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Guest Post: iDepression 2.0
Submitted by Jim Quinn of the Burning Platform
iDepression 2.0
Depression 1.0
iDepression 2.0
As I listen to pundits, politicians and populists expound on the jobs
situation in our country day after day, as if they knew what they were
talking about, I’m reminded of the Seinfeld episode where
George quits his job as a real estate agent. He sits in Jerry’s
apartment and ponders whether he could become the general manager of the
Yankees, a sportscaster, getting paid to watch movies, or a talk show
host. After the discussion with Jerry, he realizes that he has
absolutely no skills that are transferable to another career. Everyone
in America would like to be the General Manager of the Yankees or get
paid for watching movies, but that isn’t how it works in the real world.
A little reality about the job situation in this country is in order.
The unemployment rate reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and
parroted by the mainstream media is currently 9.6%. Once you stop
counting people who have given up looking for jobs and “left the
workforce”, discouraged workers, marginally attached workers and workers
forced to work part-time, you magically get a 9.6% rate. Using the
method of measuring unemployment used during the Great Depression and
reproduced by www.shadowstats.com,
the real unemployment rate is a depression-like 22.5%. The peak
unemployment rate during the Great Depression was 25%. There is no doubt
that we are in the midst of 2nd Great Depression, but where are the
bread lines and the lines of unemployed winding around the corner? No
need. This is the electronic Great Depression – iDepression 2.0. Your 99
weeks of unemployment and food stamps are direct deposited into your
bank account so that you don’t have to leave the comfort of your
McMansion that you haven’t made a mortgage payment on in the last 14
months. There were no credit cards in 1933. Without a job or a house,
you needed to move to where there might be a job. Hence the mass
migration from the Midwest to California – ala The Grapes of Wrath. Today,
a neighbor in a matching McMansion down the street, with the perfectly
manicured lawn, could be unemployed for three years and no one would
ever know. They could sustain themselves on unemployment payments, food
stamps, and credit cards. Welcome to the iDepression 2.0.
Dude, Where’s My Job?
Every politician in the U.S. is running for election on a platform of
“creating” new good paying jobs for Americans. Only one problem.
Politicians don’t create jobs. Businesses create jobs. When politicians
and the Federal Reserve get involved in the job market, bad things
happen. The excessively low interest rates put in place by the Federal
Reserve created a housing bubble that led to the “creation” of 1 million
new construction jobs between 2002 and 2006. Of course, the bubble
burst has led to the loss of 2 million construction jobs since 2007.
What the myopic pundits on CNBC don’t realize, because they aren’t
programmed to think, is that the Greenspan Housing Bubble “created”
millions of other jobs that had no chance of being sustained. The number
of realtors grew from 750,000 in 2000 to 1.3 million in 2006. We needed
hundreds of thousands of new mortgage brokers and appraisers to falsify
documents and not conduct proper due diligence. Wall Street needed to
hire thousands of new MBA shysters to create fraudulent packages of
toxic mortgages and the rating agencies needed to hire thousands of
Burger King level thinkers to stamp AAA on the packages of toxic
mortgages. These were just the direct jobs created by Easy Al. Home
Depot, Lowes and a myriad of other home retailers built thousands of
stores to service the needs of all these new “homeowners” and hired
hundreds of thousands of clerks, installers, and cashiers. Once the
delusion really got going, the “equity” from the homes generated jobs at
car dealers, restaurants, cosmetic surgery centers, cruise lines, and
yacht retailers.
Barry Ritholtz described how the Federal Reserve provoked housing
bubble further warped an already unbalanced American job market:
Job creation has taken place across a wide swath of industries –
much more than just residential construction. Sure, developers,
builders, and subcontractors saw job growth explode. But it was far more
than that. From real estate agents to mortgage brokers, from designers
to contractors, plus the many employees of stores like Home Depot (HD)
and Lowes (LOW), the Real Estate industrial complex was responsible for a
disproportionate percentage of new job creation. From 2001, to the
housing peak in 2005, the total number of Realtors, as a percentage of
the Total Labor Force, gained nearly 50%.
The reality is that Greenspan, Bernanke, and the rest of the Federal
Reserve Governors “created” millions of jobs that were not sustainable.
Their policies distorted an already tenuous economic model, dependent
upon consumer spending, no savings, and delusions of home wealth. The
chart below paints the picture of sorrow. The key points are:
- The number of employed Americans has declined by 7.4 million since 2007.
- Goods producing jobs have declined by 19% since 2007, while service jobs have only declined by 2.8%.
- Luckily, Government jobs have actually increased since 2007.
- The population of the US has increased by 10.8 million since 2007.
- The working age population has increased by 6.5 million since 2007, while the work force has only increased by 1 million.
