Reich at Home: Trump Golfing as the US Mourns 100,000 Dead

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich is discussing Trump's criminal negligence, as he takes to the golf course this Memorial Day weekend while Americans mourn 100,000 lives lost to coronavirus. So far his golf trips have cost taxpayers more than $134,000,000 — 335 years of presidential salary. This November 3, we dump Trump. In the meantime, pray for America.

Middle-class Americans Queue at Food Banks as US Unemployment Hits 38 million – BBC News

In the United States another 2.4 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the past week.

More than 38 million Americans have lost their jobs since the coronavirus pandemic struck in March.

Previously affluent middle-class Americans are now queuing for handouts at food banks, as America experiences the worst downturn since the 1930s and the Great Depression.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting from North America Correspondent Nick Bryant in New York.

WaPo Reports on Trump's 'Desperate' Attempts to Reopen the U.S. | Morning Joe | MSNBC

In new reporting, the Washington Post details the president's 'desperate' attempts to reopen the country as the coronavirus pandemic raged. The panel discusses. Aired on 5/4/2020.

The Economy Is Actually Trump’s Biggest Weakness

The economy for most American citizens is not working. Capitalism today only benefits those at the top, and tens of millions of Americans are just a few hundred dollars away from financial ruin. THIS is the issue that Democrats need to be hammering on the campaign trail, and some of them are. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains how the Democrats can capitalize on the REAL economic situation of millions of Americans.

Dr. Richard Wolff – Economist: Economic Update: Which Way For US Economy

This show is available at no cost to public access and non-profit community stations! Contact your local channels and let them know you would like them to add Economic Update to their programming. Let us know if you've reached out: info(a)democracyatwork.info

Who Will Be Left to Defend Trump When He’s Impeached?

On tonight’s Big Picture, Thom talks with Richard Wolff about the ongoing demise of US democracy under Trump. Then he talks with Brian Darling and Sam Sacks about Trump’s possible coming impeachment, the latest attempt from the Koch brothers to distort democracy and the dangerously low chance our planet has to reach the Paris Climate accords.

US - Donald Trump Takes Aim at Nordstrom for Dropping Ivanka's Clothing Line

A Century Of War: Part 1: Prometheus’ Gift; Part 2: Collapse at Home, Devastation Abroad; Part 3: Harnessing Technology for What Ends?

Bond-Buying Spree: Wall Street 'Feasts' While Americans Lose

The holiday shopping season has kicked off in the U.S. and many retailers have even broken tradition by pushing their opening hours into Thanksgiving night, instead of waiting for the official start of Black Friday. Exactly five years ago the Federal reserve announced its own unprecedented shopping spree, but it's hardly been helping America's economy. RT's Marina Portnaya met one of those behind the experiment, who thinks it was a big mistake.

Carter: Middle Class Today Resembles Past's Poor

Former President Jimmy Carter says the income gap in the United States has increased to the point where members of the middle class resemble the Americans who lived in poverty when he occupied the White House. (Oct. 7)

Al-Qaeda Chief Calls for Attacks on US in 9/11 Speech to Followers

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Al-Qaeda leader, has called on followers to commit attacks inside the US to "bleed America economically", in a speech marking the anniversary of the 9/11 strikes.

In an audio message released yesterday, Zawahiri laid out a plan of attack, saying he wanted a "few of the brothers" to commit small-scale strikes to trigger big spending by Washington on security, while awaiting the opportunity for a major onsalught later.

"We should bleed America economically by provoking it to continue in its massive expenditure on its security, for the weak point of America is its economy, which has already begun to stagger due to the military and security expenditure," he said.

Keeping America in such a state of tension and anticipation only required a few disparate attacks "here and there", he said. » | Josie Ensor | Friday, September 13, 2013

New Dawn? This Looks More Like a New Dusk

MAIL ONLINE: The next four years for America look bleak. It’s not so much a new dawn as a new dusk. And with 50 months left in power, President Obama, his hands tied by a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, is a lame duck already.

He was re-elected despite a majority of voters thinking the economy is on the wrong track. And with tax rises that could wreck recovery due on January 1 – the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ – experts fear a recession here in 2013.

The most sensible policy – which a Romney administration would have pursued – is deficit reduction. Instead, the second Obama term will increase the deficit, further diminishing America’s economic power and credibility.

Around $1trillion a year will be added to debt – bringing the total to $20trillion by 2016. This will drive up interest rates on US bonds, and hard-pressed Americans will have to pay more taxes to fund higher interest payments.

Meanwhile, the President is determined to push through his ‘Obamacare’ health insurance policy, which would account for a large part of that increase.

But the Democrats are well aware that the pumping of federal money into corporate bail-outs and infrastructure projects in declining regions is the key to creating a state clientele that keeps voting them back into office.

The administration is already devising stealth taxes to help pay for the bribes it wishes to offer the coalition of minorities that comprise its supporters. Some will corrode the core of American self-reliance, such as taxes on any substantial capital gains made from house sales. Others are simply opportunist, such as a tax on tanning salons.

These are all measures of how desperate the financial situation is – a reality apparently kept from most of the American electorate, so far. Read on and comment » | Simon Heffer | Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Obama Gets the Chequebook Out: US President's Personal Handouts to Struggling Americans
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has admitted that he sometimes writes personal cheques to Americans who write him their tales of economic woe.

The US President told White House correspondent Eli Saslow that sometimes he felt drawing on his own bank account was all he could do for Americans struggling to pay their bills in the embattled American economy.

