MUST read email received today..very interesting

[xiamiam]

Hi~

These questions were written by my dear "brother," who, in his current profession, is paying very close attention.
I expect you won't be happy with me for sending this, but just maybe, it will be helpful in the long run for planning ahead. He is not pulling any punches and I didn't like reading it either. I'm sorry if you find it too direct, but forewarned is forearmed, right? Heads out of the sand. The truth of it is palpable.

I also feel that holding a brighter Vision in one's heart and mind is essential. We all have the ability to self correct.

Love,
D




Any “recovery” that the U.S. economy is experiencing is illusory and will be quite temporary. The entire financial system of the United States is falling apart, and the powers that be can try to patch it up and prop it up for a while, but in the end this thing is going to come crashing down.


But as obvious as that may seem to most of us, there are still quite a few people out there that are absolutely convinced that the U.S. economy will fully recover and will soon be stronger than ever.
So the following are 25 questions to ask anyone who is delusional enough to believe that this economic recovery is real….


#1) In what universe is an economy with 39.68 million Americans on food stamps considered to be a healthy, recovering economy? In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that enrollment in the food stamp program will exceed 43 million Americans in 2011. Is a rapidly increasing number of Americans on food stamps a good sign or a bad sign for the economy?


#2) According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in the month of March. This was an increase of almost 19 percent from February, and it was the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report back in January 2005. So can you please explain again how the U.S. real estate market is getting better?


#3) The Mortgage Bankers Association just announced that more than 10 percent of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage had missed at least one payment in the January-March period. That was a record high and up from 9.1 percent a year ago. Do you think that is an indication that the U.S. housing market is recovering?


#4) How can the U.S. real estate market be considered healthy when, for the first time in modern history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together?


#5) With the U.S. Congress planning to quadruple oil taxes, what do you think that is going to do to the price of gasoline in the United States and how do you think that will affect the U.S. economy?


#6) Do you think that it is a good sign that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of the state of California, says that “terrible cuts” are urgently needed in order to avoid a complete financial disaster in his state?


#7) But it just isn’t California that is in trouble. Dozens of U.S. states are in such bad financial shape that they are getting ready for their biggest budget cuts in decades. What do you think all of those budget cuts will do to the economy?


#8) In March, the U.S. trade deficit widened to its highest level since December 2008. Month after month after month we buy much more from the rest of the world than they buy from us. Wealth is draining out of the United States at an unprecedented rate. So is the fact that the gigantic U.S. trade deficit is actually getting bigger a good sign or a bad sign for the U.S. economy?


#9) Considering the fact that the U.S. government is projected to have a 1.6 trillion dollar deficit in 2010, and considering the fact that if you went out and spent one dollar every single second it would take you more than 31,000 years to spend a trillion dollars, how can anyone in their right mind claim that the U.S. economy is getting healthier when we are getting into so much debt?
#10) The U.S. Treasury Department recently announced that the U.S. government suffered a wider-than-expected budget deficit of 82.69 billion dollars in April. So is the fact that the red ink of the U.S. government is actually worse than projected a good sign or a bad sign?


#11) According to one new report, the U.S. national debt will reach 100 percent of GDP by the year 2015. So is that a sign of economic recovery or of economic disaster?


#12) Monstrous amounts of oil continue to gush freely into the Gulf of Mexico, and analysts are already projecting that the seafood and tourism industries along the Gulf coast will be devastated for decades by this unprecedented environmental disaster. In light of those facts, how in the world can anyone project that the U.S. economy will soon be stronger than ever?


#13) The FDIC’s list of problem banks recently hit a 17-year high. Do you think that an increasing number of small banks failing is a good sign or a bad sign for the U.S. economy?


#14) The FDIC is backing 8,000 banks that have a total of $13 trillion in assets with a deposit insurance fund that is basically flat broke. So what do you think will happen if a significant number of small banks do start failing?


#15) Existing home sales in the United States jumped 7.6 percent in April. That is the good news. The bad news is that this increase only happened because the deadline to take advantage of the temporary home buyer tax credit (government bribe) was looming. So now that there is no more tax credit for home buyers, what will that do to home sales?

#16) Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently told the U.S. government that they are going to need even more bailout money. So what does it say about the U.S. economy when the two “pillars” of the U.S. mortgage industry are government-backed financial black holes that the U.S. government has to relentlessly pour money into?


#17) 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. Tens of millions of Americans find themselves just one lawsuit, one really bad traffic accident or one very serious illness away from financial ruin. With so many Americans living on the edge, how can you say that the economy is healthy?


#18) The mayor of Detroit says that the real unemployment rate in his city is somewhere around 50 percent. So can the U.S. really be experiencing an economic recovery when so many are still unemployed in one of America’s biggest cities?


