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Everything you need to know about the Republican AHCA

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KER Politics this weekend includes two separate discussion on the AHCA Republican version. One by Dennis Deruelle, MD, FHM and a second by Medical Provider Expert James Farley.
Glen an Big Al also opine of the FBI Director’s decision to release to Congress the
notice concerning Hilary Clinton.
We wrap up the Program with a description of the work being done by the Coalition
for a  Prosperous America by CEO Michael Stumo.
  • Politics Segment 1: Dennis Deruelle, MD, FHM opines on the AHCA Republican version passed this week by the House.
  • Politics Segment 2: Glen Downs and Big Al opine on the FBI Director’s statement concerning Clinton and Lynch’s private meeting.
  • Politics Segment 3: Medical Industry Expert James Farley discusses the implication of the Republican AHCA.
  • Politics Segment 4: Michael Stumo Chairman of Coalition for a Prosperous American discusses his organization taxes and employment in America.

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Discussion
156 Comments
    May 06, 2017 06:11 AM

    Trade deficit

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2010/11/walter-e-williams/trade-deficits-are-irrelevant/ Trade deficits are irrelevant. Trade wouldn’t occur if it did not benefit both parties. Leave trade alone. Do you have a trade deficit with your local grocery store? How are you being hurt?

    How to raise wages? Increase capital stock per unit of labor. Economic laws are fundamental.

      May 06, 2017 06:15 AM

      Thanks John for the link to Lew’s article.

      May 06, 2017 06:39 AM

      The right is mostly left these days when it come to economics and Trump is far from the exception.

        May 06, 2017 06:17 AM

        Please explain what you mean Matthew. Thank you.

          May 06, 2017 06:18 AM

          Al, modern “conservatives” are as Keynesian as the Marxists, er, Democrats. They are every bit as bad when it comes to debt and deficit spending. Trump will be as “left” as you can get in this regard and that’s no small thing if you value individual freedom and prosperity – but I won’t go into the linkage here.

          *To be fair to Keynes, these Ds and Rs are even worse than he was.

            May 06, 2017 06:43 PM

            Thanks Matthew, I pretty much agree with what you are saying.

            CFS
            May 07, 2017 07:51 AM

            Matthew, did you mean “conservatives” or Republicans”?
            If you start using the word “conservative” to include “Keynesian” it will lose its real meaning; just like “gay” now means homosexual instead of happy, cheerful, brightly-colored, etc.

            May 07, 2017 07:09 AM

            CFS, I put the word in quotes for exactly the reasons you’re talking about but that ship has already sailed. The media and the masses alike routinely refer to big government fiscal lefties as conservatives.

            CFS
            May 07, 2017 07:16 AM

            ODamn media!

            Have you got a good word to replace the old meaning of conservative?

            May 07, 2017 07:29 AM
            DC
            May 07, 2017 07:48 PM

            +1
            And, (lol) good one, Matthew, on the new definition!

    May 06, 2017 06:00 AM

    To me Hillary Clinton personifies the “Me Generation” which we have gone through, instead of trying to understand what was happening around her she blamed everything on everyone but herself. The “Me generation” is all about “Me”.
    There was a change in manners and morals in America that was brought about by Hillary’s husband bill and by her enabling it to happen, Donald Trump knew this and he paraded Bill Clinton’s affairs in front of the public. People want to relax and be themselves but they weren’t allowed to because of The Clinton’s corrupt ways and the ongoing wars. Change was inevitable and it was in the air but Hillary couldn’t see it because everything is about her, a result of being in the “Me Generation.” DT

      May 06, 2017 06:53 AM

      Ms. Clinton was brought down by the ” Me Generation”, if The FBI director Comey would have enforced the laws and was supported by the Attorney General Ms. Lynch, the Clintons would have realized they couldn’t have gotten away with their crimes and misdemeanors, this would have resulted in a different outcome. But because Comey and Lynch wanted to change the course of history by doing things outside their mandate and create their own legacy ( Me Generation thinking), Ms. Clinton was defeated by what she held so dearly, it’s all about me. DT

        May 06, 2017 06:00 AM

        Eventually this thinking will be Comey’s downfall and his legacy in history.

          May 06, 2017 06:29 AM

          I would like to hear why you feel this way.

          He simply made action known to Congress in a document destined for the “eyes of Congress” only.

          It was the fault of the person who leaked this document for the results. Certainly not Comey’s.

          You have to admit that the meeting on the tarmac smelled to high heaven.

            May 06, 2017 06:08 AM

            The people appointed in the Obama administration are responsible to him, The President sets the agenda and enforces it. That is the way it was with Harry Truman (the buck stops here), remember Warren Harding’s administration, Harding the good old boy put his fishing and gambling buddies in high places and turned a blind eye. If you are going to allow that to happen it means you have something to hide and don’t want to be called on it, and/or you are way over your head, with Harding as with all things it usually is a combination of factors.
            Do you think Obama had something to hide, he certainly was surrounded by people that he appointed and did. If people don’t do their jobs and step beyond their mandate it certainly say’s to me that they were allowed to do what they wanted and they did. Most people are all about themselves. I don’t think Comey believes that he should just be the FBI director but that he has a right to influence political policy, he is an appointed person not elected by the voters. That is what he has shown by his actions. At this stage he could very well be the most powerful person in Washington.

