99ers UPDATE - Maybe they'll all get on a bus to occupy Wall Street and join in the fun

About a year ago I posted a blog about the 99ers in the USA. In a nutshell, in the USA, unemployment benefits only pay out for 26 weeks. Then you're on your own with no state support.

Because of the 2008 financial crisis and the huge increase in unemployment numbers, the American government passed an emergency law to increase these benefit payments by a further 73 weeks in order to limit the number of visible destitutes that would end up on the streets of U.S. cities.

That emergency legislation was only allowed to be passed on the basis of a concession to the political right. And that concession was that the new arrangement would be time limited. That time limit is about to expire.

To make matters worse, there is an election coming up soon so it is unlikely that this extension will be kept via a new version of that legislation.

Further details can be seen in my previous blog entry - http://subsister.blogspot.com/2010/12/99ers-set-to-take-off.html

Now then.

If that extension is not forthcoming by the end of this year (about 10 weeks time), the number of 99ers is set to increase on a rapid scale.

By February 2012, the number of new 99ers with no state support will increase by a staggering 2,153,700 people.



What will these 2 million new disenfranchised people decide to do about it?

QE2 - In other words, You are being conned again.

Last week, the UK government announced a second phase of quantitative easing. Or to give it it's real name "printing lots more digital money."

It was publicised by the Bank of England as a mechanism to kick start the UKs flagging economy. The idea was that this new money would trickle down from the central bank, to the investment banks, then to the high street banks, then to small businesses as loans and finally to facilitating new jobs and new wages.

What a load of bollocks.

This new money will never trickle down. The sum announced was £75 billion. That equates to about £1,300 for each person in the UK. That new money is yet another lot of new money that will have to be paid back at some future date by you and me.

My guess is that if you are lucky and the usual 90% to 10% rule applies, then you might see about £115 of that new money in your pocket over the next year or two. The other £1,200 will disappear much further up the food chain. It might even be used to save a bank from collapse or just be gambled to zero by hapless city traders.

The point is, the only way to get people spending again, is to put real cash directly into the pockets of real people. Most people (the 90%) have to spend all of their income on basic living expenses plus a few luxuries once in a while. If the new money were directed to the poorest 10%, that money would be spent in the blink of an eye and would continue sloshing around in the lower economy for some time. This would create demand, jobs and compounding VAT revenues.

Either the people at the top just don't get it, because they are so far removed from the realities of ordinary peoples daily lives or they are just plain evil and are pursuing a deliberate program of enslavement.

I'll leave you to decide.

UK TODAY - Where is the good news?

Unemployment rising :
means less tax revenue to the exchequer.
means rising social security benefit bill for the exchequer.
means larger budget deficit.
means social decay / disorder.

Inflation rising:
means reduced economic activity.
means risks to businesses.
means unemployment.

means less tax revenue to the exchequer.

means rising social security benefit bill for the exchequer.

means larger budget deficit.

means social decay / disorder.

Taxes rising:
VAT at its highest ever level at 20%. It never comes down.
National insurance rising in April.
means reduced economic activity.

means risks to businesses.

means unemployment.

means less tax revenue to the exchequer.

means rising social security benefit bill for the exchequer.

means larger budget deficit.

means social decay / disorder.

Public Services being cut:
means less services.
means unemployment.

means less tax revenue to the exchequer.

means rising social security benefit bill for the exchequer.

means larger budget deficit.

means social decay / disorder.

.

Rising education costs:

means high debt for young adults.

means less graduates.

means less skilled workforce.

means lower wages.

means less tax revenue to the exchequer.

means rising social security benefit bill for the exchequer.

means larger budget deficit.

means social decay / disorder.

Vicious Circle = Vicious Government

99ers SET TO TAKE OFF !

In the United States, unemployment benefits are only paid for a maximum of 99 weeks or just less than 2 years.

After that period, that's it. You're on your own.

After the banking crisis of Autumn 2008, unemployment began to soar. Every week the number of unemployed rose. These job losses continued for 55 weeks at a weekly increase of between 50,000 and 200,000 per week.

The worst period was from November 2008 to October 2009. But even since October 2009, the number of new jobs created has never exceeded 50,000 per week.

The net effect of all of the above statistics is that from December 2010 there are likely to be around 50,000 people losing their benefits every week. This figure will get significantly worse up tom around April 2011 when around 200,000 people will lose their benefits every single week.

It remains to be seen what such large numbers of disenfranchised people will do about this over the coming months.

Keep 'em peeled!

GLOBALISATION - Chickens coming home to roost - ( FROM CLUCK TO FUCK! )

Globalisation has had many critics over the years.

