I work in the restaurant industry. I've worked for the same company for 3 years now - a corporate chain. I can emphatically tell you that people definitely believe that the economy is doing better - a year ago, our restaurant was empty, people weren't going out to eat for lunch. If they went out, they went out once a week, instead of multiple times. Friends in other restaurants basically said the same thing. Sure, a couple places in our area closed, but not many. Most struggled through. Now? We're busy again, I'm selling amounts that are similar to two years ago, and my friends are too.

Admittedly, there have been company changes, special cheaper things introduced.. But I'm still seeing a lot of $50-100 checks I wasn't seeing a year ago, and a *lot* more people..

It's sort of a unique perspective, but restaurants are really a better indicator that the stock market of how people feel about money, because it's the first thing people cut out when they're feeling the pinch.. They stay home, make their own food and drinks.. When they're feeling rich? they go back to the movies, to eating out, etc. So people are definitely not paying attention to anything but the mainstream media.

Great thread, OP, very informative.

If you people don't believe that the NWO is pulling the strings behind all this then you all are blind. For a long time now everyone on ATS has been saying that a New Global Currency will soon appear, well take a look at whats happening. It won't be long before we hear the news of a new Global Currency taking affect.

Alien Mind

Originally posted by RankRancid
Now my tips for you as a 3rd worlder is plant carrots,tomato's and po-ta-toes. Make a chicken pen and start fending for yourselves. It's a simple life but a nice one.

I already have! I also have some of your African Guinea fowl and some of your Krugerrands! My food is stockpiled, mortgage is paid up for several months, backup water supply is in place.... Look at the Survival Forum. I am not alone!

I just wanted to say I agree with others who say,
where have you been?
I'm kidding with ya, please dont hate me!

No seriously, thanks gobs for this info!
Its like you watch out for us 24/7 on here and I
appreciate it very much, questioningall!
I have enjoyed and valued your participation all
the way back to the good ol' YS days!

Operation monetary meltdown proceeding as planned....
They are bound and determined to make the nwo a reality,
whether it takes war, disease and/or famine.
May take several more years though to play out.

Oh ya I think its all planned. We have lessons to learn.
The worst thing I see about all of it, is we should be contracting, saving
and consolidating our wealth instead of borrowing and expanding our debt.
We think continuing this pattern of excess is status quo!!!
Was going to start a thread called the United States of Contraction,
but whats the use.
People want their mortgaged mcmansions filled and surrounded with
junk bought on credit, and they want it all now because they deserve it!

Pure craziness and it doesnt take an economic guru to see that!
The awake already are and the unawake must not care to be.

This might be why the fed does not want to be audited and explains Bernanke's explanation to the congress. If we find out the fed is the biggest buyer of U.S. debt then this could cause a problem with the bond market. Am I correct in saying this? I know very little about the bond and treasury markets.

Originally posted by cloakndagger
This might be why the fed does not want to be audited and explains Bernanke's explanation to the congress. If we find out the fed is the biggest buyer of U.S. debt then this could cause a problem with the bond market. Am I correct in saying this? I know very little about the bond and treasury markets.

I think the fed shouldn't be audited by congress because congress obviously isn't the institution we need determining the right way out of this...

Katherine Austin Fitts (ex HUD executive) is on C2C right now and she backs up the OP's opinion entirely. If I had anything in the dollar (401k) I would get it out asap.

I do believe the health care plan can be the final straw. A congressman was laughed off the podium when he said the plan could create a surplus.

One of Treasury's reps was laughed at by an audience in China when he stated that the dollar was strong.

I'm off to buy my prayer rug now while I can still afford one.

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Possibly china didn't buy and someother group bought in. Possibly seeing the beginning of a more shadowy client. The true puppet masters pulling the strings behind the curtain? Interresting post OP.

Great post OP! I pose a question,

1. Could this possibly be the reason that the FED forced the TARP money on some of the banks, ie Chase, Bank of America, etc? All these banks could act like shell corporations.

