Skip to main content

Home/ Politics Money and Destruction of Human Community/ Group items tagged economics

Rss Feed Group items tagged

isabella R

Increasingly in Europe, Suicides 'by Economic Crisis' - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  •  
    A complete picture of the phenomenon across Europe is elusive, as some countries lag in reporting statistics and coroners are loath to classify deaths as suicides, to protect surviving family members. But it is clear that countries on the front line of the economic crisis are suffering the worst, and that suicides among men have increased the most. In Greece, the suicide rate among men increased more than 24 percent from 2007 to 2009, government statistics show. In Ireland during the same period, suicides among men rose more than 16 percent. In Italy, suicides motivated by economic difficulties have increased 52 percent, to 187 in 2010 - the most recent year for which statistics were available - from 123 in 2005. Researchers say the trend has intensified this year as government austerity measures took hold and compounded the hardships for many. While suicides often have many complex causes, researchers have found that severe economic stress corresponds to higher suicide rates.
isabella R

Mitt Romney is a Rich Man Who Can Buy Everything But a Clue - 0 views

  • It is also becoming apparent that Willard Romney is having issues related to his arrogance and inability to tell the truth that prompted Mrs. Willard to say “I think my biggest worry would be for his mental well-being.” Romney’s well-being is predicated on never being questioned or challenged, and as some in the media are finally asking questions he cannot or will not answer, he looks clueless. It must be trying for a man used to being the smartest guy in the board room to have to dodge simple questions about his alleged economic prowess, or how his tax plan does not favor the wealthy or punish the poor and middle class
  •  
    It is also becoming apparent that Willard Romney is having issues related to his arrogance and inability to tell the truth that prompted Mrs. Willard to say "I think my biggest worry would be for his mental well-being." Romney's well-being is predicated on never being questioned or challenged, and as some in the media are finally asking questions he cannot or will not answer, he looks clueless. It must be trying for a man used to being the smartest guy in the board room to have to dodge simple questions about his alleged economic prowess, or how his tax plan does not favor the wealthy or punish the poor and middle class
isabella R

9 Things That Show Mitt Romney Is Morally Bankrupt | Alternet - 0 views

  • 1. The smug non-smoker took big bucks to push smoking on Russians
  • Slams government economic investment despite having taken government contracts.
  • Opposes abortion, but invested in company that disposes of aborted fetuses
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • ecries corruption in other countries but facilitated it in his own
  • Insults low-income Americans for not paying federal income tax, while not paying federal income tax on almost all of his income.
  • Calls for more transparency from his opponent while hiding his own tax returns, squirreling millions offshore and using accounting tricks to lower his tax rate
  • Painted his opponent as a fibbing child while building an entire campaign on lies.
  • Republican presidential candidate compared the African-American president to his "boys," who, when they were little, he said, would pile fib upon fib thinking they could fool their dad.
  • Claims to have the "best interests of the African American community" in his heart while running a race-baiting campaign
  • Wears the mantle of protectionist, China-battling job creator after having put thousands of U.S. workers out of jobs and bought into a giant Chinese sweatshop.
  •  
    s
isabella R

Paul Ryan: A follower of St. Thomas Aquinas or Ayn Rand? | National Catholic Reporter - 0 views

  • In fact, many of Ryan's ideas and policies appear to be directly at odds with Catholic teaching.
  • The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center calls this "an effort to have low- and middle-class households bear the entire burden of closing the fiscal gap and bear the costs of financing an additional tax cut for high income households.
  • Ryan says he would mitigate this effect by scrapping various tax exemptions, but he hasn't specified them. How does this square with Pope John XXIII's statement that tax burdens should "be proportioned to the capacity of the people contributing"?
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Experts reckon that inequalities in America have widened to levels not seen since the early 1900s, but Ryan seems to want them wider still. Back in 1931, Pope Pius XI denounced "the huge disparity between the few exceedingly rich and the unnumbered propertyless." American poverty may be less extreme now than then, but a study by the Economic Policy Institute shows that in 2004 the poorest 20 percent of Americans had "negative wealth" (more debts than assets). That was before the subprime disaster.
  • Ryan's willingness to see the superrich still richer can only be justified on the anarcho-capitalist principle that "taxation is theft," which reflects the libertarian belief that one has absolute, unlimited rights to whatever assets one lawfully acquires. But the church explicitly teaches that property rights are not absolute. Hear Pope John Paul II: "The right to private property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone." Or St. Thomas: "Man ought to own external things not as his own, but as common, so that ... he is ready to communicate them to others in their need."
isabella R