- Only 58.5% of the working age population in the U.S. is currently employed versus 64.4% in 2000, a lower level than in 1978.
| Type of Jobs | 2007 | Today | Change | % Change |
| Manufacturing | 13,879 | 11,670 | -2,209 | -15.9% |
| Construction | 7,630 | 5,604 | -2,026 | -26.6% |
| Mining & Logging | 724 | 745 | 21 | 2.9% |
| TOTAL GOODS PRODUCING | 22,233 | 18,019 | -4,214 | -19.0% |
| Trade & Transportation | 26,630 | 24,785 | -1,845 | -6.9% |
| Education & Health Services | 18,322 | 19,611 | 1,289 | 7.0% |
| Professional & Business Services | 17,942 | 16,734 | -1,208 | -6.7% |
| Government | 22,218 | 22,231 | 13 | 0.1% |
| Financial Services | 8,301 | 7,577 | -724 | -8.7% |
| Leisure & Hospitality | 13,427 | 13,169 | -258 | -1.9% |
| Information Services | 3,032 | 2,711 | -321 | -10.6% |
| Other Services | 5,494 | 5,364 | -130 | -2.4% |
| TOTAL SERVICES | 115,366 | 112,182 | -3,184 | -2.8% |
| ALL JOBS | 137,599 | 130,201 | -7,398 | -5.4% |
| U.S. Population | 299,398 | 310,233 | 10,835 | 3.6% |
| % of Population Employed | 46.0% | 42.0% |
When I hear Obama and his minions blather on about the jobs we have
added in the last six months, I want to break something. The truth is
that the country should still have 64.4% of the working age population
employed today as we did 10 years ago. That means we should have 153.5
million employed Americans today. Instead, we have 130.2 million
employed Americans. That is a 23.3 million job deficit and the Obama
administration crows when we add 50,000 new jobs in a month. Welcome to
iDepression 2.0.
No Way Out
The United States of America is a hollowed out shell of the great
industrial machine that dominated the world after World War II. The BLS
data unequivocally proves this is so. The chart below compares American
jobs in 1970 versus today. The storyline about good paying manufacturing
jobs being shipped overseas is absolutely true. The population of the
United States in 1970 was 203 million. Today, the population of 310
million is 53% higher. During this same time frame manufacturing jobs
have declined from 17.8 million to 11.7 million, a 34% decrease. The
corporate oligarchs that run this country will tell you this is due to
efficiency. The truth is that these jobs were shipped to China in order
to enrich the oligarch CEOs and their MBA efficiency “experts”. The key
disturbing facts from this data are as follows:
- Goods producing jobs as a percentage of all jobs have declined from 31.2% in 1970 to 13.8% today.
- Lawyers, accountants, financial advisors and other paper pushing
professions made up 12.4% of jobs in 1970 versus 18.7% of all jobs
today. - Obese Americans love to go out to restaurants and be served.
Hospitality employees now make up 10.1% of the workforce versus 6.7% in
1970. - Obese, vain, stupid Americans have also benefitted the Health
Services and Education industries as the number of nurses,
proctologists, teachers, school administrators and Beverly Hills TV
surgeons has surged from 6.4% of the workforce to 15.1%. You’d think we
would be healthier and smarter with these figures. We’re not.
| Type of Jobs | 1970 | % of Total | Today | % of Total |
| Manufacturing | 17,848 | 25.1% | 11,670 | 9.0% |
| Construction | 3,654 | 5.1% | 5,604 | 4.3% |
| Mining & Logging | 677 | 1.0% | 745 | 0.6% |
| TOTAL GOODS PRODUCING | 22,179 | 31.2% | 18,019 | 13.8% |
| Trade & Transportation | 14,144 | 19.9% | 24,785 | 19.0% |
| Education & Health Services | 4,577 | 6.4% | 19,611 | 15.1% |
| Professional & Business Services | 5,267 | 7.4% | 16,734 | 12.9% |
| Government | 12,687 | 17.9% | 22,231 | 17.1% |
| Financial Services | 3,532 | 5.0% | 7,577 | 5.8% |
| Leisure & Hospitality | 4,789 | 6.7% | 13,169 | 10.1% |
| Information Services | 2,041 | 2.9% | 2,711 | 2.1% |
| Other Services | 1,789 | 2.5% | 5,364 | 4.1% |
| TOTAL SERVICES | 48,826 | 68.8% | 112,182 | 86.2% |
| ALL JOBS | 71,005 | 100.0% | 130,201 | 100.0% |
The politicians attempting to buy your vote today are promising new
good jobs. One side is going to impose 100% tariffs on all Chinese crap
coming into the country. This will revive domestic manufacturing.
