Danger Alert! 25 Signs That The US Middle Class Is Facing Annihilation
Politics / Social Issues Feb 10, 2014 - 09:48 AM GMTWhile the ever distracted and perpetually preoccupied American public is just recovering from the onslaught of the Super Bowl and readying itself for two continuous weeks of the vicarious videotaped splendor of the Winter Olympics from Russia, ominous signs of the inevitable collapse of the American economic and social order continue to grow. Regrettably, very few of these signs are ever discussed on any of the business channels.
As far as the talking head pundits on Bloomberg, CNBC, and the Fox Business Channel are concerned, the ONLY index of American prosperity and well being is the stock market and nothing BUT the stock market. It’s as simple as that for this little group of Wall Street sycophant shills. “Stock market up – happy days are here again! Having a bad month in equities (think January 2014 – S & P down 3.7%)…well that has to be only a slight correction and just a GREAT buying opportunity to get back into the market and prepare yourself to make even more money than last year. After all, these markets hardly ever go down and if they do, it’s only a temporary occurrence, you see. If you’re not IN…you can’t WIN!!!”
We hate to break this to you, dear reader, but the so-called prosperity of Wall Street and its banking elite no longer reflects the state of affairs of the general public, especially the middle class. And speaking of the middle class, it is this group that stands as a real buffer between a totalitarian regime dominated by elite tyrants ruling over a peasant proletariat. Get rid of the middle class and you wind up with third world banana republics such as Honduras and Zimbabwe; or even worse, North Korea.
Things have never been worse for the middle class since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Don’t believe it? Take a look at some of these stunning statistics which illustrate an impending peril for the middle class along with, perhaps, the demise of democratic republican government in this country.
1 In January, the Commerce Department reported that personal income had cratered 3.6% during the month, by far the largest decline in over 20 years.
2 Disposable personal income fell by even a greater margin – 4% – the single largest monthly loss in half a century.
3 Median US household income has fallen for the fifth consecutive year.
4 The rate of home ownership in the US has fallen for eight straight years.
5 In 2014, only 44% of Americans consider themselves to be middle class as compared to 53% in 2008.
6 Just five years ago in 2008, 25% of all Americans in the 18 to 29 year old age bracket, believed themselves to be “lower class.” By 2014, an astounding 49% of that age group now does.
7 According to the Federal Reserve, total US household debt stands at $13 trillion, just a shade below its pre-subprime crisis level in 2007. Michael Pento of Pento Portfolio Strategy sums it up perfectly, “We have not solved anything…We have learned nothing.”
8 According to Realty Trace’s December 2013 “US Home and Underwater Equity Report,” nineteen percent of all properties with a mortgage are underwater.
9 Total US consumer credit has risen by a staggering 22% in the last three years.
10 Unbelievably, 56% of all Americans now have subprime credit.
11 Average US household credit card debt now stands at $15,270.
12 Total US student loan debt through 2013, stood at a whopping $1.049 billion, an increase of 11.1% in just one year.
13 Average student loan debt per student is now $32,258.
14 The average mortgage debt in the US is still very formidable, nearly $150,000 per household.
15 There are 46.5 million Americans now living in poverty.
16 One of out every four part time workers in America is living below the official poverty line.
17 According to recent numbers from the US Census Bureau, an all time record of 49.2% of all Americans are receiving monthly disbursements from at least one government agency or program.
18 In the past five years, the US has spent an astonishing $3.7 trillion on welfare programs.
19 The percentage of Americans now living in poverty has been at 15% for nearly three consecutive years, the first time that has happened since the “War on Poverty” began in 1965.
20 Since Barack Obama’s election of office five years ago, the number of Americans living on food stamps has risen nearly 47%, from 32 million to nearly 47 million.
21 A total of 2,637,239 US jobs were outsourced in 2013 alone – over 53% high paying manufacturing jobs.
22 The true US unemployment rate, according to John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics (shadowstats.com), is not at all the 7% official figure of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, but actually is over 23%.
23 Thirty percent of Americans say they will need to work into their 80s so as to be comfortable in retirement.
24 Sixty percent of the jobs lost during the 2008 – 2009 recession, were middle class positions; they have accounted for only 22% of the jobs created since then.
25 The total official US debt stands at $17.289 trillion. The actual US debt, when taking into consideration such unfunded liabilities as social security, Medicare, Medicaid, and government pensions, etc., is estimated six to ten times that amount, between $120 – $200 trillion, a figure that cannot and will not ever be paid.
Ladies and gentlemen, these are staggering figures and they point to a conclusion of not only an eventual evisceration of the middle class but life as we have come to know it in the United States of America. With the exception of Ron Paul, no American politician has had the courage or intelligence to rein in the above index of misery facing the American public. It may actually already be too late for any political solution to our dilemmas. It is going to be up to each individual, family, and community to prepare for their own future welfare and protection. Part of that protection should definitely include the acquisition of precious metals to protect and insure your hard earned wealth.
To learn more about the rewards of precious metals investing, including how to fund your existing IRA with gold or silver, call Liberty Gold and Silver seven days a week at 888.751.3330. To learn about the most generous referral program in the precious metals industry, please visit the Liberty Gold and Silver Referral Program. We're happy to spend as much time as you need to discuss the details with you.
© Copyright 2014 Liberty Gold and Silver, All rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.
© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.