THE DOW WILL BE AT 5,000 BY FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Decimation of the American Middle Class

The following unusually well-written comment from a Yahoo Finance (4/4/2014) reader sums up the plight of the American middle class.  In a few paragraphs, the piece succinctly outlines what happened to the middle class during the mini-depression of 2008.

My spouse leaves for work at 7:00am and returns at 8:00pm. He is on call 24/7. Most nights the calls stop by 11:00pm. Some times they last all night.

During the recession, companies did a lot of cutting from the top of the income scale. The remaining people were so scared, they were willing to do anything to keep their jobs...now these "emergency" measures are the new norm, for salaried workers who were asked to take up the slack. 

There is no such thing as the 40 hour work week for people on salaries...the new normal starts at 60 hours and goes up from there. (Unless you work for the govt. )

Do not get me wrong, after a period of unemployment, we are still grateful just have a job and an income, even if it is about half of what it was a decade ago.

As it turns out the Recession was a gift to businesses. They were able to do in one fell swoop what they had been doing by degrees for several decades....which was to drastically cut the wages of middle and upper income earners...a few months operating near the red, have now been followed by five years of record profits.

Quote of the Day

From a Yahoo! Finance user:

"I hope they create some jobs soon. I've been waiting for it

to trickle down to main street. But I think we're just getting

peed on."

not working...

For the full essay, go to:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/control/


In the summer of 2011 the writer DW Gibson set out across the country to speak with Americans who had lost their jobs. The following account is adapted from Mr. Gibson’s July 12, 2011, interview with Dominick Brocato of Kansas City, who had been fired nearly two years before from his position with DST Systems, where he had worked successfully for 20 years. The full interview, and more than 70 others, are collected in the forthcoming book and documentary film “Not Working.”

Mr. Gibson describes Mr. Brocato: “He is 58 and has lived in Kansas City all his life. His shirt is pressed and tucked. His hair is definitely not gray, nor do I think Dominick would allow it to become so. He carries a notepad encased in a leather pouch. His appearance is immaculate and I can confirm it is not easy to remain so well turned out in the July humidity that grips this city, wringing composure from those who are exposed to it.”


Between April and August I have filled out and put in resumes for about 380 to 390 positions. I probably had 45 to 50 different meetings that I would just initiate on my own, asking someone, “Can we just go have coffee, or just go to lunch?” I spent a lot of money doing that. The majority of people, where I would say, “Can we just go to coffee?” … I didn’t get a lot of response. If I’d say, “Hey, let’s go to lunch; I’ll buy lunch,” I got more takers.

And that was O.K., if I thought it was going to work to my benefit. Sometimes I would say, “You pick the place.” I did that a few times, and after a $40 lunch I realized this isn’t going to happen anymore. This is not fair. I guess I was really shocked that people would allow me to go ahead and pay knowing they’re working and they’re with a company, but again, I made the offer, and I was willing to do that. And I’d always try to end every meeting saying, “How can I help you?” And quite a few would take me up on that. I wrote out personal thank you notes, sent cards, had cards made with my name on the front. So I did all those things that I don’t think the average person does.

Dow Jones at ZERO (0) in the Next 21 Sessions

At the current clip of losing 500 points a session, the Dow Jones will be wiped out in just 21 trading sessions... Oh the Horror... the Horror...

CONTAGION...DISASTER...GLOBAL COLLAPSE

BREAKING... IT IS NOW NEARLY 11.00 (AUGUST 9, 2011) IN EAST ASIA.  THE HONG KONG HENG SENG IS -1400 OR ALMOST 7%.  IN SEOUL (漢城), SOUTH KOREA, THE BOURSE IS DOWN 8%

666

August 8, 2011

The S&P 500 index lost 79.92 points to 1119.46 or 6.66% today... The Satanic Meltdown continues...

Fairbank: Dow to Close Below 8000 by End of August 2011

Fairbank:  Dow to Close Below 8000 by End of August 2011

NASDAQ DOWN 5%; DOW JONES DOWN 4.3%; S&P DOWN 5%

11,383.68 -512.76 -4.31%




Nasdaq 2,556.39 -136.68 -5.08%



S&P 500 1,200.07 -60.27 -4.78%



10 Yr Bond(%) 2.4580% -0.1410



Oil 86.44 -5.49 -5.97%



Gold 1,650.80 -12.60 -0.76%





Customize summary» View more indices

» View more bonds

when pigs squeal...

Wisconsin Senate to vote on anti-union bill


AP – Protestors to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many …

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Scott Bauer, Associated Press – 1 hr 54 mins ago

MADISON, Wis. – Protesters clogged the hallways of the Wisconsin state Capitol on Thursday as the Senate prepared to pass a momentous bill that would strip government workers, including school teachers, of nearly all collective bargaining rights.



