Is the U.S. government going to shutdown on March 4th, 2011? Possibly. The current temporary funding extension expires on that day. Speaker of the House John Boehner has pledged that the Republicans in the House will not pass another temporary funding extension that does not include “deep” cuts. Barack Obama has pledged that he will veto the 61 billion dollars of budget cuts that the House of Representatives has just passed. So now Boehner and Obama are playing a really bizarre game of chicken, and if neither of them blinks the U.S. government will shut down on March 4th. So what will that mean? Well, in a “government shutdown”, the entire government does not actually shut down. Rather, only “essential personnel” are kept on during a shutdown and only “essential services” are provided. Barack Obama would keep showing up at the White House and the U.S. military would continue to do their thing. But it would cause a temporary disruption to a lot of government activities that people normally rely on. (Read More...)
Economic Crisis
Debt, Debt, Debt – 15 Facts About U.S. Government Finances That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe
If your family started spending nearly twice as much as it brought in every single year, how long do you think it would be before your family was completely and totally broke? Well, that is essentially what the federal government is doing. The U.S. government is so deep in debt at this point that it is hard to even try to describe it. Where do you even begin? Trying to put the vastness of U.S. government debt into words is kind of like trying to describe a great work of art by Michelangelo to a blind person. This year the U.S. government is going to go 1.645 trillion more dollars into debt. How can one possibly accurately convey just how large that amount of money really is? If you went out today and started spending one dollar every single second, it would take you over 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars. Who can even comprehend such an amount? The U.S. government has mismanaged our finances so badly that it is hard to believe. We have sold our children and our grandchildren into perpetual debt slavery and not that many people really seem very upset about it. It is as if most of the nation is in a massive state of denial. (Read More...)
Is China Hoarding Gold In Anticipation Of A Global Financial Implosion? 10 Facts About Gold Fever In China That May Surprise You
China officially has gold fever. Chinese demand for gold in 2011 is being called “explosive” and “voracious”. China imported five times as much gold in 2010 as it did in 2009, and this year gold sales in China are projected to easily set another new all-time record. China produces more gold than any other nation on the planet and last year the Chinese consumed more than twice as much gold as Americans did. Yes, the Chinese are officially in love with gold. But why is that? Is it because they are concerned about inflation? Is it because the Chinese are losing faith in paper currencies? Are the Chinese looking to diversify? Has gold become a “trendy” status symbol in China? Or is something else going on here? (Read More...)
47 Statistics That Indicate That Economic Stress Points In 2011 Could Be Setting The Stage For A Global Economic Meltdown In 2012
Is the world approaching a devastating global economic meltdown? Right now there are a large number of factors that are creating economic stress points all over the globe. All of the crazy money printing that the Federal Reserve and other central banks have been doing is putting inflationary pressure on agricultural commodities, oil and precious metals. Massive floods, horrific droughts and extreme weather patterns all over the globe are ruining crops and creating food shortages. Some nations are now actually hoarding food, and in other nations rising prices have sparked food riots. The price of oil has been moving back towards $100 a barrel, and if it stays at a high level for an extended period of time that is going to have very serious consequences for the global economy. In addition, the growing sovereign debt crisis could erupt again at any time. Half a dozen nations in Europe are on the verge of insolvency, Japan’s national debt is now well over 200 percent of GDP, and the global financial system is growing increasingly concerned about the exploding national debt of the United States. The truth is that the entire world financial system is a house of cards balanced on a razor’s edge and it could come down at any time. (Read More...)
Worst Freeze In 60 Years Wipes Out Entire Crops Across The Southwestern U.S. And Northern Mexico
Get ready to pay a lot more for produce at the supermarket. In early February the worst freeze in 60 years wiped out entire crops all across the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Already, it has been reported that some U.S. supermarkets have doubled or even tripled prices for certain produce items. Yes, you read that correctly. The price of certain vegetables is actually doubling or even tripling in many U.S. supermarkets. The really bizarre weather that we have been seeing all over the globe this winter is really playing havoc with food prices. The global price of food hit an all-time record during the month of January, and most observers expect food prices to continue to soar. Even before this recent horrible freeze in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, global food prices were pushed higher by unprecedented flooding in Australia and Brazil, and key agricultural areas of China are now experiencing their worst drought in 200 years. Things are getting really crazy out there. Produce prices in the U.S. are eventually expected to return back to normal levels, but this just shows how dramatically food prices can change when a major disaster happens. (Read More...)
Food Crisis 2011? 14 Disturbing Facts That Make You Wonder If The Coming Global Food Shortage Has Already Begun
Will 2011 be the year that we point to as the beginning of the great global food crisis? Food prices are soaring, supplies are very tight and already we have seen some very intense food protests flare up around the globe this year. When people don’t have enough to eat, they tend to become very desperate, and unfortunately it looks like the global food situation is not going to improve much any time soon. Right now the world is really struggling to feed itself, and with each passing day there are even more mouths to feed. It is being projected that the population of the world will reach 9 billion people by the year 2050. There are already way too many people starving to death around the globe, and unfortunately starvation is only going to become more rampant as food supplies get even tighter. Some of the key food producing provinces in China are facing their worst drought in 200 years. Flooding has absolutely devastated agricultural production in Australia and Brazil this winter. Russia is still trying to recover from the horrific drought of last summer. Global weather patterns have gone haywire over the past 12 months, and this is putting immense pressure on a global food system that was already on the verge of a major breakdown. (Read More...)
20 Facts That Will Make You Really Mad If You Stop And Think About Them For A While
The more you read the news today the more likely you are to get really mad. The world is becoming an incredibly crazy place, and at times the amount of bad news that is coming out can seem almost overwhelming. Everywhere you look, the poor are being oppressed, our politicians are making stupid decisions and evil is on the march. The America that so many of us grew up deeply loving is literally being ripped to shreds in a thousand different ways. Unfortunately, those in power have not had any real answers for us in decades. The Democrats don’t have any real answers, the Republicans don’t have any real answers and the Federal Reserve sure as heck does not have any real answers. In fact, it seems like almost everything that our leaders actually do “accomplish” only makes things worse. The vast majority of Americans are quite busy being entertained by “bread and circuses”, but meanwhile our country is literally falling apart. (Read More...)
4 Ways Barack Obama And The Federal Reserve Are Destroying Our Long-Term Economic Future For Their Short-Term Gain
Many people have been stumped as they have attempted to find a coherent theme in Barack Obama’s economic policies. But the truth is that what the Obama administration is trying to do is not that difficult to figure out. Just like so many other previous administrations, the Obama administration is motivated by self-preservation. All of Barack Obama’s economic policies are designed to produce a short-term economic burst that will help him win the next election in 2012, and the Federal Reserve has been cooperating every step of the way. Perhaps the Federal Reserve is motivated by self-preservation as well. The American people are becoming extremely disenfranchised with the Federal Reserve, and so those inside the Fed likely realize that they better get the economy on track or face even more scrutiny. In any event, Obama and the Fed are working together to do whatever they can to improve the short-term economic situation. Unfortunately, everything that they are doing is making our long-term economic problems even worse. But Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve are not really concerned with what is going to happen down the road. What the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve are concerned about is protecting their rear ends in the here and now. (Read More...)