Looking At the Vanishing American Dream

Crony Capitalism If you want to understand politics, you better educate yourself about crony capitalism. Outsourcing is highly profitable for the select few who manipulate the financial markets. A global system of distorted trade that lines the pockets of cronies that have access to serious capital. See the videos ... Naomi Klein vs. Alan Greenspan on crony capitalism in the US Also see the Documentary video ... *The Global Doctors - 35-min Documentary They maximize their corporate reach, built upon the lowest cost of production or service costs. Moving the venture to the next futile pasture, means that the next herd of sheep can graze and deplete the grass. The stock price jumps because earnings are sheltered by the unencumbered flow of imports not subject to domestic tariffs. The reason that billionaires protect this charade and form a super elite rests upon their ability to penalize the vast majority by draining the life from middle class affluence. You say what else is new! The twist is that the remaining few who still are able to keep their heads above the waves, mostly work for transnational firms, derive funding from these corporations or are government bureaucrats. It’s all one big buddy system. Free trade is designed to be anti-competitive for domestic enterprises. That’s the entire point. If the goal is to swell sales at the lowest possible cost, sure move offshore. However, a business does not possess rights, for a corporation is an artificial invention that lawyers dreamed up to confuse the public and shelter the privileged. Read more *Outsourcing - the worst of Crony Capitalism and *The Fed and Crony Capitalism The distribution of income in the United States is becoming more unequal! Labor still captures about two-thirds of national income, but only skilled workers have benefited. See *Rich Nation, poor Nation SE Asia Asia's crony capitalism has proved that it isn't ready for prime time. As most residents of SE Asia understand, the surging economy of the region is largely controlled by a limited number of wealthy families who suck in the money and only allow the bare minimum to trickle down to the masses. Read more *Crony Capitalism in SE Asia Other references *Crony Capitalism and *Corruption and Development in South Korea and the Philippines Europe Europe's mixed economies perch on a powder keg of 20 percent youth unemployment. Read more *Is Europe Doomed to Continued Economic Stagnation? The Republican Planned Economic Suicide They have destroyed over 2.8 million jobs. More extreme Republicans may actually want a fiscal train wreck: they could then slash federal spending on social programs and claim that it wasn't their fault. Thus far, the Bush gang has been able to borrow to make up the rising difference between taxes and spending. As of June, 2003, China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong owned a combined total of about $696 billion in Treasuries, about 46 per cent of the outstanding bond debt. China alone now holds $290 billion in US government bonds, more than any other foreign lender. The radical right in the United States is in control of the White House and is intent not only on "undermining the multilateral international order," but also on bringing the country to its financial knees so they can destroy Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. That certainly explains why the Bush cabal is pursuing its present economic suicidal course. Read more ... *Bush over 2.8 Million Jobs Destroyed. American Police State A police state exists when federal and state political and police mechanisms: 1. Shut down media coverage after they steal an election 2. Serve the central government instead of serving the citizens 3. Enforce the policies of the central government instead of responding primarily to criminal misdeeds 4. Spy on and intimidate citizens All these conditions now exist in the United States! Read more *American Police State America - Get Real In the American system - for the last quarter century, virtually all the rewards of growth have gone to the educated, enterprising and already affluent. See *As Cheap Oil Ends Americans are delusional, They think they can continue living the way they’ve been living for the last 50 years. They think the key to it is to find a way to keep getting fuel. For Americans, the American way of life is non-negotiable. The trouble is, Americans may not be willing to negotiate. But if they don’t, they are going to find that someone else is negotiating for them. And that someone else is called reality. Higher fuel prices will change everything - the suburbs will become unlivable and undesirable. Wal-Mart will be unable to continue stocking its shelves with cheap imports ... food will have to be produced locally, not shipped half-way around the world...and people will have to find ways to manufacture locally too. History of the Standard of Living in the United States In 1820 the United States was fifth in world rankings, falling roughly thirty percent below the leaders (United Kingdom and the Netherlands), but still two-to-three times better off than the poorest sections of the globe. It is notable that in 1820 the richest country (the Netherlands at $1,821) was approximately 4.4 times better off than the poorest (Africa at $418) but by 1950 the ratio of richest-to-poorest had widened to 21.8 ($9,561 in the United States versus $439 in China), which is roughly the level it is today (in 1998, it was $27,331 in the United States versus $1,368 in Africa). All countries that are rich today had rapid increases in their material standard