The nation's most aggressive anti-union proposal has been speeding through the Legislature since Republican Gov. Scott Walker introduced it a week ago. After clearing a major legislative hurdle Wednesday night, it was headed to votes in the Senate and Assembly.



Hundreds of protesters massed outside the Senate chamber on the second floor of the Capitol early Thursday, hours before the planned vote. Republican leaders said it has the votes to pass in both the Senate and Assembly.



The bill marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which passed a comprehensive collective bargaining law in 1959 and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.



Thousands of protesters, including children and teachers from more than two dozen schools forced to close due to high absences, were expected in and outside the Capitol for a third day of protests. Schools in Madison, the state's second largest district with 2,600-union covered employees, closed for a second day.



Hundreds of people, many of them students from the nearby University of Wisconsin campus, slept in the rotunda for a second night leading up to the vote.



They chanted "Kill the bill!" and "Recall Walker!" early on Thursday. But there appeared to be little doubt the bill would pass.



The head of the 98,000-member statewide teachers union called on all Wisconsin residents to come to the Capitol on Thursday for the votes in the Senate and Assembly.



"Our goal is not to close schools, but to instead to remain vigilant in our efforts to be heard," said Wisconsin Education Association Council President Mary Bell.



The Legislature's budget committee passed the bill on a partisan vote just before midnight. Several opponents in the crowd broke into tears as Democrats on the committee encouraged them not to give up the fight.



"I'm sad. Scared. Disappointed," said Kelly Dzurick, a 31-year-old fifth-grade teacher in Elkhorn, who came to the Capitol on Wednesday night. "Nobody's listening to what people say."



Democrats have been powerless to stop the bill.



"The story around the world is the rush to democracy," said Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar. "The story in Wisconsin is the end of the democratic process."



In addition to eliminating collective bargaining rights, the legislation also would make public workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage — increases Walker calls "modest" compared with those in the private sector.



Republican leaders said they expected Wisconsin residents would be pleased with the changes and that the bill was about saving money. The union concessions would save the state $30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years to address a $3.6 billion budget shortfall.



"I think the taxpayers will support this idea," Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said.



As protesters chanted "Recall Walker now!" outside the governor's office, Walker insisted he had the votes to pass the measure. He says it's needed to help balance the budget and avoid massive layoffs.



"We're at a point of crisis," the governor said. He has said he would call out the National Guard if needed to keep state operations, including prisons, running.



In an interview with Milwaukee television station WTMJ, President Barack Obama said he was monitoring the situation in Madison and acknowledged the need for budget cuts. But, he said, pushing public employees away from the bargaining table "seems like more of an assault on unions."



While other states have proposed bills curtailing labor rights, Wisconsin's measure is the most aggressive anti-union move yet to solve state budget problems. It would end collective bargaining for state, county and local workers, except for police, firefighters and the state patrol.



Wisconsin has long been a bastion for workers' rights. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was founded in 1936 in Madison.



But when voters elected Walker, an outspoken conservative, along with GOP majorities in both legislative chambers, it set the stage for a dramatic reversal of Wisconsin's labor history.



Under Walker's plan, state employees' share of pension and health care costs would go up by an average of 8 percent.



Unions still could represent workers, but could not seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum. Unions also could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold annual votes to stay organized.



In exchange for bearing more costs and losing bargaining leverage, public employees were promised no furloughs or layoffs. Walker has threatened to order layoffs of up to 6,000 state workers if the measure does not pass.



Republican-backed changes to the bill made by the committee Wednesday would extend a grievance procedure to public workers who don't have one and require more oversight and put a deadline on changes Walker's administration can make to the Medicaid program. It would also give a level of legislative oversight to Walker's ability to sell public power plants.

Yet again, the West is making love to China for her $$$

from the Los Angeles Times

China moves to prop up Europe's economy

The Asian nation pledges to buy billions of dollars' worth of bonds in European Union governments to restore confidence in the debt-ridden region. The EU is China's biggest trading partner.

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• Related
• China raises bank reserve requirement again; more tightening likely
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• Photos
• Goodwill tour

By David Pierson and Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times

January 15, 2011

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Reporting from Beijing and London —

Growing into its role as a global economic power, China is pledging to buy billions of dollars' worth of bonds in European governments to help restore confidence in the debt-ridden region.

The move is the latest evidence that the giant Asian nation is developing ties with strategically important trading partners and expanding its influence in areas where it has long played a minor role.

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Save 50% on today's deal: $10 for Comfort Fare at Dinah's in Glendale. Tasty and delicious.

