What happened to all of the doom and gloom economic threads?

[phrodeau]

German marks aren't legal currency any more. Maybe you've heard about the euro?

 

[unregistered]

 

[phrodeau]

Maybe you need a fucking clue, read it:

Why are Germans still using the deutsche mark?


http://theweek.com/article/index/230830/why-are-germans-still-using-the-deutsche-mark

Gee, thanks. I like the comments best.

 

[trysail]

The Bankrupt United States of America




Druckenmiller Sees Storm Worse Than ’08 as Retirees Steal
By Katherine Burton
March 1, 2013

Stan Druckenmiller, one of the best performing hedge-fund managers of the past three decades, has a warning for the youth of America: Don’t let your grandparents steal your money.

Druckenmiller, 59, said the mushrooming costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, with unfunded liabilities as high as $211 trillion, will bankrupt the nation’s youth and pose a much greater danger than the country’s $16 trillion of debt currently being debated in Congress.

“While everybody is focusing on the here and now, there’s a much, much bigger storm that’s about to hit,” Druckenmiller said in an hour-long interview with Stephanie Ruhle on Bloomberg Television’s Market Makers. “I am not against seniors. What I am against is current seniors stealing from future seniors.”

Druckenmiller said unsustainable spending will eventually result in a crisis worse than the financial meltdown of 2008, when $29 trillion was erased from global equity markets. What’s particularly troubling, he said, is that government expenditures related to programs for the elderly rocketed in the past two decades, even before the first baby boomers, those born in 1946, started turning 65.

Druckenmiller stopped managing money for outside clients in 2010 after three decades in the business, including more than a decade as chief strategist for billionaire George Soros. From 1986 through 2010 he produced average annual returns of 30 percent, one of the best long-term track records in the industry.

Spending Cuts
President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders are locked in a disagreement over the U.S. budget deficit. If no agreement is reached today, federal spending will be reduced by $85 billion in the final seven months of this fiscal year and by $1.2 trillion over the next nine years. Half of the cuts would come from defense and half from domestic spending. The reductions were designed to be so unpalatable that lawmakers would come up with a way to replace them.

Americans want Congress to delay the spending cuts to give the economic recovery more time to take hold, according to a Bloomberg News poll conducted Feb. 15-18. When Washington does confront the deficit issue, Americans back a compromise that includes more tax revenue and fundamental changes to Social Security and Medicare. Fifty-one percent of respondents said overhauling Social Security is necessary to substantially reduce the deficit, and 58 percent said the same of Medicare.

Seniors’ Lobby
In 2011, Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare accounted for 44 percent of the government’s $3.7 trillion in expenditures, up from 34 percent in 1990, according to statistics compiled by the government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“The seniors have a very, very powerful lobby,” Druckenmiller said. “They keep getting more and more transfer payments” from younger generations through what’s essentially a pay-as-you-go system, he said.

There were 40 million people in the U.S. 65 and over, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, the year before the first baby boomers hit retirement age. By 2020, that number is expected to grow to 55 million, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Speaking Out
As the elderly population rises, the number of workers who pay into Social Security is dropping. By 2030, there will be about two workers per retiree, down from 3.4 workers in 2000, according to the 2004 book “The Coming Generational Storm” by Laurence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns. If a three-year-old born today is taxed at the same rate as today’s working population, he will get less than half of the benefits that our current seniors are getting, Druckenmiller said.

Usually press shy, Druckenmiller said he chose to speak out on the issue now, because he felt he hadn’t done enough before the financial crisis.

As early as 2005, he forecast the impending real estate crisis and its effects on banks “backing all those silly instruments,” he said. He met with a couple of policy makers and a representative of the U.S. Congress at the time. He also spoke at the Ira W. Sohn Investment Research Conference in New York.

“I had my 30 charts with colors and pictures and laid out for them why I thought it was going to be a huge, huge problem for the U.S. economy and the U.S. financial system,” he said in the interview.

