Signs of the coming American collapse

[Queen K]

How can the payroll help but decline when slaves work for 0.17 cents an hour and building owners compete unfairly with manufacturers by adding illegal floors to a building? If that building had not collapsed then nothing would have changed. No one can compete with slave labour, especially not Americans where the cost of living is very likely much much higher than in Bangladesh.

No wonder payrolls are declining, who can compete?

[LoneWolf_53]

Call me naive, call me a sheep... I don't care. I'm likely happier than you as a result.

99% of humans are happier than him. LOL

[Woodenhead]

If a horse breaks its legs, you shoot it. lol

/signed, the happiest guy in BC

[binky11]

Signs of the coming American collapse
by rekabis » Feb 17th, 2011, 10:46 pm

16 Nightmarish Economic Trends To Watch Carefully In 2011

Biggest one that truly highlights how inevitable it all is: #16 - It is mathematically impossible for the U.S. to “grow” [its] way out of debt

Once the bondholders and holders of US Treasury Bills finally figure out #16 for themselves, all bets are off -- it will be wild hyperinflation, at least in the triple digits and possibly even in the four digits (or more). A default in the US Dollar is no longer just a possibility, but is now an absolute certainty. It is not a matter of if, but when. There is no more escaping that scenario, no more ways to kick the can further down the street.

Of course, we need only to look at our own economy - a minimum of 86% of which are exports to the US (or directly related to US exports) - to see our own fates. When 86+% of our economy craters due to not being paid, what happens to the employees and families that are dependent on those exports? Better yet, what about the knock-down effects that will spread throughout the rest of the economy?

This coming downturn is one which will define humanity for the next century or more. Have reserves in easily liquid assets, have plenty of easily storable goods hidden away, make sure you can physically protect yourself

Not many people doing their homework or they are watching rick webber & CNN. Unfortunatly rek, not many are listening or caring or have a clue what is really going on in the world, because they figure if it was important or true it would be on global news lol I gave up long ago trying to warn people, our job is done. They will think back to this thread one day............with many regrets. Call us doomsdayers, consiracy theorists, or nut cases, but you may be glad to have nothing but a tin foil hat one day.
BTW......most preppers say the best bartering tools are lighters, booze, smokes and meds.
My God you sheeples, open your eyes and protect your families, what do you have to lose?

[Jonrox]

My God you sheeples, open your eyes and protect your families, what do you have to lose?

If I was as pessimistic about the world and the future as the doom-and-gloomers, I'd have my happiness to lose. No thanks. Leave me in the Matrix.

[dirtrider]

If I was as pessimistic about the world and the future as the doom-and-gloomers, I'd have my happiness to lose. No thanks. Leave me in the Matrix.

...me too, I'm a " cup is half full" kinda guy, good thing the doomers are only right half of the time.

[binky11]

If I was as pessimistic about the world and the future as the doom-and-gloomers, I'd have my happiness to lose. No thanks. Leave me in the Matrix.

You might be hard pressed to find someone as happy as I am. I don't worry about this stuff, I am just educated and prepared.
Not trying to derail this to a religious topic because I know what that brings, but someting very interesting. EVERYTHING that is happening right now is in the bible, forget everything else, you don't need to hear it from people whether it be alternative news sites or television. And ya don't think Christians are being persecuted as the bible says, just watch what follows this post LOL

[Nebula]

EVERYTHING that is happening right now is in the bible

People have been saying that for hundreds of years. One thing they all have in common is that they were all wrong.

[steelrules]

40 Stats that prove the US has been in an economic collapse for the last decade.

#1 According to the World Bank, U.S. GDP accounted for 31.8 percent of all global economic activity in 2001. That number dropped to 21.6 percent in 2011.

#2 The United States was once ranked #1 in the world in GDP per capita. Today we have slipped to #14.

#3 The United States has fallen in the global economic competitiveness rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum for four years in a row.

#4 Since the year 2000, the size of the U.S. national debt has grown by more than 11 trillion dollars.

