NAFTA & GATT Crashed The Economy, Derivatives Sealed The Deal

Since December of 2007, the government and mainstream media have pointed to runaway spending and predatory lending practices as the cause of the economic meltdown. The fairytale we’ve been spoon-fed is that borrowing, lending and the derivatives debacle was brought on with the fiscal abandon of a frat boy with a free brewery pass at spring break. There is no doubt that all three lead to foreclosures and financial ruin for far too many US citizens. But that’s only part of the story. The real instigator that has so many of us dodging pink slips, fighting to put food on the table and scrambling to stave off foreclosure began with the restructuring of NAFTA and GATT agreements. (Read More...)

Buying Rural Property In a Declining Real Estate Market

****Today we have a guest post by Barbara Fix.  She is an outstanding writer and I think that you are really going to enjoy what she has to share with us below.  We encourage everyone to visit Barbara at the Survival Diva Blog http://www.survivaldiva.com/.**** (Read More...)

1, 2, 3 – How To Prove The Truth About The U.S. Economy To Anyone In Three Easy Steps

The U.S. economy is dead on its feet and the majority of the American people don’t even know it.  Sure, most Americans understand that things are not going well right now, but the vast majority are still convinced that we will “fully recover” at some point.  After all, we have always fully recovered and gone on to bigger and better things in the past, haven’t we?  Well, unfortunately this time it is different.  The very foundations of our economic system are rotting.  Yes, unemployment numbers will go up and down and housing numbers will go up and down and inflation will go up and down, but those are not the numbers you should be paying attention to.  Instead, if you want the real truth about the U.S. economy, focus on the long-term trends that are at the root of our problems.  Every single month, the United States loses jobs and economic assets.  Every single month, more wealth flows out of the United States than flows into it.  Every single month, the United States goes into a lot more debt.  Most other economic statistics are simply symptoms of those three big problems.  The truth is that the U.S. economy is bleeding, and the truth is that very few politicians in either party are doing a thing to stop it. (Read More...)

The New Normal

Many of the things that Americans have been able to take for granted for decades are rapidly coming to an end.  The truth is that a growing economy that produces an ever-increasing amount of good jobs for a thriving middle class is not guaranteed to last forever.  In fact, there are lots of signs that the middle class in America is already being ripped to shreds.  The number of Americans on long-term unemployment benefits is exploding, personal bankruptcies are setting new records, foreclosures are at an all-time high and one out of every eight Americans is now on food stamps.  Meanwhile, the U.S. government is absolutely drowning in debt and America is facing a pension crisis that is so immense that it is almost indescribable.  Most Americans still assume that even if we do have hard times for a while things will always turn around and eventually get better than ever.  But sadly, that is just not the case.  The truth is that the United States is in the early stages of a devastating economic collapse, and the “new normal” is going to be incredibly difficult for a lot of Americans to adjust to.  (Read More...)

40 Bizarre Statistics That Reveal The Horrifying Truth About The Collapse Of The U.S. Economy

Most Americans still appear to be operating under the delusion that the “recession” will soon pass and that things will get back to “normal” very soon.  Unfortunately, that is not anywhere close to the truth.  What we are now witnessing are the early stages of the complete and total breakdown of the U.S. economic system.  The U.S. government, state governments, local governments, businesses and American consumers have collectively piled up debt that is equivalent to approximately 360 percent of GDP.  At no point during the Great Depression (or at any other time during our history) did we ever come close to such a figure.  We have piled up the biggest mountain of debt that the world has ever seen, and now that gigantic debt bubble is beginning to pop.  As this house of cards comes crashing down, the economic pain is going to become almost unimaginable.  (Read More...)

The Truth About America’s National Debt 2010

America’s national debt is exploding out of control, and still most politicians in Washington D.C. don’t really seem that interested in doing anything about it.  Why?  Well, the truth is that if the U.S. government reduces government spending that will slow down the economy, and if the economy slows down then Americans will blame the politicians, and if Americans are angry at the politicians then they will be less likely to vote them back into office.  So we actually have a system where our politicians have an incentive not to do anything about the national debt.  Meanwhile, the exploding debt continues to become a colossal long-term problem that threatens to destroy not only our economy, but our entire way of life.  The federal budget deficit has topped $1 trillion with three months still to go in the current budget year.  It is projected that the final budget deficit for 2010 will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.3 to 1.5 trillion dollars.  But can we really afford to keep having deficits that are over a trillion dollars every single year? (Read More...)

40 Million Americans On Food Stamps

Well, it is official.  40.2 million Americans received food stamps in March, which represented a 21 percent increase from a year earlier.  That means that more than one out of every eight Americans is now dependent on the federal government for their daily bread.  But the truth is that things are going to get even worse.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting that more than 43 million Americans will be on food stamps by the end of 2011.  (Read More...)

10 Huge Flashing Danger Signs That The U.S. Economy Is Headed For Disaster

Most Americans believe that the U.S. economy will fully recover from this recent recession and will soon become stronger than ever.  But that is definitely not what is happening.  The truth is that the very foundations of the U.S. economy are coming apart and we are headed for a massive amount of financial trouble as a nation.  Collectively, the U.S. government, U.S. businesses and U.S. consumers have piled up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world.  This mountain of debt has enabled us to enjoy a spectacular standard of living for the past several decades, but now the bills are coming due and nobody seems to even realize how great of a financial disaster the U.S. now finds itself in the middle of. (Read More...)

63 Percent Of Republicans Now Believe That Barack Obama Is A Socialist

The majority of Republicans now believe that Barack Obama is a socialist. According to a new survey conducted for Daily Kos by polling firm Research 2000, 63 percent of those who identify themselves as Republicans say that they believe that Barack Obama is a socialist. Of course the liberal blogs are having a field day with this one. After all, it is ludicrous to think that any major U.S. politician is actually a socialist, right? (Read More...)

The Truth