This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

50 Things Every American Should Know About The Collapse Of The Economy

ilene's picture




 

50 Things Every American Should Know About The Collapse Of The Economy

Courtesy of Michael Snyder at Economic Collapse 

Right now, we are witnessing a truly historic collapse of the economy, and yet most Americans do not understand what is going on.  One of the biggest reasons why the American people do not understand what is happening to the economy is because our politicians and the mainstream media are not telling the truth.  Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke keep repeating the phrase "economic recovery" over and over, and this is really confusing for most Americans because things sure don't seem to be getting much better where they live. 

There are millions upon millions of Americans that are sitting at home on their couches right now wondering why they lost their jobs and why nobody will hire them.  Millions of others are wondering why the only jobs they can get are jobs that a high school student could do.  Families all across America are wondering why it seems like their wages never go up but the price of food and the price of gas continue to skyrocket.  We are facing some very serious long-term economic problems in this country, and we need to educate the American people about why the collapse of the economy is happening. If the American people don't understand why they are losing their jobs, why they are losing their homes and why they are drowning in debt then they are going to keep on doing all of the same things that they have been doing.  They will also keep sending the same idiot politicians back to Washington to represent us.  There are some fundamental things about the economy that every American should know.  The American people need to be shocked out of their entertainment-induced stupor long enough to understand what is really going on and what needs to be done to solve our nightmarish economic problems.  If we do not wake up enough Americans in time, the economic collapse that is coming could tear this nation to shreds.

The U.S. economy was once the greatest economic machine in modern world history.  It was truly a wonder to behold.  It worked so well that entire generations of Americans came to believe that America would enjoy boundless prosperity indefinitely.

But sadly, prosperity is not guaranteed for any nation.  Over the past several decades, some very alarming long-term economic trends have developed that are absolutely destroying the economy.  If dramatic changes are not made soon, a complete and total economic collapse will be unavoidable.

Unfortunately, the American people will never agree to fundamental changes to our economic and financial systems unless they are fully educated about what is causing our problems.  We have turned our backs on the principles of our forefathers and the principles of those that founded this nation.  We have rejected the ancient wisdom that was handed down to us.

It has been said that those that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind.

We are about to experience the consequences of decades of really bad decisions.

Hopefully we can get the American people to wake up.

The following are 50 things that every American should know about the collapse of the economy....

#1 Do you remember how much was made of the "Misery Index" during the presidency of Jimmy Carter?  At that time, the "Misery Index" was constantly making headlines in newspapers all across the country.  Well, according to John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics, if we calculated unemployment and inflation the same way that we did back during the Carter administration, then the Misery Index today would actually be higher than at any point during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.

#2 According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of about 5 million Americans were being hired every single month during 2006.  Today, an average of about 3.5 million Americans are being hired every single month.

#3 According to the Wall Street Journal, there are 5.5 million Americans that are currently unemployed and yet are not receiving unemployment benefits.

#4 All over America, state and local governments are selling off buildings just to pay the bills.  Investors can now buy up government-owned power plants, prisons and municipal buildings from coast to coast.  For example, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey recently sold off 16 government buildings (including the police and fire headquarters) just to pay some bills.

#5 When Americans think of "government debt", most of them only think of the federal government, but it is not just the federal government that has a massive debt problem.  State and local government debt has reached an all-time high of22 percent of U.S. GDP.

#6 If you can believe it, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.

#7 Credit card usage in the United States is on the increase once again.  During the month of March, revolving consumer credit jumped 2.9%.  Sadly, it looks like Americans have not learned their lessons about the dangers of credit card debt.

#8 Last year, Social Security ran a deficit for the first time since 1983, and the "Social Security deficits" in future years are projected to be absolutely horrific.

#9 The U.S. government now says that the Medicare trust fund will run outfive years faster than they were projecting just last year.

#10 Right now we are watching what could potentially be the worst Mississippi River flood ever recorded play out right in front of our eyes.  One agricultural economist at Mississippi State University believes that this disaster could do 2 billion dollars of damage just to farms alone.

#11 The "tornadoes of 2011" that we just saw in the southeast United States are being called the worst natural disaster that the U.S. has seen since Hurricane Katrina.  It has been estimated that up to 25 percent of all of the poultry houses in Alabama were either significantly damaged or destroyed.  It is also believed that millions of birds were killed.

#12 The economic effects of the BP oil spill just seem to go on and on and on.  The number of very sick fish in the Gulf of Mexico is really starting to alarm scientists.  The following is how one local newspaper recently described the situation....

