Broke And Getting Broker: 22 Jaw Dropping Statistics About The Financial Condition Of American Families

Broke And Getting Broker: 22 Jaw Dropping Statistics About The Financial Condition Of American Families

#1 In 2010, one out of every eight American families had at least one family member that was unemployed. In fact, the figure for 2010 was the highest it has been since the U.S. Labor Department began keeping track of this statistic back in 1994.

#2 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 8 million Americansare working part-time jobs because they can't get full-time jobs.

#3 There are now more than 6 million Americans that the government sayshave given up looking for work completely.

#4 After accounting for inflation, the average income for an American family has fallen 5 percent since the year 2000.

#5 According to the New York Times, as of 2009 the wealthiest 5 percent of all Americans had 63.5 percent of all the wealth in America. Meanwhile, the bottom 80 percent had just 12.8 percent of all the wealth.

#6 During this most recent economic downturn, employee compensation in the United States has been the lowest that it has been relative to gross domestic product in over 50 years.

#7 According to the Federal Reserve, between 2007 and 2009 median household net worth in the United States fell by 23 percent.

#8 The Federal Reserve also says that median household debt in the United States has risen to $75,600.

#9 Total U.S. credit card debt is more than 8 times larger than it was just 30 years ago.

#10 Today, 46% of all Americans carry a credit card balance from month to month.

#11 Of U.S. households that have credit card debt, the average amount owed on credit cards is $15,788.

#12 Americans now owe more than $887 billion on student loans, which is even more than they owe on credit cards.

#13 A staggering 25 percent of all American adults now have a credit score below 599.

#14 When you adjust wages for inflation, middle class workers in the United States make less money today than they did back in 1971.

#15 American workers that are unemployed are nearly twice as likely to have been told by a doctor or a nurse that they suffer from depression.

#16 In 2010, for the first time ever more than a million U.S. families lost their homes to foreclosure, and that number is expected to go even higher in 2011.

#17 According to RealtyTrac, one out of every 45 U.S. households was hit with a foreclosure filing in 2010.

#18 U.S. home values have fallen an astounding 6.3 trillion dollars since the peak of the real estate market. Most of that pain has been felt by ordinary American families.

#19 Approximately half of all American workers make $25,000 a year or less.

#20 According to a survey released very close to the end of 2010, 55 percentof all Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck.

#21 1.5 million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2010. That represented the fourth yearly increase in bankruptcy filings in a row.

#22 As 2007 began, only about 26 million Americans were on food stamps, but today over 44 million Americans are on food stamps which is an all-time record high.

Housing market: 13% of all U.S. homes are vacant

Housing market: 13% of all U.S. homes are vacant

Les Christie, staff writer, On Monday March 28, 2011, 8:28 am EDT

High residential vacancies are killing many housing markets, as foreclosed homes sit on the market and depress sale prices and property values.

And it's only getting worse: The national vacancy rate crept up to just over 13% according to last week's decennial census report. That's up from 12.1% in 2007.

"More vacant homes equal more downward pressure on home prices," said Brad Hunter, chief economist for Metrostudy, a real estate information provider.

Maine had the highest proportion of empty housing stock, at 22.8%. Other states with gluts of empty houses included Vermont (20.5%), Florida (17.5%), Arizona (16.3%) and Alaska (15.9%).

US Housing Recession Goes On

US Housing Recession Goes On

The U.S. housing market is still in recession, with prices all over the country declining and testing 2009 trough levels, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

The January Case-Shiller report released today showed that in 11 of the 20 cities surveyed, prices dropped below lows forged in 2009 following the bursting of a real estate bubble that peaked in 2006. Another month of declines adds to a trend many analysts suggest will continue.

Last month, Yale University’s Prof. Robert Shiller said the housing market is “vulnerable” in an assessment he conceded might be overly optimistic. He argued that the market’s strength since bouncing off its 2009 lows was largely linked to government tax credits aimed at creating demand for homes. Since they expired last summer, price declines have resumed.

The U.S. housing market is at the center of a credit crisis that sent the U.S. economy into perhaps its worst slowdown since the 1930s. Real estate remains a crucial element to a lasting recovery, which is why some analysts fret that renewed declines in prices are a bad omen for the whole economy.

12 Warning Signs of U.S. Hyperinflation

12 Warning Signs of U.S. Hyperinflation

1) The Federal Reserve is Buying 70% of U.S. Treasuries

2) The Private Sector Has Stopped Purchasing U.S. Treasuries.

Obama: 'We Are Saving Innocent Lives' In Libya | News | English

Obama: 'We Are Saving Innocent Lives' In Libya

President Barack Obama says the United States is at the center of efforts to build a better future for the Libyan people, but is not acting alone. The president spoke one day after laying out his policy on Libya.

