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What The US Population Is Most Concerned About
Contrary to ongoing attempts by the administration to refocus the public's attention on such focal points as guns, an imminent external cybersecurity threat (until it was revealed that the biggest cyber terrorist is the NSA itself), and climate change, the three still remain, pardon the pan, at the cold end of the spectrum when it comes to what issues most concern the US public. On the other end, for one decade and counting, the "top priority" for the US public was and continues to be "the economy", stupid.
And since "the stock market" did not have its own separate category, we can only assume that to most American leaders, the economy and stocks continue to be interchangeable, even though as we have shown over the past 5 years, the broader public - also known as the 'retail' investor - has largely shied away from the stock market entirely either because of the realization that it is a rigged casino benefiting a choice group of Wall Street (neither admitted nor denied) criminals, or simply because as the middle class expires, ever fewer Americans have the disposable income to wager on 1,000x forward P/E gambling chips, promises of untold riches by the Fed chair(wo)man notwithstanding.
Some more from Third Way which broke down the numbers sourced from Pew:
Headlines and breaking news may drive news cycles, but according to Pew Research Center polling, the public’s #1 “top priority" has remained steadfast over the past nine years: “Strengthening the U.S. Economy.” Proving that James Carville’s blunt admonishment is as true today as it was back in 1992.
To illustrate how other top public priorities have shifted, we’ve created a heat map of 2013 priorities, which you can use to track the public mindset through three presidential elections and the wave midterms of 2010.
The heatmap is shown below. However, since the poll did not account for either Dancing with the Stars, X-Factor, reality TV, or Sunday Night Football, we would take anything shown below with a substantial grain of salt.
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To miss on Bitcoin? Now you can have your own!
"Gold 3.0": Want to create the next Bitcoin? This website makes it easy – too easy
So much for the "Gold 2.0" and new store of value - Bitcoin's value proposition is fading away by the day. It is not so anonymous as a lot of people think, it is not so easy to transfer, scams around Bitcoin are happening daily in more and more forms. Banksters are entering the game if they were not there already from the very beginning. And NSA prints are all over Bitcoin according to some reports on SHA256. But now you can have your own Gold 3.0 - just chose the name. OK, maybe for you it will be difficult to compete with pumpers of Bitcoin, but JPMorgan or FED can easily do so. It is very interesting to note that China has effectively banned Bitcoin from any authorised financial transactions, but FED is not so restrictive at least now - so who is really behind it now? http://sufiy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/gold-30-want-to-create-next-bitcoin....
That is an interesting post. I was looking at how to create my own crypto currency called Boatcoin for my website a while back. It was the perfect ponzi until I ran into major philosophical problems. The first being that I don't actually have anything for sale on the site and the second being that it is not a hard asset that can be lost at sea.
I really wanted to be in the crypto crowd and hang out with all of the cool kids but it looks like I will have to hang with the unregistered guns crowd for now.
It is insane that terrorism is the #4 concern when it is just a ploy by the Military Industrial Complex to steal your money - $1000 billion a year for US defense (or offense usually) and $60 billion for Homeland Security to violate your privacy at every opportunity. Not to mention, the $75 billion a year at least for the NSA to spy on your relentlessly every minute.
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
H. L. Mencken
While everyone knows that the defense budget is large -- even in the numbers that the public sees as the formally admitted figures by the Department of Defense -- the truth is that when one scratches beneath the bureaucratic veneer, national security spending is much larger, nearly double the amount US citizens are told.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/02/the-real-defense-budget/253327/
Apparently, privacy does not make that list because NSA is protecting you from terror. Snowden's revelations were pearls before swine.
but on tv they said they hate us for our free-dums? Im so confused now
Where does Alfred E Neuman fit in?
"What, me Worry?"
In the oval office.
Liberal neighborhoods must be easy to rob. Just sayin'.
Liberal neighborhoods must be easy to rob.
Not really. The Bluest sections of the Blue cities are where the typical criminals live.
(The organized, respected criminals are found in the governor's mansions, mega-banks, court houses, etc.)
Soul Glow "Liberal neighborhoods must be easy to rob"................No, inhabitants of liberal neighborhoods will give said theives YOUR address and tell them THEY are ENTITLED to all of your belongings, that's how liberals play the game.
