Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 17, 2011, 1:51 p.m. EST by WolfThom
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100 Mal Niedergang
[07.10.2011] 100 Zahlen und Fakten über den Niedergang der US-Ökonomie.
China kommt natürlich auch darin vor, unter Nr. 65, 67, 68 und 69.
100 A staggering 48.5% of all Americans live in a household that receives some form of government benefits. Back in 1983, that number was below 30 percent.
99 During the Obama administration, the U.S. government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office.
98 Since Barack Obama was sworn in, the share of the national debt per household has increased by $35,835.
97 The U.S. national debt has been increasing by an average of more than 4 billion dollars per day since the beginning of the Obama administration.
96 It is being projected that the U.S. national debt will hit 344% of GDP by the year 2050 if we continue on our current course.
95 The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that U.S. government debt held by the public will reach a staggering 716 percent of GDP by the year 2080.
94 In 2010, the U.S. government paid $413 billion in interest on the national debt. That is projected to at least double over the next decade.
93 According to one new survey, one out of every three Americans would not be able to make a mortgage or rent payment next month if they suddenly lost their current job.
92 State and local government debt has reached an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP.
91 In 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income. Today, government transfer payments account for 18.4% of all income.
90 U.S. households are now receiving more income from the U.S. government than they are paying to the government in taxes.
89 According to a new study conducted by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the United States is now 154 percent.
88 If you can believe it, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.
87 According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980. Today they account for approximately 16.3%.
86 The cost of a health insurance policy for the average American family rose by a whopping 9 percent last year, and according to a report put out by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, the average family health insurance policy now costs over $15,000 a year.
85 One study found that approximately 41 percent of working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.
84 An all-time record 49.9 million Americans do not have any health insurance at all at this point, and the percentage of Americans covered by employer-based health plans has fallen for 11 years in a row.
83 According to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine, medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the United States. Of those bankruptcies that were caused by medical bills, approximately 75 percent of them involved individuals that actually did have health insurance.
82 Average yearly tuition at U.S. private universities is now up to $27,293.
81 The cost of college tuition in the United States has gone up by over 900 percent since 1978.
80 In America today, approximately two-thirds of all college students graduate with student loans.
The survey, which was done by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), found that 64% of Americans would have to use something other than money on hand in order to be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 bill.
http://www.savingwithoutabudget.com/free-stuff/a-majority-of-americans-could-not-afford-a-1000-emergency/
@wolfthon.............Reagan insider: 'GOP destroyed U.S. economy' Commentary: How: Gold. Tax cuts. Debts. Wars. Fat Cats. Class gap. No fiscal discipline.
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- "How my G.O.P. destroyed the U.S. economy." Yes, that is exactly what David Stockman, President Ronald Reagan's director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed piece, "Four Deformations of the Apocalypse."
Get it? Not "destroying." The GOP has already "destroyed" the U.S. economy, setting up an "American Apocalypse."
Reagan Republican: the GOP should file for bankruptcy
Stockman rushes into the ring swinging like a boxer: "If there were such a thing as Chapter 11 for politicians, the Republican push to extend the unaffordable Bush tax cuts would amount to a bankruptcy filing. The nation's public debt ... will soon reach $18 trillion." It screams "out for austerity and sacrifice." But instead, the GOP insists "that the nation's wealthiest taxpayers be spared even a three-percentage-point rate increase."
In the past 40 years Republican ideology has gone from solid principles to hype and slogans. Stockman says: "Republicans used to believe that prosperity depended upon the regular balancing of accounts -- in government, in international trade, on the ledgers of central banks and in the financial affairs of private households and businesses too."
No more. Today there's a "new catechism" that's "little more than money printing and deficit finance, vulgar Keynesianism robed in the ideological vestments of the prosperous classes" making a mockery of GOP ideals. Worse, it has resulted in "serial financial bubbles and Wall Street depredations that have crippled our economy." Yes, GOP ideals backfired, crippling our economy.
Stockman's indictment warns that the Republican party's "new policy doctrines have caused four great deformations of the national economy, and modern Republicans have turned a blind eye to each one:"
09 Budget was done by 08 Admin. Everyone seems to forget that. Not like it matters though, both parties spend like drunken sailors
What is happening today began long time ago. In 1948 President Truman triumphantly and emphatically had announced in a speech on national TV that "America's Business is Business." I am not sure if he meant legitimate business or otherwise, but that is immaterial now. In 1960, a very disturbed President Eisenhower, when leaving the White House, also on national TV, warned the American people of the defense industry's infiltration into our government.
