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America has been swallowed up by the globalists and will now be run from Beijing.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
12 Economic Collapse Scenarios That We Could Potentially See In 2011
The Economic Collapse
What could cause an economic collapse in 2011? Well, unfortunately there are quite a few "nightmare scenarios" that could plunge the entire globe into another massive financial crisis. The United States, Japan and most of the nations in Europe are absolutely drowning in debt. The Federal Reserve continues to play reckless games with the U.S. dollar. The price of oil is skyrocketing and the global price of food just hit a new record high. Food riots are already breaking out all over the world. Meanwhile, the rampant fraud and corruption going on in world financial markets is starting to be exposed and the whole house of cards could come crashing down at any time. Most Americans have no idea that a horrific economic collapse could happen at literally any time. There is no way that all of this debt and all of this financial corruption is sustainable. At some point we are going to reach a moment of "total system failure".
So will it be soon? Let's hope not. Let's certainly hope that it does not happen in 2011. Many of us need more time to prepare. Most of our families and friends need more time to prepare. Once this thing implodes there isn't going to be an opportunity to have a "do over". We simply will not be able to put the toothpaste back into the tube again.
So we had all better be getting prepared for hard times. The following are 12 economic collapse scenarios that we could potentially see in 2011....
#1 U.S. debt could become a massive crisis at any moment. China is saying all of the right things at the moment, but many analysts are openly worried about what could happen if China suddenly decides to start dumping all of the U.S. debt that they have accumulated. Right now about the only thing keeping U.S. government finances going is the ability to borrow gigantic amounts of money at extremely low interest rates. If anything upsets that paradigm, it could potentially have enormous consequences for the entire world financial system.
#2 Speaking of threats to the global financial system, it turns out that "quantitative easing 2" has had the exact opposite effect that Ben Bernanke planned for it to have. Bernanke insisted that the main goal of QE2 was to lower interest rates, but instead all it has done is cause interest rates to go up substantially. If Bernanke this incompetent or is he trying to mess everything up on purpose?
#3 The debt bubble that the entire global economy is based on could burst at any time and throw the whole planet into chaos. According to a new report from the World Economic Forum, the total amount of credit in the world increased from $57 trillion in 2000 to $109 trillion in 2009. The WEF says that now the world is going to need another $100 trillion in credit to support projected "economic growth" over the next decade. So is this how the new "global economy" works? We just keep doubling the total amount of debt every decade?
#4 As the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve continue to pump massive amounts of new dollars into the system, the floor could fall out from underneath the U.S. dollar at any time. The truth is that we are already starting to see inflation really accelerate and everyone pretty much acknowledges that official U.S. governments figures for inflation are an absolute joke. According to one new study, the cost of college tuition has risen 286% over the last 20 years, and the cost of "hospital, nursing-home and adult-day-care services" rose 269% during those same two decades. All of this happened during a period of supposedly "low" inflation. So what are price increases going to look like when we actually have "high" inflation?
#5 One of the primary drivers of global inflation during 2011 could be the price of oil. A large number of economists are now projecting that the price of oil could surge well past $100 dollars a barrel in 2011. If that happens, it is going to put significant pressure on the price of almost everything else in the entire global economy. In fact, as I have explained previously, the higher the price of oil goes, the faster the U.S. economy will decline.
#6 Food inflation is already so bad in some areas of the globe that it is setting off massive food riots in nations such as Tunisia and Algeria. In fact, there have been reports of people setting themselves on fire all over the Middle East as a way to draw attention to how desperate they are. So what is going to happen if global food prices go up another 10 or 20 percent and food riots spread literally all over the globe during 2011?
#7 There are persistent rumors that simply will not go away of massive physical gold and silver shortages. Demand for precious metals has never been higher. So what is going to happen when many investors begin to absolutely insist on physical delivery of their precious metals? What is going to happen when the fact that far, far, far more "paper gold" and "paper silver" has been sold than has ever actually physically existed in the history of the planet starts to come out? What would that do to the price of gold and silver?
#8 The U.S. housing industry could plunge the U.S. economy into another recession at any time. The real estate market is absolutely flooded with homes and virtually nobody is buying. This massive oversupply of homes means that the construction of new homes has fallen off a cliff. In 2010, only 703,000 single family, multi-family and manufactured homes were completed. This was a new record low, and it was down 17% from the previous all-time record which had just been set in 2009.
#9 A combination of extreme weather and disease could make this an absolutely brutal year for U.S. farmers. This winter we have already seen thousands of new cold weather and snowfall records set across the United States. Now there is some very disturbing news emerging out of Florida of an "incurable bacteria" that is ravaging citrus crops all over Florida. Is there a reason why so many bad things are happening all of a sudden?
#10 The municipal bond crisis could go "supernova" at any time. Already, investors are bailing out of bonds at a frightening pace. State and local government debt is now sitting at an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP. According to Meredith Whitney, the municipal bond crisis that we are facing is a gigantic threat to our financial system....
"It has tentacles as wide as anything I’ve seen. I think next to housing this is the single most important issue in the United States and certainly the largest threat to the U.S. economy."
Former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan is convinced that things are so bad that literally 90% of our states and cities could go bankrupt over the next five years....
#11 Of course on top of everything else, the quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble could burst at any time. Right now we are watching the greatest financial casino in the history of the globe spin around and around and around and everyone is hoping that at some point it doesn't stop. Today, most money on Wall Street is not made by investing in good business ideas. Rather, most money on Wall Street is now made by making the best bets. Unfortunately, at some point the casino is going to come crashing down and the game will be over.
#12 The biggest wildcard of all is war. The Korean peninsula came closer to war in 2010 than it had in decades. The Middle East could literally explode at any time. We live in a world where a single weapon can take out an entire city in an instant. All it would take is a mid-size war or a couple of weapons of mass destruction to throw the entire global economy into absolute turmoil.