      May 06, 2017 06:24 AM

      Mr. Tracy,

      I have been discussing this subject, although in a broader sense, in both my Bible Study and in my Book Club Discussion Group.

      To elaborate a bit: We all believe that there is truth and there is what people would like to perceive as being the truth. Hence existentialism. The most obvious example of this is transgender thinking. A male is a male and a female is a female. Now, if a male or female want to believe that they are actually the opposite sex, they are turning a falsehood into their truth.

      The actions of the Clinton’s, in my opinion, resulted from their turning falsehoods in their perceived truth. Example, “the law does not apply to us” and “moral values do not apply to us.”

      One would have to say that in the end they were proven wrong.

    CFS
    May 06, 2017 06:51 AM

    Pre-existing conditions:

    Your house is burning down.
    Your state says an insurance company may not deny you thr right to take out insurance right now even though the house is on fire and that the insurance company can only charge what other houses on your street pay for insurance.

    Does that make sense?

      May 06, 2017 06:45 AM

      Obamacare “Death Spiral”: Maryland Insurer Seeks 50% Premium Increase For 2018

      “What we’re seeing is greater sickness levels. The pool of beneficiaries is becoming sicker, in part because healthier people are not coming in at the same level we hoped. We were hoping for more stability. The factors that I have described to you today lead to instability and to a spiral, and we think we are in the beginning of that.”

      http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-05/obamacare-death-spiral-maryland-insurer-seeks-50-premium-increase-2018

        May 06, 2017 06:32 AM

        Probably the biggest error of the original plan!

        Thanks Markedtofuture!

      May 06, 2017 06:31 AM

      Kind of a dramatic example, Professor!

        CFS
        May 06, 2017 06:42 PM

        But elimination of the pre-existing clause would be a mandate on society to socialize the cost of being sick.

        If you say to the insurance company, “you may not discriminate (via charging more) the cost associated with the pre-existing condition”, you are implying that:
        either the insurance company must take a loss, which does not work in the long run, or
        that other healthy insured people must pay extra to cover the costs associated with pre-existing conditions.

          May 06, 2017 06:47 PM

          Of course, Professor.

          The real question is should society, in essence, keep those people alive? I personally believe that it should as long as it has the ability to do so. As a small part of society am I willing to pay my part to make that happen? Of course I am!

            CFS
            May 06, 2017 06:30 PM

            I am not saying society should not assist.

            The problem with hidden socialism is that it becomes impossible to measure how much of a drag on society such rules, regulations and multiple techniques of taxation and record keeping become.

            GH
            May 07, 2017 07:42 AM

            Al, of course that is the humane and caring response.

            However, we need to be more rational and analytical on this matter, and not be ruled by our emotions, or we will get taken to the cleaners yet again.

            CFS’s example of a burning house really isn’t all that dramatic. It’s a great analogy for the chronic degenerative disease that is epidemic in American society.

            The current health system is a sick joke, and all this debate is about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. All it is about is how to pay for a price gouging system, the #1 priority of which is to maximize profits, not to maximize health. These two different priorities, in fact, work very strongly against each other.

            The first priority is for people to learn how to live healthily, and take the responsibility to do so. Without that, no payment scheme matters much. The information is known. But the corruption runs deep, and people are confused by the smoke screen put out by all the parties that profit from chronic ill health.

            Of course we need to reform the payment system, but that is secondary. As long as the epidemic of chronic degenerative disease is advancing, the whole system is just another way for the usual suspects to milk society. We always talk about our debts and deficits. But what is the NPV of our ‘health deficit’–i.e. the epidemic of preventable chronic degenerative disease? It must be staggeringly large.

            If I could recommend a single book on health, an oldie but a goodie:

            http://www.amazon.com/Nutrition-Physical-Degeneration-Weston-Price/dp/0916764206/ref=pd_sim_b_7

          CFS
          May 06, 2017 06:38 PM

          Further, If the pre-existing conditions clause is eliminated, as a question of semantics, I would question the use of the word “insurance”, since it would seriously deviate from standard use of the word, as cost of insurance would no longer correlate (be proportional) to risk.