Full Transcript of the Mitt Romney Secret Video | Mother Jones - 0 views

    • isabella R
       
      You are right, which is a nuclear Iran is an unthinkable outcome, not just for our friends in Israel and our friends in Europe, but also for us. Because Iran is the state sponsor of terror in the world, has Hezbollah now throughout Latin America, Hezbollah with fissile material.  FACT CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • f I were Iran, and a crazed fanatic,
  • This is where we head, where American can be held up and blackmailed by Iran, by the mullahs, by crazy people
  • ...62 more annotations...
  • So we really don't have any option but to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon.
  • I'll step back on foreign policy: The president's foreign policy, in my opinion, is formed in part by a perception that he has that his magnetism and his charm and his persuasiveness is so compelling
  • It's speaking softly but carrying a very, very, very big stick. And this president instead speaks loudly and carries a tiny stick.
  • I saw Dr. Kissinger in New York—you're not eating!
  • He's bored to tears. [Audience laughs.] I saw Dr. Kissinger; I said to him, "How are we perceived around the world?" And he said, "One word: VEAK!" [Audience laughs.]
  • If you get the call as president, and you had hostages…Ronald Reagan was able to make a statement, even before he became, was actually sworn in— Romney: Yeah— Audience member: the hostages were released— Romney: on the day of his inauguration, yeah. Audience member: So my question is, really, how can you sort of duplicate that scenario? Romney: Ohhhh. [A few chuckles in audience.] I'm gonna ask you, how do I duplicate that scenario.
  • I think that had to do with the fact that the Iranians perceived Reagan would do something to really get them out. In other words [unintelligible]…and that's why I'm suggesting that something that you say over the next few months gets the Iranians to understand that their pursuit of the bomb is something that you would predict and I think that's something that could possibly resonate very well with American Republican voters.
  • when I do three or four events like this,
    • isabella R
       
      Romney: I appreciate the idea. I can't-one of the other things that's frustrating to me is that at a typical day like this, when I do three or four events like this, Romney: I appreciate the idea. I can't-one of the other things that's frustrating to me is that at a typical day like this, when I do three or four events like this,...!!!!!!!
  • Individuals in this room obviously are your supporters. I am very concerned
  • that the average American,
  • who doesn't know you, there's a terrible misconception. And I spend numerous hours trying to [unintelligible]. Years and years ago, I called George Bush Sr., and he had helped me in my campaign in Massachusetts when I ran for Senate. I told him that there's a guy named Clinton who's running for the following reasons.
  • Right now, I'm very concerned…Women would not want to be involved for you.
  • Hispanics, majority of them do not want to vote for you.
  • College students don't. After talking to them, and explaining and rationalizing on a one-on-one basis, we are able to change their opinions
  • But on a mass level, what do you want us to do, this group here,
  • as your emissaries,
  • going out to convert these individuals to someone who's obviously going to be such an incredible asset to this country
  • But what do we do? Just tell us what we can help…
  • I have—I have some good news for you. It's not impossible.
  • they don't know what they were doing
  • women are open to supporting me. They like the president [unintelligible], but they're disappointed. They're disappointed with the jobs they're seeing for their kids, they're disappointed with their own economic standing right now.
  • So we can capture women's votes,
  • what I need you to do is to raise millions of dollars,
  • Because, well, because you don't have the capacity to speak to hundreds of thousands of people. I will be in those debates. It will be, I don't know, 150 million Americans watching. If I do well, it'll help. If I don't, it won't help…
  • Audience member: You will do so well. Your debates are incredible. [Audience laughs, claps.]
  • But you know, I'm not terribly well known by the general American public, because… Audience member: You're known as a rich boy. I mean, they say, "He's a rich man."
    • isabella R
       