Once again, let us hope that none of these economic collapse scenarios happens in 2011.
However, we have got to realize that we can't keep dodging these bullets forever.
As bad as 2010 was, the truth is that it went about as good as any of us could have hoped. Things are still pretty stable and times are still pretty good right now.
But instead of using these times to "party", we should be using them to prepare.
A really, really vicious economic storm is coming and it is going to be a complete and total nightmare. Get ready, hold on tight, and say your prayers.
View Original Article With Links HERE
What could cause an economic collapse in 2011? Well, unfortunately there are quite a few "nightmare scenarios" that could plunge the entire globe into another massive financial crisis. The United States, Japan and most of the nations in Europe are absolutely drowning in debt. The Federal Reserve continues to play reckless games with the U.S. dollar. The price of oil is skyrocketing and the global price of food just hit a new record high. Food riots are already breaking out all over the world. Meanwhile, the rampant fraud and corruption going on in world financial markets is starting to be exposed and the whole house of cards could come crashing down at any time. Most Americans have no idea that a horrific economic collapse could happen at literally any time. There is no way that all of this debt and all of this financial corruption is sustainable. At some point we are going to reach a moment of "total system failure".
So will it be soon? Let's hope not. Let's certainly hope that it does not happen in 2011. Many of us need more time to prepare. Most of our families and friends need more time to prepare. Once this thing implodes there isn't going to be an opportunity to have a "do over". We simply will not be able to put the toothpaste back into the tube again.
So we had all better be getting prepared for hard times. The following are 12 economic collapse scenarios that we could potentially see in 2011....
#1 U.S. debt could become a massive crisis at any moment. China is saying all of the right things at the moment, but many analysts are openly worried about what could happen if China suddenly decides to start dumping all of the U.S. debt that they have accumulated. Right now about the only thing keeping U.S. government finances going is the ability to borrow gigantic amounts of money at extremely low interest rates. If anything upsets that paradigm, it could potentially have enormous consequences for the entire world financial system.
#2 Speaking of threats to the global financial system, it turns out that "quantitative easing 2" has had the exact opposite effect that Ben Bernanke planned for it to have. Bernanke insisted that the main goal of QE2 was to lower interest rates, but instead all it has done is cause interest rates to go up substantially. If Bernanke this incompetent or is he trying to mess everything up on purpose?
#3 The debt bubble that the entire global economy is based on could burst at any time and throw the whole planet into chaos. According to a new report from the World Economic Forum, the total amount of credit in the world increased from $57 trillion in 2000 to $109 trillion in 2009. The WEF says that now the world is going to need another $100 trillion in credit to support projected "economic growth" over the next decade. So is this how the new "global economy" works? We just keep doubling the total amount of debt every decade?
#4 As the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve continue to pump massive amounts of new dollars into the system, the floor could fall out from underneath the U.S. dollar at any time. The truth is that we are already starting to see inflation really accelerate and everyone pretty much acknowledges that official U.S. governments figures for inflation are an absolute joke. According to one new study, the cost of college tuition has risen 286% over the last 20 years, and the cost of "hospital, nursing-home and adult-day-care services" rose 269% during those same two decades. All of this happened during a period of supposedly "low" inflation. So what are price increases going to look like when we actually have "high" inflation?
#5 One of the primary drivers of global inflation during 2011 could be the price of oil. A large number of economists are now projecting that the price of oil could surge well past $100 dollars a barrel in 2011. If that happens, it is going to put significant pressure on the price of almost everything else in the entire global economy. In fact, as I have explained previously, the higher the price of oil goes, the faster the U.S. economy will decline.
#6 Food inflation is already so bad in some areas of the globe that it is setting off massive food riots in nations such as Tunisia and Algeria. In fact, there have been reports of people setting themselves on fire all over the Middle East as a way to draw attention to how desperate they are. So what is going to happen if global food prices go up another 10 or 20 percent and food riots spread literally all over the globe during 2011?
#7 There are persistent rumors that simply will not go away of massive physical gold and silver shortages. Demand for precious metals has never been higher. So what is going to happen when many investors begin to absolutely insist on physical delivery of their precious metals? What is going to happen when the fact that far, far, far more "paper gold" and "paper silver" has been sold than has ever actually physically existed in the history of the planet starts to come out? What would that do to the price of gold and silver?
#8 The U.S. housing industry could plunge the U.S. economy into another recession at any time. The real estate market is absolutely flooded with homes and virtually nobody is buying. This massive oversupply of homes means that the construction of new homes has fallen off a cliff. In 2010, only 703,000 single family, multi-family and manufactured homes were completed. This was a new record low, and it was down 17% from the previous all-time record which had just been set in 2009.
#9 A combination of extreme weather and disease could make this an absolutely brutal year for U.S. farmers. This winter we have already seen thousands of new cold weather and snowfall records set across the United States. Now there is some very disturbing news emerging out of Florida of an "incurable bacteria" that is ravaging citrus crops all over Florida. Is there a reason why so many bad things are happening all of a sudden?
#10 The municipal bond crisis could go "supernova" at any time. Already, investors are bailing out of bonds at a frightening pace. State and local government debt is now sitting at an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP. According to Meredith Whitney, the municipal bond crisis that we are facing is a gigantic threat to our financial system....
"It has tentacles as wide as anything I’ve seen. I think next to housing this is the single most important issue in the United States and certainly the largest threat to the U.S. economy."
Former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan is convinced that things are so bad that literally 90% of our states and cities could go bankrupt over the next five years....
