“Unemployment holds at 10 percent,” read assorted headlines in response to December’s employment data provided by the Department of Labor.
The headlines represent a brave effort by the administration’s supporters to put a good spin on the bad news. Although not great, things are at least not getting worse is the implication. But things are getting worse. Last month the economy actually shed 85,000 jobs. The reason why the loss did not push up the jobless rate was because over the same period 600,000 discouraged people gave up looking for work. Because of this, they are no longer classified as unemployed. Had those workers been taken into the account, the December unemployment rate would have been 10.4 percent, the highest in almost thirty years.
When all those who have given up looking for employment are included, we get an overall unemployment level of 17.3 percent. This is the number that really matters, because it is a true gauge of the job market. It is also the measure that is given when people talk about the unemployment numbers during the Great Depression. Significantly, today’s picture is beginning to increasingly resemble that of the 1930s. And as luck would have it, all this is happening under the auspices of the man who rode into the Oval Office on promises of swift fixes.
As an aside, when unemployment was barely 5 percent in 2007 the media kept talking about the worst economy in our lifetimes. Today the grossly understated unemployment rate of 10 percent is a sign that things are “steady” and “stable.” Can you imagine what would have happened if the rate had shot up to 10 percent under George W. Bush? The refrain would have been “impeach and crucify.”
It would not, however, be fair to take President Obama’s promise of quick remedies too literally. It was made in the heat of a campaign when politicians must say all kinds of things to stand a chance. The president was actually correct when he later observed that the problems from which we suffer were long in the making and cannot be fixed overnight. Our problems are for the most part rooted in the many years of liberal/leftists policies, which, sadly, have been practiced by both parties. They also happen to be the same policies that President Obama has relentlessly pursued since the first day of his presidency. They include include government expansion, reckless borrowing, unsustainably low interest rates, heavy regulation and federal intrusion into every part of our lives.
This being said, the American economy has always possessed an inner resilience that time and again made it possible to shake off blows inflicted by the political class. The one exception was the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt – a driven and charismatic centralizer – whose policies kept the economy in the grip of a depression for over a decade. Given Obama’s FDR-like faith in the efficacy of government intervention, we may not only have a reprisal, but things may actually get worse than they did in the 1930s.
There are several reasons for that. When FDR assumed office the American economy was fundamentally stronger. The United States was an industrial giant producing and exporting goods. The private sector was largely free and the federal government was incomparably smaller than it is now. There was no federal debt to speak of and we had a sound gold-based currency. Today things are much different. We have a consumption-based economy. Around 70 percent of all economic activity in the United States is made up of consumer spending. Most of what we consume is imported from abroad and much of it is bought on credit. Bloated and octopus-like, the federal government stands poised to squeeze every last life-drop from the battered private sector. It controls, regulates and taxes as never before. Not content with the trillions it has extracted from the productive sector, it has assumed gargantuan debts it cannot pay.
Government propaganda notwithstanding, this nation can only be saved through revival of the private sector, since the private sector is the only institution that can create real jobs and real wealth. Government is the last place we should look to for provision, because in the final analysis government can only smoother, pilfer and waste. This is a truth we seem to have forgotten as a nation. It is now costing us dearly as we have a president who is using the power of the state to strangle America’s private enterprise. So vigorous his efforts have been that they even impressed the die-hard socialist Hugo Chavez. When commenting on Obama’s nationalization of General Motors, Chavez referred to our president as “comrade.”
But praise and approval from Chavez do not necessarily certify one’s competence given that Chavez is driving his own country into ruin. Although rich in oil, Venezuela is plagued with poverty and shortages of all kinds. It even has to ration energy and recently the government devalued the currency because of fiscal mismanagement.
Disturbing as it may sound, what we are seeing in Venezuela today may well be a preview of what’s in store for America. We are, in fact, already getting a partial taste of it. To begin with, we have an overbearing government that wants to run and control (Chavez-like) every aspect of our society. Our real unemployment is higher than that of Venezuela. Certain parts of this country have experienced blackouts. And the utter fiscal irresponsibility of on the part of our leaders has resulted in a dramatic drop in the value of our currency.
Looking at all this, one gets the feeling that our system is on the edge of a precipice and that only a mild push would suffice to send it tumbling down. Unfortunately, we have people in Washington whose misguided policies may well deliver that push. Such an event would be bad news for Americans, but it would certainly please Chavez who has repeatedly prophesied America’s collapse because its capitalism. Should there indeed be a collapse the Venezuelan will have been only half right. Genuine capitalism has never brought down any country, because capitalism engenders wealth, stability and prosperity. What bring societies down is those who nationalize, regulate and overspend. And they like to call themselves “comrades.”
[...] Continue reading at Frontpage [...]
