If someone came up to you and asked you what you own, what would you say? It may seem like an obvious question, but it is actually a lot more complicated than you might think. We live in a very materialistic society. In fact, a large percentage of Americans today define their lives by what they “own”, and a large percentage of Americans consider “living the American Dream” to be about accumulating a house, several cars and a massive pile of possessions. But what does it mean to “own” something anyway? Does it mean to have something in your possession? Well, if that was the case then someone leasing a car for three years could be considered the owner. But that obviously is not the case. Does “owning” something mean that nobody can legally take that thing away from you? Well, if that is the case then perhaps we all “own” a lot less than we think we do. (Read More...)
Economic Austerity Measures: Bitter Financial Medicine For Nations That Have Been Living Beyond Their Means
Over the past several decades, most of the major industrialized nations have been borrowing and spending unprecedented amounts of money. This has enabled them to greatly stimulate their economies, and has allowed hundreds of millions of people to live fabulous lifestyles. But there is a problem when nations try to live beyond their means for decades. A big problem. The problem is called debt. Right now the world is facing a sovereign debt crisis that threatens to throw the entire globe into a very, very deep recession. In fact, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King recently called this the worst financial crisis in history. While that might be a bit dramatic (at least at this point), the reality is that the situation in the financial world is becoming very, very serious. You see, debts have to be paid back eventually. All over the globe, national governments are trying to deal with debt and interest on debt that has piled up so dramatically that they don’t know what to do about it. For example, the United States is in a complete mess. The U.S. national debt is scheduled to soon surpass 13 trillion dollars. To get an idea of how big that is, if you went out and spent one dollar every single second, it would take you more than 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars. It would take you more than 403,000 years to spend 13 trillion dollars. Are you starting to get the picture? This gigantic debt that the U.S. government has accumulated is about to turn the American Dream into the American Nightmare. It is literally impossible for the United States to ever pay the national debt off, and as it continues to explode it will increasingly become a crushing load that the U.S. economy can simply not support. (Read More...)
Will The New Green Economy Kill The American Dream For Millions Of People?
As Barack Obama and U.S. Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman continue to try to ramrod a “green economy bill” down the throats of the American people, many Americans are openly wondering what this new green economy is going to cost all of us. After all, two new reports have just come out that clearly indicate that “climate change legislation” is really, really bad for an economy. In fact, many are projecting that the cap and trade system that Barack Obama and the Democrats wish to impose on all of us will end up killing the American Dream for millions of people. At a time when the U.S. economy is already coming apart at the seams, the last thing we need is another huge mountain of oppressive regulations heaped on to American businesses. This is especially true considering the fact that global corporations have already shown that they will ship manufacturing jobs out of the United States at the drop of a hat. The reality is that the new green economy is not going to be good for any of us, and the American people need to wake up to that fact. (Read More...)
10 Reasons Why The Rand Paul Victory In Kentucky Is So Important
Declaring that “we’ve come to take our government back”, Tea Party favorite Rand Paul, the son of U.S. Representative Ron Paul, soundly defeated Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson in a Republican primary fight for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Republican Senator Jim Bunning. He will now face Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, the winner of the Democratic primary, in the November election. It is hard to understate just how important this victory is for the Tea Party movement. The entire Republican establishment was behind Grayson and they tried desperately to get him enough support to win the primary. But it did not work this time. Usually when the Republican machine gets behind somebody, they have no problem winning a primary. Could this be a signal that politics in America is changing? Could this be a sign that the American people are so sick and tired of what is going on in Washington that they simply refuse to listen to the two big political machines (the Republicans and the Democrats) any longer? (Read More...)
11 Points Of Comparison Between Life In The United States And Life Under Hitler From A Woman Who Has Experienced Both
Have you ever heard of Kitty Werthmann? She was a child when Adolf Hitler took control of her beloved country of Austria and stripped away their freedoms, and she is now speaking out about the chillingly similar loss of freedoms that we are currently experiencing in the United States. It is often said that “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it”. So, perhaps we should listen very carefully to what Kitty Werthmann has to say. She has been there. She has lived through it. The truth is that when you do sit down and compare what happened under the Nazi regime and what is happening in the United States today, the parallels are absolutely shocking. The American Dream is not guaranteed for us or for our children. Freedom must be guarded. If not, it will be taken away. In fact, our freedoms are already being stripped away at blinding speed, and once they are gone they are incredibly difficult to get back. (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...)
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...)
Is The Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill Going To Kill The American Dream For Millions Of Americans?
As BP works feverishly to contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, many are now coming to the realization that this will be the most economically painful environmental disaster in U.S. history. The oil spill in the Gulf is already larger than the entire state of Florida, and it creeps closer to the Gulf Coast with each passing hour. According to official estimates, approximately 5,000 barrels a day are leaking into the Gulf, but outside groups working with satellite-imagery claim that the leak is at least five times that amount. In fact, John Amos, a geologist who heads an environmental group called SkyTruth estimates that the leak is actually 26,500 barrels a day. As oil continues to pour into the Gulf at a frightening pace, large numbers of Americans who depend on the Gulf of Mexico for their economic survival are wondering what is going to happen next. Is the Gulf of Mexico oil spill going to kill the American Dream for millions of Americans? (Read More...)