#11 Of course on top of everything else, the quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble could burst at any time. Right now we are watching the greatest financial casino in the history of the globe spin around and around and around and everyone is hoping that at some point it doesn't stop. Today, most money on Wall Street is not made by investing in good business ideas. Rather, most money on Wall Street is now made by making the best bets. Unfortunately, at some point the casino is going to come crashing down and the game will be over.
#12 The biggest wildcard of all is war. The Korean peninsula came closer to war in 2010 than it had in decades. The Middle East could literally explode at any time. We live in a world where a single weapon can take out an entire city in an instant. All it would take is a mid-size war or a couple of weapons of mass destruction to throw the entire global economy into absolute turmoil.
Once again, let us hope that none of these economic collapse scenarios happens in 2011.
However, we have got to realize that we can't keep dodging these bullets forever.
As bad as 2010 was, the truth is that it went about as good as any of us could have hoped. Things are still pretty stable and times are still pretty good right now.
But instead of using these times to "party", we should be using them to prepare.
A really, really vicious economic storm is coming and it is going to be a complete and total nightmare. Get ready, hold on tight, and say your prayers.
View Original Article With Links HERE
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Feds Come Knocking For Home Inspections
Bob Unruh
WorldNetDaily
Some citizens outraged, calling probe 'illegal search and invasion' of property.
A sanitation district in Pennsylvania has notified homeowners that its representatives will be making personal visits to every structure served by its network of drainpipes because that's what the federal Environmental Protection Agency is demanding.
The letter informs homeowners the inspections will probably take only about 15 minutes, but that all properties "will be considered a source of clear water discharges until an inspection can be conducted."
The effort, according to officials at the Coplay Whitehall Sewer Authority, is to prevent water from sources such as sump pumps or downspouts from being channeled into a water treatment process.
But homeowners are concerned about the mandatory government inspections of their properties.
"I do consider this the equivalent of illegal search and invasion of my home without just cause and [it] establishes a situation where I am guilty and must prove innocence," one homeowner, who asked that his identity be withheld, told WND.
"This inspection is to determine if I am 'discharging' 'clean water' into the sewer system. At no point in the letter does it say exactly what will be looked at, (I guess leaky faucets will be a crime) what else may be being evaluated while my property is being inspected, what is on the 'check list' or report that is being done, and really exactly who is doing the inspection," he said.
Officials with the sanitation district confirmed that they dispatched the letter and said the inspections are being demanded by the EPA. However, officials at the regional EPA office and those at its Washington headquarters declined to respond to WND questions about the process or its goals.
The letter to homeowners said the district was served "with a United States Environmental Protection Agency Administration Order which requires elimination of all Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) and the elimination of all clear water from entering each respective municipality's sanitary sewer system."
"The Administrative Order carries severe penalties and fines if compliance with the Order is not achieved," the letter said.
"In order to meet the requirements of the EPA Order, the CWSA finds it necessary to conduct door to door inspections of all properties connected to the CWSA system to ensure your property is not contributing clear water discharges to the sanitary sewer systems."
The letter warned that "failure by the CWSA to comply with the EPA order will result in fines and penalties levied against the CWSA which in turn will be passed on to CWSA customers through increased sanitary sewer rates."
The homeowner told WND, "I find myself becoming more and more angry as I process the ramifications of this whole issue. This may be just to look for 'clean water discharge' (what a joke – I wonder if they will look to see if I'm in the shower too long and not standing under the flow of water enough and I better not run the water for a glass of cold water), but this is, like the sexual assaults of the TSA, the beginning of accepting illegal and unwarranted searches.
"It is happening here, but from the letter I get the feeling that it is being done elsewhere with the goal of having the EPA visit every single home/apartment in America to collect who knows what information … and if this is for clean water, what will be next?" the homeowner said.
The sanitation district's own website confirms there apparently are other ways to obtain some information, since it describes how it "utilizes a 'state of the art' television inspection system, reviewing 30 miles of line/year to assure maintenance of an exemplary 'tight' system."
The district website confirms that there are 13,500 properties served by the "approximately 120 miles of line," meaning that the entire system could be reviewed once every four years with the separate system it uses.
It advises that "rainwater, downspouts, basement drains and sump pump discharges" should not be connected or piped into the sanitary district's drains.
View Original Article With Links HERE
WorldNetDaily
Some citizens outraged, calling probe 'illegal search and invasion' of property.
A sanitation district in Pennsylvania has notified homeowners that its representatives will be making personal visits to every structure served by its network of drainpipes because that's what the federal Environmental Protection Agency is demanding.
The letter informs homeowners the inspections will probably take only about 15 minutes, but that all properties "will be considered a source of clear water discharges until an inspection can be conducted."
The effort, according to officials at the Coplay Whitehall Sewer Authority, is to prevent water from sources such as sump pumps or downspouts from being channeled into a water treatment process.
But homeowners are concerned about the mandatory government inspections of their properties.
"I do consider this the equivalent of illegal search and invasion of my home without just cause and [it] establishes a situation where I am guilty and must prove innocence," one homeowner, who asked that his identity be withheld, told WND.
"This inspection is to determine if I am 'discharging' 'clean water' into the sewer system. At no point in the letter does it say exactly what will be looked at, (I guess leaky faucets will be a crime) what else may be being evaluated while my property is being inspected, what is on the 'check list' or report that is being done, and really exactly who is doing the inspection," he said.
Officials with the sanitation district confirmed that they dispatched the letter and said the inspections are being demanded by the EPA. However, officials at the regional EPA office and those at its Washington headquarters declined to respond to WND questions about the process or its goals.
The letter to homeowners said the district was served "with a United States Environmental Protection Agency Administration Order which requires elimination of all Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) and the elimination of all clear water from entering each respective municipality's sanitary sewer system."
"The Administrative Order carries severe penalties and fines if compliance with the Order is not achieved," the letter said.
