Into Debt

China Takes A Comprehensive Trade Deal Off The Table, And That Is Disastrous News For The U.S. Economy

The Chinese never intended to make a deal, and now they are publicly admitting it.  For months, I have been warning readers of The Economic Collapse Blog that a comprehensive trade deal with China will not happen before the 2020 presidential election, and the reason why this is the case is actually very simple.  The Chinese have concluded that President Trump will never give them the kind of deal that they are looking for, and so their entire goal has been to run out the clock on the Trump administration so that they can finally get to a Democrat that will be much more “reasonable” to deal with.  Of course if Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders wins the election, they won’t be very “reasonable” either, and so the best case scenario for the Chinese is for either Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton to emerge victorious in November 2020.  In any event, the Chinese are now being very clear about the fact that they are never, ever going to agree to Trump’s core demands.  The following comes from CNBC… (Read More...)

It’s Over: The Democrats And The Republicans Are Both Conspiring To Bankrupt America And Destroy Our Future

Both major political parties are working together to destroy America’s financial future, and most Americans don’t seem to care.  Once upon a time, the Republicans were considered to be “the party of fiscal responsibility”, but now they are just as bad as the “free spending” Democrats.  As you will see below, a “compromise” budget deal was just reached which will dramatically increase federal spending and will suspend the federal debt limit until after the next election.  In other words, both sides are conspiring to make our debt problem much, much worse over the next year and a half, and this should be causing howls of outrage all across America.  But instead most Americans seem content to go along with the free spending ways of our political leaders, and only a handful of voices are sounding the alarm as we steamroll toward financial oblivion. (Read More...)

There Is An Increasing Amount Of Buzz That China Could Invoke The Rare Earth “Nuclear Option” In The Trade War

If China wants to cause a massive amount of pain for the U.S. economy in this trade war, they certainly have the firepower to do so.  Today, China accounts for more than 80 percent of the world’s rare earth element production, and approximately 80 percent of the rare earth elements that are used by U.S. companies are imported from China.  The U.S. does have one facility that mines rare earth elements in California, but everything that is mined there has to be shipped to China for processing.  So at this point we do not have the ability to supply our own rare earth element needs, and that gives the Chinese a tremendous amount of leverage. (Read More...)

Trade Talks Are Dead, And So U.S. Consumers Should Brace For A Long, Bitter, Painful Trade War With China

There is not going to be a trade deal between the United States and China any time soon, and that is going to mean a tremendous amount of pain for the U.S. economy.  For months, hope that the U.S. and China would soon reach a trade deal helped to elevate global financial markets, but now that hope has disappeared.  In order for a trade deal to happen, the two sides have to talk, and at this point no negotiations are scheduled.  And unless one side or the other decides that they are willing to move dramatically from their current positions, there really isn’t any reason to talk.  In fact, the Chinese government is openly saying that it is in “no rush” to negotiate with the United States… (Read More...)

The True Size Of The U.S. National Debt, Including Unfunded Liabilities, Is 222 Trillion Dollars

The United States is on a path to financial ruin, and everyone can see what is happening, but nobody can seem to come up with a way to stop it.  According to the U.S. Treasury, the federal government is currently 22 trillion dollars in debt, and that represents the single largest debt in the history of the planet.  Over the past decade, we have been adding to that debt at a rate of about 1.1 trillion dollars a year, and we will add more than a trillion dollars to that total once again this year.  But when you add in our unfunded liabilities, our long-term financial outlook as a nation looks downright apocalyptic.  According to Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff, the U.S. is currently facing 200 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities, and when you add that number to our 22 trillion dollar debt, you get a grand total of 222 trillion dollars. (Read More...)

2019: It Is Going To Be Much Worse Than You Think…

The beginning of a new year is supposed to be all about hope, right?  And I would certainly like to tell you that 2019 is going to be America’s best year ever and that everybody is going to receive a double portion of blessing, prosperity and happiness, but that simply would not be true.  Unfortunately, the truth is that the elements for a “perfect storm” are rapidly coming together and 2019 is going to be an exceedingly challenging year.  Of course 2018 wasn’t exactly a wonderful year either.  I really like how Dave Barry made this point in his most recent article… (Read More...)

Only 24.6 Percent Of All Jobs In The United States Are Good Jobs

Do you want to know why it seems like good jobs are very rare in the United States today?  It is because good jobs are very rare in the United States today.  According to a paper that was just released by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, only 24.6 percent of all American jobs qualified as “good jobs” in 2010.  Over the past several decades, there has been increasing pressure on corporations to reduce expenses and increase corporate profits.  One of the biggest expenses that any corporation faces is labor.  Large corporations all over the globe are in an endless race to gain a competitive advantage by pushing labor costs as low as possible.  Sometimes this is done by using technology.  Computers, automation, robotics and other forms of technology have eliminated millions of jobs in the United States and those jobs are never coming back.  Millions of other jobs have been eliminated by offshoring.  In our globalized economy, American workers have been merged into one giant labor pool with everyone else.  That makes it very tempting for big corporations to move jobs from areas where workers are very expensive (such as the United States) to areas of the world where it is legal to pay slave labor wages.  When big corporations do this, corporate profits go up, but the number of good jobs in the United States goes down.  As a result, there is increased competition for the jobs that remain in the United States and this drives down wages.  Meanwhile, the cost of living just keeps going up.  So millions of American families have fallen into poverty in recent years, and millions of others have gone deep into debt in an attempt to survive.  This dynamic is absolutely shredding the middle class in the United States. (Read More...)

22 Statistics That Prove That The American Dream Is Being Systematically Destroyed

The American Dream is being systematically destroyed right in front of our eyes and most Americans don’t even realize what is happening.  In the old days, if you were a hard worker and you played by the rules you could always find a good job.  That good job would enable you to buy a house, buy at least one car and support a family.  It would also enable you to take a couple of vacations each year and buy some nice things for your family.  After working for 30 or 40 years you would look forward to a comfortable retirement.  But these days fewer and fewer Americans are able to enjoy the American Dream.  Once upon a time, the United States had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now that is changing at a breathtaking pace.  Our economy is not producing nearly enough jobs for all of us anymore, and an increasing percentage of the jobs that are being produced pay 10 dollars an hour or less.  The cost of living continues to rise steadily every single year while wages do not.  Close to half of all American workers are living month to month, and many American families have gone deep into debt as they struggle to pay the bills.  Millions more Americans are falling into poverty each year and dependence on the government is at an all-time high.  Something is fundamentally wrong with our economy.  It is not working the way that it used to, and the middle class is being absolutely shredded.  Most American families are finding it harder and harder to make it through each passing year, and unless a miracle happens things are going to continue to get even harder. (Read More...)