Money

11 Economic Headlines That Make You Wonder What In The World Is Actually Going On

These days there are times when you read the economic headlines and all you can do is shake your head.  Is anyone in control out there?  Who in the world could possibly be making so many bad decisions?  The truth is that the U.S. economy is in a state of absolute chaos, but whenever anybody in power tries to do something about it they usually seem to make things worse.  It is almost as if the vast majority of people in positions of power have lost the common sense that they were born with.  Meanwhile, average Americans just keep getting angrier and angrier and are looking for someone to blame for this gigantic mess.

If only Vince Lombardi was alive today.  He would definitely know what to say at a time like this….

Sometimes it is actually hard to believe what is happening to America.  The United States was once the richest and most powerful economy on the planet and was seemingly invincible.  But now things are spinning wildly out of control.  Posted below are 11 headlines that make you wonder what in the world is going on out there….

#1) Two very serious dark-suited IRS agents recently visited a carwash in Sacramento, California in pursuit of 4 cents.

#2) Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd has introduced legislation that would give the Federal Reserve sweeping new powers over the United States economy.

#3) The Federal Reserve is pledging to keep interest rates at record lows in order to foster economic growth and ease high unemployment.

#4) China is seeking reassurance from the U.S. government that the U.S. dollar will not decline in value.

#5) The unemployment rate in the construction industry has jumped to 27.1% as another 64,000 construction workers lost their jobs in February.

#6) The Obama administration’s “Pay Czar” has decided to limit 2010 compensation for top executives at GMAC because the automobile finance giant continues to lose large amounts of money.

#7) Internet fraud cases increased by a whopping 22% in 2009 as scammers continued to take advantage of the trusting nature of many Americans.

#8) $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the U.S. government, payable to the Social Security Administration, are apparently stored in filing cabinets in downtown Parkersburg, West Virginia.

#9) According to USDebtClock.org, the unfunded liabilities of the U.S. government total over 107 trillion dollars.

#10) Are Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives about to use a “legislative trick” to pass the reconciled health care reform bill without really voting on it?

#11) According to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, the approval rate of Congress is down to just 17 percent, and 50 percent of the respondents said that they would like to throw everybody out and start with a completely new Congress.

cheaper to burn dollars than paper

 

For Americans Wishing To Leave The United States, What Is The Best Country In The World To Move To?

For those seeking to move outside of the United States, figuring out the best country to move to can be a very daunting task.  There are a ton of social, cultural, economic and safety issues to be considered.  In addition, those who have never been outside of North America should not underestimate the severe “culture shock” that can take place when moving to another nation.  While moving outside of the United States may seem like an attractive alternative, the truth is that it is not easy and it is not something to be done lightly.  But there have been many Americans who have done it successfully and are now loving life.  Our recent article, “Is Moving Out Of The United States A Way To Escape The Coming Economic Collapse?”, generated some really great comments about what various areas of the world are like for Americans who move there.  Today we wanted to share with you some of those comments.  These commenters have some very strong opinions about where the best places for Americans to move to are, but the reality is that each person and each situation is different so keep that in mind as you read these…. 

Saigonbrian:

I’ve lived in China, Vietnam, and am currently living in Malaysia for the last few years. I’ve also traveled extensively during that time. Given the likely future problems in the US it’s certainly prudent to at least evaluate an alternative.

Our top two choices would be New Zealand (NZ) and Costa Rica (CR) with Malaysia coming in 3rd. NZ and CR are both beautiful countries and pretty much self-sufficient in needed resources. English, of course, is the language of NZ and it is widely spoken in CR. Though if you choose a country where English is not the native language; you’d be way better off learning the local language.

