UNDERPAID FAST FOOD WORKERS AND ROBOTS HAVE FEW FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

Liberal politicians fighting for fast food workers to earn $15 an hour are either thinking on excessively narrow terms or are operating from a dishonest line of reasoning. Conservatives ranting about how fast food “robots” — or order kiosks — are corporate CEOs’ response to the coming wave of government-mandated minimum wage increases are being […]

SUNDAY SMACK: DID THE SAUDIS LET SLIP THEIR ROLE IN 9/11?

Exploring this week’s Sunday Smack about Saudi Arabia’s blockbuster threat to sell approximately three-quarters of a trillion dollars worth of treasury holdings and other US assets should Congress pass a bill that would make the The Saudis responsible for the September 11th attacks requires a background understanding of at least four areas: How the petrodollar […]

PANAMA PAPERS AND HILLARY CLINTON’S SLOW BURN

A torn backside for the rest of America to see is the risk Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes when she constantly fence-hops to give the appearance of being a populist to primary voters while also acting as a member of the Oligarchs Booster Club. She also makes her opponent Bernie Sanders look like a […]

BIG WAVE OF BOND DEFAULTS COMING

I’ll get around to posting more detailed thoughts about the economy by next week at latest, but those of you who’ve read my posts like this or this already know that I think the global economic recovery of 2009 is a joke. Yes, “global” includes the United States. In “The Coming Default Wave Is […]

THE MYTH OF TRUMP CHANGING THE GOP

Oooh, baby — this sounds desperate. Wall Street Journal’s Gerald Seib just made an indirect appeal to the Party of No Brains supporters’ sense of ideology as a way to stop Donald Trump’s raging campaign for the party’s nomination. In his Donald Trump Nomination Would Change GOP Philosophy, Not Just Leadership piece, Seib writes about […]

CLINTON’S SHADOW BANKING TRICK

Like any good trick football play, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s misdirection on shadow banking requires a few enablers. First, your susceptibility — or abundant willingness — to have your attention diverted from where the ball actually is. Second, a diversion — or a series of them — to take advantage of your susceptibility. Third — […]

SUNDAY SMACK: IS HILLARY CONFLICTED?

My Sunday Smack deals with the last Presidential primary debate, where candidate Hillary Clinton tried to assure viewers of her ability and willingness to regulate Wall Street: I have a plan that most commentators have said is tougher, more effective and more comprehensive … The topic of financial services regulation remains a hot topic since […]

US OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL — CHRISTMAS FOR OLIGARCHS

What should approving the second coming of the Patriot Act — known to others as the data privacy-shredding Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) — have to do with bipartisan passage of the 1.1 trillion-dollar omnibus federal spending bill? Did you know that oil tankers are parked at sea while brokers search for buyers in an […]

DREAM CHASIN’ AND PARTY TRIPPIN’ — HOW YOU CREATED ‘TRUMP 2016’

As I looked at last night’s Party of No Brains debate, I recalled my prediction of Donald Trump’s strong shot at being that party’s nominee — even before his first candidate debate. Back then, I made parallels between the cultural pessimism Americans faced during the late 70’s — which catalyzed the election of Ronald Reagan […]

WHAT BAY RIDGE, BROOKLYN CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THE NEXT FINANCIAL CRASH

The Bay Ridge couple I recently saw in the Whitehall Street subway station☆ may provide a clue about the fate of the US economy. But I should first describe Bay Ridge, so that you can see what I mean. A predominantly Irish and Italian neighborhood for much of the 20th century, and popularized by the […]