13 Critical Issues You Are Forbidden From Voting On

The voting privileges granted by the political class during the civil rights movement have pacified nearly every American.  It’s a shame as to this day the very act of casting your ballot on meaningful issues is actively suppressed in the United States. 

 Here are 13 critical issues you are forbidden from voting on:

1. Which foreign lands the U.S. military should occupy
2. Taxpayer bailouts for the banks 
3. The definition of “torture”
4. Interest rates and monetary policy of the Federal Reserve
5. Military grade weapons supplied to your local police employees
6. TSA screening procedure at the airports
7. Nuclear weapons production, storage locations and usage
8. Number of field agents employed by the FBI
9. Medicare tax rates
10. The Supreme Court justices
11. Limits to NSA spying
12. Who is sentenced to death by drone strike
13. The enforcement of the “Bill of Rights”  

Clearly citizens of the United States of America were never given the vote. 

It’s been five decades since the last voting rights movement in America and no one has thought to ask “On What are we getting the right to vote”?

Malinvestment is Poison says Charles Hugh Smith

Charles Hugh Smith explains "How Malinvestment Poisons the Entire Economy":

Today's asset bubbles in stocks, junk bonds, housing, art, bat guano futures, etc. are being driven by the Federal Reserve, which has replaced the nuisance of no-document liar loans with unlimited liquidity for bankers, financiers and insiders. The super-wealthy and corporate cronies can borrow as much nearly free money as they want from the Fed, without even bothering with qualifying for the credit.

Read more at OfTwoMinds.com 

Inflation Alert: Soaring Apartment Rents

Trulia reported this week that apartment rents nationwide are up nearly 6% in the last year.

Buried in the last paragraph of a Bloomberg story about the cooling housing market are details about inflation in the rental market.  Three large California cities have seen ten percent hikes in housing costs in the last twelve months with San Francisco leading the way.

According to Trulia the median two-bedroom in San Francisco costs $3,550 per month.  Rental costs city wide rose over 15% since last year.

 

Is Deflation the Natural Result of Progress?

Jim Grant giving the Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture at the Mises Institute.  Here Jim is talking about how technological progress leads to deflation...




The full lecture can be seen here.

California's Seven Year Long Recession

The LA Times reports that thanks to the financial recession, middle aged Californian's are moving in with their parents at a staggering rate:

For seven years through 2012, the number of Californians aged 50 to 64 who live in their parents' homes swelled 67.6% to about 194,000* 

Can we call it a depression yet?  

*data from UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Insight Center for Community Economic Development.

Inflation Rears It's Nasty Head

Speaking of a housing bubble.  Prices of homes in England increased nearly 4% last month.

But don't worry the "fears of a housing bubble are misplaced" says Christopher Hope of The Telegraph:

A breakdown suggested fears of a nation-wide housing bubble are misplaced, with London leading the way with a 16.3 per cent year-on-year increase, compared with a more modest 4.9 per cent in the rest of the country.

So according to the story a 5% annual increase in rent is modest.  Is the average wage earner garnering 5% annual salary increases to keep up with inflation?  Not likely.    

Full story from The Telegraph.

Should Banks Have the Power to Create Money?

Should private banks have the power to create money?  "No" says Martin Wolf.

It is interesting and encouraging that the mainstream financial press is questioning the current banking regime.  Since many adults reject the reality of the banking system's foundation they may need to hear it from FT*, New York Times and WSJ in order to "believe".    

Those with an open mind can learn the simple truth about the financial system from many arenas.  Once the reality of the situation is understood there is hope of changing the foundation or just working around it.

Besides Wolf there have been many folks questioning the banking & money creation regime for decades.  One great author is Thomas Greco who writes at Beyond Money.  

In a response to Wolf he writes:

The problem is not private money creation, per se, but the monopolization of credit (money creation) in the hands of a private banking cartel and the collusive arrangement between bankers and politicians.

No matter how much you understanding the financial system I recommend reading Greco's work.

*Wolf's article was published in the Financial Times.  

Money Sloshing Around the Real Estate Market

For five year tenants of commercial real estate in the U.S. could thank the Federal Reserve and their loose monetary policy as a driving force behind rising rents.  In addition to the massive increase in U.S. dollar supply renters now have a second force to be aware of, foreign investment.

From Bloomberg:

Chinese developers are on an expansive shopping spree in the U.S. Completed commercial real estate transactions by Chinese investors in the six biggest metropolitan areas totaled almost $3 billion in 2013, up from $335.3 million the previous year, according to New York-based Real Capital.

Keep in mind that the sellers of these properties have seen a nice fat profit in large part to low-interest loans received from banks since the 2008 financial crisis.  Leverage can work wonders if your bet pays off.