Republicans are masters at the art of blaming others and shifting the blame, and lo and behold what are they doing? As a juxtaposition, the Democrats are masters at letting the GOP screw up so badly so that they can win by default. Which explains the free reign they are giving to the devils in the house.


Instead of telling us "We will find a way" both parties say "Our way or the highway" in one form or another, and they avoid the path to a solution. One side pretends to be the "hooker with the heart of gold"  and the other is the cold hearted madame running the brothel. Both are whores-both are working in the whorehouse.

We are at war. An invading force is taking over the U.S. by coup. WI woke up and the middle class is waking up all over America. Hopefully, so are you. This is not the time to be nice and reasonable.
The corporations that own the media don't want us to see any of it..they are part of it..they own the town where the whore house is located.

America is becoming a wholly corporate owned country, TV, radio and all. An alternative has never been more important.

Start thinking for yourself, and stop allowing crafty wordsmiths to play on your emotions, persuading you to drink their poisons with a happy smile. What they say sounds good, but their cup is full of misery for you and your children.

They are using the money system to control you. The stronger and more pervasive it gets, the more it dominates all human transactions, the more they can charge fees and rents on everything you do, in addition to the more esoteric methods of simply creating money and giving it to their friends using accounting rules and credit.

These demons like to fool you, to say "you can’t do this or this will not work."  You can’t reform Wall Street because they will just find ways around it, so you may as well give up and let them rob you blind. In what other area of human endeavor do people fall for such nonsense? If there was some bully who made you pay them ten dollars every time you left the store would you just accept that?

When a system richly rewards bad behaviour and does not punish it, even when they make a mistake and lose billions, what do you think will happen? Time for a change, time for a real reform. Time for people to stop this "every man for himself’ mentality and start thinking about the country again. But therein lies a trap, so devious it makes me shudder, because when people start talking about the" national good to you", they are often.. wolves in sheep’s clothing.




They are demons playing angels.

This country is not broke..they just don't want to fix it if it means this corruption comes to an end.


They are just sellers of snake oil...all of them.


ickenittle

Banks Are Cheap Bastards

Remember the good old days when saving for a rainy day
was something you could afford to do?



Saving for a rainy day no more.

For too many Americans-those days are long gone. Thanks to the cheap bastard banks and the Federal Reserve.


When the Federal Reserve put its policy for a 0% interest rate into effect- it made it cheap and easy for the big banks and mega-corporations to borrow -all at the expense of every one else.

Since the 1960's the Fed funds rate was over 5% so you could actually make money on your savings account and other low risk investments like CD's. If you were uncomfortable gambling in casino's at least the Federal Reserve didn't stand in the way,and savers could get a decent return on their investments.


Those days seem to be long gone with the funds rate near zero.  Banks are using their cheap and easy access to the Fed to borrow cheap and to lend high. They are also borrowing and investing in global stock markets.  The two biggest banks in the U.S. give depositors merely a place in the bank’s digital vault and pay almost no interest.

Since the Federal Reserve is punishing savers while it rewards massive debtors there is very little incentive for people to save. Basically all the banks give you in return for letting them use your money is a parking spot in their vault.

The annual percentage yield is 0.05%.  In other words, if you had $10,000 saved in Bank of America in this savings account you would end up with $50 after one year.  At the same time the average credit card rate is over 14 percent and mortgage rates are still above 5 percent.  This margin is enormous and it is little wonder why banks are doing so well while many Americans are struggling financially.  Bank of America isn’t the only one offering this cheap bastard rate.

JP Morgan Chase offers the same rates.  After taking over Washington Mutual with free checking they are now charging customers with less than $5,000 or other caveats a $10 or higher monthly service fee.  There goes that $50 assuming you even have $10,000 to begin with.

Today 1 out of 3 Americans haven't got a pot to piss in- let alone a savings account. Remember the lie we were told that the bailouts were necessary to protect the American people? The bailouts were nothing more than a way to let the banks pick the pockets of Joe consumer before raising rates on his charge card, then lowering his available credit, before finally kicking him out of his home.