Scientists are alarmed by the discovery of unusual numbers of fish in the Gulf of Mexico and inland waterways with skin lesions, fin rot, spots, liver blood clots and other health problems.

#13 The number of "low income jobs" in the U.S. has risen steadily over the past 30 years and they now account for 41 percent of all jobs in the United States.

#14 All over America, hospitals that care for the poor and needy are so overwhelmed and are so broke that they are being forced to shut down.  Recently, a local newspaper in Florida ran an article about two prominent charity hospitals in Illinois that have served the poor for more than 100 years but are now asking for permission to shut down....

Two charity hospitals in Illinois are facing a life-or-death decision. There's not much left of either of them - one in Chicago's south suburbs, the other in impoverished East St. Louis - aside from emergency rooms crowded with patients seeking free care. Now they would like the state's permission to shut down.

#15 The U.S. dollar is in such bad shape that now even Steve Forbes is predicting that the U.S. is "likely" to go back to a gold standard within the next five years.

#16 Most Americans don't realize how much the U.S. dollar has been devalued over the years.  An item that cost $20.00 in 1970 would cost you $115.93 today.  An item that cost $20.00 in 1913 would cost you $454.36 today.

#17 Over the past 12 months the average price of gasoline in the United States has gone up by about 30%.

#18 U.S. oil companies will bring in about $200 billion in pre-tax profits this year.  They will also receive about $4.4 billion in specialized tax breaks from the U.S. government.

#19 It is being projected that for the first time ever, the OPEC nations are going to bring in over a trillion dollars from exporting oil this year.  Their biggest customer is the United States.

#20 According to the Pentagon, there are minerals worth over a trillion dollars under the ground in Afghanistan.  Now, J.P. Morgan is starting to tap those riches with the help of the U.S. military.

#21 Speaking of J.P. Morgan, most Americans don't realize that they are actually the largest processor of food stamp benefits in the United States.  In fact, the more Americans that go on food stamps the more money that J.P. Morgan makes.

#22 When 2007 began, there were about 26 million Americans on food stamps.  Today, there are over 44 million on food stamps, and one out of every four American children is on food stamps.

#23 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid.  Today, one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid.

#24 Only 66.8% of American men had a job last year.  That was the lowest level that has ever been recorded in all of U.S. history.

#25 The financial system is more vulnerable today than it was back in 2008 before the financial panic. Today, the world financial system has been turned into a giant financial casino where bets are made on just about anything you can possibly imagine, and the major Wall Street banks make a ton of money from this betting system.  The system is largely unregulated (the new "Wall Street reform" law has only changed this slightly) and it is totally dominated by the big international banks. The danger from derivatives is so great that Warren Buffet once called them "financial weapons of mass destruction". It is estimated that the "derivatives bubble" is somewhere in the neighborhood of a quadrillion dollars, and once it pops there isn't going to be enough money in the entire world to bail everyone out.

#26 Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

#27 The United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobsper month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and the U.S. trade deficit with China is now 27 times larger than it was back in 1990.

#28 In 2010, the number one U.S. export to China was "scrap and trash".

#29 All over the United States, many of our once great manufacturing cities are being transformed into hellholes.  In the city of Detroit today, there are over 33,000 abandoned houses, 70 schools are being permanently closed down, the mayor wants to bulldoze one-fourth of the city and you can literally buy a house for one dollar in the worst areas.

#30 During the first three months of this year, less new homes were sold in the U.S. than in any three month period ever recorded.

#31 New home sales in the United States are now down 80% from the peak in July 2005.

#32 America's real estate crisis just seems to get worse and worse.  U.S. home prices have now fallen a whopping 33% from where they were at during the peak of the housing bubble.

#33 According to a new report from the AFL-CIO, the average CEO made 343 times more money than the average American did last year.

#34 The European debt crisis could cause a global financial collapse like the one that we saw in 2008 at any time.  The world economy is incredibly interconnected today, and the United States would not be immune.  A recent IMF report stated the following about the growing sovereign debt crisis in Europe....

Strong policy responses have successfully contained the sovereign debt and financial-sector troubles in the euro area periphery so far. But contagion to the core euro area and then onward to emerging Europe remains a tangible risk.

#35 According to one study, the 50 U.S. state governments are collectively 3.2 trillion dollars short of what they need to meet their pension obligations.

#36 A different study has shown that individual Americans are $6.6 trillion short of what they need to retire comfortably.