The revelation is made in Mr Saslow's new book "Ten Letters", about Mr Obama's correspondence with the American public.

"It's not something I should advertise, but it has happened," he was quoted as telling Mr Saslow in an excerpt from the book in The Washington Post.

Other times, he confessed, he had forwarded letters to government agencies or Cabinet secretaries with an attached handwritten note reading: "Can you please take care of this?" » | Monday, October 24, 2011

U.S. Economy Protests Spread
Oct.2 - Protests against mortgage foreclosures, unemployment and corporate bailouts spread beyond New York City. Paul Chapman reports.

Bin Laden Bounce Definitely Over for Obama

MAIL ONLINE: Those who forecast Barack Obama had sealed his second term as president with the killing of Osama Bin Laden look to be wrong.

According to a new poll, the 'Bin laden bounce' has already evaporated[.]

Obama's approval rating surged to 56 per cent in the aftermath of the terrorist's death but now just 47 per cent think he is doing a good job.

But it is domestic policies - notably Obama's handling of the economy - that is driving the frustration of the American public, according to a joint poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC news.

Fifty-nine per cent, a new high, gave Obama negative marks for his handling of the economy, up from 55 per cent a month earlier.

Obama's approval rating on the deficit issue has also hit a new low of 33 per cent, a drop of 6 per centage [sic] points since April.

The state of the economy poses a huge challenge for the president, whose re-election in 2012 may depend on his ability to convince voters that his economic policies have been successful. Bin Laden bounce definitely OVER for Obama as new poll shows he could lose the presidency over the economy » | Daily Mail Reporter | Tuesday, June 07, 2011

USA muß Sparen
In den USA geht die Angst vor einer neuen Rezession um. Grund dafür sind die schlechten Wirtschaftsnachrichten. In Washington ist deshalb Sparen angesagt. Präsident Obama versucht dem Land Mut zuzureden

US Economy on Verge of ‘Great Great Depression’?

Where on earth did this woman (being interviewed), Erica Paine, learn economics? She's talking nonsense! – © Mark

This Week, Obama and Cameron Should Compare Notes – and Then Wake Up

THE SLOG: This is the last chance to put our banks back in the cage

For a few days starting tomorrow, President Obama will smile at the well-wishers in Britain, show deference to the Queen, and generally pretend to like us. While he’s around (and I’m not breaking any injunctions here) I understand he’s going to have an economics session with Prime Minister David Cameron.

If and when that meeting of barren minds takes place, they should be able to reach a simple conclusion: no matter how hard you try to get banks to behave like social animals, they will screw you and pump up their bonuses.

Obama tried to get help to the repossession sector of the US housing market, using Federal funds. The idea was ill-conceived (chucking good money after bad) but at least three major banks used the funds fraudulently, and are now the subject of SEC investigations. His man Bernanke has been pumping Fed funds into the banking sector, in an effort to increase liquidity into the economy, for nigh on two and a half years – depending on who you believe about when it stopped, or if it ever stopped. This ‘POMO’ (Permanent Open Market Operations) scheme’s main achievement has been to send the Dow through the roof: the banks used the money for two purposes – to underwrite multinational megamergers, and buy stocks on behalf of their clients. Jobs have been lost, not created, as a result of this double-cross.

Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne first of all tried to get the banks to set an example, and forego bonuses for 2010. Bob Diamond explained that this item would not be on the agenda, and they ended up paying themselves more than ever. Almost no money has filtered through to the small business sector after QE, and the financial sector – that’s the banks, remember – is still the only bit of the economy holding its end up. Not hard when you consider they’ve been doing it mainly with taxpayers’ money. Manufacturing has grown, but much as the Government tries to hype this, growth on a base of 12% of all economic output is a spit at the tornado of problems we face. » | John Ward |Monday, May 23, 2011

Demilitarizing Entire American Economy Our Last Hope – Activist
Demonstrators against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan listen to speakers during an anti-war protest in Washington, DC

Obama Warns of New Financial Crisis If US Defaults on Debt
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: America risks unravelling the world's financial system should the country fail to increase its legal borrowing limits, President Barack Obama has warned.

The warning from The White House comes as the US moves ever closer to a $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, which Congress needs to increase in a matter of weeks to prevent the government defaulting on its borrowings for the first time in history.

Given US government debt, or Treasuries as they are known, are considered the safest asset in financial markets and held by investors and central banks around the world, few want to imagine the consequences of a default.

"If investors around the world thought that the full faith and credit of the United States was not being backed up, if they thought that we might renege on our IOU's, it could unravel the entire financial system," President Obama said at a town hall meeting late yesterday.

"We could have a worse recession than we already had [have], a worse financial crisis than we already had [have]."

The US Treasury has projected that the debt limit will be reached this month, though Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, has said he can juggle accounts until early August to avoid a default. » | Richard Blackden, US Business Editor | Monday, May 16, 2011

My comment:

I find it rather interesting, yet very disturbing, troubling, that this president warns that the world’s financial system will be in trouble if the US doesn’t increase its legal borrowing limits. How perverse is that? That’s like a householder being in deep debt and coming to the end of his credit limit; but instead of paying off the debt, he goes to the bank manager to cajole him into increasing his credit limit to avert the crisis. That way he gets deeper into debt! Where the hell did this guy Obama learn his economics? Which Ivy League university was that now? As all sane, sensible people know, what he needs to do is start paying off the nation’s debts. America needs to learn to live within its means. That way the US will distance itself from its borrowing limits. Living within one’s means is sound economics. It was ever thus. – © Mark

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