I apologize if this was previously asked but it is late. I pray you guys are wrong, but it doesn't appear that way through all the posts, charts, and explanations. I am not an economically savvy guy, so breaking it down with the big ol purple crayon has helped in a lot of ways.

I have said countless times that I think the majority of the country just doesn't have the will, conviction, or patriotism to stand up and say/do anything about what the government is doing, but could a move toward one global currency do it? I think much of this country is getting ready to say enough is enough with this health care bill that is quickly making it's way through very quickly, and well over half the country does not want. Could the health care bill be the wolf in sheeps clothing we think it is and be the proverbial straw that breaks our backs and throws us into the worst depression we have ever seen?

I have to say that I have never paid attention to the markets and the news more than I have in the last 2 years. I don't invest in the market. I have never believed it was any better than taking your money to the casino and taking your chances there.

This situation has been brewing IMO for the last 28 years. I belived Ronald Reagan was a good President. I know many don't. I believe using the credit card at that time was necessary to defeat the USSR. But once that was done fiscal responsibility should have been returned. Bush Sr. started another war because Saddam got fed up with his Arab Neighbors and US backers who encouraged him to take on Iran and funded him and armed him while they sat back and took no risk. They then proceeded to back out on helping him repay his massive war debt as promised. Kuwait was heavily involved in this. Read a book called "Spider's Web" can't remember the author off hand.

War was big money for American companies who were using cutouts to make big profits. This led to economic growth and wealth explosion. However it also saddled the government with massive debt.

Clinton reigned in the spending and managed to turn surpluses but also needed a little skirmish to keep the masters happy.

Then Bush comes in and decides to start 2 wars(1 was deserved) and expand the government, massive tax cuts, huge health care spending and the list goes on. He piles on the debt and allows the banking industry to get totally out of control with outright fraud. If you or I tried to go out and sell pieces of paper saying we won't default on our credit cards or mortgages and accepted cash for those pieces of paper. We would be charged with fraud. But the saying "Too Big To Fail" is because the gov't wouldn't let them fail when they should have.

Obama really hasn't had any choice but to throw the entire kitchen sink at it as there is nothing left.

I know that I will at least be able to figure out the window for when the SHTF and it is near I'm afraid. The collapse to our friends to the South will have very severe consequences for us up here. I've started buying food that doesn't need water and has a long shelf life and water. I'm aiming for a 3-5 month supply while I have a job. I'm safe as I work for Transit. But in this day and age nothing is for sure.

To get a little off topic, to me this all seems to tie in to 2012 and a possible Cataclysm. Maybe they couldn't control the situation as long as they had hoped and are using this to hide trillions of dollars in preparedness spending. To me this crisis and everything since and including 911 just seem so orchestrated. I believe they are trying to keep us distracted and kill a few of us off in the world with wars and mystery viruses that just seem to pop up while a company applied for a similar virus vaccine as this mysterious one 2 years ago?

It's all too manipulated but the collapse is geared to keep us distracted and hide trillions in spending.

Another thing that should send shivers down most peoples spines is???? They haven't even started to address the slight problem of the QUADRILLION or so in complex securities and such still waiting to be assesed a value? Not to mention as another poster above did is that their creative "accounting" if you can call it that has hid that fact that bank safety nets can't bail out the banks if they actually sold off the foreclosed homes they owned as they would have to acknowledge the loss they took on the inflated mortgage they now own and the house would sell for considerable less considering the housing market.

I believe credit card companies are next then the commercial real estate market as businesses are closing all over the places and inflated prices to due the boom mean banks are also holding a lot of bad commercial real estate debt and the US gov't doesn't have that kind of money anymore. I don't think anyone else in the world would buy that debt.

I also think you could see trade move back 200 years if SHTF real bad. Countries that could manage would just start over wipe the slate clean issue a new currency and start to only produce and trade inside their borders until things can recover. Countries like mine might make it others might not. Wars could get global and that scares me too. Desperate people do desperate things.

Deez