September 7th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today blasted Barack Obama’s pick for head of the Council of Economic Advisors, Alan Krueger:

“In light of his refusal to condemn the extremist remarks of Teamsters’ boss Jimmy Hoffa, promising to ‘take out’ the tea party, it is deeply disturbing that Barack Obama would nominate someone who has taken the radical position of advocating for the unionization of prisoners. Alan Krueger has even supported paying the minimum wage and overtime to prisoners. This is the man that is supposed to turn our broken economy around?”

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Is the Euro About to Collapse?

By Bill Wilson
Markets have begun pricing in the likelihood of a European collapse, where key members of the eurozone withdraw from the monetary union, banking institutions collapse, and widespread defaults reshape the landscape across the pond.

This possibility, considered remote at best in recent months, is now considered to be at least a conceivable outcome from the ongoing sovereign debt crisis. Its increasing likelihood was embodied in UBS of Switzerland’s recent report, “Euro break-up – the consequences” which concludes that without fiscal union, the monetary union is doomed.

“Under the current structure and with the current membership, the Euro does not work,” writes UBS. “Either the current structure will have to change, or the current membership will have to change.”

Ironically, for its part, UBS views a breakup as “close to zero probability” in the paper, citing numerous legal and political hurdles. Instead, the bank sees “an overwhelming probability is that the Euro moves slowly (and painfully) towards some kind of fiscal integration.”

But considering its overall analysis — that without fiscal union the monetary union will fail — it is hard to envision a scenario under which the eurozone can be saved in the manner UBS considers.
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Obama Economic Advisor Wants To Unionize Prisons And President Spends Labor Day In Detroit

Video by Frank McCaffrey

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Teamster Boss Jimmy Hoffa: 'Let’s take these son-of-a-bitches out!'

By Adam Bitely


The ugly face of Big Labor has reared its head again — this time in Detroit with Obama.

This past weekend, at a Labor Day event in Detroit featuring an address from Obama, Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa threatened anyone opposed to Big Labor and their bought-and-paid-for Democratic political party with war. Hoffa stated, “We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They've got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We're going to win that war.”

And then came Hoffa’s infamous statement that the White House refuses to condemn: “President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son-of-a-bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.”

This threat comes from the Teamsters union, an organization known for its violence and intimidation tactics. Strangely, Obama, who took the stage moments after Hoffa wrapped up his screed against anyone who opposes Labor Unions running the world, failed to condemn the remarks and even expressed how “proud” he was of Hoffa’s leadership. Such comments from Obama seem to fly in the face of the civility he called for around the time of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting earlier this year.
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Renewable Energy Credits Called Out as 'The Ultimate Greenwash'

By Kevin Mooney


The Corporate Renewable Energy Index (CREX), a product of Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Vestas Wind Systems, provides some insight. For the moment, News Corp. appears to be outpacing Starbucks in its commitment to renewables, according to the index.

News Corp. purchases 67 percent of its electricity from renewable in comparison to 58 percent by Starbucks. Researchers with the Cascade Policy Institute, based in Oregon, surmise that public relations schemes are at work. News Corp. is not exactly a media darling, while Starbucks has been winning points in recent years for its environmental posturing. In any event, neither company sits at top of the index. Whole Foods, Intel Corp. and Kohl’s are the leading purchasers, the latest survey shows.

But a significant percentage of the companies listed on CREX did not actually make purchases of renewable energy, the Cascade Policy Institute has revealed. In reality, they are purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs), which Cascade describes as a “fabricated commodity.”

“A REC represents the alleged ‘environmental amenities’ associated with certain forms of electrical power production such as wind or solar,” Cascade reports. “For those in the trade, one REC is created every time one megawatt-hour (MWh) or renewable energy is generated. Two distinct commodities are associated with renewable energy, Cascade explains. First, there is the actual electric output, and second, there is the illusive environmental benefit.
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In Euro Zone, Banking Fear Feeds on Itself

News Link  •  Economy - International

09-06-2011  •  www.nytimes.com 

Remember the collapse of Lehman Brothers? Europeans certainly do.

“This crisis has the potential to be a lot worse than Lehman Brothers,” said George Soros, the hedge fund investor, citing the lack of a pan-European body to handle an extreme banking crisis.

As Europe struggles to contain its government debt crisis, the greatest fear is that one of the Continent’s major banks may fail, setting off a financial panic like the one sparked by Lehman’s bankruptcy in September 2008.
 

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Reported by Ernest Hancock

Obama to propose $300 billion to jump-start jobs

News Link  •  Employment & Jobs

09-06-2011  •  AP 

The economy weak and the public seething, President Barack Obama is expected to propose $300 billion in tax cuts and federal spending Thursday night to get Americans working again. Republicans offered Tuesday to compromise with him on jobs — but also assailed his plans in advance of his prime-time speech.
 

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