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Our April 20, 2007 Newsletter
Edition
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IN
THE NEWS:
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STATE
DEPARTMENT WARNS: BE CAREFUL OVERSEAS - March 30, 2007
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As
if you needed reminding: It's dangerous out there. And if your parents'
warnings that the world is full of malevolent people and mishap-prone
places didn't stick, the State Department is ready to fill the
void. From the spectacular to the mundane, while terrorism grabs
headlines, most problems faced by Americans abroad have nothing to do
with al-Qaida but rather cutthroat con artists, corrupt officers and
dismal drivers. The colorful quirks of foreign lands, be they
unscrupulous cabaret girls in Cyprus or the arbitrary enforcement of
unwritten laws in Laos, are laid bare each year in safety and security
reports compiled by State Department analysts for every country on
Earth. The department puts them online, mainly for employees of
U.S. firms doing business abroad but are available to anyone. According
to this year's updates: Driving in Qatar is (like) participating
in an extreme sport, Police involvement in criminal activity is both
legendary and true in Mexico, Be aware of drink prices in Croatia's
gentlemen's clubs, where tourists can unknowingly run up exorbitant bar
bills, sometimes in the thousands of dollars. But unflattering
descriptions of countries are not uncommon. The tragedy of Haiti
is that Haitians have become great leaders in every profession and in
every country, with the exception of Haiti, says the report for the
impoverished Caribbean nation, warning that trained personnel are
lacking to respond to any emergency. In deadpan fashion, another
report praises Maltese authorities at the expense of the Mediterranean
island's closest neighbor. Despite Malta's geographic proximity
to Italy, organized crime is almost nonexistent, it says.
Although deadly, the Mafia, along with natural disasters and
terrorists, should be the least of your worries outside the United
States. Automobile accidents cause the biggest portion of
non-natural, non-combat deaths of Americans abroad, accounting for
nearly a third of the more than 2,000 cases reported to the State
Department between 2004 and 2006. After accidents, assaults,
suicides, and drowning are the next leading causes of U.S. civilian
deaths overseas, according to the State Department. Terrorist attacks
claim far fewer American lives, it says. Yet there are perhaps
less well-known dangers lurking beyond U.S. borders - Even the staid
environs and clockwork efficiency of Switzerland can be risky, the
analysts say. Being surrounded by the majestic, snow-covered
Alps, combined with a pervasive sense of orderliness, it is
understandable that travelers might forget that the city of Geneva and
the adjacent cantons are not immune from crime, the report on Swiss
security says.
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http://wfrv.com/topstories/topstories_story_089092701.html
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EDITORS NOTES:
There is crime in Switzerland and US citizens should be on guard in the
city of Geneva? Switzerland is a less well-known lurking danger
according to US State Department analysts? Say it isn't so.
You have got to love these guys from the US State Department and thank
goodness American taxpayer funds are hard at work to provide these
valuable services (and jobs to these guys), otherwise these poor jokers
might end up working the graveyard shift writing monologues for Jay
Leno. Of course, if you believe everything that they have to say,
you would be afraid to go anywhere. In addition, they publish
common sense as some sort of super selective highly thought out
investigated intelligence. Here are some truths for you - Any
place there are people, there is crime, and any place there are lots of
people (such as in a big city) there tends to be more crime. Of
course the real question is - Is there more crime, less crime, or about
the same in terms of where you live at the moment? For example,
Washington D.C. is the murder capital of the United States, aside from
being the nations capital as well. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin
Islands get top honors for theft, robberies and violent crime in
general for the entire Caribbean. Crooked cops? Well, New
Orleans takes the cake there, with uniformed police officers robbing
stores in broad daylight, and putting the stuff into the trunks of
police cars during Hurricane Katrina. I find it hard to believe
that the police in Mexico are that bad, but then again - who
knows? And what about Credit Card theft? A few years ago
there was a news story about a hotel clerk in the Holiday Inn located
near Newark Airport who was stealing credit card information from the
guests. It took about 8 months or so to catch the guy as someone
figured out all the victims stayed at the Holiday Inn. The
Holiday Inn - is nothing sacred anymore? Yes, the bogeyman is out
there, and he is always located in a foreign country don't-cha
know. The American Express Company used to have a slogan - never
leave home without it. The motto of the US State Department would
seem to be - just never leave home. Oh, and by the way, beware of
the Swiss (I wonder what the Swiss tell their citizens when
contemplating a visit to America?).
