Saving America and China: A Book Review
by John West, Asian Century Institute
Frank Li, a Chinese American from Chicago, has written a very important book, entitled "
Saving America, Chinese Style". It is a stimulating and fascinating read. Frank is also a regular contributor to the
Global Economic Intersection blog.
Frank's argument is that America has two top problems, high
unemployment and a huge national debt. And these problems have two root
causes: the rise of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa), led by China, as economic competitors of America; and the
incompetence of America's political system, especially compared with
China's.
What We Read Today 22 September 2013
Econintersect: Click Read more >> below graphic to see today's list.
The top of today's reading list is
PIMCO's El-Erian commenting on what's happening to bonds ........ and
the last article has a great real time map of winds across the U.S..
A Word from This Newsletter's Sponsor
URGENT: 30 Powerful Men Meet to Get Details of
Next Market Collapse
A U.S. attorney recently obtained some urgent information
about the timeline of the next stock-market collapse.
It comes from a closed-door meeting at the New York Stock
Exchange, inside a highly secured boardroom on the 6th floor.
'Feeling Fried': Shocking fatalities as UK police use 'non-lethal' tasers
The
British police force has been buying tasers for 20 years and now has an
arsenal of the non-lethal weapons. But a string of fatalities have
human rights activists concerned over the real extent of the dangers
they pose.
The Health Care Crisis- Costs Projected To Rise Substantially Relative To GDP
from the Congressional Budget Office
The CBO released The 2013 Long-Term Budget Outlook.
In that report, CBO projects that budget deficits, although projected
to decline over the next few years, would gradually rise again under
current law, mainly because of increasing interest costs and growing
spending for Social Security and the government's major health care
programs-Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program
(CHIP), and the subsidies that will be provided starting in 2014 through
the newly established health insurance exchanges (see the figure
below). This post will provide more detail about the outlook for health
care spending.
The Week Ahead: Will Washington Gridlock Scuttle Stocks?
by Jeff Miller, A Dash of Insight
The weeks of uncertainty continue, as we ask whether political gridlock threatens the economy and the markets.
Last week I predicted a week of focus on
the Fed, including more clarity on the change in leadership and a new
direction for policy. It was a pretty easy call (for a change) and those
stories dominated both the news and the markets.
Click on graphic for larger original image at NPR.
Housing Smoke and Mirrors (18) - 'The Mendacity of HOPE (and HARP and HAMP)'
Written by Adam Whitehead, KeySignals.com
The dissonance observed in Housing Smoke and Mirrors 'Re-tuning the
HARP', 'Name That Tune' and 'Dude Where's My Housing Recovery' has
started to become the familiar monotone of weakness.
Read more >>
TBTF is Even More TBTF
The
'Lessons' that Wall Street, Treasury, and the White House Need You to
Believe Five Years After the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
by Robert E. Prasch
Five long years have passed since the
demise of the once venerable firm of Lehman Brothers. To mark the
occasion, Wall Street, the United States Treasury Department, the White
House, and their several political proxies and spokespersons have taken
to the mass media to instruct the public in the 'lessons' to be drawn
from the financial crisis of 2007-09.
Health Care Insurance Coverage Falls in 2012
from US Census 2012 American Community Survey
Even though the United States saw a
decrease in the percentage of people under the age of 65 with private
health insurance from 2010 to 2012, most states and the District of
Columbia did not have a statistically significant change.
Spending Situation for Federal Discretionary and Mandatory Spending
from the Congressional Budget Office
In fiscal year 2013, half of the federal
government's spending went toward major health care programs (Medicare,
Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program), Social Security,
and net interest. The other half-which we refer to as other federal
noninterest spending-includes outlays for two broad categories of
programs: discretionary programs, which are funded through the annual
appropriation process, and mandatory programs (other than major health
care programs and Social Security), which are usually funded according
to underlying statutes that establish eligibility and payment standards.
Mandatory spending in this category also includes the refundable
portions of the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit, and the
American Opportunity Tax Credit, which are recorded in the budget as
outlays.
Infographic of the Day: New research proves what 90% of Americans already know
New
research shows that in America, what the middle class and poor think has
no influence on the laws Congress passes (unless they agree with the
rich).
Documentary of the Week: Public Bank of Philadelphia
Econintersect:
One of the burdens imposed on state, county and city governments across
the U.S. is, collectively, many billions of dollars in payments to Wall
Street banks for loans and derivatives. In some cases derivatives have
been highly profitable to Wall Street and devastating for local
economies. There is a growing movement toward the establishment of
public banks to manage the public assets and investments for public
purposes. The idea is essentially that private banks would manage
private assets and public banks would manage public assets.
China Racing Ahead With Hydro
by Felix Richter, Statista.com
According to the International Hydropower
Association, China is roaring ahead in terms of installed hydropower
capacity. Globally, hydropower capacity increased by about 30 GW through
2012 while pumped-storage added another 2-3 GW.
