Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GraceZ who wrote (19031)	12/20/2004 3:29:19 AM
From: Elroy Jetson	Respond to of 116555

Ronald Reagan was an opportunist who strongly believed in following the most popular beliefs of the day. Likely driven by a mixture of ambition and cowardice. Even when he was governor of California, one of his most remarkable flip-flops involved his opposition to payroll withholding of state income taxes. "My feet are in concrete," he said, over and over. But in 1970, when the state faced a serious cash flow crisis, Reagan finally gave in. "That sound you hear," he told reporters, "is the concrete breaking around my feet." As he campaigned, he had been dismissive of some environmental concerns. "You know, a tree is a tree," he said. "How many more do you need to look at?" But as governor, he signed some of the nation's strictest air and water quality laws, increased state parkland and started requiring environmental impact reports on state construction projects. He signed a historic abortion reform bill authored by a Democrat that vastly liberalized the procedure in California. Advocates promoted it as a model for other states. Later, as a national political figure, Reagan would hold the support of the most militant anti-abortionists, while doing relatively little to advance their cause. To justify increasing defense spending while slashing taxes, Reagan embraced supply-side economics — a theory that enjoyed little standing among many economists. Supply-siders held that higher spending and lower taxes would not increase the deficit. Instead, the theory held, tax cuts would unleash such a wave of economic growth that government income would actually rise. It did not happen. As defense spending rose and the tax cuts kicked in, the predicted surge in economic growth did not materialize. The deficit soared toward record levels. Eventually, the national debt nearly tripled. Before Reagan's first year was up, the nation's economy plunged into the worst downturn in years. By March of 1982, Reagan, who had acknowledged "a slight and, I hope, a short recession," was reduced to denying that the nation was in a depression. Unemployment reached a 41-year record of 10.8% that November, and the global effects of the slowdown did severe damage to Third World debtor nations and the world's banking system. Reagan's budget director, David Stockman, was among the disillusioned. He granted a series of devastating interviews to William Greider, who published them in the Atlantic Monthly, quoting Stockman as saying, "None of us really understands what's going on with all these numbers." If the political winds changed, Ronald Reagan would have been one of the charter members of the American Communist Party, a well known Commissar and fabled executioner of capitalist-roaders and their running dog lackeys. It's what opportunists do. .

To: GraceZ who wrote (19031)	12/20/2004 9:39:02 AM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Japan unveils 82.18 trln yen FY05 budget; 1st drop in bond issuance in 4 yrs Monday, December 20, 2004 3:50:59 AM afxpress.com TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Finance Minster Sadakazu Tanigaki has presented to the Cabinet a budget for next year of 82.18 trln yen, up just 72 bln yen from the initial budget for this year The budget for fiscal 2005, which starts next April 1, projects a decline in bond issuance and in discretionary spending. Yet overall spending will still rise fractionally due to an increase in debt-servicing costs The draft budget provides 47.28 trln yen for general account spending, or discretionary spending on defense, education, health services and other areas where the amount can be raised or lowered by political agreement. The budgeted amount represents the first decline in three years The budget calls for the sale of 34.39 trln yen of new bonds, a slight decline for the first time in four years. Tax revenue is estimated to increase because of the economic recovery and the plan to halve tax breaks introduced in 1999. As a result, the ratio of tax revenue to total revenue will rise to 53.5 pct from 50.8 pct in the initial budget for fiscal 2004 Some 41.8 pct of the budget will be funded through debt, down from 44.6 pct in the current year Debt-servicing costs are budgeted at 18.44 trln yen, representing one-fifth of overall spending and up 873.7 bln yen from the amount in the initial budget for this year Japanese central government debt by the end of fiscal 2005 is estimated to rise to a record 602 trln yen, including construction government bonds sold to finance specific public works projects The ratio of central government debt to GDP stands at 151.2 pct, the highest among OECD countries Combined central and local government debt is projected to total 774 trln yen by March 2006. "Although there is a lot more left for us to do to consolidate government spending, on the whole we are able to show a basic direction toward reduced spending," Tanigaki said Tanigaki highlighted three accomplishments -- a decline in bond issuance, the decline in general account spending, and the resulting improvement in the primary balance of the general account The primary budget deficit foreseen in the fiscal 2005 budget is 15.95 trln yen, 3.07 trln yen less than in the initial budget for fiscal 2004. It would mean a second straight year of decline in the deficit Spending on social security is set to rise 2.9 pct due to the nation's aging population, whereas spending on foreign aid, on public works and on defense are all set to decline Spending on defense is to decline for the third straight year, by 1.0 pct to 4.86 trln yen -- part of which is set to be spent on the introduction for the ballistic missile defense system Reflecting disputes with China over the investigation of the sea near Japan for natural resources, the budget for prospecting on the continental shelf will increase to 6.7 bln yen from 5.4 bln yen forexstreet.com

To: GraceZ who wrote (19031)	12/20/2004 9:46:06 AM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Japan´s MoF sees end-March 2006 national debt rising to 1.51 times GDP Monday, December 20, 2004 3:58:05 AM afxpress.com Japan's MoF sees end-March 2006 national debt rising to 1.51 times GDP TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - The outstanding national debt held by Japan's central and local governments is expected to reach some 774 trln yen by the end of March 2006, some 1.51 times nominal GDP, according to the latest estimate by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) At the end of March 2005, the combined national debt is forecast to reach 740 trln yen, equivalent to 1.46 times nominal GDP, and significantly up from the low of 278 trln yen at the end of March 1992, when the ratio was just 58.6 pct of GDP Of the total, outstanding debt held solely by the central government will reach 602 trln yen by the end of March 2006, up from 570 trln yen at the end of March 2005, with debt held in the form of government bonds seen standing at 538 trln yen at the end of March 2006, up from 505 trln yen at the end of March 2005 At the end of March 2006, the central government will owe 4.42 mln yen to each citizen of Japan in the form of government debt securities The MoF also estimates that financing from government bonds for the year to March 2006 will fall slightly to 41.8 pct of the budget from 42.1 pct in the year to March 2005. The record ratio was 42.9 pct in the year to March 2004 The MoF report underscored that hypothetically, Japan needs to make interest payment on its government bonds of 24.3 bln yen each day during the year to March 2006, with the annual interest bill seen reaching 8.9 trln yen in the year to March 2006, or 10.8 pct of the total budget The figure for the year to March 2005 is seen at 9.3 pct forexstreet.com

To: GraceZ who wrote (19031)	12/20/2004 10:03:45 AM
From: Knighty Tin	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 116555

And he totally destroyed Patco, the first union stupid enough to endorse him. Reagan basically used his union contacts to rat out his "friends" to the FBI.

To: GraceZ who wrote (19031)	12/20/2004 7:38:04 PM
From: Sidney Reilly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

That is just a politician playing the game if it's even true. The facts are that Reagan fired the air traffic controllers when they went on strike. And he was very pro-management and anti-union during his presidency. Just like Bush. Who cares about the little people.