#5 Back in the year 2000, our trade deficit with China was 83 billion dollars. Last year, it was 315 billion dollars.

#6 In the year 2000, about 17 million Americans were employed in manufacturing. Today, only about 12 million Americans are employed in manufacturing.

#7 The United States has lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001.

#8 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

#9 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.

#10 Back in 1998, the United States had 25 percent of the world’s high-tech export market and China had just 10 percent. Today, China’s high-tech exports are more than twice the size of U.S. high-tech exports.

#11 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.

#12 The United States has lost more than a quarter of all of its high-tech manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

#13 The number of full-time workers in the United States is nearly 6 million below the old record that was set back in 2007.

#14 The average duration of unemployment in the United States is nearly three times as long as it was back in the year 2000.

#15 Throughout the year 2000, more than 64 percent of all working age Americans had a job. Today, only 58.7 percent of all working age Americans have a job.

#16 The official unemployment rate has been at 7.5 percent or higher for 54 months in a row. That is the longest stretch in U.S. history.

#17 The U.S. government says that the number of Americans "not in the labor force" rose by 17.9 million between 2000 and 2011. During the entire decade of the 1980s, the number of Americans "not in the labor force" rose by only 1.7 million.

#18 The average number of hours worked per employed person per year has fallen by about 100 since the year 2000.

#19 The U.S. economy continues to trade good paying jobs for low paying jobs. 60 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession were mid-wage jobs, but 58 percent of the jobs created since then have been low wage jobs.

#20 The U.S. economy lost more than 220,000 small businesses during the recent recession.

#21 The percentage of Americans that are self-employed has steadily declined over the past decade and is now at an all-time low.

#22 According to economist Tim Kane, the following is how the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration...

Bush Sr.: 11.3

Clinton: 11.2

Bush Jr.: 10.8

Obama: 7.8

#23 In the year 2000, there were only 17 million Americans on food stamps. Today, there are more than 47 million Americans on food stamps.

#24 In the year 2000, the ratio of social welfare benefits to salaries and wages was approximately 21 percent. Today, the ratio of social welfare benefits to salaries and wages is approximately 35 percent.

#25 Since Barack Obama entered the White House, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States has risen from $1.85 to $3.64.

#26 More than twice as many new homes were sold in the United States in 2005 as will be sold in 2013.

#27 Right now there are 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001.

#28 The price of ground beef increased by 61 percent between 2002 and 2012.

#29 According to USA Today, water bills have actually tripled over the past 12 years in some areas of the country.

#30 In 1999, 64.1 percent of all Americans were covered by employment-based health insurance. Today, only 55.1 percent are covered by employment-based health insurance.

#31 Median household income in the United States has fallen for four years in a row.

#32 As I mentioned recently, the homeownership rate in America is now at its lowest level in nearly 18 years.

#33 Back in the year 2000, the mortgage delinquency rate was about 2 percent. Today, it is nearly 10 percent.

#34 Median household income for families with children dropped by a whopping $6,300 between 2001 and 2011.

#35 Back in 2007, about 28 percent of all working families were considered to be among "the working poor". Today, that number is up to 32 percent even though our politicians tell us that the economy is supposedly recovering.

#36 According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of families in the United States declined "from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010".

#37 According to the New York Times, the average debt burden for U.S. households that earn $20,000 a year or less "more than doubled to $26,000 between 2001 and 2010".

#38 Medicare spending increased by 138 percent between 1999 and 2010.

#39 During Obama's first term, the federal government accumulated more debt than it did under the first 42 U.S presidents combined.

#40 Today, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. This is the first time that has ever happened in our history. That number has risen by 57 percent since the 2006-2007 school year.

[Static]

Thx Steel, interesting stats. What I find odd is that the price of foods have increasd exponentially as the price of beef (a staple in NA diet) yet the inflation rate has only inched up. The same can be said about Canada.

[steelrules]

Thx Steel, interesting stats. What I find odd is that the price of foods have increasd exponentially as the price of beef (a staple in NA diet) yet the inflation rate has only inched up. The same can be said about Canada.

