tagged w/ The Economy
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Did you know that there are thousands upon thousands of homeless people that are living underground beneath the streets of major U.S. cities? It is happening in Las Vegas, it is happening in New York City and it is even happening in Kansas City. As the economy crumbles, poverty in the United States is absolutely exploding and so is homelessness. In addition to the thousands of "tunnel people" living under the streets of America, there are also thousands that are living in tent cities, there are tens of thousands that are living in their vehicles and there are more than a million public school children that do not have a home to go back to at night. The federal government tells us that the recession "is over" and that "things are getting better", and yet poverty and homelessness in this country continue to rise with no end in sight. So what in the world are things going to look like when the next economic crisis hits?
When I heard that there were homeless people living in a network of underground tunnels beneath the streets of Kansas City, I was absolutely stunned. I have relatives that live in that area. I never thought of Kansas City as one of the more troubled cities in the United States.
But according to the Daily Mail, police recently discovered a network of tunnels under the city that people had been living in...
Full Story: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-tunnel-people-that-live-under-the-streets-of-americaDid you know that there are thousands upon thousands of homeless people that are... more
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The mainstream media is absolutely giddy that the U.S. unemployment rate has hit a "four-year low" of 7.7 percent. But is unemployment in the United States actually going down? After all, you would think that it should be. The Obama administration has "borrowed" more than 6 trillion dollars from future generations of Americans, interest rates have been pushed to all-time lows, and the Federal Reserve has been wildly printing more money in a desperate attempt to "stimulate" the economy. So have those efforts been successful? Well, according to the mainstream media, the U.S. unemployment rate is falling steadily. Headlines all over the nation boldly declared that "236,000 jobs" were added to the economy in February, but what they didn't tell you was that the number of Americans "not in the labor force" rose by 296,000. And that is how they are getting the unemployment rate to go down - by pretending that huge numbers of unemployed Americans don't want jobs. Sadly, as you will see below, the truth is that the percentage of working age Americans that have a job is just 0.1% higher than it was exactly three years ago. And we have not even come close to getting back to where we were before the last economic crisis. For example, more than 146 million Americans were employed back in 2007. But today, only 142.2 million Americans have a job even though our population has grown steadily since then. So where in the world is this "economic recovery" that they keep talking about?
Full Story: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-chart-that-proves-that-the-mainstream-media-is-lying-to-you-about-unemploymentThe mainstream media is absolutely giddy that the U.S. unemployment rate has hit a... more
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As politicians and the media tell you that the US is about to go over the fake "fiscal cliff," here's an interesting piece of data for you all. Believe it or not, the US deficit has fallen faster over the past 3 YEARS than it has at any similar stretch of time since WORLD WAR II.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RJKZhZzBk-AAs politicians and the media tell you that the US is about to go over the fake... more
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“One Hundred Portraits from the Occupation” is an emotionally moving photo-documentary by New York City street photographer Joseph O. Holmes. It is a beautiful collection of photographs that brilliantly encapsulates the blend of cultures represented by people participating in the Occupy Wall Street protests at New York’s Zuccotti Park.
Holmes describes his work here as an attempt to present his photographs without editorializing, as an effort to capture the portraits in Zuccotti Park with as little political content as possible. The balance for which he seems to strive is one that allows empathy for his subjects to shine through, but without making the portraits in any way his own political statement. His portraits vividly capture the humanity of these people, countering the hostile and dismissive portrayals with which they too often are labeled.
This piece includes a number of stunning high-resolution color photographs, a photo-gallery and a documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/occupy-wall-street-one-hundred-portraits-from-the-occupation/“One Hundred Portraits from the Occupation” is an emotionally moving... more
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An interview from The Washington Straight Talk series of April 28, 1975 with House Majority Leader Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neil, discussing Vietnam, the Economy, Watergte, Gerald Ford, Nixon, Congress and the fine art of being friends with someone from "the other side".An interview from The Washington Straight Talk series of April 28, 1975 with House... more
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-The unemployed got a break in the stimulus plan recently passed by Congress, which contains an extension of jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed that will last throughout 2011. But that could be a mixed blessing. Some of the jobless may be tempted to accept unemployment benefits instead of taking low-paying work, since it could add up more money. But prolonged joblessness can also be a pernicious situation that permanently pushes people into an underclass of labor-force dropouts. As unemployment drags on, it becomes much harder to find work down the road, since skills erode, contacts move on, and employers look askance at long periods of inactivity. On the other hand, many employers will be happy to hire jobless folks who show initiative and desire, especially as hiring picks up and the pool of available workers shrinks.
