Don’t Worry, the Economy is Going to be Just Fine

The American Dream
March 5, 2011

Haven’t you heard?  The coming economic collapse has officially been cancelled.  The U.S. economy is in full recovery mode.  It has just been announced that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.9% in February.  That was the third monthly decline in a row.  192,000 new jobs were created in the U.S. during February.  That was the fifth month in a row in which the U.S. economy has gained jobs.  Corporate profits are way up.  For the most recent month that numbers are available, sales of GM vehicles were up 49%, sales of Chrysler vehicles were up 13%, and sales of Ford vehicles were up 10%.  Can’t you see?  The great American economic machine has roared back to life.  The stock market is way up this year.  The recession is over.  Our financial system is more stable than ever.  Pretty soon all Americans that want jobs are going to be able to get jobs and all of our government debts are going to be paid off.  The greatest days for the U.S. economy are just around the corner.  So don’t worry, be happy.
Don’t worry, be happy – the U.S. unemployment rate is falling and it will continue to fall.  Don’t be concerned that according to Gallup, the U.S. unemployment rate actually rose to 10.3% at the end of February.  Everyone knows that U.S. government numbers are far more accurate than the numbers that Gallup puts out.  Just don’t pay any attention to the “doom and gloomers” and just keep on watching American Idol.  Very soon there will be plenty of jobs for everyone.

Read the entire article

‘Perfect Storm' to Sap Risk Appetite for Aussie Dollar

Monday, 28 Feb 2011 09:09 AM

 Moneynews.com

By Sean Hyman

There are many events all at once that aren’t good for the risk appetite of investors around the globe.

For instance, oil is hitting triple digits again as it hangs out around the $100-a-barrel level. So oil prices have literally tripled since December of 2008. That’s eventually going to take a toll on the global GDP numbers and weigh down global growth like ankle weights on a runner if those high prices continue.

Then there’s the uprising that we’ve seen in Tunisia and Egypt that caused their presidents (aka dictators) to fall from power. But then the protests started spreading as fast as a cancer all over the Middle East.

Before long, protests were happening in Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, etc. If these uprisings spread to Saudi Arabia, where the lion’s share of the world’s oil is found, then oil could jump to $150 to $200 a barrel with no problem. Gasoline prices could go to $4 to $5 a gallon.

This would sap consumer spending as more of the average consumer’s paycheck had to go into their gas tanks, which would leave fewer dollars to be spent in the retail market place. As retail sales slumped, it would also weigh down consumer sentiment at the same time.

So this thing could get really ugly if these protests really gear up in Saudi Arabia. Keep an eye out for that.

Read more: ‘Perfect Storm' to Sap Risk Appetite for Aussie Dollar

4 Dems join GOP fight to block EPA climate rules

By DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press 

Thu Mar 3, 8:12 pm ET

 

WASHINGTON – Four Democrats are joining a Republican effort to block the Environmental Protection Agency from reducing heat-trapping pollution blamed for global warming.

Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia will sponsor a bill supported by 43 Senate and seven House Republicans that would bar the EPA from using federal law to control greenhouse gases from power plants, refineries and other industrial facilities.

The measure is the latest to be introduced in the Republican-controlled House, where at least a half-dozen bills target the EPA and its efforts to control air and water pollution. Several bills blocking or delaying agency rules have also been filed in the Senate, where their fate is far less certain.

None of the EPA's actions is as controversial as its rules on global warming, which Republicans and some Democrats say will raise energy costs and cause job losses in an already fragile economy. The Obama administration counters that controlling global warming pollution is necessary based on scientific evidence that it is threatening public health and the environment. The EPA also says the rules will ultimately yield more health and economic benefits than costs, much like many other Clean Air Act regulations.

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People Of Earth: Prepare For Economic Disaster

The Economic Collapse
March 5, 2011

It is not just the United States that is headed for an economic collapse.  The truth is that the entire world is heading for a massive economic meltdown and the people of earth need to be warned about the coming economic disaster that is going to sweep the globe.  The current world financial system is based on debt, and there are alarming signs that the gigantic global debt bubble is getting ready to burst.  In addition, global prices for the key resources that the major economies of the planet depend on are rising very rapidly.