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Read this one. It is really good. And this gentleman says it just like it is.
This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii
for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body, he has never spoken out before about a government official, until now. He dictated this letter to a friend, signed it and mailed it to the president. Consult : http://xrl.us/bgeewc
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Vince Humphreys, GM Dispatch. GM Dispatch said: Comrades’ Way – Front Page – When commenting on Obama’s nationalization of General Motors, Chavez referred to our p… http://ow.ly/16ntWY [...]
Is future gloomy also for America ?
Consult: http://xrl.us/bgs93x
[...] By Vasko Kohlmayer [...]
[...] President Obama’s Policies Are Bearing The Same Fruit As Those Of His Socialist Counterparts [...]
It is probabilistic, not deductive, reasoning that best deals with causal relationships. While we cannot conclude with certainty from the truth of documented facts concerning his Marxist associations that Barack Obama himself is a Marxist, it is reasonable to conclude that there is a significant probability that he is and doing so commits no logical fallacy. So his associations are not, as his defenders maintain, irrelevant as evidence of his own beliefs. They are, in fact, determinant/
In view of this president’s nationalization of the banking and auto industries — and his impending nationalization of health care — it’s hard to seriously gainsay such speculation. Next week we shall see that a major means of his doing so involves adopting the Marxist principle that his father championed most: that of wealth redistribution.
Well said Sniper. But there is nothing “casual” about his extoling and teaching his students the ways of his prophet, Saul Alinsky in his class rooms when he was a prof. Nor is it casual for every one of his people, Hillary included, to be of like mind. The only difference is they would refute the charge of “”Marxist” but gladly wear the robe of “Progressive.” As if there is a difference between Socialist and Progressive. They would never admit that, ad infinitum, the end result must be the same, Marxisim.
[...] Read the whole thing at FrontPage Magazine. [...]
[...] MORE [...]
You have a wonderful blog. I enjoyed reading it very much. Thanks keep up the great work.
I see a commie comparison, between BH Obamas' and 'Canadian PM; Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Both administrations 'described as "Arrogant", both increased Huge Deficits, 'Nationalization of Industry (PET w Petro-Can BHO w Banks & Auto'); Alienation of the Military & the Spending to proportions of National Suicide..both with Socialist Fellow Travellers;
Both' Comrades 'a Big Mistake.! Baraks aspriations are mush more ambitious however.
FALL Of The Republic – The Presidency Of Barack H Obama – The Full Movie HQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8LPNRI_6T8&fe…
WORLDNETDAILY.COM
'The Secret of Oz' banned by e-commerce giant
November 21, 2009
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
After being sold on Amazon.com for only three days, a new DVD video
documentary on the state of the economy has been banned by the e-commerce giant for mysterious reasons, according to the fimmaker.
"You may no longer sell on our site," said Amazon in an email to Still Productions at noon yesterday.
Still's documentary suggests government debt is at the root of the world's global economic problems.
"In the coming year, the federal government will spend $4 trillion, but it will have to borrow half of that from big banks, both here and abroad," he explains. "It creates a vicious cycle of government debt dependency. Government just can't say no to them – or so officials think."
This was Thomas Jefferson's main complaint about the U.S. Constitution as well: "I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution … taking from the federal government the power of borrowing."
So what can be done with the national debt rocketing above $12 trillion?
"You can't just reduce the national debt," explains Still. "You have to change the system and eliminate it entirely. We have to eliminate the ability of the government to borrow our money into existence. There are ways to do this. 'The Secret of Oz' shows that we've done it before in American history; and we can do it again. The federal government has to be put on a pay-as-you-go basis."
In "The Secret of Oz," Still, the filmmaker behind the mega-successful "The Money Masters," warns the U.S. is heading for a deep Depression – unless lawmakers address the root of the problem: mounting interest payments
on the national debt.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pag…
"The Secret of Oz" trailer – How to Fix the 2010 Depression – directed by Bill Still
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cq9yEVcGIU&fe…
There is no doubt, that the American economy is being deliberately destroyed. Homeless shelters are filled to capacity. Tent cities have sprung up all over America filled with jobless homeless, desperate, neglected Americans. Steps must be taken immediately before many millions of Americans become jobless, homeless and starving, with no money or resources to help them. G-D help America!
Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’
By Roger Runningen and Hans Nichols
May 14 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.
“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”
Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”…
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&a…
Obama admits the terrible financial destruction wrought against Americans. WHY THEN DOES OBAMA NOT IMMEDIATELY REVERSE THIS TRAGEDY?
A major investor states America is going to reach Zimbabwe hyperinflation.
http://economyincrisis.org/articles/show/2942
Billions of dollars urgently needed for America's defense is instead gifted to Islam. Nuclear Iran and nuclear North Korea both state they intend to destroy America. They are not idle threats. The same venomous hate for the U.S. is shared by other nations and Muslim terrorist organizations. The treasonous response of the U.S. government to America's increasing danger, is to drastically reduce our defenses facilitating America's annihilation.