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HUMAN
CAPITAL -
Sunday, 01 April 2007
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In
common with much of the economy, growth in the Middle East banking and
finance sector is growing so fast that it is putting great demands on
resources. In this case, however, the shortage is in skilled staff. As
local banks expand into new services and multinational institutions
move into the region, they will have to adopt new strategies to find
and attract the right people. Jennifer Telfer, HR leader,
Deloitte & Touche Dubai, says: Supply in the GCC region is very
limited. Our recruitment is not just in banking and finance, but
for accountants and auditors, and we've had to spread our net much
wider than the GCC. Lucrative packages, as well as low or
non-existent tax rates in many Middle East countries, are undoubtedly
an attraction for many people coming from overseas, but Van Meir says
that people increasingly come to develop their careers, rather than
just their bank balances. Boutiques as well as banks are now
developing more and more interesting services and products, and that is
attracting people. Professionals now see Dubai as an interesting
career move, rather than just a lifestyle choice, she says. It's
no longer so that Dubai is the end of the road. In the past, people
wouldn't necessarily have expected to be able to step back into the
London, Frankfurt or Singapore markets, but I don't think that is
necessarily true anymore.
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http://www.arabianbusiness.com/
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EDITORS NOTES:
So, we now hear that the banking sector is booming in the Middle East,
and that bank employees are in short supply in Dubai. In fact,
unlike declining wages in other markets, bankers are in such short
supply in this Arab country that it has actually pushed salaries
up. So if the banking industry is doing so well there (and other
places, such as India and China) - what is going on elsewhere in the
banking industry? Let us take a look.
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PNC
PREPARES FOR LAYOFFS - By Katie Arcieri,
April 3, 2007
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PNC
Financial Services Group Inc. is preparing to potentially lay off
hundreds of people following the completion of its $6 billion purchase
of Mercantile Bankshares Corp. last month. The layoffs stem from
PNC's plan to save about $100 million in operating costs, probably
through job cuts throughout the Mercantile network, which includes
Citizens National Bank, Mercantile Bank and Trust and Annapolis Banking
and Trust. PNC spokesman Fred Solomon said he didn't know how
many employees would be affected in Anne Arundel County and Annapolis.
He said the majority of cuts will be back-office and support positions,
such as data entry and accounting.
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http://www.hometownannapolis.com/
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CITIGROUP
TO LAYOFF THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES
By
Marie Coronel - 03/26/2007
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Citigroup
announced Monday it's planning to lay off thousands of people around
the world; it's also one of the largest employers in the region.
The financial services company plans to get rid of as many as 15,000
high cost jobs. It's part of a plan to change the focus outside
of the United States.
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http://www.nbc25.com/
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CITIGROUP
TO DOUBLE OUTLETS IN CHINA - By Andrew Yeh in
Beijing - March 29, 2007
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Citigroup,
the world's largest bank by market capitalization, plans to double its
China outlets to more than 30 by the end of this year, chairman and
chief executive Chuck Prince said in Beijing on Thursday. The
bank has 16 outlets in China, mostly in modern cities along the eastern
coast. The newest branch will be opened in the city of Hangzhou, which
lies a short distance from Shanghai.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17850667/
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EDITORS NOTES:
Citigroup is firing 15,000 employees, mostly effecting jobs in New
York, London and Hong Kong, and these layoffs account for about 5
percent of the banks employees. The Citigroup corporate and
investment bank division might lose about 4,000 jobs, reports
said. But take note of the comment about high cost jobs (seems
Citibank is mimicking the Circuit City playbook, albeit on a grander
and cross border scale). At the same time, chief executive
Charles O. Prince said that India has been the single biggest driver of
growth for the banks international operations (and of course they plan
on doubling in size inside of mainland China).