The Federal Reserve is herding the sheep away from saving. They give the sheep only two options, either spend what little you have or risk it in the schizophrenic stock market-which by the way is over valued- and headed for a cliff.

The Federal Reserve is over printing money- banking on keeping people either spending or investing it in the stock market in order to create inflation to devalue our current debts.

Debts that they helped create and you didn't.

They need to clear the path of the old debt garbage pile- by sticking it-again-to the middle and lower classes with a lower savings rate and higher inflation.

They are attempting to shrink the debt through accounting voodoo. When the dollar is worth less so is the debt. And so is your paycheck.



You Cheap Bastards.



This is the cheap bastard way to make average Americans pay for their corruption...again.

It's time to declare war on the banks and the Federal Reserve.

http://www.slaythebankster.com/

Because too big to fail is too big to exist.

ickenittle

One Big Fish Story

The president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank,William Dudley doesn't normally come face to face with a hostile crowd.

He is used to a more polite, gentile group of folks when he speaks.

But last Friday while speaking in Queens,New York Mr. Dudley got dumped on with questions about food inflation and his pathetic attempt at an explanation only wrangled the good folks of Queens.

As hard as he tried to put it all into a "broader" perspective-he just kept stepping in it -trying to get people see the "big picture" and make sense of the nonsensical doublespeak from the Federal Reserve;

"Yes, food prices may be rising, but at the same time, other prices are declining. The Fed looks at core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, to get a better sense of where inflation may actually be heading."

OK..so when a washing machine costs the same as last year ..that means there is no inflation?

"Today you can buy an iPad 2 that costs the same as an iPad 1 that is twice as powerful," he said referring to Apple Inc's latest handheld tablet computer hitting stories on Friday.

OK, got that..so when a new improved washing machine costs the same as the old model..there is no inflation?



Peas cost more but not i-Pads.

 "You have to look at the prices of all things," he said.

Then someone asked if he ever went to the grocery store.


"The Fed looks at core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, to get a better sense of where inflation may actually be heading."

You mean Mr.Dudley you don't count food and energy prices...because they are too volatile?

In other words: you don't count the two most important things-because if you did..you would have to admit that all that money printing you and Ben Bernanke swear is necessary..to keep inflation down..is really just a scam designed to hide the fact you guys are still bailing out the banks.

In other..other words.

Truthful economic data is being manipulated in order to preserve the illusion that the economy is getting better.


When the gouging is good the good greedy get gouging.

In a feeble attempt to hide inflation corporations are making packaging sizes smaller on food products because they think you won't notice the difference.

With unemployment still high, companies in recent months have tried to camouflage price increases by selling their products in tiny and tinier packages. So far, the changes are most visible at the grocery store, where shoppers are paying the same amount, but getting less.


Many canned vegetables dropped from 16-13oz. Sugar now comes in 4-pound, not 5-pound, bags.
A can of Chicken of the Sea albacore tuna is now packed at 5 ounces, instead of the 6-ounce version still on some shelves, and in some cases, the 5-ounce can costs more than the larger one. Bags of Doritos, Tostitos and Frito's now hold 20 percent fewer chips than in 2009. 

Insiders explain this is happening now- because companies expect prices to increase in the coming months and this is their way to stay ahead of the game. Some have called the increase alarming.

But what happens when food prices go down, will they then increase the amount to reflect the changes?

Don't hold your breath.

Even while companies blame the recession for smaller packages, they rarely increase sizes in good times.

It may not be ethical, moral or honest...but it isn't illegal...like so many other things these days.

Easy solution; don't buy their products..ever...ever...ever...again.

And don't be fooled when some of these down-sized products show up with larger "super"- "jumbo"-twice- as- much as before- bargain packaging at what appears to be a "bargain price"..they actually charge more by ounce than if you bought three or four... smaller ones.


How clever!


One Big Fish Story.



Increase consumer spending by raising prices.

Then tell everyone that the economy is improving.

Genius!

Pay the same price and get less product.

Tell everyone there is no inflation.

Brilliant!

The American Fish Story..the only real thing growing these days.

ickenittle