Entretien avec Philippe Murer, ingénieur en mathématiques financières : Les gains de productivité

Entretien avec l’actuaire Olivier Berruyer: La fin d’un monde

The engineer has wrecked the train: American Idol Banana Republic and its cartoon leaders

A repost from anti-fascist researcher Dave Emory assesses the present political, economical and financial situation of the United States with great accuracy, as early as 2003. We must admit that he was right on target when recording that show. Here are the basic facts. The Irak war reveals itself to have been a deliberate scheme by the Bush Admistration to increase spending of the federal government in a way that would send it on a vertical spiral of deficits and debt. Accompanied by tax cuts to benefit the wealthy that inevitably decrease the state budget, these two measures or decisions look rather like sabotage attempts to destroy the U.S. economy, either for bringing a totalitarian regime or for Balkanizing them. People belonging to mainstream academia and media, such as Paul Krugman, have made similar analyses. The tax cuts implemented by the Bush Administration are so deep that it is impossible to maintain them without cutting U.S. spending, where the money is, i.e. in social programs or military budget. A report commissioned by the Treasury Department estimated that the U.S. face a chronic budget accumulated deficits of some 44 trillion dollars, if tax rates and spending budget remain the same. To close the gap, a 66% accross the board tax increase would be necessary. The show reminds us of a striking similarity that exists between the behavior of the French elite before WWII and the one of the American elite these days. If the French elite was acting in preparation for a takeover by Germany in defense against Communism, the behavior of the present-day power elite in the U.S. is suggesting that a similar process is under way. The broadcast also deals with other related elements of the puzzle, such as the role played by tax havens like Liechtenstein, Nassau, Panama and Switzerland. It has to be noted that Saddam Hussein siphoned off millions of dollars from oil corporations as bribes into offshore accounts. Hussein used this bribe money to finance weapons deals during embargo periods. Continuer la lecture