50 Economic Numbers From 2011 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe, page 1

I new the economy was bad but not this messed up.

The Economic Collapse

Even though most Americans have become very frustrated with this economy, the reality is that the vast majority of them still have no idea just how bad our economic decline has been or how much trouble we are going to be in if we don't make dramatic changes immediately. If we do not educate the American people about how deathly ill the U.S. economy has become, then they will just keep falling for the same old lies that our politicians keep telling them. Just "tweaking" things here and there is not going to fix this economy. We truly do need a fundamental change in direction. America is consuming far more wealth than it is producing and our debt is absolutely exploding. If we stay on this current path, an economic collapse is inevitable. Hopefully the crazy economic numbers from 2011 that I have included in this article will be shocking enough to wake some people up.

At this time of the year, a lot of families get together, and in most homes the conversation usually gets around to politics at some point. Hopefully many of you will use the list below as a tool to help you share the reality of the U.S. economic crisis with your family and friends. If we all work together, hopefully we can get millions of people to wake up and realize that "business as usual" will result in a national economic apocalypse.

The following are 50 economic numbers from 2011 that are almost too crazy to believe....

ce.

Whats the consensus? On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being "as bad as I thought" to 5 being "no way,I had no idea".


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reply to post by dezertdog

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#1 A staggering 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be "low income" or are living in poverty.

This is one thing I certainly do chalk up to the welfare state we are trying to run in this country.

#2 Approximately 57 percent of all children in the United States are living in homes that are either considered to be "low income" or impoverished.

See above. Instead of economic freedom we encourage dependence and crony capitalism. We given the adage "it's not what you know but who you know that counts" a shot of steroids and it absolutely must stop or this number and the one above it will continue to get larger.

#3 If the number of Americans that "wanted jobs" was the same today as it was back in 2007, the "official" unemployment rate put out by the U.S. government would be up to 11 percent.

The unemployment numbers are highly skewed. Whereas it may seem a good thing on it's face that the number is currently dropping, when we examine why it become apparent how woefully inaccurate the numbers are.

#4 The average amount of time that a worker stays unemployed in the United States is now over 40 weeks.

I blame congress for giving Americans 99 week extensions on 26 week unemployment benefits. Things like this, along with top heavy and one-sided regulation is what is taking the wind out of the sails of entrepreneurship in these people.

#5 One recent survey found that 77 percent of all U.S. small businesses do not plan to hire any more workers.

Of course not. Their taxes are going to go up, their ability to swallow margin shrinkage while maintaining prices under the real rate of inflation is totally unsustainable.

#6 There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States today than there were back in 2000 even though we have added 30 million extra people to the population since then.

Those people are about 12 years old now. This number is meaningless to me but it won't be in about 8 years when they have to find jobs.

#7 Since December 2007, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% once you account for inflation.

It is BECAUSE of inflation and stagnant growth created by a ridiculously paternal government that this is happening.

#8 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.

Yeah, arbitrary regulation at all levels of state from federal to local have that effect. Micromanaging economies like the US does today is a time honored tradition specifically meant to force failure in economic growth.

#9 A Gallup poll from earlier this year found that approximately one out of every five Americans that do have a job consider themselves to be underemployed.

Honestly this is somewhat the fault of the individual. People these days aren't willing to make the life altering choices our grandparents made in their day when things got tough. GO WHERE THE JOBS ARE. That means moving to another state. Make it happen people.

#10 According to author Paul Osterman, about 20 percent of all U.S. adults are currently working jobs that pay poverty-level wages.

Those wages are paid for unskilled labor. Like working at McD's. Do what you can with it, get some skills, and move to where the jobs are.

#11 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.

Thank trade policy for that.

#12 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.

Yeah, but at the same time we have far more people this day and age that think they can get by without an honest days work and a little sacrifice. Many of these economic problems are self imposed.

#13 One recent survey found that 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.

Live within your means! How many times does it have to be said?