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CHINA
TO HALT ACCUMULATING FOREIGN RESERVES
Reuters
News - March 21, 2007
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China
will stop stockpiling its massive foreign exchange reserves, China's
central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in an interview published
Tuesday. Many people say that foreign exchange reserves in China
are already large enough, Zhou told the Emerging Markets magazine,
whose latest issue was released at a meeting of the Inter-American
Development Bank in Guatemala. We do not intend to go further and
accumulate reserves, Zhou said, adding the government will cut a small
piece of reserves for a new agency to be set up for the management of
its massive foreign reserves, which have swollen because of the trade
surplus. He did not say how much money would be passed to the
agency. China's premier, Wen Jiabao, said last week that plans to
form a new agency to invest part of the country's swollen foreign
exchange reserves, the world's biggest at more than $1 trillion, would
not have an adverse impact on the U.S. dollar. China's central bank
also said last week it would not significantly adjust the composition
of those reserves. A large part of them are denominated in
dollars. As the reserves have ballooned on the back of China's
record trade surpluses, demands have grown for part of the hoard to be
invested more aggressively. Investors have long fretted over
Beijing's plans to diversify its foreign exchange investments because
of their potential impact on global markets. Studies have shown
investment by China and other Asian countries in U.S. bonds has reduced
long-term American interest rates by as much as 2 percentage
points. The state of Chinese trade affects such companies as IBM,
Wal-Mart and HSBC.
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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-03/21/content_832848.htm
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IRAN
LEADS ATTACK AGAINST US DOLLAR
By
Jerome R. Corsi - Global Research, April 12, 2007
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While
the world press has focused on Iran's plans to move ahead with
enriching uranium, Tehran continues to wage economic war against the
U.S. dollar behind the scenes. Tehran has reached a decision to
end all oil sales in dollars, according to statements by Iran's central
bank governor, Ehrabhim Sheibany, in Kuala Lumpur at the end of last
month. Zhuhai Zhenrong Trading, a Chinese state-run company that
buys 240,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran, approximately 10 percent
of Iran's 2.2 million barrels per day total output, has confirmed a
shift to the euro for its Iranian oil purchases. About 60 percent
of Iran's oil income is currently in non-dollar currencies, according
to Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, who is responsible for international
affairs for National Iranian Oil. Even Japanese refiners who buy
some 550,000 barrels of oil a day from Iran have indicated their
willingness to buy Iran's oil in yen. China, which buys
approximately 12 percent of its crude oil supply from Iran, signed last
year a long-term $100 billion deal with Iran to develop Iran's giant
Yadvaran oil field. Estimates indicate China could draw 150,000 barrels
of oil from the Yadvaran field for the next 25 years, assuring Iran's
position as one of the major suppliers of oil to China for decades to
come. One possibility is that China may begin paying Iran for oil
in yuans. Meanwhile, China, which now holds $1 trillion in
foreign reserve holdings, announced March 20 it will no longer
accumulate foreign exchange reserves. This is more bad news for
the dollar, since approximately 70 percent of China's $1 trillion in
foreign reserve holdings are held in U.S. dollar assets. About
half of China's foreign exchange U.S. assets are invested in U.S.
treasuries, which are vital to financing the continuing U.S. federal
budget deficits.
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http://www.globalresearch.ca/
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EURO
HITS 2-YEAR HIGH VERSUS DOLLAR
By
Matt Moore, Associated Press - April 18, 2007
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The
euro rose to a two-year high Wednesday but stopped short of hitting its
all-time record, even as the British pound reached a 26-year high after
breaking the $2 mark this week. The rise of both currencies is an
indication that Europe's economy is performing better than expected and
not wavering amid fears of a slowdown in the United States and booming
competition from China. It also makes Europe more expensive for
U.S. visitors, but shopping trips to the United States more enticing
for Europeans.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4726230.html
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DOOMSDAY
FOR THE GREENBACK - By Mike Whitney -
Global Research, April 11, 2007
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The
American people are in La-la land. If they had any idea of what the
Federal Reserve was up to they would be out on the streets waving fists
and pitchforks. Instead, we go our business like nothing is
wrong. Are we really that stupid? What is it that people
don't understand about the trade deficit? Its not rocket science. The
Current Account Deficit is over $800 billion a year. That means that we
are spending more than we are making and savaging the dollar in the
process. Presently, we need more than $2 billion of foreign investment
per day just to keep the wheels from coming off the cart.
