[onlooker]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-0 ... st-7-years
Before you mainstream pundits criticize this article because it is from Zerohedge, note that they are referencing records/statistics from the Govt. itself.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Of course the US government manipulates financial data for the advantage of the wealthy. It's what Dems and Repubs do. They feed off your tax income.

Sure . . . the government tells the truth lol. The government looks out for your best interests? lol Fool me once, fool me a thousand times LOL

At least government uses statistics and methodologies and reports the base data, etc.

Paranoid doomer blogs, not so much, except to cite outfits like zerohedge and shadowstats.

And even though the MSM, which reports on much of the government data is far from perfect, collectively over time, I'll give them far more trust in reporting government economic statistics than, say, the short term hard crashers on this site who keep telling us we're in a depression in the US, or we never got out of a recession since 2009 in the US, or there are nearly 100 million unemployed people (i.e. looking for work) in the US, etc.

And yeah, lots of US agencies feed off my tax income. That's life if I want to be a law abiding citizen.

But in the real world when I've actually come in contact with some of the data gathering agencies, like the census bureau, I've liked what I've observed. I was in the household employment survey a couple years back and they explained things well and were consistent with the data gathering.

But let's run around with our hair on fire whining about "the wealthy" manipulating all the government data because that's such a believable story. Sure.

Like it or not, all indications are that the wealthy pay a huge proportion of the income taxes in the US. Somehow they must find this greatly to their advantage.

[onlooker]

You see Outcast your simply naive. If you were not so, you would have discovered that just a few corporations own all the mainstream media. You would have also uncovered that they own our government. The Media is nothing but a bullhorn and propaganda tool of the financial elites. The Media will say what is in they're interests. Paint a rosy picture depending in which candidate and party the Oligarchs may prefer. Yes, we are a Oligarch/Plutocracy. Ever wonder why the media have occasionally some stories about global warming conceding some disaster or some risk, yet nary a word about peak oil. Because if the investors, and common folk really knew and believed PO, the whole house of financial cards would tumble down. Nice to see your doing your part in keeping it going for awhile longer.

[Outcast_Searcher]

You see Outcast your simply naive. If you were not so, you would have discovered that just a few corporations own all the mainstream media. You would have also uncovered that they own our government. The Media is nothing but a bullhorn and propaganda tool of the financial elites. The Media will say what is in they're interests. Paint a rosy picture depending in which candidate and party the Oligarchs may prefer. Yes, we are a Oligarch/Plutocracy. Ever wonder why the media have occasionally some stories about global warming conceding some disaster or some risk, yet nary a word about peak oil. Because if the investors, and common folk really knew and believed PO, the whole house of financial cards would tumble down. Nice to see your doing your part in keeping it going for awhile longer.

Ok, so you're blindly spouting liberal talking points about evil corporations. No facts. No data. Just empty liberal fantasies, and using words like Oligarch/Plutocracy.

By implication, you're saying you know all this, so you're much more educated than I am.

Well, that might be more credible to me if you showed a wee bit more knowledge about written English. Like that "your" isn't "you are". Or that "they're" isn't "their". Or that "Oligarchy/Plutocracy" makes a lot more sense than "Oligarch/Plutocracy" in the sense you used those words.

Repeating endlessly that the entire MSM is a giant, well oiled, conspiracy has zero value, IMO, given the lack of credible evidence for that on a large scale. But thanks for playing.

And maybe "peak oil" will have far more "meaning" to the media and folks who can generally observe data trends as an actual short term problem when overproduction and low prices aren't the big "threat" to oil production volumes for recent years and apparently the near term years. (It's not that peak oil isn't theoretically an issue -- it's that it's not looking at all like a near term practical issue we need to focus on, unlike, say, AGW). And speaking of which, given how little effort or sacrifice 99% of the population and those they elect are putting toward MEANINGFUL AGW mitigation -- if humanity can't or won't deal with likely existential in-our-face problems -- you expecting real action about a potential long term problem is wildly unrealistic.

[onlooker]

Thanks for correcting my English, grammar was never my forte. I do make a blanket statement about our official media because it is patently obvious how corrupt the government/corporate/media matrix is. As for which threat is more likely to be realized, I believe it is the economic/peak oil one. The entire structure of our Civilization economically is predicated on abundant and cheap energy which contrary to the glut proponents will not be forthcoming like before see Etp model. . We have a vulnerable population who is reliant on this system for basic necessities. The AGW situation will be over the longer term even more disruptive and daunting though.