"In order to meet the requirements of the EPA Order, the CWSA finds it necessary to conduct door to door inspections of all properties connected to the CWSA system to ensure your property is not contributing clear water discharges to the sanitary sewer systems."
The letter warned that "failure by the CWSA to comply with the EPA order will result in fines and penalties levied against the CWSA which in turn will be passed on to CWSA customers through increased sanitary sewer rates."
The homeowner told WND, "I find myself becoming more and more angry as I process the ramifications of this whole issue. This may be just to look for 'clean water discharge' (what a joke – I wonder if they will look to see if I'm in the shower too long and not standing under the flow of water enough and I better not run the water for a glass of cold water), but this is, like the sexual assaults of the TSA, the beginning of accepting illegal and unwarranted searches.
"It is happening here, but from the letter I get the feeling that it is being done elsewhere with the goal of having the EPA visit every single home/apartment in America to collect who knows what information … and if this is for clean water, what will be next?" the homeowner said.
The sanitation district's own website confirms there apparently are other ways to obtain some information, since it describes how it "utilizes a 'state of the art' television inspection system, reviewing 30 miles of line/year to assure maintenance of an exemplary 'tight' system."
The district website confirms that there are 13,500 properties served by the "approximately 120 miles of line," meaning that the entire system could be reviewed once every four years with the separate system it uses.
It advises that "rainwater, downspouts, basement drains and sump pump discharges" should not be connected or piped into the sanitary district's drains.
View Original Article With Links HERE
Austerity In America: 22 Signs That It Is Already Here And That It Is Going To Be Very Painful
The Economic Collapse
Over the past couple of years, most Americans have shown little concern as austerity measures were imposed on financially troubled nations across Europe. Even as austerity riots erupted in nations such as Greece and Spain, most Americans were still convinced that nothing like that could ever happen here. Well, guess what? Austerity has arrived in America. At this point, it is not a formal, mandated austerity like we have seen in Europe, but the results are just the same. Taxes are going up, services are being slashed dramatically, thousands of state and city employees are being laid off, and politicians seem to be endlessly talking about ways to make even deeper budget cuts. Unfortunately, even with the incredibly severe budget cuts that we have seen already, many state and local governments across the United States are still facing a sea of red ink as far as the eye can see.
Most Americans tend to think of "government debt" as only a problem of the federal government. But that is simply not accurate. The truth is that there are thousands of "government debt problems" from coast to coast. Today, state and local government debt has reached at an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP. It is a crisis of catastrophic proportions that is not going away any time soon.
A recent article in the New York Times did a good job of summarizing the financial pain that many state governments are feeling right now. Unfortunately, as bad as the budget shortfalls are for this year, they are projected to be even worse in 2012....
While state revenues — shrunken as a result of the recession — are finally starting to improve somewhat, federal stimulus money that had propped up state budgets is vanishing and costs are rising, all of which has left state leaders bracing for what is next. For now, states have budget gaps of $26 billion, by some estimates, and foresee shortfalls of at least $82 billion as they look to next year’s budgets.
So what is the solution? Well, for state and local politicians from coast to coast, the answer to these financial problems is to impose austerity measures. Of course they never, ever use the term "austerity measures", but that is exactly what they are.
The following are 22 signs that austerity has already arrived in America and that it is going to be very, very painful....
#1 The financial manager of the Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, has submitted a proposal to close half of all the schools in the city. His plan envisions class sizes of up to 62 students in the remaining schools.
#2 Detroit Mayor Dave Bing wants to cut off 20 percent of the entire city from police and trash services in order to save money.
#3 Things are so tight in California that Governor Jerry Brown is requiring approximately 48,000 state workers to turn in their government-paid cell phones by June 1st.
#4 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing to completely eliminate 20 percent of state agencies.
#5 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has closed 20 fire departments at night and is proposing layoffs in every single city agency.
#6 In the state of Illinois, lawmakers recently pushed through a 66 percent increase in the personal income tax rate.
#7 The town of Prichard, Alabama came up with a unique way to battle their budget woes recently. They simply stopped sending out pension checks to retired workers. Of course this is a violation of state law, but town officials insist that they just do not have the money.
#8 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently purposely skipped a scheduled 3.1 billion dollar payment to that state's pension system.
#9 The state of New Jersey is in such bad shape that they still are facing a $10 billion budget deficit for this year even after cutting a billion dollars from the education budget and laying off thousands of teachers.
#10 Due to a very serious budget shortfall, the city of Newark, New Jersey recently made very significant cuts to the police force. Subsequently, there has been a very substantial spike in the crime rate.
#11 The city of Camden, New Jersey is "the second most dangerous city in America", but because of a huge budget shortfall they recently felt forced to lay off half of the city police force.
#12 Philadelphia, Baltimore and Sacramento have all instituted "rolling brownouts" during which various city fire stations are shut down on a rotating basis.
#13 In Georgia, the county of Clayton recently eliminated its entire public bus system in order to save 8 million dollars.
#14 Oakland, California Police Chief Anthony Batts has announced that due to severe budget cuts there are a number of crimes that his department will simply not be able to respond to any longer. The crimes that the Oakland police will no longer be responding to include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism.
#15 In Connecticut, the governor is asking state legislators to approve the biggest tax increase that the state has seen in two decades.
#16 All across the United States, conditions at many state parks, recreation areas and historic sites are deplorable at best. Some states have backlogs of repair projects that are now over a billion dollars long. The following is a quote from a recent MSNBC article about these project backlogs....
More than a dozen states estimate that their backlogs are at least $100 million. Massachusetts and New York's are at least $1 billion. Hawaii officials called park conditions "deplorable" in a December report asking for $50 million per year for five years to tackle a $240 million backlog that covers parks, trails and harbors.