#37 The cost of college tuition in the United States has gone up by over 900 percent since 1978.

#38 According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980.  Today they account for approximately 16.3%.

#39 One study found that approximately 41 percent of working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.

#40 The combined debt of the major GSEs (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Sallie Mae) has increased from 3.2 trillion in 2008 to 6.4 trillion in 2011.  Thanks to our politicians, U.S. taxpayers are standing behind that debt.

#41 The U.S. government is over 14 trillion dollars in debt and the budget deficit for this year is projected to be about 1.5 trillion dollars.  However, if the U.S. government was forced to use GAAP accounting principles (like all publicly-traded corporations must), the U.S. government budget deficit would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 trillion to $5 trillion each and every year.

#42 Most Americans don't understand that the Federal Reserve and the debt-based monetary system that it runs are at the very heart of our economic problems.  All of this debt is absolutely crushing us.  The U.S. government spentover 413 billion dollars on interest on the national debt during fiscal 2010, and it is being projected that the U.S. government will be shelling out 900 billion dollars just in interest on the national debt by the year 2019.

#43 Standard & Poor’s has altered its outlook on U.S. government debt from "stable" to "negative" and is warning that the U.S. could soon lose its AAA rating.

#44 In 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income.  Today, government transfer payments account for 18.4% of all income.

#45 U.S. households are now receiving more income from the U.S. government than they are paying to the government in taxes.

#46 59 percent of all Americans now receive money from the federal government in one form or another.

#47 According to Gallup, 41 percent of Americans believed that the economy was "getting better" at this time last year.  Today, that number is at just 27 percent.

#48 The wealthiest 1% of all Americans now own more than a third of all the wealth in the United States.

#49 The poorest 50% of all Americans collectively own just 2.5% of all the wealth in the United States.

#50 The percentage of millionaires in Congress is more than 50 times higher than the percentage of millionaires in the general population. 

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:47 | 1291090 HellFish
HellFish's picture

Not all of us.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:55 | 1290727 IdioTsincracY
IdioTsincracY's picture

Shorter list:

 

1) Expenses keep growing exponenially (see cost of College Education, or Insurance costs for that matter)

2) Wages do not keep up at all (courtesy of race-to-the-bottom China)

3) Financial markets do away with real investment, and become casinos geared to wealth extraction (a.k.a. speculation for speculation sake)

4) The money extracted from the real economy does not get invested in the Country, but goes to tax shelters and cheap-labor countries

5) Hence the loss of jobs

Who benefits: rich (10% of population)  Who loses: everybody else

SOLUTION:

Fire people, cut benefits, get rid of whatever is left of unions in order to lower wages further, do not close tax loop-holes, do not reform financial markets, do not reform free-trade to fair-trade, use technology to increase productivity (i.e. fire more people)

Also, tell everybody to use the the benefits of less-jobs and lower-wages to buy their own health-care and save more for a later retirement.

Finally, keep those prices going up or banks and markets may suffer.

 

Am I missing anything?

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:39 | 1291365 DosZap
DosZap's picture

IdioT,

Yes, and the one thing that got us here.

We allowed them to destroy our Manufacturing base.

Without one, nations die.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 11:17 | 1291541 IdioTsincracY
IdioTsincracY's picture

Agreed!

They told us to enjoy the service economy as they moved manufacturing jobs abroad.

Service economy ... what a f@cking joke ... how are you all enjoying the wealth effect? Has it trickled down yet?

F@ck them and all who helped them sell the goods!

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 08:14 | 1290752 kaiserhoff
kaiserhoff's picture

Yes, cut government in half at all levels, then start the serious cuts.

Government like a cancer, grows.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:18 | 1290950 swissbene
swissbene's picture

agree -- but your words, like silent raindrops...

we need a positive alternative to government -- competely benevolent -- ie citizens strengthen our own communitites.  there is a large supply of labor and no shortage of problems.  positive social change is desparately needed.  the american-as-shithoarder-and-individualist era was tedious, now thankfully near an end.  the last wave uncovers the newfangled way.  

the expectation for 'someone else' to 'create jobs' is ridiculous.  problems everywhere, solve one - this is then 'a job'.  folks are starting to wake up.  the problems we face are laughable really - what is so hard about staying alive and enjoying ones life?  bodhisattva vow for those blessed with ability.  reject dependence on government for those who wish to be free.  educate our children and ourselves, take responsibility for own nutrition and health; support networks, not dependence.

our problems are not that hard, only our efforts and expectations need to adjust.  think for yourself, act for your community, and reap the sweet fruits. </optimism>

