Sometimes it isn't necessary to quote facts and figures about government debt, unemployment and the trade deficit in order to convey how badly America is decaying. The truth is that millions of Americans can watch America rotting right in front of their eyes by stepping out on their front porches. Record numbers of homes have been foreclosed on and in some of the most run down cities as many as a third of all houses have been abandoned. Unemployment remains at depressingly high levels and the number of Americans on food stamps continues to set new records month after month. Due to severe budget cuts, class sizes are exploding and school programs are being eliminated. In some areas of the U.S. schools are even going to four day weeks. With little to no funding available, bridges are crumbling and street lights are being turned off in many communities. In some areas, asphalt roads are actually being ground up and turned back into gravel roads because they are less expensive to maintain. There aren't even as many police available to patrol America's decaying cities because budget problems have forced local communities across the U.S. to lay off tens of thousands of officers.
Once upon a time, the American people worked feverishly to construct beautiful, shining communities from coast to coast. But now we get to watch those communities literally crumble and decay in slow motion. Nothing lasts forever, but for those of us who truly love America it is an incredibly sad thing to witness what is now happening to the great nation that our forefathers built.
The following are 18 signs that America is rotting right in front of our eyes....
1 - Due to extreme budget cuts, school systems across the United States are requiring their students to bring more supplies with them than ever this year. In Moody, Alabama elementary school students are being told to bring paper towels, garbage bags and liquid soap with them to school. At Pauoa Elementary School in Honolulu, Hawaii all students are being required to show up with a four-pack of toilet paper.
2 - According to the American Association of School Administrators, 48 percent of all U.S. school districts are reporting budget cuts of 10 percent or less for the upcoming school year, and 30 percent of all U.S. school districts are reporting cuts of 11 to 25 percent.
3 - In Chicago, drastic budget cuts could result in an average class size of 37 students.
4 - The governor of Hawaii has completely shut down that state's schools on Fridays - moving teachers and students to a four day week.
5 - According to the Federal Highway Administration, approximately a third of America's major roadways are already in substandard condition.
6 - All over the United States, asphalt roads are being ground up and are being replaced with gravel because it is cheaper to maintain. The state of South Dakota has transformed over 100 miles of asphalt road into gravel over the past year, and 38 out of the 83 counties in the state of Michigan have now turned some of their asphalt roads into gravel roads.
7 - According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 25 percent of America's nearly 600,000 bridges need significant repairs or are burdened with more traffic than they were designed to carry.
8 - In a desperate attempt to save money, the city of Colorado Springs turned off a third of its streetlights and put its police helicopters up for auction.
9 - The state of Arizona has eliminated funding for full-day kindergarten and has shut down a number of state parks.
10 - Over the past year, approximately 100 of New York's state parks and historic sites have had to cut services and reduce hours.
11 - In Georgia, the county of Clayton recently eliminated its entire public bus system in order to save 8 million dollars.
12 - Elsewhere in Georgia, 30,000 people recently turned out to pick up only 13,000 applications for government-subsidized housing. A near-riot ensued and 62 people were left injured. The amazing thing is that all of this commotion was just to get on a waiting list. There are no aid vouchers even available at this time.
13- In the city of Philadelphia, rolling fire station "brown outs" recently cost a 12 year old autistic boy named Frank Marasco his life.
14- Oakland, California Police Chief Anthony Batts says that due to severe budget cuts there are a number of crimes that his department will simply not be able to respond to any longer. The crimes that the Oakland police will no longer be responding to include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism.
15- The sheriff's department in Ashtabula County, Ohio has been slashed from 112 to 49 deputies, and there is now just one vehicle remaining to patrol all 720 square miles of the county.
16 - Of 315 municipalities the New Jersey State Policemen's union recently canvassed, more than half indicated that they were planning to lay off police officers.
17 - Not that the criminals are doing that much better. Things have gotten so bad in Camden, New Jersey that not even the drug dealers are spending their money anymore.
18 - Almost everyone knows someone who has been severely impacted by this economic downturn. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey has found that 81 percent of American adults know someone who is out of work and looking for a job.
So can't the states just step up and start spending more money and fix these things?
