Stacy Summary: Oh yeah, green shoots are everywhere!
Benefits, such as Social Security, food stamps, unemployment insurance and health care, accounted for 16.2% of personal income in the first quarter of 2009, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That’s the highest percentage since the government began compiling records in 1929.
In all, government spending on benefits will top $2 trillion in 2009 — an average of $17,000 provided to each U.S. household, federal data show. Benefits rose at a 19% annual rate in the first quarter compared to the last three months of 2008.
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Great prank!
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/pranksters-spoof-the-times/
Stacy!
What the HELL are you & Max smoking?
The £ has rocketed & has fallen back “Slighty”…………..Its living in France thats done this to you!
BTW in See Obama has flown to GERMANY to see them…………i wonder what chat about?
Mike
@ Stacy,
I’ve pasted below an email received by someone I know (he is a subsciber to the financial magazine). It’s self explanatory but basically talks about a new currency backed by gold. There is more info in the email but rather than paste loads I’ve put the main, first bit. If you want all of it let me know. Anyway, were you aware of this?
Dear Money Morning Reader,
I’m writing with important news about America’s monetary system.
The U.S. Treasury has finally approved a new gold-backed “dollar.”
This new legal tender will spend just like regular paper dollars. You can use it to buy wine, shoes, computers, even houses.
But for those who get in now, the new money could automatically double your savings in just 6-9 months.
That’s because unlike regular paper dollars, this currency rises in value whenever gold prices rise. And according to experts such as Euro Pacific Capital President Peter Schiff, gold is on the verge of a 100-500% rocket ride.
That’s why I urge to read the special report we’ve prepared on this opportunity immediately.
The sooner you get onboard, the faster you can supercharge your cash.
Sincerely,
Mike Ward
Publisher, Money Morning
U.S. Treasury Approves “Gold Dollars”…
“America’s New Legal Tender”
You can now use this gold-backed cash to potentially double
your savings over the next 6-9 months, automatically
Gold expert Peter Schiff shows you how, for free
Dear Reader,
The U.S. Treasury Dept. has officially approved an historic switch.
Starting days from now, you’ll be able to exchange regular paper dollars for a more valuable form of money.
Experts are calling America’s new legal currency “Gold Dollars.”
Because each “dollar” is backed by one gram of pure, 24-karat gold…
You’ll be able to use this money just like regular dollars. You can buy anything from shoes to wine, cars to houses.
The only difference?
Since the money is backed by physical gold (stored in Fort Knox-like security), it could prove the smartest “investment” you ever make.
The purchasing power of each “dollar” goes UP whenever gold rises. The value of your savings account could soar…
Every time Congress passes another trillion-dollar spending package, fueling inflation…
Every time the world flees into gold thanks to geopolitical instability (think North Korea successfully testing a nuclear bomb)…
Every time massive hedge funds and Wall Street firms pile into gold to hedge their equity positions…
Every time countries like China move out of the U.S. dollar and buy massive quantities of gold, like the 1,054 tons they now hold.
And considering where gold is likely headed, this could be the perfect time to change some money over to the new currency.
As Reuters reported March 9: “Gold may reach $2,000 an ounce in the next year if the dollar falls [further].”
Food Stamps are now known as EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer), as they no longer exist in paper form.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Benefit_Transfer
preceded by
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Stamp_Program
– paper representations of this internal currency are very rare, even Wikipedia does not have any…
It was in paper form an internal currency as it had a variable exchange rate with the USD from 0.60 USD to 0.80 USD.
Food Stamps were used like a currency but the extent was always limited.
@sharon
Those Emails are 2 a penny !
Nothing new .. just the usual speculation.
I wonder about the “legality” of this statement :
… The U.S. Treasury has finally approved a new gold-backed “dollar.” …
I have not seen anything “official” and doubt that it’s true .
( Maybe in 2010/2011 )
Seems to me to be a pretty unserious Email !
FWIW
@Sharon
As far as I know gold bullion already is legal tender..I wouldn’t subscribe to ‘gold backed’ banknotes (sensitive to manipulation), unless there would be immediate and free exchange for bullion in the bank..
