Where were you when you heard John Lennon had been shot? What were you doing when you became aware of the 9-11 attacks? There are big events that happen and we lock them in our memories along with what we were doing and who we were with. Today is one such day. Today is the day we all started working for the "Company". We are no longer citizens of America, but are servants to serve the whim and will of........the Company.
Early mining towns were run by the Company. The wages you earned were spent in the Company store or paid for Company-provided lodging and meals. Funny thing about the Company store was ~ their prices. It was in the Company's best interests to keep workers broke. In effect, they were able to achieve a sort of slavery because darn few people were able to buy their "freedom". Who could save up enough after paying for clothes, food, and shelter with prices set high for just that reason?
George Carlin, Ron Paul, and Frank Zappa have had a little to say about the merger of big business and government. Who would ever listen to them ~ a comedian, an elderly politician, and a musician? Except they haven't been the only ones trying to awaken America. Unfortunately, not many listen and even fewer hear.
As a child, I was raised to not see getting money from the government as a good thing. The system we paid into was only to be used in times of extreme need and should be gotten off of as quickly as possibly. My parents never really put into words why being on the dole was bad. I vaguely recall something about, "then They own you" being said and maybe I later added my own twist about self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and basic decency to the mix. I knew I never wanted to become a bon-bon nibbling, afternoon soap watching parasite of society. I wasn't smart enough to discover the cure for cancer, but I could produce and contribute in meaningful ways. Or so I hoped.
These days, I find myself wondering exactly what it is that I produce, whom do I produce it for, and where exactly do my contributions go? When I plant a garden, I know it will produce vegetables to feed my family and we are the sole beneficiaries of the effort expended. I joyously share the bounty with friends and neighbors.......even going so far as to plant some things I would never eat, but do because there is someone I know who will gobble it right up. And it comes down to: doing something like that is my choice. No one tells me this is what I have to do. I might become downright crabby and resentful if others could dictate what I had to plant in my little garden!
But I can easily become crabby and resentful about where my tax contributions go. I am given no say in the matter. "Haven't you voted? Isn't that your 'say' in the matter?" Casting a vote shouldn't be akin to handing someone a blank check and telling them to fill in whatever amount they deem is necessary and I'll just work till it's paid off. Would you really hand over a blank check to someone you don't know and think they have your best interests at heart? If you truly would do so, there are a couple of bridges I'd like to sell to you ~ just trust me on this.
As future Queen of America, I feel it is my duty to solemnly present information for you to digest and act upon as you will. Here goes..........
We are in a depression.
And I'm not talking about the kind that can be handled by taking any of a number of pills. The BLS provides numbers that politicians and talking heads love to ramble on about. Hundreds of thousands were losing their jobs every month. Jobs sent overseas to maximize profits while minimizing costs. Don't you find it perhaps a bit of a stretch of the truth that unemployment numbers are reported as going up? Surely you have witnessed in your own community the closing of businesses/plants that used to employ tens, hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Have there been new businesses coming into these closed factories? Are new plants being built? Trust what you can see with your own eyes and verify by asking within the community. "Payroll numbers are up for the month of _________." Don't take that at face value. Adding a twice a week, 3 hour per shift employee now isn't the same as the 40 hour a week worker that was laid off.
It's not a depression if we don't see soup lines!
It IS a depression. Just because food stamps and 99 weeks of unemployment hide the fact doesn't make it less so. Isn't it clever how those safety nets put into place after the last Depression help cover up what the truth is now?
It's not a depression! I still have a job!
It IS a depression. And you have a job. Today. Maybe even next week. Possibly into next year. Can YOU guarantee how long this job will be there? Do you feel the same sense of job security your grandparents and parents felt? Unless you are Grand Poohbah of the Universe, a deep belief in YOUR job security probably means your head is buried too far in the sand.
It's not a depression! Politicians and talking heads all say the recession is over and the recovery is working!
It IS a depression and you ARE being lied to. Repeatedly. After all, who wants to be known as the one who let the dead cat out of the bag? That would be like declaring the Emperor has no clothes! TARP, Quantitative Easing (uno and dos), and the Too Big to Fail classification are cancerous tumors of accepted speech. They shouldn't come out of the common person's mouth without them feeling a bit like they just threw up a little. Market manipulation by HFT's is NOT a sign of growth. It is a sign of market manipulation and further highlights that regulations and regulators are doing ZIP! Except helping a few get exceeding, excessively wealthy.
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So I leave you with a few thoughts. A few months ago a co-worker asked me what I thought the straw would be that breaks the camel's back. To paraphrase my response, "I don't think the straw will be the same for everyone. Will it be when a worker decides he/she's tired of their efforts supporting 30 others? Will it be when someone wakes up and realizes America has been turned into a 3rd world country? Who knows? YOU will know it for yourself."
I've suggested reading/watching material before and will do so again. Read. Watch. Learn. Pray. Plan.
This really laid out what was in my mind in a way I couldn't put into words. The short video within the article is worth 10 minutes of your life that you will never get back. I promise.
A bit of history that shows how little things have changed. A bit longer read than the first suggestion and no following video.
A relatively simple explanation of inflation. One thing to keep in mind is that the costs of food and energy are NOT figured into any percentage of inflation. I believe I read those were dropped during Nixon's presidency.
A 20 minute commencement speech given by Dr. Michael Burry. He's calling it like he sees it.
I can't help it ~ this makes me chuckle.
A government who, with the Supreme Court's blessing, can tax everyone into healthcare, is a government who can tax you into buying a home if you aren't already doing so..........or perhaps a GM car..........or Facebook stock for your IRA. There's really no end to what the Company can force on you. They own you. The Supreme Court told them so.
16 Tons
I do so wish it were easier for people to leave comments without having to sign in!