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:03 | 1291169 boiltherich
boiltherich's picture

Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job But I get no offers; and the barriers to entering business are now so high that in many or most cases one has to inherit business rather than attempt to compete and build a business from scratch.  In part because established businesses collude to keep out new competition that will force them to charge a market price rather than a jacked up fixed price, this is trust behavior that strangles competition and it is happening because price fixing and antitrust laws are not enforced any longer.  For those that belittle the work ethics of Americans these days I say go fuck yourself, we would love nothing more than to work, especially as our own boss for a living wage and a chance to build a wealth creating business, but this simply is not possible in 2011 going forward.  There is no capital for the average citizen and you can't build a business without capital.  Over concentration of wealth and not regulatory interference is to blame as the obstacle to entering the business world.  (I love the way spell check here does not automatically flag obscene words!)

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 11:09 | 1291507 J Robert Burgoyne
J Robert Burgoyne's picture

the barriers to entering business are now so high that in many or most cases one has to inherit business rather than attempt to compete and build a business from scratch

It's never been easy to build a business. But there is certainly more good information about how to build a business than has ever existed before. If you're unemployed, get connected with www.SCORE.org (part of the US SBA).

you can't build a business without capital

I'm not sure who told you this but it's just not true. I've built several businesses from zero without much initial capital. You do need to be able to pay your monthly expenses from savings for a few months while you're out scrounging for customers/clients. If you're not prepared to do this, you're really not in a position to start your own business. 

Over concentration of wealth and not regulatory interference is to blame as the obstacle to entering the business world.

I'm as averse to the giant corporations as anyone, but you also have to look at it as an opportunity to do work they don't want to do. They can be a good source of subcontracted work too. Many small companies get started with a subcontract from a large company that has some time sensitivity attached to the task, creating your opportunity. Attending low-cost industry-specific meetings is a good way to find people working for large companies who need help. 

 

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:49 | 1291401 Scorched Earth
Scorched Earth's picture

I disagree.  I was laid off 7 years ago.  Prior to that I did side jobs and saved 6 months of expenses, with only a small mortgage as debt.  Between the two, I was prepared to start my own business upon being laid off.  By year two, I had doubled my salary without ever having needed any capital outside of what I saved.  Granted, I did not start the next Facebook, but during the height of the 2008 collapse, the 30% downturn just meant I was at 160% of my previous salary.  It takes time, persistence, sacrafice.  But large corporations have people that go home at 5 and do not pick up a phone call from a customer that is desperate after hours.  I started in industrial service and am now doing small manufacturing where my customers give me no-bid work because they trust me.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 11:42 | 1291650 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

That is good to hear. 

You may want to consider that your customers give you no-bid work not because they trust you, but because they are lazy.

In my experience, rather than touting it, no-bid work should be hidden away like it is stolen goods, because in a way, it is.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:43 | 1291376 swissbene
swissbene's picture

just want to clarify: i do not mean to belittle work ethic in US & hope i did not imply that.  the opposite -- i believe ultimately in our collective abilities and empowerment.

also fully respect and appreciate your analysis of the present challenges.  wealth concentration as it exists today is antisocial in my view.  my suggestion is that the most promising solutions will result from voluntary development/strengthening of society [vs government/politicians/legal].  there are plenty of advanced societies that do not worship and indulge wealth.  if we shun vs celebrate shithoarding individualism, perhaps behavior will change.  those in a position to help with capital, organization, etc should do so [ie the bodhisattva vow].

just stating belief that change must occur (1) in mindset, (2) collectively, (3) cooperatively.  but this is within reach and the alternative is increasingly unpalatable.  our collective value system and social structure have deteriorated.  we have flatscreen reality tv and packaged/prepared food but few read shakespeare or establish connection/knowledge with food source.

the ruling class cannot/will not solve our core problems, but we are able -- and perhaps obligated -- as citizens.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:24 | 1291279 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

Oddly enough, they have not added "Ponzi" to the spell-check vocabulary.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 08:30 | 1290788 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

The financial sector of our economy is a cancer (creates nothing of REAL value) that the broader sectors of the economy can no longer support.  The financial sector has bought the people's government and hence the ENTIRE government must be scrapped.  With the financial sector in control, the 50% of the government that will get cut will be the part that actually adds real value.  Dump the whole fucking thing, starve the cancer, start anew.  The sooner we do, the sooner compensation will return to those that are actually worth a shit.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 08:04 | 1290746 WallStreetClass...
WallStreetClassAction.com's picture

You got it! You are ready for Republican primaries!

