Today's New York Times is filled with economic news and war news and all of it seems to gravitate around the fact that we are at a loss to control or even completely comprehend the economy we find ourselves within. 

To state this simply, our national financial bottom line is a bit hazy and difficult to read or even see clearly.

Today's New York Times is a veritable prose spreadsheet on our national and regional economic woes.  And as I read through the Times I cannot help but ask the question: do we veterans have an obligatory role in deciding where our money goes in this country?

Has our service given us the right to say something about all the waste, the huge defense budgets that rob our children and grand children of a future, the no-bid contracts that are in the billions of dollars and pushed toward friends of the rich and powerful? Do we have a legitimate voice in this debate?

Check out Bill Moyers' piece provoking ruminations of how well-armed its readers and viewers are over at Veterans Today.

The global economic crisis in September 2008 has not spurred the sweeping reforms crafted to prevent another financial collapse and hold bad-faith players accountable.

by Lorimer Wilson, MunKnee.com

“The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States.

One of the most alarming is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government”, says Simon Johnson, a chief economist with the International Monetary Fund in 2007 and 2008.

In an article entitled “The Quiet Coup” in the May, 2009 issue of the Atlantic magazine he (with James Kwak) goes on to say that “if the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform”.

How true! America is in financial crisis but instead of the financial oligarchy being broken up to permit essential reform they are continuing to use their influence to prevent precisely the sorts of reforms that are needed immediately to pull the economy out of its nosedive.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

FUELING CLASS WARFARE FOR PROFIT

By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER

America is run by a powerful oligarchy.  This is a truth everyone knows but hates admitting.

They operate through a hundred organizations, the CFR, Trilateral Commission, NAM, US Chamber of Commerce and hundreds of associations, "think tanks" and private cabals. 

We don't have free elections.  We have two political parties controlled by different cliques who fight over our decaying bones.  They have one goal, total control of our lives in order to milk us of dry.

When the government collects taxes, we pay it, not "them," the ruling class.  When the goverment buys anything, it buys it from them at 10 times the value.   It doesn't matter if it is needed, works or even is delivered, it is all just a scam. 

When we buy anything, we buy it from them.  If they want gas to cost $4 bucks a gallon, they do it.  If they want an aspirin to cost $10, the do it.  If they want milk at $5 a gallon, they do it.  Same game, same scam.

GM says Volt to get 230 miles per gallon in city

OIL WARS to end with GM leading the way!

by Johnny Punish, Staff Writer

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car should get 230 miles per gallon of gasoline in city driving, more than four times the mileage of the current champion, the Toyota Prius.

This fact got me thinking....why doesn't the government offer a "cash for clunkers" deal exclusively on this car and piss on giving incentives to buy the crappy cars that get a minimal 30 mpg.  I mean, 230 mpg!  OMG, take that in the face DICK CHENEY, KING FAISAL, GEORGE BUSH, AND SADDAM HUSSEIN! 

This car will end the OIL WARS that the capitalists have waged on us, the people.  I love this car already because it represents a true start to freeing us from the scurge that is the dirty and old technology of OIL.  And the we the people need to support this car with tax credit incentives, big promos, and a total shock and awe business attack.

By JEANNINE AVERSA

AP-Jobless rates rise in all US metro areas in May

Jobless rates rise in all US metro areas in May; 2 parts of Indiana post biggest gains.

Unemployment rates rose in all the largest U.S. metropolitan areas for the fifth straight month in May.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that jobless rates in May rose from a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan area it tracks.

The unemployment rate in Kokomo, Ind., jumped to 18.8 percent, up 11.7 percentage points from a year ago, the largest increase of all metro areas. The second-highest increase occurred in Indiana’s Elkhart-Goshen, where the rate rose to 17.5 percent. That’s up 11.4 percentage points from a year earlier.

Both parts of Indiana have been slammed by layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing.

According to Reuters, the CIA recently “held interviews on June 22 at a secret location in New York” after posting ads targeting laid off Wall Street workers.“Economics, finance and business professionals, if the quest for the bottom line is just not enough for you, the Central Intelligence Agency has a mission like no other,” a radio ad announced about the openings. “Join CIA’s directorate of intelligence and be a part of our global mission as an economic or financial analyst. Make a difference in your career and for your nation.”

Stewart joked, “The CIA specializes in taking calm, stable countries and causing them to collapse, why would they want people who ran…”

“Brilliant,” Stewart applauded after a short pause.

see video here: http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/30/stewart-cia-hopes-wall-st-geniuses-will-help-other-calm-stable-countries-to-collapse/

By DANIEL WAGNER / AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON - Bank of America Corp. -Risky bank policies that contributed to the financial crisis were as common in neighborhood branches as they were on Wall Street, according to a labor-backed coalition that will propose new reforms Tuesday.

BBC

China's central bank has reiterated its call for a new reserve currency to replace the US dollar.

The report from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said a "super-sovereign" currency should take its place.

Central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan has loudly led calls for the dollar to be replaced during the financial crisis

Governor Pat Quinn says without a tax increase the state will be forced to cut services, and one agency on the chopping block could be the Veterans' Home right here in Quincy.

The home has about 450 residents, and employs about 500 people.