#14 The Federal Reserve recently announced that the total net worth of U.S. households declined by 4.1 percent in the 3rd quarter of 2011 alone.

How's that recovery and reinvestment plan working out for you? How's the micro managed government run and heavily regulated economy working for the average folks? Obama, the democrats, and republicans, 4 more years! Which is about the time it will take them to complete turn this country into a depressed hell hole.

reply to post by projectvxn

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#15 According to a recent study conducted by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the United States is now 154 percent.

This is your fault America. You got high on the idea of being rich and kicked all common sense out the window. And now you wanna cry about the fact that you used the equity in your home like an ATM and maxed out those credit cards thinking nothing could go wrong. You get what you deserve in the end.

#16 As the economy has slowed down, so has the number of marriages. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, only 51 percent of all Americans that are at least 18 years old are currently married. Back in 1960, 72 percent of all U.S. adults were married.

Well, I'm not sure how much the economy has to do with that as much as the fact that while everything else in this country is cheap, tawdry and disposable, so too have meaningful relationships become.

#17 The U.S. Postal Service has lost more than 5 billion dollars over the past year.

Thanks public sector unions!

#18 In Stockton, California home prices have declined 64 percent from where they were at when the housing market peaked.

Yeah, because government in collusion with big banks created a hyperinflationary bubble in the housing market and now everything is coming back down to where it was before the government under Clinton and Bush decided to create an "ownership" society for people who couldn't afford it on the backs of those who could.

Nice going republicans and democrats!

#19 Nevada has had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for 59 months in a row.

Yes we sure do. Why? Because we overbuilt and over promised. Now we have whole swaths of our cities empty. Vegas has become a craphole and Reno is a place for transients and criminals to flourish in their decadent lifestyle.

#20 If you can believe it, the median price of a home in Detroit is now just $6000.

I can believe it. 50 years of liberal policies will do that to you. Welcome to your future America.

#21 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.

No surprise pretty close to the same in Vegas and Reno. Same goes for commercial property.

#22 New home construction in the United States is on pace to set a brand new all-time record low in 2011.

Not surprising. We're overbuilt and that a big reason property values are dropping.

#23 As I have written about previously, 19 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 are now living with their parents.

This goes back to what I was saying about being willing to make sacrifices and work hard. So many are simply NOT. And it's pathetic. I left my parents house at 17. I haven't been back in 10 years. I'm 27. I've moved to different cities for jobs, I've taken temp work at temp agencies, and have happily slung coffee at local coffeeshops. You do what you can.

#24 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.

Part of this is inflationary forces in my opinion. But the bigger part is government and company collusion. It's monopoly.

#25 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%.

I blame the government. Since the creation of managed care in this country costs in general in the entire medical industry have gone up nearly 26% year over year. That's hyperinflation over a two-5 year period. And it's been 40 years. And people wonder why it costs $180,000 to give birth.

#26 One study found that approximately 41 percent of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.

See above.

#27 If you can believe it, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.

Pathetic. I don't even... You should be ashamed America.

#28 The United States spends about 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that China spends on goods and services from the United States.

Gotta pay your banker somehow right?

#29 It is being projected that the U.S. trade deficit for 2011 will be 558.2 billion dollars.

For those that don't know what this means: Every $40,000 of that is a JOB LOST TO THE CHINESE.

reply to post by projectvxn

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#30 The retirement crisis in the United States just continues to get worse. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 46 percent of all American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 29 percent of all American workers have less than $1,000 saved for retirement.

This is the fault of the American worker. While government bureaucrats are making a killing on pension due to public unions rigging the system and theft level taxation, YOU the average worker, haven't bother planning ahead because you're an idiot under the impression that social security is a long term pension program.

This is just something else you did to yourself America.

#31 Today, one out of every six elderly Americans lives below the federal poverty line.

Wait...Wasn't Social Security supposed to prevent this? So much for that New Deal eh? Sounds more like a raw deal. Only anyone responsible for implementing this scam is dead. And those charged with maintaining it are actually robbing the program blind.

