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Yes, It Is Halftime In America
Yes, It Is Halftime In America – So Now Is The Time To Get Your Financial Priorities In Order
Courtesy of Michael Snyder of Economic Collapse
Did you see the Chrysler commercial featuring Clint Eastwood that aired during the Super Bowl the other night? It was entitled "It's Halftime In America", and it was truly a great ad. To me, it was the most memorable Super Bowl ad this year by far. It conjured up images of the America that so many of us remember so fondly. It reminded us of how life in this country used to be. Unfortunately, America is currently headed down a road that is taking us in the opposite direction.
Yes, it is halftime in America, but there is no guarantee that what is ahead is going to be great. In fact, if we continue to make the same choices that we have been making, a national nightmare is inevitable. Let us hope and pray for a fundamental change of direction for America, but let us also prepare for what is going to happen if that does not take place. There is a "pause in the action" at the moment, so now is the time to get your financial priorities in order. Now is the time to prepare for the storm that is coming. If you wait until the storm is right on top of you it will probably be too late.
But I must admit that I really loved that ad. First of all, any Super Bowl ad that includes Clint Eastwood is almost automatically going to be a great ad. Secondly, it was very refreshing to see a commercial address some of the very serious problems that this country is facing.
The ad ended with Eastwood making the following statement....
"This country can't be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. Ya, it's halftime in America, and our second half is about to begin"
A video of the complete ad is posted below....
Kudos to Chrysler for producing such an extraordinary ad. I have to admit that I actually prefer Chrysler to Ford and GM. I like their style and I think they make some very nice vehicles.
But Chrysler is far from out of the woods. They almost went under during the last recession, and if the U.S. economy experiences another major recession they might not survive it.
Yes, Chrysler did earn $183 million in 2011.
But in 2010, Chrysler lost $652 million.
Hopefully Chrysler can string a few more profitable years together, but there is certainly no guarantee that is going to happen.
As I have written about previously, the U.S. auto industry is in the midst of a nightmarish long-term decline.
The combined U.S. market share of the "Big Three" U.S. automakers fell from 70% in 1998 to 53% in 2008.
When you examine the numbers over a longer time frame, they are even more striking.
For example, in 1970 General Motors had about a 60 percent share of the U.S. automobile market, but today that figure is down to about 20 percent.
In an effort to cut costs, U.S. automakers have been eliminating jobs and sending jobs out of the country.
In the year 2000, the U.S. auto industry employed more than 1.3 million Americans. Today, the U.S. auto industry employs about 698,000 people.
So the U.S. auto industry has not exactly bounced back.
They have survived for now, but there is no guarantee that this is going to be permanent.
Many considered the Chrysler Super Bowl ad to be an endorsement of the auto bailouts and of the economic policies of the Obama administration.
But that wasn't the case at all. In fact, it turns out that Clint Eastwood was actually a harsh critic of the auto bailouts as Reuters recently noted....
"We shouldn't be bailing out the banks and car companies," actor, director and Academy Award winner Eastwood told the Los Angeles Times in November 2011. "If a CEO can't figure out how to make his company profitable, then he shouldn't be the CEO."
And Clint Eastwood certainly did not mean to endorse Obama during the commercial. The following is what Eastwood told Fox News about the ad....
"I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys, and there is no spin in that ad. On this I am certain.
l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK."
The cold, hard reality of the matter is that America has not "bounced back" since 2008. Sadly, the truth is that we are even in worse condition than we were back then....
-Our national debt has risen by about 50 percent since 2008.
-Our states are in more debt than ever.
-Our local governments are in more debt than ever.
-The U.S. economy has lost about 6 million jobs since 2008.
-Approximately 14 million more Americans have gone on food stamps since Barack Obama became president.
-More Americans are living in poverty than ever before.
-New home sales in the United States hit a brand new all-time record low during 2011.
-The number of "long-term unemployed workers" has more than doubled since Barack Obama entered the White House.
-The amount of money that the federal government gives directly to Americans has increased by 32 percent since Barack Obama entered the White House.
-Despite claims that things are "getting better", the truth is that the percentage of Americans that actually have jobs is almost exactly the same as it was two years ago.
Amazingly, Barack Obama seems to think that he has done a good job and that he deserves a second term. On Sunday, Obama told NBC's Matt Lauer the following....
"I deserve a second term, but we’re not done"
Many Americans are buying into the hype. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll has found that Barack Obama's approval rating is actually rising.
But it won't last long. As the economy crumbles his approval rating will start going down once again.
The sad truth is that America is in the middle of a long-term economic decline because our economy is not built on a solid foundation.
The false prosperity that we are enjoying now is being fueled by the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world. We consume far more wealth than we produce, and we pay for it by constantly going into more debt.
At some point the merry-go-round is going to stop and when it does it is going to be incredibly painful.
An increasing number of Americans are waking up to this reality. One recent survey found that 61 percent of all Americans believe that there will be "a major catastrophic event" in the United States within the next 20 years. A significant portion of them believe that the "catastrophic event" will be economic in nature.