President Obama said Tuesday American leadership is helping an international coalition to save innocent lives in Libya.

Top New World Order Diplomats Agree That Libya's Gadhafi Must Go

Top Diplomats Agree That Libya's Gadhafi Must Go

LONDON (AP) - A sweeping array of world powers called forcefully Tuesday for Moammar Gadhafi to step down as Libya's ruler. Some even hinted at secret talks on Gadhafi's exit.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and British Foreign Secretary William Hague led the crisis talks in London between 40 countries and institutions, all seeking an endgame aimed at halting the Libyan leader's bloody onslaught against Libya's people.

Although the NATO-led airstrikes on Gadhafi's forces aren't aimed at toppling him, dozens of nations agreed in the talks that Libya's future does not include the dictator at the helm.

Obama: 'Gadhafi will ultimately step down

Obama: 'Gadhafi will ultimately step down'

Obama is clear about his intentions

President Barack Obama predicted Tuesday that continued military and diplomatic pressure will force Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to "ultimately step down."

In an interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams a day after he addressed the nation to explain his Libya policy , Obama refused to rule out providing direct U.S. military assistance to the rebels fighting Gadhafi's government. But he said that was unlikely and that his comments shouldn't be interpreted as signaling wider U.S. intervention in the region.

"Gadhafi's been greatly weakened," Obama said. "He does not have control over most of Libya at this point, and so for us to continue to apply this pressure, I think, will allow us the space and the time to forge the kind of political solution that's necessary."

What exactly is a "Limited War?"

Feds Want Ventura's Suit Against TSA Thrown Out

Feds Want Ventura's Suit Against TSA Thrown Out

The U.S government wants former Governor Jesse Ventura's lawsuit against the TSA thrown out.

Ventura filed the suit in federal court earlier this year. He says he was sexually assaulted by the TSA during a pat down at Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport in November.

The U.S. government filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit Monday arguing all challenges to aviation and security-related TSA orders must be filed in the courts of appeal.

Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Owner May Avoid All Liability for Nuclear Accident

EconomicPolicyJournal.com: Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Owner May Avoid All Liability for Nuclear Accident

Another wonderful example of corporate royalty and their immunity to natural common law Travinyle1

Despite extremely questionable design engineering that saved Tokyo Power and Electric many millions of dollars, but ignored the threat of a major tsunami, the company may not be liable for any damages resulting from its Fukuskima Daiichii nuclear power plant disaster.

According to Paul J. Scalise, a former financial analyst, who is writing a book on Japan’s electric power system, under Japanese law governing compensation for nuclear damage, companies are liable for the cost of all nuclear accidents resulting from reactor operations except when the accidents are provoked by a “grave natural disaster of an exceptional nature or by an insurrection.” The company might plausibly seek to avoid liability altogether within that definition, he said, according to NYT.

So the question becomes one of whether the tsunami provoked the accident or whether design shortcuts resulted in the accident, because the tsunami should have been anticipated.

Beyond that, it appears that the Japanese government may step into the picture, in any case, in a manner similar to the way the United States government stepped in to bailout elite banks during the height of the financial crisis.

Resistance Radio | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio

Resistance Radio | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio

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Qaddafi Forces Counterattack After Rebel Advance Stalls

Qaddafi Forces Counterattack After Rebel Advance Stalls

RAS LANUF, Libya — Having halted a westward push by rebel fighters, forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi began a counteroffensive on Tuesday, marching eastward to the outskirts of this critical oil town, as an array of diplomats gathered in London to shape a political vision of a post-Qaddafi era.

Dozens killed in attack on Tikrit council

Dozens killed in attack on Tikrit council

Gunmen in Iraqi military uniforms execute hostages and councillors before blowing themselves up in Tikrit attack

March 29, 2011

At least 45 people have been killed by gunmen wearing military uniforms and suicide bomb belts who stormed a local government headquarters in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

A government spokesman said that among those who died were 15 hostages who were executed before their captors blew themselves up.

The attackers set off car bombs, explosive belts and hand grenades as they stormed into the building and took hostages, according to local officials. Among the dead were three provincial council members and an Iraqi journalist.

A further 65 people were wounded during the siege, which was eventually brought to an end by security forces after several hours. Seven gunmen are also believed to have been killed.

Salahuddin province media adviser Muhammad al-Asi said the attackers shot their hostages in the head as security forces closed in. Three local council members were among them.