#32 According to a study that was just released, CEO pay at America's biggest companies rose by 36.5% in just one recent 12 month period.

My guess is this wasn't performance based. But hey, as long as the government wants to play the crony capitalist game this is going to continue to be the case. Don't hate the players folks, hate the game. It's effing rigged.

#33 Today, the "too big to fail" banks are larger than ever. The total assets of the six largest U.S. banks increased by 39 percent between September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2011.

Big government's gift to America. Catastrophic systemic risk. Merry Christmas.

#34 The six heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have a net worth that is roughly equal to the bottom 30 percent of all Americans combined.

This doesn't actually bother me. I don't care how rich they get as long as I can get 500 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition for 130 bucks I'm happy.

#35 According to an analysis of Census Bureau data done by the Pew Research Center, the median net worth for households led by someone 65 years of age or older is 47 times greater than the median net worth for households led by someone under the age of 35.

Yeah, it's called planning ahead. LEARN SOMETHING FROM THE GREY-HAIRED ONES PEOPLE!

#36 If you can believe it, 37 percent of all U.S. households that are led by someone under the age of 35 have a net worth of zero or less than zero.

Net worth is based on assets. I'm not surprised by this in an instant gratification society. People don't know the meaning of the word asset.

Although you could probably add the value of all their "bling" and big screen plasma screens and come up with a pretty hefty chunk of change.

#37 A higher percentage of Americans is living in extreme poverty (6.7%) than has ever been measured before.

That's means homeless folks. Living in tent cities and no knowing how to get out of it without a quick fix. This happens in societies who either become dependent on government, lead careless living situations, or both. Welcome to the new America.

#38 Child homelessness in the United States is now 33 percent higher than it was back in 2007.

You would imagine so considering the rest of the numbers being shown here.

#39 Since 2007, the number of children living in poverty in the state of California has increased by 30 percent.

Can we PLEASE dump California now America? They are a basket case and the poster state for everything you should NEVER do to your own economy. Same goes with Michigan.

#40 Sadly, child poverty is absolutely exploding all over America. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 36.4% of all children that live in Philadelphia are living in poverty, 40.1% of all children that live in Atlanta are living in poverty, 52.6% of all children that live in Cleveland are living in poverty and 53.6% of all children that live in Detroit are living in poverty.

I hate to say it. But some political and crony capitalist assholes ant it that way. So they have a guaranteed source of votes and income for themselves when these kids grow up to be incapable and useless to their own success in life.

#41 Today, one out of every seven Americans is on food stamps and one out of every four American children is on food stamps.

Children don't receive food stamps. Their parents do. So let's forget that number it's irrelevant.

Secondly welfare's success is measured in government by how many are on it rather than how many successfully come off. This MUST END. Welfare must be reformed to create self-sufficiency, not deeper dependence.

reply to post by projectvxn

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#42 In 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income. Today, government transfer payments account for more than 18 percent of all income.

Indeed. This is a perfect example of what i'm trying to drive home folks. Dependence policy driven by government is DRIVING poverty. not improving it.

#43 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.

That means the other 51.5 percent are paying for it through the tax dollars they make going to freaking work every damned day!

#44 Right now, spending by the federal government accounts for about 24 percent of GDP. Back in 2001, it accounted for just 18 percent.

Again those of us who are working are paying for those who aren't(half the god damned country) and we're paying for government profligacy in other areas of government too numerous to name. You folks still think revenue is the problem? TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY.

#45 For fiscal year 2011, the U.S. federal government had a budget deficit of nearly 1.3 trillion dollars. That was the third year in a row that our budget deficit has topped one trillion dollars.

And those of us who are working, and our kids, and their kids will be paying for it.

#46 If Bill Gates gave every single penny of his fortune to the U.S. government, it would only cover the U.S. budget deficit for about 15 days.

Or much less. We haven't had a budget since 2009.

