Poverty

America’s 75 Economic Numbers From 2012 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe

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– 75 Economic Numbers From 2012 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe (Economic Collapse, Dec 20, 2012):

What a year 2012 has been!  The mainstream media continues to tell us what a “great job” the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve are doing of managing the economy, but meanwhile things just continue to get even worse for the poor and the middle class.  It is imperative that we educate the American people about the true condition of our economy and about why all of this is happening.  If nothing is done, our debt problems will continue to get worse, millions of jobs will continue to leave the country, small businesses will continue to be suffocated, the middle class will continue to collapse, and poverty in the United States will continue to explode.  Just “tweaking” things slightly is not going to fix our economy.  We need a fundamental change in direction.  Right now we are living in a bubble of debt-fueled false prosperity that allows us to continue to consume far more wealth than we produce, but when that bubble bursts we are going to experience the most painful economic “adjustment” that America has ever gone through.  We need to be able to explain to our fellow Americans what is coming, why it is coming and what needs to be done.  Hopefully the crazy economic numbers that I have included in this article will be shocking enough to wake some people up.

The end of the year is a time when people tend to gather with family and friends more than they do during the rest of the year.  Hopefully many of you will use the list below as a tool to help start some conversations about the coming economic collapse with your loved ones.  Sadly, most Americans still tend to doubt that we are heading into economic oblivion.  So if you have someone among your family and friends that believes that everything is going to be “just fine”, just show them these numbers.  They are a good summary of the problems that the U.S. economy is currently facing.

The following are 50 economic numbers from 2012 that are almost too crazy to believe…

Read moreAmerica’s 75 Economic Numbers From 2012 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe

20 Signs That The U.S. Poverty Explosion Is Hitting Children And Young People The Hardest

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“When a country embarks on deficit financing and inflationism (= Quantitative easing) you wipe out the middle class and wealth is transferred from the middle class and the poor to the rich.”
– Ron Paul

– 20 Signs That The U.S. Poverty Explosion Is Hitting Children And Young People The Hardest (Economic Collapse, Dec 20, 2012):

The mainstream media continues to insist that the economy is “getting better”, but the poverty numbers for children and young people just continue to explode.  For example, did you know that the poverty rate for families with a head of household under the age of 30 is a whopping 37 percent?  Children and young people sure didn’t cause our recent economic downturn, but they sure are getting hit the hardest by it.  According to the U.S. Department of Education, for the first time ever more than a million U.S. public school students are homeless.  That seems like an impossible number, but it is actually true.  How in the world could the “wealthiest nation on earth” get to the point where more than a million children can’t count on a warm bed to sleep in at night?  Sadly, a huge number of American children can’t count on a warm dinner either.  About a fourth of them are enrolled in the food stamp program.  What do you do if you are a parent in that kind of situation?  How do you explain to your kids that you can’t afford a nice home like everybody else has or that you can’t afford to go to the grocery store and buy them some dinner?Young people are experiencing very rough times right now as well.  If you are under the age of 30, it is really, really difficult to get a job in America today.  The competition for the few decent jobs that seem to be available is absolutely crazy.  Unemployment among young people is at a level that we have not seen since World War II, and this is causing major problems.

Read more20 Signs That The U.S. Poverty Explosion Is Hitting Children And Young People The Hardest

Germany: Berlin And Ruhr Area Turning Into Poverty Strongholds (Der Spiegel)

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Google translation: HERE

– Regionalstudie:  Berlin und Ruhrpott werden zu Armutshochburgen (Der Spiegel, Dec 20, 2012):

Obdachloser in Essen: Im Ruhrgebiet nimmt die Armutsgefährdung stark zu

Obdachloser in Essen: Im Ruhrgebiet nimmt die Armutsgefährdung stark zu

In Deutschlands Regionen steigt die Armut zum Teil dramatisch – das zeigt eine neue Studie des Paritätischen Wohlfahrtsverbands. Längst sind nicht mehr nur die ostdeutschen Bundesländer betroffen. Das Ruhrgebiet gehört zusammen mit Berlin zu den “Problemregionen Nummer eins”.