    May 06, 2017 06:40 AM

    Largest French Newspaper Explains Why It Won’t Cover The Macron Leaks

    Following the French election commission’s demands that media not cover the ‘Macron leaks’, and French TV channels choosing not to mention the hack, France’s largest newspaper, Le Monde, has issued a statement explaining why it will not be reporting on any of the leaked documents (or the actual leak itself)… until after the election has confirmed ‘their man’.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-06/largest-french-newspaper-explains-why-it-wont-cover-macron-leaks

    May 06, 2017 06:43 AM

    Al, your characterization that Comey said that Bill Clinton first found out where Loretta Lynch’s plane was, Phoenix, and then ordered his plane be flown to Phonix so he could talk to her is not correct. Comey never said that is how the meeting went down. Bill Clinton landed in Phoenix and was then made aware that Lynch was also on the tarmac. That is when Bill Clinton found out that Lynch was there. Bill Clinton did not chase Lynch across country to meet her.

      May 06, 2017 06:44 AM

      Mr. Moder,

      I am sorry that you took it that way. I did mean to infer that he chased her around the country in an airplane.

      Do you fine it interesting that were at the same airport at the same time. Kind of an interesting coincidence.

      Al Korelin

        May 06, 2017 06:11 AM

        Yes, it was a coincidence they were both on the Phoenix tarmac. Bill Clinton should not have said a word to Lynch. It was a colossal mistake. He should have know better. Bill had no excuse. It put Comey in a couple difficult positions as a prosecutor he was at no fault being in, and which are highly unusual for his job. First on Hillary, then on Huma/Weiner.

          May 06, 2017 06:13 AM

          WIth what I know, I don’t fault Comey for doing what he did as it was a tough decision. If it changed the election results, so be it.

            May 06, 2017 06:21 AM

            Mr. Moder,

            A couple of great comments. Thank you and again thank you for making me explain my self.

    May 06, 2017 06:17 AM

    Does not matter if both planes were on the tarmac at the same time.
    What matters is….Bill went on the plane, and met with Lynch. That was his mistake, which he should have known better, that was not an accident.
    He could have easily, just phoned her from his plane, without a face to face, and said hello. A skilled politician and lawyer for 40 yrs. knows the game……..jmho

      May 06, 2017 06:31 AM

      Jerry, the trouble with using cell phones as you know they can be intercepted and recorded, what he did was too try to play it safe, he wanted to talk to her in person but that walk across the tarmac also exposed him, it is better to be honest and then it’s not a problem, but he couldn’t do that, now could he. DT

        May 06, 2017 06:45 AM

        Great point yet again Mr. Tracy!

        May 06, 2017 06:08 AM

        DICK, if you do not have anything to hide, using a phone is no big deal. But, Bill was and is not an honest person, so, that leads me to believe he was trying to get his wife off the hot seat, with a meeting which could not be recorded.

          May 06, 2017 06:10 AM

          They have been after Bill and Hilly for 30 yrs……..from Whitewater forward.

            May 06, 2017 06:11 AM

            The Clintons are BAD NEWS PERIOD

            May 06, 2017 06:14 AM

            What is the body count so far………38 person dead around the Clinton.

            May 06, 2017 06:20 AM

            persons….clintons …

          May 06, 2017 06:22 AM

          Of course Jerry!

          May 06, 2017 06:24 AM

          Jerry, I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers, I was just making a point I thought you missed. DT

            May 06, 2017 06:11 AM

            Dick, you did not ruffle my feathers, I appreciate the comments….and reply…..always glad to hear from you, btw, I liked your comments on Frank Lloyd Wright, I was going to tell you I had a friend who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright, and he used a lot of elements in his buildings, ….great architect and builder.

      May 06, 2017 06:45 AM

      Amen, Mr. Indiana!

    May 06, 2017 06:04 AM

    The next Globalist move is to threaten the media with criminal charges for publishing possible truths. France doesn’t wan’t to take a chance of their chosen one, taking hits that could confuse the electorate. Armstrong’s computer had Marie Le Pen picked right along with Brexit. If France leaves the EU is toast sooner rather than later.

    France Warns Media Not To Publish Hacked Macron Emails, Threatens With Criminal Charges

    France has cracked down on the distribution of the files, warning on Saturday it would be a “criminal offence” to republish the data, and warning the French media not to publish content from any of the hacked emails “to prevent the outcome of the vote being influenced.”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-06/france-warns-media-not-publish-hacked-macron-emails-threatens-criminal-charges

      May 06, 2017 06:15 AM

      That is a good one……….politics as usual …..

      May 06, 2017 06:24 AM

      And, in my opinion, rightfully so, Jerry!

      May 06, 2017 06:25 AM

      You make a lot of interesting points in your post Markedtofuture! Thanks

        May 06, 2017 06:44 PM

        Julian Assange is trying to make another point.

        James Comey perjured himself last two times in Congress
        1) Stated no contact from WikiLeaks
        2) Stated no GOP emails published (DCleaks did)

        https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/860139370388615168

          GH
          May 07, 2017 07:52 AM

          Sounds like Clapper.

          This is fatal to a free society, to have the heads of the ‘security’ agencies be above the law.

      May 06, 2017 06:33 AM

      That’s funny. It’s a criminal offense to publish Macrons criminal activity.
      Let Pen is going to win in a Trump style upset.