#47 Amazingly, the U.S. government has now accumulated a total debt of 15 trillion dollars. When Barack Obama first took office the national debt was just 10.6 trillion dollars.

Thanks Obama. [SNIP].

#48 If the federal government began right at this moment to repay the U.S. national debt at a rate of one dollar per second, it would take over 440,000 years to pay off the national debt.

Hey deficits don't matter right Dick Cheney? The national debt isn't that big of a deal right progressive liberal America? STFU morons and let the adults handle this.

#49 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.

And it won't stop even if Obama is kicked out of office of that I assure you. This will only stop when the country completely collapses under the weight of trillions of IOU's.

#50 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.

I think this one just says it all about this administration and that of Bush.

Talk about tax and spend Liberals and yes I include compassionate "conservatives" in that group. They're just progressives with an R by their name.

Star and Flag for bringing this to our attention OP. I hope you don't mind me taking up the first 4 posts to respond to this information in detail. But I felt it necessary.

reply to post by projectvxn

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Thank you for the major bump! I admire your thoroughness and tenacity.

reply to post by dezertdog

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LOL. I'd hate to be the guy who has to diagree with me...That's gonna be a LOOOOG response.

I burned out all 5000 characters on all but the last post.

reply to post by dezertdog

This is one thing I certainly do chalk up to the welfare state we are trying to run in this country.

See above. Instead of economic freedom we encourage dependence and crony capitalism. We given the adage "it's not what you know but who you know that counts" a shot of steroids and it absolutely must stop or this number and the one above it will continue to get larger.

To remove the reliance on any social welfare once and for all, Americans need to rise up and take it by force. Forget this drum-beating, tree hugging OWS song and dance. There needs to be blood on the streets, a revolution that rivals Libya and Syria. Come on mate, forget the nice little entrepreneurial and political BS will ya?? The wealthy have more wealth now than in the past so there's no reason why they cannot create more jobs. And why give out more jobs if they don't have to? It's always the same political rubbish being spewed forth that people accessing social services are reliant upon the system because of government regulations and poor social policy. The simple fact of the matter is there aren't enough jobs. There's no capacity to accommodate population growth and provide jobs for all of working age and capability. There is a fast growing gap between rich and poor and increasing numbers of people are becoming marginalised from the economy at no fault of their own. The current economic paradigm is not viable. A larger part of the population will need to learn to live with much less even with such programs as food stamps. Abolishing these welfare programs might be the best thing, the people will finally get the balls to rise up like that in the Middle East and accomplish something - rules, laws and regulations will be irrelevant as entire cities descend into chaos.

reply to post by surrealist

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Yeah! Let's murder people like they did in Libya!

Let's TAKE what we think we deserve by killing those that have!

reply to post by riddle6

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Yeah I felt that slap too.Thanx for responding to the 1 to 5 thing.

reply to post by dezertdog

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Well I would give it a 3 or so.

What is shocking about these statistics is not how bad they are - it is how bad they are and the feds are doing everything in their power to keep the economy from collapsing. When they can no longer prop it up and it actually does collapse, which is coming very soon, I really can't even imagine how bad it is going to be.

I have to admit I just can't comprehend how 1/3 the population is 1 paycheck away from not being able to cover rent or mortgage. I never feel I have enough savings, and refuse to go into debt so I am definitely not the norm, but really what are people going to do when there is no welfare. People just aren't going to accept it, pandemonium is all but guaranteed.

guess this comes around every year, eh?

EXACT TITLE/DIFFERENT STATS FOR LAST YEAR

reply to post by projectvxn

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This thread seems to be less about 50 Economic Numbers From 2011 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe
and more about how impressed with yourself you are.

You have a very immature and predictable "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" mentality and I don't detect a single ounce of compassion in your assesment of these numbers.

These numbers all revolve around one thing and one thing only.
M-O-N-E-Y!!!!

The mentality we need to overcome all of these obsticles is one of charity,giving,compassion,and love and has nothing to do with money.