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 08:28 | 1290778 Captain Planet
Captain Planet's picture

Lovely!

And the guillotine....

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:56 | 1291139 FEDbuster
FEDbuster's picture

101 ways to cook and serve Soylent Green?

Controlled media keeps pumping "good news" on economy, so everyone whom is getting fucked thinks it's only them feeling the pain.  90% of America is getting the big red, white and blue dildo stuck up their ass, but we can't seem to come together to get rid of these ass pirates with extreme prejudice.  George Carlin knew it, why can't we do something about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:51 | 1290699 Racer
Racer's picture

The US people do not care about the junk food their children are given in their schools, so if they don't care about something so close and supposedly dear to them, there is no chance they will look at deep thoughts as to how and why the US has become the pitiful nation it now is

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:34 | 1291330 DosZap
DosZap's picture

Ever notice the foods that the 20'-50's generations were the BEST foods available for them, and the least expensive?.

Just try and go buy the foods (if your over 50), you ate as a child/youth, 90% of  most people could not afford to do so as a normal routine.

What WAS expensive (Junk food) is now dirt cheap compared to quality regular garden foods,fresh produce,chemical free meats,etc,etc.

And we wonder WHY diabetes,heart disease,cancers, obesity, are pandemic?.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:29 | 1290688 lordbyroniv
lordbyroniv's picture

Buy Quality domain names !

If you own peanutbutter.com

you can out Skippy Skippy!

 

 

 

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 13:09 | 1292205 paulbain
paulbain's picture
lordbyroniv  wrote: ================== 05/19/2011 - 07:29 #1290688

 

Buy Quality domain names !

If you own peanutbutter.com

you can out Skippy Skippy!

====================

 

I agree completely. I cannot understand why anyone would "junk" your comment.

 

-- Paul D. Bain

 

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:16 | 1290672 Hannibal
Hannibal's picture

Back to growing your own food.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:45 | 1291096 achmachat
achmachat's picture

i only grow raspberries, cherries and parsley...

I don't think I'd be able to survive long on that.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 12:09 | 1291818 Creepy Lurker
Creepy Lurker's picture

You wouldn't survive on that alone, no. But those items make a good supplement to the diet, and as mentioned above, the rabbits you attract can give you meat. Although I'd suggest trapping a mating pair and building a hutch. Rasberries, cherries, fresh herbs and rabbit meat + fur would make excellent trade goods.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:23 | 1291276 Papasmurf
Papasmurf's picture

Maybe not, but you can survive on the rabbits that eat your garden.  It sounds like you have a plan.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:26 | 1291275 Broomer
Broomer's picture

No, you won't. But anyway, start to grow garlic and other spices too.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 06:03 | 1290616 Mira
Mira's picture

Our monetary system is based on credit or debt, and without constantly continuing issuance of debt, the whole thing falls apart. Our system of ‘fractional reserve banking’ gives commercial banks a licence to literally create money out of thin air – and then charge interest on the money they created. Fractional reserve banking is the cause of spiralling debt.

A public campaign has started to end fractional reserve banking, and I recommend readers to look at the Positivemoney.org.uk website which explains further.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:40 | 1291062 iota
iota's picture

*thumbs up*

Site needs a little tarting up to keep the average person's attention though.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:06 | 1291180 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

Perhaps tarting up is the problem, not a solution.   Just speaking in general terms.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 01:59 | 1290464 Peak Everything
Peak Everything's picture

Actually, you only need to know three things:

1) We are living beyond our means (debt).

2) Our means are declining (energy).

3) What can't continue won't (expect collapse).

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:24 | 1291262 Confuchius
Confuchius's picture

And who gives JP Morgue permission to steal Afghanistan's minerals?

 

It's way past time you slaves of the USSA get your asses back home.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 01:27 | 1290425 bhakta
bhakta's picture

All these points are valid no doubt. However, the root of problems is much deeper. That is that a wholesale change of consciousness is the necessity, not solving each problem one by one. When the purpose of life is wrong, when the individual does not know his/her true identity, how can one make any proper choice?

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:57 | 1291130 purplefrog
purplefrog's picture

It will take a lot more misery before this truth will be seen.  Some will never get it, unfortunately, no matter how miserable their life gets.  For those who would like to begin to "get it", I recommend The New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.