Some other options would be: Thailand; a beautiful very expat friendly country. Indonesia, in particular Bali. Vietnam and Cambodia would be OK for the more adventurous and they are cheap, cheap. Australia is fine, though the prices are pretty much US level. Singapore is nice if you want to live in one big city. Malaysia is interesting. It tries very hard to get expats to retire there. They have a formal program called “Malaysia My Second Home” (MM2H). You apply for it, and if you meet the criteria, you get a 10 yr, unlimited entry visa. There should be no trouble renewing it. You need to keep about $30,000 USD in a local bank account, buy a home that costs at least $175,000 USD, and have an income of $3,000 a month. I suspect these requirements will lessen. The program is relatively new and the government hasn’t seem to have chosen which expat group they’re really targeting: rich foreigners, well off investors, or retirees with more modest moola. The country is beautiful and fairly cheap to live in. We have a gorgeous 5,000 sf apartment with great, modern security features. Did I mention it’s on the beach with amazing views. The cost? About $2,400 USD a month!! Our electric bill, and we run the aircon a lot; is $25 bucks. We haven’t used our health insurance yet, as we’d not hit the deductible limit and the prices are very cheap. And the quality of care is 1st rate. My daughter twisted her ankle recently so we put the system to the test. The initial exam by an orthopedic surgeon, xrays, and a soft cast cost about $35 USD! Follow-up visits with the orthopedic surgeon cost $9 USD! Pretty darn good. My primary concern? The worry that the country will become too islamic. It is the official state religion though now it does treat the Chinese and Indian minorities relatively fairly. I’m just not sure it can resist the tendency for islam to become more intrusive and radical. Hopefully not, but the jury is still out.

Overall I’d suggest doing some research and find a few contenders. Then go to these places for a vacation. That will give you some 1st hand data. One thing you notice living overseas is that Americans are the least adventurous, 1st world; folks. We need to get over that.

Bon voyage!

Gringo in Brazil:

I recently made the move to Brazil with my family based primarily on the social and economic factors I witnessed and experienced. In Michigan, I found my business drying up, my home value plummeting, the job market disappearing, etc. More importantly, if the youth I saw at the malls and high schools are any indication of the future leadership of our country; we are in serious trouble. With less than 50% of our youth even graduating from High School, how do we stand a chance.

Fortunately I speak fluent Portuguese so I am able to adapt. I am earning about $1,300/mo plus commissions which is enough for a simple apartment and living expenses. My wife is looking for the right job and should be able to earn about the same which will afford us a modest lifestyle.

Most Americans couldn’t cope with the heat, mosquitoes, open sewers, long lines, hellish traffic, and other cultural issues, unless they could afford to live in a luxury neighborhood and have a maid and personal assistant. However, the outlook here in Brazil is very positive. Most young people are investing in their education and advancement. I liken it to stepping back 70 years in our country and being on the verge of a great industrial revolution that I can be a part of. I have decided it is better to be starting at the bottom of the hill, climbing towards the top, then to be at the top and sliding out of control towards the bottom.

If you can afford it, do what my wife and I did, we took a two month “vacation” a couple of years ago, rented a furnished apartment and did a trial “residency” in which we had time to evaluate the pros and cons. When we moved here last month, we were well prepared, knowing what we were getting into, bringing along the necessary items and resources to be able to live relatively comfortably.

If you can master the native language sufficiently (or take an immersion course when you arrive for 6 months), you can often get a job at a language school, or company needing bi-lingual workers or professionals. Best bet is to scour the classifieds online ahead of time so you have something guaranteed when you arrive.

Kenneth:

Australia is the best country in the world to live in. This is the statement of Australians who have been to USA and other countries. It is what USA used to be years ago. It will be a few years before Australia becomes like USA. USA has left its Christian roots and I am afraid there are those who will make sure it never goes back.

AsiaExpat:

Singapore is the best place to live and work. It has a real future and very reasonable taxes. Peaceful, modern, they even speak English (kind of). Bring your best attitude and a necktie, because you have to work and you have to be kind to your neighbors. Who wants to be cloistered nervously behind a wall, anyway?

Bill:

Best places as far as quality of life? Social Democratic countries like Scandanavia- Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark.

If language is a problem Canada would be the closest best choice, then Australia, New Zealand, and for Central America, Costa Rica would be the number one choice for climate, civility, medical care and a beautiful environment.

