In the United States today, we are all being constantly bombarded by chemicals, poisons and toxins. Virtually everything that we eat or drink makes us less healthy. The vast majority of Americans gladly consume aspartame, fluoride, BPA, genetically-modified food, pesticides, high fructose corn syrup, pharmaceutical drugs and toxic vaccines without any concern that those substances may ruin their health. But the truth is that we are getting sicker and sicker and sicker as a nation. According to one recent report, the United States has dropped to 49th place in the world in overall life expectancy. Diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes are absolutely exploding. So how in the world are we supposed to have a healthy and vibrant economy when virtually everything that we eat and drink is constantly making us sick?
Recently, my wife (who has always been extremely healthy) developed some alarming breathing problems. She did not appear to suffer from any known medical condition, so we were completely puzzled.
Finally, we started examining what we were eating and drinking. It turns out that she was putting some cream in her coffee that contained something known as “Polysorbate 80″. Polysorbate 80 is found in a vast array of dairy products and is even used in many vaccines. According to Drugs.com, “difficulty breathing” is indeed one of the known side effects of Polysorbate 80. Once my wife cut the Polysorbate 80 out of her diet, the breathing difficulties subsided. The following is how she describes what she went through….
Prior to my recent problems, I had never been in a situation were I felt as though there was very limited air available. When the breathing problems would flare up, I would take in deep breath after deep breath but I just couldn’t get any oxygen. My body tried to cope by constantly yawning which forced air into my lungs. Some days it wouldn’t be so bad, but on other days it was really frightening. My breathing was extremely labored at times. I constantly had to yawn throughout the day in order to catch a satisfying breath. One day my breathing was really labored – I was constantly gasping for deep breaths, but I wasn’t getting enough oxygen. I was about to cry. I felt as though I had dived to the bottom of a deep pool and I was almost out of air. My body was in a constant state of panic. I felt so tired and I was worried that I may collapse at any time. We got into the car, and I was almost ready to pass out. We had the windows rolled down to give me the feeling of lots of oxygen, but I felt like I couldn’t take any in. Fortunately that episode eventually subsided, but there were many days when I was in agony. You cannot imagine how horrible it is to gasp for breath and never seem to get enough. Several incidents really scared me. What was even more frightening was that I had no idea at the time what was causing all this.
Thankfully my wife is doing much better now, but there are thousands and thousands of others across the United States that are experiencing similar breathing problems and nobody has any answers for them.
So what are some of the other side effects of Polysorbate 80?
Well, Drugs.com says that the following are “common” side effects….
Constipation; cough; diarrhea; dizziness; headache; muscle, joint, back, or stomach pain; nausea or vomiting; pain, swelling, irritation, redness, or bruising at the injection site; unusual tiredness or weakness.
In addition, Drugs.com says that the following are severe side effects of Polysorbate 80 that an individual should seek immediate medical attention for….
Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); blurred vision or vision changes; chest pain; confusion; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, sore throat); one-sided weakness; pale skin color; redness, tenderness, or swelling of the calf; seizures; severe diarrhea, dizziness, headache, stomach pain, or vomiting; severe or persistent tiredness or weakness; slurred speech; sudden pain or numbness of an arm or leg; sudden shortness of breath; sudden trouble walking or loss of balance; swelling of the arms or legs; vision or speech problems; weight gain.
Remember, this is in countless dairy products all across the United States. Most Americans are absolutely clueless that they are pouring Polysorbate 80 into their coffee or that it is in the ice cream that they are eating.
Another major threat to our health is something called bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is one of the most widely used chemicals in the entire world. If you eat canned food or you drink bottled water you most likely have BPA in your home and you don’t even know it.
According to Natural News, BPA is not only in virtually every American home, but it has also been linked to some very serious health problems….
It is used to harden plastic in everything from infant and water bottles to mobile phone and computer casings, and also to make linings for cans of food, beverages and infant formula. Yet a growing body of research has implicated the chemical as an endocrine (hormone) disruptor that can lead to cancer, birth defects, behavioral problems and other diseases.
Shouldn’t someone be doing something about this?
Of course.
But the truth is that the big corporations that are pushing these chemicals are much more powerful than those who are trying to watch out for our health.
In fact, authorities all over the United States are putting one very toxic chemical into our water on purpose.
It is called fluoride, and it is being put into our water supposedly because it is good for our teeth. What Americans are not being told is that fluoride is actually a highly toxic sedative and is causing a whole host of very serious health problems.
Even small amounts of fluoride consumed from tap water can damage your bones, teeth, brain, disrupt your thyroid function, lower IQ and/or cause cancer, according to evidence revealed in a groundbreaking 2006 National Research Council (NRC) fluoride report produced by a panel of experts who reviewed hundreds of published fluoride studies.
The Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center has published a list of ten of the most significant health dangers that the scientific research has shown that fluoride causes…..
1. Fluoride exposure disrupts the synthesis of collagen and leads to the breakdown of collagen in bone, tendon, muscle, skin, cartilage, lungs, kidney and trachea.
2. Fluoride stimulates granule formation and oxygen consumption in white blood cells, but inhibits these processes when the white blood cell is challenged by a foreign agent in the blood.
3. Fluoride depletes the energy reserves and the ability of white blood cells to properly destroy foreign agents by the process of phagocytosis. As little as 0.2 ppm fluoride stimulates superoxide production in resting white blood cells, virtually abolishing phagocytosis. Even micro-molar amounts of fluoride, below 1 ppm, may seriously depress the ability of white blood cells to destroy pathogenic agents.
4. Fluoride confuses the immune system and causes it to attack the body’s own tissues, and increases the tumor growth rate in cancer prone individuals.
5. Fluoride inhibits antibody formation in the blood.
6. Fluoride depresses thyroid activity.
7. Fluorides have a disruptive effect on various tissues in the body.
8. Fluoride promotes development of bone cancer.
9. Fluorides cause premature aging of the human body.
10. Fluoride ingestion from mouth rinses and dentifrices in children is extremely hazardous to biological development, life span and general health.
But perhaps even more dangerous is the sweetener known as aspartame. Today, aspartame is an ingredient in literally thousands of different food and drink products. In fact, it is often marketed in “health products” such as diet sodas.
According to an article on Mercola.com, aspartame is one of the most toxic substances being added to our foods….
Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death. A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.
According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame: Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson’s disease, alzheimer’s, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.
Eye
blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
pain in one or both eyes
decreased tears
trouble with contact lenses
bulging eyes
Ear
tinnitus – ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment
Neurologic
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and (some severe)
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors
Psychological/Psychiatric
severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias
Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure
Gastrointestinal
nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing
Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma
Endocrine and Metabolic
loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS
Other
frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection
Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all
death
irreversible brain damage
birth defects, including mental retardation
peptic ulcers
aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
hyperactivity in children
severe depression
aggressive behavior
suicidal tendencies
Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Sadly, there are thousands more toxins and chemicals that are being put into what we eat and what we drink. The next time you go to the supermarket, just pick up a few products and start reading the labels. You may find yourself incredibly shocked by what you find.
Does it seem like people all around you are constantly getting sick? Well, the truth is that we have created an incredibly toxic environment for ourselves. Diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes have skyrocketed in recent years. We like to think of ourselves as being so “advanced”, but the truth is that we are constantly becoming less healthy as a nation.
