Iraq and Venezuela are on the Brink of Collapse...

[Rockhopper]

Saudi Arabia may be next in line. The fallout could prove deadly!

Pity the poor petro-states. Once so wealthy from oil sales that they could finance wars, mega-projects, and domestic social peace simultaneously, some of them are now beset by internal strife or are on the brink of collapse as oil prices remain at ruinously low levels. Unlike other countries, which largely finance their governments through taxation, petro-states rely on their oil and natural gas revenues. Russia, for example, obtains about 50% of government income that way; Nigeria, 60%; and Saudi Arabia, a whopping 90%. When oil was selling at $100 per barrel or above, as was the case until 2014, these countries could finance lavish government projects and social welfare operations, ensuring widespread popular support. Now, with oil below $50 and likely to persist at that level, they find themselves curbing public spending and fending off rising domestic discontent or even incipient revolt.

At the peak of their glory, the petro-states played an outsized role in world affairs. The members of OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, earned an estimated $821 billion from oil exports in 2013 alone. Flush with cash, they were able to exert influence over other countries through a wide variety of aid and patronage operations. Venezuela, for example, sought to counter U.S. influence in Latin America via its Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), a cooperative network of mostly leftist governments. Saudi Arabia spread its influence throughout the Islamic world in part by financing the efforts of its ultra-conservative Wahhabi clergy to establish madrassas (religious academies) throughout the Islamic world. Russia, under Vladimir Putin, used its prodigious oil wealth torebuild and refurbish its military, which had largely disintegrated following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Lesser members of the petro-state club like Angola, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan became accustomed to regular fawning visits from the presidents and prime ministers of major oil-importing countries.

Source.

Tim.

[Lenzabi]

And they forgot another petro state,,,,,America, with all our warring paid for by the fracking and off shore drilling, we too are soon due for a collapse unless we get away from both a petro and war based economy.

[Rockhopper]

http://universalbasicincome.org

Tim.

[Stargate]

Totally agree Len, and Tim, the Saudis, Israel, Turkey, England, the US, are all lining up for something big. The fall of the oil price is quite a factor, however not the only factor. The world economies are so structured that one domino will lead to the fall of all dominoes

[Lenzabi]

That universal basic income, I can see it being fought over as to how much (Or little) people need to stay with food/shelter/clothing and internet access. most of the ones I agree with are the 2500currency rate and allow any unhappy with that go out and find some employment to add icing to their cupcake.

I can also see Libertarians and others cry about that as "welfare state" or "socialism" or other negative detraction, but the reality is staring us all in the face. More folks are unemployed or going to be unemployed, or on disability/retirement, like myself, and honestly that 2500 would make it so I would no longer need to be on disability as it would be superior to the paltry sum I get now(1111.70 monthly), and it is eaten up fast! the UBI would allow me to save maybe take a trip around the planet again. But I doubt I will be alive when they finally decide to implement that concept.

[Stargate]

Well Len, the truth is coming out, it is not only black people who are slaves as they would like us to believe, we are all slaves getting slave wages. You have reach your limit on productivity to the slave benefactors, now you are programmed to die. matrix shutdown.

[Lenzabi]

Well Len, the truth is coming out, it is not only black people who are slaves as they would like us to believe, we are all slaves getting slave wages. You have reach your limit on productivity to the slave benefactors, now you are programmed to die. matrix shutdown.

I have been unable to work for the past 4yrs, not dead yet. Disabled, yes, but I am knowledgeable enough to know how to keep things going. My doctor said all my blood panels were unchanged, that I need to work on some fixes here and there, but like a tough old pick up truck, I am still running.

[Stargate]

The new trucks are not so people ready my friend, so you had better oil your wheels, some road left to cover.

[Rockhopper]

Tim.

[Lenzabi]

More simplified, more efficient, and makes lives better sounds like a win-win that even conservatives could agree is better than our hydra of social services. make that sit side-by-side with universal healthcare and we beat down the Neo-liberals with ease

[Lenzabi]

Oh and a long but decent read, in spite of typos

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/23/culture-of-cruelty-the-age-of-neoliberal-authoritarianism/

[Kaere]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/swiss-referendum-guaranteed-income-1.3617059

Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have guaranteed everyone in the Alpine nation an unconditional basic income, according to projections published Sunday by public broadcaster SRF1.

The plan could have seen people in this wealthy nation of eight million people receive about 2,500 Swiss francs ($3,315 Cdn) per month — enough to cover their basic needs.

Proponents argued that a basic income would free people from meaningless toil and allow them to pursue more productive or creative goals in life. Critics said the plan would explode the state budget and encourage idleness, arguments that appear to have convinced voters.

Based on a partial count of results from 19 Swiss cantons (states), the gfs.bern polling group calculated that 78 per cent of voters opposed the measure.

The Swiss government itself advised voters to reject the proposal put forward by left-wing campaigners who collected the necessary 100,000 signatures to force a vote on the issue.

But the idea of basic income — also known as guaranteed minimum income, universal income or a negative income tax — has won over some economists, who say it could replace traditional welfare payments and give everybody the same chances in life.

The basic income debate recently made its way to Canada, with politicians at all three levels of government seeking to study it.

In Ottawa, a federal MP is pushing for government research on the subject. Ontario's provincial budget announced a pilot program to try it out. And in Quebec, a cabinet minister has been assigned to study the topic. The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton are also both on board with looking at the concept.

Google Trends, which tracks the volume of the search engine's inquiries, shows an increased number of searches for "basic income" and related terms in the past three years — especially in recent months.

A basic income experiment has actually taken place in Canada before. For a five-year period in the 1970s, every person in the rural Manitoba community of Dauphin was given $1,255 a year (about $7,500 today).

The amount increased depending on the number of people living in each household. Dauphin residents didn't have to work to receive the money. If they did, their benefit dropped 50 cents for every dollar earned.

But the project was never implemented more widely and a final report wasn't released.

Some believe the idea is catching fire once again due to our changing labour landscape, where a secure 9-to-5 job is increasingly uncommon and technological advances have given rise to the so-called gig economy.

"I think people are simply looking at the state of the economy and they're starting to focus on changes that have been taking place for a very long time," said Evelyn Forget, a professor at the University of Manitoba who has studied the Dapuhin project, said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.

[Lenzabi]

yep, they would also stimulate economy as folks with 2500bucks a month can still live with dignity and of they want more, they can find "gigs" or part time employment to add to their experience, but no more destructive pressure and stress would help a lot, I mean that amount is not super great, but it is better than the 1,111.70 I get on disability (it is pretty much gone fast with rent/meds/bills/food. Such a thing like that UBI would mean money for nicer things and that helps make people feel good and lifts them from despair. It would be nice to go see a movie, or dine out every now and then.

But to accomplish this, we need to kill off the philosophy/paradigm of neo-liberalism and Neo-conservatism, as both are all about cruelly warring upon the poor, and making never ending wars

[Stargate]

Len, it all sounds like BS to me, they know the cost of living, they know what can be bought with the money they pay you, they know the medical bills and how far you can go with it. I don't think its a problem to calculate what is minimum and maximum, the truth is it is not even balanced.

[Lenzabi]

Len, it all sounds like BS to me, they know the cost of living, they know what can be bought with the money they pay you, they know the medical bills and how far you can go with it. I don't think its a problem to calculate what is minimum and maximum, the truth is it is not even balanced.

Well, I said 2,500 a month would be more fair for me as I am currently existing off 1,111.70 per month that would be 30k per year, but of course that would mean a family would need to boost that with finding some form of work. my 13k a year is barely tolerable and means I go no where or do much of anything

[Sponsored content]