Hamburg – Wenn Deutschland in diesen Tagen an etwas nicht arm ist, so sind es Armutsberichte. Verschiedenste Institute und Verbände veröffentlichen kurz vor Jahresende Analysen zur Armutsgefährdung der Deutschen, die sich zum Teil deutlich widersprechen. Oft steht dabei die Situation der Gesamtbevölkerung im Fokus.

Der Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband untersucht hingegen seit Jahren die regionale Entwicklung – und die hält er für besonders besorgniserregend. Der Blick in die Regionen lasse die zum Teil “dramatischen Verwerfungen in unserem Land deutlich werden”, erklärte Ulrich Schneider, Hauptgeschäftsführer des Verbands zur Vorstellung der Studie am Donnerstag.

Dem Bericht zufolge ist mittlerweile etwa jeder siebte Bundesbürger von Armut bedroht. Erstmals habe die Armutsgefährdungsquote im vergangenen Jahr die 15-Prozent-Marke übersprungen, ein “absolutes Rekordhoch”. Mit 12,4 Millionen Menschen sei eine halbe Million mehr betroffen als noch im Vorjahr. Als armutsgefährdet gelten Personen in Haushalten, deren Einkommen weniger als 60 Prozent des durchschnittlichen bedarfsgewichteten Einkommens (Median) in Deutschland beträgt.

Read moreGermany: Berlin And Ruhr Area Turning Into Poverty Strongholds (Der Spiegel)

More Young Adults Are Living On Street (New York Times)

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This is the Greatest Depression.

– After Recession, More Young Adults Are Living on Street (New York Times, Dec 18, 2012):

SEATTLE — Duane Taylor was studying the humanities in community college and living in his own place when he lost his job in a round of layoffs. Then he found, and lost, a second job. And a third.

Now, with what he calls “lowered standards” and a tenuous new position at a Jack in the Box restaurant, Mr. Taylor, 24, does not make enough to rent an apartment or share one. He sleeps on a mat in a homeless shelter, except when his sister lets him crash on her couch.

“At any time I could lose my job, my security,” said Mr. Taylor, explaining how he was always the last hired and the first fired. “I’d like to be able to support myself. That’s my only goal.”

Across the country, tens of thousands of underemployed and jobless young people, many with college credits or work histories, are struggling to house themselves in the wake of the recession, which has left workers between the ages of 18 and 24 with the highest unemployment rate of all adults.

Read moreMore Young Adults Are Living On Street (New York Times)

Keiser Report: ‘Scum Villages’ & Snooki (Video)

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YouTube Added: 06.12.2012

Description:

In this episode, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert peer into the British future and see a future of scum villages and royal baby Snookies as Bank of England executive, Andy Haldane, says the loss of income caused by banks is as bad as World War 2. The Artist Taxi Driver explains what austerity means to the UK. And, while admitting the nation’s wealth has been lost to banker crimes, the cover up continues as Lord Stevenson, formerly of HBOS, claims it was mere incompetence that saw the bank nearly collapse. In the second half, Max Keiser talks to Tim Street of UK Uncut about the protest group’s successful campaigns against Starbucks and other multinationals. They also address how to stop every new tax dollar being sucked straight into the black hole of bank’s fraudulent debt schemes.

Germany Censors Poverty Report

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– Censored: Poverty Report in Germany (ZeroHedge, Nov 28, 2012):

On September 17, the German Labor Ministry sent a draft report “on Poverty and Wealth” to the other ministries to be rubber-stamped. Only the final report, once sanctified by Chancellor Angela Merkel, would be made public. The draft was supposed to remain hidden. But it seeped to the surface almost immediately. And it was hot. Too hot.

The massive data (PDF, 535 pages) described the tough reality that many people faced in Germany—a reality that got tougher every year. For example, in 1998, the lower 50% of the population owned 4% of all private wealth, while the upper 10% owned 45%. By 2008, the lower 50% owned only 1%, but the upper 10% had increased its share to 53% (at the expense also of the in-between 40%). Other reports have painted similar pictures.

Read moreGermany Censors Poverty Report

Census: U.S. Poverty Rate Spikes, Nearly 50 Million Americans Affected

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– Census: U.S. Poverty Rate Spikes, Nearly 50 Million Americans Affected (CBS/AP, Nov 15, 2012):

WASHINGTON – As President Barack Obama is set to begin his second term, new statistics on America’s poverty rate indicate that nearly 50 million Americans, more than 16 percent of the population, are struggling to survive.