        May 06, 2017 06:12 AM

        ditto

        May 06, 2017 06:51 PM

        Publishing criminal activity in this case should definitely not be a criminal offense.

        The world is rapidly going crazy Markedtofuture!

        CFS
        May 07, 2017 07:17 AM

        So Macron won!

        But LePen concession speech was less a concession but rather a stunning anti-globalism attack.

        The French people will learn how right she will prove to be.

    May 06, 2017 06:35 AM

    *LePen

    May 06, 2017 06:55 AM

    Are we going down the rabbit hole with Trump imaginary repeal of Obama care ?? The new law needs the Senate to approve Rand Paul and Tim Scott have already said they oppose it on the Right . And Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkoski have also opposed it form the more moderate wing of the Party. 48 votes wont pass this bill. If its changed much the reps on the confrence committe will kill the bill. Reality no bill this year or maybe ever. Pray for sanity. S

    May 06, 2017 06:03 AM

    Obama care has always been a sham.. More people pay the fine than have the exchange. We can always just let it implode on its self. Lol

    CFS
    May 06, 2017 06:13 PM

    If the Senate does not approve modifications to Obamacare and the system implodes, will the US not end up with a National Healthcare system?
    Was that not what Marxist Obama really wanted anyway?

    Was it not Obama’s desire to destroy the Capitalist US and make it a slowly-dying socialist country, just like most of the countries in Europe?

      May 06, 2017 06:27 PM

      Spot on, CFS. They thought Hillary would win, so those plans are now toast.

    May 06, 2017 06:34 PM

    Former Swedish Female MP who believed in “equality” and open borders executed and beheaded in Africa

    https://diversitymachtfrei.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/swedish-woman-who-believed-in-equality.html

    I did some googling. Apparently this is true. Here is a video of the death of her and fellow UN workers.

    DO NOT LOOK AT IT IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO SEE PEOPLE BEING MURDERED.

    https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=190_1493329068

    CFS
    May 06, 2017 06:57 PM

    But is not Trump a socialist-leaning RINO?

    i.e. simply a not-so-greedy, non-criminal Hillary.

    I look at the writings of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, apparently his advisers, and I do not find a conservative thought among them.

    Neither to I look for salvation from House or Senate Republicans, who for the most part appear to be more crony corrupt than conservative; indeed the Republican party appears now dominated by RINOs. i.e. corrupt democrats light.

      May 07, 2017 07:27 AM

      What is your rationale behind thinking that Trump is a socialist leaning RINO?

        CFS
        May 07, 2017 07:01 PM

        I judge by his actions and advisers, not his words.

        I look at what the AHCA does, not how it is described.

        I see absolutely no attempt to confine government deficits or limit debt.

        I see NO ATTEMPT to drain the swamp.

        Trump is just acting like one of the cronies; less corrupt maybe, but is he going after criminal politicians in any way? Has he launched any investigations into prima facie breaches of law by Hillary and the DNC?

        I thought he was beginning with the appointment of Sessions, but Sessions is silent.

        Trump is a bungling amateur; totally unprepared. Over 60 % of the 500+ appointments usually made by incoming Presidents don’t even have nominations for those positions.

    AJ
    May 06, 2017 06:04 PM

    AHCA is a betrayal of all the GOP’s promises on health care – It does the opposite of what they say.

    https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/4/15542342/ahca-promises-broken

      May 07, 2017 07:39 AM

      doing some checking on this AJ.

      I will say that some things are coming out of the woodwork that I didn’t think would.

      Thanks for the link.

      Al

      CFS
      May 07, 2017 07:38 PM

      Copied in part from Lance Roberts, Editor, Economist.

      The ACHA, or now known as “Trump Care,” is roughly 90% ObamaCare with the taxes stripped out of it. Here are the details as provided by Goldman Sachs on Friday:

      COVERAGE

      It would allow young adults to stay on their parents’ health plan until age 26.
      The bill would let states opt out of Obamacare’s mandate that insurers charge the same rates on sick and healthy people.
      It would also allow states to opt out of Obamacare’s requirement that insurers cover 10 essential health benefits, such as maternity care and prescription drug costs.
      The measure would provide states with $100 billion, largely to fund high-risk pools to provide insurance to the sickest patients.
      The bill also would provide $8 billion over five years to help those with pre-existing conditions pay for insurance.
      It would let insurers mark-up premiums by 30 percent for those who have a lapse in insurance coverage of about two months or more.
      The ability to charge older Americans up to five times more than young people. Under Obamacare, they could only charge up to three times more.
      TAX

      The bill would end in 2018 Obamacare’s income-based tax credits that help low-income people buy insurance.
      These would be replaced with age-based tax credits ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 per year that would be capped at upper-income levels.
      The Republican bill would abolish most Obamacare taxes, including on medical devices, health insurance premiums, indoor tanning salons, prescription medications and high-cost employer-provided insurance known as “Cadillac” plans.
      Those taxes paid for Obamacare. Republicans have not said how they would pay for the parts of the law they want to keep.
      The bill would also repeal the Obamacare financial penalty for the 2016 tax year for not purchasing insurance, as well as a surtax on investment income earned by upper-income Americans.
      It would repeal the mandate that larger employers must offer insurance to their employees.
      MEDICAID

      The bill would allow the Medicaid expansion to continue until Jan. 1, 2020. After that date, expansion would end and Medicaid funding would be capped on a per-person basis.
      State Medicaid plans would no longer have to cover some Obamacare-mandated essential health benefits, fulfilling a Republican promise to return more control to the states.

