http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/7871421/With-the-US-trapped-in-depression-this-really-is-starting-to-feel-like-1932.html With the US trapped in depression, this really is starting to feel like 1932 The US workforce shrank by 652,000 in June, one of the sharpest contractions ever. The rate of hourly earnings fell 0.1pc. Wages are flirting with deflation. "Home sales are down. Retail sales are down. Factory orders in May suffered their biggest tumble since March of last year. So what are we doing about it? Less than nothing," he said.
California is tightening faster than Greece. State workers have seen a 14pc fall in earnings this year due to forced furloughs. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is cutting pay for 200,000 state workers to the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to cover his $19bn (£15bn) deficit.
Can Illinois be far behind? The state has a deficit of $12bn and is $5bn in arrears to schools, nursing homes, child care centres, and prisons. "It is getting worse every single day," said state comptroller Daniel Hynes. "We are not paying bills for absolutely essential services. That is obscene."
Roughly a million Americans have dropped out of the jobs market altogether over the past two months. That is the only reason why the headline unemployment rate is not exploding to a post-war high.
Let us be honest. The US is still trapped in depression a full 18 months into zero interest rates, quantitative easing (QE), and fiscal stimulus that has pushed the budget deficit above 10pc of GDP.
The share of the US working-age population with jobs in June actually fell from 58.7pc to 58.5pc. This is the real stress indicator. The ratio was 63pc three years ago. Eight million jobs have been lost.
The average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks. Nothing like this has been seen before in the post-war era. Jeff Weninger, of Harris Private Bank, said this compares with a peak of 21.2 weeks in the Volcker recession of the early 1980s.
"Legions of individuals have been left with stale skills, and little prospect of finding meaningful work, and benefits that are being exhausted. By our math the crop of people who are unemployed but not receiving a check amounts to 9.2m."
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Lets review the 1st great Deppression:
Roaring 20's; fast times, easy money, lots of jobs, etc.
Stock Market Crash, 1929-1930; savings and wealth stored in the markets greatly decline or vanish entirely
Great Deppression 1930's;
Collapsing Economy has the Middle class sees their savings and jobs disapear the working poor fare much worse
Ecological disaster in the form of the great Dust bowls further devastates the economy, populace, and infrastructure---creating an American Diaspora
The US Government---under Socialist FDR Democrats---moves toward a more centralized economic structure with heavy emphasis on social entitlements
Aggressive Rogue Governments (Nazi Germany, Italy, Japan) persue warlike-destructive-invading policies toward their neighbors and anyone else who poses a roadblock to thier expansionist-territorial-resource grabbing aims
1940's: All countries are drawn into conflict
Millions upon millions---mostly innocent civilians---die grisly deaths from War-famine-disease-poverty 1945: Nuclear weapons unleashed, and a "new era" begins...
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Lets look at how the last 20 years is shapping up so far...
Roaring 90's; fast times, easy money, lots of jobs, etc.
2001: Spectre of "terrorism" creates invasions in resource rich areas of the world, and establishes legal precedent curtailing liberties of citizens in Western Democratic lands...
Stock Market Crash, 2000 & 2008 ; savings and wealth stored in the markets greatly decline or vanish entirely
Great Deppression 2009-2010;
Collapsing Economy has the Middle class sees their savings and jobs disapear the working poor fare much worse
Ecological disaster in the form of the Gulf Oil Spill/Leak further devastates the economy, poluplace, and infrastructure---creating an American Diaspora
The US Government---under Socialist Obama Democrats---moves toward a more centralized economic structure with heavy emphasis on social entitlements and excessive out of control borrowing of fiat currency
2005+, Aggressive Rogue Governments (Israel, Iran, N. Korea) persue warlike-destructive-provocative policies toward their neighbors and anyone else who poses a roadblock to thier ideological positions
2010-2012+ (???): All countries are drawn into conflict
Millions upon millions---mostly innocent civilians---die grisly deaths from War-famine-disease-poverty 2010-2012+ (???): Nuclear weapons unleashed, and a "new era" begins...
Does anyone see a pattern here?
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