Our Economy Has Been Collapsing, It Continues To Collapse, and The Collapse Is Going To Accelerate Dramatically

Posted by admin on Aug 30, 2012 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Michael Snyder: Did you know that median household income in the United States is lower today than it was when the last recession supposedly ended?  If we are in the middle of an “economic recovery”, how can this possibly be happening?  Stunning new statistics compiled by Sentier Research show that the U.S. economy is not nearly as healthy as we have been led to believe.  According to the study that Sentier Research has just released, median household income in the United States was sitting at $55,470 back in January 2000.  In December 2007, when the recession began, it was sitting at $54,916.  In June 2009, when the recession supposedly ended, it was sitting at $53,508.  Today, it is sitting at $50,964.  This is a long-term trend that is definitely going in the wrong direction.  The fact that median household income in the U.S. is now 4.8 percent lower than it was when the last recession ended is incredibly disturbing, especially since all of the things that we buy on a regular basis just keep going up in price.  Food, gas, electricity, car insurance and health insurance all cost a whole lot more today than they did back in the year 2000, and yet median household income has dropped 8.1 percent since that time.  So what does all of this mean?  It means that American families ARE getting poorer.

Yes, the stock market has been soaring, corporate profits have set all-time records in recent years and the big Wall Street banks that were showered with bailout money are absolutely thriving.

But there has been no economic recovery on “Main Street”.

According to the Sentier Research report mentioned above, incomes have been declining in all geographic regions of the country and in all sectors of the economy….

-Median household income for the self-employed has fallen 9.4 percent since June 2009.

-Median household income for private sector employees has fallen 4.5 percent since June 2009.

-Median household income for government workers has fallen 3.5 percent since June 2009.

-Median household income for Americans living in the West has fallen 8.5 percent since June 2009.

-Median household income for Americans living in the Northeast has fallen 4.9 percent since June 2009.

-Median household income for Americans living in the South has also fallen 4.9 percent since June 2009.

-Median household income for Americans living in the Midwest has fallen 1.1 percent since June 2009.

Remember, the recession supposedly ended in June 2009.

Since that time we have supposedly been in a “recovery”.

So if it has seemed to you that American families have been getting poorer it has not just been your imagination.

In a previous article, I detailed 84 statistics that prove that the middle class in America is being systematically destroyed.  If you have not read it yet, I encourage you to go check it out.  At this point it is absolutely undeniable that the middle class in America is declining.  The following are just a couple of the numbers from my recent article….

1. According to the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of all Americans were “middle income” back in 1971.  Today, only 51 percent of all Americans are.

2. The Pew Research Center has also found that 85 percent of middle class Americans say that it is harder to maintain a middle class standard of living today compared with 10 years ago.

3. 62 percent of middle class Americans say that they have had to reduce household spending over the past year.

4. The average net worth of a middle class family in America was $129,582 in 2001.  By 2010 that figure had dropped to $93,150.

5. According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of all families in the United States declined “from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010“.

You can find 79 more statistics just like this right here.

At the same time that our incomes are going down, the cost of living just continues to rise steadily.

Thanks Ben Bernanke.

American families are being increasingly stretched financially, and if major changes are not made this is going to get even worse in the years ahead.

Another thing that we aren’t being told on the nightly news is that the percentage of working age Americans that have jobs is lower today than when the last recession ended.

So let’s summarize….

-A smaller percentage of Americans have jobs today compared to June 2009.

-Median household income has declined by 4.8 percent since June 2009.

-American families are far less wealthy than they were just a few years ago.

Are we sure that we are in an economic recovery?

Just look at what is happening to our cities.

The rest of the world once looked at Detroit in awe.

Now it is a global joke.

You can see some incredible photographs of the devastation in Detroit right here.

This kind of thing is happening on the east coast as well.  I have written many times about how horrible life has become in places such as Camden, New Jersey.

Well, now the entire Camden police force is being disbanded, and the policing of the city is going to be turned over to the county.

