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Showing posts with label citizens not getting a square deal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label citizens not getting a square deal. Show all posts

Friday, October 17, 2014

As the World Burns


Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…


 
ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

 

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-Albert Einstein



As the World Burns


We have a very short window of relative stability in the United States, yet most Americans don't seem too concerned about our long-term problems.  Most have their heads buried in the sand or have faith that our "leaders" will be able to find a way to muddle through whatever challenges are ahead…


 In the 25 years that I have been writing about politics and economics, I have never seen a more dangerous confluence of circumstances or such a degree of complacency among citizens.

Americans are dangerously ignorant about their own history and world affairs.  Many are thoroughly enamored with mundane, the trite and the superficial.  A look at what passed for entertainment today indicates how far we’ve fallen.  Our appetite for crap entertainment, pop culture, sports and celebrity nonsense is insatiable and growing.

Most of us are closed off to new ideas, subjects and other information through artificially created filter bubbles via search engines such as Google.  Others have called this the closing of the American mind… [What the internet is hiding from you - users get less exposure to conflicting viewpoints and are isolated intellectually in their own informational bubble] We know, for instance, that only 4% of Americans are active news consumers, down 12% from just a few years ago.**

  Growing numbers don’t want to face reality and are truly ignorant about the world around them.  Most of them, like our leaders, are fiddling while our nation burns.

Of course, politicians who have been feeding at the public trough for life enjoy this knowing stupid people are easier to control and fewer of them vote or become involved in politics.

Personally, I’ve had it with so many years of incompetent and mediocre leaders at all levels of government.  It has led to a mind numbing state of affairs…

**Recommended reading:  How to Find Out Anything by Don MacLeod



   Do you still think the economy is getting better?


2015 Store Closing Roundup - Office Depot, Radio Shack, Barnes & Noble


The mainstream media is constantly telling us about the "employment recovery" that is happening in the United States, but the truth is that it is just an illusion.

If you listen and believe the news reports and government concocted statistics, yes it is better.  If you are in MI, the economy is booming…cars are selling, restaurants are booming, people are attending sporting events in record numbers.

However, the shadow stats aren’t as rosy and as history has shown for consumers, they’ll the blow any extra money they get their hands on just like a drunk politicians.

The truth isn’t as sparkling.  Just like our escalating national debt, consumers are again piling debt onto their credit cards. 

As a nation, we buy far more from the rest of the world than they buy from us.  In other words, we perpetually consume far more wealth than we produce.  This is a recipe for national economic suicide.  Our current account balance soared to obscene levels just prior to the last recession, and now we have almost gotten back to those levels...

Many are spending like it is 1999 as the old song goes and now reports are surfacing that many college kids and others are selling their food stamp dollars or exchanging them for drugs and alcohol.

The wealthy are hoarding cash and precious metals right now.  In fact, one British news report stated that sales of gold bars to wealthy customers are up 243 percent so far this year.   The stock market here and in Canada has dropped considerably this month…reminds me of the beginning of the big crash of 2008-09!  Is anyone paying attention?  Not really.

 


U.S. Retail Chain Store Closing Plans and Total Numbers - U.S. and Global


What follows is a complete roundup of U.S. retail chain store closing plans, and total numbers of store closings that retail chains have announced will take place in the U.S. and globally.  Information for this 2015 Store Closing List was obtained from reports made available to the general public through news reports, corporate documents, and company press releases, and will be compiled and aggregated as new information is released throughout 2015.

 

Here’s why our economy adds so few living wage jobs while discouraging business startups…

 

We Can’t Afford the $2 Trillion Price Tag of Government Regulations

In recent years regulations have also been used to promote social policies’

The federal government takes its toll in taxes but there are insidious and intrusive hidden regulatory costs that eat into our household budgets to an extent that is equal to or greater than what we pay in taxes, according to Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens.

“Regulations are supposed to make things better and safer, but in recent years they have also been used to promote social policies such as green energy.  Why else would federal regulators create onerous rules, for example, that inhibit the use of the nation’s vast fossil fuel resources?”

The EPA would decimate the nation’s coal industry with restrictive carbon emission regulations despite the fact that technology exists to allow for the clean use of coal to generate electricity.

