The Governement Bubble – National, State, Local…

Here are a couple of reposts from HighBoldtage Mar. 2010:

The Government Bubble:

It turns out that the bubbles that we have recently experienced – housing, derivatives, banking, insurance, stockes and so on were not just economic bubbles.  It appears that there was also a bubble in government at the same time, and this bubble is now bursting.

California is the poster child for this, with recent furloughs and i.o.u.s for state payments, but this week Los Angeles is starting to lay off 4,000 employees.  Cities all over California are beginning to downsize, along with school districts and transportation systems.  It looks like before it is over a hundred thousand or more government workers in California will soon be unemployed and the ripple effects of that will be immense, particularly in Sacramento.  Also heavily impacted will be the small rural counties like Humboldt where government payrolls account for 30% or more of the local economy.

The Federal government has its own bubble to deal with, with out of control deficit spending it will be unable to bail out the states.  The states will be unable to bail out the cities and counties.  You are on your own.  The Bubble Government is bursting.

have a peaceful day,

Bill

The Government Bubble in Humboldt County

There is one trend that is unmistakable in Humboldt County government:  It has gotten more expensive very quickly, at least as quickly as those dastardly insurance rates.  In just four years, county expenditures have gone up 41%, more than 10% per year.  How does that stack up to your personal experience, Joe Six Pack?

To put this nicely, if the county government increase had been limited to roughly the official inflation rate (lets say around 3%) then the county expenditures exceed that now by some $60,000,000 per year, and rising.  It is possible that Humboldt County residents are getting $60,000,000 worth of services now from their county government  that they didn’t get in 2004.  If so please inform us.  It is also possible that we are paying a lot more for the same thing we were getting in 2004.

http://co.humboldt.ca.us/portal/budget/2009-10/A.pdf

Why the Greek rescue isn’t going to plan

By Mohamed El-Erian

Published: April 7 2010 15:53 | Last updated: April 7 2010 15:53

It should be apparent to all by now: despite the rhetoric out of some European capitals, the Greek rescue package is not going according to plan.

Buoyed by a cyclical recovery, markets around the world have yet to recognise the complexity of this situation. When they do, it will also become apparent that Greece is part of a wider, and historically unfamiliar phenomenon – that of a simultaneous and large disruption to the balance sheet of many industrial countries. Tighten your seat belts.

Mohamed El-Erian is chief executive and co-chief investment officer of Pimco

Copyright The Financial Times

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c2709314-4252-11df-9ac4-00144feabdc0.html

San Jose Voters to Decide On $10.00 Minimum Wage

In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the council approved putting a minimum wage ordinance on the Nov. 6 ballot. If approved, the minimum wage would rise from $8 to $10 an hour, with annual increases tied to the consumer price index, the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/MHEL0S) reported.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/05/23/state/n123233D01.DTL#ixzz1xbuiGMBP

Poll: Where will the U.S. economy be in 12 months?

Poll:  Where will the U.S. economy be in 12 months?

or on polldaddy: 

Belarus Devalues Its Rouble by 36% Overnight

Perhaps the conditions below sound familiar?

via BBC News:

“Belarus has cut the official value of its currency against the dollar by 36%.

Loss of competitiveness is only one reason for the deficit, which has risen steadily over the past five years.

The Belarus government directed banks to lend heavily to boost the economy in recent years.

And Russia has raised the price that Belarus must pay for oil and gas imports, from their previously heavily subsidised levels closer towards the international market price.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13508159

more:  http://urlet.com/jets.general

Billion Price Project Shows Inflation Surge

http://bpp.mit.edu/usa/daily-price-indexes/?country=USA

Truckers Protest in Shanghai China 卡车司机抗议在上海

 

http://urlet.com/arena.fourthly or:

http://news.google.com/news/more?client=gmail&rls=gm&q=labor+unrest+shanghai&um=1&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1345&bih=562&wrapid=tlif130341027491610&ie=UTF-8&ncl=dIqRB_jWTWQUPzMFINY6dY8Ioq43M&ei=ZnawTd-ZLonDgQfSoN2HDA&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQqgIwAA

realtime http://www.google.com/search?client=gmail&rls=gm&q=labor%20unrest%20shanghai#q=truckers+shanghai&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&bih=562&biw=1345&fp=8cdf55e18a5cb6a8&hl=en&rls=gm&safe=off&tbm=mbl

or http://urlet.com/sucker.liable

more:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2011/04/20114218244992975.html

via Reuters By Royston Chan and Carlos Barria

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A two-day strike over rising fuel prices turned violent in Shanghai on Thursday as thousands of truck drivers clashed with police, drivers said, in the latest example of simmering discontent over inflation.