of living, realizing more than ten-fold increases since 1820. Economic progress has been uneven over time. If annual or quarterly data were given, it would show that business cycles have been a major feature of the economic landscape since industrialization began in the 1820s. By far the worst downturn in U.S. history occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when real per capita GDP declined by approximately one-third and the unemployment rate reached 25 percent. See ... *History of the Standard of Living in the United States United Kingdom Living Standards Outstrip USA America last overtook Britain economically in the final years of the 19th century, during the so-called second industrial revolution, which brought mass manufacture and sharply rising prosperity to the United States. LIVING standards in Britain are now set to rise above those in America for the first time since the 19th century, because of the UK economy’s record run of growth and rising incomes going back to the early 1990s. In those days, according to Oxford Economics, Britain’s GDP per capita was 34% below that in America, 33% less than in Germany and 26% lower than in France. Now, not only have average incomes crept above those in America but they are more than 8% above France and Germany. Americans have long complained that average incomes have been stagnant in their country. One often-quoted statistical comparison suggests that in real terms the median male full-time salary in America is no higher now than it was in the 1970s. The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001 – so, it is a well established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations. Despite the fact that Americans benefit from lower prices than those in Britain, and the average American has more spending power than his UK counterpart and pays lower taxes. However, the British typically have significantly longer holidays than Americans as well as access to “free” health care. Previous comments to this post ... In the United Kingdom, people are much more "a citizen of the world" here. The States are isolated & don't get on well with the rest of the world. There's a lot of help & support for families in the UK. Health, eye doctors & dentists free for kids & the poor. I had cancer & had to stop working for 10 years. I didn't have to worry about my kids, the rent or anything. I had the best surgeon & consultants. Clean, modern & compassionate care - all free. The government paid our rent & supported us & our kids for many years. Now we can afford to pay some of our own way, but still get government help. We can't afford vacations or eating out every week, but we are not suffering. I shudder to think of what our lives would have been like if I lived in the States. See *UK living standards outstrip US Stumble It!

Looking At the Vanishing American Dream

Crony Capitalism If you want to understand politics, you better educate yourself about crony capitalism. Outsourcing is highly profitable for the select few who manipulate the financial markets. A global system of distorted trade that lines the pockets of cronies that have access to serious capital. See the videos ... Naomi Klein vs. Alan Greenspan on crony capitalism in the US Also see the Documentary video ... *The Global Doctors - 35-min Documentary They maximize their corporate reach, built upon the lowest cost of production or service costs. Moving the venture to the next futile pasture, means that the next herd of sheep can graze and deplete the grass. The stock price jumps because earnings are sheltered by the unencumbered flow of imports not subject to domestic tariffs. The reason that billionaires protect this charade and form a super elite rests upon their ability to penalize the vast majority by draining the life from middle class affluence. You say what else is new! The twist is that the remaining few who still are able to keep their heads above the waves, mostly work for transnational firms, derive funding from these corporations or are government bureaucrats. It’s all one big buddy system. Free trade is designed to be anti-competitive for domestic enterprises. That’s the entire point. If the goal is to swell sales at the lowest possible cost, sure move offshore. However, a business does not possess rights, for a corporation is an artificial invention that lawyers dreamed up to confuse the public and shelter the privileged. Read more *Outsourcing - the worst of Crony Capitalism and *The Fed and Crony Capitalism The distribution of income in the United States is becoming more unequal! Labor still captures about two-thirds of national income, but only skilled workers have benefited. See *Rich Nation, poor Nation SE Asia Asia's crony capitalism has proved that it isn't ready for prime time. As most residents of SE Asia understand, the surging economy of the region is largely controlled by a limited number of wealthy families who suck in the money and only allow the bare minimum to trickle down to the masses. Read more *Crony Capitalism in SE Asia Other references *Crony Capitalism and *Corruption and Development in South Korea and the Philippines Europe Europe's mixed economies perch on a powder keg of 20 percent youth unemployment. Read more *Is Europe Doomed to Continued Economic Stagnation? The Republican Planned Economic Suicide They have destroyed over 2.8 million jobs. More extreme Republicans may actually want a fiscal train wreck: they could then slash federal spending on social programs and claim that it wasn't their fault. Thus far, the Bush gang has been able to borrow to make up the rising difference between