Wednesday, October 9, 2013

UPDATE-1 - The Adventures of Fiscal Cliff: The Healthcare Shutdown Showdown

Oh look, here we are again. The U.S. - now living paycheque to paycheque - might not have enough cash to cover next months rent. I suspect as before with the "fiscal cliff" (which this still is, by the way) there will be a last minute stopgap measure to stop from defaulting. You could say this partial shutdown is testing the waters of default. Of the people. It's all building up to what is surely to be an interesting crescendo to mark the full transformation of the U.S. into a fascist police state when their services can't be funded all together.

Oh I know, "there's been shutdowns before". Like in 1995, right? Well the U.S. didn't have a $17T debt in 1995. Every time the "debt ceiling" of magic money comes up is the situation getting worse? or better? What happens the next time? and the next after that? When it's $20T or $30T? After the U.S. has used up the last of it's water sheds fracking everything it's got left? Or entered it's next subprime crisis of student debt? It's pretty close to inevitable that sooner or later one of these rent payments is going to be late, or non-existent.

The so-called disagreements between the parties is theater. Obamacare? Really? That's the hang up eh? Not the continuous need to raise the debt ceiling? have the FED monetize more debt? It's bullshit. This is a country that just wanted to spend countless billions bombing Syria (and did spend a considerable amount just preparing for the possibility).

This is all theater meant to keep confidence in the overall economy by leading people to believe the problems are simply diplomatic. If the Republicans would only agree to fund the government and accept Obamacare then everything would just be peachy, wouldn't it? It's not like the debt ceiling will be a problem again in a few short months, right? Right...

Do you notice how the debt problem is never a problem until it's a problem? We haven't heard anything about this since the whole fiscal cliff fiasco. It's always "down to the wire" like a kid who has been jerking off all week then crams in his studying on the day before the exam.

From this perspective, and contrary to popular opinion amongst those who have a vested interest in the "confidence of the economy", it is almost certain the U.S. will default on it's debt sooner or later. That's what Boston was preparation for. That's what this multi-year mind game is building up to. That's why the department of Homeland Security is so interested in "domestic terrorists". As things get worse, people are going to get angry.

Of course, my outlook throughout all of this time has been that the U.S. dollar would eventually collapse and my outlooks on Canada always take this into consideration. Unlike the IMF:
The IMF linked Canada's growth prospects directly to the U.S. recovery, which it says will strengthen exports and business investment as domestic consumption cools. The forecasts assume the U.S. government shutdown is short-lived and the U.S. debt ceiling is raised promptly.
Oh, well that makes sense why the usually debt conscious and pro-austerity backed with police-state IMF is calling for a "swift hike" in the U.S. debt ceiling. I guess debt isn't a concern when the debtor is your primary source of funding especially when the IMF itself is just a tool for taking over economies. One hand washes the other.

But hey, that's the "free market" for ya, isn't it? A free market where it's more important who is the head of the FED so the odds of continual monetization of debt appear favorable rather than whether an entire generation can actually afford a home.

Fascist economies of corruption of course just are not limited to the U.S. either, now are they Canada? Recently revealed is the fact that CSEC is essentially in the pockets of Canada's energy business. So let's see, CSEC consults with energy firms while CSIS spies on energy activists. National security is energy security, and energy security is economic security. Therefore national security is economic security and the breeding ground of fascist "private/public" partnerships. When Alison Redford goes to the U.S. to lobby "on behalf" of Alberta's China's energy industry you are seeing the new purpose of government in action.

Governments now are relegated to managing public perception of the industries they are working on behalf of and managing the ever diminishing funds in the public coffers in accordance with the wishes of international lenders, bankers, and markets. If the central bankers are the ying of the "free market" then government management of public perception is the yang. Just look at the Alberta and Canadian government's close relationship with CAPP. Look at how many times they've used taxpayer money to fund propaganda campaigns that benefit CAPP. The government in terms of it's view of industry should be neutral, equally split between the needs of the people and the needs of industry yet the reality is the government is completely biased towards industry and is willing to lie to the people and cover up industry mistakes. The Japanese government and Fukushima provides a glaring example.

In conclusion, the confidence game is in full swing. Talk of "the recovery" still continues 5 years on even though everyone should know who are the only ones benefiting and talk of democracy is economic theater used to redirect blame for the planned destruction and transformation into what's known as the New World Order.

Update-1

Environment minister defends officials in oilsands case
But McQueen said the Pembina Institute’s ability to take the case to court — and win — shows that the system works.

“What’s important is that we have a process that allows for people, if they don’t like decisions, to really be able to appeal,” she said.

But Jennifer Grant, Pembina’s oilsands program director, said there was little in the court’s judgment “that instils confidence in the system at all,” noting Marceau found the government broke its own rules.

This case proved you have to actually appeal decisions, take the government of Alberta to court, to expose such illegal actions or ... application of bias,” she said.
Bias in favour of industry? You don't say... Good thing the courts are accessible to the peasants, err wait...
Access to justice in Canada is being described as "abysmal" in a new report from the Canadian Bar Association, which also calls for much more than "quick fix" solutions. 

But here's my favorite part:
Premier Alison Redford also strongly defended the government’s actions last week, saying it was the province’s prerogative to determine who had standing in oilsands reviews.

“It is incredibly irresponsible and I think they’re trapped in an extremely ineffective strategy of damage control,” said Notley.
Gee, I wonder what the "province's prerogative" would be? Well here's a hint.

Edit: Just some updates with regards to clarity of CSIS/CSEC. At least in the U.S. their agencies start with different letters :/


Thanks to Peter Cook from the comments section.


Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.

1 comment:

  1. Maybe they should jump http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfTgzMwq8CY

    ReplyDelete