See: Aloha, "Star Wars" By: Washington Times Editorial
Washington Times | Monday, June 29, 2009
http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTI…
The situation is very desperate. The U.S. is BROKE, but BILLIONS for Muslim FAVORITES:
DRUDGE REPORT
'WE'RE OUT OF MONEY'
May 23 2009
In a sobering holiday interview with C-SPAN, President Obama boldly told Americans: "We are out of money."
SCULLY: You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt, a national deficit of $11 trillion. At what point do we run out of money?
OBAMA: Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits
http://www.drudgereport.com/flashocs.htm
CREEPINGSHARIA.COM
Obama’s Supplemental Bill Passes, Gives Billions to Enemies?
By creeping
Barack Obama’s 2009 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Pandemic Flu was revised and “passed by the full committee”. Not sure what the next step is, but based on the summary, it gives billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to countries and entities that support sharia law and/or harbor, hide and support those who want to destroy the U.S. and our allies.
Read the summary from David Obey’s office that was quietly released last week with nary a word from any media.
• $3.6 billion, matching the request, to expand and improve capabilities of the Afghan security forces
• $400 million, as requested, to build the counterinsurgency capabilities of the Pakistani security forces
• Afghanistan: $1.52 billion, $86 million above the request
• West Bank and Gaza: $665 million in bilateral economic, humanitarian, and security assistance for the West Bank and Gaza
• Jordan: $250 million, $250 million above the request, including $100 million for economic and $150 million for security assistance
• Egypt: $360 million, $310 million above the request, including $50 million for economic assistance, $50 million for border security, and $260 million for security assistance
• Pakistan: $1.9 billion, $591 million above the request
• Iraq: $968 million, $336 million above the request
• Oversight: $20 million, $13 million above the request, to expand oversight capacity of the State Department, USAID, and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan to review programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq
• Israel: $555 million of the $2.8 billion 2010 request for security assistance, $555 million above the supplemental request. (Note: that means Obama’s original request did not include any money for Israel in 2009)
• Lebanon: $74 million
• International Food Assistance: $500 million, $200 million above the request, for PL 480 international food assistance to alleviate suffering during the global economic crisis
• Refugee Assistance: $343 million, $50 million above the request, …including humanitarian assistance for Gaza. Funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency programs in the West Bank and Gaza is limited to $119 million (Note: Gaza = Hamas)
• Disaster Assistance: $200 million to avert famines and provide life-saving assistance during natural disasters and for internally displaced people around the world, including Somalia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, the Middle East and South Asia
http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/ob…
Continued from above…
• Peacekeeping: $837 million for United Nations peacekeeping operations, including an expanded mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a new mission in Chad and the Central African Republic
• HIV/AIDS: $100 million, $100 million above the request, for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to address a funding shortfall for grants in key countries such as Haiti, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Afghanistan. (Note: That means Obama’s original request didn’t include any money for AIDs)
• Africa: $151 million, $18 million above the request, for economic and security assistance for Kenya, Somalia, Southern Sudan, and Zimbabwe
• Mexico: $470 million, $404 million above the request, to address growing violence along the United States-Mexico border by supporting the Government of Mexico’s war against organized crime and drug-trafficking
• Georgia: $242 million to fulfill the United States commitment to the people of Georgia
• Global Financial Crisis: $300 million, $148 million below the request, to address the global financial crisis in developing countries
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation: $55 million, $34.5 million below the request, for the National Nuclear Security Administration to safeguard nuclear material in Russia and other sites world-wide
• Department of Justice: $17 million, matching the request, for counter-terrorism activities and to provide training and assistance for the Iraqi criminal justice system
Updates:
Mass media remains silent on this but the International News has now picked up the story
…and then there is Obama’s $108 billion IMF bailout scheme in addition to the Supplemental
Related:
To really add insult to injury, check our previous Creeping Sharia post – Obama asks Congress to allow U.S. funds to terrorist Hamas govt
The Obama administration has asked Congress to let aid to Palestinians continue if Hamas backers are included in a new unity government, observers say. The proposed change in U.S. law would be necessary because Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is designated as a terrorist organization and therefore cannot receive U.S. aid.
http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/ob…
Whilst homeless shelters are filled to capacity and desperate jobless and homeless, NEGLECTED Americans are living in tent cities, billions are gifted to highly favored Muslims. How can America survive?
[...] Comrades’ Way | FrontPage Magazine [...]
[...] happening under the auspices of the man who rode into the Oval Office on promises of swift fixes. Read more from FrontPageMag.com Social [...]
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