For most places that provide good quality of life, expect to pay high taxes, which most civilized countries, yours excepted, equate with civilization. I’m afraid you folks are letting your inherent selfishness, ignorance of other cultures, militarism and a “screw you Jack, I’ve got mine” mentality destroy you.

Better than moving, stay there and try to turn things around. You have too much that is still good to lose it all. We’re all hoping-well, your firends are anyway- that you’ll pull out of this before its too late.
Time is running out folks.

Mongoos:

Not all Americans are “ugly Americans.” We are guests in the host country and most expats act as such. I retired in Sept 2009 and plan on living, teaching, and writing in Thailand. I have lived and worked overseas before, so this is nothing new for me. You make do and blend in and stay out of trouble. Leave your attitudes and preconceptions at the door when you check in. Otherwise, you will be creating problems for those of us who wish to live in peace and enjoy the pleasures of a different culture.

James:

There are over 100,000 Americans living in Costa Rica and loving it. Things are getting stronger here everyday and in most schools they teach English for half the day and Spanish for the other. The majority of the people like Americans and if you want to have it shipped here you can get everything here that you can get there. WalMart is the largest retail chain here as well as there.

This week Costa Rica moved ahead of the US in medical care. A huge % of the national income is from Medical Tourism. They are using adult stem cell treatment here to cure MS, Heart Decease, diabetes, Spinal Cord Injuries, Cancer and many other conditions. A good source for getting information on Costa Rica is the Association of Residents of Costa Rica.

http://www.arcr.net

They have a seminar once a month that brings in Doctors, Lawyers, Dentist, Shippers, Realtors, Investment Councilors and many other experts to brief you on the pros and cons of moving to Costa Rica. There are many communities here that are all American and the “Culture Shock” is nonexistent. The weather is perfect and they have never had a hurricane.

Bruce:

We moved to the French Riviera 10 years ago when we retired. Cost of living here in Nice is much less than New York or any other major American city. We’re on the sea, a big plus, near Italy, also a big plus, and we enjoy terrific food that we can afford. The medical system in France is incomparable and truly inexpensive compared to the U.S. We calculated our fixed living expenses for the year: it came to 11,000 Euros, or about $15,000 for all our taxes, medical coverage, utilities, condo fees, dentistry, etc. We live in a 2 bedroom top floor condo with a very large terrace and 2 balconies. There’s plenty of money left for travel, dining out, movies, and quick jaunts up to London and Paris for culture and ethnic food (especially London). Don’t regret the move at all.

John:

I moved to Ensenada Mexico in 2000. It was the best thing I ever did for my future because there is no future in America. I now enjoy more freedom than I ever had in the US. Spanish is easy to learn and the people are much more friendly here. There are lots of ex-pats here also. In the coming years the US is going to be the worst place to be. Escape now while you still can.

AmericanInOz:

I am an American that immigrated to Australia in 2001 (after Bush took office). My wife and I didn’t like what we saw coming. Politically, culturally, financially and socially.

When Big Media first started covering the US’s economic problems here in 2008 they drug out the old phrase “When America catches a cold Australia gets a flu”. Two plus years on and this couldn’t be further from the truth. The economy here is going great guns, and demand from Asia and a better government are a good part of the reason.

House prices are having solid gains every year, unemployment is reasonably steady, and the federal reserve is trying to raise interest rates to cool the economy (.25% again today)

To that point, the government here doesn’t subsidise 30 year fixed mortgages the way they do in the US, so they can still manage the economy by slightly manipulating interest rates. The longest you can fix a mortgage for is 5 years, at a very high premium, so most people don’t.

America has become an after thought, if not the laughing stock, of many Australians. It saddens me to see how far everything has fallen over there. I no longer try to defend the US or the American people. The time for real public outrage passed many years ago, and I have not only given up on the government, but also on the people themselves. So many dear family and friends spend their lives watching TV while their freedoms, lifestyle, culture and wealth were/are being destroyed around them. Ignorant and apathetic to the realities of the real world. Living with some strange notion of the past as if it represents the present.

Not all is doom and gloom here. And although it could still come, if it does it will have little, if nothing at all, to do with the problems in America.