Well, no. The truth is that the states are absolutely broke. Quite a few of the states are actually on the verge of default, and there is no getting around the fact that budget cuts that are much more severe are going to be required in the years ahead.
So can't the U.S. government step in and bail out the states?
Well, yes, but as we have detailed previously, the U.S. government is literally drowning in a sea of red ink. The U.S. government is already spending an amount of money equivalent to approximately 25.4 percent of GDP this year.
How much more money can the U.S. government possibly spend?
To get an idea of just how bad things are already, the IMF says that in order to fix the U.S. government budget deficit, taxes need to be doubled on every single U.S. citizen.
Are you ready to pay double the taxes?
No matter how you slice it, the U.S. is in a massive amount of financial trouble and the American people are starting to realize this fact. In fact, one new poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that the U.S. economy will get worse before it gets better.
But unfortunately things are not going to get "better" - at least in the long-term. The decay and the rot that have already set in are only going to get worse.
These problems did not appear overnight and they are not going to be solved overnight. Our leaders have been making very bad decisions for decades, and all of those bad decisions are starting to catch up with us.
But perhaps you disagree. Feel free to tell us what you think in the comments section below....
Good Tidings All: I suppose my outlook is not cheery, that is a “pessimist–optimist” but the current state of US affairs leads me to this outlook. For an idea into the future of the USA, examine the drug wars in Mexico as our new societal model. Meanwhile this post sums it all up quite clearly. Chicken Little was right, “the sky is–falling”. Scary indeed that law enforcement should have to reduce their numbers. Oh, by the way, less money in the penal system means more criminals released from their rat packed prisons. As more unemployed, homeless, and crime types mix, enforcing laws protecting innoncent citizens will become a joke. Society will collapse as all out anarchy rules our daily lives. An ineffective government will find it impossible to control the masses. And thats on top of all the other evident signs of economic, societal, political and environmental decay unfolding before our bloodshot eyes. As for me, I toss and turn in bed every night replaying the “horror show” someone else created. Pleasant dreams.
1) That is just stupid, toilet paper is not a major cost to a school. Bureaucracy gone mad.
3) in many countries, the class sizes have been over 30 to 35 for decades. no big deal.
4) This one I did not know about. What on earth do the kids do on Fridays. No doubt things that are not productive. They should just get them working on the farms or learning real life lessons instead.
6) small country town with gravel roads. In many places around the world there are Gravel roads.
9) Funding for Kindergarten. Of course it should be eliminated. In many countries you pay top dollar and in the US they want FREE. yeah right. Pay higher taxes like in Denmark and Sweden and then you can have some free stuff like them. Mom’s normally should stay at home and look after their own kids instead of wanting to be a career mom or they should learn to live with their spouses better, instead of divorcing at the first fight.
11) The city of Clayton, Georgia. The population was 2,019 at the 2000 census. OF COURSE they do not need a bus system. the town is probably so small they can use bicycles or walk.
12) In another western country which supposedly is doing well they had 6,000 people turn up for a supermarket job with only 5 places, and people waiting in line for 2 days. I have similar stories from all over the world. Jobs are hard to find everywhere.
13) oh well, an autistic boy died and it is more important than a normal boy. Alarmist crap. This happens everywhere. Accidents happen. so sad.
14) Go to south Africa and see how the police handle the crime. Most of the crimes are completely ignored. The police are busy with more serious things. This is normal everywhere. Someone steals something, what are they going to do. Put a full time detective on the case for a missing bicycle. no, this is business as usual for police staff.
15) population density of that county is 56/sq km which puts it just above Colorado and Montana. which as you might know is farming land. This puts it around the same pop density as Burkino Faso and the U.A.E They never needed that number of police officers in the first place. Of course it is a large area, but NO one lives there. 100,000 people living in 720 sq miles.
16) Of course they do not need the police officers. They can call in the army for emergencies anyway. Which is what they normally do anyway. A few small towns have experimented with this and found crime has been reduced by reducing police officers.
17) just stupid. People have less money to spend on crack, so the drug dealer are making less money. no surprise.
