A number of major events in the past few years reinforce the notion that the U.S. is on a path of failure, not success. "Major" means an event that involves near a trillion dollars or into the multi-trillions.
A key variable in the success or failure of a nation and government like ours is the production of wealth. We the People produce this wealth. When our government selects strategies that impair the production of wealth and that destroy wealth, it causes failure.
Let’s look at six major government strategies that are causing major failure. There are many more. In each case, there is a pattern of persistence. The government failures do not deter it from continuing the failed strategy. The government enlarges them. The end result of such behavior is the ruination of the country.
The first of these strategies is the dysfunctional response of the U.S. to terrorism. The U.S. chose the most costl
There is this paralyzing fear that the next Great Depression is knocking at the door. For politicians to open the door to free-market anarchism is just as bad as a foot inside the door for Obama’s ideological economics.
A $300 million cash-for-clunkers-type federal program to boost sales of
energy-efficient home appliances provides a glimmer of hope for
beleaguered makers of washing machines and dishwashers.
Yes things will be that bad soon for some it already is but there is no reason to go hungry. People fail to understand that with all forms of Totalitarian Governments be it Socialist, Fascist, Communist the leaders share the gains the people the pains. It is too bad this was not understood earlier and a real man of the people like Ron Paul voted in but we can't cry over spilled milk. Next time after you endure the Depression being created perhaps. Those with the Entitlement Mindset cannot figure out WHY the "Messiah" whom they believed to be one of their own could let them down, so LEARN something today and read this.
Now back to cooking with Clara. In fact this Dandelion Salad looks great and I think I will make it myself this weekend just to try it. Clara who is 94 years old (so she should know a thing or two) says it is healthy for you anyway. Video
And a Video at site to boot!
Structurally High Unemployment For A Decade.
Manhattan Commercial Real Estate Office Sales Plunge 91%.
Emails from a Bank Owner regarding FDIC and Under-Capitalized Banks
Brace for a Wave of Foreclosures, the Dam is About to Break
The FDIC is in Trouble
Toxic Loans Topping 5% May Push 150 Banks to Point of No Return
Personal Savings Rate Slips In June Amid Notable Drop In Income
13 Million Ame
First it was the broken-window debacle known formally as CARS, or colloquially as “Cash For Clunkers”: by Government edict, thousands of functioning vehicles were destroyed with sodium silicate. Adding insult to injury, the vehicles (parts of which were ostensibly salvageable) will be scrapped. Thanks to CARS, the replacement driver-side door that you neede for your 1995 whatchamacallit is going to be a little bit harder to find. The market for used cars, and the market for replacement/salvage parts just got a little bit thinner, so prices go up a little bit more.
And then there is agriculture, which has been silently (but openly) engaging in what can only be described as price-fixing. It’s been said elsewhere, but I’ll repeat it: if any other industry openly flaunted it’s price-fixing policies (Big Oil, anyone?) it would quickly draw the ire of politicians, bloggers, and Joe Six-Packs everywhere. Everyone would be in an uproar over “price gouging”. But I’ve heard nary a whisper abou
Make sure to watch the video at site also..
In July, Ben Bernanke told a town hall meeting, "I was not going to be the Federal Reserve chairman who presided over the second Great Depression." According to New York Times columnist Paul Krugman in that regard he's succeeded. Bernanke's rescue of the financial sector in tandem with the Obama Administration's stimulus plan prevented a "full replay" of the Great Depression, the Nobel Prize-winning economist writes.
But like President Bush declaring "Mission Accomplished" in 2003, Elliott Wave International founder, Bob Prechter thinks Krugman and Bernanke are premature in declaring victory over the credit crunch. Prechter, who famously predicted the 1987 stock market crash, tells Tech Ticker "the march towards depression, which is being fueled by deflationary trend, is pretty well intact."
So forget all you've heard about recovery and inflation, "we've only seen the first
This is long but it entails facts and figures and covers a lot more you should know about in addition to the "Real" Unemployment Situation...
What Will Future Conditions Look Like?
When he was presented with the July unemployment numbers, even President Obama tempered his enthusiasm by saying that the official unemployment numbers will rise to 10% later this year.
And the Federal Reserve predicted in July that high unemployment will cause the eventual economic recovery to be drawn out and weak for years to come. In other words, the Fed is worried that we're trapped in a vicious cycle, where a poor economy will lead to high unemployment numbers, and unemployment will lead to less consumer spending which will worsen the economy. Here is a snippet..