New figures released by the Census Bureau this week found a spike in poverty numbers last year, going from 49 million in 2010 to 49.7 million last year. The numbers may come as a surprise to Congress, which estimated in September that the poverty rate would drop to 46.2 million. One of the most startling findings showed that almost 20 percent of American children continue to live in poverty.

Read moreCensus: U.S. Poverty Rate Spikes, Nearly 50 Million Americans Affected

Pioneering Self-Contained ‘Smart Village’ Offers World Model For Rural Poverty Relief

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– Pioneering self-contained ‘smart village’ offers world model for rural poverty relief (EurekAlert, July 16, 2012):

California innovation experts counseling Malaysia’s development drive

An innovative, high-tech “smart village” built in Malaysia provides a potential global template for addressing rural poverty in a sustainable environment, say international experts meeting in California’s Silicon Valley.

Rimbunan Kaseh, a model community built north-east of Kuala Lumpur, consists of 100 affordable homes, high-tech educational, training and recreational facilities, and a creative, closed-loop agricultural system designed to provide both food and supplementary income for villagers.

Malaysian Dato’ Tan Say Jim detailed the project Monday at a special meeting in San Jose of the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) — a unique assembly of all-star international and Malaysian experts and leaders created to guide sustainable Malaysian development.

The “smart village,” located on 12 hectares in the Malaysian state of Pahang, includes a four-level aquaculture system whereby water cascades through a series of tanks to raise, first, fish sensitive to water quality, then tilapia (“the world’s answer to affordable protein,” says Mr. Tan), then guppies and finally algae. The latter two products are used to feed the larger fish.

Read morePioneering Self-Contained ‘Smart Village’ Offers World Model For Rural Poverty Relief

Germany: Poverty Rate In Duisburg And Dortmund ‘Dramatic’

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Some now call the Ruhr region (‘Ruhrgebiet’) Germany’s biggest slum:

Articles in German: Here and here

Google translation here and here.

(I do NOT agree on Kopp‘s general view on foreigners. And I can prove that Udo Ulfkotte is dead wrong on many things he says about foreigners.)

Original Article: Armutsquote in Duisburg und Dortmund “dramatisch” (Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten, Nov 14, 2012)

Google translation: Poverty rate in Duisburg and Dortmund “dramatic” (Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten, Nov 14, 2012)

Second General Strike Brings Greece To A Standstill – Poverty So Bad Families ‘Can No Longer Afford To Bury Their Dead’

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Second general strike in less than a month takes place amid latest round of draconian measures


Greek police clash with anti-austerity demonstrators in Athens. Source: Reuters Link to this video

– Greek poverty so bad families ‘can no longer afford to bury their dead’ (Guardian, Oct 19, 2012):

Vanna Mendaleni is a middle aged Greek woman who until now has not had vehement feelings about the crisis that has engulfed her country. But that changed when the softly spoken undertaker, closing her family-run funeral parlour, joined thousands of protesters on Thursday in a mass outpouring of fury over austerity policies that have plunged ever growing numbers of Greeks into poverty and fear.

“After three years of non-stop taxes and wage cuts it’s got to the point where nothing has been left standing,” she said drawing on a cigarette. “It’s so bad families can no longer afford to even bury their dead. Bodies lie unclaimed at public hospitals so that the local municipality can bury them.”

As Greece was brought to a grinding halt by its second general strike in less than a month, Mendaleni wanted to send a message to the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, and other EU leaders meeting in Brussels.

“We once had a life that was dignified. Now the country has gone back 50 years and these politicians have to be made aware that enough is enough.”

Read moreSecond General Strike Brings Greece To A Standstill – Poverty So Bad Families ‘Can No Longer Afford To Bury Their Dead’

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: America’s Descent Into Poverty

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Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

paul-craig-roberts
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts

– America’s Descent into Poverty (Paul Craig Roberts, Aug 24, 2012):

The United States has collapsed economically, socially, politically, legally, constitutionally, and environmentally. The country that exists today is not even a shell of the country into which I was born. In this article I will deal with America’s economic collapse. In subsequent articles, i will deal with other aspects of American collapse.