#17 The state of Arizona recently announced that it has decided to stop paying for many types of organ transplants for people enrolled in its Medicaid program.
#18 Not only that, but Arizona is do desperate for money that they have even sold off the state capitol building, the state supreme court building and the legislative chambers.
#19 All over the nation, asphalt roads are actually being ground up and are being replaced with gravel because it is cheaper to maintain. The state of South Dakota has transformed over 100 miles of asphalt road into gravel over the past year, and 38 out of the 83 counties in the state of Michigan have transformed at least some of their asphalt roads into gravel roads.
#20 The state of Illinois is such a financial disaster zone that it is hard to even describe. According to 60 Minutes, the state of Illinois is six months behind on their bill payments. 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Croft asked Illinois state Comptroller Dan Hynes how many people and organizations are waiting to be paid by the state, and this is how Hynes responded....
"It's fair to say that there are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people waiting to be paid by the state."
#21 The city of Chicago is in such dire straits financially that officials there are actually toying with the idea of setting up a city-owned casino as a way to raise cash.
#22 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is desperately looking for ways to cut the budget and he says that "hundreds of jurisdictions" in his state could go bankrupt over the next few years.
But everything that you have just read is only the beginning. Budget shortfalls for our state and local governments are projected to be much worse in the years ahead.
So what is the answer? Well, our state and local governments are going to have to spend less money. That means that we are likely to see even more savage budget cutting.
In addition, our state and local politicians are going to feel intense pressure to find ways to "raise revenue". In fact, we are already starting to see this happen.
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, over the past couple of years a total of 36 out of the 50 U.S. states have raised taxes or fees of some sort.
So hold on to your wallets, because the politicians are going to be coming after them.
We are entering a time of extreme financial stress in America. The federal government is broke. Most of our state and local governments are broke. Record numbers of Americans are going bankrupt. Record numbers of Americans are being kicked out of their homes. Record numbers of Americans are now living in poverty.
The debt-fueled prosperity of the last several decades came at a cost. We literally mortgaged the future. Now nothing will ever be the same again.
View Article With Links HERE
Over the past couple of years, most Americans have shown little concern as austerity measures were imposed on financially troubled nations across Europe. Even as austerity riots erupted in nations such as Greece and Spain, most Americans were still convinced that nothing like that could ever happen here. Well, guess what? Austerity has arrived in America. At this point, it is not a formal, mandated austerity like we have seen in Europe, but the results are just the same. Taxes are going up, services are being slashed dramatically, thousands of state and city employees are being laid off, and politicians seem to be endlessly talking about ways to make even deeper budget cuts. Unfortunately, even with the incredibly severe budget cuts that we have seen already, many state and local governments across the United States are still facing a sea of red ink as far as the eye can see.
Most Americans tend to think of "government debt" as only a problem of the federal government. But that is simply not accurate. The truth is that there are thousands of "government debt problems" from coast to coast. Today, state and local government debt has reached at an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP. It is a crisis of catastrophic proportions that is not going away any time soon.
A recent article in the New York Times did a good job of summarizing the financial pain that many state governments are feeling right now. Unfortunately, as bad as the budget shortfalls are for this year, they are projected to be even worse in 2012....
While state revenues — shrunken as a result of the recession — are finally starting to improve somewhat, federal stimulus money that had propped up state budgets is vanishing and costs are rising, all of which has left state leaders bracing for what is next. For now, states have budget gaps of $26 billion, by some estimates, and foresee shortfalls of at least $82 billion as they look to next year’s budgets.
So what is the solution? Well, for state and local politicians from coast to coast, the answer to these financial problems is to impose austerity measures. Of course they never, ever use the term "austerity measures", but that is exactly what they are.
The following are 22 signs that austerity has already arrived in America and that it is going to be very, very painful....
#1 The financial manager of the Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, has submitted a proposal to close half of all the schools in the city. His plan envisions class sizes of up to 62 students in the remaining schools.
#2 Detroit Mayor Dave Bing wants to cut off 20 percent of the entire city from police and trash services in order to save money.
#3 Things are so tight in California that Governor Jerry Brown is requiring approximately 48,000 state workers to turn in their government-paid cell phones by June 1st.
#4 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing to completely eliminate 20 percent of state agencies.
#5 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has closed 20 fire departments at night and is proposing layoffs in every single city agency.
#6 In the state of Illinois, lawmakers recently pushed through a 66 percent increase in the personal income tax rate.
#7 The town of Prichard, Alabama came up with a unique way to battle their budget woes recently. They simply stopped sending out pension checks to retired workers. Of course this is a violation of state law, but town officials insist that they just do not have the money.
#8 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently purposely skipped a scheduled 3.1 billion dollar payment to that state's pension system.
#9 The state of New Jersey is in such bad shape that they still are facing a $10 billion budget deficit for this year even after cutting a billion dollars from the education budget and laying off thousands of teachers.
#10 Due to a very serious budget shortfall, the city of Newark, New Jersey recently made very significant cuts to the police force. Subsequently, there has been a very substantial spike in the crime rate.
#11 The city of Camden, New Jersey is "the second most dangerous city in America", but because of a huge budget shortfall they recently felt forced to lay off half of the city police force.
#12 Philadelphia, Baltimore and Sacramento have all instituted "rolling brownouts" during which various city fire stations are shut down on a rotating basis.
#13 In Georgia, the county of Clayton recently eliminated its entire public bus system in order to save 8 million dollars.
#14 Oakland, California Police Chief Anthony Batts has announced that due to severe budget cuts there are a number of crimes that his department will simply not be able to respond to any longer. The crimes that the Oakland police will no longer be responding to include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism.
#15 In Connecticut, the governor is asking state legislators to approve the biggest tax increase that the state has seen in two decades.