Despite all of our advanced technology, the truth is that human civilization simply cannot function without oil and food.  But now the price of oil and the price of food are both increasing dramatically.  So how is the current global economy supposed to keep functioning properly if it soon costs much more to ship products between continents?  How are the billions of people that are just barely surviving today supposed to feed themselves if the price of food goes up another 30 or 40 percent?  For decades, most of the major economies around the globe have been able to take for granted that massive amounts of cheap oil and massive amounts of cheap food will always be there.  So what happens when that paradigm changes?
At last check, the price of U.S. crude was over 104 dollars a barrel and the price of Brent crude was over 115 dollars a barrel.  Many analysts fear that if the crisis in Libya escalates or if the chaos in the Middle East spreads that we could see the all-time record of 147 dollars a barrel broken by the end of the year.  That would be absolutely disastrous for the global economy.

But it isn’t just the chaos in the Middle East that is driving oil prices.  The truth is that oil prices have been moving upwards for months.  The recent revolutions in the Middle East have only accelerated the trend.
Let’s just hope that the “day of rage” being called for in Saudi Arabia later this month does not turn into a full-blown revolution like we have seen in other Middle Eastern countries.  The Saudis keep a pretty tight grip on their people, but at this point anything is possible.  A true revolution in Saudi Arabia would send oil prices into unprecedented territory very quickly.

But even without all of the trouble in the Middle East the world was already heading for an oil crunch.  The global demand for oil is rising at a very vigorous pace.  For example, last year Chinese demand for oil increased by almost 1 million barrels per day.  That is absolutely staggering.  The Chinese are now buying more new cars every year than Americans are, and so Chinese demand for oil is only going to continue to increase.

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Documents Reveal TSA Research Proposal To Body-Scan Pedestrians, Train Passengers

Andy Greenberg
Forbes
March 3, 2011

Updated with the TSA’s response below, which denies implementing airport-style scans in mass transit.

Giving Transportation Security Administration agents a peek under your clothes may soon be a practice that goes well beyond airport checkpoints. Newly uncovered documents show that as early as 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been planning pilot programs to deploy mobile scanning units that can be set up at public events and in train stations, along with mobile x-ray vans capable of scanning pedestrians on city streets.

The non-profit Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on Wednesday published documents it obtained from the Department of Homeland Security showing that from 2006 to 2008 the agency planned a study of of new anti-terrorism technologies that EPIC believes raise serious privacy concerns. The projects range from what the DHS describes as “a walk through x-ray screening system that could be deployed at entrances to special events or other points of interest” to “covert inspection of moving subjects” employing the same backscatter imaging technology currently used in American airports.

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Why the Dollar’s Reign Is Near an End

For decades the dollar has served as the world's main reserve currency, but, argues Barry Eichengreen, it will soon have to share that role. Here's why—and what it will mean for international markets and companies.

WALL STREET JOURNAL

By BARRY EICHENGREEN

March 2, 2011 

The single most astonishing fact about foreign exchange is not the high volume of transactions, as incredible as that growth has been. Nor is it the volatility of currency rates, as wild as the markets are these days.
Instead, it's the extent to which the market remains dollar-centric.

Consider this: When a South Korean wine wholesaler wants to import Chilean cabernet, the Korean importer buys U.S. dollars, not pesos, with which to pay the Chilean exporter. Indeed, the dollar is virtually the exclusive vehicle for foreign-exchange transactions between Chile and Korea, despite the fact that less than 20% of the merchandise trade of both countries is with the U.S.

Chile and Korea are hardly an anomaly: Fully 85% of foreign-exchange transactions world-wide are trades of other currencies for dollars. What's more, what is true of foreign-exchange transactions is true of other international business. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sets the price of oil in dollars. The dollar is the currency of denomination of half of all international debt securities. More than 60% of the foreign reserves of central banks and governments are in dollars.

The greenback, in other words, is not just America's currency. It's the world's.

But as astonishing as that is, what may be even more astonishing is this: The dollar's reign is coming to an end.

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New mini documentary exposes the truth about fluoride: Industrial waste chemicals passed off as medicine

Mike Adams
NaturalNews
March 1, 2011
Water fluoridation around the world is achieved through the purchase of chemically contaminated toxic waste chemicals from China which are then labeled “fluoride” and dumped into public water supplies in local cities and towns. That’s the conclusion of a shocking new mini documentary released today by the Consumer Wellness Center (http://www.consumerwellness.org/).