Economically, America has descended into poverty. As Peter Edelman says, “Low-wage work is pandemic.” Today in “freedom and democracy” America, “the world’s only superpower,” one fourth of the work force is employed in jobs that pay less than $22,000, the poverty line for a family of four. Some of these lowly-paid persons are young college graduates, burdened by education loans, who share housing with three or four others in the same desperate situation. Other of these persons are single parents only one medical problem or lost job away from homelessness.

Read moreDr. Paul Craig Roberts: America’s Descent Into Poverty

More Than Half Of All Americans Are At Least Partially Dependent On The Government

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– More Than Half Of All Americans Are At Least Partially Dependent On The Government (Economic Collapse, Aug 21, 2012):

A very large segment of the population has figured out that it can use voting as a tool to get more money and benefits from the government, and that is a very dangerous thing.  Once upon a time, the free market was the one that distributed nearly all the wealth in our system.  But now the federal government has become a giant deluded “Santa Claus” that distributes goodies to the American people far beyond its actual capacity to do so.  In fact, we are borrowing trillions of dollars that we do not have so that our politicians can continue to buy votes with handouts.  Look, we will always need a safety net.  We don’t want anyone in America starving to death or sleeping in the street.  However, our current system has gotten completely and totally out of control.  Today, there are nearly 80 different “means-tested welfare programs” operated by the federal government.  As I have written about previously, more than 100 million Americans are enrolled in those programs.  Sadly, that does not even count Social Security and Medicare.  Tens of millions of Americans are enrolled in each of those programs as well.  And when you add in more than 22 million government workers, you get one giant pile of people that are getting money or benefits from the government.  In fact, at this point more than half of all Americans are at least partially dependent on the government.

A recent Forbes article by Bill Wilson estimates that over 165 million Americans are government dependents to at least some degree….

Read moreMore Than Half Of All Americans Are At Least Partially Dependent On The Government

Americans At Or Below 125% Of The Poverty Level (Chart Of The Day)

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– Chart Of The Day: Americans At Or Below 125% Of The Poverty Level (ZeroHedge, Aug 19, 2012):

From AP: “the number of Americans with incomes at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level – the income limit for qualifying for legal aid – is expected to reach an all-time high of 66 million this year. A family of four earning 125 percent of the federal poverty level makes about $28,800 a year, government figures show.” And visually…

As usual, if anyone expects these 66 million Americans (over 20% of the US population) to vote for someone who dares to even think about taking away any of the entitlements said tens of millions of people are used to, then by all means buy Las Vegas real estate.

UK Homeless Rate Surged By 25 Percent In The Last 3 Years

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– UK homeless rate rises by 25% (PressTV, July 31, 2012):
The number of the homeless families and individuals in England has surged by 25 percent in the recent three years, a new research shows.

The number of homeless families and individuals in England has surged by a quarter in the recent three years, a new research warns.

According to data experts SSentif, the number of people classed as homeless and in need of emergency accommodation was 50,290 in 2011-12, showing an increase of over 25 percent when compared to 40,020 in 2009-10.

The research also found that regionally, the East of England faced the highest increase, with the number of cases increasing from 3,660 in 2009-10 to 5,270 in 2011-12, up by 44 percent.

Moreover, the figures revealed that the British government’s spending on tackling the problem of homelessness has dropped from £213.7m in 2009-10 to £199.8m in 2010-11.

Read moreUK Homeless Rate Surged By 25 Percent In The Last 3 Years

100 Million Poor People In America And 39 Facts About Poverty That Will Blow Your Mind

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– 100 Million Poor People In America And 39 Other Facts About Poverty That Will Blow Your Mind (Economic Collapse, July 24, 2012):

Every single day more Americans fall into poverty.  This should deeply alarm you no matter what political party you belong to and no matter what your personal economic philosophy is.  Right now, approximately 100 million Americans are either “poor” or “near poor”.  For a lot of people “poverty” can be a nebulous concept, so let’s define it.  The poverty level as defined by the federal government in 2010 was $11,139 for an individual and $22,314 for a family of four.  Could you take care of a family of four on less than $2000 a month?  Millions upon millions of families are experiencing a tremendous amount of pain in this economy, and no matter what “solutions” we think are correct, the reality is that we all should have compassion on them.  Sadly, things are about to get even worse.  The next major economic downturn is rapidly approaching, and when it hits the statistics posted below are going to look even more horrendous.