 

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 08:47 | 1290846 ibjamming
ibjamming's picture

The PROBLEM is black/brown people.  Welfare high...black/brown people.  Crime high...black/brown people.  "Entitlement" mindset...black/brown people.  Yes, there are a lot of dumbass white people too...but as a whole...the problem is too many black/brown people.  Look at the world stats..."white" countries at the top...black/brown countries at the bottom.  It's NOT fucking coincidence!

Sat, 05/21/2011 - 17:10 | 1298733 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

I've fixed your idiotic comment (btw, falling totally for the divide-and-conquer strategy, as you've clearly done, is not something one should take pride in):

The problem is parasitic Wall Street cretins. Corporate welfare high - parasitic Wall Street cretins. Financial crime high - parasitic Wall Street cretins. "Bailout entitlement" mindset - parasitic Wall Street cretins. Yes, there are a lot of parasitic political cretins too, but as a whole, they are hand-picked, bought, and paid for by parasitic Wall Street cretins. Look at the world stats - highly financialized countries at the bottom, bled dry to an economically lifeless husk by parasitic Wall Street cretins. It's not fucking coincidental.

 

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:19 | 1291254 Broomer
Broomer's picture

With the exception of the combo breaker all the other American presidents - the worst criminal scum of this planet - were white.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:29 | 1291007 Loose-Tools
Loose-Tools's picture

You have a big brown/black turd in your head.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:25 | 1290989 Ralphie
Ralphie's picture

I junked you. If the Zulus or Aztecs had developed the compass, square-rigged ships and the matchlock before the European powers, white people would have been enslaved, conquered and called " niggers." White people would be sneaking over the borders into the imperial powers to do their shit work. White people would be second-class citizens. White people would be bunched up in the shitty parts of town and neutered with promises of welfare.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:59 | 1291442 Azannoth
Azannoth's picture

But the key point is they Didn't! And why because they couldn't or wouldn't White skinned man is simply superior,

and they had it better than the Europeans that could not even Bathe without committing a sin, the Aztec rulers brutal as they where where more 'forgiving' to the general population than the church

People in Europe where regularly committing suicide (before the church made it a sin too) because they cold not stand the life, and they made it through nonetheless

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 12:03 | 1291788 Astrolabe
Astrolabe's picture

it is true, they didn't. however, it may do you some good to explore the following:

1. technological / social advance has not always taken place in the "white" west. it has moved from place to place throughout history. as an example, google "math".

2. the reasons technological / social advances take place seem to have nothing to do with race, for example agriculture's birth in the fertile crescent, and then moving westward, for geographical reasons. see jared diamond's "gun, germs and steel".

so we're back where we started. looks to me like a pretty random situation, i.e. whites in the right place at the right time on the right planet.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 16:45 | 1293228 Transformer
Transformer's picture

Azzonoth, I'd suggest you read "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Gerrod Diamond.  In that book you will find the answer to you eurocentric viewpoint.  You might then want to read his next book, "Collapse" which talks about the collapse of civiliazations.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:26 | 1291008 Ralphie
Ralphie's picture

Any sociologists out there, please forgive the technological determinism implied in my post. But it's a valid hypothesis!

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:57 | 1290726 strannick
strannick's picture

I dont think Deepak Chopra can save us.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 01:44 | 1290441 Transformer
Transformer's picture

The root of the problem is the sociopathic/psychopathic personality type.  Mental health professionals estimate they are between 2 and 4% of the population.  They love to destroy things, because it has such an effect on people and they can get so much power from doing it.  The history of societal collapse is the history of these personality types rising to positions of power.  Once they get the laws changed to allow them to do as they please, it is all over.  We are just about there.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:20 | 1291258 Papasmurf
Papasmurf's picture

We've been there since 1913.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:44 | 1290709 Holodomor2012
Holodomor2012's picture

I've heard that they are 2% of the US population.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:53 | 1291424 Azannoth
Azannoth's picture

They are like a Tapeworm, sucking all the juices out till the host dies of Anemia

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:16 | 1291225 DosZap
DosZap's picture

Yep, and all 2% are in a 10 sq mile area.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 08:26 | 1290771 imapopulistnow
imapopulistnow's picture

Unfortunately many are natural born leaders because they don't care about individual consequences.  I'll wage the percentage of CEOs and Pols is substantially high than the rest of us minions.

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 08:45 | 1290827 jus_lite_reading
jus_lite_reading's picture

I heard 1% are born in Kenya and move here with fake documents... could be wrong but I dont know

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 01:28 | 1290424 JuliusCesyr
JuliusCesyr's picture

sorry... dup

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!