Another side is going to create millions of “green” jobs. Imagine all
the solar panel jobs coming our way. Someone else is going to rebuild
the infrastructure of the country, generating millions of made in
America jobs. Too bad there are only 7 million people in the whole
country that have a construction background. The Federal Reserve is
going to print our way to millions of new jobs by reducing the value of
the dollar, again reviving our dormant manufacturing sector. I can see
Bethlehem, PA firing up the steel mills that have been dead for 20 years
and closing down their casinos. Maybe if we hire some more government
bureaucrats to administer the implementation of Obamacare and the
financial regulations that are eliminating free checking accounts, the
economy will miraculously revive. Paper pushers don’t morph into
construction workers. Criminal Wall Street MBAs don’t become petroleum
engineers. Unemployed waitresses in Riverside, California aren’t moving
to Washington DC to get a great job at Ruby Tuesdays.
The delusions continue. Unless American union workers are willing to
work for $7 per hour with no benefits, the manufacturing jobs are not
coming back from China. The corporate oligarchs and their bought off
cronies in Congress sold the country down the river over the last 40
years. Mega-Corporation profits are at record levels as goods are
produced by slave labor in the Far East at 80% lower costs than they
could be produced in the U.S. With 86% of the U.S. workforce in the
service industry, introducing tariffs on imported goods and devaluing
the dollar will further put the squeeze on the American middle class who
already have been systematically screwed by the ruling elite over the
last 40 years. Our society took 40 years to dig this hole. It is now so
deep, there is no way out. But, look at the bright side. At least we
don’t have to watch bread lines stretching down the block when we are
watching our 52 inch HDTV, holed up in our 5,000 sq ft McMansions,
ignoring the monthly mortgage payment bill, and waiting for our
unemployment funds to be direct deposited into our bank accounts. I get
all teary thinking about it. This is the iDepression 2.0.
The real people of this country who have worked and saved and done
the right things have been beaten down. It is time to stand up to those
in power and take this country back. We need the moral backbone of Ma
Joad at the end of The Grapes of Wrath:
I ain’t never gonna be scared no more. I was, though. For a while
it looked as though we was beat. Good and beat. Looked like we didn’t
have nobody in the whole wide world but enemies. Like nobody was
friendly no more. Made me feel kinda bad and scared too, like we was
lost and nobody cared…. Rich fellas come up and they die, and their kids
ain’t no good and they die out, but we keep on coming. We’re the people
that live. They can’t wipe us out, they can’t lick us. We’ll go on
forever, Pa, cos we’re the people
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cool, now stop voting for more obamas
... and bushs, mccains, gingrichs, gores, kerrys,clintons, reagans, carters, nixons, etc. etc ad infinitum. Some are better than others, but they differ not in kind but in degree.
This is a game, and citizens are the pieces.
The USA needs a return to simple governance with simple laws. She needs Statesmen, not selfish pansies.
really? so you want anarchy and believe NO ONE can lead
what the hell is "simple governance?"
what is a 'simple law?"
A federal government explicitly restricted by the Constitution, let the States do their thing. Or Leviticus.
Hump Day playlist, enjoy the music!
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D78860E6821CDD13
thanks. needed that for real.
What happens when some silly little man approaches you and offers to lend you money for interest? What then? Will we ever learn our lesssons?
“Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There never was a
democracy yet that did not commit suicide…” John Adams 1814
Picked this quote up from TedBits Commentary October 19, 2010 Newsletter.
Great Post....I am in commercial manufacturing and have commented before about James Goldsmith who predicted exactly what would happen back in 94'. Among the wisest of businessmen...He knew how business worked. Unfortunately he predicted America's impoverishment via GATT residue, destabilizing western society where we end up serving economic indices.
I recommend his book "The Trap", and this great interview on the Charlie Rose Show. He debates with Laura Tyson who is as dumb as a fence post when it comes to trade and business and still is. Warning...You might find Tyson's high pitch whinny voice a bit disurbing.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5064665078176641728#
True, but so depressing.
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Leviticus? But those crabs are just so darn tasty.
And let's not forget the boneless pork shoulder...
Sweet beats Mr. Murray!
Power back to the states.... About the only thing the Federal government need to worry about is National security, Which is Wall St. and the boarder....Keep the criminals beat back & let the people handle the rest...
Considering he said a "return" to simple "governance", it's pretty clear that he is not advocating anarchy.
At most, he is advocating a return to the Articles of Confederation.
Oh FFS. The Constitution is one of the most amazing pieces of paper ever written. It just needs to be observed.
I guess you don't understand what the words "at most" mean.
That said, I _would_ actually advocate anarchy, as long as we're talking, e.g:
"No rulership or enforced authority."
"A social state in which there is no governing person or group of people, but each individual has absolute liberty (without the implication of disorder)."
but I think it's more likely I'll be on the no-return mission to Mars.
In short: sorry.
That said, I _would_ actually advocate anarchy, as long as we're talking, e.g:
"No rulership or enforced authority."
"A social state in which there is no governing person or group of people, but each individual has absolute liberty (without the implication of disorder)."
but I think it's more likely I'll be on the no-return mission to Mars.