#19) Gallup’s measure of underemployment hit 20.0% on March 15th. That was up from 19.7% two weeks earlier and 19.5% at the start of the year. Do you think that is a good trend or a bad trend?


#20) One new poll shows that 76 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. economy is still in a recession. So are the vast majority of Americans just stupid or could we still actually be in a recession?


#21) The bottom 40 percent of those living in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth. So is Barack Obama’s mantra that “what is good for Wall Street is good for Main Street” actually true?


#22) Richard Russell, the famous author of the Dow Theory Letters, says that Americans should sell anything they can sell in order to get liquid because of the economic trouble that is coming. Do you think that Richard Russell is delusional or could he possibly have a point?


#23) Defaults on apartment building mortgages held by U.S. banks climbed to a record 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2010. In fact, that was almost twice the level of a year earlier. Does that look like a good trend to you?


#24) In March, the price of fresh and dried vegetables in the United States soared 49.3% - the most in 16 years. Is it a sign of a healthy economy when food prices are increasing so dramatically?


#25) 1.41 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009 – a 32 percent increase over 2008. Not only that, more Americans filed for bankruptcy in March 2010 than during any month since U.S. bankruptcy law was tightened in October 2005. So shouldn’t we at least wait until the number of Americans filing for bankruptcy is not setting new all-time records before we even dare whisper the words “economic recovery”?

[gratuitous]

1. I've seen reports supporting many of these points

So I don't necessarily doubt the truth of much of it. However, there seems to be a real paucity of information about anything that preceded the current situation, omitting in particular any contributory effect of the economic policies championed and enacted by Republican administrations and congresses since 1981. It's as if a car is plunging into a ravine, and the analysis only goes back to the moment it rolled over the cliff's edge.

[wtmusic]

2. Your dear brother talks like a Republican.

Anyone who uses words/phrases like "monstrous", "relentlessly pour money into", "complete financial disaster" is trying to sell me something.

[EOTE]

5. These don't seem like republican talking points to me.

They seem to be legitimate, and scary as hell if you ask me.

[donco6]

3. If things are really that bleak - isn't it all pointless?

Eat, Drink and be Merry - for tomorrow we die.

[NoNothing]

8. Well, yes

Personally I don't see the U.S. being feasible as a political-economic entity for much longer. Our best hope is that it fails quickly, so something better can replace it.

[The Wielding Truth]

4. Unregulated free market does not work. Restoring this country

should NOT include any selfish or continued "profits over ethics" republican mantra. Science should be able to undo anything the create before it is released. Our leaders must be proven to be familiar with our national history, laws,social justice and wish to work for the good of mankind and our environment.

These 25 major mirror images of the mess we are experiencing are in need of resolutions. So if the right insists on playing power games, then we must fight their games and do our best to make progress the goal. Fixing their embezzlement will be our mantra.

They can complain or get on board.

[jpak]

6. D... D... D... D... DOOOoooooommm!!!1

the sky is falling!

:D

[zipplewrath]

7. Alot of repetition here

First of all, this is a "snapshot" in time that ignores how we got here, and where we are going.

#1) In what universe is an economy with 39.68 million Americans on food stamps considered to be a healthy, recovering economy? In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that enrollment in the food stamp program will exceed 43 million Americans in 2011. Is a rapidly increasing number of Americans on food stamps a good sign or a bad sign for the economy?

Any employment numbers are part of the "leading/lagging" problem. They are not, in and of themselves an indication of future activity. Food stamps will go up for some time. The larger problem here is that "real" incomes have been going down for a couple of decades. Even many folks in the military qualify for food stamps.


#2) According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in the month of March. This was an increase of almost 19 percent from February, and it was the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report back in January 2005. So can you please explain again how the U.S. real estate market is getting better?

#3) The Mortgage Bankers Association just announced that more than 10 percent of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage had missed at least one payment in the January-March period. That was a record high and up from 9.1 percent a year ago. Do you think that is an indication that the U.S. housing market is recovering?

#4) How can the U.S. real estate market be considered healthy when, for the first time in modern history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together?

Better than what? Real Estate is a very dynamic market right now and making any long term projections is a mistake. It will take the better part of 2 decades to sort it all out. We'll probably have another down turn in that time. That doesn't mean the system is ready to collapse. Of course the banks own an historic portion of the real estate. The bubble wiped out huge portions of peoples equity, large numbers are "underwater". That is not a sign of eminent collapse, but of a serious "correction" coming as the banks ultimately "write down" the values of these properties and sell them off.


#5) With the U.S. Congress planning to quadruple oil taxes, what do you think that is going to do to the price of gasoline in the United States and how do you think that will affect the U.S. economy?

It depends greatly upon the schedule of these taxes, and where they will be applied. If you think Congress is going to cut their own throats by phasing these in too quickly, you haven't been paying attention recently.


