Here are the news articles of the day that caught my attention with some brief opinion on them.
Heavy Dead-on-Right Observations
This is why this writer firmly believes the Unites States' days are numbered.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/10-4
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Reich on Paying for Health Care Reforms
Its bad enough the government is going to mandate that everyone has to get health insurance from a corporation ( a blatant illegal unconstitutional mandate), but now it looks as if many will get stuck with huge taxes and fees to fund the program that are simply unable to bear these increases and costs. Expect major ramifications as consequences for these major poor sighted governmental acts.
http://robertreich.org/post/328990297/the-last-big-question-will-health-care-reform-be-paid
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The US Senate is Acting Illegally
It is gotten far past the point of being bad when our only hope for restoring any political sanity within the US Senate lies with the US Supreme Court. To sum things up in one word: hopelessness - with both these bodies of government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/opinion/11geoghegan.html?
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The Brookings Institute on the First Year of the Obama Administration
http://www.brookings.edu/about/status-report.aspx
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The End of a Long-Term Trend of American Mobility
Statistics indicate an end to the seemingly eternal trend of Americans moving and relocating in mass numbers. The writer disagrees. This is just a blip which will end in the next few to several years as the economy stabilizes with fewer job losses and more consistent predictable economic conditions.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/a-nation-of-hunkered-down-homebodies/
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From Across the Pond: The US is in an Economic Depression
No disagreement on that. Right now it is bad all over unless one is employed by government, or in the securities industry.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/6962632/America-slides-deeper-into-depression-as-Wall-Street-revels.html
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US Government Default on National Debt: A Good Idea ?
Although it is still unlikely to happen, a declaration of default on all debts or a bankruptcy by the United States Government is slowly becoming a distinct possibility. The arguments and conclusions put forth in this column are ones that are justifiable, particularly from a historical perspective. But there would be a harsh economic price for most everyone if a bankruptcy were to happen in 2013.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a8486284-fee9-11de-a677-00144feab49a.html
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Buying Houses Just For Couples Who Want to Have a Family
In this age of plunging home values and prices, the only logical individuals that should commit to this sort of serious purchase are family types. For some others, it is an investment with some tax credits and gains possible; but the numbers of those who stand to gain financially from buying a home with a short term view in having the commitment are become much fewer in number.
It now strongly appears that for a home to provide a decent return on the investment, one must commit themselves to home residency for 15 years, probably longer. And unless there is a family being started or underway, that is not an achievable objective for most people in our strongly fluid and topsy turvy nation which will only worsen significantly in the coming generation and beyond.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/garden/07men.html?source=patrick.net&pagewanted=all
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The Dark Foreboding Future Outlook Concerning Unemployment
At least 4.2 million jobs were reported to have been lost in 2009, and that number is probably underreported by at least 20 %. Can a number so large be lost again in 2010 ? Probably not, but expect about 2.8 to 3.5 million job losses in this year, with most occuring in the second half of the year. U-6 unemployment is headed towards exceeding 20 %, with some metro areas having rates nearing 30 %, and rural areas upwards of 33 - 35 %. The social consequences of these numbers are staggering, appalling, and dangerous. The political consequences for many Democrats in critical areas of the nation look fatal.
And now its increasingly apparent all those billions of stimulus dollars that went into highway project have not helped whatsoever with unemployment across the nation.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/514394/the_2010_political_timebomb_is_unemployment
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34769831/ns/business-careers/
http://www.salon.com/news/unemployment/index.html?story=/opinion/feature/2010/01/11/jobs_democrats
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2010762109_apusstimulusunemployment.html
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American Border Security Technology Boondoggle
One could see this coming right out of the gate when it was proposed and then funded. The entire process was bankrupt, which has cost taxpayers over $1B and certainly significantly more. This plan will not become effective anytime soon, and is at least more than a decade away from being implemented in even half of the border zone.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/07/60minutes/main6067598.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;segmentUtilities
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Another Noah's Ark is Figuratively Under Construction
Not a moment too soon with the widespread animals extinction underway and expected to significantly heighten in the coming decades. Bringing back extinct animals ? This writer expects to see that in the case of the Woolly Mammoth and other species within a decade.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/07/60minutes/main6067594.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;segmentUtilities
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