Absolutely. Though the Chancellor that reduced UK Debt as a %age of GDP between 1999 and 2002, was clearly a genius by comparison, right? I wonder what caused UK debt to go up in the years that followed ...

During the period 1997 to 2002 the Labour Government (Gordon Brown) agreed to continue the previous Conservative Governments fiscal approach. But, after the next General Election returned Labour the public purse strings were loosened and all manner of crack pot schemes got money. Gordon Brown flung money at everyone during the period 2002 to 2007/2008.

There was some good spending programmes, but most of them gave no social or fiscal return. While this wild spending was going on Gordon Brown was keeping to the Election promise of not raising direct tax. Instead he raided pensions (now see how the UK stands on private pensions from the position in 1997), raised more stealth taxes than anybody can shake a stick at, etc.

Lots of money coming in, even more going out and no preparation for the downturn part of any economic cycle, as he had abolished Boom-and-Bust.

The man should have been locked up after University and the key thrown away.

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It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues

Absolutely. Though the Chancellor that reduced UK Debt as a %age of GDP between 1999 and 2002, was clearly a genius by comparison, right? I wonder what caused UK debt to go up in the years that followed ...

During the period 1997 to 2002 the Labour Government (Gordon Brown) agreed to continue the previous Conservative Governments fiscal approach. But, after the next General Election returned Labour the public purse strings were loosened and all manner of crack pot schemes got money. Gordon Brown flung money at everyone during the period 2002 to 2007/2008.

There was some good spending programmes, but most of them gave no social or fiscal return. While this wild spending was going on Gordon Brown was keeping to the Election promise of not raising direct tax. Instead he raided pensions (now see how the UK stands on private pensions from the position in 1997), raised more stealth taxes than anybody can shake a stick at, etc.

Lots of money coming in, even more going out and no preparation for the downturn part of any economic cycle, as he had abolished Boom-and-Bust.

The man should have been locked up after University and the key thrown away.

Ahh, so it was typical Labour tax and spend, and nothing to do with wars?

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

Absolutely. Though the Chancellor that reduced UK Debt as a %age of GDP between 1999 and 2002, was clearly a genius by comparison, right? I wonder what caused UK debt to go up in the years that followed ...

During the period 1997 to 2002 the Labour Government (Gordon Brown) agreed to continue the previous Conservative Governments fiscal approach. But, after the next General Election returned Labour the public purse strings were loosened and all manner of crack pot schemes got money. Gordon Brown flung money at everyone during the period 2002 to 2007/2008.

There was some good spending programmes, but most of them gave no social or fiscal return. While this wild spending was going on Gordon Brown was keeping to the Election promise of not raising direct tax. Instead he raided pensions (now see how the UK stands on private pensions from the position in 1997), raised more stealth taxes than anybody can shake a stick at, etc.

Lots of money coming in, even more going out and no preparation for the downturn part of any economic cycle, as he had abolished Boom-and-Bust.

The man should have been locked up after University and the key thrown away.

Ahh, so it was typical Labour tax and spend, and nothing to do with wars?

Tax & spend, bad; war, good?

Over the next 20 years, under the weight of immigration and a change to the leading language to Spanish, the US will fragment north to south, and possibly east to west.

The emphasis will be on internal resource squabbles, just as if the US were made up of a number of smaller disperate countries - like Europe

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It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues

You have the trend right -- but unless things change more rapidly than they have, the timeframe might be more like 35 to 40 years. Of course, by then the US currency will be the Yuan.

Over the next 20 years, under the weight of immigration and a change to the leading language to Spanish, the US will fragment north to south, and possibly east to west.

The emphasis will be on internal resource squabbles, just as if the US were made up of a number of smaller disperate countries - like Europe

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So, the US Empire will not follow the history of the rise and fall of empires recorded during the last 2,000 years. This makes the US , and the humans, different to all other ones in recent history ... I don't think so. You guys are still human, and most peoples have looked for independence as you suggest will happen.

Looking to Governments, or another equal authoritarian power, to solve their problems has been a human reaction only during the last 50 years. Certainly, the rule of law in society has been the norm only for the last 100 years or so.

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It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues

So, the US Empire will not follow the history of the rise and fall of empires recorded during the last 2,000 years. This makes the US , and the humans, different to all other ones in recent history ... I don't think so. You guys are still human, and most peoples have looked for independence as you suggest will happen.

Looking to Governments, or another equal authoritarian power, to solve their problems has been a human reaction only during the last 50 years. Certainly, the rule of law in society has been the norm only for the last 100 years or so.

To Rome, immigration was good, until it became bad.

In USA 1% of super elites own 90% of their national wealth but on "official media" it is 10%. That is around 27 trillion or 50 trillion dollars according to local appraisal. This ratio shows that America is not much different than Hosny Mubarak or Gaddahi dictatorship only difference is 2-3 million people enslave 99% of rest.

There is even more interesting fact that Rupert Murdoch owns around 90% of all significant press and media power in America and nobody openly criticize that. pretty weird. Why doesn't that famous anti monopoly law work on him!