It is hard to imagine any prosperous economy that is full of sick and dying people. But if we don’t stop constantly poisoning ourselves by what we eat and by what we drink our national health is going to continue to fall apart.
Just like in almost every other category, America is in a deep state of decline. We like to think that we should be telling everyone else in the world how they should be doing things, but the truth is that our own nation is a complete and total mess.
If your own health is not what it should be, you might want to take another look at what you are eating and what you are drinking. A small change can make a big difference.
Is Ron Paul finally in position to really do something about the Federal Reserve? U.S. Representative Spencer Bachus, the chairman-elect of the House Financial Services Committee, has announced that Ron Paul will chair the domestic monetary policy subcommittee starting next month. This puts Ron Paul in tremendous position to be able to put significant pressure on the Federal Reserve. In previous years Ron Paul has introduced legislation to end the Federal Reserve but it never got any traction. During this most recent session of Congress an effort by Ron Paul to have a full audit of the Federal Reserve conducted gathered quite a bit of momentum for a while, but in the end it did not get passed. However, a very limited examination of Fed activities during the recent financial crisis was passed, and that examination has revealed some really shocking things. With so many Tea Party members entering Congress this upcoming session there may be more momentum than ever to hold the Federal Reserve more accountable. Ron Paul is already talking about how he is planning for a full slate of hearings on U.S. monetary policy and he has indicated that he plans to restart a push to have the Fed audited.
And why shouldn’t the Federal Reserve be fully audited? The Federal Reserve has more power over the U.S. economy than any other institution and yet it has not been subjected to a comprehensive audit since it was created back in 1913.
So what would an audit accomplish?
Well, it would hopefully expose what is going on inside the Federal Reserve.
A very, very limited examination of Fed transactions that occurred during the recent financial crisis forced the Federal Reserve to reveal the details of 21,000 transactions stretching from December 2007 to July 2010 that totaled more than 3 trillion dollars. It turns out that the Federal Reserve was just handing out gigantic piles of nearly interest-free cash to their friends at the largest banks, financial institutions and corporations all over the globe.
These revelations have many members of Congress wondering what else has been going on inside the Federal Reserve.
For example, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders was absolutely outraged by these “backdoor bailouts” by the Federal Reserve….
“The $700 billion Wall Street bailout turned out to be pocket change compared to trillions and trillions of dollars in near zero interest loans and other financial arrangements that the Federal Reserve doled out to every major financial institution.”
More members of Congress than at any other time in recent memory are openly wondering if it is now time “to pull back the curtain” at the Federal Reserve. For those who would like to see the power of the Federal Reserve greatly diminished, there should be one primary goal right now.
Expose the Federal Reserve.
The truth is that the more the American people learn about the Federal Reserve and about what it has been doing the more they disapprove.
During his farewell speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate this week, Senator Jim Bunning noted that as the American people become increasingly aware of what the Federal Reserve is doing the less they like it….
“Public awareness of what the Fed is doing is increasing while public opinion of the Fed is falling.”
Unfortunately, the views of Ron Paul and other anti-Federal Reserve members of the Tea Party movement are strongly opposed by many other members of the Republican Party.
“I do not believe that Ron Paul’s views on the Fed represent the views of most Republicans.”
However, there is evidence that the tide is turning with the American public.
According to a recent Bloomberg National Poll, the number of Americans that would like to see the Federal Reserve held more accountable or even completely abolished is increasing….
Asked if the central bank should be more accountable to Congress, left independent or abolished entirely, 39 percent said it should be held more accountable and 16 percent that it should be abolished. Only 37 percent favor the status quo.
Those are very exciting numbers. A majority of Americans now want the power of the Federal Reserve to be reduced or they want it shut down entirely.
If Ron Paul is able to get a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve passed, the revelations that would come out of that would certainly turn public opinion against the Fed even more.
So what is so bad about the Federal Reserve?
Well, think of it as a perpetual debt machine.
Did you know that the U.S. national debt is 5,000 times larger than it was a hundred years ago?
That’s right – back in 1910, prior to the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, the national debt was only about $2.6 billion.
Since that time, our debt has been endlessly skyrocketing.
Under the Federal Reserve system, the U.S. government cannot just go out and print money. It is actually the Federal Reserve that issues our currency.
The way our system works, whenever the U.S. government arranges for the Federal Reserve to issue more currency, more government debt is created at the same time. In fact, as I have written about previously, all of our money is now based on debt.
No debt, no money.
What we desperately need is for the current monetary system to be scrapped. The federal government should take back the power to issue currency and should implement a new system based on money that is debt-free.
The truth is that it is insane that any sovereign government should have to go into debt just to produce more of its own currency.
Instead, what we have under the Federal Reserve system is a money supply that will forever be expanding, a currency that will forever be deteriorating in value and a national debt that will continue to skyrocket until the entire system collapses.
Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power. This continual debasement of our currency is called “inflation” and it is a hidden tax on every man, woman and child in the United States.
It is absolutely guaranteed that every single dollar that you own will go down in value over the long-term.
But the American people have come to accept that a constantly expanding national debt and a currency that is constantly losing value is the most “rational” economic system that humanity has ever come up with.
So who benefits from all this?
Well, for fiscal year 2010 the U.S. government paid out over 413 billion dollars in interest on the national debt. In future years that number is projected to rapidly skyrocket even more.
Wouldn’t you like to be getting a nice chunk of that 413 billion dollars?
It turns out that loaning money to the U.S. government is very, very profitable.
That 413 billion dollars is money that was transferred from the American people to the U.S. government, and then transferred from the U.S. government to big financial institutions, foreign countries, and very wealthy bankers.
So what did we get in return for our 413 billion dollars?
Nothing.
Sadly, this is not just going on in the United States. This is going on literally in almost every nation on earth.
All over the world sovereign governments are drowning in debt and so they have to drain their citizens dry so that they can meet their obligations.
In the book of Proverbs, it tells us that “the rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Americans like to think that they live in “the land of the free”, but the truth is that we have become enslaved to debt.
But even worse, we have consigned our children and our grandchildren to a lifetime of debt. They will have to work all of their lives to pay trillions of dollars in interest on all of the debt that we have accumulated in this generation.
How would you like to be born into a world where the previous generation had racked up a $13 trillion debt that now you were expected to pay off?
There is a reason why people like Ron Paul are so obsessed with the Federal Reserve. It is not because they don’t have anything better to do. It is because the future of our country literally hangs in the balance.
Throughout American history, presidents, top members of Congress and leading business people have warned us about the dangers of having a central bank. In fact, even though our young people are no longer taught this, the debate over central banking was one of the most important themes in early American history.
But we didn’t listen to the warnings.
We were convinced that we knew better.
Well, now we have an economic system that is dying and a $13 trillion debt that we are passing along to our children and to our grandchildren.
Perhaps we were not as smart as we thought we were.
All over the Internet, Republican pundits are declaring that extending the Bush tax cuts will save the economy and Democrat pundits are declaring that ending the Bush tax cuts will save the economy. Well, you know what? Nothing will save the U.S. economy. The U.S. government is going to continue to drown in a sea of debt no matter what happens with these tax cuts. State and local governments are also going to continue to drown in a sea of debt. Thousands of factories and millions of jobs are going to continue to be shipped overseas every single year. America is going to continue to transfer tens of billions of dollars of its national wealth to foreign nations every single month. Nothing that the Republicans and Democrats are debating right now is going to do a thing to alter the fundamental problems that the U.S. economy is facing.