The Plain Truth on Libya

March 26 Protest - Census Burning, Love Police & Resistance Radio

The Resistance Radio Crew out in full force in London

3/28/11 - Sen. Rand Paul Responds to President Obama's Address

Western Governments admit Carrying out “False Flag” Terror

Western Governments admit Carrying out “False Flag” Terror

I hate to say I told you so, but…

Foreword by Kevin Barrett / truthjihad

Back in February, I wrote an op-ed entitled “Wisconsin Governor admits to plotting false-flag terror; media averts eyes.” By normally-accepted standards of quality — freshness, communicative effectiveness, importance of content, ability to grab the reader’s attention, and so on — it was at least as good as anything published on any editorial page in Wisconsin this year. Yet (surprise, surprise) no local print outlet would publish it.

In my February op-ed, I explained that: “False-flag terror is the oldest and arguably most powerful trick in the book of governments. By stirring up trouble and spreading fear, rulers trick the people into begging them – the rulers – for security at any price. Whether you are a state governor or the President of the United States or a tinpot dictator like Mubarak, the best way to augment your power is to hire special ops professionals to dress up as ‘terrorists’ and perpetrate violence. You can then blame the violence on your political enemies, destroy those enemies, consolidate power, and rule unopposed.”

As it turns out, this is exactly what Indiana prosecutor and Republican activist Carlos Lam urged Wisconsin governor Scott Walker to do! As Raw Story reported Thursday:

Indiana prosecutor told Wisconsin governor to stage ‘false flag’ operation

An Indiana prosecutor and Republican activist has resigned after emails show he suggested Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker stage a fake attack on himself to discredit unions protesting his budget repair bill.

The Republican governor signed a bill on March 11 that eliminates most union rights for public employees.

In an email from February 19, Indiana deputy prosecutor Carlos F. Lam told Walker the situation presented “a good opportunity for what’s called a ‘false flag’ operation.”

The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism discovered the email among tens of thousands released to the public last week following a lawsuit by the Isthmus and the Associated Press.

“If you could employ an associate who pretends to be sympathetic to the unions’ cause to physically attack you (or even use a firearm against you), you could discredit the unions,” Lam said in his email.

“Currently, the media is painting the union protest as a democratic uprising and failing to mention the role of the DNC and umbrella union organizations in the protest,” he continued. “Employing a false flag operation would assist in undercutting any support that the media may be creating in favor of the unions.” (full story: Indiana Prosecutor told Wisconsin Governor to stage false flag operation)

When will the media wake up and inform the people that false-flag terror is not only extremely common, but arguably THE most powerful tool of unscrupulous rulers? That the minute a neocon Republican gets in trouble, he thinks about calling in the special ops pros for a false-flag?

I’ll tell you when: They’ll do it when they’re finally forced to admit that, as Geraldo put it, those “obnoxious” 9/11 truthers were right all along.

And when that happens, would it be obnoxious, or only fair, to say “I told you so”? And to add “if you had listened then, millions of murdered people would still be alive” ?

by Washington’s Blog / Global Research.ca

Forget the claims and allegations that false flag terror – governments attacking people and then blaming others in order to create animosity towards those blamed – has been used throughout history.

This essay will solely discuss government admissions to the use of false flag terror.

For example:

• The CIA admits that it hired Iranians in the 1950′s to pose as Communists and stage bombings in Iran in order to turn the country against its democratically-elected president
• Israel admits that an Israeli terrorist cell operating in Egypt planted bombs in several buildings, including U.S. diplomatic facilities, then left behind “evidence” implicating the Arabs as the culprits (one of the bombs detonated prematurely, allowing the Egyptians to identify the bombers, and several of the Israelis later confessed) (and see this and this)

• The well-respected former Indonesian president admits that the government probably had a role in the Bali bombings

• The former Italian Prime Minister, an Italian judge, and the former head of Italian counterintelligence admit thatNATO, with the help of the Pentagon and CIA, carried out terror bombings in Italy and blamed the communists, in order to rally people’s support for their governments in Europe in their fight against communism. As one participant in this formerly-secret program stated: “You had to attack civilians, people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple. They were supposed to force these people, the Italian public, to turn to the state to ask for greater security” (and see this)(Italy joined NATO in 1949, years before the bombings occurred)

• As admitted by the U.S. government, recently declassified documents show that in the 1960′s, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff signed off on a plan to blow up AMERICAN airplanes (using an elaborate plan involving the switching of airplanes), and also to commit terrorist acts on American soil, and then to blame it on the Cubans in order to justify an invasion of Cuba. See the following ABC news report; the official documents; and watch this interview with the former Washington Investigative Producer for ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings*

There are many other instances of false flag attacks used throughout history proven by the historical evidence. Seethis, this and this. The above are only some examples of governments admitting to using false flag terror.