We are a mess, and it is time to admit that.

Sadly, most Americans simply have no idea how close our economic system really is to total system failure.

Only 24.6 percent of the jobs in this country are “good jobs” at this point, the velocity of money in our economy has plunged to a post-World War II low, unemployment is rampant, more than half of all Americans are at least partially financially dependent on the government and our national debt is crossing the 16 trillion dollar mark.

We don’t need someone to come in and “tweak” the economy.

We need radical reconstructive surgery.

But most Americans do not understand this.

Most Americans do not seem to grasp these things until economic hardship touches them personally.

After all, if you still have a good job and the mainstream media is telling you that everything is going to be okay it is really easy to pretend that we aren’t heading for an economic disaster of unimaginable proportions.

A massive problem that we are facing right now is something known as “normalcy bias”. This is how Wikipedia defines “normalcy bias”….

The normalcy bias, or normality bias, refers to a mental state people enter when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and its possible effects. This often results in situations where people fail to adequately prepare for a disaster, and on a larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster preparations. The assumption that is made in the case of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster never has occurred then it never will occur. It also results in the inability of people to cope with a disaster once it occurs. People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before. People also tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on any ambiguities to infer a less serious situation.

Doesn’t that sound exactly like the vast majority of Americans right now?

Most Americans just assume that since we have always recovered from every other economic downturn in the past that we will always be able to easily handle whatever the future throws at us.

If only that was true.

We are heading into a time that will be unlike anything any of us have ever experienced before, and many people that have blind faith in the system are going to be absolutely devastated when this coming crisis blindsides them.

Our economy has been collapsing, it is continuing to collapse, and the collapse is going to accelerate dramatically in the coming years.

You can have blind faith in the system, or you can get prepared for what is coming.

The choice is up to you.

Source: http://marketdailynews.com

US “Fifty Wealthiest Lawmakers” list: A Congress of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich

Posted by admin on Aug 28, 2012 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Last week’s report by Washington, D.C. political blog The Hill details the vast wealth of the nation’s legislative representatives and serves as an indictment of the anti-democratic nature of the American political system. The “50 Wealthiest Lawmakers” list shows that dozens of congressional politicians have amassed huge fortunes while simultaneously slashing the wages, benefits and social services of the American people.

In other words, not only are these members of Congress overseeing a massive transfer of wealth from the working class to the ruling class; they are also profiting from this transfer.

The report reveals the bipartisan composition of the extremely wealthy in congress. Seven of the top 10 richest members of congress are Democrats; overall, Republicans make up 60 percent of the list.

According to The Hill, 17 members of Congress have amassed fortunes of over $20 million, and a total of 35 members of Congress have a net worth valued at over $10 million.

These numbers are slightly skewed compared with past surveys. Due to the passage of the STOCK Act, members of Congress now are legally required to report mortgages as liabilities. The STOCK Act was passed after revelations were made regarding banks giving members of Congress and their staffs “friendly” deals on their personal mortgages in return for favorable legislation.

The list also sheds light on the nature of wealth accumulation amongst the super-rich in America. Among the elite today, wealth accumulation has less to do with productive work than it does with parasitism, inheritance, and family ties.

Rep. Michael McCaul (Republican of Texas) tops the list with a total fortune of $290.5 million. McCaul’s wealth comes in part from his marriage to the daughter of Lowry Mays, the founder of radio giant Clear Channel Communications. Belying the claim that these fortunes come from productive hard work, McCaul’s 2011 financial report explained that “certain assets owned by spouse were acquired via gift from spouse’s parents.”

Democratic Party leadership is featured prominently at the top of the list.

Sen. John Kerry (Democrat of Massachusetts), the party’s nominee for president in 2004, is second, with a net worth of $198.8 million. Like McCaul, much of this wealth comes from family. His wife Theresa Heinz’s “numerous family trusts” have helped push Kerry’s fortune up $5 million in the last year.