NORFOLK, Va. - Virginia 2nd District Congressman Glenn Nye announced Wednesday that he will host a Hampton Roads Veterans Job Fair on July 2nd.

The Job Fair, scheduled from Noon to 5:00pm, will be held at VFW Post 4809, 5728 Bartee Street in Norfolk.

American veterans are coming home and looking for jobs. Hire them! They have already been working to protect you. You should put them to work as soon as possible. Why? Vets have the work ethic, training and skills that can benefit your business.

Every vet I meet, I am so impressed. I watch them, the way they carry themselves, they way they present themselves even when they are casual, and the way they look you square in the eye. I think the best tribute we can give our vets is to make sure they have jobs. Hire them and give them a chance to help you and your company.

Jacksonville.com

A training program for veterans who want to start their own businesses will be offered this summer on Fleming Island.The Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida, in partnership with WorkSource Florida, will present Veterans Entrepreneurial Training beginning Tuesday, June 30, according to a news release from the center.

By Dionna Harris

ESCANABA -Mi.-The recent round of budget cuts announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to balance the state budget has led to a reduction in funding for veterans organizations.Annual grants provided to Vietnam Veterans of America and 10 other veterans organizations were reduced by 25 percent.

The Florida State University College of Business is hosting its second annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans With Disabilities.

About 20 former veterans from various military branches are invited to participate in the summer for an intensive week of workshops and training to firm up their business plans and help get their startup business ventures off the ground.

For more information about the program, check out http://cob.fsu.edu/ebv/.

By Laurent Belsie

Fewer Americans lost their jobs in May than in any of the previous six months, according to a private employment report. But job losses in the crucial small-business sector edged up.

Overall, the US private nonfarm sector lost 532,000 jobs, according to the ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday. That seasonally adjusted total was better than April’s revised decline of 545,000 and far better than the peak in March of 736,000. But the report suggested that job losses would continue to outpace job gains for some time.

Albany-NY On the steps of the state Capitol, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand along with state and local lawmakers are getting the word on a little known - new law, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program.

For every new veteran a business owner hires they will received a $6 thousand dollar tax credit. It's all part of stimulus bill.

By PAUL KRUGMAN

This bill is the most important legislation for financial institutions in the last 50 years. It provides a long-term solution for troubled thrift institutions. ... All in all, I think we hit the jackpot.” So declared Ronald Reagan in 1982, as he signed the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act.

He was, as it happened, wrong about ...

Brown Directs Foreclosure Consultants to Register with his Office and Post $100,000 Bond.

Oakland -- Continuing his fight against scam artists who "prey on" vulnerable Californians, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued a directive forcing foreclosure consultants to register with his office and post a $100,000 bond by July 1, 2009. Those who fail to do so will be in violation of state law, subject to criminal penalties of up to a year in jail and fines ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 per violation.

"California is awash with con artists who prey on vulnerable families facing foreclosure," Brown said. "By forcing foreclosure consultants to submit detailed information to my office and post a $100,000 bond, this registry will help bring long-overdue transparency to this shadowy world."

Buisiness Week

For households struggling to pay bills, billions of dollars of unclaimed money sitting in government coffers could be a welcome windfall.

Tough times compel people to rein in spending, cancel pricey subscription services like premium cable, mail in product rebate receipts, and collect food coupons. But the aggregate savings from those activities could end up looking like pocket change compared to billions of dollars in unclaimed property being held in state controllers' and the U.S. Treasury's coffers.

Thunderbird Hangar, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

11:23 A.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.  Everybody please have a seat.  Thank you so much.

I've got some special acknowledgments that I have to make.  First of all, we've got some members of the congressional delegation Nevada who are doing outstanding jobs not only for Nevada but also for the men and women in uniform.  So please give a warm welcome to Congresswoman Shelley Berkley.  (Applause.)  Congresswoman Dina Titus.  (Applause.)  And we're in his district, he couldn't be here, but Congressman Dean Heller, please give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)

Survey shows they see tepid recovery and mounting unemployment

WASHINGTON - More than 90 percent of economists predict the recession will end this year, although the recovery is likely to be bumpy.

That assessment came from leading forecasters in a survey by the National Association for Business Economics to be released Wednesday. It is generally in line with the outlook from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues.

About 74 percent of the forecasters expect the recession — which started in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II — to end in the third quarter. Another 19 percent predict the turning point will come in the final three months of this year, and the remaining 7 percent believe the recession will end in the first quarter of 2010.

By Marie-Josee Kravis (Hudson Institute)

Canada's five largest banks would pass the U.S. government stress test brilliantly. They were profitable in the last quarter of 2008, are well capitalized now, and have had no problems raising additional private capital. On average only 7% of their mortgage portfolios consisted of subprime loans (versus 20% in the U.S.). And no major Canadian bank has required direct government infusions of capital.

Advocates of increased regulation of U.S. financial markets have concluded that more stringent rules governing leverage and capital ratios account for Canada's impressive performance. . . .  Obama administration adviser Paul Volcker said the model he is considering "looks more like the Canadian system than it does the American system."

Nevertheless, Canadian banks operate in a very different context. Copying the Canadian banking system in this country, without understanding how its banking and housing sectors operate, would be a mistake.