NEW YORK (Reuters) – Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis. Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.
Category: Economics
Economics, Faith, and Politics – European Churches call on EU Parliament to adopt ‘work-free Sunday’ declaration
The Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), COMECE (the Bishops Conference of the European Community), and the Church of England are calling upon the European Union Parliament to approve a Written Declaration on “on the protection of a work-free Sunday as an essential pillar of the European Social Model and as part of the European cultural heritage.”
$65.5 TRILLION in U.S. Federal obligations exceed the gross domestic product of the entire world (WorldNetDaily)
The total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account.
The Link Between Religious Freedom and Economic Freedom
Religious liberty and economic freedom draw on and encourage similar traits. New data on economic liberty and religious freedom suggest that religiously free societies encourage entrepreneurs whose new enterprises benefit themselves, their companies, employees, shareholders, consumers, stakeholders and the entire community. In other words, religiously free societies usually display the highest concentration of companies that generate prosperity and broad development. Closed religious systems foul economic development and stunt growth. Closed economic systems are unkind or worse to religious sentiments and practice. Open systems in both areas are necessary to sustain human flourishing. Hence, if we desire more economic freedom and prosperity, then we should have a strategy of promoting religious liberty. If we want economic growth and development, we need to tolerate and permit religious groups and persons to follow their beliefs. Competition for religious activity creates healthy conditions for economic competition and activity.
Stimulus plan will restrict healthcare (Bloomberg.com)
One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions.
ECONOMICS: Depression Hits Detroit: Average home price $18,513 – Unemployment rate 21% (Tribble Ad Agency)
The Great Depression has reached Detroit. The average price of a home is now $18,513 and unemployment has reached 21%, and it’s expected to get worse. Detroit is facing a crisis of epic proportions that officially puts Detroit statistically (and real term) on par with the great depression.
US Army ready if the downturn gets out of hand (NY Post)
In a report published Nov. 4 – just in time for the holiday season – the War College’s Strategic Studies Institute posited a number of shocks that the country should be prepared for, including unrest caused by the economy’s failure.
A World Enslaved – There are now more slaves on the planet than at any time in human history (Foreign Policy)
Most people imagine that slavery died in the 19th century. Since 1817, more than a dozen international conventions have been signed banning the slave trade. Yet, today there are more slaves than at any time in human history.
Roosevelt’s or Reagan’s America? A Time for Choosing
By John Marini – Imprimis – In light of the differences between the ideas and policies of Roosevelt and Reagan, it is not surprising that political debates today are so bitter. Indeed, they resemble the religious quarrels that once convulsed western society. The progressive defenders of the bureaucratic state see government as the source of benevolence, the moral embodiment of the collective desire to bring about social justice as a practical reality. They believe that only mean-spirited reactionaries can object to a government whose purpose is to bring about this good end. Defenders of the older constitutionalism, meanwhile, see the bureaucratic state as increasingly tyrannical and destructive of inalienable rights.
Bishops insist on work-free Sunday protection by European Parliament (DI-VE)
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Communities (COMECE) on Thursday expressed its regret at the refusal to put to vote several amendments aimed at the inclusion of a work-free Sunday in the new Working Time Directive by the chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.