[copious.abundance]

Car Buyers, Online Shoppers Lifted U.S. Retail Sales in December

American consumers finished last year spending at a solid pace, splurging on cars and pouring money into online shopping during the holidays, a sign the economy is on a steady footing as the country prepares for a change in the presidency.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.6% in December from a month earlier, the eighth monthly increase in nine months, helping to extend the economy’s long expansion. Retail sales rose 3.3% in all of 2016, faster than the prior year’s gain of 2.3% and similar to the underlying trend during the expansion.

The holiday season is the most crucial part of the year for retailers, and the final months of 2016 coincided with a booming stock market and a pickup in Americans’ wages. Measures of consumer confidence hit multiyear highs at the end of last year, too, helping to keep spending strong.

[...]

[Outcast_Searcher]

As for which threat is more likely to be realized, I believe it is the economic/peak oil one. The entire structure of our Civilization economically is predicated on abundant and cheap energy which contrary to the glut proponents will not be forthcoming like before see Etp model. . We have a vulnerable population who is reliant on this system for basic necessities. The AGW situation will be over the longer term even more disruptive and daunting though.

OK. So that's your outlook. If/when ETP bites hard for years or we truly have a global economic meltdown, then that's another scenario. However, the past dozen years has NOT (overall) been at all kind to such forecasts. So we'll have to see.

We agree about AGW, but for when that gets serious as far as day to day living is some (or many, I don't know) decades out.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Outcast_Searcher: "Ok, so you're blindly spouting liberal talking points about evil corporations. No facts. No data. Just empty liberal fantasies, and using words like Oligarch/Plutocracy."

Comcast and GE formed the joint venture holding company NBCUniversal, LLC. NBC Universal, Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company and was renamed as NBCUniversal Media, LLC.

that's General Electric. They also make war machines.

The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company. It was founded on January 8, 1886, as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by inventor and entrepreneur George Westinghouse (1846-1914). George Westinghouse had previously founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. The corporation purchased CBS broadcasting company in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997.

That's Westinghouse. ditto

FOX is not in the propaganda business. It makes dreams, like our dreamy new President lol How are them data points?

Sigh. Yes, some media outlets are owned by corporations. I get that.

That in no way implies or proves that the entire MSM is a vast network controlled by some group of elites to spew lies designed to keep a handful of elites in power. That's the "oligarchy/plutocracy controlling everything" line many liberals love to tout, sans meaningful evidence.

But thanks for playing.

[onlooker]

Haha, some posters here P, despite their professed taste for Capitalism do not seem to understand very well how it works. It is about Big fish eating small fish and pretty soon your left with only one VERY big fish. Competition. Or did you guys think the invisible hand was benevolent

[onlooker]

And here is what I mean by my above post.
Just 8 people now have the same wealth as the poorest 3.6 billion
https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/st ... 6-billion/

[Outcast_Searcher]

Sigh. Yes, some media outlets are owned by corporations. I get that."

I get that you are bored, that you've heard this all before. Sorry.

Whicn media outlets are not owned by the corporations?

"That in no way implies or proves that the entire MSM is a vast network"

You sure?


But sigh. I am so so bored.

If the best you can do is quote partial statements, trying to make them look like complete statements, to try and make it look like I said something else -- fine, I'll just ignore what you write.

Is that what you really want?

If you're going to quote a partial statement and change the meaning, at least have the courtesy to make it clear it's a partial statement, like using ... or something.

Otherwise, you're just wasting peoples' time, and I have better things to do with mine.

[ralfy]

OK. So that's your outlook. If/when ETP bites hard for years or we truly have a global economic meltdown, then that's another scenario. However, the past dozen years has NOT (overall) been at all kind to such forecasts. So we'll have to see.

We agree about AGW, but for when that gets serious as far as day to day living is some (or many, I don't know) decades out.

If any, what happened during the past dozen years is what has been prompting such forecasts.

[ralfy]

Reminds me of these articles:

"These 6 Corporations Control 90% Of The Media In America"

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6- ... ica-2012-6

"These 10 Companies Control The World’s Food"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/1 ... 84782.html

"Revealed – the capitalist network that runs the world"

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg ... -the-world

[copious.abundance]

This has gotten waaaay off topic.

[copious.abundance]

Housing Starts Jumped in December, Capping Best Year Since 2007

U.S. housing starts hit their highest level in nine years in 2016, but a slowdown in the pace of new apartment building suggests that it may be difficult for construction to hit new highs this year without a strong rebound in single-family home building.

Housing starts rose 11.3% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Permits, an indication of how much construction is in the pipeline, were down 0.2% to 1.21 million.

[...]