Not that I personally do not like tax cuts. I would like my own personal income taxes to be cut down to zero percent please. I will take as many tax cuts as I can personally get.
And it is absolutely undeniable that the federal government is already handed way, way, way more money than it ever should need. Starving the federal monster of cash is a good thing. We need a much, much, much smaller federal government. But the odds of us ever returning to the kind of limited central government envisioned by our Founding Fathers is somewhere between slim and none and slim just left the building.
So aren’t less taxes always good? Well, not necessarily. You see, the federal government is planning to spend much more money in the years ahead. When you combine significant tax cuts with huge increases in spending you get lots more debt.
Extending the Bush tax cuts (and throwing in a few extra ones) will help the U.S. economy in the short-term, but without accompanying brutal spending cuts it will make our long-term debt problems even worse.
But most of our politicians don’t think about the long-term. Most of them just want the economy to turn around in the short-term so that they can get re-elected.
For example, Barack Obama is not completely stupid. He realizes that these tax cuts are probably his best shot at a short-term economic boost. If the economy starts to get back to “normal”, it may be just enough to get him another term in office.
And self-preservation is what most U.S. politicians are most interested in.
Meanwhile, we are heading for a national debt nightmare that threatens to destroy our financial system and plunge us into national bankruptcy.
But if our politicians did attempt to make the brutal spending cuts that would be necessary to balance the budget, most Americans would start screaming bloody murder. The truth is that the American people have become dependent on the government and they like getting their checks, their handouts and their government contracts.
Okay, so what will this deal that Obama has made with the Republicans actually do?
Well, it will extend most of the Bush tax cuts for two years (right up through the 2012 presidential election). The following are some of the details….
*All income levels will continue to be taxed at the lower rates instituted by the original Bush tax cuts. That means that the highest rate will remain at 35 percent.
*Barack Obama claims that extending these tax cuts will save the average American family approximately $3,000 next year.
*The 15 percent rate on capital gains and dividends will be continued.
*As part of the package, Republicans have agreed to a 13 month extension of long-term unemployment benefits.
*One new tax cut included in the deal is a reduction of the Social Security payroll tax by two percentage points for one year. So for a year U.S. workers will be paying just 4.2 percent instead of 6.2 percent. Barack Obama believes that Americans will save $120 billion next year from this tax cut alone. For the average American family, it will mean that they will have approximately an extra $1000 in their wallets.
*The existing $1,000 child tax credit will be extended for the next two years.
*Another tax cut that is new would allow U.S. businesses to immediately expense all business investments in 2011. The Obama administration is claiming that this tax cut would be the biggest “temporary investment incentive” in American history.
*A compromise was reached on the estate tax. There will be an estate tax exemption of 5 million dollars per person and the maximum rate will be 35 percent.
So how much will all of this cost?
Well, all over the Internet the Democrats and the Republicans are arguing over figures.
But what is another $900 billion when we are already caught in a death spiral of government debt?
The IMF was already projecting that federal government debt was going to exceed 100 percent of GDP by 2015.
So how soon will we get there now?
Today, our national debt is more than 13 times larger than it was just 30 years ago….
So can’t we just “grow” our way out of this debt?
Not a chance.
Reducing taxes and increasing government spending will both stimulate the economy in the short-term, but both of them will always cause government debt to go up.
The sad truth, as I have written about previously, is that it is now mathematically impossible to pay off the U.S. government debt.
If you took every dollar out of every single wallet, out of every single mattress and out of every single U.S. bank and sent it to the government you wouldn’t even make that big of a dent in the national debt.
So can’t the U.S. government just go out and create more money and solve the problem?
As long as the Federal Reserve system exists, the U.S. federal government will be trapped inside a perpetual debt machine.
The best we can hope for is to slow the expansion of government debt down to a reasonable level.
But as I explained in a previous article, it is extremely unlikely that the U.S. government will ever have a balanced budget ever again.
The U.S. government currently has to borrow approximately 41 cents of every dollar that it spends. The spending cuts that would be required to slash that much out of the federal budget would be beyond draconian.
Sadly, the truth is that even the really bad official budget deficit figures severely understate the extent of the crisis that we are facing.
If the U.S. government was forced to use GAAP accounting principles (like all publicly-traded corporations must), the annual U.S. government budget deficit would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 trillion to $5 trillion.
So anyone who thinks that we are just a “tweak” or two from fixing U.S. government finances is living in a world of delusion.
Unfortunately, the years ahead look downright apocalyptic. After analyzing Congressional Budget Office data, Boston University economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff concluded that the U.S. government is facing a “fiscal gap” of $202 trillion dollars.
But the American people don’t want to hear this. The American people don’t want to hear that there are serious consequences for running up the biggest debt in the history of the world. The American people just want to be told that there are smart people working on the problem and that they are on the verge of “fixing” it.
But it is all a lie. We can keep trying to “kick the can down the road” for a while longer, but eventually a day of reckoning is going to come and it is going to be painful beyond imagination.
Somehow we have the arrogance to believe that our children and our grandchildren should pay back all of the debt that we have accumulated. What we have done to future generations is beyond criminal.
America has enjoyed the greatest party in the history of the world, but eventually it is going to be time to turn out the lights.
For now, however, the Republicans and the Democrats are busy trying to figure out ways that they can keep the party going for a little while longer.
Perhaps they can just slash taxes all the way to zero and the federal government can just borrow all of the money that it needs. At least that way we wouldn’t be endlessly pouring our own money into the financial black hole called the U.S. government.
Where does money come from? You would think that question should be so simple that any 10-year-old child could answer it, but that is not the case. You see, the truth is that the vast majority of American adults cannot even answer that question. Yet we all use money every day. Without money our lives would fall apart fairly quickly. But most of us never stop to think about how it comes into existence. The truth is that bankers are the source of all money in the United States. Either the Federal Reserve bankers create it, or individual bankers create it through the mechanism of fractional reserve banking. In both cases, it is bankers that are creating the money. In our financial system, the U.S. government cannot print money and no individual citizens are allowed to create money. Rather, it is the bankers who have a complete and total monopoly on the creation of money in the United States.
Most of the time, any money that is created comes into existence as debt. Either the U.S. government goes into more debt when it gets more dollars from the Federal Reserve or individual Americans go into more debt when they take out loans from individual banks.
First, let’s examine what happens when the U.S. government gets more money from the Federal Reserve.
Under our current system (which is fundamentally flawed), the U.S. government cannot just fire up the printing presses and print a bunch of dollars if it decides that more money needs to be produced.
Rather, if the U.S. government needs more money it asks the Federal Reserve for it.
So who is the Federal Reserve? Well, they are actually not part of the U.S. government. In fact, the Federal Reserve is about as “federal” as Federal Express is.
The Federal Reserve is actually a privately-owned central bank that has been given authority by the U.S. Congress to issues our currency, set our interest rates and essentially run our economy.
All U.S. government debt is created through the Federal Reserve system.
When the government wants more money, the U.S. government swaps U.S. Treasury bonds for “Federal Reserve notes”, thus creating more government debt. Usually the money isn’t even printed up – most of the time it is just electronically credited to the government. The Federal Reserve creates these “Federal Reserve notes” out of thin air. These Federal Reserve notes are backed by nothing and have no intrinsic value of their own.