Everyone agrees that the current trade imbalances are unsustainable and
will probably trigger major economic disruptions that will thrust us
towards a global recession. Still, Washington and the Fed stubbornly
resist any change in policy that might reduce over-consumption or
reverse present trends. The trade deficit puts downward
pressure on the dollar and acts as a hidden tax. In fact, that is what
it is--a tax! Every day the deficit grows, more money is stolen from
the retirements and life savings of working class Americans. Its an
inflation bombshell obscured by the bland rhetoric of free markets and
deregulation. Consider this: In 2002 the euro was $.87 on the
dollar. Last Friday (4-6-07) it closed at $1.34-- a better than 50%
gain for the euro in just 4 years. The same is true of gold. In April
2000, gold was selling for $279 per ounce. Last Friday, at the close of
the market it skyrocketed to $679.50---more than double the
price. Gold is not going up; it is simply a meter on the waning
value of the dollar. The reality is that the dollar is tanking
big-time, and the main culprit is the widening trade deficit. The
demolition of the dollar is not accidental. The massive expansion of
the Federal government, the un-funded tax cuts, the low interest rates
and the steep increases in the money supply have all been carried out
in full-view of the American people. Nothing has been hidden. These
policies have had a devastating effect on the dollar, which has been
slumping since Bush took office in 2000. Now that foreign purchases of
US debt are dropping off, the greenback could plunge to even greater
depths. There is really no way of knowing how far the dollar will fall.
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http://www.globalresearch.ca/
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EDITORS NOTES:
We have talked about this before. Which is to ask, after a US
reliance on foreigners and foreign nations to fund US Government
borrowing - What if those foreigners decided to throw in the
towel? Indeed we reported in a recent newsletter issue that many
central banks in other countries have already started to dump the
greenback. Now China is supposedly doing the same (and they are
of course the Big Dog on the block, so to speak, in terms of how many
US Dollars they are holding). The above article speculates that
lack of continued foreign willingness to lend could push domestic US
interest rates up by 200 basis points, or lets just say that your 6
percent adjustable rate mortgage could become 8 percent based on what
China does alone.
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CHINA'S RISE INEVITABLE - KISSINGER
- By Li
Xing - April 3, 2007
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The
United States and China should cooperate to face up a host of issues
that challenge the world today, Dr Henry A. Kissinger, former US
secretary of state, told the 800-plus scholars and students Tuesday,
April 3, in Beijing. During his speech, Kissinger, who made his
first visit to China in 1971 on a secret trip that broke the ice frozen
for some 20 years, couldn't help but share his amazement about the
changes that have taken place in China. China has developed in a
manner that none of us could have imagined 35 years ago, he said. China
has grown with the dedication of its people by its own
effort. He said he believed in China's rise. The rise of
China is inevitable, and there is nothing we could do about it, he
said. There is nothing we could do to prevent it or should do to
prevent.
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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-04/03/content_842639.htm
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HOUSES
CHEAPER THAN CARS IN DETROIT
Reuters
- March 21, 2007
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With
bidding stalled on some of the least desirable residences in Detroit's
collapsing housing market, even the fast-talking auctioneer was feeling
the stress. After selling house after house in the Motor City for
less than the $29,000 it costs to buy the average new car, the
auctioneer tried a new line: The lumber in the house is worth more than
that! As Detroit reels from job losses in the US auto industry,
the depressed city has emerged as a boomtown in one area: foreclosed
property. It also stands as a case study in the economic pain
from a housing bust as analysts consider whether a developing crisis in
mortgages to high-risk borrowers will trigger a slowdown in the broader
US economy. The rising cost of mortgage financing for Detroit
borrowers with weak credit has added to the downdraft from a slumping
local economy to send home values plunging faster than many investors
anticipated a few months ago. The city, which has lost more than
half its population in the past 30 years and struggled with rising
crime, failing schools and other social problems, largely missed out on
the housing boom that swept much of the country in recent years.