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Mandtugai!

you haven't read much on this forums have you. Murdock doesn't own the Gannett news service which is conservative but not his. He also only owns the Fox network on TV including many local channels but generally 1 in 4 channels per major city. That's not huge. The problem lies in that the Conservatives all run to Foxnews to get info and talking points. (why else would everfytalking head on fox say the same lines if its not true> True they have more viewers but they are also the only real outright NeoConservative channel on the air.

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Hmm -- really, what caused problems for Rome might well have been two factors -- one which Gibbon described in copious detail in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire -- the move toward Christianity to the exclusion (and persecution) of non-Christians, and the onset of a series of diseases which depopulated the empire (on the order of 25% or more) in the late 3rd century.

Actually, it was when Rome started to treat it immigrants badly during the last 150 years of the western empire, and denied any eventual citizenship, that the real problems, and internal revolts, started.

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Faux News is less neo-conservative these days (that would be more on the order of views one can read in Commentary), than being a full up Norquistican Party outlet (the Norquistican party (working in conjunction with the Tea Party)replaced the Republican party well over a year ago. That's why folks like Huntsman (a Republican, and not a Norquistican) stand no chance in the Norquistican nomination process.

you haven't read much on this forums have you. Murdock doesn't own the Gannett news service which is conservative but not his. He also only owns the Fox network on TV including many local channels but generally 1 in 4 channels per major city. That's not huge. The problem lies in that the Conservatives all run to Foxnews to get info and talking points. (why else would everfytalking head on fox say the same lines if its not true> True they have more viewers but they are also the only real outright NeoConservative channel on the air.

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you haven't read much on this forums have you. Murdock doesn't own the Gannett news service which is conservative but not his. He also only owns the Fox network on TV including many local channels but generally 1 in 4 channels per major city. That's not huge. The problem lies in that the Conservatives all run to Foxnews to get info and talking points. (why else would everfytalking head on fox say the same lines if its not true> True they have more viewers but they are also the only real outright NeoConservative channel on the air.

According to this http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=newscorp , the enlightenment Dear Leader owns these news media sources as of July 2011:

News Corporation
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036
www.newscorp.com

Holdings
Timeline

Television

Cable Television

FOX News Channel
FOX Business Network
FOX College Sports
Fox Deportes
Fox Movie Channel
Fox Pan American Sports (33%)
Fox Regional Sports Networks
FOX Soccer Channel
FOX Sports Enterprises
FOX Sports Net
Big Ten Network (49%)
FSN
FUEl TV
FX
Nat Geo Wild (71%)
National Geographic Channel United States (71%)
SPEED
STAR
Stats, Inc. (50%)

Fox Television Stations

WAGA (Atlanta)
KTBC (Austin)
WUTB (Baltimore)
WFXT (Boston)
WFLD (Chicago)
WPWR (Chicago)
KDFW (Dallas)
KDFI (Dallas)
WJBK (Detroit)
KRIV (Houston)
KTXH (Houston)
KTTV (Los Angeles)
KCOP (Los Angeles)
WHBQ (Memphis)
KMSP (Minneapolis)
WFTC (Minneapolis)
WNYW (New York City)
WWOR (New Jersey)
WOGX (Ocala-Gainesville)
WRBW (Orlando)
WOFL (Orlando)
WTXF (Philadelphia)
KUTP (Phoenix)
KSAZ (Phoenix)
WTVT (Tampa Bay)
WTTG (Washington D.C.)
WDCA (Washington D.C.)

Satellite Television

BSkyB (39%)
FOXTEL (25%)
Sky Deutschland
SKY Italia
Sky Network Television Limited (44%)
TATA Sky (20%)

International Television Stations

FOX Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America
FOX CRIME Europe and Asia
FOX LIFE Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America
FOX MOVIES Asia and Middle East
FOX NEXT Europe
FOX RETRO Europe and Africa
FOX SPORTS Europe, Africa, and Latin America
FOX Telecolombia (51%)
AQUAVISION PRODUCTIONS Africa (51%)
Asianet (75%)
BABY TV Europe, Asia and Latin America
CHANNEL [V]
CHANNEL [V] Asia
CULT Europe
ESPN STAR Sports (50%)
FX Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America
Hathway Cable and Datacom (17%)
LAPTV (Movie City Pack, Cinecanal, and The Film Zone) (55%)
National Geographic International Channels (52%)
Nat Geo Adventure Europe and Asia
Nat Geo Music Europe, Africa and Asia
Nat Geo Wild Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America
NHNZ PRODUCTIONS Asia
Phoenix Satellite Television (18%)
Premier Media Group (50%)
Rotana (9%)
SPEED Latin America
STAR Chinese Channel
STAR Chinese Movies
STAR Den (50%)
STAR GOld
STAR Movies
STAR MOVIES Asia
Star News (26%)
STAR ONE
STAR PLUS
STAR UTSAV
STAR World
STAR World Asia
UTILISIMA Latin America
Telecine (13%)
TVN Asia
VIJAY (81%)
VOYAGE Europe
XING KONG

Other Television

FOX Broadcasting Company
FOX Sports
FOX Sports Australia
FOX Television Stations
MyNetworkTV

Film

20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox Espanol
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox International
20th Century Fox Television
Fox 2000 Pictures
Fox Music
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Studios Australia
Fox Studios LA
Fox Television Studios
Blue Sky Studios
Shine Group
Twentieth Television
20th Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising
Premium Movie Partnership (Australia and New Zealand - 20%)

Newspapers (U.S.)