When it comes to poverty, most Americans immediately want to get into debates about tax rates and wealth redistribution and things like that.

But the truth is that they are missing the main point.

Read more100 Million Poor People In America And 39 Facts About Poverty That Will Blow Your Mind

The Price Of Corn Hits Record High As Global Food Crisis Looms

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– The Price Of Corn Hits A Record High As A Global Food Crisis Looms (The Economic Collapse, July 21, 2012):

Are you ready for the next major global food crisis?  The price of corn hit an all-time record high on Thursday.  So did the price of soybeans.  The price of corn is up about 50 percent since the middle of last month, and the price of wheat has risen by about 50 percent over the past five weeks.  On Thursday, corn for September delivery reached $8.166 per bushel, and many analysts believe that it could hit $10 a bushel before this crisis is over.  The worst drought in the United States in more than 50 years is projected to continue well into August, and more than 1,300 counties in the United States have been declared to be official natural disaster areas.  So how is this crisis going to affect the average person on the street?  Well, most Americans and most Europeans are going to notice their grocery bills go up significantly over the coming months.  That will not be pleasant.  But in other areas of the world this crisis could mean the difference between life and death for some people.  You see, half of all global corn exports come from the United States.  So what happens if the U.S. does not have any corn to export?  About a billion people around the world live on the edge of starvation, and today the Financial Times ran a front page story with the following headline: “World braced for new food crisis“.  Millions upon millions of families in poor countries are barely able to feed themselves right now.  So what happens if the price of the food that they buy goes up dramatically?

Read moreThe Price Of Corn Hits Record High As Global Food Crisis Looms

India: As Crops Rot, Millions Go Hungry

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– As crops rot, millions go hungry in India (Reuters, July, 2, 2012):

Every day some 3,000 Indian children die from illnesses related to malnutrition, and yet countless heaps of rodent-infested wheat and rice are rotting in fields across the north of their own country.

It is an extraordinary paradox created by a rigid regime of subsidies for grain farmers, a woeful lack of storage facilities and an inefficient, corruption-plagued public distribution system that fails millions of impoverished people.

And it is an embarrassment for the government led by the Congress party, which returned to power in 2009 thanks in large part to pledges of welfare for the poor, who make up about 40 percent of the 1.2 billion population.

Quite why the authorities could not simply offload the mountains of grain for free to fill empty stomachs is puzzling, but the explanation lies in the complex regulations that govern procurement and distribution.

“This is a case of criminal neglect by the government,” said D. Raja, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, an opposition group. “The ruling party has been the worst manager of the demand-supply of food grains.”

Officials say that, in all, about 6 million tons of grain worth at least $1.5 billion could perish. Analysts say the losses could be far higher because more than 19 million tons are now lying in the open, exposed to searing summer heat and monsoon rains.

Read moreIndia: As Crops Rot, Millions Go Hungry

Collapse: Record Number Of US Households On Foodstamps – 46,405,204 People At Or Below Poverty Level And Thus Eligible For Foodstamps, A 79K Increase In The Month

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See also:

– Collapse: 100 Million Americans Don’t Have A Job!

– Collapse: Foreclosures Made Up 26 Percent Of U.S. Home Sales In First Quarter Of 2012

– Record Number Of US Households On Foodstamps (ZeroHedge, Jun 4, 2012):

Last month, when the USDA released the latest foodstamps numbers for the month of February, there was some hope that following a third month of declines, we may just have seen the peak of US foodstamp usage and going forward we would only see the number decline. Sadly, the latest numbers refutes this: in March a total of 46,405,204 persons were at or below poverty level and thus eligible for foodstamps, a 79K increase in the month. Yet while many individuals have learned to game the system, and this numbers at the peak may fluctuate, when it comes to the far more comprehensive and difficult to fudge “households on foodstamps” number, there was no confusion: at 22,257,647, the number of US households receiving the “SNAP treatment” rose to an all time high, even as the benefit per household dropped to the second lowest ever. At least all these impoverished believers in hope and change have FaceBook IPO profits to look forward to. Oh wait.