In short: sorry.
I don't know what the Bernanke is going on here, but I keep trying to post this with no success:
No indeed; well, at least not after a shedload of ales. I just fired that off because I wanted to big up the Constitution. I'd not want to argue with you, tmosley: I've read many of your posts and like where you are coming from. Had I been sober enough to check the username I would also have put a check on any response.
That said, I _would_ actually advocate anarchy, as long as we're talking, e.g:
"No rulership or enforced authority."
"A social state in which there is no governing person or group of people, but each individual has absolute liberty (without the implication of disorder)."
but I think it's more likely I'll be on the no-return mission to Mars.
In short: sorry.
No problem.
I'll be with you on the one way trip to Mars.
I've added "what the Bernanke" to my vocabulary. Thanks for this.
You're right, Obama is a completely unqualified leader. So were the war mongerers (criminals?) preceding him.
That's not what I said. I clearly stated that Statesmen are needed, instead of representatives who represent their own interests (which is the status quo).
Go read the USC, and if you can even read it - much less comprehend it - before you die, then you'll know what simple law isn't.
There's a reason why the founding documents consume mere pages. There's also a reason why the Ten Commandments are, well, ten commands long. It's simple. It restricts control over citizens to things that really matter, such as "thou shalt not kill". As an added bonus, simple law helps keep citizens from being whisked away in the middle of the night for breaking nebulous, obscure laws.
It's a problem when everyone is breaking some law every waking hour, and most aren't even aware. That's the sign of a top-heavy republic. And a dangerous one insofar as government control over people is concerned.
very good answer! +++++
"The more laws, the less justice." - Cicero
Negative, dunce boy.
What Edmon Plume is stating is that it is time for an actual statesman, as opposed to a long string of Wall Street representatives in the White House.
That should be rather obvious to anyone with even the most meager complement of neurons.
Anyone who forgets, or is ignorant of, Carter's main financial backer, David Rockefeller, and that it was Carter who first signed that directive to destabilize the secular government of Afghanistan by creating the mujahadeen, which led to the Soviet invasion of that country, is a lazy brained clown, not worthy of any comments. (Beginning with the Carter Administration, Wahabist Isalmic extremists were relocated from Saudi Arabia to the northern border of Afghanistan, fomenting religious revolution --- originally the occupants there were the milder Sufi Islamic people.)
From Nixon to the present White House occupant, we have been cursed with nothing but the Yes Men from Wall Street.
End of discussion.
"Anarchy" - as you so glibly mentioned, is what occurs when the imperialistic predatory capitalist empire of the USA finances the murder of countless Afghanistani secularists, academics, intellectuals, artists, and just decent folk, as happened back in the late '70s and early '80s.
Shame, shame on your kind.....
++ some righteous fury.
Statesmen? What are those? (/sarcasm)
These days there is no way those are rhetorical questions. Who was the last US statesman? The last one we had in Britain was Margaret Effing Thatcher, and it is in large part because of her that we are where we are.
You should have stopped at Reagan. He's the father of modern partisan politics and the first really shit President. Nixon managed to do a lot of good despite being a paranoid wreck and Carter knew what we should have done but was unable to be re elected because of the recession that hit during his presidency.
The tawdry shits that got reagan in are now the heads of fox news, and attend symposiums funded by the koch's.
The watery shits that got Obama collectively elected give a million bucks a pop to Media matters, religiously watch MSNBC and attend Kos meetings.. Your point is what?
You can thank Nixon for introducing the "neocons" into the Republican party!!
Prior to Nixon, they operated under the Democrat flag under LBJ (wherein they introduced "The Great Society", Medicare, Medicaid, escalating war in Vietnam, proposed dropping gold-convertibility of USD, and some other "great ideas"). They were a young power group under the wing of LBJ's vice-president Humphrey -- then jumped ship to support Nixon as soon as they saw that Humphrey was going to lose to Nixon in the next election (Johnson had decided not to seek re-election). If they hadn't jumped ship to Nixon, they would have become sidelined.
They have grown in power and influence -- and have effectively controlled BOTH parties -- ever since. One of their first successes as Republicans was getting Nixon to drop the gold-USD convertibility in 1971 (which they had first got Johnson to propose in 1968).
Hopefully America will wake up out of their malaise.
also stop voting for corporatist globalist shills who appoint corporatist globalist shills to the supreme court and regulatory agencies.
Just stop voting. If you want to do something constructive, throw a brick through the window of you local mega-bank branch. You know the ones.
Fuckit, bitchez.
To Fearless Rick:
Finally, a cogent and intelligent suggestion.
