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How low interest rates from the banks created 2009 financial crisis were squeezing Americans and most of all seniors
06/05/2024
In 2010 Charles Schwab pointed out that low interest rates were squeezing Americans, most of all seniors on fixed incomes and pensions. In 2024 first quarter the higher interest rates in one quarter alone created an additional $770 billion in interest and dividends for Americans, many of them seniors, according to US Federal Reserve. This is the damage done by the recklessness of the banks and financial sector and seniors have paid heavily for this and for the wars in the Middle East which reduced the growth potential of the US economy that were embraced by Reagan and Bush, Trump and Obama. The war money was not used to build new infrastructure to replace the old as it should have been leading to China having new infrastructure and America's being aging and worn out.
Linked Articles
Low Interest Rates Are Squeezing Seniors
Wall Street Journal 03/30/2010
Americans Have More Investment Income Than Ever BeforeWSJ 06/05/2024
Reagan, Greenspan and America's lost years 1980-2009
11/17/2023
It was in this period that many of the problems that we face today were created through policies of low interest rates, deregulation and financial market speculation leading to the financial crisis of 2008. At the beginning of the Reagan administration in 1980 China was still a country of bicycles and largely rural, by 2009 it had transformed itself into the largest manufacturing nation in the world and continued to 2023. In the US financial deregulation and lack of health care for all allowed financial interests to become the dominant force in the economy in a speculative way , and defunded manufacturing, infrastructure and public services. The work of FDR, Truman Eisenhower and Kennedy unraveled, Clinton, Obama and Trump continued that decline.
Linked Articles
Puerto Rico Was Supposed to Be John Paulson’s Paradise. Then Came the Lawsuits.
WSJ 11/16/2023
Trader Made Billions on SubprimeWSJ Jan 15 2008 01/15/2008
The situation of chronic or endemic coronavirus in places with high vaccination rates - Portugal and New York City
10/25/2021
Chronic or endemic coronavirus in New York with 76% fully vaccinated and Portugal with 85% fully vaccinated is a situation in some places. This still means 15-25% of people that are unvaccinated are at risk and with vaccine protection waning without a booster shot the risk of a fourth or a third of the population still at risk. The lifting of preventive steps such as social distancing, masking and other actions plus the shift to indoor, reopening of schools and colleges, could still lead to a surge.
Linked Articles
Endemic Covid-19 Has Arrived in Portugal. This Is What It Looks Like.
WSJ 10/24/2021
New York City Inches Toward Covid-19 Becoming EndemicWSJ 10/25/2021
Twitter's short form of 140 characters, the iphone, and the tech platforms building on the declining cultural and other literacy in America, Europe, other countries
05/28/2020
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's regrets on what he sees as the lack of any depth in the short form that works well on mobile phones. The first smartphones came in 2007 and 2008 iphone and android versions, Twitter started in 2006, both growing at the same time, the story of a tech boom that is paralleled by declining cultural and other literacy in America. It also parallels the decline in sense of what is in the national interest among communities in America and Europe and in other countries, leaving them with fewer defences against the coronavirus pandemic by 2020.
Linked Articles
Opinion | A Presidential Smear
WSJ 05/26/2020
A Founder of Twitter Goes LongNYTimes.com 11/09/2013
French and British preparation for pandemics after SARS and H1N1 and losing interest with Brexit (Britain) eurozone austerity policy (France) by 2019
05/16/2020
Both Britain and France learned and prepared for pandemics all the way to H1N1 in France in 2009, and to the 2016 Cygnus exercize for pandemic in Britain, then lost interest and ditched the efforts. How did this happen, learn why here in extraordinary reports from the Le Mode cited by France 24 and in a report from the Times of London. A must for a dynamic participatory informed mindset needed more than ever today.