The video is now available for viewing on NaturalNews.TV:
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=42652E035A1B1BAAAE1F340B54694975
The 12-minute video documents the history of fluoride and how this toxic chemical is produced as an industrial byproduct of the phosphate mining industry. Decades ago, fluoride used to be released into the air through the smokestacks of phosphate mining operations, but this resulted in the widespread death of cattle and plants on nearby farms and ranches. To stop the deaths, phosphate mining companies installed “wet scrubbers” that captured the toxic fluoride chemical vapors.

While consumers might think that deadly fluoride chemicals captured in these wet scrubbers are disposed of as hazardous industrial waste, the surprising truth is that they are sold to cities and towns as “fluoride” to be dumped into the local water supply where they are consumed by adults and children. This is all being done to “prevent cavities” — a medical claim that technically turns fluoride into an unapproved drug being used in an illegal mass medication scheme.

The FDA has never approved fluoride as a drug, and no recipient of fluoride has ever been medically evaluate for their “need” for the drug.

The full story of fluoride is revealed in The Fluoride Deception, available for viewing at the Consumer Wellness Center website: http://www.consumerwellness.org/

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A National ID Card For American Citizens? Get Ready – The Real ID Act Goes Into Effect On May 11

endoftheamericandream.com
March 1, 2011



..you might want to brush up on the Real ID Act because it is going to go into effect on May 11, 2011 unless something is done to stop it. 


For a moment, imagine a future where you are not able to drive a car, get on a plane, get on a train, vote, enter a federal building, open a bank account or get a job without a national ID card. You don't think that could ever happen in America? Well, you might want to brush up on the Real ID Act because it is going to go into effect on May 11, 2011 unless something is done to stop it. 

When I first learned this, I was absolutely stunned.  After all, wasn't the Real ID Act supposed to be "dead"?  A few years ago state legislatures across the nation were in an uproar over this law.  The Department of Homeland Security was forced to delay implementation of it several times.  But now it is back.  You see, this is what the federal government often does.  They will try to push something very unpopular through, and if they meet resistance they will "play dead" until the uproar has died down and then they will come right back and implement it anyway.  This is what is happening with the Real ID Act.

As of May 11, all driver's licenses across the United States will be required to conform to federal national security standards.  In essence, our licenses are now going to be federalized.

Yes, this is really happening.  A Fox News article from a couple weeks ago confirmed that these "national ID cards" will be required to board airplanes and enter federal buildings....

States must be in compliance by May with the regulations laid out in the 2005 REAL ID Act. The law, a recommendation of the Sept. 11 commission that investigated the 2001 terror attacks, creates a national security standard for state-issued identification cards to be used for purposes like boarding airplanes and entering federal buildings.

Isn't that great?
Now security goons will be able to ask us for our "papers" just like they used to do in Nazi Germany and the USSR.

Back in 2008, former U.S. Representative Bob Barr wrote the following about how not having one of these new national ID cards will automatically strip us of some of our most fundamental rights....

"A person not possessing a Real ID Act-compliant identification card could not enter any federal building, or an office of his or her congressman or senator or the U.S. Capitol. This effectively denies that person their fundamental rights to assembly and to petition the government as guaranteed in the First Amendment."

Of course the Department of Homeland Security insists that the Real ID Act is just here to "help" us and to make life "better" and "more secure".  According to their website, some of the goals of the Real ID Act are "to help prevent terrorism, reduce fraud, and improve the reliability and accuracy of personal identification documents."

Read the entire article

Report: US Special Forces Arrive In Libya

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
March 1, 2011


Image: Wikimedia Commons

US Special Forces have reportedly landed in Libya to train anti-Gaddafi rebels as a western-backed coup d’état in the oil-rich nation nears, with British and French “defense advisors” also arriving to set up training bases in the rebel-controlled eastern region of the country.

According to a report in the Pakistan Observer, hundreds of special forces personnel from the US, Britain and France arrived on February 23 and 24 in “American and French warships and small naval boats off Libyan ports of Benghazi and Tobruk.”

The article states that the report was confirmed by a Libyan diplomat in the region, who said that “The three Western states have landed their special forces troops in Cyrinacia and are now setting up their bases and training centres,” in a bid to bolster rebel forces resisting Gaddafi’s militia in the surrounding region.
“The Western forces are reportedly preparing to set-up training bases for local militias set-up by the rebel forces for an effective control of the oil-rich region and counter any push by pro-Qaddafi forces from Tripoli,” states the report.