One of the few brave men who was willing to take the blue pill and share the reality of our plight, Mr. George Carlin (and yes I am serious). Take the time to watch and listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q
Don't look to the Whores of Washington to save our sorry asses. Listen to what Max Keiser says about American "pussies" with all their guns compared to the French whom fight for their freedom and liberty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epq7d5foezs&feature=related
Here is a blast from the past, the best economic commentator of our time (I think they killed him. No really, no uploads in the past year):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NWFA6g2x-4
Yeah ole Max Keiser sure lost his shit yesterday on AJ's show. I had to laugh. I have been there and done that.
Junked you for the "stop voting" nonsense. Vote for a third party, or at the very least vote for yourself. And don't give me that "waste a vote" bullshit, especially if you're only willing to sit on your ass. If you're not voting or running for office, you are part of the problem because you sure as shit aren't in the streets getting it done.
I beg you to watch, Mr. Murray:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIraCchPDhk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q
Disclosure: I have cast three ballots in my lifetime - Ross Perot, Jesse Ventura, and Ron Paul. I will never vote again as I believe voting grants legitimacy to a corrupt institution. Plus I am not an aggressive person.
I'm with ya man. Only voted twice: Perot and then Buchanan (can't believe I just admitted that).
I'm done. Fuck this system.
And BTW: anarchy isn't about bandannas and Molotov cocktails. The nut jobs at Alcoholics Anonymous have no governing body. It is effective anarchy - and it works. And these loons are alcoholics.
FFS, if they can do it, why can't we?
I agree completely. On my more cynical days I think people embrace government only because they're afraid they cannot make it on their own. Responsibility's a pain. AA has more collective courage in that room than the (drunk) zombies we "choose" to rule us.
Voting endorses one's own slavery. Would you like a red chain or a blue chain? Theeerrre's a good citizen.
fellas, I think we are splitting hairs on some levels, but I will say: VOTE.
It may seem trivial, but VOTING is what has kept Ron Paul in the national conversation. Ron Paul is ever-so-slightly beginning to multiply. VOTING will create more Ron Paul's.
Either we are gaining ground on them, or they are on us. I do not need to remind anyone that our ancestors died so that we could vote (however you gauge its impact). When they finally get to our doorstep to take our guns and gold, then we have no other choice but to unleash the furry of whatever arsenal we have. Until then, VOTE.
...just my two cents, friends.
+1 Agreed, fellas
I like you Chopper. Truely. I've read your posts - your heart is in the right place.
This link is for you: http://www.larkenrose.com/blogs/tmds-blog/1894-youre-not-the-boss-of-me.html
fantastic. thank you for posting.
That's it. You nailed it.
Yes, voting may well grant legitimacy to a corrupt institution. I understand the predicament, but sitting back and not voting also grants legitimacy to a corrupt institution. The latter method is just a passive way of doing it.
You're not helping to end the corruption by not voting.
Jesse Ventura, who immediately ran to the Democrats and started spending.. Thanks for inflicting him on us.. You are right you should not vote..
Yes, stop supporting the pretense that voting matters. Voting only encourages the bastards. The state utterly lacks legitimacy, as do its enablers, the banks.
Politics, like any con game, requires three players: the con man, the shill and the sucker.
As long as you believe there is any difference between Republicans or Democrats...you will always be the "sucker" at the table.
Once Americans can wrap their feeble minds around this obvious reality, they can start to correct the problems. Until then...the death spiral will continue unabated.
Republicans and Democrats...2 cheeks of the one arse
I'm gonna store that one and use it a later date. Ta.
+1. WTF is with the Robojunkers today?
I was "the shill" once on a blackjack table at an upstart casino. The casino never made it, unfortunately, and I was forced to return to my former life as "the sucker."
And to be honest--it's starting to get old.
FWIW, voting for presidents in this illusion of a democracy is a pathetic farce.
Or as one of my not-too-bright GFs liked to say, "farcade."
You mean: "stop voting" ?
LOL, it has come down to that, hasn't it? Which crap sandwich do you want today?
Somehow I do not think the electoral college will ever allow for "no confidence" straight ticket vote at the polls....unfortunately!
Well, that "lesser of two EVILS argument" is rather specious, now isn't it?
The operative word being "evil" -- especially that after the preceding three decades, the American economy has been successfully dismantled and cannibalized, for the profit of all those debt-financed billionaires.
Resisting evil ain't supporting evil, so voting for evil truly has accomplished absolutely nothing.
The operative word being "nothing."
Exactly. When nobody shows up, the message will be clear. Until then, you're just precipitating the continuation of the crap we call government.
There will never be nobody as long as somebody is able to vote himself a paycheck.
I have never voted and never will. My hands are clean of this mess. I am 47
Depression 2.010 more like
Maybe the recovery summer is due for 2.020. But not for housing.
Dr. Bubble visits real homes of genius in Surf City, CA. He thinks we will be seeing stories in the NYT in 2020 about how housing sold for -x- in 2006-07 and still isn't worth that much.
www.doctorhousingbubble.com
That's depressing. Time to hit that stack of Blu-rays I've been neglecting.