18) when the unemployment rate is over 9% officially and the unofficial rate is over 18%. Of course 80% of people know someone who is out of work. This is simple mathematics. Take the 6 degrees of separation rules and the unemployment rate. IT is easy to figure this out. Not a fucking surprise. Only 2 degrees of separation would be need to get to the 80% mark, even more so in a small town where everyone knows each other and where the surveys were probably done.
Jobs… Well tax imports so we can make the stuff we consume here. Like it used to be. Corporatism has taken over our Government with corruption. It’s been years in the making. Looks like there is no going back. Our vote is to make it look like we are in control. Repub or Dems all are under the influence. Congress and leadership. All… Lies and window dressing with the main media controlled. Big business again..the Elites. Thank for the internet so if you dig deep enough you can find the truth..for now. Without a major revolution we are doomed.
Some of you guys need to wake the hell up. How much evidence does one need to see the truth? There is no way in hell that we can pay off our government debt. So then the question is what happens when we default? We are heading at full speed for a greater depression. Millions of Americans will starve,go without police protection, have access to medical care, have no job etc. Tell me I’m crazy, uninformed or just being chicken little I don’t care. Just please for your own good store some rice and dried beans etc. NOT FOR ME BUT FOR YOU AND YOURS. Even if I am wrong which is highly unlikely you’ll have some extra food to eat. How can you lose, unless you fail to hear common damn sense
Gregory — what exactly is your POV…that things are not so bad? getting better? Or was this just an exercise in refuting blog examples.
I do believe things are worsening economically…these anecdotal examples may seem too incremental to matter to you, but the trajectory is not up or even stable – it’s down. It’s about the trends my friend. And I don’t this this downward trajectory is linear, I think its geometric.
p.s. Colorado Springs (is NOT a ski town), a medium city has been hard hit economically in spite of the fact the it’s home to many military installations and bases (read Gov money and employment). ANd yes, many other of your “factoid grenades” failed to explode and do feel the point of this blog is right.
Kids are forced to bring toilet paper while the Principals make $175,000 a year DOING NOTHING!
Schools have no money for toilet paper, but they still pay administrators 5x as much as managers at other small businesses, and pension are still richly featherbedded. How much toilet paper can you buy with a pension worth a million dollars, when most of us have no retirement at all or only a hundred thousand in our 401k?
I’ll start voting in favor of tax overrides instead against them when I hear cops and teachers complaining that their ludicrous pensions have been slashed.
The filthy rich has seen their marginal tax rate drop from 91% to 36%, while the middle class is getting gouged. Time to raise taxes on those who won’t miss the money first.
Much of what Provda says here about US schools is all too true, and even worse schools are demanding more tax dollars which in turn goes for such things as Unions and retirement benefits which does NOTHING to help with educating students.
The first thing you, as a country, should do, is stop seeking a fight. Afghanistan was WAY over your head, Iraq was just another VERY stupid mistake. Costs ad up to a trillion dollars in only 9 years. So, if you’re saying you’re ******, well, start looking there.
As long as the arms and banking industry lays in bed together, nothing is going to change and a lot more looting is going to follow. “Your money or your life” is a known way by the cowboy-driven weapons industry, isn’t it?
This post is excellant.
I see the same thngs happening here in South Carolina. One thing that is very frustrating is there is obviously a reduction in funding for schools – but my local city is installing huge brick water fountains welcoming people into the city.
There is plenty of money out there – just not used correctly.
Rourke
the dams, like the one that just failed, are crumbling:
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/fact-sheet/dams
SOCIALIST are nothing but LAZY, good for nothing losers. They want everything given to them because they aren’t SMART enough to earn it and they dont have a good enough work ethic to MAKE IT for themselves.. MORONS.
All along they talk about re-distributing wealth. BULLS***, get out there and EARN IT! Capitalism is what made this Country great. Unchecked greed caused problems.. but Socialism is a SCOURGE that needs to be wiped out.. including everyone that proposes it.
“Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish.”Job 8:13
Higher taxes are not the answer…NOT sending that money to Washington is the answer, and allow the local communities and States to keep MORE tax dollars before it even reaches Washington, D.C. as the founding fathers intended.
People… good citizens of this nation have to quit running around with their hands out to big daddy looking for a hand out. Corruption needs to be dealt with more severely than just a slap on the hand. The average citizen would never get away in our normal daily lives what these so called representatives do. And YES character does matter… it’s the lack of character that has gotten us into such a mess.