#16 All across the United States, conditions at many state parks, recreation areas and historic sites are deplorable at best. Some states have backlogs of repair projects that are now over a billion dollars long. The following is a quote from a recent MSNBC article about these project backlogs....
More than a dozen states estimate that their backlogs are at least $100 million. Massachusetts and New York's are at least $1 billion. Hawaii officials called park conditions "deplorable" in a December report asking for $50 million per year for five years to tackle a $240 million backlog that covers parks, trails and harbors.
#17 The state of Arizona recently announced that it has decided to stop paying for many types of organ transplants for people enrolled in its Medicaid program.
#18 Not only that, but Arizona is do desperate for money that they have even sold off the state capitol building, the state supreme court building and the legislative chambers.
#19 All over the nation, asphalt roads are actually being ground up and are being replaced with gravel because it is cheaper to maintain. The state of South Dakota has transformed over 100 miles of asphalt road into gravel over the past year, and 38 out of the 83 counties in the state of Michigan have transformed at least some of their asphalt roads into gravel roads.
#20 The state of Illinois is such a financial disaster zone that it is hard to even describe. According to 60 Minutes, the state of Illinois is six months behind on their bill payments. 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Croft asked Illinois state Comptroller Dan Hynes how many people and organizations are waiting to be paid by the state, and this is how Hynes responded....
"It's fair to say that there are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people waiting to be paid by the state."
#21 The city of Chicago is in such dire straits financially that officials there are actually toying with the idea of setting up a city-owned casino as a way to raise cash.
#22 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is desperately looking for ways to cut the budget and he says that "hundreds of jurisdictions" in his state could go bankrupt over the next few years.
But everything that you have just read is only the beginning. Budget shortfalls for our state and local governments are projected to be much worse in the years ahead.
So what is the answer? Well, our state and local governments are going to have to spend less money. That means that we are likely to see even more savage budget cutting.
In addition, our state and local politicians are going to feel intense pressure to find ways to "raise revenue". In fact, we are already starting to see this happen.
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, over the past couple of years a total of 36 out of the 50 U.S. states have raised taxes or fees of some sort.
So hold on to your wallets, because the politicians are going to be coming after them.
We are entering a time of extreme financial stress in America. The federal government is broke. Most of our state and local governments are broke. Record numbers of Americans are going bankrupt. Record numbers of Americans are being kicked out of their homes. Record numbers of Americans are now living in poverty.
The debt-fueled prosperity of the last several decades came at a cost. We literally mortgaged the future. Now nothing will ever be the same again.
View Article With Links HERE
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The Global Currency is Coming! NWO Plan is in Motion!
Nathan Leal was a guest on Trunews with Rick Wiles - Friday (1-14-11)
This program had three guests.
Nathan has been given insider info on the coming NWO plan for a global currency. He shared this info on the program.
The second guest has a different (insider) source & shares similar info on what the "NWO powers that be" are doing behind the scenes.
Third guest Augusto Perez shares the message God gave him about a coming dollar devaluation.
Coming soon: a global currency, dollar devaluation of 50% to 70%. Savings accounts and the middle class to be wiped out! We must get ready!
http://www.trunews.com/Audio/1_14_11_friday_trunews2.mp3
The wheels are in motion! Please listen to this and warn your friends and families. We are running out of time!!
God Bless
This program had three guests.
Nathan has been given insider info on the coming NWO plan for a global currency. He shared this info on the program.
The second guest has a different (insider) source & shares similar info on what the "NWO powers that be" are doing behind the scenes.
Third guest Augusto Perez shares the message God gave him about a coming dollar devaluation.
Coming soon: a global currency, dollar devaluation of 50% to 70%. Savings accounts and the middle class to be wiped out! We must get ready!
http://www.trunews.com/Audio/1_14_11_friday_trunews2.mp3
The wheels are in motion! Please listen to this and warn your friends and families. We are running out of time!!
God Bless
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Food Prices Rise Higher Than Ever As Globalists Predict Food Riots
The Intel Hub
Alex
We have worked extensively to document rising food prices and possible coming food shortages. Now the Food and Agriculture Organization of 55 food commodities has recorded that global food prices hit an all time record in December.
Natural News
Figures recently released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) index of 55 food commodities indicates that worldwide food prices hit a record high in December. Though the costs of some food commodities like rice, corn and soy actually decreased, oil seeds and sugar jumped significantly due to various factors including erratic weather and droughts, according to reports.
In the past, such ups and downs on the commodity market did not immediately affect actual food costs for consumers, but some experts say that this is no longer the case, and that “food inflation” will occur right alongside the commodity price gains. And rapid food inflation has already taken place in India, for example, with recent reports indicating that the country experienced an overall food inflation rate of 18 percent in 2010.
Food Inflation is very real yet certain Congressman are working to disarm the American people which will potentially kill thousands of citizens who would be unable to protect them selves during food riots or a martial law type scenario.
Bloomberg
Philippe Chalmin, an economic adviser to the French government has warned of coming food riots as early as April. Freezing temps in Europe and droughts in Argentina has lead to speculation that grain prices are set to skyrocket.
Crop damage caused by flooding in Australia and drought in Argentina is likely to boost grain prices in coming months, Chalmin, an economics professor at the University of Paris- Dauphine, said in an interview in the French capital today.
“I’m very concerned,” Chalmin said. “Around Easter we could start to see food riots.”
World food prices advanced to a record in December, partly driven by higher sugar prices, the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization reported yesterday. The FAO’s cereal index rose to the highest level since August 2008, remaining about 37 points below the record level in April that year.
The world may face social unrest including food riots in April as grain prices increase, said Philippe Chalmin, an economic adviser to the French government.
Is this fear based reporting or are we really looking at social unrest and/or martial law due to rising food prices worldwide?