The Federal Reserve then sells these U.S. Treasury bonds to investors, other nations (such as China) or sometimes they “sell” them back to themselves. In fact, the Federal Reserve has been gobbling up a whole lot of U.S. Treasuries lately. Some refer to this as “monetizing the debt”, but that is not quite an accurate statement.
When the Federal Reserve creates money this way, it does not also create the money to pay the interest on the debt that has been created. Eventually this puts pressure on the U.S. government to borrow even more money to keep the game going. So what this creates is a spiral where the U.S. government must keep borrowing increasingly larger amounts of money, where the money supply is endlessly expanding and where the value of the U.S. dollar is destined to continue going down forever.
Do you think it is some big mystery why the value of the U.S. dollar has declined over 95 percent since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913? Just look at what our national debt has been doing over the last 40 years. It just continues to go up and up and up….
As long as the Federal Reserve system exists, the national debt will keep going up, the money supply will keep going up and the U.S. dollar will continue to decline in value.
This is not because of some big mistake. This is what the Federal Reserve system was designed to do. It was designed to trap the U.S. federal government (and by extension all of us) in perpetual debt.
If the U.S. government really wanted to get out of debt it would take back control of our currency from the bankers and would start issuing debt-free money. But don’t expect that to happen any time soon.
In fact, the Federal Reserve is just getting more powerful and becoming more out of control. According to data released on Wednesday, over $9 trillion in overnight loans were made by the Federal Reserve to major banks and large financial institutions during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009.
Now, the truth is that this number is inflated because each time one of these loans was “rolled over” it was counted as a new loan by the Fed. So don’t get too excited about the $9 trillion figure. But still, the amount of money that the Federal Reserve just whipped up out of thin air and lent out to its friends at extremely low interest rates is absolutely mind blowing.
In 2010, the Federal Reserve has initiated a massive new round of “quantitative easing“, and it is yet another example of how out of control the Federal Reserve is becoming. So exactly what is quantitative easing? Well, essentially what happens is the Federal Reserve conjures up gigantic amounts of money out of thin air and uses it to buy up things like U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. The Fed hopes that by injecting hundreds of billions into the system it will “stimulate” the economy.
Prior to 2008, the Federal Reserve had never been so bold as to print up hundreds of billions of dollars whenever it wants. But now it seems as though the Federal Reserve is just going to zap hundreds of billions of dollars into existence whenever their friends are in trouble or whenever they feel the economy needs a little “stimulus”.
So can you or I “zap” money into existence? No, if we print money we go to jail.
Can the U.S. government “zap” money into existence? No, only the Federal Reserve is allowed to do that.
But most Americans will never understand how this system works.
The second primary way that our money comes into existence is through fractional reserve banking.
“If the reserve requirement is 10%, for example, a bank that receives a $100 deposit may lend out $90 of that deposit. If the borrower then writes a check to someone who deposits the $90, the bank receiving that deposit can lend out $81. As the process continues, the banking system can expand the initial deposit of $100 into a maximum of $1,000 of money ($100+$90+81+$72.90+…=$1,000).”
This is actually an oversimplification, but let’s roll with it. Many Americans would be shocked to learn that if we all went down to the bank today and wanted to take our money out, the bank would only be able to satisfy a small fraction of our requests.
The bank does not keep all of your money in the bank. It lends most of it out.
In fact, any bank can loan out as much money as it wants as long as it keeps enough in reserve to satisfy legal requirements.
Each time a loan is made by a bank, more money is created and more debt is created.
Isn’t this kind of insane?
Well, yes, but at least banks have to maintain a certain amount of discipline by keeping some money in reserve.
Keep in mind that Bernanke is in charge of “running” our economy.
There are a few members of Congress such as Rep. Ron Paul that have tried to hold the Federal Reserve accountable. The following is an excerpt from remarks that Ron Paul made to Bernanke during a congressional hearing a while back….
“The Federal Reserve in collaboration with the giant banks has created the greatest financial crisis the world has ever seen. The foolish notion that unlimited amounts of money and credit created out of thin air can provide sustainable economic growth has delivered this crisis to us. Instead of economic growth and stable prices, (The Fed) has given us a system of government and finance that now threatens the world financial and political institutions. Pursuing the same policy of excessive spending, debt expansion and monetary inflation can only compound the problems that prevent the required corrections. Doubling the money supply didn’t work, quadrupling it won’t work either.”
Unfortunately, Ron Paul is vastly outnumbered by members of Congress who seem to believe that the Federal Reserve is doing a great job. In fact, a bill that would have provided for a one-time audit of the Federal Reserve got shot down. Apparently members of Congress did not think it was a good idea for the American people to be able to get a peek inside the institution that issues our money and runs our economy.
It is time for the American people to wake up. The borrower always ends up the servant of the lender. In America today, virtually all of our money comes into existence as debt, nearly all of our major purchases are made with debt, the popping of debt bubbles has caused almost every major financial crisis we have had, our state and local governments are drowning in a sea of debt, and our federal government has piled up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world.
Any economic system that is based on debt is destined to fail – including ours. Isn’t it about time to start asking ourselves how we got into this gigantic mess in the first place?
Unfortunately, Americans have been so dumbed-down by our pathetic education system and are so busy gorging themselves on endless amounts of entertainment that they literally have no idea how our system works.
Most people will never wake up until a complete and total economic collapse happens. By then, it will be far too late.
It seems with each passing year the madness on Black Friday gets even worse. This year, there were reports of fights and rioting from coast to coast. It was estimated that over 180 million U.S. shoppers headed for the stores on Friday, and whenever you get that many people together there are going to be problems. But just how crazed ordinary Americans are getting over saving a little bit of money is deeply disturbing when you really start thinking about it. If people will go this wild just to save 40 percent on a television set, then what in the world are they going to do when they have been without food for a couple of days? If Americans will act like psychotic animals just to save 50 bucks, then what in the world will they do when they have lost everything and are desperate to survive?
All of us had better hope and pray that an economic collapse does not happen any time soon, because it is becoming increasingly apparent that the American people are not morally equipped to be able to handle one. Greed and selfishness have become so rampant in America that large segments of the population have totally forgotten how to be any other way.
If the United States ever experiences a really, really bad economic downturn, this nation could very quickly start looking like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina from coast to coast. Most Americans would simply not know how to handle it.
The following are 9 shocking examples of Black Friday violence that should make all of us wonder what is happening to America….
#1 At a Target store in Buffalo, New York the crowds waiting impatiently outside suddenly became a chaotic mob once the doors opened at 4 AM on Friday morning.
One man that was lying on the ground remembers thinking “I don’t want to die here” while he was being trampled by crazed shoppers….
#2 Crowds were becoming so violent at a Wal-Mart in Sacramento, California that the police actually evacuated the store early Friday morning.
#3 Three women from West Palm Beach, Florida said that $1,000 in presents that they had just purchased at Best Buy were stolen from their vehicle on Friday morning within minutes of being purchased.
#4 One U.S. Marine reservist that was collecting toys for children was stabbed with a knife when he attempted to stop a shoplifter in eastern Georgia on Friday.
#5 Blogger Lynne Elder-Blau has posted about overhearing police officers describe a huge brawl that erupted this year at one well-known store on Black Friday….