The American government alone could not afford to finance the military operations in WWII and the American private industries were more than happy to volunteer a helping hand. After that everything else is just a foot-note.
"There are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power and the love of money." Benjamin Franklin, 1787. In the dictionary 'avarice' is defined as "extreme greed for wealth or material gain"
Short of a full, blown out world-wide revolution, nothing appears to have much chance in changing the present global course. The multinationals and super rich will continue raping the rest of us, world-wide.
It is a very sad world we live in today in which the 1% Psychopaths control the 99% of us.
All my life I have been a strong pacifist, but now in my very old age, considering the present situation I wouldn't hesitate for a moment in picking up arms for such a revolution.
It's because of greed. It's become a worldwide epidemic.
The ugly truth. America's wealth is STILL being concentrated. When the rich get too rich, the poor get poorer. These latest figures prove it. AGAIN.
According to the Social Security Administration, 50 percent of U.S. workers made less than $26,364 in 2010. In addition, those making less than $200,000, or 99 percent of Americans (actually more like 98%), saw their earnings fall by $4.5 billion collectively.
The sobering numbers were a far cry from what was going on for the richest one percent of Americans.
The incomes of the top one percent of the wage scale in the U.S. rose in 2010; and their collective wage earnings jumped by $120 billion. In addition, those earning at least $1 million a year in wages, which is roughly 93,000 Americans, reported payroll income jumped 22 percent from 2009. Overall, the economy has shed 5.2 million jobs since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. It’s the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930’s.
Another word about the first Great Depression. It really was a perfect storm. Caused almost entirely by greed. First, there was unprecedented economic growth. There was a massive building spree. There was a growing sense of optimism and materialism. There was a growing obsession for celebrities. The American people became spoiled, foolish, naive, brainwashed, and love-sick. They were bombarded with ads for one product or service after another. Encouraged to spend all of their money as if it were going out of style. Obscene profits were hoarded at the top. In 1928, the rich were already way ahead. Still, they were given huge tax breaks. All of this represented a MASSIVE transfer of wealth from poor to rich. Executives, entrepreneurs, developers, celebrities, and share holders. By 1929, America's wealthiest 1 percent had accumulated 44 percent of all United States wealth. The upper, middle, and lower classes were left to share the rest. When the lower majority finally ran low on money to spend, profits declined and the stock market crashed.
Of course, the rich threw a fit and started cutting jobs. They would stop at nothing to maintain their disgusting profit margins and ill-gotten obscene levels of wealth as long as possible. The small business owners did what they felt necessary to survive. They cut more jobs. The losses were felt primarily by the little guy. This created a domino effect. The middle class shrunk drastically and the lower class expanded. With less wealth in reserve and active circulation, banks failed by the hundreds. More jobs were cut. Unemployment reached 25% in 1933. The worst year of the Great Depression. Those who were employed had to settle for much lower wages. Millions went cold and hungry. The recovery involved a massive infusion of new currency, a public works program, a World War, and higher taxes on the rich. With so many men in the service, so many women on the production line, more currency, and those higher taxes to help pay for it, some US wealth was gradually transferred back down to the majority. This redistribution of wealth continued until the mid seventies. By 1976, the richest 1 percent held less than 20 percent of America's private wealth. The lower majority held the rest. It was the best year ever for the American middle and lower classes. And rightfully so. This was the recovery. A partial redistribution of wealth.
Then it began to concentrate all over again. Here we are 35 years later. The richest one percent now own 40 percent of all US wealth. The upper, middle, and lower classes are sharing the rest. This is true even after taxes, welfare, financial aid, and charity. It is the underlying cause. No redistribution. No recovery.
Note: A knowledgable and trustworthy contributor has gone on record with a claim that effective tax rates for the rich were considerably lower than book rates during the years of redistribution that I have made reference to. His point was that the rich were able to avoid those very high marginal rates under the condition that they invested in American jobs. My belief is that if true, those policies still would have contributed to a partial redistribution by forcing the rich to either share profits and potential income through job creation or share income through very high marginal tax rates. This knowledgable contributor and I agree that there was in effect, a redistribution but disagree on the use of the word.
One thing is clear from recent events. The government won't step in and do what's necessary. Not this time. It's up to us. Support small business more and big business less. Support the little guy more and the big guy less. It's tricky but not impossible. For the good of society, stop giving so much of your money to rich people. Stop concentrating the wealth. This may be our last chance to prevent the worst economic depression in world history. No redistribution. No recovery.