No 1982
Today he sees an even bigger reason for concern because of the government’s massive unfunded liabilities. He also sees trouble with what he calls its trickle-down monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates near zero and buy $85 billion of assets a month is pumping up the stock market, all with the hope that rich people will spend those gains, and that money will trickle down to the rest of the country.

While stocks may continue to rise for a while because companies are buying back shares and retail investors are coming back to the market in search of returns, the gains probably won’t last, Druckenmiller said.

“The chances of this being a new bull market like 1982 aren’t high because we’re not attacking the crux of the problem, which is too much leverage and too much debt,” he said. “I don’t know the timing of when the markets will respond to this, but it will happen.”





http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...m-worse-than-08-as-seniors-bankrupt-kids.html

 

[Busybody]

THIS SOUNDS UNSUSTAINABLE: Consumer spending up, but income posts largest drop in 20 years. “With income dropping sharply and spending rising, the saving rate – the percentage of disposable income households are socking away – fell to 2.4 percent, the lowest level since November 2007. The rate had jumped to 6.4 percent in December. Savings were the smallest since December 2007.”

Peeps are takin from IRA and KEOUGH and credit cards

JUST TO SURVIVE


Mission Accomplished

 

[Busybody]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4o7uLGXj1q4/USBdqJDiduI/AAAAAAAABoc/ZYg9C3n_x6Q/s640/Barry+Detective.jpg

 

[Busybody]

When NIGGER KUZ isn't here

he is at his nite job

http://img.izismile.com/img/img6/20130228/640/these_people_clearly_all_need_some_help_part_4_640_25.jpg

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

You can always tell how the economy (or President Obama's approval rating) is fairing on any given day by the inverse relationship to the consecutive number of Dizzybooby rants.

 

[richard_daily]

You can always tell how the economy (or President Obama's approval rating) is fairing on any given day by the inverse relationship to the consecutive number of Dizzybooby rants.

And if koalabear hasn't given his daily "stock market report", you know that it's rising in the triple digits, like it did earlier in the week.

 

[Busybody]

STFU, NIGGER UD and NIGGER DICK DAILY

 

[richard_daily]

Somebody farted.

 

[Busybody]

Bizarro World: Obama’s Sequester Plan Labels $300 Billion In New Revenues As “Spending Cuts”…




So shady.

Via IBD:


When President Obama put out his “balanced” plan to avoid the automatic sequester cuts, no one noticed. Which is probably just as well for Obama, given how embarrassingly unbalanced it is. [...]

Worse, Obama’s “balanced” plan actually counts hundreds of billions of new revenues from taxes, fees and rebates as “spending reductions.” Examples:

• His plan to “strengthen” unemployment insurance is labeled as a cut, but it’s really a $50 billion tax hike.

• The $35 billion from the federal worker retirement programs involves boosting worker contributions.

• Most of the $35 billion in Medicare savings comes from charging wealthy seniors more.

• The $140 billion in “reduced payments to drug companies” are in fact rebates Obama wants drugmakers to pay Uncle Sam for selling drugs to poor seniors.

• Then there’s the $45 billion in spectrum fees and asset sales that Obama lists as spending reductions.

Viewed correctly, it turns out that more than $300 billion — about a third — of Obama’s proposed “spending cuts” are actually revenue increases.

 

[koalabear]

Stocks fall as sequester looms

 

[Busybody]

its up, DUMMY

 

[koalabear]

its up, DUMMY

I only post what the fringe network posts, NBC.

 

[unregistered]

 

[koalabear]

Stocks recover as sequester looms

 

[unregistered]

 

[koalabear]

The sequester didn't shut down any presses at the Fed, the corporate welfare spigot is still wide open.

but it may get turned off! run for the hills!

 

[unregistered]

 

[Busybody]

they have plans

to get out of it

DEATH PANELS

UK Pol: “Disabled Children Should Be Put Down”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UK Pol: “Disabled Children Should Be Put Down”


England didn’t defeat the Nazis; it only delayed them for a few generations. This is how close it is to imposing National Socialist policies already:


A Cornwall councillor has apologised but refused to resign after telling a disability charity that all disabled children “should be put down”.