Virginia Hands Out 6996 Traffic Tickets In One Weekend In An Effort To Raise Revenue For The State Government

In the old days, police officers wrote traffic tickers primarily to keep people safe and to prevent citizens from breaking the traffic laws.  But in the new Amerika, all of that has changed.  Now traffic tickets are primarily viewed as a revenue raising tool for state and local governments.  For example, a federally funded ticketing blitz in the state of Virginia resulted in a total of 6996 traffic tickets being handed out this past weekend.  This most recent ticketing blitz is part of a campaign code-named “Operation Air, Land & Speed”.  Last Saturday and Sunday state troopers were ordered to absolutely saturate Interstate 95 and Interstate 81 and to issue as many traffic tickets as humanly possible during those two days.  Why?  Well, it turns out that the state of Virginia has a 2.2 billion dollar budget deficit that they are trying to deal with, and so they need to find some quick sources of cash. 

You see, state and local governments all over the nation are massively jacking up traffic fines and are starting to write a lot more tickets in an attempt to “enhance” their streams of revenue.

In other words, state and local governments across the U.S. are broke and so they need some suckers to prey on.

Not that it was ever a good idea to break the traffic laws.  But now even a minor violation can put a massive hole in your wallet.  For instance, driving as little as 15 miles an hour over the speed limit in Virginia can get you a reckless driving charge that can carry a fine of up to $2500.

So why the hefty fines?

Well, the law increasing the traffic fines in Virginia clearly admitted why they are so high….

“The purpose of the civil remedial fees imposed in this section is to generate revenue.” (Virginia Code 46.2-206.1)

Are you starting to get the picture?

But this kind of thing is not just happening in Virginia.

“Sobriety checkpoints” in the state of California are increasingly bring used as revenue raising operations.  It turns out that these sobriety checkpoints are far more likely to seize cars from unlicensed motorists than they are to catch drunk drivers.

So how profitable are these “sobriety” checkpoints?

Well, research done by the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley with California Watch discovered that impounds at “sobriety” checkpoints in 2009 alone generated approximately 40 million dollars in towing fees and police fines.

That is what you call a source of revenue.

In Detroit, even the police admit that the fundamental nature of police work is changing.  Just consider the following quote from from Police Chief Michael Reaves of Utica, Michigan….

“When I first started in this job 30 years ago, police work was never about revenue enhancement, but if you’re a chief now, you have to look at whether your department produces revenues.”

Sgt. Richard Lyons of Trenton, Michigan is even more blunt about what is happening in his community….

“They’re trying to use police officers to balance the budget on the backs of drivers, and it’s too bad. The people we count on to support us and help us when we’re on the road are the ones who end up paying the bills, and they’re ticked off about it. We might as well just go door to door and tell people, ‘Slide us $100 now since your 16-year-old is going to end up paying us anyway when he starts driving.’ You can’t blame people for getting upset.”

But some localities are converting to even more automated ways of making money from drivers.

For example, “red-light cameras” have become huge revenue raising tools in many areas of the country.  In Los Angeles, revenue from red-light cameras has doubled from $200,000 a month in 2007 to $400,000 a month at the end of 2009.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants cities and counties in his state to take things even farther.  He wants them to install speed sensors on existing red-light cameras.  Speeders caught by these sensors would face fines ranging from $225 to $325.

Don’t all of us wish we could start a business that could make so much money from each customer?

California state officials believe that these speed sensors would raise more than 300 million dollars for the state of California by the end of 2011.

All of this is enough to make one want to drive like a grandmother.

Except then they would get you for going too slow.

Seriously.

The reality is that you have to be very, very careful out there now because the nature of driving in America has fundamentally changed.

Whether it is rapidly increasing traffic fines or all of the toll roads going in everywhere, American drivers are increasingly being viewed as a big fat revenue source.

And as the current economic collapse gets even worse, drivers are going to be preyed upon even more by state and local governments.

If you have not already done so, now is the time to change the way that you drive.  Don’t give state and local governments an excuse to take even more of your hard-earned money from you than they are already.