You can’t call it a conspiracy theory when the government itself admits it.

And this is not just ancient history:

• Jimmy Carter’s former National Security Adviser – Zbigniew Brzezinski – told the Senate that a terrorist act might be carried out in the U.S. and falsely blamed on Iran to justify war against that nation

• A retired 27-year CIA analyst who prepared and presented Presidential Daily Briefs and served as a high-level analyst for several presidents, would not put it past the government to “play fast and loose” with terror alerts and warnings and even events themselves in order to rally people behind the flag

Note: While the Joint Chiefs of Staff pushed for Operation Northwoods to be carried out, cooler heads prevailed; President Kennedy or his Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara apparently vetoed the plan.

Washington’s Blog is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Washington’s Blog

Libyan woman who claimed rape now faces slander charges

Libyan woman who claimed rape now faces slander charges

By Liz Sly, Tuesday, March 29, 10:21 AM

TRIPOLI — The Libyan woman who burst into a Tripoli hotel to tell journalists she had been raped is now facing slander charges filed by the men she accused, a government official said Tuesday.

Iman al-Obaidi has not been seen since she was dragged by security guards and government minders from the Rixos Hotel on Saturday to prevent her from recounting her story of rape by 15 militiamen to reporters staying at the hotel.

Now, in the latest twist to the saga that turned her into a symbol of defiance against the regime of Moammar Gaddafi, she is being sued by her alleged assailants, said government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim. One of them, he said earlier, is the son of a high-ranking Libyan official.

RAW, Bahrain, incredible flow of people massacred entering Bahrain hospi...

Syrian Cabinet resigns amid huge protests

Syrian Cabinet resigns amid huge protests

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's Cabinet resigned Tuesday to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago and is now threatening President Bashar Assad's 11-year rule in one of the most authoritarian and closed-off nations in the Middle East.

Assad, whose family has controlled Syria for four decades, is trying to calm the growing dissent with a string of concessions. He is expected to address the nation in the next 24 hours to lift emergency laws in place since 1963 and moving to annul other harsh restrictions on civilliberties and political freedoms.

Intelligence on Libya rebels shows "flickers" of Qaeda

Intelligence on Libya rebels shows "flickers" of Qaeda

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Intelligence on the rebel forces battling Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has shown "flickers" of al Qaeda or Hezbollah presence, but there is still no detailed picture of the emerging Libyan opposition, NATO's top operations commander said on Tuesday.

"We are examining very closely the content, composition, the personalities, who are the leaders of these opposition forces," Admiral James Stavridis, who is NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and also the commander of U.S. European Command, said during testimony at the U.S. Senate.

Gaddafi's troops on Tuesday reversed the westward charge of Libyan rebels as world powers met in London more than a week after the United States and other nations launched a military campaign in Libya.

Libya's Test of the New International Order

Libya's Test of the New International Order

It is a test that the international community has to pass. Failure would shake further the faith of the people's region in the emerging international order and the primacy of international law. Success would demonstrably draw a line in the sand to deter other Arab autocrats who resort to attacking their people rather than dialogue and genuine reforms.

Read Entire Article

FACT CHECK: How Obama's Libya claims fit the facts

FACT CHECK: How Obama's Libya claims fit the facts

Lies Lies Lies Lies

y CALVIN WOODWARD and RICHARD LARDNER, Associated Press – Tue Mar 29, 3:07 am ET

WASHINGTON – There may be less than meets the eye to President Barack Obama's statements Monday night that NATO is taking over from the U.S. in Libya and that U.S. action is limited to defending people under attack there by Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

In transferring command and control to NATO, the U.S. is turning the reins over to an organization dominated by the U.S., both militarily and politically. In essence, the U.S. runs the show that is taking over running the show.

And the rapid advance of rebels in recent days strongly suggests they are not merely benefiting from military aid in a defensive crouch, but rather using the multinational force in some fashion — coordinated or not — to advance an offensive.

Here is a look at some of Obama's assertions in his address to the nation Monday, and how they compare with the facts:

___

OBAMA: "Our most effective alliance, NATO, has taken command of the enforcement of the arms embargo and no-fly zone. ... Going forward, the lead in enforcing the no-fly zone and protecting civilians on the ground will transition to our allies and partners, and I am fully confident that our coalition will keep the pressure on Gadhafi's remaining forces. In that effort, the United States will play a supporting role."

THE FACTS: As by far the pre-eminent player in NATO, and a nation historically reluctant to put its forces under operational foreign command, the United States will not be taking a back seat in the campaign even as its profile diminishes for public consumption.

