What Can Be Done About The State of the Economy?

As this article is written, new reports show that the economy has slipped deeper into a "Depression". Nationally, one in every 10 Mortgages is at least one payment behind, and another 4% have already entered the foreclosure process.

Two States lead the downward trend, Florida and California with Nevada and Arizona not far behind.

The picture in Florida leaves a bleak assessment of the landscape. Between April and June, 12 percent of all Florida mortgages were in the foreclosure process and one in four, (25 %) were late on payments and under threat of being included.

In California, a similar picture emerges, 10.8 percent of all mortgages were more than 90 days late or in foreclosure. California the largest State, population wise, accounts for 13.3 percent of U.S. mortgages yet experienced almost 20 percent of foreclosure starts between April and June.

In Nevada, the picture is even worse as foreclosures continue to claim Nevada as one of the top three regions where foreclosures are reshaping the landscape. Commercial shopping centers remain as much as 80% empty, storefronts bearing signs "for Lease" but with no takers, and office buildings stand completely vacant. On top of this more than 4.5 percent of real property, homes once occupied by middle class residents now stand empty.

In the second quarter, April to June, forty-one states demonstrated an increase in their foreclosure rate, but this is now for "prime" fixed-rate mortgages. Prime fixed-rate loans account now for one in three foreclosure starts, up from a year ago when they were one in five.

Prime fixed-rate loans account for 65 percent of all outstanding U.S. mortgages, but they were more than 32 percent of foreclosure starts during the second quarter. They also constitute 27 percent of all U.S. loans now in foreclosure, and are growing monthly. None of the Government programs have worked to alleviate the stress.

The Making Home Affordable effort, which was hoped to be a model the Banks would pursue, has demonstrated to be a complete failure. The Banks are refusing to co-operate and to help borrowers modify their loans, Wells Fargo being one of the worst offenders, while Bank of America seems to be more compassionate toward their borrower's plight. Part of the problem has been the Derivatives (Credit Default Swaps) which guaranteed payment to the investors when these loans failed. As the Bush and Obama Administrations salvaged AIG, they also, at the same time, placed the final nail in the coffin of many borrowers, because the Banks had NO incentive except to foreclose and be paid out by the insurance contract.

This is not the first time in the history of America that we have gone through a major "depression", but it is the first time the Government has not made any effort to help its people. Instead, the administrations have looked to support the Banks "against" the interest of the public.

What can be done? A lot!

First the government and or any state of the Union can and should declare a foreclosure moratorium. This was done during the depression of 1929 and 1932. It would further give the Banks, who were the cause of the problem, an incentive to work with the borrowers and to make loans more affordable.

The goal must be to keep borrowers in their homes and to begin to stabilize the Real Estate Market. With that the job market would follow!

What the Banks lack is incentive! The Banks already obtained their bailout and now its business as usual.

The effects on the economy are mind shattering, bringing the sanity of Bankers into question. Logic and simple economics dictate that when Banks foreclose in volume, as they are doing then offer the property at distressed price levels they will trash the real Estate Market. They did both!

Every region of the country has experienced a market crash both in the value of their homes and the numbers of those homes for sale at distressed prices. It's based on the simple economic principal called supply and demand! The Banks are controlling the supply based on the level of foreclosures, and with a market continually in decline there is very little demand, and even less money being made available.

The work force now at its lowest level in recent history, is suffering as more and more businesses close their doors, or outsource to China or India, while top executives continue to rake in multi million dollar paychecks, and bonuses.

We are slipping deeper into a quagmire from which if we don't begin to act responsibly may continue for decades, and if it does, it will affect each of us, our children and theirs...

Some 150 to 200 banks are now primed to fail within the next several months, No American Bank is healthy enough to take them over, and a further bail out without consideration of the Borrowers in mind would create a further wedge, and further increase the numbers slipping into default and foreclosure.

If the taxpayers are to be on the hook to salvage a system that poisoned itself, their MUST be some consideration given to those taxpayers, a foreclosure moratorium is suggested, and rightfully due them.

America, The End of a Modern Empire

America, like all efforts at empire building before us is crumbling under the weight of corruption, a corruption that has swelled from within, effectuated by greed, and by religious zealots, this corruption, buying the favors of our political agenda is taking the form of bribery and a never ending lust for power.

The religious right, responsible for bringing Hitler to power also was responsible for the end to the Germanic empire. Just as the Fundamentalists, the Religious right in America had devastated both the consciousness of the Republican Party, and the moral fiber of this Nation.

The Christian fundamentalist, advocate everything for which this country must be opposed, the likes of Torture, wars of choice, the disenfranchisement of religious thought, and right to question, the antipathy of their children, and the vote rigging to elect their own to office. Each to achieve the perception of greatness, and their illusion of reality, but for the resources of another country, they have initiated wars based on religion, and as their teachings, they too are false prophets!