That same survey found that only 15 percent of all Americans feel as though they are completely prepared for the coming catastrophic event.
Remember what happened back in 2008. When the financial crisis struck, millions of Americans lost their jobs very rapidly. Since many of them did not have any money stored up, a lot of them lost their homes as well.
Since it is "halftime in America", now is the time to get prepared for the next great financial crisis.
Now is the time to reduce your expenses.
Now is the time to get out of debt.
Now is the time to set aside some money so that you will have something to live on if you do happen to lose your job. I typically recommend that you have at least 6 months of living expenses stored up.
Now is the time to start a side business. Even if you are broke, there are some businesses out there that you can start up for no money. It isn't easy to start a business with no money, but it can be done.
Now is the time to grow a garden. Fruits and vegetables are often some of the most expensive items at the grocery store, and by growing them yourself you become less dependent on the system.
And that is the key. We all want to try to become less dependent on the system.
There is no guarantee that your job will always be there.
There is no guarantee that your insurance company or the financial institutions that you are working with today will always be there.
There is no guarantee that the government will be there "to save you" when you really need it.
Yes, it is halftime in America.
So get ready for the second half, because it is going to be a real nightmare.
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all you grow in a garden is untaxed food.
Chryslers are the worst quality vehicles in the world. THE WORLD.
Well yes, but they have a solid hold on the third best Detroit produced mini-van. How sad is it that Fiat picks 2012 to hawk Jeeps in Italy? How sad is it that Chrysler depends on a failing Fiat? That's right: Obama Sad!
How ironic an american company is depending on 'fiat'...
Navigant Consulting said Tuesday the Port Authority is a dysfunctional organization that has let the World Trade Center rebuilding project's costs get out of control — from $11 billion in 2008 to $14.8 billion now.
Audit: World Trade Center rebuilding balloons $4B By CHRIS HAWLEY | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago http://news.yahoo.com/audit-world-trade-center-rebuilding-balloons-4b-21...Sounds like the theme of this article is: "Personal responsibility-its not just for libertarians anymore"
Couldn't agree more, but like daily exercise, its a lot of work.
Guess what the next subprime credit disaster is going to be? That's right, car loans! Up to 7 years! For a consumer item that loses value faster than Zimbabwean dollars!
Auto sales are up for all the worst reasons. Just another case of trying to avoid the short term pain of a correction only to lead directly into the epochal pain of a total collapse.
Real estate and car sales are interchangeable. The guys that could no longer peddle homes, went into peddling cars. I betcha most people can't afford the payments on that new car just as they couldn't afford the payments on their new home. The pressure both the sales guy and the customer are under when they're sitting down and working over the car deal is crazy. Makes no sense to get people barely surviving on two min. wage jobs into a new vehicle and payments over as long as 84 months. Want to know how bad the car industry is suffering soon? Just look at the price tags on used cars. They're virtually giving them away.
Freddy I agree with you. F'them all except for Ron Paul. I busted my ass for Ross Perot in 1992. Seems like 30% of the people vote for the good guy and the rest vote for the 2w bad guys
Now it looks like an Obama/Romney contest? Sheese we're fucked
Perot: good guy?!
Man you are one confused little puppy.
How correct was Perot? Bush (et al) was evil incarnate.
Obamney. So sad...
Ross Perot was the last person I voted for president. I gave up until Ron Paul.
You voted for Clinton?
there's a lot of subplots here that relate to eastwood, but you have to be a cinephile to understand. he basically rebuilt hollywood by taking his studio malpaso, out of town. he also turned the (over invested) hollywood way of doing things on its head, while preserving some of the most important things that make (or made) the hollywood film product respected around the globe. and to be short here, he wants the same deal john ford had after w2, he wants to define middle america. easier in the first instance, he has more going for him than ford.
million dollar baby is a good bit of his view of the american middle. and gran torino. when the old lady who just moved next door outspits him with a load of chewing tobacco.
of course the good thing about fords move was that before w2 america was in a political free for all, (which is what made us great always, we pull together afterwards) right now we have one political party, one media, two colas, america needs more third parties, more immigrants, less status quo, that's the message if i got it right)
While I'm on a roll, lemme tell you about unions. Everyone thinks they're bad and corrupt and makes America uncompetetive. I will rant on the 2 unions I knew about before I retired, NATCA and ALPA. The safety side of them was great but most of it was for money and benefits. There wasn't enough focus on the safety side and I feel the unions dropped the ball. Back in the early 80's, I worked as a security guard at the Delta Jet Base and later HQ. I saw them taxi in an L-1011 at 11pm into the jet base and 2 days later it had new engines and paint and went back online. The local Delta mechanics were doing all the work to the airframe and RB-211's. The lead mechanic told me that they did more than the required FAA and Lockheed specs because with Dave Garret in charge, he demanded safety first. Oh have things changed......
Fact is, only a small percentage will see this article, let alone read it. Those end up reading it, only a smaller percentage will comment. Of those comments, an infinately small number will use what grey matter they have, in formulating any type of intelligent input.