Those of you who agree on these major issues are welcome to summarize this post, copy it, link to it, save it, show a friend, or spread the word in any fashion. Most major cities have daily call-in talk radio shows. You can reach thousands of people at once. They should know the ugly truth. Be sure to quote the figures which prove that America's wealth is still being concentrated. I don't care who takes the credit. We are up against a tiny but very powerful minority who have more influence on the masses than any other group in history. They have the means to reach millions at once with outrageous political and commercial propaganda. Those of us who speak the ugly truth must work incredibly hard just to be heard.
define greed
An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves. Espicially with regard to money or material wealth.
Before you say something stupid. Again.
The richest one percent own at least 43% of all financial wealth in America. Much more than the bottom 90 percent combined. The richest 500 Americans hold more financial wealth than the bottom 150 million combined. That's right. 500 Americans are worth more than the bottom 1/2 of the entire population.
Greed.
they tried this with communism and it didnt work, the elite got wealthy and everyone else poor and reliant on the state, no innovation.
Who said anything about Communism? But since you brought it up, ever hear of Sputnik?
yes Ive heard of sputnik, ever been to an communist state? you cant take reward out of the system, excessive reward is a problem..but also depends on who is defining excessive unless you advocate everyone should be paid the same and all property should be redistributed evenly.
That just doesn't wash with me. The term excessive will always be subjective but to simply dismiss it is hogwash.
I didn't dismiss it, but the idea that all people should have the same takes out all reward for effort or innovation. there should be a balance, for instance I don't think a sportsperson should get 10 million for winning a game or a CEO should get a 25 million golden handshake
Alright, but I never said I want everyone equal. I'm all for having a scale of income. I just think it's gone too far.
nice we agree then - lol a rare instance here it seems :)
I would suggest as alternative:
The Mondragon Project in Spain founded by the christian Jesuits...worlds greatest commune and Job machine...!
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation
Isn't greed subjective?
define excessive. who will be determining what excessive is? what do we do about the people who are just plain lazy?
The most profitable industries in the world (energy, healthcare, finance) have been given billions in government handouts and tax breaks. Meanwhile, they keep raising charges causing hardship for millions. With all those massive handouts, tax breaks, and obscene charges, profits rise to record high levels. Millions in bonuses are paid to the executives. With record high profits, record high dividends are paid. 40% of all dividends in the United States are paid to the richest one percent. The bottom 90 percent of Americans share about 10 percent (that's ten percent) of all dividends. All of this causes a gradual concentration of wealth and income. This results in a net loss for the lower majority who find it more and more difficult to cover the record high cost of living, which again, is directly proportional to record high profits for the rich. As more and more people struggle to make ends meet, more and more financial aid becomes necessary. Most of which goes right back to the health care industry through Medicare, Medicaid, and a very expensive prescription drug plan. This increases government spending. This has been happening for 30 years now. During the same time, tax rates have been lowered drastically for the richest one percent. Especially those who profit from investments. These people pay only 15 percent on capital gains income. As even more wealth concentrates, the lower majority find it more difficult to sustain there share of the consumer driven economy. Demand drops as more and more people go broke. Layoffs results. Unemployment rises. This results in less revenue and more government debt.
Massive subsidies and tax breaks for Wall Street, massive tax breaks for the super rich, heavy concentration of wealth, record high charges along with record high profits and record high cost of living, more hardship for the lower majority, more government spending in the form of financial aid to compensate, more concentration of wealth, less demand, layoffs and unemployment. All of this results in slower economy and less tax revenue. At the same time more and more financial aid becomes necessary. It's a horrible downward cycle which gradually pushes the national debt higher and higher.
The other big factors are the wars in the Middle East. One of which was waged to secure one of the largest oil reserves in the world. The oil industry has not contributed one dime to the effort. Instead, they reap record high profits and lobby congress for continued tax breaks and subsidies.
This post is not intended to excuse those who sit on the couch collecting welfare, make no attempt to find work, or squease out kids they can't provide for.
Mondragon - the Job Machine...
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation
Ron Lawl about the FED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xb27IfQLMY
Federal Reserve Bank FED of the USA
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-466210540567002553
Freedom to facism
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173
http://freedomtofascism.com/
Against FREE TRADE - for Protectionism! See also the Books of William Engdahl, Lyndon LaRouche and Michael C. Ruppert "Crossing the Rubicon - the decline of the American empire at the end of the age of oil"
Michael C. Rupperts Peak Oil Blog
http://www.fromthewilderness.com
15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America. Information Clearing House, Grafiken über Einkommens- und Vermögensverteilung in den USA
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25399.htm
http://www.pauljorion.com/blog/?p=11384
http://elboheme.blogspot.com/2010/05/die-wahren-ursachen-der-krise_12.html
The LaRouche Movement: Alternatives from a constructive Democrat and prpogressive Tea Party Member...
http://www.larouchepac.org
Alex Jones
http://www.infowar.org
See also Ron Lawl (against the FED or Federal Reserve Bank of the USA)
http://www.bilderberg.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-3hZsXrxaI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mkRFCtl2MI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SQqjTxI3vc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewGMBOB4Gg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w
29 According to one study, the 50 U.S. state governments are collectively 3.2 trillion dollars short of what they need to meet their pension obligations.