The undereducated. The value of education has never been clearer. The unemployment rate for people who never graduated high school is 15 percent--depression-level joblessness. For high-school grads with no college, unemployment is 10.4 percent, and for college grads it's just 4.9 percent. Unskilled or low-skilled jobs in manufacturing, construction, and other fields will return slowly, if at all, since many of them can be outsourced to other countries where labor costs are lower. That makes education the single-biggest determinant of career success.
more of this :
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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Who-Will-Struggle-in-usnews-1712944905.html?x=0
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http://img1.eyefetch.com/p/og/537079-a1d00b6e-43f5-4210-9079-bc157e984cd6l.jpg-The unemployed got a break in the stimulus plan recently passed by Congress, which... more
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"It is the biggest bang for the buck when you do food stamps and unemployment insurance. The biggest bang for the buck," she said.
Gingrich on Tuesday wrote a letter critical of the Democrats' stewardship of the economy and urged all Republican candidates to shape the political debate as one "between the Democratic Party of food stamps and the Republican Party of paychecks."http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/06/pelosi-fires-back-at-gingrich-over-food-stamps/"It is the biggest bang for the buck when you do food stamps and unemployment... more
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For some people, our economy may be turning around, but millions of families are at risk of going hungry, in one of the richest nations on earth. The poorest people in America are those who were the first to feel the downturn, and will be the last to feel the country’s financial recovery. The hardworking poor in America’s heartland, with their long and deep traditions in mining, manufacturing and military service, are increasingly seen in food pantry lines, feeling ashamed and angry. Their stories and images push beyond stereotypes and reveal a hidden America of families living in poverty, which is both surprising and haunting.
This piece includes a number of emotionally moving photographs, a memorable slide show, three documentary short films about poverty in America and the Kris Kristofferson music video, “This Old Road.”
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/the-poor-in-america-friends-and-neighbors-in-the-heartland/For some people, our economy may be turning around, but millions of families are at... more
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~y2010m1d18-Ron-Pauls-ideas-gaining-voters-attention
Ron Paul's ideas gaining voters attention~y2010m1d18-Ron-Pauls-ideas-gaining-voters-attention
Ron Paul's ideas gaining... more
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Even in a Recovery, Some Jobs Won't Return
The Wall Street Journal-
Even when the U.S. labor market finally starts adding more workers than it loses, many of the unemployed will find that the types of jobs they once had simply don't exist anymore.
The downturn that started in December 2007 delivered a body blow to U.S. workers. In two years, the economy shed 7.2 million jobs, pushing the jobless rate from 5% to 10%, according to the Labor Department. The severity of the recession is reshaping the labor market. Some lost jobs will come back. But some are gone forever, going the way of typewriter repairmen and streetcar operators.
Many of the jobs created by the booms in the housing and credit markets, for example, have likely been permanently erased by the subsequent bust.
"The tremendous amount of economic activity associated with housing, I can't see that coming back," says Harvard University economist Lawrence Katz. "That was a very unhealthy part of the economy."
Unhealthy but a boon for men without a college education. One in three jobs, or six million total, have been lost in the manufacturing sector since 1997, the last year the sector posted job gains. The upsurge in construction jobs accompanying the housing boom provided these workers in manufacturing with an opportunity to earn decent wages.
Now that door, too, has shut. With 1.6 million jobs lost over the last two years, the construction sector has accounted for more than a fifth of the jobs lost since the recession began.
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http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/108558/even-in-a-recovery-some-jobs-wont-return
http://threepercenters.com/construction-worker3.jpgEven in a Recovery, Some Jobs Won't Return
The Wall Street Journal-
Even when... more
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A two-year string of job losses appears to be near an end, if it hasn't ended already.
But most economists don't expect the employment picture to significantly improve anytime this year -- or over the next few years for that matter.
The unemployment rate, which stood at 10% in November, is expected to stay uncomfortably high for the foreseeable future. Some experts even suggest that the labor market won't be able to fully recover from the 7.2 million jobs lost since the start of 2008 before another recession and round of job losses.
This probably won't be a jobless recovery, like the 21-month period that followed the 2001 recession during which an additional 1.1 million jobs were lost. Most economists are looking for employers to start adding to U.S. payrolls early this year.
Some believe the government will report an increase in jobs for December this Friday. That would be the first increase in payrolls in two years, although the consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com is for another loss of 35,000 jobs.
10 Best Places for jobs
The first step of climbing out of the job hole is to stop digging. So a positive payroll number would be significant. But the hole the economy fell into during the Great Recession is so deep, the return of hiring won't do much to significantly fix the weak job market.
"The problem is recovery doesn't mean recovered," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute. "We need a long recovery to get back 7 million jobs."
Achuthan believes even if there is decent growth this year, there will be slow growth over the course of the expansion. That means it could take as long as 10 years to recover all the lost jobs -- and that assumes that there isn't another recession in that time frame. Achuthan believes another recession later this decade is likely.