Democratic Senators Jay Rockefeller (West Virginia), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), and Dianne Feinstein (California) are also featured in the top 10. The respective fortunes of these three senators ($83.1 million, $80.1 million, and $47.2 million) come in large part from family inheritances and trusts.

Feinstein’s net worth is partially explained by her marriage to investment banker Richard Blum, who also sits on the University of California’s Board of Regents. Blum has been a strong supporter of privatization and fee hikes. Feinstein also reported owning homes in the Lake Tahoe area, the Coachella Valley, the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, and San Francisco.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ranks as the thirteenth wealthiest member of Congress, with a net worth of $26.4 million. Much of Pelosi’s fortune comes from her husband Paul Pelosi, a land developer. Pelosi’s fortune actually declined since 2010, but this can largely be explained by $6 million in mortgages on two properties in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco that are now counted as liabilities.

Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin reported a net worth of $10.2 million. Among other reported assets, “his prized stamp collection … is now worth at least $150,000.”

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican, ranks 35th on the list. A portion of her $9 million fortune comes from investments in Education Management Corporation, a for-profit post-secondary education company. Snowe’s husband, former Maine governor John McKernan Jr., sits on the company’s board of directors.

All of the Congressional members on the list amassed their vast sums of money on the backs of the working people they purport to represent.

The web site OpenSecrets.org reports that land speculation is the industry in which members of Congress make the most money. Financial speculation, securities and investments, oil and gas production, and commercial banking are also featured in the top 10 profitable industries for members of Congress.

The report from The Hill underlines what was already clear about American politics: the vast majority of Americans are given no representation in government. Their “elected” representatives are chosen from the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.

The lives of these members of Congress compare starkly with the realities that their constituents face on a day-to-day basis. In the years following the financial crisis, the average American family has lost 40 percent of its net worth. Half of America lives either under the poverty line or one paycheck away from it. In some states, a quarter of the population struggles to afford food. Meanwhile, Congress cuts unemployment benefits, funding for health care, education, and housing. Both parties have agreed that slashing pensions and food stamps are next on the agenda.

For the richest members of Congress, these cuts will result, as they evidently have already, in an increase in net worth. For their working class constituents, the cuts pose a more urgent threat: hunger, disease, poverty, and a loss of life.

Source: wsws.org

Social Security Administration To Purchase 174 Thousand Rounds Of Hollow Point Bullets

Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2012 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Preparing for civil unrest? Ammunition to be delivered to 41 locations across U.S.

First it was the Department of Homeland Security, then it was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and now the Social Security Administration is set to purchase 174,000 rounds of hollow point bullets that will be delivered to 41 locations across the country.

A solicitation posted by the SSA on the FedBizOpps website asks for contractors to supply 174,000 rounds of “.357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition.”

An online ammunition retailer describes the bullets as suitable “for peak performance rivaling and sometimes surpassing handloads in many guns,” noting that the ammo is “a great personal defense bullet.”

The synopsis to the solicitation adds that the ammunition is to be shipped to 41 locations within 60 days of purchase. A separate spreadsheet lists those locations, which include the Social Security headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland as well as major cities across the country including Los Angeles, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

Hollow point bullets are designed to expand as they enter the body, causing maximum damage by tearing apart internal organs.

It’s not outlandish to suggest that the Social Security Administration is purchasing the bullets as part of preparations for civil unrest. Social security welfare is estimated to keep around 40 per cent of senior citizens out of poverty. Should the tap run dry in the aftermath of an economic collapse which the Federal Reserve has already told top banks to prepare for, domestic disorder could ensue if people are refused their benefits.

Indeed, earlier this year the Department of Homeland Security ran a drill called Operation Shield which included turning the entrance of a Florida Social Security office into a checkpoint manned by Federal Protective Service officers armed with semiautomatic rifles.

“With their blue and white SUVs circled around the Main Street office, at least one official was posted on the door with a semiautomatic rifle, randomly checking identifications. And other officers, some with K-9s, sifted through the building,” reported the Daily Commercial.