The leadership of these misguided souls consists of individuals of moral inequalities, the maladjusted with addictive personalities who have infiltrated our military. They in the unguarded moment of our history have laid waste to a whole political spectrum. A philosophy of empiricism experienced of historical insight lacking their intuition. Yet they are followed by millions with transient knowledge and biblical perception. Adherence to a view untenable to intellectual thought.

The Muslim Conquests, the French Wars of Religion, the Crusades, and the Reconquista are frequently cited historical examples, just as historically Iraq, and Afghanistan must appear as a continuation of the early crusades.

The crumbling of the American empire advanced more so by the Media, long ago neutralized, fearful of its own existence, and cowering before the vocal minority, are the most responsible for the failure of this experiment, and for the enslavement of man and of themselves. They were charged with the mandate to protect the republic, but as with each of our elected, their favors were also easily bought.

The collapse of the American empire was inevitable, as with all empires, America must fail and remain a blip on the chart of history. To be recognized yet differentiated from the empires of old, the Rome, Akkad, Sumeria, Babylonia, Ninevah, Assyria, Persia, Macedonia, Greece, Carthage, Mali, Songhai, Mongonl, Tokugawaw, Gupta, Khmer, Hapbsburg, Inca, Aztec, Spanish, Dutch, Ottoman, Austrian, French, British, and Soviet, each in their time, would come to an end.

There are four (4) stages that express the collapse of an empire. We are of the last stage; (i) Environmental Degradation, (ii) Economic Meltdown (iii) Military Overstretch, and (iv) Domestic Dissent

The first leg: Environmental Degradation consists of the destruction of the lands and waters we depend upon for survival.

Accomplished by the following:

Genetically engineered foodstuffs that inhibit the product in the food chain’s ability to regenerate a crop, and includes the destruction of the honey bee, necessary to our survival as a species, and (ii) The pollution of over 75 percent of the earth’s waterways, and (iii) The addition of poison to our drinking waters, “Fluoride” and (iv) the waste of millions of acres of farmland through the use of toxic fertilizer “Monsanto”.

Important ecological indicators are in decline, e.g. the erosion of top-soils and beaches, overfishing, deforestation, pollution of water, soil, air, and food, depletion of oil and minerals reserves, the introduction of new diseases created in the laboratory, and invigoration of old ones, extreme weather, melting icecaps and rising sea-levels, and multiple species extinction.

The second leg: Economic Meltdown consists of allowing our money supply to be controlled by a criminal element, an element that has no concern for the financial stability of the nation, but only for the financial advancement of them-selves, the Banking cartels. Today they control every facet of our existence.

The United States as all empires before us, is dependent on excessive resource exploitation, derived from countries farther and farther away, e.g. the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South America, the resources have become necessary to feed an insatiable appetite, and are based on not the greed of the consumer, so much as the control of the large corporations. The global corporate world is the producer and America consumer is the consumption unit. This nation is in debt more than 12 Trillion dollars, and that debt is growing rapidly.

The third leg: Military Overstretch. America has and supports a presence of more than 460,000 military personnel in more than 150 acknowledged Countries: That there are others which remain secret is also known.

Iraq- 128,100; Afghanistan-48,200; Africa- 2400; Kenya -42; Egypt- 529; Asia-97,000; South Korea-27,014; Japan-32,803; Philippines-95; Diego Garcia-311; Jakarta Indonesia-27; Singapore-125; Thailand-96; Malaysia-15; Australia-140; Marshall Islands-17; New Zealand-5; Germany-57,080; Souda Bay Greece-386; Italy-9,855; United Kingdom-9,825; Spain-1,286; Norway-81; Sweden-12; Turkey-1,594; Belgium-1,328; Portugal- 826; Netherlands-579; Greece-363; Greenland-126; Qatar-411; Bahrain-1,495; Kuwait-10; Oman-36; United Arab Emirates-96; Antigua-2; Columbia-123; Saint Helena-123; Guantanamo Bay Cuba-932; Ecuador-36; Netherlands Antilles-10; Hawaii-34,838; Guam-2,836; Puerto Rico-137; Alaska-19,408.

The United States within our nation operates 202 bases, the Air Force operates (71), the Army (59), the Marines (15) and the Navy (57).

Globally the footprint expands substantially more: numbering in excess of 106, with many unknown, (30) Overseas Air force Bases; some (30) Army Bases; (31) Marine Bases; and some (15) known Naval Bases. All supported by the US Taxpayer, several are Joint CIA bases of operation.

The final leg; Domestic Dissent; the act of rebellion; We see members of the armed forces in a state of rebellion, so far a known contingency of soldiers numbering in the 100’s are refusing to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan, their reason, the wars are of choice and illegal under our constitution. In addition a growing number of soldiers caught up in the drama are committing suicide, a concern and one of alarm for the military.