由陈和Carlos Barria罗伊斯顿
上海（路透社）- 比燃料价格上涨为期两天的罢工演变成暴力周四在上海与警方发生冲突，数千名卡车司机，司机说，在对通货膨胀的不满情绪一触即发的最新例子。

http://urlet.com/gamble.january

http://translate.google.com/?tab=mT#auto|zh-CN|By%20Royston%20Chan%20and%20Carlos%20Barria%0D%0ASHANGHAI%20(Reuters)%20-%20A%20two-day%20strike%20over%20rising%20fuel%20prices%20turned%20violent%20in%20Shanghai%20on%20Thursday%20as%20thousands%20of%20truck%20drivers%20clashed%20with%20police%2C%20drivers%20said%2C%20in%20the%20latest%20example%20of%20simmering%20discontent%20over%20inflation.%0D%0A%0D%0A

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE73K2F120110421

Hundreds of angry truck drivers blockaded Shanghai’s Baoshan port yesterday as part of a three day strike against rising fuel prices and higher handling fees charged by the port.

Entrances to the docks were blocked, preventing the pickup and receipt of containers, and the windows of trucks belonging to other drivers who refused to take part were smashed by protesting drivers.

数百名愤怒的卡车司机封锁上海宝山港昨天，作为对不断上涨的燃料价格和更高的处理，由口岸收费三天罢工。

在码头入口处被封锁，防止皮卡和集装箱后，和卡车的窗户属于谁拒绝参加抗议的司机被打碎其他司机。

http://urlet.com/awards.doing or

http://shanghaiist.com/2011/04/21/truck-drivers-shanghai-ports-strike.php?gallery0Pic=2 

根据在上海当地的国际媒体以及消息人士的报导，从4月20号星期三开始，有数千名卡车司机在上海的外高桥等码头举行了罢工等抗议活动，而且抗议人士于星期四和当地警方发生冲突，期间有司机被打伤。

 

http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20110421-SHANGHAI-TRUCK-DRIVERS-120416009.html

 

google news search 卡车司机抗议在上海:

 

http://urlet.com/period.wanaboo or:

 

 http://www.google.com/search?client=gmail&rls=gm&q=%E5%8D%A1%E8%BD%A6%E5%8F%B8%E6%9C%BA%E6%8A%97%E8%AE%AE%E5%9C%A8%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7#q=%E5%8D%A1%E8%BD%A6%E5%8F%B8%E6%9C%BA%E6%8A%97%E8%AE%AE%E5%9C%A8%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&bih=562&biw=1345&fp=bfb625bf4459d1f2&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&rls=gm&tab=wn&tbs=nws:1&um=1

 

Two drivers involved in protests, said about 2,000 truck drivers in Shanghai Waigaoqiao port to a nearby intersection and baton wielding police clashed.

 

上海卡车司机抗议高油价的罢工活动4月21日进入第二天，数以千计的司机与警方发生冲突。

两名参与抗议的司机称，大约2,000名卡车司机在上海外高桥港附近的一个十字路口与挥舞警棒的警察发生冲突。

 http://www.sinovision.net/index.php?module=news&act=details&col_id=3&news_id=168384

The Greatest Financial Con of All Time

“If the goal were to encourage “investing” while reining in the sort of speculations which “earn” hedge fund managers $600 million each (no typo, that was the average of the top 10 hedgies’ personal take of their funds gains), then all unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains, rents from property, oil wells, etc.) up to $6,000 a year would be free–no tax. Unearned income between $6,000 and $60,000 would be taxed at 20%, roughly half the top rate for earned income. This would leave 95% of U.S. households properly encouraged to invest via low tax rates.

Above $60,000, then unearned income would be taxed the same as earned income, and above $1 million (the top 1/10 of 1% of households) then it would be taxed at 50%. Above $10 million, it would be taxed at 60%. Such a system would offer disincentives to the speculative hauls made by the top 1/10 of 1% while encouraging investing in the lower 99%.”

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjuly10/con-of-decade-pt2-07-10.html

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjuly10/con-of-decade07-10.html

http://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html

U. S. Dollar: Circling the Bowl

It has generated a mild snow ball effect. As the dollar gets weaker, it becomes less attractive to hold; so investors are dumping more and more of them, moving into oil, gold and stocks. That, in turn, has helped fuel a strong recovery in commodity prices and recent stock market surges.

The risk remains of a full-blown run on the dollar that could force the Federal Reserve to suddenly raise interest rates, dealing a potentially severe blow to the U.S. recovery.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102802347.html

China: Overcapacity – Commodity Stockpiling

http://urlet.com/schedule.anything

http://www.rgemonitor.com/emergingmarkets-monitor/257856/chinas_september_data_suggest_that_the_long-term_overcapacity_problem_is_only_intensifying

Bank failures hit 106 on year

By Greg Morcroft, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Seven more banks failed Friday, pushing the 2009 total to 106 and marking the first year since 1992 that at least 100 have gone under

Experts suggest we could be no more than 10% of the way through this cycle of bank collapses, which is sure to be the worst run of closures since the Great Depression.

http://urlet.com/len.man

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-failures-hit-100-for-year-2009-10-23