Collin Brewer, independent councillor Wadebridge East, made the comments to Disability Cornwall at County Hall when the group had an information stand at an event to allow councillors to meet equalities organisations and understand some of the issues they face.

At the event, which took place in October 2011, Mr Brewer approached the stand and was told how the group helps parents of children with special educational needs.

He responded by saying: “Disabled children cost the council too much money and should be put down.”

Naturally everyone gasped in horror at his bluntness. But the next time someone says it, it won’t seem quite as shocking. The next time after that, it will sound less shocking still. After all, resources are limited. Free healthcare means rationed healthcare. Under socialism, those who consume the most are the enemy of everyone else.

In the meantime, if Brewer has any difficulty getting reelected, he can always go to work on a death panel at NICE.
__________________

 

[Busybody]

Fiscal Sanity

FINALLY!

REPORT: DNC won't repay DUKE ENERGY for convention costs...

 

[unregistered]

 

[koalabear]

And for those Brits who may feel the need to wander in here to lecture Americans on our economic problems:

Britain heads for new recession


(Reuters) - The risk that Britain is entering its third recession in four years grew on Friday with figures showing that manufacturing shrank unexpectedly last month and mortgage approvals for home buyers dropped in January

Gross domestic product fell at the end of last year, bringing Britain within sight of another recession and the latest data suggested the central bank may need to do yet more to revive the economy.

The pound sank to its lowest level against the dollar in more than 2-1/2 years, while prices of British government bonds - which the Bank of England could resume buying - rose after the releases.

The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 47.9 from a downwardly revised 50.5 in January, confounding forecasts for a rise to 51.0. It was the first reading below the 50 line that separates growth from contraction since November.

A separate release showed that mortgage approvals fell unexpectedly despite the authorities' efforts to boost lending.

"It's a bit of a double whammy of disappointing news," said Alan Clarke, economist at Scotiabank. "Not a good start (to the year) and really shouldn't change anyone's view that there's precious little growth momentum in the UK and particularly not in manufacturing."

The numbers are the latest in a string of bad news for the Conservative-led coalition government and its finance minister George Osborne. Moody's downgraded Britain's triple-A rating last week, prompted by weak economic growth prospects.

In the last quarter of 2012, a plunge in factory output - which accounts for around a 10th of the economy - shaved 0.1 percentage point off economic growth, according to official data released earlier this week. Markit said factory output fell last month at the fastest pace since October.

"The return to contraction of the manufacturing sector is a big surprise and represents a major setback to hopes that the UK economy can ... avoid a triple-dip recession," said Chris Williamson, the Markit economist who compiled the survey.

"A strong rebound is needed in March to prevent the sector from acting as a drag on the economy as a whole in the first quarter."

OUTLOOK DIM AS ORDERS FALL

On some measures, the chances of such a rebound look slim. The subindex for new orders fell to 46.6 in February, the lowest reading since July, as market conditions remained tough at home and abroad, especially in Europe. Backlogs of work also shrank.

However, Williamson said there were good reasons to believe manufacturing could recover in March, noting that the weaker pound might help exporters, while factories were also hit by disruption to deliveries from bad weather in late January.

"The Chinese New Year holidays are having an increasingly disruptive impact on global trade flows ... and appear to have had a stronger than usual effect in February," he added.

The housing sector also revealed signs of weakness.

Mortgage approvals fell to 54,719 in January from 55,632 in December, short of analysts' forecasts for a rise to 56,500, the central bank said.

A rise in the flow of credit in recent months, particularly in home loans, fed hopes that the BoE's flagship Funding for Lending Scheme is helping home buyers, though lending to companies remains sluggish.

Mortgage lending grew by 147 million pounds, the smallest increase since August, also less than forecast.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/01/us-britain-economy-idUSBRE9200DT20130301

Let them eat horse-meat.

 

[Busybody]

the horses will eat the corpses