Most Americans have been paying very little attention to it, but right now Europe is desperately fighting to avoid a complete financial and economic collapse. As the euro continues to fall precipitously, European leaders are openly declaring that this is the biggest financial crisis that Europe has experienced since at least World War II. So exactly what is causing all this? Well, just like the United States, countries throughout Europe responded to the economic crisis of the last several years by spending a ton of money. The problem is that quite a few of these European nations got into debt way over their heads. In particular, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy are literally drowning in debt. There is a very real possibility that several of them may soon default on their debts. If that happens it could set off a financial shockwave that could encircle the entire world. Because of the interconnectedness of the global economy, a financial meltdown in Europe would have a dramatic impact on the U.S. economy. In fact, the continued ability of millions of Americans to enjoy the American Dream is dependent on events that are currently playing out in Europe. Most Americans completely do not understand this, but it doesn’t make it any less true. If Europe’s economy goes down hard, the already very fragile U.S. economy will be crushed as well. (Read More...)
Economy
Banking System Collapse: Wake Up America Your Banks Are Dying
U.S. banks are being shut down by federal regulators at a staggering pace this year, and yet most Americans seem completely oblivious to it. In fact, federal officials have already shut down 81 U.S. banks this year, which is about double the number that were shut down at this time last year. So why aren’t more people upset about this? Well, part of the reason is because the FDIC is doing it very, very quietly. The bank closings for each week are announced every Friday, which means that they pass through the news cycle over the weekend almost unnoticed. For example, banks in Nebraska, Mississippi and Illinois with total deposits of almost $2.3 billion were shut down by federal regulators on Friday. So did you hear about it before now? If not, why not? Shouldn’t the fact that we are experiencing a banking system collapse be headline news? But most Americans are more than happy to remain blissfully ignorant of what is going on. In fact, most Americans seem far more interested in what is happening on American Idol or Dancing With The Stars. But when the American Dream starts dying for tens of millions of Americans as the economy collapses perhaps more people will start to care. (Read More...)
Guess What America? Your Cities And States Are Flat Broke
Now that the economic boom times of the earlier part of the decade are over, cities and states across America are going bust. In fact, for a growing number of local governments throughout the United States, there is no getting around the fact that “flat broke” accurately describes the situation that they are facing. For many of these cities and states that are on the verge of bankruptcy, the American Dream is quickly turning into the American Nightmare. Unlike the federal government, which can ask the Federal Reserve to print up some more money when they get into trouble, state and local governments have nowhere to go when the well runs dry. They either have to raise taxes or cut spending. But in many areas of the country, services have already been cut to the bone and people are already being taxed into oblivion. So what can be done? Well, many of these state and local governments are just going to have to cut spending even deeper, squeeze even more taxes out of their residents, or go to the federal government for a handout. (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...)
The Coming Collapse Of The U.S. Dollar
As the U.S. media trumpets the arrival of a great “economic recovery”, the vast majority of the American people are completely unaware that the entire U.S. financial system is caught in a hopeless death spiral. The cold, hard reality is that any temporary “green shoots” that we are seeing in the economy are there not because our politicians have figured out a way to deal with the financial problems of the United States. No, the “green shoots” are there because our politicians have flooded our economy with a whole bunch more debt. Debt will stimulate an economy for a little while, but the truth is that any new debt just makes our long-term economic problems even worse. But now we are caught in a never ending cycle of debt, and there is no hope that we will ever be able to pay if off. Most Americans do not understand economics, but if they did, they would realize that the American Dream is literally being destroyed right in front of their eyes. Not only have we squandered the vast amounts of wealth that our forefathers left us, we have also piled up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. We have created an economic nightmare from which there is no escape. Our children and our grandchildren will be trapped in it for their entire lives. What we have done to future generations of Americans is absolutely criminal. (Read More...)
Generation Y: The Broke Generation
No group in America has been hit harder during the current recession than young adults. Millions of Americans are graduating from college with virtually no money, lots of debt and with very dim employment prospects. Those who don’t go to college are even worse off. All their lives these young Americans were taught if they studied hard, got an education and worked within the system that good jobs and the American Dream would be waiting for them. But now millions of them are realizing that all of their studying and hard work is not providing them with the rewards that they always thought they would get. This is causing large numbers of young American adults to become depressed and disillusioned. In fact, record numbers of them are moving back in with their parents. But without decent jobs, what are they supposed to do? (Read More...)
The Foreclosure Crisis
Those who believe that the U.S. real estate crash is over are delusional. The truth is that all the numbers point to the foreclosure crisis getting worse – not better. Many of the talking heads on the major news shows want to make the American people feel better about the real estate market and are projecting that things will soon turn around, but a cold, hard look at the statistics tells an entirely different story. Foreclosures are increasing and there is every indication that they will continue to increase. According to RealtyTrac, initial foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in March, an increase of almost 19 percent from the previous month. It was also the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report on initial foreclosure filings in January 2005. (Read More...)
11 Examples Of How Insanely Corrupt The U.S. Financial System Has Become
If you ask most Americans, they will agree that the financial system is corrupt. It is generally assumed that just like most politicians, most big bankers are corrupt by nature. But the truth is that the vast majority of Americans have no idea just how corrupt the U.S. financial system has become. The reality is that the American Dream is literally being stolen from millions of Americans right out from under their noses and they don’t even realize it. The corruption on Wall Street has become so deep and so vast that it is hard to even find the words to describe it. The level of greed being displayed by many Wall Street firms would make Gordon Gecko blush. It seems that the major financial players will try just about anything these days – as long as they think they can get away with it. But in the process they are contributing to the destruction of the greatest economic machine that the planet has ever seen. (Read More...)