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Living In Fear

Can you feel the rising fear in America today?  It has gotten to the point where it is almost palpable.  Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and fear what is going to happen when their unemployment benefits run out.  Millions of others fear what would happen if they lose the job that they still have.  A rapidly growing number of Americans are getting behind on their mortgage payments and fear that they might lose their homes to foreclosure.  Still others are looking retirement directly in the eye and are realizing that they aren’t going to have enough money to make it.  So why all the fear?  Well, over the past several decades an increasing number of Americans have come to define their lives by the amount of stuff that they have accumulated and the amount of money in their bank accounts.  For these Americans, living the American Dream is dependent on these material possessions.  So what happens when these material possessions are threatened?  What you get is millions upon millions of Americans living in fear. (Read More...)

50 Random Questions

If you are a big fan of The Office on NBC, then you probably know that Michael Scott considers autumn to be “the most contemplative of seasons”.  Well, while that may or may not be true, what I do believe is that Friday is one of “the most contemplative” days of the week.  Here in the great Pacific northwest there is still a couple of hours of daylight left before the sun goes down, and as the sun relentlessly continues its trajectory towards the horizon it makes me stop and reflect on how rapidly the world is changing.  In just about any field that you want to name – technology, politics, economics, education, entertainment and even religion – the pace of change these days is absolutely astounding.  We live at a time when we get to watch the world literally change right in front of our eyes.  In the age of the Internet our attention spans have been reduced to approximately that of a squirrel, but sometimes it is good to sit back and think about the bigger picture.  What does all of this change mean?  Is it good?  Is it bad?  What kind of a future are we headed for?  (Read More...)

15 Signs That The U.S. Housing Market Is Headed For Complete And Total Collapse

The U.S. housing market is dying.  You will only hear hints of this on the mainstream news and from the politicians in Washington D.C., but as statistic after statistic continues to roll in, the reality of what is happening is becoming very difficult to deny.  Up until the end of April, the giant tax credit that the U.S. government was bribing home buyers with helped stabilize the real estate market, but now that the tax credit has expired the decline of the U.S. housing market has resumed.  Mortgage defaults continue to set new records.  Foreclosures continue to set new records.  Home repossessions by banks continue to set new records.  The number of homes being constructed and the number of Americans applying for home loans is at stunningly low levels.  For decades, owning a home has been touted as the very heart of “the American Dream”, but today that dream is out of reach for an increasing number of Americans.  Why?  It is because there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone.  Without a jobs recovery, there simply is not going to be a housing recovery.  Unfortunately, as the U.S. economy continues to come apart like a 20 dollar suit, even more Americans are going to lose their jobs and the U.S. housing industry will continue to experience a very painful decline. (Read More...)

No More Debt!

As we approach election season here in 2010, American voters are seemingly more angry than at any other time in recent memory.  More than at any other time in modern American history, Americans are seeking out alternatives outside the “two party system” (such as the Tea Party movement) through which to express their anger.  So why are the American people so angry?  Well, the truth is that there are a whole lot of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is the horrific mismanagement of our national finances that has been going on in Washington.  The “Congress critters” have been piling up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world, and millions of Americans are now waking up and are now realizing that our financial future has been absolutely obliterated.  We have accumulated a debt that is impossible to repay.  In fact, it is rapidly getting to the point where it will become impossible even to service the debt.  All of this debt is literally killing the American Dream.  An increasing number of Americans now realize the horror of what we have done, but the reality is that it may be far too late to reverse the damage that has taken place. (Read More...)

An Unemployment Chart Almost Too Depressing To Look At

If you are currently unemployed, you might not want to look at the chart I am about to show you.  In fact, even those who have jobs are likely to get quite depressed after looking at it.  Why?  Well, because it shows that long-term unemployment in the United States continues to get much worse.  Millions of middle class Americans have been dumped out of their jobs over the past two or three years, and they can’t seem to find equivalent jobs no matter how hard they try.  Millions have given up on finding something that will pay about the same and have resorted to flipping burgers or greeting customers down at the local “big box” store.  Millions of others can’t seem to get hired anywhere.  The truth is that there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone anymore.  Today, there are about 6 unemployed Americans for every single job opening in the United States.  It is almost as if tens of millions of American workers have been forced into a very sick version of musical chairs where there are not nearly enough chairs for everyone.  Unfortunately, the losers in this game are likely to lose their homes, their dignity and any chance at achieving the American Dream.  The truth is that things are getting really bad out there.  According to one disturbing new survey, 28% of all U.S. households have at least one member that is looking for a full-time job.  That is not just a problem – that is a national crisis. (Read More...)

Illinois Bankrupt?

Is the state of Illinois bankrupt?  Well, if Illinois is not totally broke already it is certainly well on its way.  The state government has now quit paying even the most essential bills.  It spends three dollars for every two dollars that it takes in.  The state of Illinois now ranks eighth in the world in possible bond-holder default.  That is actually one spot ahead of the state of California.  As much of a mess as California is (as we have previously detailed at length), Illinois is in even worse shape.  Every major rating agency has downgraded Illinois debt, and Illinois now pays millions of dollars more to insure its debt than any other state in the nation.  So yes, the state of Illinois is a complete and total basket case.  For a long time, many analysts had expected California to be the first state to go “belly up” financially, but now Illinois seems to be the favorite.  Not that Illinois is alone.  Thousands of state, city and local governments across the United States are facing massive debt problems.  All of the borrowing that was done to push communities towards achieving the American Dream is now coming back to haunt localities with a vengeance.  Debt is a very seductive and yet very cruel master, and the government of Illinois is rapidly finding out just how painful it can be to drown in a sea of debt.  (Read More...)

What Is This Country Coming To When A 7 Year Old Girl Can’t Even Have A Lemonade Stand Without Getting Shut Down By The Cops?

What in the world has happened to the United States of America?  Once upon a time, young boys and girls across this great land of ours could set up little lemonade stands and make a little bit of extra cash without fear of being raided by the cops.  But those days are apparently gone.  In the town of Tulare, California one little 7-year-old  girl recently had her lemonade stand shut down by authorities because she did not have the proper business permits.  So what in the world are authorities doing running around shutting down lemonade stands for?  Don’t they have anything better to do?  After all, if your car is stolen these days you are very fortunate if you can even get a cop to come out to the scene.  But apparently stopping a little girl from raising money so that she can go to Disneyland is a top priority in the town of Tulare.  So now what is this little 7-year-old girl supposed to think about trying to live the American Dream? (Read More...)

Why Are So Many Horrible Things Happening To America All Of A Sudden?

Once upon a time the United States was a land of abundance and prosperity that was truly blessed from sea to shining sea.  Tens of millions of Americans enjoyed living the American Dream in a land filled with happy, healthy and prosperous people.  But these days it seems as though there are new stories of tragedy and despair almost daily.  Whether it is the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, or the horrific flooding in Tennessee, or the tornadoes ripping through the Midwest, or the gut-wrenching economic despair in cities like Detroit, it just seems like a whole lot of horrible things are happening to America all at once.  So why is all of this hitting the U.S. right now?  Why does it seem like there is just about nowhere in the United States right now that is untouched by a major crisis? (Read More...)