    AJ
    May 06, 2017 06:37 PM

    Extensive updated overview – for future reference

    #RealNews on Trump et L’Affaire Russe: A Resource Page
    https://lawfareblog.com/realnews-trump-et-laffaire-russe-resource-page

    and a number of theories:

    Seven Theories of the Case: What Do We Really Know about L’Affaire Russe and What Could it All Mean?
    https://lawfareblog.com/seven-theories-case-what-do-we-really-know-about-laffaire-russe-and-what-could-it-all-mean

    May 06, 2017 06:48 PM

    I am glad Trump got in for all his faults would you really like to see Hillary Clinton dealing with the headaches. Trump has been and is still bashed relentlessly by the main street media. He hasn’t been given a fair chance because he upset the establishment’s apple cart. This is what America needs, the right to come from behind and win without being led their by the entrenched bureaucracy. He has had so much opposition it is a wonder that he didn’t fold but then he wouldn’t be a worthy person. DT

      May 06, 2017 06:59 PM

      Look at what is happening in Venezuela and South Africa, these countries are a mess because they are controlled completely by a few to keep their power entitlements alive. Is that what we want for our system of being governed. Just look at the choice people in China have or India. I would not want to live under those regimes. DT

        May 06, 2017 06:28 PM

        The American way is still the best way and be thank full for it. DT

          CFS
          May 06, 2017 06:34 PM

          Says, DT, displaying the fact he does not travel much.

            May 06, 2017 06:56 PM

            I do not agree with your comment about DT, Professor.

            CFS
            May 06, 2017 06:44 PM

            Many people disagree with my opinions. Nothing new in that.

            I also disagree with US News quality of life listings. e.g.:
            https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/overall-full-list

            b
            May 07, 2017 07:56 AM

            There are 195 countries on the planet, the 4 mentioned not being as well off as the states far from makes the states “the best”.

          GH
          May 07, 2017 07:00 AM

          The point, DT, is that the good side of the traditional ‘American Way’ is under attack and dying.

          Will Trump improve that, or continue the decline?

            May 07, 2017 07:50 AM

            GH,

            As I have commented above to others, I am getting more and more worried about potential future negative diction. A lot of negative things are “coming out of the woodwork.

            May 07, 2017 07:01 AM

            GH, some parts of American society have improved immeasurably, if you were white and living in The US during the 1950’s life was great, not so if you were in a minority or black American.

            I’m afraid GH you are right much of the rest of your country is in decline, your society is so complex in the problems it faces that it really makes one wonder whether it can go on. People must have felt similarly during the 1930’s but this time the problems aren’t merely financial, the world can no longer be cured by an American recovery. We live on a planet where everyone must work together; that seems impossible if you consider the divisions even within your country. DT

            May 07, 2017 07:06 AM

            GH, I am assuming you are from North America but that doesn’t matter anyway. DT

            GH
            May 07, 2017 07:56 PM

            DT, I’m from the US, but live in South America. Came down for work, enjoyed it, watched how the American people bent over in 2008/9 with barely any protest and thought, ‘Why go back?’ Plus it was very nice to get away from the cultural marxist PC culture, though that is encroaching here too.

            To an extent I buy that it is better for racial minorities now than it was in, say, the 1950s. In other ways, especially for blacks, not so much. Honestly, I suspect the black community has been targeted by ‘covert ops’–e.g. turning them into a conduit for illegal drugs (as Gary Webb showed, e.g.), leading to high incarceration rates, high single-mother families (actually encouraged by the welfare laws, as I understand it), gangsta rap, etc. It’s not my world, so I can’t say I KNOW this, but from where I stand it looks to me like in some ways the black community is worse off today than it was when MLK was killed. Look at Chicago.

            1930s America still was a country with a strong core of human decency, strong communities and a cohesive culture, where people helped each other out. It looks a lot more dog-eat-dog today, to me.

            I don’t believe this is a matter of ‘entropy’. It’s the result of a covert war by means of propaganda and social engineering.

      May 07, 2017 07:46 AM

      I still agree with you Mr. Tracy, but I am really starting to worry about some of the character issues and the “broken promises” Time will tell.

    CFS
    May 06, 2017 06:37 PM

    Meanwhile in Paris, Saul Alinski tactics are winning…..
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjZi7wWjq3w

    Definitely the American Way is superior to La Rue Francaise

      May 07, 2017 07:42 AM

      I read each of the quotes and sent this link on to a number of my friends asking for their opinions. Will be interesting to hear them.