Prices have gained less than 2 percent per year in the five years since
2001, when the auto industry entered a renewed slump. Steve
Izairi, 32, who re-financed his own house in suburban Dearborn and sold
his restaurant to begin buying rental properties in Detroit two years,
was concerned that houses he thought were bargains at $70,000 two years
ago were now selling for just $35,000. At least 16 Detroit houses
up for sale on Sunday sold for $30,000 or less. A boarded-up
bungalow on the city's west side brought $1,300. A four-bedroom house
near the original Motown recording studio sold for $7,000. You
can't buy a used car for that, said Izairi. It's a gamble, and
you have to wonder how low it's going to get. Detroit, where
unemployment runs near 14 percent and a third of the population lives
in poverty, leads the nation in new foreclosure filings, according to
tracking service RealtyTrac. With large swaths of the city now
abandoned, banks are reclaiming and reselling Detroit homes from buyers
who can no longer afford payments at seven times the national
rate. Michigan was the only state to see home prices fall in
2006. The national average price rose almost 6 percent but prices
slipped 0.4 percent here, according to a federal study. The
state's jobless rate of 7.1 percent in January was also the second
highest in the nation, behind only Mississippi. Realtor Ron Walraven
had a three-bedroom house in the suburb of Bloomfield Hills that had
listed for US$525,000 - sell for just US$130,000 at the auction.
Once we've seen the last person leave Michigan, then I think we'll be
able to say we've seen the bottom, he said.
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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-03/21/content_832825.htm
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EDITORS NOTES:
Cash will be king in this new economy, assuming that the government,
inflation, or devaluation does not take it away from you (which should
have you thinking at this point). On the other hand, real estate
in India is booming. According to a recent news article from the
International Herald Tribune:
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Goa,
like much of India, is in the midst of a real estate frenzy, and
Patrao, a man nearly 60, a veteran of the construction business in
California and New York, is nothing if not an entrepreneur. His
ambitions were fueled as much by his canny business sense as by Goa's
enticements. The houses he imagined building would sell for at least
$180,000, he reckoned, or more than twice the investment in the land
and construction costs. Real estate, he figured, was the way to go in
India. One billion people - Limited land supply. It's a no-brainer, he
concluded.
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http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/18/asia/web.0318-goa.php
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EDITORS NOTES
(continued): One million borrowers in the US are now (April 2007)
either in foreclosure or are more than three months behind on their
house payments as of the end of 2006. Foreclosure filings in
February rose 12 percent from a year ago, and as many as 2.4 million
Americans may lose their homes because of the collapse of sub-prime
lenders, according to estimates by the Center for Responsible
Lending. Depending upon which US Government and private
statistics you look at, it has been estimated that up to 20 percent of
the US population are comprised of the poor and the working poor - and
those numbers are growing. To borrow the phrase from Mr. Patrao
from the above article - It's a no-brainer (where all of this is
headed). The ticking social time bomb is much more real than you
think, and the resulting politics as well. Which is to say,
remember what happened the last time the US economy went south in a
very big way (taxes went up, private gold holdings were confiscated,
currency controls were put into place, and so on). But, the
economic picture does not look so bleak in other parts of the
globe. Maybe that is why Halliburton's CEO is moving the main
office and himself to Dubai, along with a growing list of executives in
other companies as well (perhaps getting out of Houston before you know
what hits the you know what, which is another major US city facing a
real estate correction). Again, maybe one can read too much into
certain things, and maybe my comments constitute a chicken little
syndrome - but the world news and statistics are out there for you to
make up your own mind.
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HEAD OF KANSAS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
DEPARTMENT FILES FOR BANKRUPCY
The Associated Press - April 10, 2007
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The
head of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and his wife
have filed for personal bankruptcy, citing debts that include $60,000
in back taxes. Roderick Bremby 47, and his wife, April, a
Lawrence doctor, have a combined income of $204,533 a year, according
to a bankruptcy filing in a Kansas City, Kan., federal court.
Bremby, who runs a $217 million state agency, said he and his wife are
typical Americans who file for protection under the bankruptcy
laws. Bremby and his wife have nearly $600,000 in debts and
$464,000 in assets, according to court records. He implied that the
bankruptcy was caused in part by loss of income for medical reasons,
but would not elaborate. Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita
Republican, said the personal bankruptcy is not a cause for concern if
medical issues are to blame, but she would be concerned if it was
caused by irresponsible spending. Landwehr is chairwoman of the
House Health and Human Services Committee, which oversees KDHE.