With globalists such as World Bank President Robert Zoellick pushing for more so called “global stability” in the food market, it is clear that this is a REAL food crisis CREATED by the very people who will eventually pose the solution.
The Telegraph
The cause of such alarm? On Wednesday, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported that global food prices had hit a record high and were likely to go on rising, entering what Abdolreza Abbassian, its senior grains economist, called “danger territory”.
Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, warns that the rising prices are “a threat to global growth and social stability”, and Nicolas Sarkozy has identified them as a priority for the G20, which he chairs this year.
That is bad enough for Britain, adding to the inflationary pressures from the soaring cost of oil and other commodities, not to mention the VAT increase. But for the world’s poor, who have to spend 80 per cent of their income on food, it could be catastrophic.
At this point it would be insane to not stock up on food as it is very evident that this globalist imposed food crisis is on the horizon.
■Sarkozy takes G20 case to Obama as food prices soar
■Gwynne Dyer: The future of food riots
■JPMorgan: Rising Food Prices Fuelling Inflation
■Violence Over Rising Food Prices
■The Great Food Crisis of 2011
■UPDATE: Food Riots Begin In Middle East and South Asia!
View Original Article With Links HERE
Alex
We have worked extensively to document rising food prices and possible coming food shortages. Now the Food and Agriculture Organization of 55 food commodities has recorded that global food prices hit an all time record in December.
Natural News
Figures recently released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) index of 55 food commodities indicates that worldwide food prices hit a record high in December. Though the costs of some food commodities like rice, corn and soy actually decreased, oil seeds and sugar jumped significantly due to various factors including erratic weather and droughts, according to reports.
In the past, such ups and downs on the commodity market did not immediately affect actual food costs for consumers, but some experts say that this is no longer the case, and that “food inflation” will occur right alongside the commodity price gains. And rapid food inflation has already taken place in India, for example, with recent reports indicating that the country experienced an overall food inflation rate of 18 percent in 2010.
Food Inflation is very real yet certain Congressman are working to disarm the American people which will potentially kill thousands of citizens who would be unable to protect them selves during food riots or a martial law type scenario.
Bloomberg
Philippe Chalmin, an economic adviser to the French government has warned of coming food riots as early as April. Freezing temps in Europe and droughts in Argentina has lead to speculation that grain prices are set to skyrocket.
Crop damage caused by flooding in Australia and drought in Argentina is likely to boost grain prices in coming months, Chalmin, an economics professor at the University of Paris- Dauphine, said in an interview in the French capital today.
“I’m very concerned,” Chalmin said. “Around Easter we could start to see food riots.”
World food prices advanced to a record in December, partly driven by higher sugar prices, the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization reported yesterday. The FAO’s cereal index rose to the highest level since August 2008, remaining about 37 points below the record level in April that year.
The world may face social unrest including food riots in April as grain prices increase, said Philippe Chalmin, an economic adviser to the French government.
Is this fear based reporting or are we really looking at social unrest and/or martial law due to rising food prices worldwide?
With globalists such as World Bank President Robert Zoellick pushing for more so called “global stability” in the food market, it is clear that this is a REAL food crisis CREATED by the very people who will eventually pose the solution.
The Telegraph
The cause of such alarm? On Wednesday, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported that global food prices had hit a record high and were likely to go on rising, entering what Abdolreza Abbassian, its senior grains economist, called “danger territory”.
Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, warns that the rising prices are “a threat to global growth and social stability”, and Nicolas Sarkozy has identified them as a priority for the G20, which he chairs this year.
That is bad enough for Britain, adding to the inflationary pressures from the soaring cost of oil and other commodities, not to mention the VAT increase. But for the world’s poor, who have to spend 80 per cent of their income on food, it could be catastrophic.
At this point it would be insane to not stock up on food as it is very evident that this globalist imposed food crisis is on the horizon.
■Sarkozy takes G20 case to Obama as food prices soar
■Gwynne Dyer: The future of food riots
■JPMorgan: Rising Food Prices Fuelling Inflation
■Violence Over Rising Food Prices
■The Great Food Crisis of 2011
■UPDATE: Food Riots Begin In Middle East and South Asia!
View Original Article With Links HERE
Timeline of Recent Mysterious Bird, Fish Deaths
Mike Adams
Natural News
(NaturalNews) The recent mysterious deaths of birds and fish are causing alarm among naturalists around the world. Birds are literally falling dead out of the sky, and fish are washing up dead on shores and rivers across North America and around the world. The reaction from the mainstream media seems strangely subdued, as if they're all just blowing this off as some unexplained quirk about the natural world that should be largely ignored.
NaturalNews readers think differently. We are concerned when thousands of dead birds fall out of the sky for no apparent reason. The sky itself may not be falling, but previously live animals are clearly falling out of it. If that's not enough reason to wonder what the heck is happening to our planet, then what is?
These are clear signs that something is wrong. Red flags from nature, if you will. Here's the timeline of recent deaths that have been reported:
12.13.10 - Thousands of dead barramundi fish wash up in Australia, unknown causes. View HERE
12.15.10 - Thousands of dead fish wash ashore on Florida beach, blamed on cold weather. View HERE
12.17.10 - Dead fish wash ashore at lake beach in Indiana, blamed on winter storms. View HERE
12.18.10 - Thousands of dead fish turn up in bay in Philippines, unknown causes. View HERE
12.22.10 - More than a hundred dead pelicans turn up in North Carolina, unknown causes. View HERE
12.23.10 - Hundreds of dead sea creatures wash ashore in South Carolina, blamed on cold water. View HERE
12.23.10 - Ten tons of mostly dead fish found in fishing net in New Zealand, unknown causes. View HERE
12.27.10 - Scores of dead fish wash ashore in a lake in Haiti, unknown causes. View HERE
12.28.10 - 70 bats found dead in Tucson, Ariz., unknown causes. View HERE
12.29.10 - Dozens of fish found dead in San Antonio, Texas, unknown causes (http://www.ksat.com/news/26316464/d...)