Linked Articles
Pandemic disarmament: Why France was ready for Covid-19 a decade too soon
France 24 05/17/2020
Coronavirus: 38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disasterThe Times 05/16/2020
A Washington Post report on the election meddling by Russia in 2016
12/14/2017
Linked Articles
Opinion | This new report confirms that Trump’s megalomania threatens our democracy
Washington Post 12/14/2017
How Trump’s skepticism of U.S. intelligence on Russia left an election threat uncheckedWashington Post 12/14/2017
China's credit ratings downgrade for rising debt in 2017 and the echoes of Japan in the 1980's
05/25/2017
Linked Articles
Moody’s Cuts Its China Rating for the First Time Since 1989
WSJ 05/24/2017
In Downgraded China, Echoes of Japan’s Boom and BustWSJ 05/24/2017
How U.S. economic growth and interest rates can play out in ways contrary to what is expected for 2017-2019
12/14/2016
Linked Articles
Will the Trump Era Bring Higher Interest Rates? Don’t Count On It
The New York Times 12/14/2016
A Trump Economic Boom? The Fed May Stand in the WayThe New York Times 12/13/2016
Russia's hacking and the U.S. Presidential electon of 2016
12/11/2016
Linked Articles
Republicans ready to launch wide-ranging probe of Russia, despite Trump’s stance
Washington Post 12/09/2016
Why the US fears Russia is hacking its presidential election - BBC NewsBBC News 10/11/2016
The M5S party, Virginia Raggi and Beppe Grillo, following the "no" vote in Italy's referendum in 2016
12/05/2016
Linked Articles
Virginia Raggi could be the answer to Rome's mess | Europe | DW.COM | 04.06.2016
DW.COM 06/04/2016
European leaders call for calm as Italy's Renzi resigns | News | DW.COM | 04.12.2016DW.COM 12/04/2016
Chancellor Merkel and listening to German public opinion reflected in state elections of 2016
09/20/2016
Here we argue that contrary to general media coverage in the NYT, WSJ, Economist, and German media, a year from now Merkel may be seen more positively. This is because Merkel has always listened to public opinion carefully, and has told the German public frankly what happened- that she and the German government were caught unprepared in the refugee crisis that came up in summer 2015.
Linked Articles
German politics is turning into a six-party system
The Economist 09/19/2016
Opinion: Berlin, capital of mediocrity | Opinion | DW.COM | 19.09.2016DW.COM 09/19/2016
The question of addressing intergenerational mobility in the U.S. following the presidential election of 2016- a key issue for future years
08/16/2016
Linked Articles
WSJ 08/15/2016
How Economic Anxieties Explain Donald Trump’s Appeal—And Where They Fall ShortWSJ 08/16/2016
Why initiating Brexit by invoking the Lisbon Treaty's Article 50 could go into 2017, or even past 2020 into new general elections- (2) the British economy and the Bank of England's stimulus effort to avoid a recession
08/16/2016
The stimulus action of the Bank of England in August 2016 was designed to avert a recession in Britain. The Bank of England estimates that even with the stimulus the Brexit move will lead to a 1% drop in economic growth every year for 3 years as compared to staying in the European Union. The British public is weary of the austerity programs for 7 years under finance minister Osborne. if higher growth under Brexit turns out to be an illusion as the Bank of England forecasts show, there would be reason for much reflection on the meaning of the vote- seeing it as a rejection of the Cameron-Osborne government in favor of a government more in tune with the interests of working class people under Theresa May.
Linked Articles
Wait and see: Theresa May is in no hurry on Brexit | Europe | DW.COM | 15.08.2016
DW.COM 08/15/2016
Bank of England unveils four-pronged stimulus package in bid to avoid Brexit recessionThe Telegraph 08/04/2016
"Pay their fair share of taxes" Biden asks of corporations showing 2017 predecessor tax cuts did not increase investment and added $100 billion yearly to the US Deficit
03/08/2024
By paying their fair share of taxes Biden says in State of Union speech to US Congress 2024 one can increase investment in education, affordable childcare and better living for seniors in their homes, and still cut the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. What is fair share? Certainly not zero percent that 55 of the largest corporations paid on $40 billion in profits in 2020, and corporate minimum tax was introduced at levels of 15% for which most ordinary Americans are not eligible for. And certainly not 8.2% that Biden said was being paid by 1000 billionaires in the US. Not a single penny more is being asked of hard working Americans earning less than $400,000 a year. Biden said he wanted to see the corporate minimum tax at 21% not 15%, and the top corporate tax rate set at 28% not the 21% that it was reduced to in 2017 from 35%. In short his predecessor turned to help companies and billionaires profit from the popular distress of the shipping of jobs overseas and the 2009 financial crisis caused by Bank executives without investing the nation's capital resources in manufacturing at home in scale to match and exceed China's. And at the same time neglecting to do anything about the concerns of the people for ease of living- affordable access to childcare, preschool education, education, health care to match Europe/China/India in quality and cost, and aging transportation infrastructure of airports, subways, roads and bridges. The savings when this is done properly go to cut the deficit by over 4 trillion dollars and keep America as the leader of all G-20 economies.
Linked Articles
Biden Draws Sharp Contrast With Trump in State of the Union
WSJ 03/07/2024
Biden Pushes More Corporate-Tax Hikes to Draw Contrast With TrumpWSJ 03/07/2024
Li Keqiang and the era of Openness in China 1977-2023
11/02/2023
LI Keqiang was able to pass entrance exams to Peking University in 1977 after entrance exams were reinstated following Mao's death. He led the modernization of China during the 2000-2022 period two decades of fast growth turning China into a middle income industrialized country after centuries of decline. During this period China urbanized at a rapid rate and Li's advanced studies focused on urbanization. It was also a period when China realized the damage done to the environment and quality of air, water, with haphazard growth, and shifted to climate change action through focus on solar energy and limiting use of coal.