Good points guys, but I mean litterally go in those neighborhoods with some guns and fucking rob them of their jewelry, like, "Get on the ground and give me your fucking jewelry, because there is nuffin' you're gonna do because you 'ave no fucking weapons!"
Most criminals can't "think" that well, ask any policeman.
I demand a stress-free environment where I can work out my existential angst.
You're not going to get it here. There are too many people with pre-defined ideologies. If you disagree with something, you are an unenlightened idiot. If you argree with someone, you are met with with good will. But, remember, it is the people who watch popular TV shows who are sheep, not you for agreeing with me.
Hopefully the World Cup will be on the list in the future. Only thing missing to go full world retard.
The average gal running the cash register at my local mini-mart was ripping a border patrol officer an new ass this morning for his willful participation in the advancement of the police state. It seems she is waking up to that 'change' we were promised not too long ago; and doesn't fucking like it, lol......
Now that sounds like some quality entertainment.
P.S. Fuck those interior border patrol checkpoints.
good for her. more and more people need to do that. Make it embarassing for them to be out in public in their uniform. Throw in the TSA too
Internal memo advises TSA workers to not ware uniforms outside of job site.
When was the last time you saw one on the street?
Border patrol is welfare for losers. Same with the TSA. And the DMV.
This is rather sad, though they talk about the deficit, there is no mention of the real threat which is public (corporate and also private) debt. That is the poison that sickens the economy. This is as much the fault of those asking because whenever I receive a poll on what concerns me most there is never a box to select debt, that is always assigned to the 'other' category. This is why I don't even fill those things out any more. They are political at best
1. Political process not working
2. Banking and financial system out of control
3. Military budgets corrupted
4. Mortgage market in disarray
5. Bonds extremely dangerous
6. Currencies entering War Zone
7. Global trading system fraying
8. Increasing hostilities world wide
9. Federal Reserve losing credibility
10. Distortion in values-- family, consumption patterns,
environment, social habits, income distribution and even gender
Bitcoin over 4 digits again :-)
The Bitcoin Channel
Seems to flip between $1016 and $912 with mainly at $912. Chinese market seems to be around $900 a share.
What to buy - Bitcoin or TWTR? What would Bernanke buy?
It seems to be getting "dark pool'd". It goes up and then slams down.
I thought it would have been transgendered kindergarteners.
Gay
MLB
NBA
NFL
College Football
Shows on TV
ISHIT
Lining up for the new restaurants
Tweeting
Sex
Sexting
Cheating
Killing babies
Shopping
More shopping
Hello? Miley Cyrus....duh!
Excellent, except maybe NFL, NBA, MLB, and whatever stupid shit 'Phil' is saying.
No, for the 47% on some type of gubermint welfare, the main concern is to keep the freebies rolling. Who gives a shit how they get the money; all that matters is the money never stops flowing. Someday, though, others will not lend the money for Chalky and his thugs, and wait until that day comes to see riots in the street Greece style.
http://vegasxau.blogspot.com
That's #2 behind peak oil. I'm dead serious. When the FSA gets cut off it's game over.
By then they'll all be too fat to move. See, there's a plan for that eventuality too!
#1. Peak oil.
It's the 800 pound monster getting ready to rise up and smash everyone. Nothing else is anywhere close.
Yes, energy is the issue that is staring us in the face. Humanity is going to discover what it means when perpetual growth smacks into finite resources.
I am looking for a WVO diesel. There are few around that I have seen, even on Ebay motors. There were plenty a few years ago even when oil was much higher. I find this interesting. I love the 1981-1985 300SD Mercedes. I had an 82 but the wife made me give it up.
As long as E=m*c^2 and we don't have a Mass shortage, I'm not really too worried. Chemical bond breaking is way overrated as a means of energy generation, but oddly only the French have acted on this knowledge and thus have the cheapest energy in the EU. The speed of light is one humugous energy conversion constant!
Don't you bring science in here!!! We want to be scared of something!!! Nuclear fusion is impossible!!!! /huge sarc
Peak oil!!!! Never mind the fact that if oil prices double, solar will be hugely profitable. And then solar prices will go down due to mass manufacturing.