taxes and spending. As of June, 2003, China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong owned a combined total of about $696 billion in Treasuries, about 46 per cent of the outstanding bond debt. China alone now holds $290 billion in US government bonds, more than any other foreign lender. The radical right in the United States is in control of the White House and is intent not only on "undermining the multilateral international order," but also on bringing the country to its financial knees so they can destroy Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. That certainly explains why the Bush cabal is pursuing its present economic suicidal course. Read more ... *Bush over 2.8 Million Jobs Destroyed. American Police State A police state exists when federal and state political and police mechanisms: 1. Shut down media coverage after they steal an election 2. Serve the central government instead of serving the citizens 3. Enforce the policies of the central government instead of responding primarily to criminal misdeeds 4. Spy on and intimidate citizens All these conditions now exist in the United States! Read more *American Police State America - Get Real In the American system - for the last quarter century, virtually all the rewards of growth have gone to the educated, enterprising and already affluent. See *As Cheap Oil Ends Americans are delusional, They think they can continue living the way they’ve been living for the last 50 years. They think the key to it is to find a way to keep getting fuel. For Americans, the American way of life is non-negotiable. The trouble is, Americans may not be willing to negotiate. But if they don’t, they are going to find that someone else is negotiating for them. And that someone else is called reality. Higher fuel prices will change everything - the suburbs will become unlivable and undesirable. Wal-Mart will be unable to continue stocking its shelves with cheap imports ... food will have to be produced locally, not shipped half-way around the world...and people will have to find ways to manufacture locally too. History of the Standard of Living in the United States In 1820 the United States was fifth in world rankings, falling roughly thirty percent below the leaders (United Kingdom and the Netherlands), but still two-to-three times better off than the poorest sections of the globe. It is notable that in 1820 the richest country (the Netherlands at $1,821) was approximately 4.4 times better off than the poorest (Africa at $418) but by 1950 the ratio of richest-to-poorest had widened to 21.8 ($9,561 in the United States versus $439 in China), which is roughly the level it is today (in 1998, it was $27,331 in the United States versus $1,368 in Africa). All countries that are rich today had rapid increases in their material standard of living, realizing more than ten-fold increases since 1820. Economic progress has been uneven over time. If annual or quarterly data were given, it would show that business cycles have been a major feature of the economic landscape since industrialization began in the 1820s. By far the worst downturn in U.S. history occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when real per capita GDP declined by approximately one-third and the unemployment rate reached 25 percent. See ... *History of the Standard of Living in the United States United Kingdom Living Standards Outstrip USA America last overtook Britain economically in the final years of the 19th century, during the so-called second industrial revolution, which brought mass manufacture and sharply rising prosperity to the United States. LIVING standards in Britain are now set to rise above those in America for the first time since the 19th century, because of the UK economy’s record run of growth and rising incomes going back to the early 1990s. In those days, according to Oxford Economics, Britain’s GDP per capita was 34% below that in America, 33% less than in Germany and 26% lower than in France. Now, not only have average incomes crept above those in America but they are more than 8% above France and Germany. Americans have long complained that average incomes have been stagnant in their country. One often-quoted statistical comparison suggests that in real terms the median male full-time salary in America is no higher now than it was in the 1970s. The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001 – so, it is a well established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations. Despite the fact that Americans benefit from lower prices than those in Britain, and the average American has more spending power than his UK counterpart and pays lower taxes. However, the British typically have significantly longer holidays than Americans as well as access to “free” health care. Previous comments to this post ... In the United Kingdom, people are much more "a citizen of the world" here. The States are isolated & don't get on well with the rest of the world. There's a lot of help & support for families in the UK. Health, eye doctors & dentists free for kids & the poor. I had cancer & had to stop working for 10 years. I didn't have to worry about my kids, the rent or anything. I had the best surgeon & consultants. Clean, modern & compassionate care - all free. The government paid our rent & supported us & our kids for many years. Now we can afford to pay some of our own way, but still get government help. We can't afford vacations or eating out every week, but we are not suffering. I shudder to think of what our lives would have been like if I lived in the States. See *UK living standards outstrip US