Is Moving Out Of The United States A Way To Escape The Coming Economic Collapse?

With the U.S. economy in a death spiral, many Americans have been wondering if moving out of the United States is a way to escape the coming economic collapse.  While it is true that the U.S. economy will drag down the rest of the economies around the globe at least to an extent, the reality is that someone living on an island in the middle of nowhere will be able to weather the coming economic storm a whole lot better than someone in New York or Los Angeles.  But is moving out of the United States a practical alternative?  First of all, it is very important to realize that moving some to another country can cause a massive culture shock.  Even a nation that you would think would be somewhat similar such as the U.K. can be radically different from what most Americans are accustomed to.  In addition, in some cases there can be huge taxes and fees imposed on those moving to a new country.

But if you are looking for a change and are ready for something different, moving to another country may work out for you.  In particular, moving to another country tends to work out for those who already have money and do not have to work.  The dollar is still strong in many areas of the world (especially the third world), so if you have a sufficient bankroll saved up there are areas of the world where you can literally live like a king.

However, if you still need to work, moving to another country can present a huge challenge.  The truth is that wages in many areas of the world (especially in the third world) are much lower than in the United States.  On the flip side, the cost of living is often much lower in other areas of the world.

So is moving to another country the right answer for everyone?  No, of course not.  But for some people it may be a wonderful alternative.

To give you more of a perspective on moving out of the United States, we have posted two comments from our readers below.  The first is from a reader named Chris who is very excited about moving his family to the Philippines.  The second is from a reader named John who provides an alternative viewpoint on what living in the Philippines is like….

Chris:

Well I feel the same way as Mae does. I can see what is the possible outcome; a deflationary depression, an inflationary depression, dollar devaluation, confiscation of our money, confiscation of gold, a “freeze” on our savings accounts, etc…

Well so what is our solution? Well my wife is a Filipino American. She was born here. But she has very close ties to her ancestral homeland. So we are going to move in April 2010. We are going to move to a remote town/village. We already bought some land under her father’s name who lives there now and had a beautiful 3000 square foot Spanish villa built two years ago. Plus we bought lots and lots of land where we can grow our own organic food and raise chickens.

Even though as a whole the Philippines is a poor society, they are moving forward. If you have about $150,000 or more, you can live like a king with all of the Western accommodations. If you are living in the U.S.A. then move. Our country won’t be the same in the next coming years. I will wait for this storm to pass. Then I can either choose to stay in the Philippines or come back to America.

Remember, whatever you do, prepare yourself. “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best”.

John:

I was talking to a friend here in the Philippines this afternoon who has two young adult children who are both working full time jobs. He is worried that they will NEVER be able to have a home of their own or even ever an apartment. They both work for Call centers and their jobs USED to based in the USA. They are happy to have a job but they are only earning 13,000 pesos a month. That is about $300 !!!

The same exact job in the states is paying over $400 a week! The of living is less in the Philippines BUT things are NOT so cheap that you could have a home of your own. $300 a month is NOT very much money NO MATTER where in the world you live. The cost of gasoline is MORE here, about $4.00 a gallon. Going out to eat at McDonalds appears to cost less BUT the serving sizes are less so in the long run you pay the same. The wages for a McDonalds employee is about $7 a day so the employees can not even afford to eat at McDonalds!

The employers are making MILLIONS off of the cheap labor. The jobs that used to be in the states are NOW here but the BOSS MAN is making even MORE PROFIT. The employers do not have the misc. taxes to pay like they would in the states. The wages are obviously several hundred dollars or more LESS than the same job in the states. These employers have NOT reduced the cost of their products or services so they are really raking in the bucks.

The american people have lost their jobs and they will NOT see them return. And the people here who are now doing those same jobs are not much better off. The filipino employees are wise enough to understand they are being taken advantage of but there is nothing they can do. They need a job also, so complaining about the low wages does nothing. There are thousands that will take the job you do not want.

Many areas in the Philippines are incredibly wealthy. You see housing developments that the average american could not afford to live in. I see cars that cost tens of thousands of dollars on the road everyday. They have huge shopping malls that are bursting at the seams with stores in EVERY retail location. Unlike the mall in my home town of Cedar Rapids Iowa. The mall there looks like a GHOST TOWN.