“Bear in mind that coal generates about 41 percent of our electricity and is our cheapest source of power.  Because American coal is so plentiful and inexpensive, it can be construed that it is a hindrance to the development of solar and wind power,” Weber pointed out.

He noted that rules governing such things as the operations of public transportation and financial markets, the sale of pharmaceuticals, workplace safety, drinking water, etc. have a practical role to play in our society.  But, he added, “when the government uses its regulatory authority to further social goals without so much as a debate on the issues and a Congressional vote, it is downright wrong-headed.  Not to mention the costs it imposes on American households.”

The Competitive Enterprise Institute estimated that in 2013 the cost of complying with federal regulations amounted to nearly $15,000 for the average U.S. household.  Many of the rules were, of course, necessary and beneficial, but the CEI pointed out that in recent years the government has been imposing as many 3,500 regulations per annum.

“It begs the question: are all those new rules really essential in the midst of an excruciatingly slow economic recovery?”

 “The issue of government regulatory authority run-amok is not a political issue.  It’s an American issue that requires bi-partisan attention because we simply can’t afford the nearly $2 trillion dollar price tag,” Weber concluded.

 

Obama Added Over $1 Trillion in Red Ink in Fiscal 2014

The federal government’s fiscal year ended last week, on September 30.  The accounting is dismal.  Even though 2014 has been a booming year in the economy, with rapidly rising (+8.5%) tax collections, the total federal debt increased by $1.077 trillion to reach $17.823 trillion.  The reported federal deficit for the year was “only” $583 billion, but that’s because the government ignores various increases in debt.  If you look at the total federal deficit between September 30 in 2013 and 2014, the increase was $1.077 trillion.  In the last six years, President Obama has added more debt than any other President in history, almost doubling the cumulative total, from $9 trillion to almost $18 trillion.

 

 


Most people are stupid, especially when they’re panicked.  This can easily be evidenced by the many sheeple still among us. They’re everywhere. Worse, they’re really going to be EVERYWHERE during an emergency…

If you’re not planning ahead, you’re already in trouble…I’m giving this library away…get it now while you still can!

 
How to Survive the…

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 Yours in freedom,

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 

Got a News Tip or Resource to Share With the Poor Man?


 

A Shallow Planet Production

Friday, September 26, 2014

Why Aren't People Mad as Hell?


Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

 


 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

 


"The policy of seeking values from human beings by means of force,
when practiced by an individual, is called crime.
When practiced by a government, it is called statism ..."
-- Nathaniel Branden

Why Aren’t Citizens Mad as Hell About What is Happening to Our Nation? Congress is ruled by one thing – GREED!

Howard Bloom, Yale literature professor and cultural critic, recently stated “I am 79 years old and I have never seen this country in such a bad state. It is madness. What we are seeing is the fall of the Roman Empire, only now it is the fall of America, the glory of our Empire.”

America has more people on welfare than are working full time. Election fraud is rampant. American students continue to fall further behind our international cohorts. The average person cannot even name one thing that the Obama administration has done to improve the condition of the middle class, yet, he got re-elected…

The U.S. economy has had six full years to bounce back since the financial collapse of 2008, and it simply has not happened.  Median household income has declined substantially since then, total household wealth for middle class families is way down, the percentage of the population that is employed is still about where it was

The inhabitants of DC are getting richer than those in the 50 states. In recent years this has increased to a dramatic degree... becoming painfully obvious especially when you consider that DC, unlike San Francisco (and its Silicon Valley) has almost no natural, wealth building industry.

Many of my foreign readers believe Americans are simply chumps who don’t have a clue as to how much their own government is screwing them.  Indeed, one writer told me “Americans are zombies, easily led and fooled  by crooked  or incompetent politicians like Obama– just give them a beer, a joint and football and they become unthinking slaves!”