Anna, you are factually incorrect at least every other sentence! Illegal immigrants have bankrupted our social services. The illegal parent that receives nothing has several offspring that sign up for everything. Its exponential. Xenophobia hasn’t cost us a dime. As for being in bed with a bigger dick, this is not the forum to vent your desires, but we are not fighting the same people we helped previously. Previously we helped freedom fighters defend their nation against Soviet invaders. Today we are defending innocent Americans against terrorists. Yes security should have been better, but Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton decimated our security services. Bush and the Republicans pushed a bill to reform Fannie May’s sub-prime lending scam that caused the economic collapse. The Democrats and Barney defeated the bill. Entitled? The wealthy are entitled to their earnings. This is far more fair, than everyone else being entitled to someone else’s earnings! The wealthy have proven that they have the drive, talent and necessary capital to create jobs and national wealth. 99% of then started out life without the wealth they earned. Anyone in America can also do the same. Their are no impermeable class ceilings in America. The ‘middle class pay most of the taxes?” On which planet. The top 1% pay nearly 40% of Americas taxes. The upper 50% of the wage earners pay @97% of all tax collections. The lower middle class income tax rate is 25% while the upper class income tax rate is currently 35%. What is the riches fair share? The Democrats recently proposed a 90% tax rate. As far as giving away “American jobs” to avoid taxes, the fact is this. If you raise taxes in America, people are free to go elsewhere. Socialism only works when you take people’s freedom to live where they want, away from them. It’s called enslaving people. The Soviets did it with the Iron Curtain. Is this the America you envision for us? “Stop demanding a luxurious lifestyle?” Every time someone complains about the economy, the Third World, and the “Haves verses the Have Nots,” it’s because they want money. It is only the comfortable and the affluent that pine for a more meaningful life. Everyone else, including the Left and the international community, wants money! You envy the wealthy, that’s the root of the problem.
The article needs to be expanded to show the money that obama is giving to other countries and what it’s for. Things such as 300 million dollars to Gaza, among many others.
One of the biggest problems is that we’ve lost all say in all matters. Take Health care reform. Pelosi touted that no matter what, they would get it approved, no matter what means necessary. And still, to this day, published surveys state that almost 3/4 of the US doesn’t want this kind of “reform.” Its not about the people anymore. And unless we fight to take back our right to have a say in what goes on, this is going to go on forever.
First step is to get rid of the Marxist in the White House. Things will rapidly improve. As far as having over 30 kids in a class. Big deal…I never went to school in the 60′s with LESS than 30 kids in each class. The teachers could give you a wack, the parents were responsible and not like the dirtbag whiners today, the kids had respect for authority, and if you got punished at school, you got it again when you got home. The small class size of recent years is a gimmick whereby the teacher’s unions could get more members, jack up their pension funds, recruit more gullible teachers to vote for union schmucks, and tell you it would improve the educational system. How do you like it so far??? If you vote Democrat, you’re part of the problem. Look in the mirror.
We all have responsibility in this…
How many use a credit card they cant afford,then buy stuff they cant afford, then either just dont pay or file bankruptcy?
How many buy houses and cars they cant afford using credit? The money is spent and paid by credit companies who are stuck with the bill, and people get the goods. Fair or unfair?
Government officials should take paycuts…those would save billions every year. We have the leverage to vote them out if only we would be careful when we vote in first place.
Schools ask for items from students so they can use their grant money for beautification projects. Since when is education dependant on the landscaping?
It only gets changed when we speak out against it… which most people only do in private, like this post, because they are too scared and fearful or they are just too lazy.
Companies moved jobs to other countries because wages are cheaper and jobs are appreciated. They got tired of hearing americans gripe and complain because they werent making enough money so they could be lazy and not work (but still get paid). I cant blame these companies… I used to work my ass off while lazy people bitched and complained.
No one wants to work with someone who is unappreciative. Companies are no different. We are gettin exactly what we deserve. Hopefully by the time things get better, people will learn to live within their means… stop stealing money from credit companies… get off their lazy ass and actually do some work… shut up and stop griping and complaining when they dont get their way and are told no.