The only people that are winning are the CORPORATIONS that are raking in huge profits while the little guy suffers.

Has The United States Become A Nation With No Economic Spine?

What are hard working Americans who have scrimped and saved and have done everything “right” financially for decades supposed to think about all of these “bailouts” and of the massive financial mess in Washington?  How are people who have handled their own finances admirably supposed to feel now that the foolishness of others is leading us all towards a horrific economic collapse?  Well, a reader named “Mae” recently left a comment that I think does a good job of communicating what a lot of hard working Americans are feeling right now: My situation is this – we have lived our lives playing by the rules: never carried debt on a credit card that we couldn’t pay off by the due date. If we couldn’t afford the item, we didn’t buy it. We always had a Christmas Club which enabled us to pay cash for the holiday. We payed ourselves first after every paycheck whether it was $10 or $100, whatever we could afford. We made double payments on our mortgage when we could which helped us to pay off our modest home 10 years early. We knew that we couldn’t afford to “have it all” so we made our choices early on and stuck with it. We sacrificed the fancy vacations in order to do large home repairs (like a new roof) ourselves. We didn’t buy expensive cars and now own one outright and carry a small loan on another. That’s our only debt besides monthly bills. We chose jobs that provided health care benefits. We did everything right…we saved and saved and saved to have a decent retirement but of course last year took half the value of our 401k.

Now, I’m expected to sit back and watch Bush, Congress and Obama bail everyone out because they didn’t have the fiscal discipline to manage their money?? I’m supposed to feel bad for people who bought homes they couldn’t afford? or cars they couldn’t pay for? or $1000 cell phone bills? or $20,000 in credit card debt? HELL NO! I’m livid! If I ran my checkbook the way Washington is running the national checkbook, I’d be thrown in jail!

All we can do now is educate as many people as possible about what is happening and hopefully vote all these s.o.b.’s out of office and replace them with fiscally conservative candidates who will vote for term limits. The days of a career politician are over. I don’t know if we can turn any of this around – it will take a lot of hard work to make the tough decisions, but they have to be made if we’re to survive. How many people have the guts to work through this? Not many…we’ve become a spoiled, selfish, arrogant and hypocritical nation with no spine.

Liberty Silver Coins

Economic Warning! 4 Signs That U.S. Financial Authorities Plan To Reduce The Money Supply, Tighten Credit And Hoard Cash

More than ever before in U.S. history, American society absolutely relies on credit in order to function.  In fact, if you cut off all sources of credit to U.S. businesses, most of them would go out of business fairly quickly.  The truth is that when the money supply expands and credit flows freely, the U.S. economy usually hums along pretty good.  But when the money supply contracts and the financial powers tighten credit, it almost always means that an economic slowdown is coming.  That is why recent signals by the Federal Reserve and the major banks in the U.S. are so alarming.

But why would the financial authorities want to contract the money supply and tighten credit just when the U.S. economy is showing some signs of life?

Well, the truth is that nobody can read their minds.  In the long run, the massive size of the U.S. national debt is going to force a massive increase in the size of the U.S. money supply and will eventually lead to hyperinflation.

However, in the short term U.S. financial powers may see this as a chance to further consolidate their power.  There are rumors that they still desire much greater “consolidation” in the banking industry.

So how would this “consolidation” be achieved?

Well, a massive “second wave” of mortgages is scheduled to reset over the next two to three years.  If credit is tight and the U.S. economy is struggling, then another huge wave of mortgage defaults could potentially destroy hundreds of small to mid-size banks across the United States.

The big banks would be in prime position to come in and buy many of them up for a song.

You see, this is very similar to what happened during the Great Depression.

During the Great Depression, the financial powers reduced the money supply, tightened credit and hoarded cash.  The U.S. economy seized up and suddenly nobody had any money.  Those who did have money (the financial powers) were in many cases able to come in and buy assets up for pennies on the dollar.

