The state of our economy and the evaporating middle class.

[Xicano]

I just wanted to rant/post some numbers to show where our economy is and is headed. Each of these photos are linked to the source where I got them from.

As you can see our debt is over 6½ times what our revenue is with approx 33% of that being spent on defense (excluding veteran affairs), along with a deficit spending of over $1.3 trillion. So its only going to continue to get worse not better.

Personally I would argue the national debt is higher than reported because of (in my opinion) what is a FED back-door QE3 through JP Morgan silver market manipulation I can prove through gata's class action lawsuit against JPM & HSBC. But, there would be no way to prove that unless there were a proper audit conducted at the FED which anybody knows will never happen.

However, the point is as you can see from these numbers we are in over our heads with debt, the rich are concentrating all the wealth to themselves, the rich are not paying their fair share of the tax burden with some not paying any taxes at all (GE, BOA), the rich have sent millions of our manufacturing & tech jobs to Asia creating a bigger problem backing our national debt. Is there any wonder why the middle class is evaporating? This should be played in the media every single day. Not to mention these numbers are proof positive trickle-down is just a ponzi scheme for the rich and is destroying America's middle class.

But instead what do we get from our government and news media? More WAR! Sorry to the poor folks in Libya, but, it is irresponsible for our President to spend borrow hundreds of billions of dollars we just simple can't afford to borrow. Especially when we have a lot of Americans without a job, without a home to sleep in, without a decent place to go to the bathroom or take a shower, and without any security whatsoever.

Shame on you Obama. Shame on you Congress. Shame on you greedy corporate America. I question all of your's loyalty.

:argh:

[DoBotherMe]

1. k & r

[ixion]

2. very close to 100% of our GDP...

in the distance, I can hear the sound of the second shoe falling.

[Mojeoux]

3. I agree with you, except Lybia.

Fix the Damn Tax Loopholes before you cut services for the needy. WTF?!!!!!!

What is so fucking hard about this????

I read an article about the Billion Dollar scam artist, Bernie Madoff. In the article it said that people would BUY houses in the neighborhood of Bernies' Golf Club. They would join and then suck up for YEARS before they would humbly ask Bernie to please invest their millions. Seems the lowest he would even bother with was 10 mil. He also would stand for no petty questions, Ha Ha

This proves that a LOT of rich people are BIG idiots. And it proves that rich people who want to be even richer are BIG idiots as well.

Do I want to "punish people for their success?" I just want them to pay their FAIR share, so we can have a decent world class country. And if their success was helped by confusing bank and real estate scams, YES I want them to be Punished!
AMEN



(edited to correct spelling)

[abelenkpe]

7. It's Libya.

Yes corporations should pay their fair share
Yes defense spending should be cut

Have you ever been to Libya? Traveled in North Africa? I admire the emotion that wants to help innocent people but there are a lot of reasons to be concerned about getting involved militarily in Libya. It's difficult not to cynically notice that by doing so we protect oil reserves of great interest to our allies. That we aren't as concerned about protecting similar innocents in places like cote d'ivorie. That the goals of the rebels we're supporting are virtually unknown beyond wanting to oust Gaddafi. That the expense of such an endeavor will be used by our political opponents as a reason to push for even more cuts to social services here in the US endangering the most vulnerable of our own citizens.

[Mojeoux]

11. Visiting Tripoli is a dream I have always cherished.

Not Italy or Greece or France, I've always imagined visiting Libya. I'm sorry I spelled it wrong.

[abelenkpe]

15. Yeah sorry I'm a spelling Nazi :)

North Africa is beautiful. Traveling there in the nineties required a bodyguard as westerners were not well liked. Hopefully that will change.

[Mojeoux]

19. Oh I hope so, before I am too old of an old lady!!!!!

Peace and justice and freedom from oppression, I pray will someday I will see. (even if I can only see some light at the end of the tunnel of war!)

[Xicano]

9. "Billion Dollar scam artist, Bernie Madoff"

Very appropriate choice of words. In my opinion, however, Madoff is small fries compared to bankers.

[Mojeoux]

13. I so agree with you. Even Bernie has said "They HAD to know."

With "Citizen's United," how will we ever bust the banks???????

I just like the way the example shows how far some millionaires have their heads up their butts. The people snubbed by Madoff, supposedly now say they knew he was a phony.

[Xicano]

14. Indeed they "had" to know.

I can't remember where I saw some good information which all but proved they not only knew about it, but, had to be in on it. I wish I could remember where that information was. I think it was a link a fellow longshoreman sent me, but, I can't find it. It doesn't prove conclusively, but, it shows a compelling case.

Anyway we have a lot of crooks damaging our country, violating laws and nothing is happening to them. One of these examples which makes me sick is Goldman Sachs inducing fraudulent mortgages, bundling them together and selling them as AAA rated mortgage backed securities knowing they were toxic, then, taking out shorts against the financial institutions they sold them to because they knew they'd damage those institutions. That's THREE layers of crimes which can be prosecuted for fraud, and, they didn't do it a few times. They did it tens of thousands of times. And what happens to them? They get a spot in the White House and billions of dollars of tax payers money which they use billions of it to give themselves bonuses.

So much corruption and injustice.

:(

[Xicano]

4. U.S. Annual Revenue Not Enough To Cover The Interest

Just thought it should also be pointed out that at our current level of debt (which is only increasing) 100% of our tax revenue isn't enough to cover the interest payments. Now I don't know about you, but, in my experience when you can't even cover the interest on your debt. YOU ARE BANKRUPT. Clearly our country is insolvent and we are starting up another war? Are we crazy?

[indepat]

17. Crazy is a moniker not up to the task, considering the enormity of the greed, evil, and stupidity

in context with the rampant religious and other ideological zealotry which abounds. :patriot:

[CrispyQ]

5. The bottom graph makes me

:grr:

[RainDog]

6. k&r n/t

[bigwillq]

8. Great graphs

K and R

[OhioChick]

10. Thanks for posting

K&R

[Xicano]

12. You're welcome OhioChick

:hi:

[OhioChick]

16. This deserves a kick...

:hi:

[indepat]

18. Hear! Hear! Hopefully the silver market is not being gamed a la the Hunts for whom I seem to

remember were the beneficiaries of a $1,000,000,000+ loan arranged for by the Fed during a period of very tight credit. :patriot: