Obama Shrugs as Economy Sags: A Double-Dip by Election Day? – NY Post  “Maybe that’s because the real administration power on these issues is senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, who shares the president’s most ABSURD economic theories, like the virtues of raising taxes on job-creating small businesses even in a time of economic distress. Then again, why would Obama and his ‘brain trust’ enact policies that, in succeeding, would refute their failed vision? They’ve have more pressing matters at hand. Winning the election comes before dealing with an economy that’s headed for the cliff.”

Fed Weighs Cutting Interest on Banks’ Reserves After ECB Move – Bloomberg  “Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may be taking another look at cutting the interest rate the Fed pays on bank reserves to bring down short-term borrowing costs and spur the slowing U.S. expansion.”

A Dose of Inflation Could Start to Look Like a Cure for Our Current Ills – Telegraph  “We all need some respite from the euro crisis – well I certainly do – but there is one issue which continues to reverberate throughout the euro debate and also lies at the heart of the British economic predicament, namely the inflation outlook. Higher inflation appears to offer a credible alternative. Since most debt is fixed in nominal terms, as pay and prices (and therefore money GDP and tax receipts) go up, the ratio of debt to income falls. Accordingly, inflation is the classic way to wipe out debt.”

Why a Euro-Zone Crisis Can’t Be Avoided Very Much Longer – TIME  “Each postponement of financial disaster in the euro zone seems likely to last for a shorter time, and the U.S. won’t be able to escape the fallout indefinitely.”

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EDITOR’S COMMENT: Here are the latest insightful comments from Egon von Greyerz of Matterhorn Asset Management.

By King World News

Today Egon von Greyerz told King World News that going forward the world is going to witness, “…unprecedented wealth destruction.”  Greyerz, who is founder and managing partner at Matterhorn Asset Management out of Switzerland, also said to KWN that gold will soar, but in the midst of the rise, “There will be failing economies, Read More »

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D.C. Students Being Paid to Attend Summer School – Washington Examiner  “The District is paying 305 students with poor academic and behavioral records to attend summer school, The Washington Examiner has learned. The rising ninth-graders are earning $5.25 an hour to participate in the ‘Summer Bridge’ program, which targets students identified by D.C. Public Schools as less likely than their peers to graduate high school within four years…. said DCPS officials are going to study this year’s results, with the intention of expanding the program next summer.” Of course, they are going to expand this program, as almost every government program gets EXPANDED!

U.S. Loves Cops and Firefighters – But Not Their Pensions – Reuters  “The average annual pension for Suffolk County cops who have retired since 2007 was $86,702, according to figures from the Manhattan Institute, a public policy think tank, against $37,270 for other county employees, excluding teachers. The county, facing a three-year deficit of $530 million, declared a fiscal emergency in March. But as economic conditions have worsened and many local governments have run into severe fiscal problems, that attitude has started to change. Since the 2007 recession, some cities have tried to roll back pension benefits and pay, among the most rigid and, in some cases, highest expenses in municipal budgets.”

Americans Put Off Having Babies Amid Poor Economy – USA Today  “Twenty-somethings who postponed having babies because of the poor economy are still hesitant to jump in to parenthood — an unexpected consequence that has dropped the USA’s birthrate to its lowest point in 25 years. … Many young adults are unemployed, carrying big student loan debt and often forced to move back in with their parents — factors that may make them think twice about starting a family.”

US Audit: $200M Wasted on Iraqi Police Training – AP/Yahoo  “U.S. auditors have concluded that more than $200 million was wasted on a program to train Iraqi police that Baghdad says is neither needed nor wanted. A report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, released Monday, found that the American Embassy in Baghdad never got a written commitment from Iraq to participate. Now, facing what the report called Baghdad’s ‘disinterest’ in the project, the embassy is gutting what was supposed to be the centerpiece of ongoing U.S. training efforts in Iraq.”

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By Ron Paul, U.S. Congressman

Last week the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed my legislation calling for a full and effective audit of the Federal Reserve. Well over 300 of my Congressional colleagues supported the bill, each casting a landmark vote that marks the culmination of decades of work. We have taken a big step toward bringing transparency to the most destructive financial institution in the world.

But in many ways our work Read More »

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EDITOR’S COMMENT: In his comments, Gary North provides us with his view of how the European crisis is currently proceeding, and how it is likely to proceed. But, interestingly, his comments are from the perspective of the world’s “governing elite”, and, how for the first time, these so-called leaders are scared. He writes that the “elite” have finally noticed that “The United States is no longer in a position to bail out anybody. Read More »

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If Obama Wins, Look for Expansion of Federal Dole – Washington Examiner  “But perhaps the biggest conservative worry about a second Obama administration involves something far bigger: that after eight years of President Obama, more Americans will be dependent on government than ever before, with still more on track to become dependent in the future. … And if the president is re-elected, Obama’s expanded nanny state will be here to stay. As the administration well knows, once the government confers benefits on citizens, withdrawing those benefits can be enormously unpopular, a move few politicians will wish to risk.”

Pelosi: President Obama’s Been to Israel ‘Over and Over Again’ – Weekly Standard  “Contrary to Pelosi’s apparent claim, President Obama hasn’t been to Israel over and over again. He’s never been as president, which is certainly what Pelosi implied. Well, maybe he visited Israel ‘over and over’ before becoming president, and that’s what Pelosi meant to say? No. When he was senator, Obama went on two trips to Israel, once with several other freshmen members of Congress, and then as a presidential candidate. And he’d never been interested enough in Israel to visit as a private citizen. So much for the notion that Obama’s been ‘over and over again.’”

Contraceptive Mandate Suffers Court Blow as Catholic Business Wins Crucial Court Case – Newsmax  “The ruling only affects this plaintiff but opens the door for any company to seek relief on religious grounds. Lawyers for the Department of Health and Human Services argued that a temporary exemption for Hercules would interfere with the government’s ability to implement the law. But Kane was not persuaded. ‘This harm pales in comparison to the possible infringement upon (the Newland family’s) constitutional and statutory rights,’ the judge wrote. He noted that the government had already created numerous exceptions for religious employers, exempting over 190 million health plan participants.”

Court Lets Stockton, Calif. Cut Retiree Health Care – Reuters  “A federal bankruptcy judge on Friday cleared the way for Stockton, California to cut health care benefits for retirees while it is in bankruptcy proceedings. Stockton is seeking Chapter 9 protection from its creditors and said that it would cut retiree health benefits while it reorganizes. Retired employees sued to stop those cuts.  This could be a very important ruling as more and more cities file for bankruptcy, and can’t afford to pay their promised benefits.”

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By Axel Merk for Merk Investments

Spain’s regional government debt is in focus again. Spanish 10-year government bond yields are trading near 7.5% as Spain’s central government is expected to bail out its regions – and in return may ask for a bailout itself. Guarantees don’t make a system safer, quite the opposite: everything is safe until the guarantor itself is deemed unsafe. While the failure of any one business of regional government Read More »

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Retirement Means Having to Work in Current Economy – My Budget 360   “It is interesting that 25 percent of workers in their 50s don’t plan to retire and 34 percent of those 60 and older don’t plan on retiring.  In other words, the new retirement model is no retirement.  This puts a strain on younger workers that are currently funding Social Security with weaker job prospects and are set to support the largest population of old Americans ever.”

Government Motors (GM) Ramps Up Risky Subprime Auto Loans To Drive Sales – Investor’s Business Daily  “The automaker is relying increasingly on subprime loans, 10-Q financial reports shows.”  Didn’t the government encourage these types of loans in the housing sector a few years ago with terible results. Here we go again!

The Ph.D. Now Comes With Food Stamps: The Rise of Food Stamp Usage Among Those with Advanced Degrees – Chronicle of Higher Education  “Some are struggling to pay back student loans and cover basic living expenses as they submit scores of applications for a limited pool of full-time academic positions. Others are trying to raise families or pay for their children’s college expenses on the low and fluctuating pay they receive as professors off the tenure track, a group that now makes up 70 percent of faculties.”

Russia: Department of Homeland Security Gears Up for Civil Unrest Prior to Presidential Elections – TV-Novasti (Russia)  “The Department of Homeland Security has ordered masses of riot gear equipment to prepare for potential significant domestic riots at the Republican National Convention, Democratic National Convention and next year’s presidential inauguration. … The urgency of the order can be explained by the fact that there is a growing anticipation that many demonstrators will travel to the Republican National Convention (RNC), scheduled for August 27-30 in Tampa Bay, Florida, and Democratic National Convention (DNC), planned for September 3-6 in Charlotte, North Carolina.”

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By Peter Morici

Reagan Handled a Worse Situation Much Better

The Commerce Department reported today the economy grew only 1.5 percent in the second quarter, down from 2.0 percent the previous period.

Consumer spending slowed under the weight of growing pessimism about the effectiveness of President Obama’s economic program, and a growing sense that Governor Romney will not unseat him. The President leads in polls in most swing states, and the President has made clear Read More »

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