Well, the girls and I were in a popular convenience store in Garden City last night while a store employee and a Garden City Police Department Officer were visiting. They were conversing about a large group of customers who got into a knock-down brawl at a nationally-known variety store in Garden City yesterday morning. Several police officers were brought in to break up the ball of adults who were pulling and tugging at products and actually punching other customers in their faces and stomach areas! We’re not just talking about a few people who were involved in this violent non-sense. The officer said that there was a large amount of people involved in this particular altercation. Ridiculous!!!
#6 A 21-year-old woman from Middleton, Wisconsin was arrested when she threatened to shoot other shoppers while waiting to get into a Toys R Us store for Black Friday. The other shoppers had objected when she attempted to move to the front of the line.
#7 The following is video of customers literally tearing apart a store display at a Wal-Mart in Douglasville, Georgia as they pushed and shoved each other in an attempt to grab the best deals….
#8 The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department actually “locked down” a section of a Cerritos, California shopping mall after a wild fight broke out in the food court. There were even reports that some people were flinging chairs at other customers.
#9 At one Wal-Mart in Texas, a near-riot broke out right in the middle of the store as a huge crowd of customers pushed and shoved each other to get a handful of Black Friday deals that were being wheeled out to the floor….
If you want to see even more videos of Black Friday craziness, check out this and this.
Remember, the products that these Americans are fighting over are not free. This is how crazy people are willing to go just to get a deep discount on an item.
So what is going to happen someday when people are desperate for food or shelter?
If this is how people act when the sun is shining, how are they going to behave once a really bad storm arrives?
In America today, fewer and fewer people are treating others the way that they would like to be treated themselves.
Instead of showing others kindness and respect, in 2010 most Americans would seemingly rather trample anyone who is in the way of getting what they want.
So what do you think? Are Americans becoming more greedy and more selfish or are they basically “good” and “decent” people most of the time? Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion….
Over the coming weeks, Americans will be wishing each other “happy holidays” millions upon millions of times. But are these really happy times? Record numbers of Americans are going to be going hungry and cold this winter. Millions upon millions of our fellow citizens would gladly give up all holiday celebrations in exchange for a decent job. The vast majority of us have plenty of examples of horrible personal tragedy all around us this holiday season, and much of that tragedy has been brought on by the deteriorating economic conditions. Meanwhile, we have a “control freak” government that wants to establish an even tighter grip over our lives and that now insists on either viewing our exposed bodies or groping our private areas before we can get on an airplane. Once upon a time in America the holiday season was a time to rejoice because we lived in a prosperous land where liberty and freedom were respected, but today we live in a nation with a highly centralized economy dominated by a federal government that is becoming more “totalitarian” by the day.
But we are told that centralized control by an overwhelmingly powerful national government is good in our case because “they” know what is best for us.
Oh really? They sure have done a great job “managing” our economic system, haven’t they? Unfortunately, it seems as though anything that the federal government takes control over just gets more messed up.
The following are 28 hard questions that you should ask anyone who believes that having a highly centralized economy and a highly centralized government is good for us….
#1 Why is the U.S. government trying to put a choke hold on our food production system? S. 510, The Food Safety Modernization Act, is being called one of the most dangerous bills in American history. This very vague and incredibly broad bill (which you can read here) will give the U.S. government unprecedented control over the growing, storing and sale of food in the United States.
#2 Approximately 14.8 million Americans are unemployed this holiday season. So why in the world is the “greatest economy on earth” not able to provide jobs for all of them?
#3 Why are the U.S. and South Korea insisting on conducting 4 days of naval exercises in the Yellow Sea when tensions in the reason are at an all-time high and when a single mistake could spark an all-out war? Wouldn’t it be better to postpone these naval exercises until things have calmed down a bit?
#4 What prompted Russia and China to suddenly decide to quit using the U.S. dollar and instead start using their own national currencies when trading with each other?
#5 Why does it cost $181,757 per hour for Barack Obama to travel on Air Force One?
#6 Are we still a “great nation” when so many of our citizens are going hungry? According to a recent BBC report, 15% of all U.S. households experienced a shortage of food at some point during 2009. One of our readers named Gary recently left a comment that indicated that he encountered a very big crowd during his recent visit to a local food pantry….
The line at the food pantry was very long. There are a lot of folks who have little food and no money.
#7 If the U.S. economy is recovering, why were new home sales for October down 28.9 percent from a year ago and why were existing home sales for October down 25.9 percent over the previous year?
#8 Why are there so many reports of unprofessional behavior by TSA agents? For example, it is being reported that some TSA agents have specifically targeted attractive young women for “additional screening”.
#9 Why are U.S. home builders only selling one-fifth of the homes that they were selling during the “boom times” five years ago?
#10 How did a man who had been convicted of misdemeanor harassment and stalking get hired to be a TSA agent? Now it turns out he is being accused of abducting and sexually assaulting a woman. These are the people who are supposed to be protecting us?
#11 In the “wealthiest nation on earth”, why are a record number of Americans going to be without heat this winter? According to the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, more than 10 million U.S. households will not be able to afford to heat their homes this winter without assistance, which would be a new all-time record. One of our readers named Elaine recently shared that she is one of those Americans that is going to be cold this winter….
It’s starting to get cold here in the mountains. I’m unemployed, no heat, at risk for foreclosure, etc. Everyone is at risk for this, it’s just that many of the muddleclass can’t face it yet. For a lot of us, it’s not cutting back on that bi-weekly latte that’s going to help, it’s cutting back on having electricity. Don’t judge the poor until you’ve been here.
#12 Why are Americans becoming so pessimistic about the future? According to one recent poll, now only 51 percent of Americans believe that today’s young people will have a better life than their parents did.
#13 How did we ever get to the point as a nation where only 39 percent of likely voters believe that the U.S. government is operating within the limits established by the U.S. Constitution?
#14 Why does the mainstream media largely ignore the fact that thousands of people are being slaughtered near the U.S. border with Mexico each year and a city just across the Mexican border is now being dubbed “the most dangerous place on earth”?
#15 What does it say about American politics that the companies that produce the new naked body scanners have more than doubled their spending on political lobbying over the last five years?
#16 Why is the Washington Post working so hard to defend the policies of the Federal Reserve?
#17 Have we now gotten to the point where the financial condition of the U.S. government is so bad that it will be virtually impossible to ever have a balanced federal budget ever again?
#18 Why aren’t more Americans deeply concerned about the dozens of nasty diseases that they could catch from TSA agents if they don’t change gloves between each groping?
#19 Why are there 18 times as many banks on the FDIC “problem list” as there were just four years ago?
#20 What does it say about the United States that now 39 percent of Americans believe that marriage is becoming obsolete?
#21 How can anyone claim that the U.S. economy is turning around as long as the number of Americans on food stamps continues to set a new all-time record month after month?
#22 As thousands of factories and millions of jobs continue to be shipped overseas, why does Barack Obama keep publicly proclaiming that globalism is so good for us?
#23 Why aren’t Homeland Security officials willing to consider changes to the new airport security procedures when many women are actually using the term “sexual assault” to describe their experiences with the new “enhanced pat downs”?
#24 The median wealth of a U.S. Senator in 2009 was 2.38 million dollars. So exactly what does that say about the health of our Republic?
#26 In 2009, 54.9 million international tourists visited the United States, and those tourists spent approximately 93 billion dollars. How far will those numbers drop once stories of TSA abuse circulate all over the globe?
#27 If Congress does not authorize another emergency extension of long-term unemployment benefits, then what in the world are the 2 million Americans who are going to suddenly lose their checks going to do?