Not that we are expecting an extended deflationary depression this time.  Instead, it is perhaps likely that they are planning a “consolidation phase” before they really blow out the dollar.

In any event, a reduction in the money supply, the tightening of credit and the hoarding of cash by banks is really bad news for the average American because there will be less jobs and less opportunity as the economy slows down.

The following are 4 signs that this is exactly what we are about to see….

#1) The Federal Reserve is in talks with money-market mutual funds on agreements to help drain as much as 1 trillion dollars from the financial system.  The Federal Reserve is reportedly seeking to “withdraw” some of the record monetary stimulus pumped into the U.S. economy to fight the recession.  But when you withdraw stimulus money from the system, what happens?  That’s right – the opposite of stimulus.

#2) There are persistent rumors that Federal Reserve policy makers are plotting a course for a series of interest rate hikes.  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says that the Federal Reserve may raise the discount rate “before long” as part of the “normalization” of Fed lending.  By raising that rate, Bernanke says that the central bank “will be able to put significant upward pressure on all short-term interest rates”.  When the Federal Reserve raises rates, this has a ripple effect throughout the entire economy.  Higher rates mean that credit will tighten and loans will be more expensive for individuals and businesses.  In turn, this will cause the U.S. economy to slow down.

#3) Recent data suggests that there has been a substantial drop in the “real” M3 money supply, and every time that this has happened in the past it has resulted in a drop in economic activity.  In fact, this contraction in the money supply has some economic analysts now saying that it is not a matter of “if” we will have a “double-dip” recession, but of “when” it will occur.

#4) There are also signs that the major U.S. banks are now hoarding cash.  In fact, the biggest banks in the U.S. cut their collective small business lending balance by another $1 billion in November 2009.  That drop was the seventh monthly decline in a row.

So what does all of this mean?

It means that the collapse of the U.S. dollar will be put off for a little while but that the U.S. economy is in for some hard times ahead.

More people are going to lose their jobs and more people are going to lose their homes.

Eventually though, after this apparent “consolidation phase” is over, the U.S. government and the financial powers will swoop in with another round of bailouts and another round of “stimulus packages” to save the day.  Once again they will be hailed as heroes and saviors.

And this current “consolidation phase” does not change the long term forecast at all.  Eventually the U.S. dollar will collapse and the United States will experience hyperinflation in one form or another.

Just not yet.

The 2010 World Economic Forum In Davos, Switzerland – Is Our Economic Future Being Determined By A Bunch Of Elitists On The Other Side Of The World?

If you went out on the streets and asked average Americans what the “World Economic Forum” is, how many of them do you think would be able to tell you what it is?  Not very many.  But it is one of the most important international economic organizations in the world.  It is a non-profit foundation that holds a meeting for world power brokers and key executives from 1,000 of the world’s most powerful companies every year for five days in Davos, Switzerland.  You can kind of think of it as a much larger and much more public Bilderberg Group.  The meetings this year were held from January 27th to January 31st, and there was such little coverage in the American media that you would think that the meetings were of little importance.

Even though we hear very, very little about the World Economic Forum in the U.S. media, the truth is that key global economic policy decisions are made each year at Davos, and often new global initiatives are launched during the meetings.  For example, the Global Health Initiative was launched by Kofi Annan at the World Economic Forum in 2002.  This year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation decided to announce at the World Economic Forum that the foundation will commit $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research, develop, and deliver vaccines in poor and developing countries.

The theme of this year’s meetings was “Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild”, and most of the attendees seemed to recognize that the state of the world economy is not good.  In fact, Spiegel is reporting that the message coming out of the World Economic Forum was that 2010 was going to be a “terrible” year for the world economy.

But why is there such little coverage of such an important global conference in the media?

After all, past attendees of the World Economic Forum include Ban Ki-moon, Condoleezza Rice, Gordon Brown, Hamid Karzai, Queen Rania of Jordan, Shimon Peres, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Bono, Tony Blair, Angela Merkel, Dmitry Medvedev, Henry Kissinger and Nelson Mandela.

Very big names gathering each year to make very big decisions about our economic future – shouldn’t that be newsworthy?