TPTB better get back to work. Terrorism is a falling concern.
</sarc>
I pesonally think infrastructure sould be a lot higher up the list. Especially electrical grid since we can no longer survive as a civil society without it.
Many of the people I meet on the streets hate the state almost as much as I do. I also found that ex-cons are far more radical than the general population having experienced the injustice department themselves. People up in the Bakken that I've talked to prefer limited government. People in Texas think the same. I've noticed most of the Prols in NYC hate the cops as well as in LA and OC. I think the vast majority of chicagoins would like term limits in Springfield and have no illusions about aldermen corruption. MA does not like the way the Boston bombing was handled. I could go on and on and on.
The problem is apathy. People in all these places feel dis-empowered, and until driven by desperation or inspired to act they will not.
Shatter the looking glass. Do not hope to hope for a better world. I say live in the moment, get involved in a radical group or start your own. Pick up an issue or a platform and start organizing. Don't look at the total odds of victory only look at the best options available of which, idling is not one of.
You must be like Santa Claus with your ability to travel all over and interview folks. What do Chileans think and South Africans, satoshi101?
I am not satoshi101. As it happens IR, two people showing similar viewpoints created accounts on a popular website on the same day. Is that such a stretch?
Sure
That he knows the date the profiles were created speaks volumes.
Me thinks he doth protest to loudly.
By the by, Reb, thanks for your posts in '13
Actually IR was the one that pointed it out on a different thread.
I'll drop it.
I'm just glad I have a place to vent semi-anonymously. Tis Fight Club. Thanks sir. I find merit in most posts...even Satoshi Myamoto here.
Where is homosexual marriage on that list? I mean the way the fuckheads on the media cover it, you would think it was top 3 on that list.
Basically the lists are in order of where people are getting fucked the hardest and the most difficult problems to solve which is why the gov't spends 90% of it's time at the bottom of the shitlist. LOL. Oh i'm sure they have agendas as well. Fuck 'em all.
How can everybody miss the top risk we are now facing? Radiation from Fukushilma fallout. Perhaps, it is because it is conspicuously absent from the government-controlled media. There is only commentary from a few knowledgeable sources on the web.
Agree, but since you can't see radiation, and it takes years for a mass die off it gets bumped.
It is a radiological disaster on par with Chernobal, only this wound has been allowed to fester and spew its toxins for years now. The lack of any kind of international responce tells a story far worse than any nightmare.
They don't even know where the Corium is.
The first contrition by government will DESTROY the fishing industry.
They make more political hay with phony crisis then real ones.
I don't see any political party leading the charge either about doing something about the shithole the Pacific Ocean just got turned into.
Remember the cocksucker government guy who said the, "Ocean has a cleansing effect" when asked about all the shit dumped in it?
(I wish this were just tongue in cheek satire but we all know that there is indeed an EPA cubicle Nazi dreaming up just such a plan.)
http://theeveningchronicle.blogspot.com/2014/01/making-america-safe-from-itself.html
After reading the ANT catalog supplied by Snowden, I think I know why there was such a push for "smart guns".
So they could bug them too.
All new money has RFID.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/022904rfidtagsexplode.html
Shark attacks in Hawaii going fully parabolic.
The radiation impact on the food chain is a big contributor, the other is that Maui is "shitted out" on the west side, meaning cesspools, injection wells in Kihei, and boats dumping raw waste off Makena/Molokini. All that poop creates ciguatera which is a disease that makes critters go crazy and also die.
So the sharks are hungry, and crazy, and humans are no longer considered "bad meat".
http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/2013/12/apex-predators-in-hawaii-ar...
Young people want freedom, smoke pot and have sex and be told they are special, entitled and guaranteed the right to pursue their passion in life. They must respect everyone's opinion as right
That's bull shit. I don't see the Kardashian's anywhere on that list.
Notice that the bottom of the list - things people care about the least - is where the administration and its Leftist allies are throwing all their energy. Coincidence?
Obama said he's going to be the "last president".
That's fine with me as long as there is an Egyptian style military coup followed by public hangings and the installation of a new government comprised of out of work WalMart greeters.
