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Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Even Main Stream Media Figures out Few Can Afford the American Dream


Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…


 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources


"To oppose corruption in government
is the highest obligation of patriotism."

-- G. Edward Griffin
Historian, Author
Source: his book, The Freedom Manifesto

 


If you haven’t heard already, the sandwich chain Subway raised the cost of its $5 footlong specials to $6, effective last week.

“We launched the $5 footlong in 2007,” said a Tweet from the company on Tuesday. “Since then our costs have gone up greatly, but we try to balance that with promotions.”

Say this much: Subway is more or less keeping pace with the government’s bogus consumer price index. Using CPI as a yardstick, the $5 footlong of 2007 should cost $5.71 now.

I’ve written for years that government stats on inflation and labor are pretty mere nonsense used to bolster whatever party is in power.  The reality for the United States is that the wealthiest 62 people now own as much as half the world’s population, or 3.5 billion people according to a new study by Oxfam.  The wealth of the richest 62 people has risen 44 percent since 2010, while the wealth of the poorest 3.5 billion has fallen 41 percent during that time! 

Mrs. Clinton raked in more than $600 million in speaking fees alone from the Wall Street, the very firms which very nearly destroyed this country a few years ago but she wants you to believe she will protect you as our President…minorities are still falling for her nonsense.

Another survey has found that there is nowhere on the entire planet where the average wage earner is making enough money to live “the American Dream”.  Once upon a time, the United States had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now the middle class makes up a minority of the population, 51 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year, and poverty is growing rapidly.  The American Dream is essentially dead, and even the mainstream media is starting to figure this out.

Just today, someone sent me a U.S. News & World Report article entitled “Even Americans Can’t Afford the American Dream”. The following is an excerpt from that article

The study goes country by country, factoring in average local wages and prices to calculate the regional costs of luxuries such as midsize homes (by U.S. standards, 1,480 square feet); electricity and high-speed Internet; cars and enough money for gasoline; food for a family of four; and enough disposable income to periodically dine out and attend movies or other events.

Researchers ultimately found there isn’t a country on the map whose average wage earner could afford all of these expenses together. What’s more, average consumers in Saudi Arabia and Oman are actually closer to financing these socioeconomic goals than the average American. The average Saudi household would only need to see monthly salaries climb by about $74 to realize the American dream in their own country, while U.S. workers would need hundreds of dollars in additional income.

Friends of mine in the real estate business in Arizona saw residential home prices rebound to unaffordable rates recently but confided to me during my recent trip that they expect another crash soon.

For decades I have warned that government policies have hollowed out our middle class and that it made long term prospects much dimmer than those of our parents.  We have witnessed the folly and creative destruction of liberal policies of politicians from both sides of the aisle destroy millions of formerly secure livelihoods.

Economics isn’t complicated. The Universal Law of Prosperity is very simple: produce more than you consume.

Despite the “rosy” jobs picture painted by the Obama White House, more people are falling into poverty than ever before…that might explain why that auto industry leases more cars than it sells despite offering six and seven year financing deals!



As our nation hits the $19 trillion debt mark citizens are going deeper into debt again as well using credit cards at unprecedented rates.  During our trip I noticed it was not uncommon to see folks swipe a card for a $2 charge – that’s pitiful in my book [I don’t want to hear the nonsense about building points for this BS or that BS, it just makes no sense to me].

The USA cannot afford to fix its own infrastructure or pay decent wages and is becoming a third world nation by many accounts.  The odds of another major recession in the US are the highest since 2011, according to a CNBC survey of money managers, economists and strategists – about 29% this year!




Additional Resources…

·  How to Sell Your Stuff at Consignment Getting the most for your old stuff


 

·  Cheap Emergency Foods We Often Overlook
Did you know that you can get 'prepper' foods at your local grocery store?

 


 

Money-Making Mom: How Every Woman Can Earn More and Make a Difference by Crystal Paine: I picked this book up in the airport yesterday and enjoyed the read (even though I'm not a mom). Now my wife is reading it. It's a great source of motivation, particularly for mom's looking to make extra income from home.

 

The Alpha Strategy: The Ultimate Plan of Financial Self-Defense for the Small Investor.


The Alpha Strategy is a refreshing, common-sense idea that can completely and permanently insulate your assets from all investment risks, including inflation, depression, taxation, and market manipulation. In the rush for illusory profits promised by investment hucksters, there is a very good reason why The Alpha Strategy has been overlooked: because it totally thwarts the investment schemes that allow others to profit at your expense. It prevents anyone in the financial industry from chipping away at your wealth.

Best explanation I've read of the inner workings of our Federal Reserve System, and well-worth the read just for that. Clear explanation of basic economic principles, and the nefarious impact of government intervention--put simply, bureaucrats destroy value (through price controls), demand taxes, and cause inflation (monetizing debt), thereby stealing your money in three ways.

The second half of the book is devoted to preserving wealth in the face of inflation. Some say that inflation is no longer a problem and they scoff at tangibles (even as the purchasing power of your dollar plunges), but the lessons found here are worth considering, in case they're wrong…older hardbound that is still worth the read. [Hardbound, 1980, 280pp] To order a hardcopy version, go here:


Use this link to get a free PDF version:


Yours for better living,

Bruce, the Poor Man

1 comment:

DAR said...

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