So we can point fingers at the government and everyone else, but WE ALL are to blame for the economy. I mean… what do you expect??? We are simply reaping what we have sown. It wont change until each one of us takes inventory of ourselves and makes changes. Stop waiting for everyone else to change first!!!
Many of these 18 items are founded on self serving data. The federal highway commission has a vested interest in highways being rebuilt, funny how their data ponts to billions of $’s needed to rebuild highways. They may be accurate, but More data needed. School districts always pee on themselves whenever cuts are proposed, they need to apply themselves to reality, and the school boards need to bargain harder with the NEA. Class size is shown to have almost no coorlation to performance. Read “No Apology”, Mitt Romney documents this very clearly. It is time to Ranger Up! We will beat this thing!
The solution to this mess will not be easy. One of the best steps forward is to vote out all incumbents this November. Voters need to abandon the idea that “my congressman” is a good guy, but everyone elses congressman is a bum. Both of the major parties are filled with rot, including “my congressman”. We need new faces in DC, who are not beholden to mega & multinational corporations and Wall Street banksters.
Lisa wrote:
“I cant blame these companies… I used to work my ass off while lazy people bitched and complained.”
Lisa, I hear you. I once had a co-worker complain to me by saying “Slow down, you’re making me look bad.”
WOW!!! Too much diversity…I think it is too late for change! Lets all pack up and move to Australia!! Let the sloths run this country into the ground and wallow in it!!
Doom and gloom is not the answer, particularly when cutting over-the-top services like whole-day kindergarten and bus fleets for a town of roughly 2,000. What’s more, class sizes don’t mean much as the students who want to learn will seek out the teacher’s help anyway. Yes, education is highly important, but when (if) students get to college, no one will be there to baby them along.
Is complaining about new frugality on the part of government supposed to solve problems? Necessity is the mother of invention, and at long last, government is learning to save some of its money, just like hard-working citizens need to.
Education is out of control. We spend way too much. 1/2 the states budget goes to education. They serve free meals to kids from families with money. This cadillac program needs to be gutted.
Parents should pay for education and not demand welfare. Why do the rest of us have to pay? These parents get to pay less taxes and strain the system. If you are man enough to make a baby, man up and pay for the education!
The people who know how to correct the economy are now above 65 yrs old or younger than 25 yrs old. One is too old to execute, the other is too young to execute. The Baby Boomers who were the inventors, creators and spenders, some where along the line lost sight of the truth and the goals.
Still we have the biggest military in the world.We have bases all over the world we are fighting terrorist who want to destroy this country. We are engaged in a battle for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq which we will win because we are free and we have a lifestyle they want and we are American. Let the private market take care of everything – people must get rich off the poor for America to survive and prosper. It is a Great country with the best education and health care in the world and the biggest army in existence which we cannot never cut.
Rich people can’t be taxed that is unamerican and threatens freedom rich people are saving this country – it is the rich people who give you your jobs – it is the rich people who save the planet from destruction. We need the rich people who will revive this economy once we stop taxing them to death and tax the poor that is how freedom works. And spend more money on some better weapons systems for the military we only spend more then the rest of the world combined every second.
The information about class size is somewhat funny to me. My first grade class in a Catholic school in 1954 was just shy of 100. Almost one hundred squirming, wiggly, tired, and often hungry kids that one nun kept under control enough to teach phonics, math, penmanship (with old fashioned pens dipped in ink wells)and Catholic dogma- and parents paid $15 a month for tuition, bought the books and supplies and if Sister called home and said you had misbehaved you caught it twice – once from Sister and then from your parents. And we learned and kept a civil tongue in our heads!
Sorry, I have watched for many decades as the schools have demanded more and more money and their feet have never been held to the fire for results. Paul Harvey said once that if a person in the school system didn’t teach – fire them! Amen! Now you can really start saving some money by sending the administrators packing instead of begging for TP. One advantage to this would be few fine little Marxist being trained!
Don’t say that. I think America can overcome this economic crisis soon and American deserves a second chance to prove their worth to the world. I ever fall what is important is we learn to stand again. We just have to help each other and everything will be just fine. What you have presented are facts that everybody should be aware of and it is also a wakeup call for American. Thank you!