      Thanks for this link.

    May 06, 2017 06:26 PM

    Sympathy For The Devil? Trouble Is Brewing In Banker Paradise

    Finance was one of the first industries to embrace the automation boom, given the obscene profits that could be made. In his book Flash Boys, Michael Lewis described how the arms race of high frequency algorithms literally changed the game in terms of how financial instruments are traded — and made $billions upon $billions of unfair profits for the big banks that invested in the technology.

    Well, many of the bankers who cheered the boost the machines gave to their annual bonuses aren’t cheering so much now. You know what algo-driven markets don’t need? Human traders.

    Below is photo of the UBS trading floor from 8 years ago, contrasted with one from this year (source: Zero Hedge)

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-06/sympathy-devil-trouble-brewing-banker-paradise

    CFS
    May 06, 2017 06:13 PM

    A Canadian comments on US healthcare reform:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz3tuBkHhuY

    Just listen for a few minutes; it’s not long.

      May 07, 2017 07:15 AM

      Just listened to it CFS.

      You know it’s funny in that right now it is a beautiful day here in Semiahmoo and yet I am not particularly in an optimistic mood. I am in more of an inquisitive mood.

      I guess my conclusion is that we have to be aware of all this shit but really the priority should be to look out for ourselves; our families; and, our friends.

      Professor, you are definitely doing that with you valuable input to our site.

        CFS
        May 07, 2017 07:17 PM

        My primary intent is to educate. Look in the shadows and shine a light on both the good things and bad. When it comes to government, I have transitioned over my life from humanist, to conservative, to Libertarian, and now more towards conservative anarchist.
        I am just tired of waste and corruption, and forced to live in California for medical reasons, I am at my limit of watching incompetency in politics; local, state and national, and possibly international.

    May 07, 2017 07:00 AM

    California plans for collecting taxes on spaceflight

    The earthly convention of paying taxes may soon extend into outer space, if California regulators have anything to say about it.

    The state’s Franchise Tax Board is seeking public comment on its proposal for computing taxes on commercial space transportation companies.

    The private spaceflight industry remains small, despite grand ambitions to shuttle everything from tourists to 3-D printers into space. But the board says it created the rules to give entrepreneurs the confidence that once their businesses really start to take off, California’s tax code will be ready to handle them.

    http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/California-plans-for-collecting-taxes-on-11119631.php?google_editors_picks=true

      May 07, 2017 07:47 AM

      I understand they are going to tax the green cheese on the moon…….along with the fairy dust……lol

      May 07, 2017 07:17 AM

      I don’t know, i guess that I could look at it this way. If the flights originate and terminate in California is collecting these taxes asppropriate?

    May 07, 2017 07:11 AM

    Former FBI Assistant director Kallstrom says: Hillary Clinton email investigation was Bogus

    Kallstrom on Comey’s handling of the Clinton email probe interview on Fox Sunday morning futures with Maria Bartiromo

    http://www.foxnews.com/shows/sunday-morning-futures.html

      May 07, 2017 07:31 AM

      Comey is a JOKE……

      GH
      May 07, 2017 07:02 AM

      The whole thing is a joke, or the Clintons and most of congress would be in prison.

        May 07, 2017 07:59 AM

        ditto……

        May 07, 2017 07:30 AM

        The big question to me, GH, is why wasn’t Clinton indicted? (Too big to fail?)

          GH
          May 07, 2017 07:01 PM

          Like I say, Al, the rot goes through and through. If they’re indicted, where does it stop?

          Last year in Brazil there was a soft coup against Dilma Rousseff. It would appear she was too honest, that most of congress was guilty of corruption and feared she would pursue investigations that would expose them, so they impeached her to save themselves.

            May 07, 2017 07:45 PM

            ditto………on the corruption and fear…….members of congress know to much on each other, all most likely should be in jail…….

      May 07, 2017 07:28 AM

      I really enjoyed watching this Markedtofuture.

      I it shows just how much pivoting in different directions is going on right now. Yes, why wasn’t Hillary Clinton indicted?

    CFS
    May 07, 2017 07:27 AM

    It was obvious then, there was no legitimate investigation.

    WORSE STILL, it is obvious now Trump is in collusion with the whitrwash.

    WHY has Sessions not ordered a Grand Jury or independent prosecutor?

    Answer: Trump is a friend of HRC and a democrat-leaning Republican-IN-NAME-ONLY.

    Forget about any SWAMP-DRAINING! The system is in charge.

      May 08, 2017 08:02 AM

      More like crime family……….jarid’s daddy is a jail bird……….

        May 08, 2017 08:03 AM

        Draining the swamp……………..lol

      May 07, 2017 07:21 AM

      Great interview! I love Stockman and agree with much of what he says, but to be honest he is a horrible market timer. When he says this “The S&P 500 is going to drop by hundreds and hundreds of points sometime over the next few months as we drift into this unexpected crisis. . . . I would target sometime between August and November because that’s when the rubber is going to meet the road on a debt ceiling increase when they are out of cash.” I wouldn’t bet the ranch on that, although I have no doubt it will eventually happen.