#28 Are there still any areas left in the United States where liberty and freedom are respected, where taxes are low, where regulations are not suffocating, where the people are friendly and where Americans can be free to live an independent lifestyle?
Some analysts are warning that the U.S. dollar is in danger of collapse because of the exploding U.S. government debt, the horrific U.S. trade deficit and the new round of quantitative easing recently announced by the Federal Reserve. Other analysts are warning the the euro is in danger of collapse because of the very serious sovereign debt crisis that is affecting nations such as Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Belgium and Spain. So what happens if the dollar and the euro both collapse? Well, it would certainly throw the current world financial order into a state of chaos, but what would emerge from the ashes? Would the nations of the world go back to using dozens of different national currencies or would we see a truly global currency emerge for the very first time?
Up until recently, the idea of a world currency was absolutely unthinkable for most people. In fact, the notion that all of the major nations around the globe would agree to a single currency still seems far-fetched to most analysts. However, if enough “chaos” is produced by a concurrent collapse of the U.S. dollar and the euro, would that be enough to get the major powers around the world to agree to a new financial world order?
Let’s hope not, but it is getting hard to deny that we are heading for a major currency crisis, and if the U.S. dollar and/or the euro collapse, the world will certainly never be the same afterwards.
In case you missed it, China and Russia made a very big announcement the other day.
They told the world that instead of using the U.S. dollar to trade with each other, they will now be using their own national currencies.
Most Americans don’t realize it, but that is a very, very big deal.
The fact that the U.S. dollar has been the primary reserve currency of the world for decades has given the United States a tremendous amount of economic power.
But now nations are beginning to lose confidence in the U.S. dollar and they are slowly starting to move away from it.
When the Federal Reserve announced a new round of quantitative easing in early November, it created a huge backlash from other nations. For decades, many other countries have been heavily investing in dollar-denominated assets, and now they are quite upset that those assets are going to be devalued.
Chinese Finance Vice Minister Zhu Guangyao used very strong language in denouncing the Fed’s new quantitative easing scheme earlier this month….
“As a major reserve currency issuer, for the United States to launch a second round of quantitative easing at this time, we feel that it did not recognize its responsibility to stabilize global markets and did not think about the impact of excessive liquidity on emerging markets.”
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble was even more blunt. He has called current Federal Reserve policy “clueless”, and he says that he is absolutely disgusted with the Federal Reserve at this point….
“They have already pumped an endless amount of money into the economy via taking on extremely high public debt and through a Fed policy that has already pumped a lot of money into the economy. The results are horrendous.”
So where is all of this going?
If the Federal Reserve keeps flooding the system with new dollars, the rest of the world could eventually totally reject the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasuries.
If that day ever arrives, the results would be beyond catastrophic as the following short video from the National Inflation Association demonstrates….
But it is not just the U.S. dollar that is in trouble.
The euro is in danger as well.
Just consider the financial problems that some major European nations are experiencing right now….
*Standard & Poor’s has slashed Ireland’s credit rating two notches to “A”, and is warning that there could be further downgrades. The Irish budget deficit is projected to reach 32 percent of national output this year. Ireland’s finances are being called “just one big pyramid scheme”, and they recently accepted a huge European bailout. Unfortunately for Ireland, this bailout comes with strings. The Irish government is now being forced to implement an austerity program that is being referred to as “draconian”.
*Analysts are projecting that Portugal is going to need a bailout of at least 50 billion euros. The government of Portugal has implemented some harsh austerity measures in an attempt to get the red ink under control, and the people are not pleased. On Wednesday, a massive national strike shut down travel and basic services across the country.
*Things are so bleak in Portugal right now that Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Amado recently stated that his nation “faces a scenario of exit from the euro zone” if a solution is not found for this financial crisis.
*Greece was the first nation to need a European bailout, and now there are rumors that they may need even more assistance. The statistics agency for the EU, Eurostat, recently revealed that Greece’s budget deficit for 2009 was actually 15.4% of GDP rather than 13.6% of GDP as originally thought. The Greek national debt is now well over 120 percent of GDP. The financial problems in Greece never seem to stop.
*Belgium’s debt has reached 100 percent of annual national income, and the cost of insuring that country’s debt has now hit record levels.
*Even Spain is in trouble. Rates on Spanish 10-year government bonds have risen to frightening heights in recent days, and the official unemployment rate in Spain is hovering around 20 percent.
*In a recent article entitled “A Spanish Bailout Would Test Europe’s Strained Finances“, the New York Times quoted Jordi Galí, the director of the Center for Research in International Economics at Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University as saying that rumors that Spain is in financial trouble could end up making it a self-fulfilling prophecy….
“If investors expect Spain to have trouble refinancing its debt, now or somewhere down the road, then Spain will have trouble,” he added. “This is only aggravated by the fact that the reluctance of investors to purchase the country’s public debt leads to an increase in the interest rate it has to pay and thus in the budget deficit and the amount of debt it has to issue.”
So could this sovereign debt crisis actually cause the euro to collapse?
Well, it depends who you ask.
European Financial Stability Fund chief Klaus Regling says that there is “zero” chance that the euro will collapse….
“There is zero danger. It’s inconceivable that the euro would collapse.”
Other European leaders are not so sure about that.
EU President Herman Van Rompuy recently warned that if some of the weaker countries in Europe are forced to abandon the euro it will likely cause a total meltdown of the European Union….
“We’re in a survival crisis. We all have to work together in order to survive with the euro zone, because if we don’t survive with the euro zone we will not survive with the European Union.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also warning that a failure of the euro could bring down the entire European Union….
So if the U.S. dollar and the euro do collapse, what would happen?
Well, already many world leaders are openly speaking of the need for a true global currency.
After all, they argue, there won’t be any “currency wars” if we are all using the same currency.
In fact, the Institute of International Finance, an organization that represents 420 of the biggest banks and financial institutions on the globe, recently declared that the time has come to adopt a one world currency.
A paper entitled “Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability” by the Strategy, Policy and Review Department of the IMF recommends that the world adopt a global currency called the “Bancor” and that a global central bank be established to administer that currency. The report is dated April 13, 2010 and a full copy can be read here. Unfortunately this is not hype and it is not a rumor. This is a very serious proposal in an official document from one of the mega-powerful institutions that is actually running the world economy. Anyone who follows the IMF knows that what the IMF wants, the IMF usually gets. So could a global currency known as the “Bancor” be on the horizon? That is now a legitimate question.
So will any of this ever come to fruition?
Well, it would likely take one whale of a crisis to get the countries of the world to agree to such a thing.
However, we do live at a time when the world financial system seems to be perpetually on the edge of chaos. If at some point the U.S. dollar and the euro totally fall apart perhaps we will see a “new order” arise out of all of that chaos.
But let’s hope not. Once we give any organization the power to issue a global currency the odds of us ever getting our economic sovereignty back will be greatly reduced. The internationalists are going to use any crisis as an opportunity to argue for greater centralization of the world financial system, and it will be very important for the American people not to fall for those arguments.
Hopefully the U.S. dollar and the euro can remain stable currencies for at least a little while longer. Because once they collapse things will never, ever be the same again.