So, while you seem to think that everything will get better when people suck it up and do what needs to be done like our grandparents did and nobody should complain about the situation they are in because it is their fault. You seem to be the shining beacon of self determination and drive and entripenureship while these people deserve what they get.

lol, "just get a job"

"Just go to school and get some skills".

"Do like I did and you will live the same life I am living"

I really do not have the time,patience,or inclination to point out all of the flaws in your way of thinking but just understand that the day is fast approaching that......YOU WILL suffer the fate that alot of the people in this country are suffering and when that happens, it would be my sole delight to walk up to you and tell you to "get a job" or "go where the jobs are" or anyother such rediculous phrases which puts the resposibility of the position you're in squarely in YOUR lap.

What a grand day it would be.

It is my hope that your childlike mentality matures into one of compassion and understanding.

reply to post by Screwed

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This thread seems to be less about 50 Economic Numbers From 2011 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe and more about how impressed with yourself you are.

I didn't write this thread. All I did was respond to it. I don't know what your problem is, but perhaps you should attempt to address the topic.

You have a very immature and predictable "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" mentality and I don't detect a single ounce of compassion in your assesment of these numbers.

You bet I'm all about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. You may see it as childish, that's fine. I've had to do it several times in my life. So has my family. We've have to move to where the jobs are and without making those decisions and sacrifices we wouldn't have been stuck in a much worse situation in the long run.

These numbers all revolve around one thing and one thing only. M-O-N-E-Y!!!!

Your point?

The mentality we need to overcome all of these obsticles is one of charity,giving,compassion,and love and has nothing to do with money.

Charity, compassion, and love won't help anyone if they aren't willing to help themselves. Without the willpower to overcome these obstacles people in this situations will remain in them.

So, while you seem to think that everything will get better when people suck it up and do what needs to be done like our grandparents did and nobody should complain about the situation they are in because it is their fault.

My grandparents have been dead a long time. My family and I came the US in '89 We were homeless in LA and living in a Ford Festiva. All four of us. I didn't exactly have an easy life growing up. But my parents, and later on, myself, did what had to be done to make it better. If we had just given up and said to ourselves "Well these are the cards we're dealt oh well" then it would have been our fault.

You seem to be the shining beacon of self determination and drive and entripenureship while these people deserve what they get.

You deserve only as much as you're willing to put in.

lol, "just get a job" "Just go to school and get some skills". "Do like I did and you will live the same life I am living"

And what's wrong with this? Is bettering yourself to improve your situation wrong?

As for the last quote, there is no such thing as a guaranteed outcome. I never even said anything like that.

I really do not have the time,patience,or inclination to point out all of the flaws in your way of thinking but just understand that the day is fast approaching that......YOU WILL suffer the fate that alot of the people in this country are suffering and when that happens, it would be my sole delight to walk up to you and tell you to "get a job" or "go where the jobs are" or anyother such rediculous phrases which puts the resposibility of the position you're in squarely in YOUR lap.

The responsibility for my way of life IS on my lap. Always has been, always will be.

It's interesting to note that you would take pleasure in the misfortune of others while berating me for asking that those who are currently in the situation I used to be in put in more effort and think outside of the box. You're ridiculous.

What a grand day it would be.

So what? Are you saying that everyone who is poor should just have very thing they need and want handed to them? What a grand day that would be.

It is my hope that your childlike mentality matures into one of compassion and understanding.

I'm a grown man who's been there and done that. I came from a third world country and lived in poverty in the US for the first ten years I was here. Along the way we've had the help of others. And the only reason we succeeded is because we took what help we could get along with the drive to help ourselves. Today I do what I can to help people less fortunate than I. You do not know me or what I do on a daily basis to help others. But handing people stuff is not on that list. I help people help themselves.

It is my hope that your presumptuous attitude and asinine accusations are curbed by experience one day.

In the end, you've addressed NONE of the points I was trying to make. Your whole post is one big personal attack on me without actually trying to comprehend what it is I was trying to say.

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