(more @ link)A two-year string of job losses appears to be near an end, if it hasn't ended... more
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“Ghosts of Shopping Past” is a photo-documentary by Brian Ulrich, a photographer who lives and works in Chicago. His work has been shown in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Museum of Contemporary Photography. He is a 2009 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellow.
Brian Ulrich’s photographs of closed-down malls and big-box retail stores reveal the potential ghost towns lying inside successful shopping complexes all across America. His photo-documentary is a testament to the devastating impact of the current financial recession, as well as to the failed illusions of a lifestyle based upon unbridled American consumerism.
This piece includes a number of very memorable high-resolution photographs, as well as a remarkable, haunting slide show.
Please visit my website to view these stunning photographs, and the memorable slide show:
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/ghosts-of-shopping-past-the-failed-illusions-of-american-consumerism/“Ghosts of Shopping Past” is a photo-documentary by Brian Ulrich, a... more
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Now onto
.. JUST CLICK ..
The fast forward button on our remote is killing TV advertising... Not only are sales down on just about all essential economic resources advertising budgets are not working. The American economy needs people to start clicking. When internet consumers start exploring the advertisements on websites and video’s you will essentially be taking money from big corporations and putting it into the hands of small business. We can get some of that TARP money back to who it really belongs to, The people.. Every ad you click is essentially new money transfered from the super rich company to many small companies.Now onto
.. JUST CLICK ..
The fast forward button on our remote is killing TV... more
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Now onto
.. JUST CLICK ..
The fast forward button on our remote is killing TV advertising... Not only are sales down on just about all essential economic resources advertising budgets are not working. The American economy needs people to start clicking. When internet consumers start exploring the advertisements on websites and video’s you will essentially be taking money from big corporations and putting it into the hands of small business. We can get some of that TARP money back to who it really belongs to, The people.. Every ad you click is essentially new money transfered from the super rich company to many small companies.Now onto
.. JUST CLICK ..
The fast forward button on our remote is killing TV... more
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Government obligations for Social Security and Medicare may soon exceed the combined net worth of every household and nonprofit organization in the country.
Prices dropped last year. But we still need to invest to protect ourselves from inflation. That's why our retirement-plan investing needs an inflation "tilt." You'll understand why in a few paragraphs.
How bad will future inflation be? I don't know. Neither does anyone else. It could be a normal inflation of 3% to 4% a year. It could also be a banana-republic 10% a month.
What we know is that all governments make promises they can't fulfill. Our government certainly has. Under both political parties, it has taken promise making to a high art. This is not hyperbole. The figures can be found in regularly published government reports.Government obligations for Social Security and Medicare may soon exceed the combined... more
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This much we know: Hand evil a big, sticky gob of power, and it quickly becomes a feral monster, dangerous and cruel and willing to sell its own shriveled heart and the heart of its very remorseful mother for a shot at everlasting infamy, even more power and maybe some fresh, raw kitten blood, intravenously, just for the hell of it.
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Oh, but take that same vile leviathan and suddenly strip away all its power and influence and capacity for wickedness, and watch it deflate like a wheezing circus tent, quickly turning into a trembling caricature of its former self, a tiny, elfin thing small enough to fit into a shoebox of panic and pathos and residual Godspit.
Behold, this delightful rule in full effect with the once portentous, now pitiable Republican party. Watch in wonder as gaffe follows gaffe, astonishing pronouncement follows childish meltdown, ludicrous statement leads into pure comedy of errors followed by moderate 40-year veterans of the party splitting for bluer, less abusive pastures. What a scene.
There is much good news to be found in the ongoing GOP implosion; their obsession with 'wedge issues' like abortion and gay marriage, along with hilarious claims of socialism and fascism are proving to be the absolute best news for the nation as a whole. Because as the GOP wallows in juvenile spectacle, Obama and the Dems are leaping headlong into one of the most ambitious, invigorating, nation-altering agendas in American history.
Of course, it ain't all flowers and candy. This much unfettered movement for any party, left or right, can also be just insanely dangerous, could theoretically result in a blowback for the Dems exactly as destructive and apocalyptic as the horrendous Bush Era proved to be for the once-temperate Repubs.
Is it already heading that way? Will it happen? Not a chance.
But before we see why, let us enjoy a bit of the comedy. Because really, who could've guessed that, for example, former drug addict and all around bulbous, cigar-chomping radio jackal Rush Limbaugh would turn into the most influential conservative in the country, more powerful than, say, the GOP's own chairman, Michael Steele, who was recently found kneeling to kiss Rush's fat, sweaty ring?
Ah, but even Rush can't match the genuine lump of crazy that is the latest bearded lady to step onstage at the Fox News freakshow, Glenn Beck, a truly insane hunk of weirdness who's fun to watch not for any attempt at genuine insight or O'Reilly-esque pseudo-intelligence, but because of how he endears himself to viewers by acting exactly like your crazy uncle Ernie, the one who eats Miracle Whip straight from the jar and hears voices in his armpits and stares just a bit too long at any 10-year-old within range. Weep on, Glenn!