The bankruptcy filing shows that the couple owes more than $52,000 in
federal income taxes from 2004 and 2005, about $3,800 in 2004 state
income taxes and $4,600 in Douglas County property taxes. Bremby
is paid $8,197 a month as KDHE secretary; his wife makes $9,166 a month
as a doctor for Sisters of Charity LVN Health System. Their monthly
take-home pay is about $11,000, court records show.
.
http://www.kansascity.com/116/story/65272.html
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EDITORS NOTES:
Hey, it is pretty scary stuff when a government official has to file
for bankruptcy and is US$60,000 in the hole, and three years behind on
Federal income taxes, plus State income and local municipal property
taxes as well. But it could happen to anyone - no? Lets
face it - it can be really difficult to get by on an after tax income
of US$11,000 per month these days. But two things here concern
me. First off, it is reported that the poor guy claims he got
into trouble as a result of lost income due to medical reasons.
Medical Reasons? He is the director of the state department of
health - and his wife is a doctor for the Sisters of Charity. But
here is the real kicker. He says he and his wife are typical
Americans. If the typical average American is going broke on an
annual income of over US$200,000 per year, the country is in serious
trouble. Also, if the state director of health who has a wife
that is a doctor (employed by the sisters of charity no less) cannot
get help with medical costs - then how well would the average guy other
there with no medical insurance fair out? Something to think
about, and something to be worried about if this indeed was (is)
typical.
.
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POVERTY
AND POPULATION: THE CRUCIAL LINKS
By
Lester R. Brown - April 4, 2007
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The
twenty-first century began on an inspiring note when the countries that
belong to the United Nations adopted the goal of cutting the number of
people living in poverty in half by 2015. And as of 2005, the world is
ahead of schedule for reaching this goal. But not all regions are
benefiting. There are two big reasons for the apparent success:
China and India. China's economic growth of 9 per cent a year over the
last quarter-century and India's acceleration to close to 6 per cent a
year over the last decade are together lifting hundreds of millions out
of poverty. In China, the number of people living in poverty
dropped from 648 million in 1981 to 218 million in 2001, the greatest
reduction in poverty in history. India is also making impressive
progress on the economic front. Under the dynamic leadership of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, who took office in 2004, poverty is being
attacked directly by upgrading infrastructure at the village level.
Targeted investments are aimed at the poorest of the poor. If the
international community actively reinforces this effort in
reform-minded India, hundreds of millions more could be lifted out of
poverty.
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http://www.peopleandplanet.net/
.
EDITORS NOTES:
I will not bore you with the same old diatribe, BUT do take note of
what is taking place. In other words, I ask the question - Which
countries, or we can also say which citizens, are starting to see a
decline in regards to their standard of living and which countries are
moving up the ladder? Why are all the American Corporations hot
and heavy over these so-called free trade agreements? The answer
is because that is where the money is, or that is where the people that
still have money to buy things are located. If some of the
previous above articles are true, a whole lot of Americans are broke
(or will be shortly), but it would seem that some citizens in previous
Third World countries are moving up the economic
ladder.
.
.
READERS
WRITE IN:
.
Dear
Mr. Schroeder: The USA's politicians have so refused to stop
illegal aliens and even Greenspan says he thinks that skilled wages in
the USA should fall. There are several problems with this
attitude: 1. The illegal aliens commit fraud and identity theft
to work in someone else's name. 2. Damage and corruption in the
business community. The businesses do not modernize because cheap labor
is available. Many are reported as cheating the illegal aliens out of
part of their pay. There are many pending cases where US companies,
even those with the HB class visas for their workers are being
prosecuted for chattel slavery. High turnover because of low pay
and poor working conditions, which are often also violations of US law,
cause less time and effort to be spent learning the business which
results in low efficiency and low competency of the workers.
Lower standards prevail and the quality of products and competitiveness
falls. 3. Fraud and illegal presence lead to more frauds, of
necessity to remain, and huge taxpayer legal bills when
discovered. Identity fraud costs hundreds of hours and thousands
of dollars to correct when an illegal alien uses your identity to
commit frauds. 4. Illegal aliens are a net drain on the economy
because their low wages never cover the costs of public services for
them and their families. None of the low wage groups pay enough
taxes to cover the public services provided. 5. It is often
publicized that more than half of all immigrant families in the USA,
legal and illegal receive public benefits- welfare, free schooling in
schools for special needs from language to medical problems, free
medical care, food stamps, translators and other benefits. 6.