As you gather around the table with your family this Thanksgiving, ask yourself this question: are you better off today than you were four years ago? Unfortunately, most Americans are not. Both political parties have controlled the White House during the last four years – Barack Obama has been in office for nearly two years and before him it was George W. Bush – and yet no matter what politicians we send to Washington D.C. things just seem to keep getting worse. We buy more than we produce, we spend more than we bring in, we have 18 times as many “problem banks” as we did 4 years ago, the number of Americans on food stamps continues to set a new all-time record every month and we are living in the greatest debt bubble in the history of the world. But at least the majority of Americans are still prosperous enough to enjoy a happy Thanksgiving inside a warm, comfortable home. Unfortunately, if things keep going the way they are going, we are going to experience a national economic nightmare that nobody will be thankful for.
If you watch the economic statistics from week to week and month to month, it will seem like sometimes they are getting worse and sometimes they are getting better. However, once you take a longer-term view of things, exactly what is happening to us starts to come clearly into focus. The truth is that the United States is in the midst of a long-term economic collapse, and many economic statistics just keep getting worse every single year.
The following are 11 statistics that reveal just how far the U.S. economy has fallen over the past four years….
#1 In November 2006, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate was 4.5 percent. Today, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate has been at 9.5 percent or greater for more than a year.
#2 At Thanksgiving back in 2006, 26 million Americans were on food stamps. Today, there are over 42 million Americans on food stamps and that number is climbing rapidly.
#3 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median household income in the United States fell from $51,726 in 2008 to $50,221 in 2009. Median household income declined the year before that too. Meanwhile, prices have continued to rise throughout that period.
#4 At the end of the third quarter in 2006, 47 banks were on the FDIC “problem list”. At the end of the third quarter in 2010, 860 banks were on the FDIC “problem list”.
#5 California home builders began construction on 1,811 homes during the month of August, which was down 77% from August 2006.
#7 A recent survey of last year’s college graduates found that 80 percent moved right back home with their parents after graduation. That was up substantially from 63 percent in 2006.
#9 In 2006, the Social Security program took in somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 billion more dollars than it paid out. Of course the U.S. government spent all that money instead of setting it aside. So now more U.S. retirees than ever are ready to start drawing on Social Security and a “tipping point” is rapidly coming. Social Security will pay out more in benefits in 2010 than it receives in payroll taxes. This was not supposed to happen until at least 2015, and the years ahead look very, very grim….
#11 In 2006, the U.S. national debt was getting close to 9 trillion dollars. Today, the U.S. national debt is well past 13 trillion dollars and is rapidly closing in on 14 trillion dollars.
So is there much hope for an economic turnaround any time soon?
No, not really.
Even the Federal Reserve, usually one of the biggest cheerleaders for the U.S. economy, is not very optimistic right now. In fact, the Fed has just announced that they are projecting that unemployment will still be at about 8 percent when the next presidential election arrives in 2012.
Actually, if the official unemployment rate was to get that low by then that would really be something to celebrate. Many economists fear that unemployment will be even higher than it is now by then.
Several years ago, a very foolish politician (Dick Cheney) famously said that “deficits don’t matter”. That is kind of like saying that credit card balances don’t matter. For decades, politicians from both political parties have been running up staggering amounts of government debt as if it would never catch up with us. For decades, Americans have been addicted to debt and have been buying more than they produce. We have enjoyed living beyond our means for so long that most of us simply have no idea that there are any consequences for doing so.
Living on debt is fun on the way up, but on the way down the pain can be excruciating. We are about to experience that on a national level, and it is going to be an absolute nightmare.
Did any of you actually believe that we were just going to go on living way, way, way beyond our means indefinitely?
America has piled up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world, and unfortunately we are all going to pay the price for that.
So enjoy your turkey while you can. In future years we may have a lot less to be thankful for.
Is the United States about to go to war with the most bizarre nation on earth? A lot of Americans would actually welcome “the Korean War Part 2″, but before people get too excited it is important to keep in mind that we have never been at war with a nation that actually possesses nuclear weapons. At this point it is unclear exactly how powerful North Korea’s nuclear weapons are, but nearly everyone does agree that they are crazy enough to use them. North Korea reportedly has thousands of missile batteries that are capable to hitting the 10 million people that live in Seoul. The death and devastation that an all-out strike on Seoul could potentially cause is almost unimaginable. In fact, the 24.5 million people living either in or around Seoul make it the second largest metropolitan area in the world. The next conflict on the Korean peninsula will be extremely bloody. Nobody should be wishing for that.
Unfortunately, the next Korean war seems closer than ever. Tensions on the peninsula are at a record high. Today, North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world. Some reports claim that they have over 1 million soldiers on active duty. But South Korea is highly militarized as well, and there are 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea that the North Koreans would have to contend with.
Right now the rest of the world is getting quite nervous, because a war between nuclear powers could get out of hand very quickly. If North Korea hits South Korea with nuclear weapons, it seems almost certain that the U.S. would hit North Korea with nukes. The death and destruction that would result would be unprecedented.
So what does China think about all of this? Well, North Korea would not be acting so belligerent right now if they did not have permission from China. Perhaps China is trying to send a message to the West.
On the other hand, there are others that believe that it could go a lot deeper than that. The regime in North Korea is on the verge of collapsing in on itself. Even the Chinese are getting tired of propping up their government and dealing with their nonsense. The truth is that a new Korean war could benefit the Chinese in several ways.
First of all, South Korea (the biggest U.S. ally in the region) would be absolutely devastated even if they “won” the war. That would cripple an incredibly important geopolitical chess piece.
Secondly, the U.S. would be embroiled in yet another costly conflict and would undoubtedly suffer some costly losses as well. The opinion of the rest of the world toward the United States would darken even more – especially if nuclear weapons were used.
Thirdly, China could gain a ton of “leverage” by stabbing North Korea in the back after the conflict had started. In return for supporting the U.S./South Korean coalition, China could ask for all kinds of things that they wouldn’t even dream of getting right now. In fact, it is not unthinkable to imagine China walking away with a significant chunk of North Korea in the aftermath of the war. The Chinese government is regularly involved in “border disputes” (just Google it), and China would never pass up a chance to pick up a big slice of new territory.
In the end, the “winner” of any new war on the Korean peninsula would probably be China. The U.S. would get rid of the “North Korean problem”, but it would come at a great cost. It is hard to imagine any scenario that would end up greatly benefiting the United States.
Let us hope that a new all-out Korean war does not erupt. North Korea is ruled by delusional leaders who are insane enough to actually use nuclear weapons. If you doubt this, just consider the following 11 facts….
#1 The first “Great Leader” of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung, is deeply revered in North Korea. In fact, there are over 500 statues of Kim Il-sung scattered throughout the country. Many Koreans apparently believe that Kim Il-Sung actually created the world.
#2 It is said that hanging up pictures of Kim Il-Sung is compulsory for every household in North Korea.
#3 Millions of North Korean citizens have literally starved to death over the past 10 years.
#5 It has been reported that during times of extreme hunger in North Korea, cannibalism is quite common. Several years ago the Washington Post shared what one 29-year-old female defector told them about what is going on inside the country….
“When one is very hungry, one can go crazy. One woman in my town killed her 7-month-old baby, and ate the baby with another woman.”
The sad thing is that the 29-year-old female defector didn’t even consider what she had seen to be wrong….
“I can’t condemn cannibalism. Not that I wanted to eat human meat, but we were so hungry. It was common that people went to a fresh grave and dug up a body to eat meat. I witnessed a woman being questioned for cannibalism. She said it tasted good.”