Good article. I'm going to pass this one along to everyone I know as it covers all the major issues very nicely. I'm going to take an informal poll this weekend to see what the people around me think with regard to the Chinese. Whether they believe it is the Chinese people's fault we lost all those jobs, the corporations' fault, the politician's fault, or the will of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Hump Day playlist, enjoy the music!
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D78860E6821CDD13
Here is a clue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q
And just for fun a blast from the recent past:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NWFA6g2x-4
Many think that WW2 finally ended Great Depression 1.
Can WW3 end Great Depression 2?
http://www.debka.com/article/9093/
who is going to fight who?
US v China will be the main dogs in the fight, but Russia, Iran, UK, and Japan will be in it too. Let's just hope Pearl Harbor 2.0 isn't a couple suitcase nukes smuggled across the Mexican border.
Bbbbut the southern border of the US is more secure than ever - Napolitano said so.
Any Ameritard so completely moronic to view China as the enemy, as the premier douchebag Richard Clarke suggests (national security director for Clinton when they gave the Chicoms the over-the-horizon missile targeting technology, and with the Bush administration when they allowed the Chicoms to buy that classified ball bearing factory in Ohio - for tanks, missiles, air aviation, etc.), after they shipped all the jobs and all the technology over there (actually they've offshored all innovation as well), is truly lacking in every cognitive area.
8th RULE: If this is your first night at FIGHT CLUB, you HAVE to fight.
My ass is a wad of cookie dough.
If this was the 1930s, the People's Rebulic of China would already be in the Republic of China (Taiwan), Russia would have seized the Ukraine for unpaid gas bills and the French would have surrendered to anyone that could be bothered enough to accept it.
Fortunately it seems a little mutually assured destruction goes a long way.
It#s been said before, although slightly more eloquently:
"Moreover, a curious paradox has emerged. Let me put it simply. After a certain point has been passed it may be said, 'The worse things get the better.' The broad effect of the latest developments is to spread almost indefinitely and at least to a vast extent the area of mortal danger. This should certainly increase the deterrent upon Soviet Russia by putting her enormous spaces and scattered population on an equality or near-equality of vulnerability with our small densely populated island and with Western Europe….
"Then it may well be that we shall by a process of sublime irony have reached a stage in this story where safety will be the sturdy child of terror, and survival the twin brother of annihilation."
Winston Churchill
"....the French would have surrendered to anyone that could be bothered enough to accept it"
Except their government, which I commend them for. We could learn something here......
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/20/france.strikes/?hpt=Sbin
Looks like CNN is a mouthpiece for the French Government
Typical arrogant American know-nothing. 360 000 dead (French and British troops mainly) tells you otherwise about the Battle of France during the summer of 1940, as many as Americans suffered during the whole war!
The intensity of the battle, the use of air power by the Germans, every aspect of it was something the world had never seen before back then between huge (3,3 million soldiers at both sides) modern ARMIES.
US Army was a fucking joke until mid-1942. Even after Normandy it was considered that Germans would prevail whenever met with equal numbers.
Many think that WW2 finally ended Great Depression 1.
Contrary to popular myth WW2 did not end GD1.
Winning WW2 ended GD1.
Don't forget the "do-nothing" Congress following '46 election that ramped back federal spending (Great Britain did some of that today). They toughed out a recession and "happy days finally here again."
- Ned
An end to economic experimentation by the Feds is what ended GD1.
The necessity of winning the war trumped FDR's need to meddle. It's that simple.
Bullshit. The Great Depression ended at the end of the Forties (or very early Fifties). You think rationing, mis-direction of natural resources, wage and price controls and steep debt just rolled over on VE/VJ days?
(See, I've been studying those darn patrons of the Austrian school....)
Those who advocate world war as an economic solution should volunteer themselves and their children to the front.
+1
Its obnoxious to hear anyone talk about this subject so frivolously. the Chinese, or anyone else, are simply folks who want the best for themselves and their children, just like us. The facts are, the population of the planet cannot grow indefinitely, and war will arrive at our doorsteps soon enough as the competition for resources accelerates. But most importantly, our enemies are not the Chinese, per say, but rather our own countrymen inside the District of Columbia and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. No Chinaman has ever brought to our lives such a reign of terror as these tyrants since at least 1913.
Remember the pain our ancestors endured during the Great Depression? Blame D.C. and the FBNY. How many prolonged booms and busts, wars, divorces, and suicides must we endure as a result of their centralized planning before we end these parasitic cartels and return power to ourselves, and State and local governments of our own choosing?
Is THIS the America for which our ancestors spilt their blood?
"Obese, vain, stupid Americans...."
Sir, I must protest. I do take offense. You forgot "lazy ipod buying".
I'm one of the stupidest Americans. I didn't buy a house I couldn't afford, and I'm self employed so there are no unemployment benefits for me.
