Monthly Archives: September 2013

France’s new ‘cat cafe’ is predictably full of rescued kitties

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“France’s first ‘cat cafe’ opens on Saturday in Paris with an in house troupe of nine rescue cats ready and waiting to be made a fuss of by cat-loving customers.  Already popular in Tokyo where there are dozens, cat cafes allow customers who cannot have a pet at home to enjoy a cup of something hot with a purring cat perched on their knees. Margaux Gandelon, the woman behind the new Cafe des Chats in Paris’s trendy Marais district, says the cats were carefully selected for their social skills and stresses that hygiene and their welfare are her top priorities.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/18/frances-new-cat-cafe-is-predictably-full-of-rescued-kitties/

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Dutch King tells citizens ‘to take responsibility’ as austerity implemented

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“The king, who travelled through the streets of The Hague to address MPs and senators in an ornate horse-drawn golden carriage, said the transformation would be particularly noticeable in social security and long-term healthcare policies.  The trade-dependent Dutch economy is in the fourth quarter of a recession and is struggling even as other European countries return to growth.  The austerity measures will reduce Dutch households’ purchasing power by 0.25 percent in 2014. The budget announcement came with the government in free-fall in opinion polls. A poll said that the ruling Liberal-Labour coalition would lose around half its seats in parliament were elections held now.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/17/dutch-king-tells-citizens-to-take-responsibility-as-pm-implements-austerity/

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Hospital doctors join thousands protesting Greece’s austerity layoffs

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“Greek doctors on Tuesday joined the latest wave of strikes to hit the debt-stricken country, with thousands of public sector workers protesting against government plans for lay-offs and redeployments.  In Brussels, however, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said during a visit by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that the unpopular policy of austerity was showing results in Greece and must be pursued to the end.  Teachers from schools and universities, civil servants and lawyers are also on strike, in protest at reforms that Samaras’ centre-left coalition government is undertaking in return for international bailout funds.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/17/hospital-doctors-join-thousands-protesting-greeces-austerity-layoffs/

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Greece axes vacation bonus for civil workers using computers

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“Recession-wracked Greece plans to scrap a perk for its civil servants who enjoy an extra six days of holiday per year — if they use a computer at work. Greece’s civil service union, Adedy, said the perk stemmed from a decision in the 1990s to give employees 20 minutes off per day to protect them from eye damage from staring at a computer screen.  This was then extended on an annual basis, resulting in six days off per year.  Now in its sixth year of recession, Greece has been obliged to adopt austerity measures, including pay and pension cuts that have caused widespread resentment, in return for a massive EU-IMF bailout deal.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/13/greece-axes-vacation-bonus-for-civil-workers-using-computers/

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Teachers on strike clash with police in Mexico City protest

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“The teachers, many armed with sticks and wearing masks, had set trash on fire and placed metal barriers in adjoining streets to block the police from entering the Zocalo, home to the National Palace, Aztec ruins and the city’s cathedral.  Pena Nieto signed an education reform this week that requires teachers to undergo mandatory performance evaluations. The teachers say the new rules violate their labor rights. The dissident National Education Workers Coordinator (CNTE) union led several protests in the city for the past three weeks, disrupting traffic in the already congested megalopolis and blocking road access to the international airport in two occasions.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/13/teachers-on-strike-clash-with-police-in-mexico-city-protest/

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Massive anti-government protest gears up in Poland

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“Tens of thousands of Polish trade unionists kicked off a march through the capital on Saturday in the finale of a four-day protest against the unpopular and increasingly fragile centre-right government.  The protest reflects widespread public gloom over this year’s sharp economic slowdown in Poland, which has been dragged down by the eurozone crisis.  Their anger is centred on recent labour and pension changes.  ‘We want pensions at the age of 65 as before and not at the age of 67 as Tusk’s reform would have it. We want better social policy and guarantees for employees,’ Lewandowski said.  The union is also calling for a higher minimum wage and improved job security.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/14/massive-anti-government-protest-gears-up-in-poland/

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This Is What Happens When You Make It Difficult for Firms to Hire Youth

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http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/09/this-is-what-happens-when-you-have-so.html

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Farm subsidies on the rise in the world’s biggest economies

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“Farm subsidies in the world’s biggest economies rose in 2012, the OECD said, reversing a long-term trend as governments poured more funding into agriculture despite strained budgets and high food prices.  In its annual report on global farming, the OECD said state support for farming stood at an average of one-sixth of gross farm receipts in the 47 countries covered in the assessment, about 17 percent of total receipts in 2012 compared to 15 percent in 2011.  The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the rise was unnecessary as high prices for farmers made the timing opportune for governments to cut subsidies that skew food markets and disrupt trade.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/18/farm-subsidies-on-the-rise-in-the-worlds-biggest-economies/

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Pension Funds: The $4 Trillion Problem

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“Using the lower, safer growth rate of 3.22%, the unfunded liability in Pennsylvania’s two pension plans grows to a combined $156 billion.  This different form of measuring liabilities produces some truly scary results. In five states, State Budget Solutions calculates pension liabilities represent more than 40% of the entire state economy. In two states — Ohio and Mississippi — the pension costs are equal to more than half the state’s gross production.  On a per-capita basis, it’s equally worrisome. There are five states where the unfunded pension liability would represent a per capita cost of more than $20,000, with Alaska leading the way, at more than $32,000 per person.”

http://lfb.org/today/pension-funds-the-4-trillion-problem/

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Peter Schiff: The Taper That Wasn’t

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“The Fed’s failure today to announce some sort of tapering of its QE program, despite the consensus of an overwhelming percentage of economists who expected action, once again reveals the degree to which mainstream analysts have overestimated the strength of our current economy. The Fed understands, as the market seems not to, that the current ‘recovery’ could not survive without continuation of massive monetary stimulus. Mainstream economists have mistaken the symptoms of the Fed’s monetary expansion, most notably rising stock and real estate prices, as signs of real and sustainable growth. But the current asset price bubbles have nothing to do with the real economy.”

http://www.europac.net/commentaries/taper_wasnt

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