In addition, efforts to “neutralize” the Libyan Air Force are underway in a bid to stymie Gaddafi’s ability to rule from Tripoli if he manages to remain in power.

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Gold Climbs on Libyan Unrest, Weakening Dollar; Silver Nears 31-Year High

Bloomberg
By Nicolas Larkin
March 1, 2011

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, talks about his investment strategy for global stocks and commodities. Gold advanced, approaching a record, as tensions in the Middle East boosted oil prices, increasing demand for precious metals as a protector of wealth and hedge against inflation. Rogers also discusses his strategy for the U.S. dollar. He speaks in Hong Kong with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)

Gold climbed to an eight-week high in London as unrest in Libya and a weakening dollar spurred demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Silver advanced to the highest price since 1980.

Libya’s opposition gained fresh support from the U.S. and European nations as leader Muammar Qaddafi sent forces to regain lost territory. The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, earlier today fell to the lowest level in more than three months. Gold, which traded within 0.9 percent of a record, typically moves inversely to the U.S. currency.

“Prices are up as the dollar weakens slightly and concerns remain that unrest in the Middle East could lead to more significant protests,” John Meyer, an analyst at Fairfax IS in London, wrote in a report today.

Read the entire article

Prepare for an Economic Meltdown

Newsmax.com

By Matt Towery

February 28, 2011

In 2006, I examined a series of surveys we conducted nationwide and then predicted a collapse of the housing market. Plenty others followed with similar forecasts and postmortems over the following months and years. But my column was among the first.
 

I've made predictions about other slowdowns in the American economy. I've been mostly correct, although in 2010, I suggested that the stock market ultimately would plunge. Turned out that it climbed instead of descending. The fact is that it's easier to predict the weather next month than to get an accurate read on the future of the stock market.
 

My timing was off in predicting a plummeting of the stock market, my but theory still stands. But the sobering news may extend beyond just that. A more immediate happening could be the sudden and silent rise in the cost of living for average Americans, thanks to continuing stagnant wages, plus unemployment that is higher than the official numbers. These numbers don't take into account the many who have fallen off the unemployment rolls or have simply given up looking for work.
 

It's true enough that some of those who predict oil prices may be overstating the severity and the extent of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. There is little question that the outcome of this broad geopolitical conflict probably won't be decided for at least months.
 

Observers should recall that when the pro-American monarch in Iran was overthrown in 1979, most foreign policy experts in the Jimmy Carter White House believed that university students, bureaucrats and the educated classes in Iran would form a loose coalition that would transform that country into some kind of democracy. Then the Islamist Ayatollah Khomeini entered the stage. Within a year, Americans had been taken hostage in the U.S. embassy in Iran.

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Gerald Celente on RT - "There is no recovery - it's a coverup!"

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!!!
Mark Matheny
March 1, 2011



Trends forecaster Gerald Celente appeared on RT February 28, 2011, explaining how the circus called the U.S. government is running America - right into disaster.

Current predictions circulating among economists are that oil prices may soon hit $200 a barrel. Lindsey Williams, a well known Chaplain and close associate with oil company elites has revealed that the globalists in charge behind the scenes are planning to push oil prices as high as $150- 200 a barrel before 2012.

Gerald Celente states the only possible way for oil prices to jump so high would be for "an outbreak" to occur in a major oil-producing country such as Saudi Arabia, or in Iran. The "outbreak" he refers to would be open revolution, rioting, and chaos that is currently happening along the northern part of Africa, and in parts of the Middle East.

One of the other scenarios he brings out, would be the closing of the Suez Canal.

"... But what we're looking at really, is very reminiscent of the late 1970's, 1979 when the Iranian crisis broke out. Because there's another element in this that's important. It's inflation. And what we're looking at.. as we look back in the 70's, it was high inflation - plus the Iranian crisis, an oil spike.

You have the same thing going on now...."

Gerald argues the oil prices have been going up before the recent chaos in the Middle East, and it's due to the de-valuing of the U.S. dollar, and that the only reason the "ponzi scheme" continues is due to the control by the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates at 0%.

He argues that as inflation increases, the Fed will push interest rates up eventually, in order to keep oil and other commodity prices down since they are tied to the dollar. As the interest rates start to increase, the economy here in the U.S. will go even further into tailspin.