      But you know, I'm not terribly well known by the general American public, because… Audience member: You're known as a rich boy. I mean, they say, "He's a rich man."
  • young children coming out of college
  • Why don't you stick up for yourself?
  • To me, you should be so proud of your wealth. That's what we all aspire to be—we kill ourselves, we don't work a nine to five.
  • We're away from our families five days a week. I'm away from my four girls five days a week and my wife. Why not stick up for yourself and say, "Why is it bad to be, to aspire to be wealthy and successful?
  • And then I quote Marco Rubio, I tell in my speeches, I say, Marco Rubio—I think what I said would be [unintelligible]…I also think I said that at a fundraising event earlier today, but I did when I was in Empire…[unintelligible] [Audience laughs.]…I just said Sen. Rubio says that when he grew up here, poor, that they looked at people that had a lot of wealth, and his parents never once said, "We need some of what they have, they should give us some." Instead they said that you work hard and go to school, someday we might be able to have enough
  • For the last three years, all everybody's been told is, "Don't worry, we'll take care of you." How are you going to do it, in two months before the elections, to convince everybody you've got to take care of yourself?
  • Romney: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49, 48—he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn't connect. And he'll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean that's what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people—I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not, what it looks like. I mean, when you ask those people…we do all these polls—I find it amazing—we poll all these people, see where you stand on the polls, but 45 percent of the people will go with a Republican, and 48 or 4…
  • And we have responsibility for the whole world.
  • hey'll probably be looking at what the polls are saying. If it looks like I'm going to win, the markets will be happy
  • How are you going to win if 54 percent of the voters think China's economy is bigger than ours? Or if it costs 4 cents to make a penny and we keep making pennies?
  • Canada got it right a month ago. Why isn't someone saying, "Stop making pennies, round it to the nearest nickel?"
    • isabella R
       
      How are you going to win if 54 percent of the voters think China's economy is bigger than ours? Or if it costs 4 cents to make a penny and we keep making pennies? Canada got it right a month ago. Why isn't someone saying, "Stop making pennies, round it to the nearest nickel?" Y
  • If you turned it into like, "Eat what you kill," it'd be a landslide. In my humble opinion.
    • isabella R
       
      If you turned it into like, "Eat what you kill," it'd be a landslide. In my humble opinion.
  • Being right early is not good in politics." And in a setting like this—a highly intellectual subject, a discussion of a whole series of important topics—typically doesn't win elections.
  • Keep the change. [Audience laughs.]
  • I didn't realize these guys in the US, the Karl Rove equivalents, they do races all over the world. In Armenia. In Africa. In Israel. I mean, they work for Bibi Netanyahu in his races. So they do his races and see which ads work and which processes work best and, uh, we have ideas about what we do over the course of the campaign. I'd tell them to you, but I'd have to, you know, shoot ya. [Audience laughs.] Hopefully it will be a successful place.
    • isabella R
       
      I didn't realize these guys in the US, the Karl Rove equivalents, they do races all over the world. In Armenia. In Africa. In Israel.  I mean, they work for Bibi Netanyahu in his races. So they do his races and see which ads work  and which processes work best and, uh, we have ideas about what we do over the course of the campaign. I'd tell them to you, but I'd have to, you know,  shoot ya. [Audience laughs.] Hopefully it will be a successful place.
  • And I think that's a campaign issue that can work well. I'm optimistic that you'll be elected president. And my recommendation would be clean house, immediately. The SEC, the CFEC are disaster areas.
  • I wish they weren't unionized, so we could go a lot deeper than you're actually allowed to go.
  • But we, you see, you and I,
  • I think a lot of people, especially you know, [unintelligible] I think people would see you in a different light. I think a lot of women especially do not watch debates.
  • Although The View is high risk because of the five women on it, only one is conservative. Four are sharp-tongued and not conservative, Whoopi Goldberg in particular. Although last time I was on the show, she said to me, "You know what? I think I could vote for you."
  • And I said, "I must have done something really wrong."
  • And I guess everybody here is a dignitary
  • "—so I'm happy to take advice and then we can all vote on it, whether it's a good piece of advice or bad advice. And so we'll get a chance to do that, but I'm looking to get your perspectives. J
  • When I was probably halfway through my career at Bain Consulting, I met with a lawyer to draft a will, and she said, "How do you want to divide what estate you might eventually have?"
  • I don't want to give anything to the grandchildren—I'll give it to the sons, and they in turn will give it to their children as needed."
  • "You'll change your mind." And I said, "No, I don't think so." So I saw her not long ago, and I said, "I don't want to give anything to my sons, I want to give it [to all to my grandchildren.] [Audience laughs.]
  • So that's why I wanna make sure
  • what little I'll have left after the campaigns
  • goes to you know, goes to my grandchildren
  • Elizabeth Warren—she's the woman who's running for US Senate in Massachusetts, who said that she's Cherokee,
  • Can you imagine working every day,
1 - 6 of 6
Showing 20 items per page