Responsibility = idiocy
+1, same here. However, I catch a tinge of proud self-reliance.
Freedom = self employment.
No. I take the cake. I actually went and earned a graduate engineering degree refusing to buy a house. At end of degree, no jobs. Charming!
In the end, I am going to be the one who laughs as they repossess everyone else's overpriced house, car, 3rd piece of icrap and etc.
Vampyro- think of the SELECTION you will have... hell you may be able to pick up 3 for the price of 1! lol
I'm with you gents. Self employed and self reliance 100% here in Mordor... that is why the government despises me.
Obama gonna find a way to shake you down, but good...
Indeed sir.
What a time! We self employeds are the enemy? I'm gonna hire someone just to fuck with their plans. Retirement is for pussies.
Dead on, mate - self employed, self sufficient. Don't need no stinkin unemployment check and my SS checks are just for buying gold. That's my way of giving the finger to the ruling class jerks.
Yes, you will be broken and assimilated.
Good article.
Great article.
I read Grapes Of Wrath in one sitting. To say it made an impression is an understatement.
I wonder what if anything will be written that will capture the essence of the iDepression 2.0.
The iPods of Barack
Not likely.
Anything longer than a text message or tweet
would be too long for most americans to bother with.
sht->fan cya
You realise Grapes of Wrath was little more than a government sponsored piece of propaganda. Don't get me wrong, it is good writing, but that it is installed in the pantheon of great literature without that little footnote is testimony to how effective the politicos of the 1930s were at perpetuating their image rather than actually caring for the little people as they claimed they would.
BTW, GD1 was ended by the pent up demand of the GD1 years and the WW2 years. At some point, people have done without long enough that they simply go out and start doing.
Thank god we'll have new MacBook Airs with instant on and Facetime to talk to each other!
at last someone who gets it.
I joined U6 when Best Buy said I was overqualified.
A: "So, exploit me."
But, it doesn't pay as much as U6.
And remember folks, none other than the Federal Reserve via their JP Morgan retail arm operates and distributes SNAP (food stamps). So the more food stamps the better for JP Morgan and the Federal Reserve.
How about a CNBC HeatMap showing the "relative hot factor" of:
Michelle "C-Squared"
Erin "B-Cups" Burnett
Amanda Drury
The "Chairwoman"
LOL......
CNBC ain't got shit on the FOX babes..
Trish Regan is HOT!
Mmmmmmandy...
I think someone told her to axnay the cleveage. It was fun for a while.
you mean axnay the eavageclay
Actually there is some truth to this. I have been a long time lurker but finally joined ZeroHedge on the day Burnett blew up at the the guy from Euro-Pacific capitol about the Chinese stoning T-Bill participation
That morning on squak on the street they put mandy and erin together. Erin was going batshit insane. Seriously, I am not lying. She kept trying to do the "I'm cute thing." Leaning forward, leaning backward, twisting the torso for the b cups to get in the profile. Leaning into Mandy, like she normal does with the male co-hosts she is usually with.
Mandy just kinda sat there. She knew what was going on in Erins head. She did not try to one up or anything. Which made it worse for erin. She was guaranteed to blow up sometime that day for some reason ... which she did at that EuroPacific Capitol guy.
I have never seen those two together on any segment since then. But they each bounce around to fill what ever seat is vacant. Junk me if you like, but it is true. Probably the only bit of truth I've found on CNBC.
Well, the longer the extend and pretend goes on, the harder the fall.
Some of us are prepared and know what's coming and some of us go to tanning salons, buying i-shit and demand jobs that do not involve flipping meat paties and have no clue whatsoever.
I feel for these people who would be rubbing their eyes saying "What happened?"
"Real people"; who are the fake ones? Take the country back...from whom? I get the feeling someday if u get ur way we'll be hanging u from a lamp post cause it sounds like facism, all this blame and fear-mongering.
You must be one of the ruling elite. We are coming to get you.
'Jim Quinn' - nice
How about a mass, robo impeachment. All of 'em - 435+100+1.
Where do I sign?
good start coming in a couple of weeks, then we'll see. - Ned
You left out the judicial branch. You know, the one which gave corporations the same rights as flesh-n-blood people.
Yep!
Things winding down for the season in the Hamptons Rick?
So this clown thinks what.... ?
Things are going to stay the same ? The easy credit has hidden the jobs issue everyone leveraged their income to purchase said goods from china. The hyper credit the securitization market created juiced the pumps, credit cards, second mortgage, student loans .... this game is over.
China has build her manufacturing base around this credit pump ... The 4 grand every day joe takes home per year in china will not support this manufacturing complex, the europeans will not be spending like drunken sailors any time soon. The rest of the world can not make up for the us consumer.
Not sure how we can fix this problem .... I hope we can but this is a replay of the late 30's ...
Yeah, this was an interesting post up until the end.
