Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis |
- Public Union Protesters More Like Greek Extortionists than Egyptian Freedom Fighters; Unions Under Fire in Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee; Student Idiocy
- Portuguese Government Pleads for Help as Yields Soar to Record Level; Portugal Needs Bailout by April; Pressure Mounts for Haircuts
- Japan's Social Security Panel Wants to Double Sales Taxes; Tax Cut Independents Win Local Elections in Landslide; Japan's Debt Trap Has No Escape
Posted: 18 Feb 2011 01:48 PM PST Senate Democrats in Wisconsin have gone on hiatus in Illinois in an effort to block badly needed legislation that will rein in extortion, bribery, and coercion by public unions. A vote expected today has not taken place and Democrats vow to say away as long as it take, effectively shutting down government in Wisconsin. Schools in Madison and Milwaukee are closed because mass numbers of teachers calling in sick. Vote Delayed Please consider Vote on Wisconsin union bill faces more delays A controversial bill that would end a half-century of collective bargaining for most public workers in Wisconsin was again in limbo on Friday. State Senate Democrats said they would stay away for days or even weeks, while Republican efforts to pass the bill in the state Assembly also faced an obstacle.Student Idiocy Students have become unwitting pawns for the teachers' unions. Reforms proposed by Walker will help rein in costs, including the cost of education. Unfortunately these students cannot think. Neil Graupner, a 19-year-old technical college student from Madison, said he was planning to stay until the matter is settled.There is nothing like complete fools needing lower costs of education then directly begging for higher costs. Wisconsin is gathering a lot of attention but badly needed public union reform is happening in other states as well. Unions Under Fire in Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee, New Jersey CNN Money reports Unions under fire as states try to curtail benefits Lots of state officials are pressing public employees to shoulder more of their health care and pension costs.It's a start. Public unions have gotten so greedy and so out of control the only thing that makes any sense is totally eliminate them. Harold Meyerson, a seriously misguided columnist at the Washington Post compared the rally in Madison to the happenings in Egypt. The continual riots by ungrateful overpaid union workers in Greece is a far better comparison to the events in Madison recent rallies in Egypt. Please see 40% of Madison Teachers call in Sick, Schools Shut; Video of Massive Protest in Wisconsin Capitol Building; If Jackasses Could Think for some examples. Here is a small snip. Collective ExtortionThat is a small snip from the preceding post. I invite you to play those videos and the other in the preceding link to show you just how how much coercion, extortion, an threats unions use to get their ways. Message From FDR Inquiring minds are reading snips from a Letter from FDR Regarding Collective Bargaining of Public Unions written August 16, 1937. All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management.It is time to shut down pubic unions, totally, completely, and permanently. The actions in Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee, and New Jersey are but a small step in the right direction. In the meantime, and likely every step of the way, we have to listen to misguided union sympathizers compare bribery, coercion, and extortion by public unions to democratic uprisings in Egypt. Worse yet, taxpayer dollars fund those messages as various unions are now flooding the airwaves and billboards with propaganda praising their blatant taxpayer extortion. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List |
Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:46 AM PST Portuguese government debt yields hit fresh news highs today, prompting Portugal to beg for action from the ECB. Here are charts of 5- and 10-year yields. Portugal 5-Year Government Bond Yields Yields on Portuguese 5-year debt have soared nearly a full point in less than a month to an all time high of 7.13% closing at 7.04%. Portugal 10-Year Government Bond Yields Yields on 10-year Portuguese debt have soared all time high over 7.5% before closing just under that at 7.45% Germany Pressures Portugal to Seek Bailout Please consider Portuguese yields under pressure The five-year Portuguese bond yield rose to a 7.126 percent high after the Jornal de Negocios reported, without citing sources, that Germany is pressuring Portugal to request an international bailout before the European rescue package is revised in March.Portugal Pleads For Help Please consider Portugal govt urges Europe to respond to crisis Portugal is doing its bit to cut the budget deficit but any delay by Europe in coming up with a comprehensive response to the euro debt crisis will damage the euro and all EU member states, Cabinet Minister Pedro Silva Pereira said on Thursday.Portugal Needs Bailout by April The crisis in Portugal has finally reached a head as Portugal seen taking bailout by April. European Union member states are increasingly concerned about Portugal's ability to fund itself in financial markets and believe Lisbon will need to seek a bailout by April, a euro zone source said on Thursday.Senior Bond Haircuts Needed and Will Come The debt of Ireland, Greece, and Portugal cannot and will not be paid back in full and the markets know it. Yields would not be where they are if this debt was any good. Please see yesterday's post European Sovereign Debt Crisis in Pictures; Nothing Solved Yet, Credit Stress Close to All Time Highs for a look at government bond yields in Spain, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, and France. So far, the ECB's primary response has been to take more of the default risk on its own plate, buying government bonds, in clear violation of the Maastricht Treaty. How long can that continue? ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet supports those sovereign debt purchases, while German central bank president Axel Weber does not. Weber was thought by most to be Trichet's replacement, however, he resigned over the feud. This debt cannot and will not be paid back. The longer the ECB and IMF insist there will be no haircuts, the greater the market pressure will be to produce them. Worse yet, it's only a matter of time before there are renewed concerns about Spain, Italy, and Belgium. Trichet's misguided approach, blessed by the rest of the ECB and also by the IMF, ensures that pressure will continue to mount until this whole mess blows sky high. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List |
Posted: 18 Feb 2011 01:15 AM PST After decades of foolishly fighting deflation, Japan is broke. Social Security now consumes a whopping 53% of government spending and that number will rise. A government panel now says Doubling of Sales Tax Needed to Shore Up Finances. Japan needs to more than double its 5 percent consumption tax to shore up the government's finances given soaring debt and welfare costs, a member of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's tax and social security panel said.60% Favor Tax Hike? I was startled to see 60% in favor of a tax hike. However, my friend Mike "In Tokyo" Rogers explains: "What a load of rubbish. I'm sure that survey was taken somewhere near Kokaigijido. That's where all the government offices all are. There's no regular working or retired Japanese person in their right mind who agrees with a sales tax hike." Sales Tax Cut Proponents Win Landslide Victories Those seeking evidence that Mike "In Tokyo" has it correct need only read Japan's two-party system is collapsing Tokyo - Landslide victories for independent candidates in local elections in central Japan earlier this month shocked the nation's two major parties and revived public doubt about the nascent two-party system.Japan's Debt Trap Has No Escape As in the US, voters in Japan are fed up with taxes. However, Japanese revenues are not only running dry, but in reverse. Proving that government stupidity has no upper bounds, Mike "In Tokyo" notes Japan Wasted $78 Billion on Global Warming Research in six years. Given a 200% Debt-to-GDP ratio, the world's worst aging demographics, and with Social Security consuming 53% of government spending, Japan is in a debt trap with no possible escape. Japan's debt crisis is rapidly coming to a head, and few are even watching. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List |
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