If I ever needed examples of how the financial game shows manipulate news, I got a few great examples from them in just the past week.
The wonderful “jobs number” was touted as great news. The fact that over 1.2 million PART-TIME jobs were created and over 800,000 FULL TIME jobs were lost was not mentioned in most of the “reporting”. (BLS)
The fact is that, as “jobs” are being created, jobs that can actually support a decent lifestyle are disappearing. This should come as no shock to anyone paying attention since just about all economic reports have been terrible for the past couple of years and the numbers are deteriorating at an increasing pace. Always a surprise to the “experts” on TV.
Why would companies be hiring when all of the leading economic indicators are pointing down hard?
I have witnessed the same crowd talking about a “strong consumer” because spending is up. What they fail to mention is that inflation is surging, and people have NO CHOICE but to spend more to get the same or less goods. They point to higher credit card balances as proof. Who in their right mind would carry debt with an average interest rate of over 22% unless they had to? According to USDEBTCLOCK.ORG, credit card debt outstanding is at a record amount pushing 1.3 TRILLION DOLLARS with an average interest rate that would make a loan shark blush.
Another bit of misinformation comes in the form of reporting GDP numbers where added debt is counted as growth. I really thought that the most disgusting headline was how the Ukraine war really bailed out our economy. The real story here is that without government spending the actual “growth” numbers would be SEVERELY negative. Somehow, I don’t see war as being a positive for ANYTHING.
I often wonder just what our country might look like if we actually spent the $8 Trillion and counted for the war on terror on our own infrastructure instead. I believe our airports, cities, highways and rail systems would be far better than the current state of disrepair. Our electricity delivery and water systems would also likely be brought into the 21st century also. Instead, we spend “money” that has been conjured up from nowhere- AND WE PAY INTEREST ON IT- to destroy others and rebuild there. It appears to me to be a way for some companies to have an endless stream of income from destruction and reconstruction. How about the people whose lives have been ruined (or lost)?
Another HUGE form of misinformation is when we calculate our debt to GDP. In 2010, economists Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart published a paper that said that once a country’s debt to GDP reached 90% economic growth would slow down. This has been proven to be true in my opinion because as our debts have gone higher our economic activity has been collapsing. It has been hidden well by nothing more than MORE DEBT.
We all agree that our GDP is over $27 TRILLION while our national debt is approaching $34 TRILLION. That makes our debt to GDP 124%- WELL over the 90%. Let’s look a little deeper. According to the US DEBTCLOCK.org the total spending by Federal, State and local entities is over $10 TRILLION. If we take out government spending (without accounting for how many times that spending actually ripples through the economy) GDP would fall to $17 TRILLION and actual debt to GDP would be 200%.
The sad part is that we are burying ourselves deeper and deeper into debt to pretend that we still have a vibrant and growing economy when the real truth is that we are “printing up” money to mask the fact that our economy is collapsing around us.
These are the exact same actions that have led to currencies being destroyed in the past.
For anyone who may still think that this is the same country that we grew up in just think of the things that made this country great.
#1 Individual responsibility. That has been replaced with putting blame on everyone else.
#2 Work ethic. In the past people would go without rather than accept a handout. Today, people are proud that they can game the system for their short-term benefit.
#3 Trust in the rule of law and equal treatment under the law. Not only is it obvious that there are many sets of rules and the farther you are from the top the more harshly you are being treated.
#4 Honesty and integrity from leaders. Our “leaders” are constantly getting caught being bribed, taking kickbacks, you name it. Public “service” has become a way for many to amass assets that cannot be explained by the salaries that they are earning.
#5 Concern for our fellow man. It appears to me that many aren’t even concerned for themselves let alone anyone else. This is manifesting as crime, drug use and violence across this country.
#6 A sense of unity and being in this for each other. Today, it seems like most people care only about themselves and a few people or causes close to them. Dialogue has been replaced with destruction.
#7 PEACE. How can anyone have a peaceful life when many of our young people are stationed around the world and many of our intelligence agencies are creating chaos across the globe and it is now being exposed?
There are many more things that made this country great that we have abandoned- like a belief in a higher being. If the politicians don’t fear a higher, being you wind up getting a Hitler or a Stalin at some point. We may be closer than many believe. The snooping our government does would have made the Nazis jealous.
The bottom line is that the world is recognizing that the USA is a shell of its former self. This is adding to the selling of US dollars and Treasuries by foreigners and also in the buying of gold to try and preserve the purchasing power that is being destroyed by central bank “printing” globally.
The United States has :”promises to repay” of close to $34 TRILLION. They have “promises to pay (unfunded liabilities) of nearly $200 TRILLION.
I ask many times – What is the VALUE of a promise that cannot- or will not – be kept? I should also ask What is the VALUE of a promise kept in an asset that has no VALUE left?
I haven’t even mentioned all-time high personal, corporate, city and state debt that is getting harder and harder to carry as tax receipts are falling, corporate profits are collapsing, and many jobs are being lost.
This all just leads to more faux cash to kick the can down the road a little farther.
I believe anyone who is expecting the Fed to be able to “fix it” this time is likely to be majorly disappointed because the cure applied since 2008 (TRILLIONS IN NEW DEBT) is now the disease.
Be Prepared!
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