Topic: Slowdown

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Senator Dick Durbin discuss the declining level of service at the IRS due to budget cuts. Lew reports that the agency only answers about 37% of calls with an average wait time of 23 minutes. The hosts suggest the agency is engaging in a deliberate "slowdown" to pressure Congress for more funding and to target "tax cheaters."

The Baltic Dry Index has fallen to historic lows, signaling a massive slowdown in global shipping and trade. This decline is linked to "hinky" economic numbers coming out of China, where the government is struggling to manage its hybrid communist-capitalist system. The segment predicts a significant global economic collapse by 2017 as these "faked" numbers finally unravel.

The hosts discuss "Internet Slowdown Day," a protest organized by groups like Fight for the Future and the EFF to support net neutrality. Curry reads an email from activists urging users to contact Congress. He expresses skepticism about the funding and true motives behind these organizations.

The "Battle for the Net" campaign and the planned "Internet Slowdown" on September 10th are discussed. The hosts argue that net neutrality regulation is a "scam" designed to institutionalize large cable companies like Comcast. They warn that Title II regulation will lead to government control over "lawful content" and "lawful network traffic."

A financial analyst expresses near-panic over the lack of yield for money managers, warning that the world is on the verge of a "great, great depression." The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) remains a central focus as interest rates are kept low by the Federal Reserve under Ben Bernanke. The analyst suggests that an "innovation slowdown" and the high number of underwater homeowners are contributing to a stagnant and dangerous economic environment.