NATO partners are bringing more into the fight. But the same "unique capabilities" that made the U.S. the inevitable leader out of the gate will continue to be in demand. They include a range of attack aircraft, refueling tankers that can keep aircraft airborne for lengthy periods, surveillance aircraft that can detect when Libyans even try to get a plane airborne, and, as Obama said, planes loaded with electronic gear that can gather intelligence or jam enemy communications and radars.

The United States supplies 22 percent of NATO's budget, almost as much as the next largest contributors — Britain and France — combined. A Canadian three-star general was selected to be in charge of all NATO operations in Libya. His boss, the commander of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples, is an American admiral, and the admiral's boss is the supreme allied commander Europe, a post always held by an American.

___

OBAMA: "Our military mission is narrowly focused on saving lives."

THE FACTS: Even as the U.S. steps back as the nominal leader, reduces some assets and fires a declining number of cruise missiles, the scope of the mission appears to be expanding and the end game remains unclear.

Despite insistences that the operation is only to protect civilians, the airstrikes now are undeniably helping the rebels to advance. U.S. officials acknowledge that the effect of air attacks on Gadhafi's forces — and on the supply and communications links that support them — is useful if not crucial to the rebels. "Clearly they're achieving a benefit from the actions that we're taking," Navy Vice Adm. William Gortney, staff director for the Joint Chiefs, said Monday.

The Pentagon has been turning to air power of a kind more useful than high-flying bombers in engaging Libyan ground forces. So far these have included low-flying Air Force AC-130 and A-10 attack aircraft, and the Pentagon is considering adding armed drones and helicopters.

Obama said "we continue to pursue the broader goal of a Libya that belongs not to a dictator, but to its people," but spoke of achieving that through diplomacy and political pressure, not force of U.S. arms

General Electric: Obama's Halliburton?

General Electric: Obama's Halliburton?

The hypocrisy permeating the policy decisions emanating from the Obama White House continues. General Electric will directly benefit from Obama’s decision to renege on a deal to provide Eastern Europe with missile defense systems (the obvious implications of which go well beyond the topic in this blog). As reported in the Washington Examiner:

“General Electric may be the companywith the closest ties to the Obama administration (if not, GE is second only to Goldman Sachs), and here we see thecompany benefiting from an abrupt foreign policy change made by President Obama…

GE CEO Jeff Immelt sits on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and GE owns MSNBC, the network famously friendly to Obama.”

The Dilemma of Humanitarian Intervention - Council on Foreign Relations

The Dilemma of Humanitarian Intervention - Council on Foreign Relations

This Globalist propaganda piece by the CFR explains why they break the UN charter of intervention in what should be sovereign matter within a nation. They quite boldly claim it is their "responsibility" to intervene anywhere in the world now of course under the guise of protection, safety and human rights.

Read the entire CFR document here

Responsibility vs. Sovereignty

The United Nations, formed in the aftermath of World War II to promote peace and stability, recognizes the importance of sovereignty, especially for newly independent nations or those seeking independence from colonizers. The UN Charter says: "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state." The principle does not rule out the application of enforcement measures in case of a threat to peace, a breach of peace, or acts of aggression on the part of the state. The Genocide Convention of 1948 also overrode the nonintervention principle to lay down the commitment of the world community to prevent and punish. Yet inaction in response to the Rwanda genocide in 1994 and failure to halt the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia highlight the complexities of international responses to crimes against humanity.

"R2P is not solely about military intervention but, if it is to have any meaning at all, must include that option as a last resort." --Ramesh Thakur

In 2000, the Canadian government and several other actors announced the establishment of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) to address the challenge of the international community's responsibility to act in the face of the gravest of human rights violations while respecting the sovereignty of states. It sought to bridge these two concepts with the 2001 Responsibility to Protect (R2P) report (PDF). A year later, the co-chairs of the commission, Gareth Evans of the International Crisis Group and Algerian diplomat Mohamed Sahnoun, wrote in Foreign Affairs: "If the international community is to respond to this challenge, the whole debate must be turned on its head. The issue must be reframednot as an argument about the 'right to intervene' but about the 'responsibility to protect.'"

The commission included environmental or natural disasters as possible events after which the international community could intervene if the state failed in its responsibility to protect its population. But in 2005, when the responsibility to protect doctrine was incorporated into a UN outcome document, environmental disasters had been dropped as a reason for intervention. The document did say it was every state's responsibility to protect its citizens from "genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity." If a state fails to do so, the document says, it then becomes the responsibility of the international community to protect that state's population in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Chapter VII includes use of military force by the international community if peaceful measures prove inadequate. The UN outcome document was unanimously adopted by all member states but is not legally binding.