Here’s our Friday roundup of government follies which could have an adverse affect on your freedoms…
 

50 Facts That Show How Far America Has Fallen In This Generation

What has happened to America?  Please show these numbers to anyone that does not believe that the United States is in decline.  It is time for all of us to humble ourselves and face the reality of what has happened to our once great nation.  For those of us that love America, it is heartbreaking to watch the foundations of our society rot and decay in thousands of different ways.  The following are 50 facts that show how far America has fallen in this generation, but the truth is that this list could have been far, far longer…


 

Census: Household Income Continues to Stagnate Under Obama
In what has become a recurring theme in America's long slog back from the 2007-09 recession, most U.S. households again saw no noticeable increase in their income last year.

 


Pathetic Nonsense


The FBI classifies some sovereign citizens as terrorists. U.S. law enforcement officials are being warned about members of the sovereign citizen movement -- the number one potential terrorist threat in the United States according to a 2014 study by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism(START). Law enforcement agencies estimate that there are about 100,000 hard-core members of various sovereign citizens groups around the country, with another 200,000 sympathizers. West Virginia police


 

A Federal Appeals court upheld a Florida law that discourages physicians from asking patients if they own guns…reversing a lower court ruling striking down the law because it infringed on doctors’ free speech rights.  The judge said guns are private matter irrelevant to medical care.

 

Nowhere To Hide As Minority Report-Style Facial Recognition Technology Spreads Across America


What is our society going to look like when our faces are being tracked literally everywhere that we go?  As part of the FBI's new Next Generation Identification System, a facial recognition database known as the Interstate Photo System will have collected 52 million of our faces by the end of 2015.  But that is […]
Read more of this post





Have Efforts to Create a "Do Not Track" List Derailed?

The Do Not Track (DNT) list was envisioned as being like the popular Do Not Call list. It would create a central registry for consumers to opt-out of having their online movements tracked with one easy step. This would provide a simple and effective means for consumers to help manage their digital privacy. Unfortunately, after several years of work, the working group tasked with developing DNT has yet to agree on a definition of what 'tracking' is, let alone how to stop it. This inability to reach an agreement leaves consumers without an important means of controlling their digital privacy.... Read it all.

 

FBI colludes with local police to hide cell phone snooping devices from the public


Local police agencies have been able to gain use of cell phone tracking devices by agreeing with the Federal Bureau of Investigation not to disclose the fact that they’re using them, according to a recently-released, heavily redacted document made public last week. More…  

Poll: Nearly 1 In 4 In America Would Favor Secession


Nearly 1 out of 4 Americans are so fed up with Washington that they’re prepared to not take it anymore – and would favor their state breaking away from the rest of the United States. The sentiment is strongest in the Southwest, but it’s weakest in New England – the birthplace of American rebellion. Read More…

 

If you are among the thinking, consider:  Sign the Petition to Repeal the Patriot Act



The U.S. Has Fallen Out of Favor…as long as I can recall, we’re always at war!


We have become a militaristic nation. Our troops are stationed all over the planet. We represent 37% of global spending on military, nearly four times the next-closest country on the list — China. Our greatest glories have come from winning a couple of wars; and our greatest humiliations from losing a few. We’ve spent a lifetime invading or bombing countries in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Middle East and southeastern Europe.

These actions have left angry masses in the wake. Now the American government lives in fear of retaliation from aboard and they fear financial exodus at home. Thus the government needs to track us to be sure we are still loyal patriots and not disguised bad guys. And, they track our every financial move because they need to make sure they don’t lose a cent of revenue that they desperately need to fund their debt problem.

They are paranoid and afraid. More and more of our data is needed to make the American government feel safe. The need to spy on Americans [using the excuse of protecting our freedom] here and abroad is indicative of a paranoid government in decline.

America is beginning to resemble, physically and operation-wise, like a third world nation.  Even though our infrastructure is crumbling, we waste billions on overseas misadventures and our leaders are too stupid or dishonest to admit it.

Our Washington-Wall Street Cartel is what lies beneath the surface in American politics — the nefarious deals made between corporations and the politicians that are supposed to keep them in check — that makes me think the Third World is where we’re headed as a nation.

I have always thought that under FDR Americans were given a New Deal but under Obama, we’ve been handed a raw deal!

 

NOTE:  I’ll be undergoing a surgical procedure for my heart this week so there will be no further posts until probably Monday.

 
Yours in freedom,

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 
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