But weep not for Miss California, who's happy as a Prozac clam to take on the title as the new face of Republican hetero marriage. Isn't she lovely? A skinny, fake-breasted blonde mouthful of air who does exactly as she's told and never questions her scary Bible and doesn't really like sex and you want to stick that thing where? Ewww! She's perfect.
What, too trifling? I understand.
Let's get serious. Let's talk about the economy. Let's take a look at the Republican's counter-proposal to Obama's stunning, comprehensive $3.5 trillion budget. . . . . .
* * * * * Read the rest of the article. Mark's opinion is controversial so I ask you: Do you think he is sacrificing truth for the sake of humor or is he expressing the reality of the current political situation? Is his article a thumbs up or a thumbs down?This much we know: Hand evil a big, sticky gob of power, and it quickly becomes a... more
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Debit-card use has been catching up to credit cards for years, and the pay-it-now aspect seems to be particularly appealing during the recession
The recession has boosted the popularity of debit cards, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the last quarter of 2008, debit-card transactions processed by Visa were 50.4% of the company’s volume, surpassing credit cards for the first time. Rival MasterCard’s debit volume surged 13% last year as credit-card volume declined 2.2%. Consumers seem to prefer the pay-as-you go model to the rising cost of maintaining credit.
The US government also reports that the personal savings rate was up 5% in January while revolving debt, which largely represents outstanding credit-card balances, fell 9.7% in February, an indication that Americans are trying to shed their debt and spend money already in the bank. “The reality is that the vast majority of consumers want to pay as they go,” one Visa exec said.
* * * * * Do you use a debit or credit card? How many cards do you use?Debit-card use has been catching up to credit cards for years, and the pay-it-now... more
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Whenever a late-night television show features a sitting president, it usually comes in the form of material for a stand-up comedy routine. But on Thursday night, President Obama overturned another tradition when he appeared on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show to promote his economic recovery plan. President Obama held his own with the comedian, countering Mr. Leno’s jabs about the executive bonuses given out by the American International Group, saying, “The only place where I think this might work is Hollywood.” Obama did not explicitly endorse the House bill passed on Thursday, which would tax bonuses paid to those whose companies have gotten large amounts of federal bailout money, saying “The money’s already gone out.” “I think the best way to handle this is to make sure you’ve closed the door before the horse gets out of the barn,” he said.
When Mr. Leno asked whether someone should go to jail for the AIG debacle, President Obama replied, “Most of what got us into trouble was perfectly legal.” In his appearance with Mr. Leno, Obama carefully balanced his comments between projecting a sense of good humor and projecting a presidential bearing. For example, he momentarily appeared to look startled when Mr. Leno joked that the president had laid the problems of the banking sector at the doorstep of the Treasury Secretary, Timothy F. Geithner. “I love how you say it’s his problem,” Mr. Leno said. For a moment, President Obama gave a stone-faced look to Leno. Then he broke into a laugh, as if he suddenly realized that Leno’s put-down was meant as a joke. “All of this is my responsibility,” Obama said. “I’m trying to break a pattern in Washington where everybody’s always looking for someone to blame.”
This article includes a video of the full interview with President Obama on Jay Leno's show.Whenever a late-night television show features a sitting president, it usually comes... more
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This acclaimed short film provides a visual experience that's extremely relevant to today’s ever-deepening economic crisis. “Drux and Flux” won the Canadian Film Institute’s 2008 Award for Best Canadian Animation. This five-minute experimental/abstract animation presents an oppressive and miserable vision of how both the contemporary commitment to an over-arching belief in progress and to the ever-expanding industrialism in society have effected modern life.
The film's rapidly coordinated cuts elicit disturbing associations between ever-increasing industrialization, exponential technological advances and the rise of totalitarian political regimes that can be quite unsettling. Inspired in part by the late sociologist-philosopher-activist Herbert Marcuse’s “One-Dimensional Man” (1964), the film echo's Marcuse's contentions that advertising, industrial management, politicians and the mass-media cooperate to brainwash members of the working class, eliminating their potential for effective expressions of negativity, critique and opposition.
The result, according to Marcuse, is an increasingly “one-dimensional” universe of thought and behavior, in which the very aptitude and ability for critical thinking and for developing either opposing or alternative social positions are withering away. As “Drux and Flux” travels through its series of dismal industrial scenes, one is left with a deeply sad mood about the frightening impressions of the enormous slabs of metal and rust, the smells of rotting death. By the end of this short five-minute journey, the viewer is left to wonder whether this is what things actually might be like when our industrial world finally reaches its end.
Includes a number of wonderful photographs and the award-winning experimental short animation.This acclaimed short film provides a visual experience that's extremely relevant... more
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