He spends the whole post making the argument that there's nothing we can do, and then finishes with:
"It is time to stand up to those in power and take this country back."
Whuh? How?
Chet says: "How?"
I'm guessing Chet is the same clown who has never learned to read a map, but must always bother strangers for directions?
I'm guessing that Chet is the same clown who feels it is perfectly reasonable to approach strangers for a handout?
I'm guessing that Chet is the same clown who believes there's some magical difference between the Wall Street running dog lackeys in the US Congress?
Did you happen to hear what they did in France?
Did you happen to hear what they did in Russia?
Did you happen to hear what they did at the Pentagon recently?
Evidently, a number of people don't require to be told how to wipe themselves, huh, Chet?
Not one of those things is true about me.
I'm asking a sincere question. What do we do?
Revolution to bring about what exactly?
How will that solve any of the trade imbalances that were the subject of his post? If we revolt, then suddenly we will be an exporting nation again?
Seriously, I'm asking. Say we throw every bum out of DC and Wall Street, what steps lead to full employment and a better trade balance. Be specific.
Abandon the debt taken on by our government and build localized self sufficient economies. The only real option for prosperity at this point is to allow collapse to occur and to start over from scratch.
Thank you for answering his question.
I've gone off the deep end long ago.....
Your response is the only possible choice.
+1
Yes. Listen. Qmark knows.
Buy used stuff from sites like craigslist.org Don't feed the State with sales tax or the big box merchant with profits.
My money is on starting LOCAL: Starve the beast whether it is a township, village or major city. Starve the beast of all resources possible. The "trickle up" effect is a start.
Let's say you have real skills, cash, and mobility. Is it going to be any better, anywhere else on planet earth? Where are you moving to? Or are you going to stay and fight it out?
I recommend hiding in plain sight. "Fighting" comes in many different forms.
Yup, like not getting plump on your storehouse during times of severe food shortages. ;)
I ponder how many have stores to plump up on... Is the cheese & rice truck due today dear??
Yup - probably the mormons, and that's about it ...which is why it's dangerous to be overplump, lest the least plump among them follows you home. Desperation turns men savage.
in a City of 8 million perhaps....
Well, they're talking about a one-way mission to Mars. I'm planning to be on that. I'll even give up smoking and Manchester United. Yes, even Jim O'Neill makes the odd good choice.
Err, no. The hourly wage is not the problem. Proof: recently Dutch electronics giant Philips announced it was moving manufacturing back from China to the Netherlands. Dutch workers may be just temp workers, but that's not $7 per hour & no benefits, not even € per hour. Perhaps American workers do not add any value? Or perhaps American manufacturers don't make anything the rest of the world considers worth buying? Or maybe, but now we're really getting into fantasy, robots will manufacture everything, while humans will live in an economy of exchanging and creating music.
So, nice numbers... but there's always a way out.
If you want to make things here you need to build plants here, which means defeating the NIMBY and environmental red tape crowd too. Philips has the political and economic muscle in the Netherlands required to get all the professionals of obstruction to bow down.
I doubt there are many other data points like this Philips example, however, and I'd bet their investment in production in China during the same period grows at the same time this one repatriation project is underway.
American workers are by far the laziest on the planet. They have become complacent by expecting $30 per/hour with full benefits while getting high and falling asleep.
Just look at Detroit.
Wait, I can get high, too?
Too bad the only intoxicant in sight is some bathroom cleaner.
Guess I'll pass.
Mr. Dabolina's got the strength of Hercules.......
If, and that's a half-hearted if, the Chinese century is upon us, we'll certainly see the same become of their laborers. And what of the Eurozone? Greeks and Frenchmen are going ape over the decreasing dole.
and your point is?
-
We can't have food or unemployment lines now, it's so politically incorrect. They may feel inferior and then beat the fucking shit out of the dog when they go home.
instead of kicking the can it will be kicking the dog.
Please do not kick the doggie!
And definitely do not eat him ...
the cat, on the other hand...
So we (I guess most/all states) use Electronic Benefit Cards--debit cards that we know are able to buy all kinds of things that real people can buy: casino cash, cruise ship vacations, heck, just take out the cash.
Here in MA we have been hearing the long-term presence of Our Dear President's aunt, who came from overseas and, well, according to her she was taken advantege of by "The System." I can't make this stuff up.
http://wbztv.com/local/obama.aunt.zeituni.2.1921954.html
So the local EBT cards are now widely called "Auntie Zeituni Cards."
- Ned
Dear old Auntie Z also said that the US has an obligation to make citizens out of immigrants like her who come to the US to escape oppression, and like the schmucks we are we actually have policies that accomodate people who enter and stay illegally while we chase highly-skilled legal immigrants out of the country by exploting technicalities at every turn. And we have "serious" and "sober" politicians talking about amnesty and tossing around phrases like "Well, we can't simply deport 20m people now, can we."