Posted on 09/17/2012 3:04:01 AM PDT by Evil Slayer
Sometimes a few facts tell important stories. The American economy now is full of facts that tell stories that you really don't want, but need, to hear.
Where are we now?
Did you know that annual spending by the federal government now exceeds the 2007 level by about $1 trillion? With a slow economy, revenues are little changed. The result is an unprecedented string of federal budget deficits, $1.4 trillion in 2009, $1.3 trillion in 2010, $1.3 trillion in 2011, and another $1.2 trillion on the way this year. The four-year increase in borrowing amounts to $55,000 per U.S. household.
The amount of debt is one thing. The burden of interest payments is another. The Treasury now has a preponderance of its debt issued in very short-term durations, to take advantage of low short-term interest rates. It must frequently refinance this debt which, when added to the current deficit, means Treasury must raise $4 trillion this year alone. So the debt burden will explode when interest rates go up.
The government has to get the money to finance its spending by taxing or borrowing. While it might be tempting to conclude that we can just tax upper-income people, did you know that the U.S. income tax system is already very progressive? The top 1% pay 37% of all income taxes and 50% pay none.
Did you know that, during the last fiscal year, around three-quarters of the deficit was financed by the Federal Reserve? Foreign governments accounted for most of the rest, as American citizens' and institutions' purchases and sales netted to about zero. The Fed now owns one in six dollars of the national debt, the largest percentage of GDP in history, larger than even at the end of World War II.
The Fed has effectively replaced the entire
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
SHTF/WROL just around the corner.
WROL ?
I have never seen that before...
What’s it mean ?
What a freaking mess.
It’s a term I only came to learn of about 3 years ago. Apparently, it’s an acronym used by law enforcement that stands for Without Rule of Law. In otherwords, chaos, riots in the streets, total mayhem. Examples would be the Watts Riots of ‘68, LA riots of ‘92, New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, etc.
bookmark...
Wait until the Fed starts unwinding that toxic debt. Subtract 35% from the GDP. We have an anchor around our necks for the next 50 years, that is to say we are done as an economic power.
Bump for later
BUDGET!
sark off
This was news to me. It’s overwhelming to try to keep up and it is intentional to overwhelm the citizens.
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is also being financed by the Federal Reserve rather than by appropriations, severing the checks and balances needed for good government. And the Fed’s Operation Twist, buying long-term and selling short-term debt, is substituting for the Treasury’s traditional debt management.”
Thanks....I will be using that
What we need is WROO. (Without Rule of Obama)
Well THAT was a depressing read first thing on a Monday morning.
The 110 million of us who are supported by some sort of Government check (no SS or Medicare $ here) are oblivious in the realization of the magnitude of what they are causing.
They simply don’t care, nor want to - as long as the checks keep coming. They won’t care until the magnitude has reached such proportions as their checks become in jeopardy. And, when they realize this, they won’t tighten their belts - or get a job. They will riot.
...”The 110 million of us who are supported by some sort of Government check (no SS or Medicare $ here) are oblivious in the realization of the magnitude of what they are causing.
They simply don’t care, nor want to - as long as the checks keep coming. They won’t care until the magnitude has reached such proportions as their checks become in jeopardy. And, when they realize this, they won’t tighten their belts - or get a job. They will riot”...
You know, I hear talking heads on TV say, “It’s about the economy, Stupid!”... I cringe when I hear that because my guess in that 75% of Americans, college educated and otherwise, know almost nothing about what has happened to the US economically during the past 4 years. They do not have the education or the inclination to understand it..In fact, it involves such numbers and is so complicated, even the experts have trouble with it. We do know one thing. Our dollar is soon going to be worthless. Then, what will we do for money?..Will we resort to bartering?..The chaos brewing out there, God forbid, could bring on Civil War. I think of the families I know who have adopted little children from foreign lands, thinking they were giving those babies a chance at a loving home in a free land..Now, it could be that those families would be better off in the original homelands of their children. We have already fallen off the cliff..It is just a matter of how slick the slide is to the bottom. Those political figures responsible for these economic crimes against the American people should be in prison and we have not seen a single one go there yet.
Excellent!
Thank you for your comment. It’s a sobering expose on the seriousness of our national situation and you are right about many Americans having no clue what has happened.
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