But the truth is that the American press mostly ignores the World Economic Forum for the same reasons why it mostly ignores the Bilderberg Group.

The reality is that the elitist global organizations that make the real decisions don’t want us to realize how important they really are.

We aren’t supposed to understand that global policies that impact us all are made on a global level by unelected global elitists who care very little about you and I.

If you do not know about the World Economic Forum, you need to find out.

After all, they are making decisions that are going to affect your future.

The Other Side Of Christmas

The Other Side Of ChristmasFor some Americans this past Christmas represented the best of times. They drove their imported cars out to the big box stores where they bought cheap plastic imported goods from China to give to their family members as they huddled in the spacious family rooms of their McMansions. But for millions of other Americans this was not a happy Christmas. For those Americans, the holiday season has been filled with frustration and despair as they try to pick up the pieces of their lives after being hit by an economic tsunami. You see, the deep recession of 2008/2009 is not just about numbers and figures – it is about real people with very real problems. Boneheaded policies developed in Washington and in the corporate boardrooms of America have had devastating consequences for millions of people out there. So if you are having a “happy” holiday season, perhaps you could take a few moments to consider what the other side of Christmas is like for the large numbers of Americans who are really hurting out there right now.

In 2009, millions of Americans lost their jobs. It may seem really easy to tell someone to “get a job”, but when there are simply no jobs out there it can literally suck the life out of the unemployed. In fact, some areas of the United States now more closely resemble a war zone than a modern industrialized nation. For example, the city of Detroit is a complete disaster area. The “official” unemployment rate in Detroit is 27 percent, but the mayor of Detroit says that it should really be about 45 percent using a broader definition of unemployment.

Almost half of the people in one of America’s biggest cities out of work?

Can you even imagine?

And yet it is a reality.

People there are desperate.

People there are turning to crime.

Forget about figuring out what to buy for Christmas – people in Detroit are figuring out how to put a roof over their heads and are wondering where their next meal is going to come from.

But it is not just Detroit.

Unemployment is ravaging the entire nation.

For example, 1400 truckers based in Oklahoma who worked for Arrow Trucking suddenly found themselves unemployed and found their paychecks bouncing when their employer suddenly went out of business.  Some of them even found themselves stranded in the middle of their routes when their gas cards simply stopped working.  Just check out the video news report below….

Now many of those truckers are wondering how they are going to feed their families.

That was their Christmas.

So how was yours?

If you do not understand how explosive the growth of unemployment has been the past two years, then please go take a look at this startling animated map which graphically shows the mind blowing growth of unemployment in the United States.  It will simply take your breath away.

Millions of other Americans have lost their homes in 2009.

How would you feel if you lost your home and had to move into a motel or move in with your relatives or even move into a tent city?

Tent cities?

Yes, tent cities are popping up all over the United States.  People who once lived in beautiful homes and who celebrated Christmas with their families around the ole Christmas tree are now relegated to trying to survive in tent cities….

Millions of other Americans who may still have jobs and who may even still have their homes cannot sleep at night because they are up to their eyeballs in debt.  Credit card debt has become a national nightmare as Americans have indulged in the greatest consumer debt binge of all time over the past decade.

Now those chickens are coming home to roost.  Just check out the following video….

The truth is that the average American household is drowning in debt.  In 1980, the average U.S. household held $670 in credit card debt.  That number today is up to $7,800.

As the economy crumbles, many people would love to get out of debt but they simply can’t.  In fact, millions of Americans find themselves unable to make ends meet at the end of the month.

More Americans than ever are allowing frustration to slowly become despair.  People know things are bad and they are not optimistic that things will get any better any time soon.

In fact, one new poll has revealed that eight in ten Americans say that the economy is in poor shape.

The American middle class is simply tapped out.  Millions of people are going broke.  The total number of bankruptcies filed in the third quarter in the United States surged 33%.

So how are you doing?

If you had a wonderful Christmas without any financial worries consider yourself fortunate.

But as the U.S. economic collapse continues it may come and claim you as a victim as well.

You better get ready.

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