A rash of solicitations by federal agencies for hollow point bullets in recent months has stoked fears that the government is preparing for civil unrest caused by a financial collapse on a scale similar or even larger to scenes already witnessed in Europe over the last two years.

As we reported yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has put out a contract for 46,000 rounds of hollow point bullets along with 500 paper targets.

Despite initially asking the bullets to be delivered to the National Weather Service, NOAA claimed this was a “clerical error” and insisted the ammunition was being sent to the Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement. Why powerful hollow point bullets that are designed to tear apart internal organs are needed for practice shooting at paper targets has not been explained.

Back in March, Homeland Security purchased 450 million rounds of .40-caliber hollow point bullets that are designed to expand upon entry and cause maximum organ damage, prompting questions as to why the DHS needed such a large amount of powerful bullets merely for training purposes.

This was followed by another DHS solicitation asking for a further 750 million rounds of assorted bullets, including 357 mag rounds that are able to penetrate walls.

The DHS recently put out an order for riot gear in preparation for the upcoming DNC, RNC and presidential inauguration. The U.S. Army is also busy buying similar equipment.

The DHS also recently purchased a number of bullet-proof checkpoint booths that include ‘stop and go’ lights.

Source: http://www.infowars.com

National Weather Service Follows DHS In Huge Ammo Purchase

Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2012 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Hollow point bullets designed to cause maximum organ damage

Why would the National Weather Service need to purchase large quantities of powerful ammo? That’s the question many are asking after the federal agency followed in the footsteps of the Department of Homeland Security in putting out a solicitation for 46,000 rounds of hollow point bullets.

A solicitation which appears on the FedBizOpps website asks for 16,000 rounds of .40 S&W jacketed hollow point (JHP) bullets, noted for their strength, to be delivered to locations in Ellsworth, Maine, and New Bedford, Mass.

A further 6,000 rounds of S&W JHP will be sent to Wall, New Jersey, with another 24,000 rounds of the same bullets heading to the weather station in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The solicitation also asks for 500 paper targets to be delivered to the same locations in Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

The National Weather Service is is one of six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The solicitation requires a response by August 21.

The NWS is following its federal counterpart the DHS in securing large quantities of ammo. Back in March,Homeland Security purchased 450 million rounds of .40-caliber hollow point bullets that are designed to expand upon entry and cause maximum organ damage, prompting questions as to why the DHS needed such a large amount of powerful bullets merely for training purposes.

As the Business Insider notes, hollow point bullets have been “illegal in international warfare since 1899.”

The DHS is also planning to purchase a further 750 million rounds of different types of ammo in a separate solicitation that also expires on August 20, including 357 mag rounds that are able to penetrate walls.

The DHS recently put out an order for riot gear in preparation for the upcoming DNC, RNC and presidential inauguration. The U.S. Army is also busy buying similar equipment.

The DHS also recently purchased a number of bullet-proof checkpoint booths that include ‘stop and go’ lights.

The federal government is clearly gearing up for the likelihood of civil unrest on a scale that could outstrip what we’ve already seen in countries across Europe.

While the establishment demonizes the second amendment in light of recent mass shootings and legislation is prepared to ban the sale of large quantities of ammunition online, the federal government is acquiring ammunition at levels necessary to fight a full scale domestic war.

Source: http://www.infowars.com

UPDATE: The Washington Post now reports, via a statement from NOAA spokesman Scott Smullen, that the original solicitation contained a “clerical error” and that the “solicitation for ammunition and targets for the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement mistakenly identified NOAA’s National Weather Service as the requesting office.” This still doesn’t explain why hollow point bullets, designed to cause maximum organ damage, are needed for shooting at paper targets. Was the delivery of the bullets to the NWS a cover for them being transferred somewhere else? It’s entirely possible given the sordid history of Fast and Furious, a federal government program under which guns were sent directly to Mexican drug cartels.

DHS To Purchase “Another” 750 Million Rounds Of Ammo

Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2012 in Uncategorized | 0 comments