Former Deutsche Bank Chief Economist Prof. Norbert Walter: Germany Will Have ‘An Old Age Poverty Problem’ Close To 10 Years From Now

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– Germany’s Time as Paymaster Is Running Out: Economist (CNNBC, Mar 5, 2012):

??As the euro zone’s biggest economy, and one of its most successful in recent years, Germany has shouldered the burden of helping to bail out more troubled euro zone nations

This can only last for another few years, as the country’s aging population will need to be looked after, Norbert Walter, chief economist emeritus for Deutsche Bank and managing director of Walter & Daughters Consulting, told CNBC Monday.

Read moreFormer Deutsche Bank Chief Economist Prof. Norbert Walter: Germany Will Have ‘An Old Age Poverty Problem’ Close To 10 Years From Now

America Is Collapsing NOW: POOR AMERICA – P a n o r a m a (B B C) – (Video, Feb. 13, 2012)

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While America is starving …

– Obama Proposes $800 Million In Aid For ‘Arab Spring’ – Foreign Aid: $11.8 Billion For Iraq, $4.6 Billion For Afghanistan, $3.1 Billion For Israel, $2.4 Billion For Pakistan And $1.3 Billion For Egypt

… and is eating rats (at 12:56 into the video).


YouTube Added: 13.02.2012

Description:

POOR AMERICA

With one and a half million (1.5 million) American children now homeless, reporter Hilary Andersson meets the school pupils who go hungry in the richest country on Earth. From those living in the storm drains under Las Vegas to the tent cities now springing up around the United States, P a n o r a m a finds out how the poor are surviving in America and asks whatever happened to the supposed ‘government’ and the Real People in charge – those who you ‘don’t see’ pulling on the strings; and their vision and welfare for the country.

Read moreAmerica Is Collapsing NOW: POOR AMERICA – P a n o r a m a (B B C) – (Video, Feb. 13, 2012)

Greece Warns It Will Soon Be In ‘Condition Of ABSOLUTE POVERTY’

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… as intended by the elitists.

– Greece Warns It Will Soon Be In “Condition Of Absolute Poverty” (ZeroHedge, Feb. 1, 2012):

And while the bankers (on both sides of the table) haggle about how to best leech Greece even dryer (with a solution due any hour, day, week now), the actual people are starting to wave the white flag of surrender. Because the opportunity cost of every additional coupon payment is having a direct, immediate and increasingly more dire impact on virtually every aspect of the economy. Kathimerini reports that “about 160,000 jobs will be lost this year in the commerce sector, according to the National Confederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE) as the constant decline in disposable income has led to a sharp drop in turnover and a steep rise in the number of enterprises shutting down.” Indicatively, the latest Greek employment figures per the IMF, show  that 4.156MM people are employed. So commerce alone is about to lead to a 4% drop in total jobs. As the chart below shows, net of just this sector, Greek jobs are about to go back to 2010 levels. What this means for the Greek unemployment rate, and for GDP we leave to our readers, although the ESEE does a good job of summarizing what to expect: the “ESEE warns that soon Greece will be in a condition of absolute poverty.” And that, ladies and gents, is how Europe slowly but surely reentered the Feudal age, and what every other country in the European periphery that has a massive debt load, and no surplus (actually make that every country in the world), has to look forward to: absolute poverty, aka debt slavery.

From Kathimerini:

The jobs to be lost concern 60,000 employers and 100,000 employees in the sector, ESEE expects. Given the data for a 6.2 percent fall in household consumption in 2011 and the Eurostat forecast for a further decline by 4.3 percent this year, ESEE warns that soon Greece will be in a condition of absolute poverty.

With 60,000 enterprises having shut down since the start of the crisis to date, their number is set to double by the end of this year, ESEE estimates.

Once again, it appears that Chuck Palahniuk will be proven right when stating that it’s only after we’ve lost everything, that we are free to do anything; and it will be up to the Greeks to prove him right.

Davos Happy To Hear That More And More Poor People Exist And That They Soon Will Be TOO POOR TO REVOLT (= ‘Mission Accomplished’)

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Ok, I totally changed the title. But destroying the middle class and the poor is the plan of the power elite on their one-way road to their fascist New World Order.

– Davos Shocked To Hear That Poor People Exist (ZeroHedge, Jan. 27, 2012):

Ok, I exaggerate. But that’s my cynical first impression after finding the following diagram in the briefing book for the gathering of the good and the great at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Click for a larger size.)