And former chief IMF economist Simon Johnson notes that a vicious cycle also exists between unemployment and property foreclosures:
Unemployment is always a lagging indicator, and given the record low number of average hour
Eric Sprott is the Canadian business guru who predicted the banking collapse last year, and is #4 in Canada’s top successful investors. He’s one of the few who’s “…net worth went up over the past five months, thanks to the 30% increase of the value of his controlling stake in mutual fund firm Sprott Inc., parent of Sprott Asset Management.” You’ll find more of his insight with other articles here.
So without further adieu, I present to you a more informed perspective, complete with charts, graphs and some real data “tough love” on what’s coming our way. Below is the embed TOCdoc format. However if you prefer, here’s a PDF version to download, save… or just for easier viewing.
With all this blather about “green shoots” and economic “recovery” and new “bull market,” I thought I’d inject a little reality into the collective financial dialogue. The following are ALL true, all valid, and all horrifying…
Enjoy.
1) High Frequency Trading Programs account for 70% of market volume
In the real economy, unemployment is at Depression-era levels (see this, this and this).
In the real economy, bank loan loss rates will be higher than the Depression.
In the real economy, government revenue is at its lowest level since the Depression, and most states are on the verge of bankruptcy.
In the real economy, the world economy is crashing faster than during the Depression (and see this).
But in the make-believe world of the government and the financial giants, the recession is over.
How do they do it?
Well, as I noted a couple of days ago, the boys use:
The recession is starving the government of tax revenue, just as the president and Congress are piling a major expansion of health care and other programs on the nation's plate and struggling to find money to pay the tab.
MORE NEWS
Obama officials: Taxes may rise to pay health care 08.03.09
Startup's stickers identify the source of food 08.02.09
Offshore windmills hold clean-energy promise 08.02.09
The numbers could hardly be more stark: Tax receipts are on pace to drop 18 percent this year, the biggest single-year decline since the Great Depression, while the federal deficit balloons to a record $1.8 trillion.
Americans in the peak year of 2007 had a net worth of $64.2 trillion. A sizeable portion of that net worth has evaporated. In fact, that $64.2 trillion is now valued at $50.3 trillion. A 21 percent cut to the American household balance sheet.
Does this mean the pork filled stimulus is not working? Wheres the Jobs?
President Barack Obama’s top economic officials said in interviews aired Sunday that the administration may support an extension in unemployment benefits.
Some on Capitol Hill view that as a second stimulus package, although it is unlikely to be billed that way, because of rising concern about government spending.
“We’ll do what’s necessary to make appropriate unemployment benefits available,” national economic adviser Lawrence Summers said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
In yesterday's CHART OF THE DAY we noted the similarities between this current rally and the famous rally between 1929 and 1930. Today, David Rosenberg picks up on the same thing, and fills it out a little more.
1930 revisited.
We've put together an amazing, fool-making rally since the market hit its lows in early March. Of course, before you break out the champagne, remember that a strong bull run can happen during a long-term decline.
We have eclipsed most such precedents. But we did have one big bull run of nearly the exact same length and magnitude between November, 1929 and April, 1930. And you know what happened after that.
As I have previously pointed out, the current economic crisis could be worse than the Great Depression. See this and this.
I have also pointed out that two economists said as recently as June that the global economic downturn was worse than the Great Depression.
But if you don't believe them, here it is from the horse's mouth . . .
Ben Bernanke said 3 days ago:
They say dark days lie ahead for the economy. But, whatever happens, we don’t have to go hungry. We can feed ourselves. Come on my Beloved Country, let’s get organized. Let’s start digging. Let’s do something economically beneficial, wonderful, brill
Things have certainly changed in the last year or two. Somehow, the part of the economy that is felt in the pocketbooks of average Citizens has gone from super-heated and ever-expanding, to ice-cold and losing ground--at about the same incredible ra
Acting in your ‘best interest, of course, Congress, the Senate and the latest Messiah decided to ‘borrow’ $1 Trillion dollars that hasn’t even been earned yet. Now there’s a trick.
Of course, step one to recovery is to replace the income tax with nothing, but whether you do it yourself or you wait for Congress to do it for you, there is a lot more going on than the old media is revealing. Nick Turse presents The Depression.
The people whose mortgages the gov't will bailout this year will be saved ... until their mortgages reset in 5 years. This only delays the inevitable mass defaults/foreclosures (until after the 2012 elections -- coincidence?).
Notice the plan
Alcoa Inc., the world's third-largest aluminum maker, said Tuesday it will cut 13,500 jobs, or 13 percent of its work force, and slash spending and output to cope with the global economic slowdown.