Most are from Mexico and demand racial preferences over native-born
citizens. This is discrimination against the native born citizens
and increases resentment and divisions in the country. 7. The
percentages are in dispute but the lowest is that immigrants who are in
jail or prison or previously convicted of crimes are convicted at rates
of more than 2.5 times that of the average of the native born. 8.
Those who stay will also be paid social security and other benefits for
which no money is being retained and invested. 9. The Hidden Cost
of Illegal Workers, by DR Francis, CSmonitor.com March 19, 2007 and the
speeches by David Walker, Comptroller of the Currency of the US show
that it is NOT social security which is the biggest financial disaster
for the USA but MEDICARE and especially MEDICAID which is the program
which low wage workers, illegal aliens included, use. The costs of
Medicaid have already bankrupted hundreds of hospitals and are the
biggest budget problems for many states. 10. Already in some
cities in the USA Mexicans have begun forcing, by threats, assaults,
and murder native-born citizens of the USA out of their homes. Los
Angeles calls it a gang war and hundreds have died. But is it
only a gang war when the neighborhoods support it? Or is it the
beginning of a war based on ethnic blocks? It is too soon to be
certain but as it has already spread to more than 20 cities, with great
efforts to keep it out of the news, it looks more like a coming race
war according to the motto of several Mexican organizations which when
translated is: Everything for people of our race, nothing for those
outside our race. See La Mecha and the Spanish language pages, no
not the English language pages, only the Spanish language pages.
US born blacks and others are already becoming afraid to be alone
around groups of Spanish speaking people in many areas. So
whether the Congress passes legalization for illegal aliens or not the
really important actions may happen on city streets. It looks
very likely to explode and the expected economic downturn will make
many illegal aliens, particularly in construction jobs, which they
dominate in some cities, unemployed and unneeded. What will happen then?
.
EDITORS REPLY:
As always, thank you for your letter and comments. The truth of
the matter is, some people think I put these kinds of topics into the
newsletter simply to complain for the simple sake of complaining, which
to some extent, what is happening for example with the Lou Dobbs news
program (I applaud the program, but there never seems to be any answers
or resolutions to the questions and or complaints being
presented). Which is to say, I think it important to highlight
and discuss certain issues, but it also equally and perhaps even more
important to understand how politics, economics and social policies
play out and affect your own personal life, and economic well-being,
and then figure out what to do about it (if you will be negatively
affected). I am not xenophobic or anti-immigrant, nor have any
animosity towards Latinos (how can I be when I live in a Latin American
Spanish speaking country?). But rather, my goal is, to get
clients to think very seriously about what the future may hold
economically and otherwise, and then figure out what they want to do
about it. My solution is to head for the exit, and I have
certainly done myself what I discuss or advocate, but for some that is
a radical move. But, I do think it interesting to note the
numbers of middle class and upper middle class Americans, Canadians and
Europeans that are buying real estate in the Dominican Republic,
Panama, Ecuador, and Argentina - whom are relocating lock, stock and
barrel - just to name a few recipient countries in the Western
hemisphere. In other words, as I have said before, a case of
trading places.
.
The
real problem is that many, many middle class people both in Europe and
the US feel that attaining and maintaining the traditional life-style
they have become accused to previously, is becoming harder and more
expensive. Unfortunately, they do not understand why, or what
they can do about it, and thus the goal of trying to develop an
understanding of how and why certain policies (economic and political)
do matter. Better explained, as just one example, why the Chinese
Government dumping US$1 Trillion US Dollars of currency reserves is
indeed of interest to you.
.