28 A different study has shown that individual Americans are $6.6 trillion short of what they need to retire comfortably.
27 Between 1991 and 2007 the number of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 that filed for bankruptcy rose by a staggering 178 percent.
26 According to a shocking AARP survey of Baby Boomers that are still in the workforce, 40 percent of them plan to work "until they drop".
25 Last year, 2.6 million more Americans dropped into poverty. That was the largest increase that we have seen since the U.S. government began keeping statistics on this back in 1959.
24 Back in the year 2000, 11.3% of all Americans were living in poverty. Today, 15.1% of all Americans are living in poverty.
23 More than 50 million Americans are now on Medicaid. Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, approximately one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid.
22 More than 45 million Americans are now on food stamps.
21 The number of Americans on food stamps has increased 74% since 2007.
20 Approximately one-third of the entire population of the state of Alabama is now on food stamps.
19 Right now, one out of every four American children is on food stamps.
18 It is being projected that approximately 50 percent of all U.S. children will be on food stamps at some point in their lives before they reach the age of 18.
17 The poverty rate for children living in the United States increased to 22% in 2010.
16 There are 314 counties in the United States where at least 30% of the children are facing food insecurity.
15 In Washington D.C., the "child food insecurity rate" is 32.3%.
14 More than 20 million U.S. children rely on school meal programs to keep from going hungry.
13 It is estimated that up to half a million children may currently be homeless in the United States.
12 The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased by 46% since 2006.
11 According to a recent report from the AFL-CIO, the average CEO made 343 times more money than the average American did last year.
10 The wealthiest 1% of all Americans now own more than a third of all the wealth in the United States.
9 The poorest 50% of all Americans collectively own just 2.5% of all the wealth in the United States.
8 The percentage of millionaires in Congress is more than 50 times higher than the percentage of millionaires in the general population.
7 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16.6 million Americans were self-employed back in December 2006. Today, that number has shrunk to 14.5 million.
6 According to one recent poll, 90 percent of the American people believe that economic conditions in the United States are "poor". To put this in perspective, only 11 percent of Americans rated economic conditions in the U.S. as "poor" back in January of 1999.
5 According to another recent poll, 80 percent of the American people believe that we are actually in a recession right now.
4 Our dollar is being systematically destroyed by the Federal Reserve. An item that cost $20.00 in 1970 will cost you $116.78 today. An item that cost $20.00 in 1913 will cost you $457.67 today.
3 The Federal Reserve made $16.1 trillion in secret loans to their friends during the last financial crisis.
2 The Federal Reserve is a perpetual debt machine. Today, the U.S. national debt is more than 4700 times larger than it was when the Federal Reserve was created back in 1913.
1 According to a new CNN/ORC International Poll, 27 percent of all Americans have never even heard of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
http://juergenelsaesser.wordpress.com/
http://juergenelsaesser.wordpress.com/buchinfo-bye-bye-usa/
15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America. Information Clearing House, Grafiken über Einkommens- und Vermögensverteilung in den USA
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25399.htm
http://www.pauljorion.com/blog/?p=11384
http://elboheme.blogspot.com/2010/05/die-wahren-ursachen-der-krise_12.html
From Germany
http://juergenelsaesser.wordpress.com/buchinfo-bye-bye-usa/
39 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18 percent of all homes in the state of Florida are sitting vacant. That figure is 63 percent larger than it was just ten years ago.
38 Historically, the percentage of residential mortgages in foreclosure in the United States has tended to hover between 1 and 1.5 percent. Today, it is up around 4.5 percent.
37 According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, at least 8 million Americans are currently at least one month behind on their mortgage payments.
36 According to a Harris Interactive survey taken near the end of last year, 77 percent of all Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck. In 2007, the same survey found that only 43 percent of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck.
35 Starting on January 1st, 2011 the Baby Boomers began to hit retirement age. From now on, every single day more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the age of 65. That is going to keep happening every single day for the next 19 years.