        CFS
        May 07, 2017 07:42 AM

        I maybe wrong, but I’m thinking Bond market collapse before stock market crash.

        Thy are both so over-valued by any rational historical measure.
        Perhaps this time really is different, but I doubt it.

          May 07, 2017 07:56 AM

          Bonds could crash first but I am not qualified to make that call. Yes, both bonds and equities are price to insanity so it seems a massive train wreck is inevitable.

          I think Stockman is wrong about the debt ceiling. I think the Republoclowns will cave and just go along with kicking the can further down the road, just like the Republoclowns did in the House with Trump/Ryan/Bammcare 2.0 last week.

            CFS
            May 07, 2017 07:28 AM

            The only question really is whether a nuclear option will be used to eliminate the need for 60 votes instead of just a majority in the senate.

    May 07, 2017 07:17 AM

    Mr. Big Al Korelin,

    Regardless of what your guests say, the AHCA/Ryancare/Trumpcare/Whatever you want to call it is a steaming pile. It really is Romneycare 3.0, AKA Bammycare 2.0.


    GOP House Keeps Much of ObamaCare in “Repeal and Replace” Bill

    Despite virtually every Republican at the federal level running on a platform of repealing ObamaCare, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives just voted to retain the bulk of it under the guise of “repeal and replace.” Now, in addition to keeping in place a dizzying array of unconstitutional and destructive federal meddling in healthcare, Republicans have ensured that they will get the blame as costs continue to surge and care becomes increasingly difficult to access. Everyday Americans and constitutional governance, as usual, will be the main losers. Now the fight moves to the Senate, where analysts expect lawmakers to retain even more of ObamaCare.

    https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/25955-gop-house-keeps-much-of-obamacare-in-repeal-and-replace-bill

      May 07, 2017 07:23 AM

      And when Trumpcare collapses and it will inevitably will who do you think is going to be blamed? The Republowclowns, of course. And that will open the door for the Demonrats to usher in single prayer…er…single payer, aka full on socialized medicine.

    May 07, 2017 07:45 AM

    Obama Tells French to Vote for Macron Proving He is Establishment Doing What He Accused Putin of Supportin…

    Obama Intervenes in French Election Proving Macron is Establishment and represents no change for France thereby sealing its doom. Of course, Obama is doing exactly what they he and his mainstream media backers say Putin is doing – trying to influence the French election.

    https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/obama-tells-french-to-vote-for-macron-proving-he-is-establishment-doing-what-he-accused-putin-of-supporting-le-pen-and-trump/

    GH
    May 07, 2017 07:07 AM

    Hopefully most people understand that Wikipedia, while often a useful reference, is not to be trusted on any subject that is controversial, or where powerful special interests have a stake.

    A condensed quote from a recent Peak Prosperity interview of G Edward Griffin:

    “They [big corps] have full-time people contracted to monitor Wikipedia 24-7…So, the minute any entry is made touching on their sphere of influence they immediately change it or correct it. And… because…they’re paid to do it…they can devote their lives to it. They move up in rank and become editors because they…spend time doing it. And they become the ones who are the gatekeepers for the information on Wikipedia.”

    One more aspect of how the American propaganda system works.

    GH
    May 07, 2017 07:17 AM

    North Korea and the threat of nuclear war.

    The most coherent explanation I have come across for the chronic thorn in the world’s side that is North Korea: it is a pretext for the US to further ring Russia and China with anti-ballistic missile systems. Just as the US used the transparently false pretext of an Iran threat to put ABM systems in Eastern Europe.

    At the same time, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “Under the veil of an otherwise-legitimate warhead life-extension program, the US military has quietly engaged in a vast expansion of the killing power of the most numerous warhead in the US nuclear arsenal.”

    http://thebulletin.org/how-us-nuclear-force-modernization-undermining-strategic-stability-burst-height-compensating-super10578

    Bottom line, one must conclude that the US is pushing for first strike capability. Certainly if you were Russian or Chinese that is what you would suspect. It’s a very dangerous game our warmonger leaders are playing.

    May 07, 2017 07:43 AM

    Good for Ron Paul. Anyone with even half a brain has to see the government for the steaming pile that it is.

    https://ivn.us/2017/05/05/ron-paul-unleashed-former-candidate-excoriates-trump-congress-one-issue-another/

      May 07, 2017 07:27 PM

      Of course RP is right. Most people clearly do not have half a brain.

    May 07, 2017 07:31 PM

    Well, it appears the Frogs voted in the Rothschild puppet Macrony. Like Chris said, they just haven’t suffered enough. Well, all that will sure change.

      May 07, 2017 07:15 PM

      Well, what the hell did you expect, Eddie?