#6 In 1987, North Korea began construction on the Ryugyong Hotel, which would have been the tallest hotel in the world if it had been finished on schedule in 1989. Instead, construction of the bizarre 105-story skyscraper that somewhat resembles a pyramid was suspended in 1992, and the unfinished structure was just a massive concrete shell towering over Pyongyang completely empty for the next 16 years. Work began once again on the project in 2008, and it is anticipated that it will finally be completed in 2012.
#7 One of North Korea’s greatest “tourist attractions” is the Pueblo – a U.S. naval vessel that the North Koreans captured from “the imperialist Americans” back in 1968.
#8 According to North Korean media, Kim Jong-il is a phenom at just about everything. It is claimed that he shot 38 under par (including 11 holes-in-one) the first time he ever played golf.
“While Interviewee 17 was in the North Korean Army, his unit was dispatched to widen the highway between Pyongyang and the nearby port city of Nampo. They were demolishing a vacated house in Yongkang county, Yongkang district town, when in a basement between two bricks they found a Bible and a small notebook that contained 25 names, one identified as pastor, two as chon-do-sa (assistant pastors), two as elders, and 20 other names, apparently parishioners, identified by their occupations. The soldiers turned the Bible and notebook over to the local branch of Department 15 of the Korean Workers Party (KWP), but the Party officials said it was up to the military police unit, Bowisaryungbu gigwanwon, to investigate. Tracked down at their place of work through the listing of occupation in the notebook, the 25 persons were picked up without formal arrest by the military bowibu. The interviewee was not aware of any judicial procedures for those seized. In November 1996, the 25 were brought to the road construction site. Four concentric rectangular rows of spectators were assembled to watch the execution. Interviewee 17 was in the first row. The five leaders to be executed – the pastor, two assistant pastors, and two elders – were bound hand and foot and made to lie down in front of a steamroller. This steamroller was a large construction vehicle imported from Japan with a heavy, huge, and wide steel roller mounted on the front to crush and level the roadway prior to pouring concrete. The other twenty persons were held just to the side. The condemned were accused of being Kiddokyo (Protestant Christian) spies and conspiring to engage in subversive activities. Nevertheless, they were told, “If you abandon religion and serve only Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, you will not be killed.” None of the five said a word. Some of the fellow parishioners assembled to watch the execution cried, screamed out, or fainted when the skulls made a popping sound as they were crushed beneath the steamroller. Interviewee 17 thought, at the time, that these church people were crazy. He thought then that religion was an “opiate,” and it was stupid for them to give up their lives for religion. He heard from the soldiers who took away the other twenty prisoners that they were being sent to a prison camp.”
#10 A few years ago when China was sending humanitarian aid into North Korea the North Koreans decided that they would just start keeping the trains as well. The Chinese crews were sent back over the border on foot.
#11 A song entitled “No Motherland Without You” was written specifically for Kim Jong-il and is one of the most popular songs in North Korea. It is regularly sung by the North Korean military.
Are you convinced yet? The truth is that North Korea is very, very dangerous and they should not be underestimated. Let us hope that the United States never has to fight another war with them.
Is Ron Paul finally in position to really do something about the Federal Reserve? U.S. Representative Spencer Bachus, the chairman-elect of the House Financial Services Committee, has announced that Ron Paul will chair the domestic monetary policy subcommittee starting next month. This puts Ron Paul in tremendous position to be able to put significant pressure on the Federal Reserve. In previous years Ron Paul has introduced legislation to end the Federal Reserve but it never got any traction. During this most recent session of Congress an effort by Ron Paul to have a full audit of the Federal Reserve conducted gathered quite a bit of momentum for a while, but in the end it did not get passed. However, a very limited examination of Fed activities during the recent financial crisis was passed, and that examination has revealed some really shocking things. With so many Tea Party members entering Congress this upcoming session there may be more momentum than ever to hold the Federal Reserve more accountable. Ron Paul is already talking about how he is planning for a full slate of hearings on U.S. monetary policy and he has indicated that he plans to restart a push to have the Fed audited.
How Can We Have A Healthy Economy If Virtually Everything We Eat And Drink Is Constantly Making Us All Sick?
Recently, my wife (who has always been extremely healthy) developed some alarming breathing problems. She did not appear to suffer from any known medical condition, so we were completely puzzled.
Finally, we started examining what we were eating and drinking. It turns out that she was putting some cream in her coffee that contained something known as “Polysorbate 80″. Polysorbate 80 is found in a vast array of dairy products and is even used in many vaccines. According to Drugs.com, “difficulty breathing” is indeed one of the known side effects of Polysorbate 80. Once my wife cut the Polysorbate 80 out of her diet, the breathing difficulties subsided. The following is how she describes what she went through….
Thankfully my wife is doing much better now, but there are thousands and thousands of others across the United States that are experiencing similar breathing problems and nobody has any answers for them.
So what are some of the other side effects of Polysorbate 80?
Well, Drugs.com says that the following are “common” side effects….
In addition, Drugs.com says that the following are severe side effects of Polysorbate 80 that an individual should seek immediate medical attention for….
Remember, this is in countless dairy products all across the United States. Most Americans are absolutely clueless that they are pouring Polysorbate 80 into their coffee or that it is in the ice cream that they are eating.
Another major threat to our health is something called bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is one of the most widely used chemicals in the entire world. If you eat canned food or you drink bottled water you most likely have BPA in your home and you don’t even know it.
According to Natural News, BPA is not only in virtually every American home, but it has also been linked to some very serious health problems….
Shouldn’t someone be doing something about this?
Of course.
But the truth is that the big corporations that are pushing these chemicals are much more powerful than those who are trying to watch out for our health.
In fact, authorities all over the United States are putting one very toxic chemical into our water on purpose.
It is called fluoride, and it is being put into our water supposedly because it is good for our teeth. What Americans are not being told is that fluoride is actually a highly toxic sedative and is causing a whole host of very serious health problems.
So exactly how dangerous is fluoride? Well, the Fluoride Dangers blog puts it this way….
The Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center has published a list of ten of the most significant health dangers that the scientific research has shown that fluoride causes…..
But perhaps even more dangerous is the sweetener known as aspartame. Today, aspartame is an ingredient in literally thousands of different food and drink products. In fact, it is often marketed in “health products” such as diet sodas.
According to an article on Mercola.com, aspartame is one of the most toxic substances being added to our foods….
According to Dr. Janet Hull, the following are known side effects of ingesting aspartame….
Sadly, there are thousands more toxins and chemicals that are being put into what we eat and what we drink. The next time you go to the supermarket, just pick up a few products and start reading the labels. You may find yourself incredibly shocked by what you find.
Does it seem like people all around you are constantly getting sick? Well, the truth is that we have created an incredibly toxic environment for ourselves. Diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes have skyrocketed in recent years. We like to think of ourselves as being so “advanced”, but the truth is that we are constantly becoming less healthy as a nation.
It is hard to imagine any prosperous economy that is full of sick and dying people. But if we don’t stop constantly poisoning ourselves by what we eat and by what we drink our national health is going to continue to fall apart.
Just like in almost every other category, America is in a deep state of decline. We like to think that we should be telling everyone else in the world how they should be doing things, but the truth is that our own nation is a complete and total mess.
If your own health is not what it should be, you might want to take another look at what you are eating and what you are drinking. A small change can make a big difference.