“I Cry When I Think Back How Things Used To Be” – What In the World Has Happened To The America We Grew Up In?

Earlier today, my attention was directed to a thread on an Internet discussion forum that lamented how much America had changed over the years.  I don’t know exactly why, but the posts on that thread really touched me.  Those of us that are old enough to remember what America was like before the Internet grew up in a much simpler time.  Yes, we didn’t have all of the luxuries that we take for granted in 2019, but we found joy in the simple things and people were generally much happier.  Today, we seemingly have so much going for us, and yet people are lonelier, more disconnected and more depressed than ever before.  The suicide rate in the United States is up 34 percent since the year 2000, approximately 40 million American adults have an anxiety disorder, and overdosing on drugs is now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50.  Clearly our society is not heading in the right direction. (Read More...)

Is The Debate Over? New Survey Discovers That Religious People Are Far More Likely To Be “Very Happy”

A shocking new public opinion poll seems to have settled the debate about whether religious people or non-religious people are happier.  In recent years, more people than ever are “throwing off the shackles of religion” in an attempt to find personal happiness, but it looks like they have been running the wrong way.  According to the Pew Research Center, Americans that are “actively religious” are much more likely to say that they are “very happy” compared to “the inactively religious” and those that are “unaffiliated”.  The following comes from Breitbart(Read More...)

Completely Alone And Utterly Depressed

Do you ever feel like you have been completely abandoned by the world?  Do you struggle with feelings of loneliness, isolation and depression?  If so, you are far from alone.  Thanks to technology Americans are more isolated than they have ever been before, and as you will see below, this is really starting to cause a major national crisis.  Humans were designed to be social creatures, and researchers have found that a lack of interaction with others can cause major mental, emotional and social problems.  Not only that, it can also lead to premature death.  We actually have a need to love others and to be loved by them, and if those needs are not met the consequences can be quite dramatic. (Read More...)

You Do Not Go To War With Your Own People

Donald Trump is making the exact same tragic mistake that other prominent leaders have made in the past. You never, ever, ever go to war with your own people. Yes, you may have some very serious disagreements with your own team sometimes, but you never go to war with them. When Trump openly declared war on the Freedom Caucus, he immediately lost the support of millions of conservatives. And now Trump is going to have a tremendously difficult time getting anything on his agenda through Congress, because without Freedom Caucus votes the Democrats will be able to block just about everything that Trump wants to do. (Read More...)

The ‘Experts’ Tell Us That Christmas Is The Most Depressing Time Of The Year – Do You Agree?

holiday-season-public-domainFor many people, the holiday season is the most dreaded time of the year. But does it have to be that way? The holidays can be a real pressure point because they tend to magnify our problems. If you are a very busy person, it is likely that you are even busier and more stressed for time during December. If your family relationships are strained, this time of the year can be really tough because there is pressure to interact with family. Other people that feel a deep sense of loneliness often find that it becomes even deeper and more intense around Christmas. And more than anything else, so many people feel like they are missing out on something because their holidays never seem to match up with the glittering ideal that is constantly portrayed in the movies and on television. We are a deeply unhappy nation anyway, but this time of the year just seems to make it even worse. (Read More...)

The Good Side Of Thanksgiving And The Bad Side Of Thanksgiving

thanksgiving-dinner-photo-by-marcus-quiqmireI have to admit – of all the holidays on our calendar, Thanksgiving is one of my favorites. It is a time to gather with family and friends, and it is a time to give thanks for all the good things that have happened to us this year. And the remarkable acts of generosity that happen during this time of the year remind all of us that there are still people out there that are trying to do the right thing and to be lights in their communities. But of course all is not well in America this Thanksgiving. As I write about so often on The Economic Collapse Blog, poverty is growing, close to 50 million Americans are struggling with hunger, and the number of people sleeping in homeless shelters in New York City just hit an all-time record high. Sadly, even with such great need all around us, Americans continue to be some of the most wasteful people on the entire planet. In fact, one newly released report says that Americans will throw away 200 million pounds of turkey this Thanksgiving alone… (Read More...)

Stories Of Despair From The Forgotten People That The U.S. Economy Has Left Behind

Forgotten - Public DomainThere is so much economic despair in our country today, but if you have a good job and if you live in a good neighborhood you might not ever encounter it.  There really are “two Americas” in 2016, and they are getting farther and farther apart with each passing year.  On the one hand, you have lots of people smiling in New York City these days because of the stock market boom, and property values have soared to ridiculous levels in San Francisco because of the tech bubble.  But in between the two coasts there are vast stretches of forgotten people that the U.S. economy has left behind.  In this article I am going to share some of their stories with you. (Read More...)

Unhappy America: Will The United States Collapse Due To An Internal Societal Meltdown?

American Flag Blowing In The Wind - Public DomainAre we witnessing the beginning of the end for the United States of America?  All great nations eventually fall, and the United States is not going to be any exception.  Many of those that write about the decline of our once great country tend to focus on external threats, and there are certainly many that could be talked about.  But perhaps even more ominous is the internal societal meltdown that we see happening all around us.  According to Real Clear Politics, recent surveys show that 67 percent of Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track, and only 26 percent of Americans believe that it is headed in the right direction.  So even though we are tremendously divided as to what the solutions are, the vast majority of us can see that something is deeply, deeply wrong with America. (Read More...)