One other point brought out by Gerald Celente is the fact that the current puppet regime in the White House is "cooking the books" on the unemployment numbers and current inflation rates. They are making their own rules on how to determine inflation rates by leaving out essential information such as food and fuel prices. The same is being done with White House unemployment numbers by simply leaving out those who have given up looking for jobs, as well as other deceptive "carnie" tricks (in reference to White House spokesperson Carnie) in which Celente compares the administration to a traveling carnival act.

In closing, Celente states:

"... There is no recovery, it's a coverup. It's only being boosted by these low interest rates, which again, when inflation skyrockets- they're gonna have to raise them, and that crashes the economy..." 

Again, I am reminded of the words of Maurice Strong, who stated that essentially, it would be necessary for a collapse of industrialized nations economically, to further the agenda of carbon taxes, UN dominance, and ultimately - Global Governance aka, A NEW WORLD ORDER.

V FOR VICTORY - YOU ARE THE RESISTANCE!

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!!!
March 1, 2011



YOU ARE THE  RESISTANCE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TYRANNY!!

Provocateurs and Government Terror War Campaign

Provocateurs and Government Terror War Campaign from The John Birch Society on Vimeo.

Globalist Shill Barack Obama Asks Business Leaders For Job Creation Ideas Even As He Ships More Of Our Jobs Overseas As Part Of The New One World Economy

The American Dream
Feb 25, 2011

The other day, Barack Obama summoned a group of business and labor leaders to the White House and “challenged” them to come up with some great ideas for creating more jobs inside the United States.

 Meanwhile, Barack Obama is pushing hard for Congress to approve the new free trade agreement with South Korea.  This is yet another bad “free trade agreement” in a long string of bad “free trade agreements” that are absolutely gutting the U.S. economy.  The truth is that the United States has become a nation which is constantly consuming more while at the same time producing less and less. 

The gap between the wealth that this nation produces and the wealth that this nation consumes is becoming absolutely astronomical.  But instead of fighting for changes that would keep American jobs in America, Barack Obama has allied himself with the multinational corporations that are making huge profits by outsourcing and offshoring our middle class jobs as part of the new one world economy. 

Our politicians can give speeches until they are blue in the face about how “wonderful” globalism is, but the truth is that it is taking millions of our jobs away and it is ripping the U.S. middle class to shreds.

Read the entire article

Citizens Have The Right To Self-Defense

Post-Journal.com
February 27, 2011

To the Readers' Forum:

In his letter "Re-Examining Second Amendment Rights," the author claims the idea of self-defense "evolved along with changes in our society." One reason for his claim is that when the Constitution was written there was no rhetorical cry of "if guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns." Firstly, that's not rhetorical - it's literal. Secondly, no such cry existed back then because there was no threat of outlawing guns. Gradual restrictions on guns are what eventually led to such cries.

The author believes the fear of "crazed gunmen" didn't exist when our constitution was written, and thus there was no "self-dense" rhetoric. Not true. The right to bear arms for individual protection was well-known to our forefathers. English law had declared it suitable that a man keep a gun for protecting his family. Children had guns and knew how to use them. Gun ownership in that society was so common and understood that specifically saying "for self-defense" in our constitution seemed unnecessary - it was obvious. Dismissing the self-defense notion by saying it "evolved along with changes in our society" is historically inaccurate - it existed then and it still exists now.

The author questions the effectiveness of armed citizens, mentioning the recent Tucson shooting but failing to mention the armed citizen who assisted in restraining the shooter. This shooting caused inevitable cries for stricter gun laws. But would gun laws have prevented it? Many shootings actually occur in places where it's illegal to possess firearms. Schools, for example, have become popular places for loons to shoot many people with little resistance specifically because they're gun free.

Consider the home invasion of William Petit. He was brutally beaten, tied up in his basement, and forced to listen as thugs raped, tormented, and murdered his wife and daughters on the floors above him. Maybe owning a gun would've helped, maybe not. But who's to deny a man's right to protect his family?

Lastly, the author ridicules my pro-gun reasoning, joking of a society where Wal-Mart greeters and teachers are armed "just in case." Yet many shootings do occur in schools and other public places where armed officials are not on guard. How funny that he mocks a society where good people are armed in the very places shootings generally occur! Considering the frequency of public shootings, "just in case" is an understatement.