Talking with the fam this holiday season can unfortunitely confirm the majority of these charts. However there were a couple in-laws that came over and brought me a beer saying that the like the cut of my jib based on some of the stuff I've been very vocal about regarding civil liberties, deficit spending, guns, etc.
Good to know I'll have some allies when the shit goes down and not just dead weight to protect.
My biggest concern as an American is how to convince the military industrial complex that it is time to move in with the US Navy Seals to arrest all members of the Federal Reserve and the CEOs of Citigroup, Wells Fargo, BofA, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. And, then, along with all the politicians that took bribes from them, to prosecute them as financial terrorists, confiscate their stolen wealth and redistribute it into private bitcoin accounts of every citizen ot the United States of America.
Bitcoin: Last Price $1001
i'm worried about the population, if there aren't enough young people to pay off the government deficits through economic growth. if on the other hand too many people are added to the world population, and they all begin to compete for dwindling resources, then we have inflation and shortages, starvation and famine. if the world population begins to shrink the economy will slip into deflation, and that will spiral downward taking living standards along with it. if the population remains the same there is no relief because the economy is built on the princilple of linear projected growth as far as the eye can see. the more people that are born the more terrorists there are, assuming maybe one terrorist per million, pretty soon those numbers add up, and then because they all communicate with each other using modern technology they get together and wreak havoc. so fewer people no terrorists, declining living standards, more people and inflation, dwindling resources, and starvation. if we can maintain a balanced population there will be no economic growth, but resources will dwindle anyway, and without acclerated economic growth we can't develop the technology to use old resources more efficiently, or develop new resources to solve our problems. the only solution i beleive is to rate everyone in the world according to intelligence and terminate the smartest 1/2 of that group. i am afraid that IBMs slogan, build a smarter planet has the opposite message. build a stupid planet where we can all drink, screw and be happy.
i would suggest forget the statistical canvas
representation of what anonymous entities might
imply and concentrate and reflect what is real
to the sentient aspect present and ongoing.
this is not a game here in 2014.
What the US population...
1. Fucking Video Games.
2. Free Phones.
3. Useless TV with hundreds of channels available,
4. The next propaganda film.
5. Global Warming.
6. Octomoms Boobs.
7. Miley Cyrus's camel toe.
8. Saving everyone but ourselves (especially our closest allies who fucked us over repeatedly).
9. Hope and Change (you asked for it you got it).
10. Save the penguins. (and the lost scotch in Antarctica).
11. Save the Bankers. (and lose your savings if you have any).
12. Save unlimited leverage in London (and store the proceeds offshore).
13. Fuck the constitution, it's only a piece of paper.
Let Free-Dumb ring.
More and more free stuff. Let's get the national debt ever higher and the Fed buying 50% of the US treasuries. Until it all implodes.
Pile it on Higher and Deeper,
Ben Bernanake, QEen Yellen, Charles Evans, William Dudley (Pile it on Higher and Deeper (PhD)).
Bullish!?
Knew some well-paid people taking severance packages on 12/31/2013.
They'll be added to the long-term unemployment ranks.
Obama pushes some of the long-term unemployed onto Social Security Disability.
More and more Obama supporters/Free Stuff Army is the name of his game.
Soon enough the national debt will be $20 trillion and climbing.
Dell announced VSP a while back and they are looking to trim the fat , as you can see HPQ has already done that for 2013 and this shit will continue.
Agreed, 20T is coming sooner than later. WTF were the idiots thinking when they voted for the community organizer who has never worked in his life.
They were thinking FREE SHIT!
Where "The Economy" = "Pyramid scam".
Nobody wondering why our "economy" changes so rapidly?
Great, make a list without...
TYRANNY.
So everyone can pretend that nobody cares about tyranny. Right. Sure. What BS. And since the list doesn't contain abuses like central-banksters gone wild or any other form of predatory authoritarianism, well, obviously those are no problem at all. Right?
!!!!! NOT !!!!!
Oh, and where on that list would be "scumbags who make disingenuous lists"? Right. Not a problem, huh? Sheesh.
Kickass!! You get me riled up Ann!
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.