      Of course Macrony, as you call him, won.

      It could be no other way, but if he’d lost I guarantee you Le Pen would have screwed over the little people who voted for her just like Trump screwed over the little people like you who voted for him.

      That’s politics, man.

      Why don’t you grow up and realize that?

    May 07, 2017 07:43 PM

    If the frog voters had any common sense and even a shred of decency they would not elect someone with ties to Rothschild, Soros and Goldman Sucs dog catcher.

      May 07, 2017 07:13 PM

      Rothchilde threaten to shut off the grape supply…….no more french wine…….lol

        May 07, 2017 07:14 PM

        goldman said they would not longer participate in the grape smashing contest on LePatie Day

          May 07, 2017 07:32 PM

          and Soros…said he was looking in to detainment camps for anyone with ties to seedless grapes.

            May 07, 2017 07:39 PM

            the french are left with sour grapes……….

    May 07, 2017 07:53 PM

    Macron’s Victory at 65% is Part I – Part II Parliament Elections in June

    Le Pen conceded but will lead her Party in the Parliamentary elections next month. Macron paid a token gesture saying he understand the anger of 35% of the people who voted for Le Pen. Nevertheless, while the mainstream parties collapsed in France warning that the entire population really voted against the establishment, the sad part comes when the French people wake up and realize that Macron will not save France and if anything Brussels will now move aggressively to lock-down Europe to prevent another BREXIT. Brussels, based upon reliable sources, will seek to secure their own survival and move to federalize Europe to protect their own jobs.

    To those who has asked if I would consult with Macron’s government, let me put it mildly. First, he will never call me and two, it would be a huge waste of time. This simply has to play out now. Brussels will NEVER reform or asking if there is something they are doing wrong. Europe will have to crash and burn politically before change will ever come.

    The computer was correct back in 2015 when it projected Le Pen would beat both the Socialist and Conservatives. Now the second part of that forecast was just set in motion. There will be no reform for Europe so we are looking at a very hard landing.

    https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/macrons-victory-at-65-is-part-i-part-ii-parliament-elections-in-june/

      CFS
      May 07, 2017 07:45 PM

      I was listening to radio coming out of Bruxelles yesterday about the impact of the French election result and everything was focussed around increased Federalization and EU-wide budget and taxation, in order to prevent further exits.

    CFS
    May 07, 2017 07:23 PM
      May 07, 2017 07:12 PM

      Never heard of those chickies before.

        May 07, 2017 07:19 PM

        Chickie says she can unlock her phone with her eyeballs. Creepy. Neither chickies too concerned about the potential tyranny….slaves to the matrix.

    CFS
    May 07, 2017 07:40 PM
    May 07, 2017 07:56 PM

    Is This WalMart ‘Free-For-All’ A Taste Of Things To Come?

    In the new story over at Survival Dan called “During The Collapse: Where To Go And What Places To Avoid”, he reports that when IT hits the fan, America’s ‘population hubs’ will likely explode with violence, looting and the total breakdown of law and order as resources become next to impossible to get and the masses suddenly realize the government isn’t coming to save them.

    Whether that be via total collapse, WW3 coming home to roost upon US soil or a ‘grid event’ that leaves tens to hundreds of millions either without power or access to the money in their bank accounts, the video directly below from a WalMart in Mexico gives us a very small taste of what that world without law and order can quickly devolve into.

    Showing what happens when suddenly ‘lawless people’ realize that there aren’t enough security guards in a Wal Mart store to stop them, we witness the kind of all-out ‘free for all’ that we’ll likely see in a collapse event, though the smart people would be carrying out food, toilet paper and other necessities instead of flat screen TV’s. And in an all-out SHTF event, we’d expect that the people will likely be fighting with each other for the few remaining resources as they are now in Venezuela where children are literally starving to death.

    Following Alt Market’s Brandon Smith warning that ‘a full spectrum crisis is about to take place’ a Wal Mart in Mexico gives us a small glimpse of what might happen here once it all comes crashing down amid more signs that what we’re witnessing in Venezuela may be coming to America.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-07/wal-mart-free-all-taste-things-come

    May 08, 2017 08:37 AM

    TRUMPED AGAIN……Jarid Kushner is in China making family deal….offering citizenship with $500,000 investment in NY Deal……zerohedge

      May 08, 2017 08:01 AM

      sorry……see that CFS posted above……….still worth a read……..

      GH
      May 08, 2017 08:52 AM

      Let’s see…at 500,000 each, how many to pay off the national debt?

      20,000,000,000,000 / 500,000 = 40 million

      Maybe we should up the price tag to 5 million… 😉

        May 08, 2017 08:00 AM

        screw the debt……just send me the check……. 🙂

          May 08, 2017 08:06 AM

          DEBT JUBILEE………..only way that debt is going to be paid off……….DEFAULT, no big deal it is only paper with an “ALL SEEING EYE” on it. The ones hurt will only be the ones on the take, which are the ones taking it in the first place.