The
fact is that with any economic policy (and we are looking at
immigration issues strictly in economic terms) there are beneficiaries
and those affected negatively. There are interest groups as well
pushing for certain agendas also, as there always is. The
problems facing the majority of the so-called modern, industrialized
welfare states are demographic as it pertains to the health and
viability of the welfare systems in these countries (a large percentage
of the population is aged and approaching retirement, and there are
simply not enough younger people on the back end, working and paying
into the system as before). We all know that these programs
basically are wealth transfer programs and operate in essence as a
Ponzi scheme. Imagine a Conga Line that cannot keep going unless
you keep adding new people at the tail end. In brief, this is the
goal of immigration policy and initiatives, be it formal policy, as the
case with Spain (that has actively issued a large number of employment
related visas in its former Latin American colonies) or informal
policy, turning a blind eye towards illegal immigration, as I believe
is the case in the US. Which to say, the goal is to make up the
short fall, or get new younger workers onto the tail end of the Conga
line, so to speak. And in the case in the US, we know that
according to 2004 statistics,
10 percent of the Social Security Administration cash flow, or US$65 Billion Dollars, came in from
illegal alien workers utilizing false or phony ID documents. So,
while a problem at one level is helped, a problem at another level is
created or made worse. Which is to say, this is all about pumping
free cash into the Social Security system, but the local state
governments are the entities getting stuck with higher public education
and health care costs. If you think all this is about helping
poor Latinos get a slice of the American Dream, you are kidding
yourself. It is about the money, or getting free money we should
say, into the welfare coffers. In any event, all this sort of
reminds me of the television announcements for prescription
drugs. Take a pill to supposedly remedy one health problem, but
side effects include nausea, vomiting, dysentery, dementia, higher risk
of cancer, and whatever else. In other words, is the cure
possibly worse than the disease? In the case of any economic
policy or issues (immigration, interest rates, government fiscal
policy, and so on) it really all depends upon what side of the fence
you are on.
.
I
find it very interesting to compare the Dominican Republic, as just one
example, when it comes to illegal immigration issues. I have
often made the comment that Haiti is to the Dominican Republic as
Mexico is to the US (and illegal Haitians in the DR, just as illegal
Mexicans in the US, do much of the agricultural and lower level
construction work). But, the real difference is how these two
governments handle things (talking about the Dominican Republic and the
US). Which is to say, there certainly is no way near the level of
social welfare programs in the Dominican Republic as they exist in the
US or Europe, and aside from that, illegal immigrants are effectively
barred from the public health and public education system (of course if
they do choose to apply for legal residency, they certainly can do so,
if they wish). Now, you might think that to be cruel and
certainly the various so-called human rights organizations based out of
the very same wealthy welfare state countries have cried foul.
BUT, who has a severe government budgetary problem in terms of public
education and health care? Is it fair to force legal residents
and local citizens to subsidize public services for illegal
immigrants? When other foreign governments decide NOT to go down
the same path as the North American and European countries, they are of
course derided. But who really is being more foolish in terms of
long-term costs to taxpayers and the society one is trying to
supposedly save? In Paris, France it has been estimated that 40
percent of the immigrant Muslim population is unemployed and on the
welfare dole. Who is to blame? Is this the fault of the
immigrants themselves, or the politicians that allow it? At least
in the case of the US, the common consensus is that illegal immigrant
Mexicans are there to work.
.
In
any event, I always encourage people to read, investigate and connect
the dots, so to speak. Problems with US illegal immigration is
not about immigration at all, but rather something else, just as many
other projects, policies and initiatives have a plethora of end goals
and agendas that of course are never publicly discussed. All of
these things, such as globalization, immigration matters, outsourcing
of jobs, free trade agreements, and many other topics are more
interrelated than you might think. The real question is NOT why
any government is going down this path (we know why, or we can figure
it out if we take the time), or why they seemingly are doing nothing
about certain complaints by the middle-class (doing nothing is in fact
doing something when you think about it). In fact, I think much
of this complaining is a waste of time and personal resources, as the
average person does NOT have the financial ability or time to fight
it. On the contrary, I do think the key question is, knowing what
you know, and knowing how some of these issues may affect you down the
road - what do you want to do about it? Do you want you want to
continue writing letters to politicians or making phone calls to talk
radio programs? Or do you want to do something that may offer
some real, tangible and concrete benefit? Such as making sure you
have assets denominated in another currency to protect against
devaluation, or considering other ideas and opportunities for the long
-term benefit of yourself and your family. Everyone has the right
to make decisions or take actions (legally of course) to safeguard ones
economic future. The problem is though, it would seem that what
large corporations and some wealthy individuals have already done are
being made off limits to the middle class. That of course tells
you something as well.
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