Source: World Economic Forum

As you can see “Severe income disparity” is #1 on the Top 5 risks list this year, after having failed to make the short list for the preceding 5 years.

Now it’s not as though the attendees of Davos were completely inattentive to the economic plight of the less fortunate all this time. “Economic disparities” was on last year’s laundry list of risks and was featured prominently in the executive summary of 2011’s report. But the urgency has been ratcheted up quite a bit this year: note the new modifier “severe” and the use of the more specific “income” rather than “economic”. But wait, there’s more.

Compare 2011’s anodyne language:

the benefits of globalization seem unevenly spread – a minority is seen to have harvested a disproportionate amount of the fruits. Although growth of the new champions is rebalancing economic power between countries, there is evidence that economic disparity within countries is growing.

with this year’s:

Dystopia, the opposite of a utopia, describes a place where life is full of hardship and devoid of hope. Analysis of linkages across various global risks reveals a constellation of fiscal, demographic and societal risks signalling a dystopian future for much of humanity. The interplay among these risks could result in a world where a large youth population contends with chronic, high levels of unemployment, while concurrently, the largest population of retirees in history becomes dependent upon already heavily indebted governments. Both young and old could face an income gap, as well as a skills gap so wide as to threaten social and political stability.

They actually used the “D” word. Remember, this is not the research paper of some grad student with a flair for the dramatic. This document was written in part by Swiss Re and Zurich Financial Services — two of the most solid P&C insurers and re-insurers in the world. Their only business is the identification and management of real world risk. When you start hearing the language of Huxley and Orwell on the slopes of the Swiss Alps, then you’d best believe that something fundamental has shifted and that a lot of the rich and powerful are more frightened than they used to be.

Collapse: 50% Of Americans Poor Or Near Poor (Video)

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Related info:

– Six Walton Family Members Net Worth Equal To Bottom 30 Percent Of All Americans

– Census data: Half of U.S. poor or low income (CBS News/AP, Dec. 15, 2011):

WASHINGTON – Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that’s shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government’s safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.

Read moreCollapse: 50% Of Americans Poor Or Near Poor (Video)

Land Of The Free, Home Of The Hungry

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See also:

– Urgent: Food Stamps To Be Ended Unless Microchipped!

– US Food Stamp Use Reaches Record 45.8 Million

Nowhere is the chasm between America’s political class and its working poor more vast than in the demand to cut food stamps


US food stamps: Republican lawmakers want to cut the Department of Agriculture’s budget for food stamps by 20%

– Land of the free, home of the hungry (Guardian, Dec. 9, 2011):

On Monday afternoon this week, Rachelle Grimmer went into a Department of Health and Human Services in Texas with her two children, Timothy, aged 10, and Ramie, aged 12, and asked for a new case worker who could assist her application for food stamps. She had first applied in July but had been told she hadn’t provided enough information and, by most accounts, had been struggling to get by and get help since she moved from Ohio.

She was taken to a small room, where she pulled a gun, sparking a seven-hour standoff with police. Shortly before midnight, three shots were heard. Rachelle had shot both herself and her kids. Police rushed in to find the mother dead and Ramie and Timothy in critical condition. Earlier that morning, Ramie had posted a Facebook message, saying: “may die 2day”. She actually hung on until Wednesday. Timothy’s condition remains critical.

The tragic unravelling of this particular episode is hardly typical. But the desperation that underpins it is. For, in this period between Thanksgiving and Christmas (when many Americans are worrying about what overindulging will do to their waistline), a significant number is wracked with an entirely different concern: not having enough to eat.

This is no marginal group, no handful of unfortunates and ne’er-do-wells in a time of crisis. Indeed, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, food insecurity is a common, growing and enduring problem. According to Gallup polling, one in five Americans reported not having enough money to buy food in the past 12 months – the highest level since the month Barack Obama was elected. Around the country, food banks are feeling the pinch of market forces: as poverty climbs, demand is rising and supply is falling as people who would have donated have less left to spare.

An analysis by the New York Times revealed a 17% increase in the number of school students receiving free and reduced lunches across the country between 2006/07 and now. In Rockdale County, east of Atlanta, 63% of students now have subsidised food – up from 46% four years ago.

Read moreLand Of The Free, Home Of The Hungry