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In what European media have dubbed a charm offensive, Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang was all smiles on a recent swing through the continent, assuring the Germans that their economy was complementary to China's and praising the Spanish as good friends.

He also dispensed plenty of largess, promising to aid the souring economies of Spain and Portugal — pledges that were seen as more than just goodwill.

If Beijing wants its economy to keep flourishing, China can't afford the collapse of the euro any more than the nations that use it. The European Union is China's biggest trading partner, and China is the EU's second-biggest export market.

That adds impetus for helping the Spanish consumers who buy Chinese-made clothes and other exports or the German firms that provide Chinese manufacturers with the sophisticated equipment they need.

"There are mutual benefits behind China's diplomacy where both sides can win," said Huo Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank under the Ministry of Commerce.

China already has significant holdings of European debt. In Spain alone, it owns 43 billion euros ($57.3 billion) in that country's debt — about a fifth of existing Spanish bonds.

On Thursday, Spain easily raised 3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in a debt auction that was a key test of investor confidence, and Italy sold 6 billion euros ($7.8 billion) in medium- and long-term bonds. The offerings came a day after Portugal conducted a successful bond sale.

It wasn't immediately known how much debt China bought, but the nation wasn't alone. Japan, for instance, also has said it would buy European government debt.

Still, China's foray into the European crisis underscores the growing influence that Beijing's deep pockets play.

Portugal's finance minister, Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, met with Chinese banking and finance officials in Beijing last month to promote the sale of Portugal's debt. The heavily indebted country has resisted calls for an EU bailout despite record yields for its bonds — a sign of how risky investing in Portugal remains.

In Spain, where unemployment hovers at 20%, domestic media reported that China had offered to buy 6 billion euros more in government bonds. On Li's trip this month the two countries signed business deals worth more than $7 billion.

Alfredo Pastor, an economics professor at the IESE Business School of the University of Navarra in Barcelona, said China's intervention to help prop up Spain sent a strong signal to other investors that Spain was a safe bet.

"China has very deep pockets," Pastor said. "If you can see on the other side somebody who's willing to sustain the paper, then your urge to short it may be lower, [and that] may contribute to stabilizing the situation."

Experts warn, however, that China's largess alone is not large enough to resolve the worsening state of many European balance sheets.

"This can help on the margins, definitely, but that's not what's going to shift the balance," said Antonio Garcia-Pascual, chief economist for southern Europe at Barclays Capital in London. "While the Chinese announcement is welcome, it's not a solution."

Countries on the EU's so-called periphery, such as Ireland and Greece, in addition to Spain and Portugal, are deeply troubled financially. Reversing their downward spiral would require not only hundreds of billions of dollars but also new growth drivers to build the nations out of debt.

"It's a solvency crisis," said Michael Pettis, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a professor at Beijing's Peking University specializing in financial markets. "And you can't keep borrowing yourself out of insolvency.

The stakes are far lower for China, which stands to gain a great deal from stronger political ties with Europe but risks only a small portion of its foreign reserves, which amounted to a record $2.8 trillion at the end of 2010.

Beijing has been trying to diversify its foreign holdings after being criticized both at home and abroad for sinking too much into U.S. Treasury bills. An estimated two-thirds of its investments are denominated in dollars, with the rest in Japanese yen and euros.

On China's wish list is an entree into European markets. The U.S. has often proved to be unfriendly territory, evidenced by failed bids by Chinese firms to gain inroads in oil and telecommunications.

Beijing wants Europe to lift its arms trade embargo and give China access to leading technology to boost its domestic producers. Beijing also hopes to win so-called market economy status from the EU to help fend off any accusations that it is dumping exports.

Chinese commitments in Europe also could defuse complaints among the EU states about Beijing's persistent trade surplus and human rights record.

Liu Baocheng, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said China's vows to help Europe could "win favorable opinions of the Chinese government's image and Chinese companies."

"China wants to show it is doing its part to stabilize the global economy and help partners in difficult times," he said. "They think the current financial difficulties experienced by EU countries will be over. The risk is not that high."

Not everyone in Europe is sold. An article last month in the Italian financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore echoed a less sanguine view held in parts of the continent. "Guaranteeing financial support to the whole of Europe in its hour of need, China offers a blank check to Brussels — a hefty one which sooner or later will require payment with interest, and one that Europe cannot refuse to honor."

david.pierson@latimes.com

henry.chu@latimes.com

When PIIGS Fly

The PIIGS of Europe.

Portugal
Ireland
Italy
Greece
Spain

Broke economies. Broken countries.