Linked Articles
China Mourns Former Premier Whose Death Hovers Over Xi Jinping
WSJ 11/02/2023
Next Premier Came of Age in Era of OpennessWall Street Journal 11/16/2012
Trump, Microsoft and the ban on TikTok
08/04/2020
Microsoft would have to make a large outlay for TikTok with uncertain prospects as TikTok is losing money. The closer it gets to the U.S. ban date of September 15 the steeper the drop in value of TikTok.
Linked Articles
Trump Says U.S. Should Get Slice of TikTok Sale Price
WSJ 08/03/2020
Microsoft May Test the Faith With TikTokWSJ 08/03/2020
How Britain made preparations for H1N1 (2015) following the SARS pandemic (2009), then lost interest ditching the effort with Brexit consuming the nation
05/16/2020
How could this happen? Read more to know why. In 2016 Britain even conducted a rehearsal called Cygnus to fight H2N2.
Linked Articles
What was Exercise Cygnus and what did it find?
The Guardian 05/17/2020
Coronavirus: 38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disasterThe Times 05/16/2020
What Bill Gates and France had in common in the fight for health preparedness
05/11/2020
France had learned lessons from SARS epidemic and prepared for the H1N1 epidemic at the time that Bill Gates of Microsoft was pushing for greater awareness of public health priorities. Today Gates says this was not enough, that he did not do enough and feels terrible about it. The irresponsible banking practices that caused the financial crises first in the global financial crisis of 2009 and then in the eurozone financial crisis that followed by 2011 led to the ditching of the pandemic preparedness effort in France and Britain. In all of the western world including the U.S. austerity practices were the response without addressing the root causes of financial crises. Investments in public services and infrastructure were neglected leading to a level of unpreparedness that is shocking. Countries in lesser developed countries with more consciousness of the importance of public services and care of the vast majority of people were better protected in the crisis as a result than the more developed countries.
Linked Articles
WSJ 05/11/2020
Pandemic disarmament: Why France was ready for Covid-19 a decade too soonFrance 24 05/17/2020
Saudi Arabia- politics and the economy under Prince Salman 2016-2017
06/22/2017
Linked Articles
The Saudi Shake-Up Has One Goal: Drag the Country Into Modern Era
WSJ 06/22/2017
Saudi Arabia Rewrites Succession as King Replaces Heir With Son, 31The New York Times 06/21/2017
Pictures, images and thoughts to take away from 2016
12/21/2016
Linked Articles
DW.COM 12/20/2016
Berlin's Bishop Dröge: 'Don't let violence discourage you' | Culture | DW.COM | 21.12.2016DW.COM 12/21/2016
Tensions between Germany and Russia in 2016-2017
12/11/2016
Linked Articles
Vladimir Putin: For Trump and Against Merkel | ZEIT ONLINE
ZEIT ONLINE 08/13/2016
Germany's Wolfgang Schäuble: Prepared to Raise Pressure on RussiaWall Street Journal 05/24/2014
Labor and trade unions in the U.S.- the crisis by 2016 after 8 years of a Democratic administration under president Obama
12/09/2016
Linked Articles
The White House’s claim that 800,000 manufacturing jobs were added during Obama’s presidency
Washington Post 12/09/2016
Trump era confronts organized labor with gravest crisis in decadesWashington Post 12/09/2016
The 2016 U.S. presidential election- Paul Krugman and Peggy Noonan on how things went wrong
11/07/2016
Linked Articles
The New York Times 11/07/2016
Democracy’s Majesty and 2016’s IndignityWSJ 11/03/2016
Donald Trump's plans for large scale deportation even as a Gallup poll shows only 15% opposing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants in the U.S.
09/01/2016
The wide divergence between public opinion in the U.S. and the Trump stand for large scale deportation. A Gallup poll on July 1, 2016, shows 84% of the U.S. adults favoring a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants in the U.S., only 15% opposing.
Linked Articles
Explaining What Donald Trump Wants to Do Now on Immigration
The New York Times 09/01/2016
Donald Trump’s big immigration speech proves it: There is no ‘new’ Donald TrumpWashington Post 09/14/2016
Why initiating Brexit by invoking the Lisbon Treaty's Article 50 could go into 2017, or even past 2020 into new general elections- (4) the elections in France and Germany in 2017, and chancellor Merkel likely to link granting benefits of the single market to free movement within the European Union
08/16/2016
Chancellor Merkel has clearly stated that she sees the benefits of a single market going along with the idea of free movement within the European Union. With elections in 2017 and after not giving into Eastern European states in 2016, Merkel is likely to again remind Germany and France of the the true spirit in which the founders setup the European Union.
Linked Articles
Wait and see: Theresa May is in no hurry on Brexit | Europe | DW.COM | 15.08.2016
DW.COM 08/15/2016
EU Governments Gird for Steely New British LeaderWSJ 07/12/2016
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