‘Everywhere you turn these days, someone is proclaiming that the
economy is improving. Barack Obama is endlessly touting the
"improvement" in the economy, the mainstream media is constantly
talking about "the economic recovery" and an increasing number of
Americans seem to be buying into this line of thinking. A new NBC/Wall
Street Journal poll found that 37 percent
of Americans believe that the economy will improve over the next year, while
only 17 percent of Americans believe that it will get worse. But is the
economy actually improving? Not really. At the moment things are
relatively stable. Some economic statistics are improving slightly and
some continue to get even worse. However, it is very important to keep in
mind that one of the biggest reasons why things have stabilized is because the
federal government is pumping more than a trillion dollars a year into the
economy that it does not have.
The Obama administration is engaging in a debt binge unlike anything America
has ever seen before, and yet many economic indicators are still in
decline. So what is going to happen when the federal government stops
injecting gigantic waves of borrowed money into the economy? That is a
frightening thing to think about. The best efforts of our
"leaders" in Washington D.C. are not accomplishing a whole lot.
The Federal Reserve has pushed interest rates as low as they can go and the
federal government is spending unprecedented amounts of money. But even
with the federal government and the Federal Reserve pushing the accelerator all
the way to the floor, the economy is still not improving much at all.
Millions upon millions of Americans out there are anticipating some sort of a
"great economic recovery", and they are going to be bitterly
disappointed.
But right now there are some "bright spots" in the
economy, and you are bound to run into family and friends that will repeat to
you the nonsense that they are hearing on the television about how the economy
is recovering.
When they try to convince you that the economy is getting
better, ask them these questions....
If the economy is getting better, then why did new home sales in
the United States hit a brand new all-time
record low during 2011?
If the economy is getting better, then why are there 6 million
less jobs in America today than there were before the recession started?
If the economy is getting better, then why is the average
duration of unemployment in this country close to
an all-time record high?
If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of
homeless female veterans more than
doubled?
If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of
Americans on food stamps increased by 3 million since this
time last year and by more than 14 million since Barack Obama entered the White
House?
If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of
children living in poverty in America risen for four
years in a row?
If the economy is getting better, then why is the percentage of
Americans living in "extreme poverty" at an all-time high?
If the economy is getting better, then why is the Federal
Housing Administration on the verge of
a financial collapse?
If the economy is getting better, then why do only 23
percent of American companies plan to hire more employees in 2012?
If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of
self-employed Americans fallen by
more than 2 million since 2006?
If the economy is getting better, then why did an all-time
record low percentage of U.S. teens have a job last summer?
If the economy is getting better, then why does median household
income keep declining? Overall, median household income in the United
States has declined by a total of 6.8% since
December 2007 once you account for inflation.
If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of
Americans living below the poverty line increased by 10 million
since 2006?
If the economy is getting better, then why is the average age of
a vehicle in America now sitting at an
all-time high?
If the economy is getting better, then why are 18 percent
of all homes in the state of Florida currently sitting vacant?
If the economy is getting better, then why are 19 percent
of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 living with their parents?
If the economy is getting better, then why does the number of
"long-term unemployed workers" stay so high? When Barack Obama
first took office, the number of "long-term unemployed workers" in
the United States was approximately 2.6 million. Today, that number is sitting at 5.6
million.
But there is some good news.
When Barack Obama first took office, an ounce of gold was going
for about $850. Today, the price of an ounce of gold is over $1700.
The era of great prosperity that America has enjoyed for so long
is coming to an end.
In fact, our long-term economic decline is about to accelerate.
So enjoy this "bubble of hope" while you can, because
it won't last long.
As I have written about previously, many are
warning that Europe is on the verge of a nightmarish financial crisis that
could potentially plunge us into a global recession
even worse than 2008.
So let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst.
Just because the economy is about to go through hard times does
not mean that you have to go through hard times personally.
Right now, you can decide to make an investment or start a
business that will thrive in a tough economic environment.
Victory often goes to the most prepared. So don't just sit
there while the storm clouds gather. Instead, this should be a time when
you are gathering resources and developing a gameplan for the coming economic
chaos.
Those that choose to have blind faith in "the system"
are going to be tremendously disappointed in the years ahead. Just
because you have a job right now does not mean that it is always going to be
there. Just because your stock portfolio is doing well right now does not
mean that will always be the case.
Hopefully we all learned some important lessons from 2008.
The global financial situation can turn on a dime. When markets fall
apart, they tend to do so very rapidly.
Ultimately, the debate about whether the economy is improving or
not is going to be ended very emphatically. When the next wave of the
financial crisis hits, there will be no doubt about what direction things are
going.
Don't let the next wave catch you by surprise.
Now is the time to prepare.’