34 According to a new poll by Americans for Secure Retirement, 88 percent of all Americans are worried about "maintaining a comfortable standard of living in retirement". Last year, that figure was at 73 percent.
33 One out of every six elderly Americans now lives below the federal poverty line.
32 In 1950, each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 U.S. workers. According to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are now only 1.75 full-time private sector workers for each person that is receiving Social Security benefits in the United States.
31 According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security system paid out more in benefits than it received in payroll taxes in 2010. That was not supposed to happen until at least 2016.
30 The U.S. government now says that the Medicare trust fund will run out five years faster than they were projecting just last year.
59 According to Professor Alan Blinder of Princeton University, 40 million more U.S. jobs could be sent offshore over the next two decades.
58 If you gathered together all of the workers that are "officially" unemployed in the United States today, they would constitute the 68th largest country in the world.
57 There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States right now than there were back in 2000 even though we have added 30 million extra people to the population since then.
56 Back in 1969, 95 percent of all men between the ages of 25 and 54 had a job. In July, only 81.2 percent of men in that age group had a job.
55 Only 55.3% of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 were employed last year. That was the lowest level that we have seen since World War II.
54 Today, there are 5.9 million Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 that are living with their parents.
53 The economic downturn has been particularly tough on men. According to Census data, men are twice as likely to live with their parents as women are.
52 According to one recent survey, only 14 percent of all Americans that are 28 or 29 years old are optimistic about their financial futures.
51 Incredibly, less than 30 percent of all U.S. teens had a job this summer.
50 According to one study, between 1969 and 2009 the median wages earned by American men between the ages of 30 and 50 dropped by 27 percent after you account for inflation.
49 Since the year 2000, we have lost approximately 10% of our middle class jobs. In the year 2000 there were about 72 million middle class jobs in the United States but today there are only about 65 million middle class jobs.
48 In 1980, 52 percent of all jobs in the United States were middle income jobs. Today, only 42 percent of all jobs are middle income jobs.
47 Back in 1980, less than 30% of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs. Today, more than 40% of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.
46 According to Paul Osterman, a professor of economics at MIT, approximately 20 percent of all employed Americans are making $10.65 an hour or less.
45 Half of all American workers now earn $505 or less per week.
44 Since December 2007, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% once you account for inflation.
43 New home sales in the United States are now down 80% from the peak in July 2005.
42 The all-time record for fewest number of new homes sold in the United States was broken in 2009. Then it was broken again in 2010. It is on pace to be broken once again in 2011.
41 At one point this year, U.S. home prices had fallen a whopping 33% from where they were at during the peak of the housing bubble.
40 U.S. home values have fallen approximately 6 trillion dollars since the housing crisis first began.
69 The U.S. trade deficit with China is now 27 times larger than it was back in 1990.
68 Today, the United States spends more than 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that China spends on goods and services from the United States.
67 China has surpassed the United States and is now the largest PC market in the entire world.
66 In 2002, the United States had a trade deficit in "advanced technology products" of $16 billion with the rest of the world. In 2010, that number skyrocketed to $82 billion.
65 In 2010, the number one U.S. export to China was "scrap and trash".
64 Do you remember when the United States was the dominant manufacturer of automobiles and trucks on the globe? Well, in 2010 the U.S. ran a trade deficit in automobiles, trucks and parts of $110 billion.
63 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
62 If you can believe it, more than 42,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have been closed down since 2001.
61 Between December 2000 and December 2010, 38 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Ohio were lost, 42 percent of the manufacturing jobs in North Carolina were lost and 48 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Michigan were lost.
60 Back in 1970, 25 percent of all jobs in the United States were manufacturing jobs. Today, only 9 percent of the jobs in the United States are manufacturing jobs.
79 In 2010, the average college graduate had accumulated approximately $25,000 in student loan debt by graduation day.
78 The total amount of student loan debt in the United States now exceeds the total amount of credit card debt in the United States.
77 One-third of all college graduates end up taking jobs that don't even require college degrees.
76 In the United States today, there are more than 100,000 janitors that have college degrees.
75 In the United States today, 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees.
74 In the United States today, approximately 365,000 cashiers have college degrees.
73 It is being projected that for the first time ever, the OPEC nations are going to bring in over a trillion dollars from exporting oil this year. Their biggest customer is the United States.
72 U.S. oil companies will bring in about $200 billion in pre-tax profits this year. They will also receive about $4.4 billion in specialized tax breaks from the U.S. government.
71 The United States has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976, and since that time the United States has run a total trade deficit of more than 7.5 trillion dollars with the rest of the world.
70 The United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs per month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.