Bertrand Russell
And people wonder why i am so crazy.
third way is a con operated by tptp to continue the corrupt status quo
Ann, right on target like usual!
While I wholeheartedly agree with you, I'm not sure Tyranny is on most people's radar. I mean, it's 'merica after all, Land of the sheep, home of the slave
WINNING!
http://redd.it/1u815s
Chairman of xyz, decides to blow out xyz. A high percentage of the dominoes are in place it seems.
Does gekkos birthday cause 1000 point flash crashes.
loss of constitutional rights? NO
NSA and illegal spying? NO
facism? NO
What the f.......... I guess most US citizens are more concerned with new season of american idol and/or what free shit they can get.
Is this a Blumenthal thing - this third way shit?
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printindividualProfile.asp?indid=954
No, this poll is just some nonsense most 'mericans give when we are trying to sound intellegent to a pollster. Here is the real list:
1) Sex
2) Football
3) Sex
4) American Idol
5) Sex
6) The new I (insert shitty chinese-made gadget name here)
7) Sex
8) (insert latest shitty overpriced hollywood movie with weak acting and an 8th grade plot/dialog)
9) Sex
10) Twerking
Duck Dynasty!!!
A&E has brilliant marketing department.
you know it!
What Americans should be most concerned about is trying not to have a lower standard of living for 75% than Guatemala. A Hispanic friend once told me when I asked what he thought will become of America: "why, it'll be just like the rest of Americas", he replied.
Well ya know, I tink some folks on them national news shows have been worryin da entire cuntry on da cold wedder we been havin. I can't seem to get away from her with da cold weder blabber. Youd a tink da whole worldsa comin to an end soon. Again. See, now ya got folks from around here running around talking about how cold it is. But it ain't no colder than it was last week. No other folks but us cared back then. And I don't care a stitch more now thun I done so a week ago.
I'dnt care aboot if ya never seen no snow bafore. Cut the whinin n the cryin. Its da winter.
Now ya choodlers got the Canucks makin fun at us ya wanks.
http://www.boatingaccidentnews.com/upper-mid-west-weather-forecast-for-1-6-14/
I know that everyone think most Americans are only concerned with American Idol et al. But gun sales are breaking all records across the country for several years running now. The American people are, in effect, gearing up for war. Most probably don´t have a clear conception of why they are gearing up for war, but they know something is seriously wrong with their government and the rule of law has broken down. The U.S. government is militarizing the homeland at breakneck speed, also gearing up for war. This is an arms race with a purpose. Any systemic break in the financial system, and it is On Like Donkey Kong. South America is beautiful this time of year by the way. It was 79 degrees and sunny where I am today without a cloud in the sky. Attended a beautiful outdoor church service with great music... willing to help anyone interested in coming here.
Before I send anyone your way, where in SA are you (or can you help)?
Peru is our Plan B. I have good in-laws and we have some "infrastructure" (bearing import co.) there.
Lima is cold & nasty in the winter though. And Peru is not for everyone, for rather few really.
Can't complain about the food... :)
EDIT:
It's also in the S. Hemisphere, so Fuku-resistant for a while.
I am in Argentina, the Cordoba Province, in the traslasierras, beautiful country. Argentina, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia are all good options for American ex-pats... as the other commenter mentioned... no Fukushima radiation here. Had a nice dinner of seafood, including sushi, the last time that I was in Cordoba: all Atlantic or freshwater: nary a hint of radiation.
I spent 5 years exploring the world before I chose a place to move. My final top-10 list had more places in south america than anywhere else (though I lumped several wonderful islands in the south pacific into one item). Chile and Peru were top choices.
I was tempted by the casey community in cafayate, though LEC was a bit out of my price range, and not the extreme boonies I prefer. The main downside of rural argentina for me was... distance to pacific ocean. OTOH, I ended up getting a nice little airplane that gets 75 miles per gallon, so now 200km or 300km is only an hour fly... and a gorgeous one at that (over the atacama andes).
Tell me about Cordoba Province... give me the name of a small town so I can fly there in google earth and understand where you are compared to my explorations.
I never say where I moved to ~3 years ago, other than to say it is in the southern hemisphere, and about 125km from the nearest human habitation (a "huge" town of almost 100 people).