The Fed in the US keeps changing the way they calculate inflation, if inflation was calculated the same way it was in the 70's they would be running at over 8% not the 3.1 they publish.

Bank of Canada inflation calculator.
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/relate ... alculator/
Just in my lifetime since 1962, $100 then will cost 779.00 today, and this calculator is skewed to make the numbers look better than they are.
In 1967 my father was making $4.35 / hr. to have the same purchasing power today one would have to be making $35.00 / hr

[steelrules]

Detroit Files Full Chapter 9 Bankruptcy.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/154581294/Det ... 9-Petition

[Captain Awesome]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/detroi ... crap,1931/

"This is what's best for Detroit," Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick said. "We must act now, while we can still get a little something for it."

Once dismantled and processed, Detroit is expected to yield nearly 14 million tons of steel, 2.85 million tons of aluminum, and approximately 837,000 tons of copper.

The decision to demolish and cull Detroit for scrap was approved last month by a 6-3 City Council vote after a cost-benefit analysis revealed that, as a functioning urban area, it held a negative cash value.

[steelrules]

From Zerohedge
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-2 ... -your-head

It will be very interesting to see how all of this plays out. But one thing is for sure - the city of Detroit is flat broke. One of the greatest cities in the history of the world is just a shell of its former self. The following are 25 facts about the fall of Detroit that will leave you shaking your head...

1) At this point, the city of Detroit owes money to more than 100,000 creditors.

2) Detroit is facing $20 billion in debt and unfunded liabilities. That breaks down to more than $25,000 per resident.

3) Back in 1960, the city of Detroit actually had the highest per-capita income in the entire nation.

4) In 1950, there were about 296,000 manufacturing jobs in Detroit. Today, there are less than 27,000.

5) Between December 2000 and December 2010, 48 percent of the manufacturing jobs in the state of Michigan were lost.

6) There are lots of houses available for sale in Detroit right now for $500 or less.

7) At this point, there are approximately 78,000 abandoned homes in the city.

8) About one-third of Detroit's 140 square miles is either vacant or derelict.

9) An astounding 47 percent of the residents of the city of Detroit are functionally illiterate.

10) Less than half of the residents of Detroit over the age of 16 are working at this point.

11) If you can believe it, 60 percent of all children in the city of Detroit are living in poverty.

12) Detroit was once the fourth-largest city in the United States, but over the past 60 years the population of Detroit has fallen by 63 percent.

13) The city of Detroit is now very heavily dependent on the tax revenue it pulls in from the casinos in the city. Right now, Detroit is bringing in about 11 million dollars a month in tax revenue from the casinos.

14) There are 70 "Superfund" hazardous waste sites in Detroit.

15) 40 percent of the street lights do not work.

16) Only about a third of the ambulances are running.

17) Some ambulances in the city of Detroit have been used for so long that they have more than 250,000 miles on them.

18) Two-thirds of the parks in the city of Detroit have been permanently closed down since 2008.

19) The size of the police force in Detroit has been cut by about 40 percent over the past decade.

20) When you call the police in Detroit, it takes them an average of 58 minutes to respond.

21) Due to budget cutbacks, most police stations in Detroit are now closed to the public for 16 hours a day.

22) The violent crime rate in Detroit is five times higher than the national average.

23) The murder rate in Detroit is 11 times higher than it is in New York City.

24) Today, police solve less than 10 percent of the crimes that are committed in Detroit.

25) Crime has gotten so bad in Detroit that even the police are telling people to "enter Detroit at your own risk".

It is easy to point fingers and mock Detroit, but the truth is that the rest of America is going down the exact same path that Detroit has gone down.

[Queen K]

If only the American Gvt would stop sending billions to prop up uncertain governments, say Egypt for example, how many billions were slated to go there, went and where is that money now? Oh, and there's been a regime change and the country is on the brink of civil war.

Detroit could have used that cash.