So far the military is continuing to enlist by means of deception; the other day while having breakfasts in a local restaurant I overheard a 17 year old girl talking about her enlistment in the US Navy, her reason, she liked to snorkel and the Navy said she would be able to snorkel all over the world, her mother was there and approved. No more needs to be said.

Civilian dissent has been observed through the lack of voter interest, only about 25 percent of the population’s eligible voters register or vote. The reason is their disenfranchisement with a system acknowledged to be corrupt.

That we are in the end times is without argument, but the reality is that it is a political and spiritual fall from grace!

Ford Motor Company Gets Minimal Effect of Cash for Clunkers While Most Automakers Lose Ground

While Chevrolet and Chrysler are seemingly out of the running, having sold fewer autos than it did a year earlier, 250,000 clunkers are claimed to have been traded for gas guzzlers that get a little better mileage, the average of 15.5 MPG trade in Vs 24.5 MPG new acquisition (9 MPG Difference), but along with the savings comes a monthly bill although amortized, still is around or better than $10,000.00.

If this was an effort to help the American automakers it gets a resounding "F" for failure. Four out of five, 80% of these trades were for foreign owned automobile manufacturers, Japanese automakers like Subaru and Hyundai, now 50,000 automobiles may sound like a lot, but the real figures when matched to the same period in 08, shows a different story.

Example, setting the auto sales on equal footing for July 2008 and July 2009 we see that there was NO benefit from the cash for clunker program "NONE". "NONE" in fact it was a total waste of taxpayer resources.

Ford: sales for July 2008 were 138,175 units, while its sales under the program July 2009 were 142,135 units a difference of only 3,960 automobiles, a mere 3% difference.

But Ford took this away from competitors like GM, Dodge, Chevrolet, Pontiac, BMW, Cadillac, Saturn and Chrysler who sold fewer units, actually this combined group sold exactly 50,000 fewer cars in 09 than it did in 08. Think about that, in other words there was a shift of consumers that would have bought a new car anyway and they didn't all go to Ford. In fact the group of 27 auto manufacturers sold a total of 162,000 fewer autos in July 09, than it did in July 08.

Mercury: sales for July 2008 were 9,412 units, while its sales under the program July 2009 were 10,031 units a difference of only 619 automobiles.

Subaru: sales for July 2008 were 16,271 units, while its sales under the program July 2009 were 21,893 units a difference of 5,622 automobiles and a showing much better than Ford. Subaru had a 34% increase from a year earlier.

Volvo: sales for July 2008 were 5,124 units, while its sales under the program July 2009 were 6,441 units a difference of 1,317 automobiles, a 26% increase from 08.

Hyundai: sales for July 2008 were 40,703 units, while its sales under the program July 2009 were 45,553 units a difference of only 4,850 automobiles again better than Ford, and an increase of 12% from a year earlier.

The other 27 Automakers, all lost ground, as they sold fewer autos during the government promotion than it did in the same period a year earlier. In fact in total the market was flat.
In short the Cash for clunkers was a total waste of money, did nothing to stimulate the economy, and actually cost the taxpayers, through creating a future obligation to support those who would have purchased a car anyway.

US to employ “Private Security Guards” to protect our GI’s in Afghanistan

Subtitled: Those Lunatics Are Still In Washington!

Reading the article that appeared in the Associated Press on July 26, 2009 I am left bewildered and confused.

Is not the US armed services “a force” capable of defending itself?

If the government is now intent to employ mercenaries to protect our GI’s, in Afghanistan -- then what are our GI’s doing in Afghanistan?

Why not bring them home and employ these mercenaries to fight the war, like Britton did, employing mercenaries from Prussia in 1775.

Obama, it becomes clear, must be smoking the same substance used by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, as this is what their demented minds could have and would have conceived.

The U.S. military authorities in Afghanistan plan to hire a private contractor to provide around-the-clock security at dozens of bases and protect vehicle convoys moving throughout the country.

Um, excuse me, but isn’t this why our troops are in Afghanistan in the first place?

The prevalence of thought, the military believes, that as the number of American forces in Afghanistan swell over the next several months, so too does the demand to guard their outposts.

Apparently, those in charge believe, the armed services are not capable or equipped to guard their own outposts!

The Washington Post reported that the Army published a notice July 10, 2009 to inform interested contractors it was contemplating a contract for "theater-wide" armed security. The contract would provide for a variety of security services, to include the static security of compounds on which U.S. and “coalition” forces reside, and for the protection of mission essential convoys in and around forward operating bases located throughout Afghanistan.

If our Armed forces are not capable of defending themselves and their essential convoys, then let’s bring them all home!