@sharon – I second @Phil; I get an email like that every other day. If gold is going to $2000 or $5000, you can bet you will see many, many more sorts of these soon. You will also see loads of scams emerge when the bull starts running, just like we saw with dot bomb and subprime.
@Bill Stewart
HI Bill, thanks for the links & info.
EBTs .. Hmmmm !
I suppose the next step will be EWUs … “Electronic Work Units” ?
@Bill … Germany’s 1 Euro Jobs
I was just wondering whether anyone outside of Germany is aware that we have 1-Euro ( per hour ) jobs here since a few years.
The idea was – of course – invented by our “social” politicians .
Anyone wanting social benefits has to work “somewhere” for 1 Euro per hour, otherwise their benefits get shortened or even zeroed.
This has two major advantages …
a) they are no longer counted in the Statistics
b) Companies fire people to employ the cheaper workers
There have been many TV reports on how these people are kept in employment; anything from dish-washers to park-tidiers.
An interesting phenomena on Farm Workers BTW…
Many German farmers have to rely on Polish workers ( ca. 6 Euros per hour ) to harvest the asparagus .
The “Arbeitsamt” ( Work-Office ) used to send Germans to do this work but nearly always had the following problems :
a) back-ache or “other” illnesses , and therefore quit
b) nowhere near as hard-working as their Polish counterparts
The farmers were up in arms concerning (b), saying how reliable and hard-working the Polish workers are ( I agree ).
==========
HI Bill, thanks for the links & info.
EBTs .. Hmmmm !
I suppose the next step will be EWUs … “Electronic Work Units” ?
==========
That is already used up by:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOINC_Credit_System
Parabon (a related closed source technology) has something similar in its functionalities.
Work units are the basis of distributed computing like SETI, ROSETTA @ HOME, EINSTEIN @ HOME, …
@ 1-Euro Jobs…
1-Euro-Jobs kosten reguläre Arbeitsplätze
http://www.focus.de/karriere/berufsleben/hartz-iv-1-euro-jobs-kosten-regulaere-arbeitsplaetze_aid_403621.html
… ” Umstritten waren die 1-Euro-Jobs von jeher – offenbar nicht ganz zu Unrecht. Die Billig-Arbeitskräfte boxen immer öfter ihre festangestellten Kollegen aus dem Rennen. ” …
Basically says what I just said .. that the cheap 1-Euro Jobs are at the expense of “normal” salaried jobs !
http://www.firingsquad.com/media/gallery_index.asp/1012
“China has cornered 97% of the world market for rare earth metals, according to Byron King (the Times Online puts the number at 95%, and the Financial Times puts the number at “over 90%”).”
“Don Burbar, the chief executive of Avalon Rare Metals, said: “The crux of the matter is that there are now a lot of technologies that can’t work without rare earths, and China is currently in effective control of the global supply. China has positioned itself to retain control, and meanwhile politicians around the world do not appreciate how the supply side of green technology works.”"
Sorry — that link should be:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13853
Home defenders save homes from foreclosure
http://vimeo.com/3361431
courtesy of ” the yes men” http://www.theyesmen.org/blog/its-fun-ask-stupid-questions
and for Max, that calls all car users ecological terrorists, here you have it
http://www.theyesmen.org/blog/yes-men-crash-bmw-gala-demand-they-stop-making-cars
I dont understand.. why not let banks fail. Why is that option so hard to choose.
The government will let taxpayers fail and that is serious too?!
‘World’s cheapest car’ coming to US ( 2,300$ & up to 65 mpg)
http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/international/tata_cheapest_car.reut/index.htm
NEW YORK (Reuters) — India’s Tata Motors hopes to offer the Nano, dubbed the world’s cheapest car, in the United States within two years, its chairman said.
“It will need to meet all emission and crash standards and so we hope in the next two years we will be offering such a vehicle in the U.S,” Ratan Tata told a panel at the Cornell Global Forum on Sustainable Global Enterprise late Wednesday.
The company plans to offer a European version of the car, which costs about $2,300, in 2011.
….
The four-seater car gets up to 65 miles per gallon. Cheap labor helps to keep the price down.
….