I do get people asking me where to move, and usually I say Chile or Peru, because south pacific islands are a bit too "out there" for most people (while Mars isn't "out there" enough for me). I prefer to be near (if not in or overlooking) large bodies of water, either the pacific ocean or a huge lake (like maybe Titicaca for example... amazing place). But I also prefer low humidity... though my tolerance for modest humidity rises when living on south-pacific islands when the temperature stays withing narrow (and perfect) range all year long. I lived for many years in the driest part of Maui (Wailea) as an example, but it got too crowded, plus the USSA became home to predators gone wild.
My little airplane has 4000km+ range (even before I put in-cabin fuel blatters when I want another 2000km range)... and I love flying between dinky little islands all over the south-pacific. And the boonies south-america too. Maybe someday I'll fly over your neck of the woods to check it out. I like to see places before I send anyone to them. I'm about due for another little flying adventure. Love my dinky little high-tech airplane! And full-bore glass cockpit, GPS and autopilot make exploration all the easier.
Don't be surprised if I do send some folks your way. Thanks.
The only thing that changed/happened since 2007~2009 was that the fed printed out a bunch of money, handed it out to its friends, and those said friends took the money and left the country.
wonder what the answers to the gallup poll here were:
http://www.ibtimes.com/gallup-poll-biggest-threat-world-peace-america-1525008
A few years ago (before Nov 2008), protesters, students and the media were terribly worried about govt infringement on First Amendment Rights, American imperial overreach, military in the ME, drone strikes, Guantanamo, Fed govt corruption and cronyism, govt non transparency, oil drilling, on and on and on. Not so much now.
Nope. That wonderful hopey changey guy conned them in to thinking he was different than the last several galoots that were elected, or in the case of the media, they likely were told who to 'push' this time around. It is amazing how all those things like drones and patriot act protests are no more. Kinda hypocritical.
Singing from the same hymnal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC9Wqgt0hhg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Don't kid yourself for a minute. As deficient as the other presidents have been, Obama is far different and far worse than any president in history.
He actually dislikes the US. No other president felt that way. He hates our military as well.
As for Wall Street, Clinton and Bush 43 prosecuted 1,000 and 1,200 Wall Street crooks respectively. Obama has prosecuted 1. The difference is stark.
Obama must have some Jewish blood mixed in there somewhere with the rest of it. No wonder he and Kerry get along, they both have "Heinz 57" in common.
I would say it is not the economy, it is the currency.
i b inclined to say that two.
I would say it is not the economy, it is the currency.
After reading all of the comments before mine it amazes me that no one has mentioned the size of government. There can be little doubt that by the time that moves to the #1 slot, (and there is not a God-damned thing we can do to stop it from reaching there at the rate we are going), it will all be too late.
Let me put on my Johnny Carson turban and hold the envelope to my forehead.
"August, 2014".
Question: When will "size of government" move into the #1 concern with Americans, (and everyone else for that matter)?
If there is one thing I have learned from my time here on ZH is how to read the tea leaves of the macro economy. Before coming here I knew nothing about indicators like the BDI, (Baltic Dry Index, for you newbies). I knew nothing about Shadowfacts, and that the real unemployment rate is actually closer to 23% than 7.8%, (though intuitively I knew it was bad). I didn't knew that 70% of the US economy is driven by consumer spending, (and that that spending continues to decline and personal debt continues to climb). I wasn't even aware that my government and the Fed were punishing savers to save banksters.
The current US economy is propped up by incredibly colossal amount of government printing of currency. What has occurred in essence is that government has become the economy, not completely but mostly, (especially with the hijacking of the healthcare sector). It has fueled the greatest expansion in the size of not only government spending but of the size of government itself. All of these are unsustainable even in the shortest of terms in the coming future. Rising interest rates, even modest ones, will put the economy in a tailspin from which it will not recover until the collapse of the dollar is virtually complete. Once that freight train starts down the slope, no amount of fund injection/debt creation will be able to slow down the ravages of inflation.
50 years from now people will still speak of our folly. They will all say, They allowed their government to get too big." Then this will be common knowledge. Sadly it isn't today.