Rick Hammond
Jamestown

South Korean bank run gathers steam

  

South Korean bank run gathers steam

•February 27, 2011 • 2 Comments

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932614

Domin Bank, a savings bank with a capital adequacy ratio below 5 percent, voluntarily decided yesterday to suspend its operations temporarily because of massive withdrawals, becoming the country’s eighth savings bank to close.

The decision took both depositors and financial regulators by surprise since it was the first time that a local bank shut its doors on its own.
Domin Bank, which has six branches in Gangwon, was placed on a watch list last week by the Financial Services Commission. The move triggered a bank run on Domin Bank.

According to Domin Bank, deposits amounting 31.8 billion won ($28.2 million) were withdrawn since last Thursday, including 18.8 billion won on Monday.

The news of Domin Bank’s temporary closure came as FSC Chairman Kim Seok-dong was visiting Mokpo, South Jeolla, where recently suspended Bohae Savings Bank is located.

“This savings bank was supposed to submit a management improvement plan to the FSC by Feb. 24,” said Kim. “We will now have to review whether [the closure] is even legally O.K.”

Bae Joon-soo, senior FSC deputy director, said, “I think it is legally and morally wrong for a financial firm to do such a thing.”

The financial regulator and the Federation of Savings Banks failed to persuade Domin Bank to resume its operation yesterday.

The bank in notices posted on the doors of every branch said that it had taken the move “as a means to soothe the crisis involving massive withdrawals.”

The notice continued, “We will resume operation after we are reborn as a sound savings bank by increasing our paid-in capital to achieve a capital adequacy ratio of 8 percent.”

Meanwhile, Woori Finance Holdings said it would provide emergency funds to Woolee Savings Bank after a bank run this week. The measure is aimed to “help relieve the bank’s liquidity shortage,” Woori said in the statement.

Analysis from ZH: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/korean-bank-run-spreading-eighth-bank-closes-following-massive-withdrawals

———-

oh?..you hadnt heard about that?..i see..no matter..continue on..its probably nothing..

401

Posted in Asia, South Korea, World Finances

No wonder you have tears in your eyes. We’re peeling the onion that is Social Security.

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!!!

Jim Gries

February 27, 2011

Excuse me, Mr. President

This week President Obama said: "When it comes to choices about our budget and priorities, we have found common ground before, Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill came together to save Social Security".  Excuse me, with all due respect Mr. President, as a member of the custodial generation, and more importantly a certifiable grandparent, I find your statement lacking in fact, an insult to my intelligence, and quite frankly, an affront to my 15 grandchildren.  It's exactly why meaningful dialogue on this issue is so lacking; you can't begin with fairy-tale statements, and expect to end up with logical real-world solutions.  The common ground you referenced began with Reagan and O'Neill sipping suds at an Irish pub in DC 30 years ago, and thirty years later millions of middle class working Americans are waking up with a financial hangover.  In other words the “common ground” Social Security solution has put middle class America on shaky financial ground.  

No doubt Social Security has been a force for good, however post 1983 its morphed into a cancer on middle class working Americans.  Evidence can be found littered across main street America; lost jobs, home foreclosures, bankruptcies, and financial institutions unable to fund business growth and new job creation.   2.54 trillion dollars of potential Social Security trust fund assets have been turned into a 2.54 trillion dollar debt.  Mr. President, that’s a 5 trillion dollar net loss, and that’s what this conversation has to be about; “common ground” be damned.  Personally I pencil in the “I’m entitled” box, however at the same time the left side of my brain is asking, if you’re entitled who’s obligated?   That intra-gray matter conversation informs me there’s more than one party who has a stake in the outcome of this Social Security debate.  One wants their retirement benefits fully funded until the day they expire, and another would like to have more of their paychecks left to build their own retirement estates.  That’s why this conversation belongs in the intra-generational conference room, and has to be built on “solid ground” not political common ground.  

We’ve completed a preliminary assessment of the issue, demonstrating the results of the 1983 “common ground” legislation: http://sobreport.com/?p=66  Then built a “solid ground” treatment plan that allows middle class working Americans, their families, and the communities they call home to prosper again: http://sobreport.com/?p=70  Finally Mr. President, common ground solutions crumble under financial tremors, while “solid ground” solutions are built to withstand financial quakes. 

Take the stick out of their eyes, and put a carrot in their future.  Be the seed in your community; we provide the fertilizer, and growing directions.

Jim G.

352.293.4496