Arguments against the concept include inequality, environmental impact, sweatshops, cultural normalisation, dumbing down through uniformity etc....

However for the majority first world perspective, it has facilitated a perceived rise in standard of living, choice, cheap food, goods and services. All this has become possible through communication advances in interconnectivity across the globe. The whole ponzi scheme is clearly based on convincing people to buy loads of tat that nobody really needs and only really want on the basis of its easy availability, brand marketing brainwashing techniques, availability of cheap credit etc.....

During the 'good times', this interconnectivity offers a dumbed down feeling of well being; an increased happiness quotient and an illusion of being able to buy freedom.

This model is so new that it has never been tested during the bad times.

What could happen if things went bad in the Global Village ? :

Firstly the connectedness of world financial markets means that if an economic boom or bubble emerged, the whole connected world would feed this bubble. This bubble would become bigger than any bubble experienced in the post industrial revolution period.

This bubble could for instance be cheap credit.

The banks may push the envelope by lending to riskier borrowers. They might even lend large sums to people who would have no means to repay.

The bubble might only stretch so far due to finite limits.

A nervousness might set in.

Banks might feel twitchy about the amounts on the wrong side of their balance sheets.

As if by magic the debt has moved from personal loans to private company debt.

They might stop lending to each other.

Credit availability may stall.

Some banks might fail.

Governments might have to rescue banks using hundreds of billions of taxpayers monies. Government might be forced to nationalise banks. In other words Governments would be nationalising debt and privatising profit.

As if by magic the debt has been moved again. From private companies to the public purse.

This might be called sovereign debt.

Interest rates may have to be slashed.

This could cause cash flow problems further down the food chain.

Businesses, large and small, could fail because their creditors refuse to supply goods and services on existing credit length terms.

Unemployment could rise.

Government spending could rise due to increases in benefits, lower taxation revenues, bank bail-outs.

Banks could restrict mortgage lending.

House prices could fall.

Economic growth might fall.

There could be a recession.

Entire countries could get nervous. They might feel that other countries may default on their debts.

They might buy the debt in form of government bonds at higher interest rates.

Their debt to earnings ratios might rise.

Their bond yield spreads might rise.

They might have to print more money.

Their currency may have to be devalued if it has its own fiat currency.

Other countries may drive down the value of their own currencies in order to maintain an export trade advantage.

A currency war could cause uncertainty in equity markets.

Financiers might switch to gold, looking for a perceived safe haven.

A secondary gold market may emerge. There could be high street gold buying shops. There may even be TV ad campaigns asking people to send their jewellery in the post in exchange for cash.

Gold prices could rise five fold or ten fold or ......

A secondary commodities bubble could emerge.

Agricultural commodities could get caught up in this speculative market. As could fossil fuel commodities.

Food and energy prices could be driven higher.

Governments may feel pressurised to accept rescue monies from other countries. There may be strings attached.

Those strings might be an austerity program.

That program may be painful to everyone living in that country.

They may have to take pay cuts.

They may have to cut millions of jobs in the economy.

There could be civil unrest, demonstrations, protests and even riots.

The government's revenues might fall again due to even lower tax revenues.

Economic growth may fall again.

Other countries may begin to falter.

The contagion could spread like a fire.

Firstly it could just be a few kindling republics and small countries.

Then maybe some larger countries may be affected due to their trading reliance with that failed country.

Recessions could turn into depressions.

And then..................................Protectionism.... Hyperinflation.........Nationalism.........War

Sound familiar ?

GLOBALISATION ! Forget the old arguments. THINGS HAVE MOVED ON !

CHANGING THE DEMON'S IDENTITY

During the last few months of Tory/Lib Dem rule, there has been a steady move to redirect the wider argument of local, national and global bankruptcy.

It started out, quite rightly, with the blame laying firmly and squarely on the Bankers and other hangers on in the financial services community.

Once the Tories seized power the public were gently swayed into beleiving that it was Gordan Brown/The Labour Party that was responsible.

Almost six months on, and a budget and spending review later, the government has introduced controversial and mind bending rule changes regarding areas such as, housing benefit, taxation, child benefit etc

These marginal changes have little fiscal value but have a nasty subtext that is seized upon by the right wing media and promulgated to the general mass of the chattering classes.

All I hear from people these days are arguments that are now based on class, employment, unionisation, location, ethnicity, morality etc.

These deliberately spiteful budgetry tax and spending anomolies have conspired to succesfully erase 'The Bankers' from the mind of the people.

People are now beginning to turn against each other on the basis of race, employability etc.

If you don't believe me, just listen to any radio phone-in or TV audience debate.

It's getting like the 80's again. And it's gonna get worse. A lot worse.

Don't let them mess with YOUR MIND.