It doesn't help that the one solution that would have worked, as Iceland did, would have been to forgive billions in debt that were created illegally in the first place with credit default swaps, bad loans, and sky high interest rates. But as we bailed out the rich first and told the rest of us to go jump off a bridge, our economy is actually doing much worse than many suspect.
Take the inflation rate which since 2000 has yo-yoed between near 0% (in 2009 which is not a shocker) to as high as just over 4% in 2008 (again no shocker there). The funny part of these stats the government shows us do not reflect nationwide prices. If the inflation rate was indeed this low, prices we see everywhere would reflect that, but instead show a far higher rate of inflation, as high as 11% in some years. Disney just raised their rates $4 to a whopping $96 a day. When I was there in 2007, the price was $67, meaning a rise of almost thirty dollars in seven years. The US inflation rate was around 15% according to their stats. But the Disney inflation rate is DOUBLE that at 30%. Or take your cable bill which has gone up 4 times the rate of inflation in the last ten years. Hell, even a Big Mac costs 25% more than it did in 2007. So where in the hell are all these savings? Ah the wonders of statistics where if you manipulate them enough you can show how an elephant can dangle off a cliff holding onto a daisy. You see televisions have dropped in price dramatically, as have many electronics as they are wont to do. Likewise clothes, as they are mostly made in sweatshops overseas, haven't increased much at all for the past decade, so if I add these into the mix, viola, low, low inflation, even though most things like oil, college, food and entertainment have all skyrocketed. The actual inflation rate is most likely between 6 and 11% PER YEAR. And the American People are getting screwed over it.
Here's the only way to save this country anymore and, unfortunately, it is the least likely to happen because most of you out there are morons who can't see the speeding train in front of you. However, if you are reading this right now, you are most likely as exasperated as I am with how dumb your co-worked and bosses really are. and are part of the small minority who see we are a bug rapidly approaching the windshield. The best way to save us is both debt forgiveness and a huge raise for the middle class. Until the middle class has buying power again, we can hold out breath until we turn blue and it won't change the fact that nothing else we try will work. It can't. But like the Swiss who fell for scare tactics when they turned down the highest minimum wage in the world of $25 an hour, so do idiots here who keep harping on how the minimum wage will destroy the world without any facts to back it up. I keep hearing how people will be priced out the market, which never made any sense to me as the only group who would truly suffer are teens and too bad for them as they don't have to work to survive like the rest of us. The stats say differently. As a matter of fact I have issued this question to anyone who can answer it: Name me any country in the world that has raised the minimum wage and saw their economy fail as a result. Good luck as I have never found one yet.
Australia just raised their minimum wage to $16 an hour and their economy is doing far better than ours.
We also keep hearing how great the housing market is. When you look at the actual stats though, you see most are bought now cash only, favoring the rich over the middle class once again, heavily populated by equity firms buying rental properties and the number one type of dwelling being built right now by a huge margin are multi-family homes. Renting is the new king now, which is driving up rental prices in areas like SF, Boston and DC and driving out long time residences that can no longer afford to live there. This trend shows no sign of abatement any time soon or at least until the whole housing market crashes again, which it is likely to do.
So our government, instead of fixing well just about anything, they are going the opposite route of cracking down harder and harder on dissent while taking away as many Constitutional rights as they can. Right now, President Douchebag is negotiating with the EU on the horrific TTIP, which would give corporations sovereignty over countries and people's rights. Obama is becoming more and more fascist with every passing day and his idiocy is selling us all down the river. Protestors tried to gather to voice their opinion in Brussels but were driven back by water cannons. The EU wants more fracking which is fine and well for them as they recently banned it in their countries. But hey if the US wants to fuck up their country, that's fine I guess. Reporters haven't even been let in to these deals which are taking place in total secrecy. If we knew how much they planned on dictating our every move in life, we'd probably string them up by their ears. So much for Obama's promise on transparency during his term, along with everything else he has ever said. I swear if the next President is as bad as this one, I'm moving to Mars.
In turn, every government agency seems to be arming themselves to the teeth, including ones you wouldn't expect like the Post Office, USDA and the FDA. Why exactly do these guys need sub machine guns with 30 round ammo and bullet proof vests? In Pennsylvania now cops can search your car without a warrant, just "probable cause." Here's how every traffic stop will go on for now: Cop "I smell weed." And then you are screwed as you should worry about cops planting something on you because private prisons need manpower. This is already happening in many places like RI, NV, AZ and NM which are already using forfeiture laws to steal money from law abiding citizens. That's right, people who have done nothing wrong other than have lots of cash on hand are having it confiscated with no hope of getting it back. How is that not piracy?
It gets worse. A federal court just ruled that cops can break into your home without a warrant and seize your guns if you "pose a threat to society." Yeah no chance that will be misused. If they do start this en masse I hope they head the words of Col. Trautman from Rambo when he said what the police would need is "a good supply of body bags." And the cops just kicked in my door, broke all my teeth and then left after trashing the place and finding no weapons. Good times.
The point of all this is this country is going to hell in a handbasket and it may be too late to do anything about it. The police are armed to the teeth while we are being told guns are bad and no one should have them except cops. That is a recipe for a dictatorship which we are rapidly heading toward. Start being proactive and help stop this by ending voting for any Republican and most democrats who refuse to help the middle class. Make your voice heard or else be prepared to be in chains as the corporate world runs over us roughshod.
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