New York Post
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal Digital Network
SmartSource (Coupons)

Newspapers (International)

The Advertiser and Sunday Mail (Australia)
The Australian (Australia)
The Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia)
Herald Sun and Sunday Herald Sun (Australia)
mX (Australia)
The Mercury and Sunday Tasmanian (Australia)
Northern Territory News and Sunday Territorian (Australia)
Perth Now (Australia)
Post-Courier (Papua New Guinea)
The Sun (U.K.)
Sunday Times (Australia)
The Times and The Sunday Times (U.K.)
Weekly Times (Australia)

Dow Jones

The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal Asia
The Wall Street Journal Europe
The Wall Street Journal Radio
The Wall Street Journal Digital Network
The Wall STreet Journal Classroom
Barron's
Dow Jones Local Media Group (Ottaway):

Cape Cod Media Group (MA)

Cape Cod Times
Cape Cod View
Barnstable Patriot

Hudson Valley Media Group (NY)

Times Herald-Record (Middletown)
Orange Magazine (Orange County)

Nantucket Island Media Group (MA)

Times Herald-Record (Nantucket)
Nantucket Today

Pocono Mountains Media Group (PA)

Pocono Record (Stroudsburg)

San Joaquin Media Group (CA)

The Record (Stockton)

Seacoast Media Group (NH)

The Portsmouth Herald
The Exeter News-Letter
The Hampton Union
The York Weekly
York County Coast Star

South Coast Media Group (MA)

The Standard-Times (New Bedford)
The Advocate (Fairhaven)
The Chronicle (Westport and Dartmouth)
Middleboro Gazette
The Spectator (Somerset and Swansea)
The Fall RIver Spirit
New England Business Bulletin

Southern Oregon Media Group (OR)

Medford Mail Tribune
The Nickel (Medford)
Ashland Daily Tidings
AllThingsD.com
BigCharts.com
eFinancialNews
Factiva
Dow Jones Averages Dow Jones Client Solutions
Dow Jones Companies & Executives
Dow Jones Events
Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Insight
Dow Jones Investment Banker
Dow Jones LP Source
Dow Jones Newswires
Dow Jones Private Markets
Dow Jones Reprint Portal
Dow Jones Watchlist
Dow Jones VentureSource
FINS.com
Marketwatch.com
SmartMoney.com (with Hearst)
Vedomosti (with Pearson and Independent Media)
Virtual Stock Exchange

Magazines

Alpha (Australia)
Big League (Australia)
Inside Out (Australia)
Donna Hay (Australia)

Other News Properties

The Daily
News Digital Media
News International

Publishing

HarperCollins Publishers
Amistad
Avon
Avon A
Avon Inspire
Avon Red
Caedmon
Harper Design
Ecco
Eos
Harper
Harper Business
HarperLuxe
Harper Paperbacks
Harper Perennial
Harper Perennial Modern Classics
HarperAudio
HarperBibles
HarperCollins e-Books
HarperOne
ItBooks
Rayo
William Morrow
HarperCollins Children's Books
Amistad
Balzer + Bray
Collins
Greenwillow Books
HarperCollins Children's Audio
HarperCollins Children's Books
HarperCollins e-books
HarperFestival
HarperTeen
Katherine Tegen Books
Rayo
Walden Pond Press
HarperCollins Australia
HarperCollins Canada
HarperCollins India (40%)
HarperCollins New Zealand
HarperCollins US
HarperCollins UK
Zondervan

Online Properties

AmericanIdol.com
AskMen
BrandAlley UK (49%)
careerone.com.au
CARSguide.com.au
Fox.com
FoxSports.com
FoxSports.com.au
Fox Audience Network
hulu.com (32%)
kSolo
Milkaround
News.com.au
News Digital Media
Realestate.com (58%)
Scout
Spring Widgets
truelocal.com.au
WhatIfSports

Other

Fox Mobile Group
IGN Entertainment
National Rugby League (Australia) (50%)
NDS (49%)
News America Marketing
News Outdoor Group (79%)

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Mandtugai!

In USA 1% of super elites own 90% of their national wealth but on "official media" it is 10%.

It is usually referred to as the Pareto Rule, or the 80/20 rule.

Pareto

Unless you are suggesting there is a super Pareto Rule dealing with the super elites?

Thanks for the enlightenment I actually clicked on that link. Since there is american great personal wealth divide began with english immigrants harshly discriminating irish immigrants through 1800s will you might further enlighten the question more broadly.

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Mandtugai!