IMF Loans Cause Increased Rates of Tuberculosis

Yep, this is real tinfoil-hat stuff—except that it’s coming from the University of Cambridge. Is there a causal link between IMF loans and increased tuberculosis rates? Make up your own mind.

“The rapid spread of tuberculosis in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has been fuelled by the economic policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a new study has found.

“The Cambridge University-led study reveals that IMF loan programmes are “strongly associated” with large increases in tuberculosis incidence and deaths, costing tens of thousands of lives every year and producing hundreds of thousands of new tuberculosis cases.

“Researchers measured the relationship between tuberculosis and IMF loans in 21 countries in the region, dating back to the early 1990s. They found that countries subject to IMF programmes experienced a surge in tuberculosis death rates of at least 16.6% – equivalent to more than 100,000 additional deaths. Had countries not participated in the programmes, or been supported by other lenders, the rates would have declined by at least eight to 10%.”

Read more at University of Cambridge.

Read Full Post »

Unemployment Funds Going ‘Absolutely Broke’

This is how the relentless squeeze is put on the private sector. Federal bailouts of state unemployment-compensation funds will result in greater Federal control and levying of taxes and fees on what remains of the private sector. Existing outside of the Control Grid–off the public dole–will become increasingly untenable.

One by one, private sector holdouts will lose their grip and be swept into a Federal system acting under international guidelines. Those newly captured will be placed under draconian controls–surveillance, forced drugging and sterilization, forced labor, a limited ration of genetically modified food–in exchange for “benefits” and “security.”

“The recession’s jobless toll is draining unemployment-compensation funds so fast that according to federal projections, 40 state programs will go broke within two years and need $90 billion in loans to keep issuing the benefit checks.

“The shortfalls are putting pressure on governments to either raise taxes or shrink the aid payments.

“Debates over the state benefit programs have erupted in South Carolina, Nevada, Kansas, Vermont and Indiana. And the budget gaps are expected to spread and become more acute in the coming year, compelling legislators in many states to reconsider their operations.”

Read more at MSNBC.

Read Full Post »