John McManus narrates a moving tribute to America and discusses the history of what makes America great and how only we, as informed citizens, can keep the timeless concepts of Americanism alive in our Constitutional Republic.Part 1 covers what sets America apart from other countries and makes it the envy of the world. Learn where our American rights come from and how the founding fathers defined the proper role of government. Mr.McManus describes the birth of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Continue reading ‘Overview of America by John McManus’
Archive for January, 2009
A Nevada Town Escapes the Slump, Thanks to Gold
By STEVE FRIESS
Published: January 1, 2009 – Original from The New York Times
Throngs danced to Spanish folk music well into the wee hours. Beer, wine and laughter were abundant, and several tables were piled high with gifts. “It’s not just the wedding,” said a friend of the newlyweds, Jesse Dias, 34. “Times are good around here. People are happy.”
Good times? Happy people? Hasn’t word of the national economic anxiety and resultant austerity made it to this remote high-desert capital of Lander County, 215 miles east of Reno?
Yes, it has, but the economic meltdown in much of the country has been a boon to the county and its 5,000 residents, 4,000 of whom live in the Battle Mountain area.
The reason: They mine gold in Lander County, a mineral-rich area that is a major reason Nevada, nicknamed the Silver State, is also the world’s fourth biggest producer of gold. Continue reading ‘A Nevada Town Escapes the Slump, Thanks to Gold’
For Small NationsA crucial question for emerging market countries in 2009 is whether they have access to capital. Those countries that do may prosper. As for those that do not, it might be better not to ask.This year is not going to be easy for the developing world. Lower commodity prices and slumping Western economies will limit growth. With the United States, Western Europe and Japan all in recession and unlikely to emerge quickly, whatever meager growth there is will be concentrated in emerging markets.Economic momentum, high savings and relatively clean banking systems should allow some countries to flourish nonetheless. China, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Brazil, for example, do not rely heavily on foreign capital and have large reserves of foreign currency. Malaysia has a savings rate of 37 percent. Those countries can use that capital to stimulate their economies. Continued growth in China and India, even at a slower rate, should keep commodity prices from collapsing entirely, providing support for exporters.But life will be hard for countries that need to borrow. Spreads on emerging market bonds, according to the J.P. Morgan EMBI Global index, have tripled since January. For countries with junk credit ratings it is hard to get financing at any price. Continue reading ‘Capital Question for Small Nations’
Contradictions in China, and the Rise of a Billionaire Family
GUJIA VILLAGE, China — In the 1950s, the Liu family of southwest China’s Sichuan Province was so short of food, they sent one of their youngest sons to be raised by another family.
Today, however, they are one of China’s richest families.
Rising from public scorn during the Cultural Revolution, the four Liu brothers managed to turn a small quail-breeding farm into China’s largest private company, later splitting it into four.
“The difficulties we went through in the early years made us strong,” says 60-year-old Liu Yongxing, a former factory worker who Forbes lists as the wealthiest person in China, with a fortune estimated at $3 billion.
The Lius are China’s first-generation billionaires, born into a world of Mao suits, food rations, price controls and Communist slogans. And the story of how they made their fortune is considered one of the guiding myths of China’s Communist party, a symbol of this country’s transformation over the last 30 years, since its unlikely embrace of capitalism. But their story also betrays the contradictions of modern China — a country where the average factory worker makes less than $50 a week. Continue reading ‘Contradictions in China, and the Rise of a Billionaire Family’
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