The vast majority are not even aware of the nuts nand bolts of this calamity befalling the nation. They know SOMETHING is wrong, but can't quite put their finger on it! Those who are becomming aware, are scared out of their wits, so put their heads back in the sand.
Half time? NO. The game is over. The stadium is empty, as is the parking lot. Those that still have homes, have gone to them - to hide from what - they don't quite know. But its frightening. Who will save them?
Save yourselves.
Here's a football game scam I read about somewhere. It could easily be done at half time. Robbers go out to the parking lot and steal a bunch of GPSs out of expensive cars. They hook them up and follow the directions HOME. They rob the houses because they know how long the owners will be away. The lesson was to NEVER set your gps HOME with your real home address. Better to use an address near your house, a police station would be good.
Do the GPSs tell you which people actually have something worth stealing?
Or do you think that you can fence their credit card bills for cash?
you would need robbers who were electronically literate, organized, and logical.
IOW, people who wouldn't need to rob. Seriously, criminals are not like they are on TV dramas
Watch First 48 if you want to see real crime and how real crime is solved.
watch first 48 if you want to see the real stupid criminals and how they F up and get caught. The real smart criminals are watching. Learning, too.
You'd be amazed at how many people only know one way home, and even less of those even know how to read a map or their county street system (street/avenue orientation, etc).
Crown Princess will end its current cruise two days early following a spike in cases of gastrointestinal illness for the second straight week.
In a statement, Princess Cruises said the 113,000-ton, 3,080-passenger ship will return to its Fort Lauderdale, Fla., homeport on Thursday instead of Saturday, where it will undergo two days of sanitization in consultation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
At last count, 114 passengers (3.7 percent out of 3,078) and 59 crew (5 percent of 1,178) on the weeklong Southern Caribbean cruise have reported a gastrointestinal illness believed to be norovirus, said the line.
http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/07/10343487-cruise-ship-h...
"I deserve a second term, but we’re not done"
Since when does a U.S. President, a public servant of their constituents, deserve anything besides Secret Service protection?
well, obama wants government to answer all our problems, to take care of more and more sheeple. And if sheeple deserve more from the government, then why should Obama not want the same for himself? It's only reasonable that the government should provide him a job, right?
Right?
Abject FAILURE. RP 2012, bitchez.
and in another odd coincidence it took 1 day to destroy the WTC but it has taken over ten years to rebuild.
RP 2012!
you call that hole in the ground, rebuilding?
When does the new "Tower of Capitulation" open?
Yes, hard-hitting, wrap-yourself-in-the-flag, All-American sentimentality (I dare not say propaganda for fear of being branded a threat)
brought to you by the Fiat Motor company of Italy.
Finally !
Yes, it's like the money : FIAT
my next truck will be a chevy. a 85 or older 4x4 suburban with carb and a after market ignition no coumputer no cup holders no power anything. fix it whats in the tool box stored in the back
A fine starter home.
Freddie and many of you others, arranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic (fiat money and debt) is a waste of your talents. Stop the ship from sinking first, then re-arrange the chairs on the deck. Unfortunately, there's so much debt that no nation can pay it off. Get physical gold and silver.
Parts of the sky are falling on you, and it isn't blue ice from an airliner's bathroom flushes.
I'll give ya half time pilgrim.. ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkkYHH7oYp4&feature=related
Half-time? The America poignantly portrayed in the ad is long gone. Let it go.
if this is half time, we want a new QB to finish the game.
Chrysler took a bailout. Fuck them.
Chrysler screwed its bondholders. Fuck them. And every piece of shit they roll off assembly.
Chrysler took TWO bailouts. The first one was in 1976.
Back on point
Thank you Ilene,Michael for the article. I also appreciated knowing they ran the ad.It needed to be said.People better pull up their bootstraps and get busy we are on our own ,as a people of this nation.
Cult of Reason ? lol ;>)
Blue Oyster Cult ?
Game overman, game over
Bill Paxton sums up the situation, Paul Reisman offers the Obama solution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTifdoKXoxM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Man, these things are gunna get us (OTC Derivatives). Nuke the big banks and politicans just to be sure. Fun short term solution.
Can we talk about Madonna now? And cults? Cults are cool. Audi has cults. Chrysler? Not so much.
Tunga;We can talk cults
If it hadn't been for the M1 tank, Chrysler would have been gone years ago. The ONLY time I watch commercials is the Super Bowl!
Don't cry for me Argentina, hummmmm or is it Uruguay?
Please don't bring up Uruguay. I have close ties to Julio Sanguenetti 2 and 3 through Malena Paz.
Or the Food Industry Kitchen maker turning out Bradleys to go with the Abrams.
It's amazing. We spend so much to protect a crew in a land based vehicle and are happy to just slap on 1.2 inch rolled steel plate onto Navy ships containing hundreds.
WooHoo - happy days are here again.....
http://www.uscourts.gov/News/NewsView/12-02-07/Bankruptcy_Filings_Slide_...