DOUBLE-DIP RECESSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMERICA'S DEATH KNELL

THE LATINIZATION OF THIS ONCE MIGHTY REPUBLIC ASSURES THE DEMISE OF THE UNITED STATES AS A CONSEQUENTIAL POWER. CHARACTERISTICS OF LATINIZATION INCLUDE:

• LOW ACHIEVEMENTS
• HIGH BIRTH RATES
• TOUCHY-FEELY PUBLIC POLICIES
  
• EROSION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS IN FAVOR OF A SMALL ELITE CLASS AND A MASSIVE CLASS OF LAZY, WHINING BUMS
• HIGH OBESITY RATES
• LARGE GOVERNMENT
• SI, SE PUEDE
• CHICKENS AND GOATS IN THE MIDDLE OF LOS ANGELES
  

VOODOO ECONOMICS!

Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25083.html

By Eamon Javers

Of all the statistics pouring into the White House every day, top economic adviser Larry Summers highlighted one Friday to make his case that the economic free-fall has ended.

The number of people searching for the term “economic depression” on Google is down to normal levels, Summers said.

Searches for the term were up four-fold when the recession deepened in the earlier part of the year, and the recent shift goes to show consumer confidence is higher, Summers told the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Summers continued the administration’s push-back against critics of President Barack Obama’s handling of the recession, defending the economic stimulus package against Republicans who have tried to paint the program as a failure because it hasn’t stemmed the unemployment rate.

“We pledged at the time the Recovery Act became law that some of the spending and tax effects would begin almost immediately.,” Summers said in prepared remarks. “We also noted that the impact of the Recovery Act would build up over time, peaking during 2010 with about 70 percent of the total stimulus provided in the first 18 months. Now, five months after the passage, we are on track to meet that timeline. “

Summers rattled off a list of accomplishments of the stimulus package:

“More than $43 billion in immediate tax relief has reached households and businesses. Another $64 billion has been channeled into the economy through aid to state and local governments, expansions in social programs, and spending on education, housing, and transportation projects. In addition to the amount that has already been paid out, another $120 billion in spending has been obligated by the federal government and is on track to begin working its way into the economy.”

Not So Messianic: Under Obama, 2 Million Job Losses in Six Months

Since January, the United States has seen 2 million jobs vanished into thin air. Whither Mr. Obama's stimulus plan?

AMERIKKKA'S DESCENT INTO HADES

Found this article from Pravda via the Drudge Report. Notwithstanding the poor grammar and syntax, the gist of the article is correct.

**************************************************************************
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

	BREAKING NEWS Lessons of democracy from the USA
	The strict traditions of Sumo wrestling More...

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

Miserable Cities

From Forbes.com, the hardest hit American cities in the current Bush-Obama recession/mini-depression:

1. Providence, R.I.
(Providence-Fall River-Warwick, R.I.-Mass., metro area) Population: 1.6 million Cost of Living Index: 122 Median Income: $54,064 February 2009 Unemployment Rate: 11.6%

2. Los Angeles, Calif.
(Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., metro area) Population: 12.9 million Cost of Living Index: 148 Median Income: $56,680 February 2009 Unemployment Rate: 10.2%

3. Riverside, Calif.
(Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., metro area) Population: 4.1 million Cost of Living Index: 120 Median Income: $54,991 February 2009 Unemployment Rate: 12.2%

4. Tampa, Fla.
(Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., metro area) Population: 2.7 million Cost of Living Index: 96 Median Income: $45,243 February 2009 Unemployment Rate: 10.2%

5. Buffalo, N.Y.
(Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y., metro area) Population: 1.1 million Cost of Living Index: 96 Median Income: $44,747 February 2009 Unemployment Rate: 9.6%

Click here to see the full list of U.S. Cities Where It's Hardest to Get By.

In a Word, Socialism

Mr. Obama's 2009-10 federal budget proposal, which totals about $3.6 trillion, is the largest in the United States history and the largest single-year increase ever. Estimates from Mr. Obama's own Democratic Party project a $7 TRILLION deficit between now and 2019. As a frame of reference, in past years, the federal budget deficit, which gets thrown into the ever-mounting federal debt load, averaged about $200-$400 billion per annum.

This is irresponsible socialism. One day -- and this day is fast approaching -- creditors like China and Japan will stop financing the United States government's spending spree. And then the only solution left for Obama and company will be to print even more fiat money, which is a recipe for economic calamity.

So this is the way Amerikkka is going to die: by the bucketful of debased currency...

How Low Will It Go? The Dow at 5,000?

With continued chaos in the financial sector and a deepening global mini-depression -- in addition to political instability in the forms of North Korea and Iran -- it is not inconceivable that the Dow Jones Industrial Index will fall to about 5,000 points in the next few months. We're now looking at a prolonged recession. Thank you very much sub-primers!!!