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Here in America, we know how to provide circuses on a grand scale. Roman citizens were satisfied with a good chariot race. In these modern times, Americans can find entertainment and distraction with 24-hour-a-day cable TV, the Internet, iPhones, iPods, Blackberries, 1.1 million retail stores, 1,100 malls, 17,000 golf courses, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Housewives of Orange County, New York, Atlanta, and New Jersey, American Idol, Survivor, Rock of Love, Flip That House, 660 stations with nothing on, Las Vegas, Disney World, MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, WWF, porn, and mega-churches all competing to fill the void in people’s lives.
There isn’t enough time in the day to take in all of the circuses, but with what little spare time we have available, we are now able to check our email anywhere on Earth and stay in constant contact with the office even in the middle of the night or, more typically these days, in the middle of dinner. And we can text and twitter our every thought to our circle of friends and followers, providing next to no lasting purpose or benefit to anyone.
Approximately 12% of the U.S. population (36 million people) is considered poor, and many of them are totally dependent upon the state. Yet that term seems out of sync with the fact that many of those individuals have cell phones ($500/yr.), cable TV ($900/yr.), Internet access ($500/yr.), cars ($5,000/yr. lease), houses ($6,000/yr.), eat fast food ($1,000/yr.), and can smoke a pack a day ($1,500/yr.).
How can this be?
For the answer, look no further than Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and the Federal Reserve, in cahoots with the financial geniuses on Wall Street, who made it standard practice to create money out of thin air and encourage anyone with a heartbeat to avail themselves of it in the form of low-cost loans – no proof of income or assets required.
The arrangement worked just fine until the banks could no longer hide the bad debt or sell it to the greater fool. Now it has collapsed onto the backs of American taxpayers.
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Just want to post an appreciation for the great info on this blog. Please keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI feel so alone
ReplyDeleteGonna end up a big ole' pile of them bones
One of the best articles yet on this blog - fantastic and true.
ReplyDeleteYes lol. Every trailer trash STILL has a cell phone, big TV, car, broadband, and McDonalds.
ReplyDeleteWhen will Washington start regulating those who are dependendent on the state instead of those of us who pay the bill????
ReplyDeleteNever because that would be the right thing to do and it makes sense. We cannot have those things in this country.
ReplyDeleteWhen will Washington start regulating those who are dependendent on the state instead of those of us who pay the bill????
ReplyDeleteMEVER! The politicians that have ruined this country are only interested in perserving their own personal power base and handing out the goodies(redistribution of wealth) to the populace to get their votes when they are due for re-election. This applies to both Reps and Dems. The only way to stop this insanity is term limits, which will never become law because the same sick politicians are the ones that would have to vote to change the Constitution to impose term limits upon themselves - yeah, that will happen.
Great article and very true - America has passed the threshold into collapse and will not be able to turn this around now - too many on the dole and too few to pay the price tag for their continued support. All IMO only.
@ Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteYes lol. Every trailer trash STILL has a cell phone, big TV, car, broadband, and McDonalds. August 4, 2009 12:00 PM
According to you, I'm trailer trash...I don't have all the doo-da's you mentioned, but my place is paid off.
Please explain the difference of those living in an unpaid house, with a cellphone, big screen TV, broadband, and eating at McDonald's every day.
The greatest freedom one could have in our wage slave country is living below your means by a large margin.
ReplyDeleteIf you make $100k a year and have $99.5k in expenses in the same year, you can't have peace of mind.
Same thing if you make $35k a year with matching expenses.
Materialism is not what it is cracked up to be at all. That is why rich celebrities even kill themselves.
Get frutal, think simple; stop running in the rat race.
Don't worry, anonymous above, you will be releived of whatever materialistic problems you currently have in the next year or so.
ReplyDeleteI recently have gotten very frugal & am living very simply. I was forced to quit my job after several cuts in pay in the last 2 months...I was actually losing money after adding up my gasoline bill (driver), business cell & daycare bill. Now we are back on track but MANY people I know are getting more toys and debt...tsk tsk
ReplyDeleteAll these nitwit comments fail to address the root of the problem and the parasites causing the problems. END THE FED DOT US
ReplyDeleteWe all know who the culprit is - the Fed bankers, that is no mystery. The comments are how to try to deal with being in a cage where the door won't be pried open for a long time.
ReplyDeleteWe get it, yes. But 99% of Americans are clueless and mindwashed.
To have any chance to every defeat the monetary greed-based system of debt we must stop thinking the same way. Zeitgeist Addendum video is a good start, not perfect, but a start.
What people may be noticing is that the banker media is now heralding the end of the recession/depression, all is well. No matter how bad the corpse stinks, put some sugar coating on it.
ReplyDeleteWith their media they CAN however keep the fake Ponzi alive and make the Fed out to be our saviors and heros, while they are in fact the ones behind the curtain laughing at our ignorance.
The Fed audit is being pushed along. Do not underestimate how worried they are about the possibility of this audit. They will use every dirty political trick to stop it. They have absolute unlimited resources to destroy any chance of an audit. The only way the audit will ever happen is a knowledge revolt among the sheeple.
They are actually scared of the American lemmings doing something to their power base for the first time in decades.
In order to stop the Fed audit they know the Fed must be held up as the heroes that saved us all. That is the exact portrayal right this minute. No need to 'harass' the Fed and hamper their effects - they saved us!! Don't let an incompetent Congress interfere with our heroes!
The Oligarchs have patience in their plottings that cannot be compared. If they can't do something in weeks, they'll settle for months or years.
I know the message of this blog is that the economy may implode tomorrow, dollar crash, the end, etc. That is very true. But don't underestimate the power of our owners to determine when that implosion will happen. It is not a random date. It is a date of their choosing. Just like 9/11 was a date of their choosing.
If the Oligarchs decide that they want to hold off on the collapse for a year until the Fed audit 'nonsense' is slept under the rug that is exactly what they will do. The fundamentals and truth won't matter that much when perception IS reality.
Who controls the perception? The same people that control it all. Our Congress, banks, media, radio, etc.
Personally, if they want to keep the Ponzi running another 1,2,3? years I am good with that. We have lived under the fake system, fake BS our whole lives. Fact.
THEY DECIDE when it ends, not us. Prepare like the collapse will be tomorrow, but don't be frustrated when you see the Ponzi continue forward, unthwarted.
If people come to the conclusion that the gov is run by criminals that the banks are robbers etc why participate? Have no faith in them. Keep your wealth in things in your possession. Reject the system. Dont be a fool and vote dont keep money in the bank dont believe their media. Protect yourself. Do not depend on them. They are out to do nothing else but profit from you then kill you.
ReplyDeleteThere is no business like show business like no business I know! Think happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts. Go to a happy place! :)
ReplyDelete"One great big festering neon distraction" ~Tool
ReplyDeleteSomeone has jealousy and envy issues. Let's all work together. Form a circle and hold hands. We'll get through this bump in the road together.
ReplyDeleteOh. my. God. Becky.
ReplyDeleteThat bump in the road is
a giant pile of
rotting
human
CORPSES!
***SCREAMS****
Min. wage can buy most those things. Most poor people don't lease cars or rent houses. They'll ride a bike, walk, take a bus, or hitch a ride from a friend. Many do smoke but they're more likely bum one or trade cans than buy a pack if they're really poor. They'll eat fast food but skip meals often. I do agree about the banks pushing those sub-prime mortgages. It's beyond belief that they would ignorantly hand out sacks of money without credit checks. It's a scheme to create a financial and economic crisis.
ReplyDelete