#6) Do you think that it is a good sign that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of the state of California, says that “terrible cuts” are urgently needed in order to avoid a complete financial disaster in his state?

No, so they may have to consider some "terrible revenue increases", say like that drivers license thingy that Arnold got elected OPPOSING. Or maybe a serious modification of Prop 21.


#7) But it just isn’t California that is in trouble. Dozens of U.S. states are in such bad financial shape that they are getting ready for their biggest budget cuts in decades. What do you think all of those budget cuts will do to the economy?

Or to those states. By the by, are republican in charge in those states, or who?


#8) In March, the U.S. trade deficit widened to its highest level since December 2008. Month after month after month we buy much more from the rest of the world than they buy from us. Wealth is draining out of the United States at an unprecedented rate. So is the fact that the gigantic U.S. trade deficit is actually getting bigger a good sign or a bad sign for the U.S. economy?

Where is it going and why? No, it's not good. Thank you NAFTA and the WTO. But how is that making the fundamental system "collapse"? It is a process that's been going on for a couple of decades now.


#9) Considering the fact that the U.S. government is projected to have a 1.6 trillion dollar deficit in 2010, and considering the fact that if you went out and spent one dollar every single second it would take you more than 31,000 years to spend a trillion dollars, how can anyone in their right mind claim that the U.S. economy is getting healthier when we are getting into so much debt?

Short term thinking about a long term problem. Clinton paid down our debt before, it can be done again. Gonna take time though.

#10) The U.S. Treasury Department recently announced that the U.S. government suffered a wider-than-expected budget deficit of 82.69 billion dollars in April. So is the fact that the red ink of the U.S. government is actually worse than projected a good sign or a bad sign?

Short term thinking.....

I could keep going, but.....

This whole screed is based upon a few basic false bits of logic. Short term trends are meaningless for long term predictions. He ignores long term trends that aren't particularly different now that they have been for 2 decades. Certain markets, especially real estate, are in VERY dynamic states right now and will take a long time to get sorted out.

[abelenkpe]

9. Well, a couple of thoughts....

#21) The bottom 40 percent of those living in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth. So is Barack Obama’s mantra that “what is good for Wall Street is good for Main Street” actually true?

Is that actually his mantra? I've never heard him say that. If the stock market tanks it will wipe out the retirement packages of many so there is that....

#17) 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. Tens of millions of Americans find themselves just one lawsuit, one really bad traffic accident or one very serious illness away from financial ruin. With so many Americans living on the edge, how can you say that the economy is healthy?

Yeah, this sucks. Funny tho cause so many republicans and libertarians think we should lay off government workers in a bid to break public sector unions and privatize things like schools, fire, police and jails. Which makes so much sense for improving the economy right? Lay off millions with the hope of creating jobs where people will earn less and get no benefits. I mean really? Are they idiots or what?

#5) With the U.S. Congress planning to quadruple oil taxes, what do you think that is going to do to the price of gasoline in the United States and how do you think that will affect the U.S. economy?

It will raise needed revenue for the government. And it will most likely raise the cost of oil spurring growth in alternative forms of energy and creating jobs in alternative energy. And maybe finally realizing the goal of energy independence.


#12) Monstrous amounts of oil continue to gush freely into the Gulf of Mexico, and analysts are already projecting that the seafood and tourism industries along the Gulf coast will be devastated for decades by this unprecedented environmental disaster. In light of those facts, how in the world can anyone project that the U.S. economy will soon be stronger than ever?

Notice money flowing to the US as the rest of the world grapples with economic uncertainty? Dollar up despite so many calling for it's death. Does that mean it's safe? Hell no. But the day the dollar goes down is after every other currency has also crashed. Could that happen? Maybe. That could be what happens eventually, but then the world will have created a new currency to replace it tho too.

#11) According to one new report, the U.S. national debt will reach 100 percent of GDP by the year 2015. So is that a sign of economic recovery or of economic disaster?

That sounds scary and highly doubtful.

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All that said we are probably on the cusp of a world wide depression or credit crisis or whatever we end up calling it that is palatable for media consumption. Yes people should be wary of taking on new debt or spending beyond their means. But the world has gone through this before many times and it isn't an end. It is a beginning. The decisions we make today will color the future so don't give in to fear. That is what the right wants us to do. Please don't lose sight of the values we hold dear, support your friends and neighbors and work to make the world a better place.

[BR_Parkway]

10. Some of us were asking back when if it wouldn't have been better

to let the "financial industry" collapse and then rebuild it - if all those statistics are accurate (and most of them seem to check out where info is available) then it sure seems like more mirage than reality. But it's not really a new thing - the vast majority has been pretending we had true wealth and prosperity since the time of Reagan, all the while sinking further and further down while a few at the top cleaned up.