I wonder what that will do to the GM & Ford Salary-Levels ?
just heard on the radio, a british politician saying that the british labor party is giving gordon brown its’ …’ unequivocal and full support ,’ ….. guess that kind of thing means it won’t be long before he’s gone…..?
@ Phil, Stacy, Mother,
Thanks for that. It does mention Peter Schiff being involved though, but I take you point.
@phil bad idea..This is arming the terrorist..It is less safe than running on the highway wrapped entirely in tinfoil and it is more polluting than the dreaded trabants/fiat 500.. They could make it electric though by scavanging a hairdrier and 2 penlight batteries. That would rock
@marcus – methinks they proclaimeth their loyalty too much. BTW, none of the US media is paying attention. Too bad as it is always an amusing spectacle to watch yet another British Prime Minister dragged kicking and screaming from 10 Downing Street. It always reminds me of the ritual humiliation ceremonies that the Japanese endure. Any Brits out there care to explain? Why don’t you all introduce some sort of term limits? Mind you, it MUST sell a lot more newspapers that for sure!
…seems just like yesterday when a journalist knocked on the door at no 10 to give hazel blair some roses and hazel blair answered the door dressed in her dressing gown ,[ remember that ?]…. i wonder if they had to put out the rubbish as well ?
@marcus – Hazel Blears?!? That’s funny! I think you meant Cherie Blair.
I can see green shoots from my living room . . . I have a bunch of radish, cucumber, and roma tomato seedlings, and they are beautiful!
Stacy ,thankyou for the correction ! [ it has been a long time since i have been to england ,are the beatles still no 1 on the charts ? ]
Stumble upon a WO I series. This episode reveals how WO I was continued due to commercial interest and propaganda over the backs of the citizen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI86q2ANJUg
Also contains a nice illustration of the always relative value of gold : On coin for a flask of clean water..
In another part of the series it is clear WO II was preprogrammed in the amistice due to financial considerations (inflexibility of banks). The injustice was picked up and used by well known politicians 20 years later.
One can conclude most wars have been fought by people being misled and against their will in order to achieve the ends envisioned by a few. That understanding the peoples ignorance and incapacity is what psychopaths need to put them to use.
Stacy: Any Brits out there care to explain?
Its a masonic thing… not a British thing, you will have to get one of those guys to run through the self-flagelating protocols.
UK Elections
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
So far …
CON 131
LD 52
LAB 20
IND 8
OK .. it’s only preliminary, but the SHIFT is pretty amazing.
updated map of London from the .. “.from memory group ‘ for any one like myself that has not been to London recently,…. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nad/386051891/
Another green shoots piece – 25 million Americans can’t find enough work:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/04/unemployment-rate-parttim_n_211548.html
Stacy
This IS just working out GREAT:-
Brown “Just” hangs on
Come Sept Max’s “Thing of beauty” will arrive in the form of the IMF.
Mike
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4850&ref=patrick.net
@stacy
media persons – Keep puttin’ em up, We keep knockin’ em down….one of those illogical things (along with our sense of humour)that americans,germans and some other europeans don’t quite understand about us average britishers, We don’t respect money or success that much.Those in the public gaze know well in this country once we get bored of you, we don’t really care about your education, position money,reputation or even ability to do the job it’s simple ya get put in the stocks and out comes the rotten fruit and veg.
I think the British public have been quite happy to let the media run this country for years with a constant stream of campaigns involving politicians,unions and celebritys that tell us who to like one minute and then who to hate the next ……..All the worlds a stage and the british cosmic remote control often chooses something like ‘the apprentice or britains got talent ‘so they can laugh at the failures nominate a winner and…. knock em down….Makes me quite proud actually.
Mr Supergeek,……….you ole cynic,.. : ),…..or is that stoic,….hmmm
While the Brits seem to enjoy the spectacle of successions of Prime Ministers clinging to power until all dignity is lost. The Italians seem to elect, not leaders, but spectacles: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8084694.stm
They really love their face-lifted, hair-transplanted buffoons there.
By the way, I’m not saying the buffoon option is a bad one. I think perhaps having a ‘leader’ who spends his time getting facelifts and dancing naked in jacuzzis may be safer than having one that thinks he is smart enough to run the country!