12.31.10 - 5,000+ birds found dead in Arkansas, suffering from massive trauma and blood clots. View HERE
01.03.11 - 100,000+ dead drum fish found in Arkansas river, unknown causes. View HERE
01.03.11 - Dozens of dead birds show up in a woman's backyard in Kentucky, unknown causes. View HERE
01.03.11 - Tens of thousands of dead fish wash ashore in Chesapeake Bay, Md., blamed on cold water. View HERE
01.03.11 - 100 tons of dead fish wash ashore in Brazil, unknown causes. View HERE
01.04.11 - Several dead manatees found on Florida coast, unknown causes. View HERE
01.04.11 - Thousands of dead fish wash up on creek in Florida, unknown causes. View HERE
01.04.11 - Hundreds of dead fish was ashore on St. Clair River in Ontario, Can., unknown causes. View HERE
01.04.11 - Hundreds of dead black birds found on highway in Louisiana, suffering from internal injuries and blood clots. View HERE
01.05.11 - Hundreds of dead birds found on highway in Texas, unknown causes. View HERE
01.05.11 - Large amount of dead fish wash up on New Zealand beaches, unknown causes. View HERE
01.05.11 - Up to 100 jackdaw birds found dead on road in Sweden, unknown causes. View HERE
01.06.11 - 40,000+ dead Devil crabs washed ashore in the U.K., unknown causes. View HERE
01.07.11 - More than 1,000 dead turtle doves found in Italy, unknown causes. View HERE
01.10.11 - Countless fish found dead in U.K. brook, unknown causes. View HERE
01.11.11 - Thousands of gizzard shad fish float to the top of Lake Michigan and wash up on the shores near Chicago, blamed on cold weather. View HERE
NaturalNews will continue to cover this story in the days ahead. Watch NaturalNews.com for more breaking news on this topic.
View Original Article HERE
Natural News
(NaturalNews) The recent mysterious deaths of birds and fish are causing alarm among naturalists around the world. Birds are literally falling dead out of the sky, and fish are washing up dead on shores and rivers across North America and around the world. The reaction from the mainstream media seems strangely subdued, as if they're all just blowing this off as some unexplained quirk about the natural world that should be largely ignored.
NaturalNews readers think differently. We are concerned when thousands of dead birds fall out of the sky for no apparent reason. The sky itself may not be falling, but previously live animals are clearly falling out of it. If that's not enough reason to wonder what the heck is happening to our planet, then what is?
These are clear signs that something is wrong. Red flags from nature, if you will. Here's the timeline of recent deaths that have been reported:
12.13.10 - Thousands of dead barramundi fish wash up in Australia, unknown causes. View HERE
12.15.10 - Thousands of dead fish wash ashore on Florida beach, blamed on cold weather. View HERE
12.17.10 - Dead fish wash ashore at lake beach in Indiana, blamed on winter storms. View HERE
12.18.10 - Thousands of dead fish turn up in bay in Philippines, unknown causes. View HERE
12.22.10 - More than a hundred dead pelicans turn up in North Carolina, unknown causes. View HERE
12.23.10 - Hundreds of dead sea creatures wash ashore in South Carolina, blamed on cold water. View HERE
12.23.10 - Ten tons of mostly dead fish found in fishing net in New Zealand, unknown causes. View HERE
12.27.10 - Scores of dead fish wash ashore in a lake in Haiti, unknown causes. View HERE
12.28.10 - 70 bats found dead in Tucson, Ariz., unknown causes. View HERE
12.29.10 - Dozens of fish found dead in San Antonio, Texas, unknown causes (http://www.ksat.com/news/26316464/d...)
12.31.10 - 5,000+ birds found dead in Arkansas, suffering from massive trauma and blood clots. View HERE
01.03.11 - 100,000+ dead drum fish found in Arkansas river, unknown causes. View HERE
01.03.11 - Dozens of dead birds show up in a woman's backyard in Kentucky, unknown causes. View HERE
01.03.11 - Tens of thousands of dead fish wash ashore in Chesapeake Bay, Md., blamed on cold water. View HERE
01.03.11 - 100 tons of dead fish wash ashore in Brazil, unknown causes. View HERE
01.04.11 - Several dead manatees found on Florida coast, unknown causes. View HERE
01.04.11 - Thousands of dead fish wash up on creek in Florida, unknown causes. View HERE
01.04.11 - Hundreds of dead fish was ashore on St. Clair River in Ontario, Can., unknown causes. View HERE
01.04.11 - Hundreds of dead black birds found on highway in Louisiana, suffering from internal injuries and blood clots. View HERE
01.05.11 - Hundreds of dead birds found on highway in Texas, unknown causes. View HERE
01.05.11 - Large amount of dead fish wash up on New Zealand beaches, unknown causes. View HERE
01.05.11 - Up to 100 jackdaw birds found dead on road in Sweden, unknown causes. View HERE
01.06.11 - 40,000+ dead Devil crabs washed ashore in the U.K., unknown causes. View HERE
01.07.11 - More than 1,000 dead turtle doves found in Italy, unknown causes. View HERE
01.10.11 - Countless fish found dead in U.K. brook, unknown causes. View HERE
01.11.11 - Thousands of gizzard shad fish float to the top of Lake Michigan and wash up on the shores near Chicago, blamed on cold weather. View HERE
NaturalNews will continue to cover this story in the days ahead. Watch NaturalNews.com for more breaking news on this topic.
View Original Article HERE
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