Columbus Day being a ‘minor’ holiday, the stock markets are open…which is not particularly surprising. What raised my eyebrows this morning is how the markets managed to open up nearly 200 points FOR NO APPARENT REASON!
Understand good citizen, what passes for the global economy is ‘circling the drain’ and there isn’t anything capitalists can (or will) do about it.
Although, as a sidebar, I was reading about the occupy Wall Street phenomenon and they were pointing to one of my favorite hobby horses, the ‘fake’ nature of money.
Which is to say when it comes to bombing our detractors into the Stone Age, money isn’t a factor…but when it comes to a living wage all of a sudden there’s ‘no money’.
Worse, when it comes to profit centers, corporate America’s best turns out to be their own employees!
Recession Officially Over, U.S. Incomes Kept Falling
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: October 9, 2011
WASHINGTON — In a grim sign of the enduring nature of the economic slump, household income declined more in the two years after the recession ended than it did during the recession itself, new research has found.
Between June 2009, when the recession officially ended, and June 2011, inflation-adjusted median household income fell 6.7 percent, to $49,909, according to a study by two former Census Bureau officials. During the recession — from December 2007 to June 2009 — household income fell 3.2 percent.
The finding helps explain why Americans’ attitudes toward the economy, the country’s direction and its political leaders have continued to sour even as the economy has been growing. Unhappiness and anger have come to dominate the political scene, including the early stages of the 2012 presidential campaign.
How about that $50 K ‘median household income? When you consider that is based on two incomes it suddenly doesn’t look quite as impressive.
Worse, since this is the ‘mid-point’, half make more and half make LESS…although, according to this article, we’re ALL making less.
Which returns us to one of the core issues facing our civilization, how do we make decisions when the ‘official data’ is so heavily ‘manipulated’ as to have no relationship with reality?
Is unemployment REALLY 9% or is it closer to 50%? (Less than half of all working aged adults have full time jobs…)
And if you can’t survive on what you make its not society’s problem, it’s YOURS!
(All so ‘a few’ can be rich…what a system, eh?)
More ‘frightening’ is how mortgage interest rates have fallen below 3% and NOBODY is re-fi’ing…
Understand, people would LOVE to roll over some of their massive debt but, all of a sudden, NOBODY ‘qualifies’ for a new ‘cheap’ mortgage!
What’s the message again?
“It Sucks being YOU!”
If we were to hop back to the other message today’s offering sends it would be a re-enforcement of something I raged about back in 2008 and that would be ‘The New Normal’.
What sucks about the ‘new normal’ good citizen?
It has no room for YOU!
Now it’s time to put OWS back into perspective.
‘Protests’ DON’T WORK! (Regardless of how ‘high-minded’ they are!)
Ask yourself, are our former slaves REALLY better off than they were before the ‘civil rights’ movement?
Not really, considering it has become increasingly apparent that voting doesn’t do ANY of us any good. (Since we are consistently denied the opportunity to vote when it really matters…something A Simple Plan changes!)
So let us ask, point blank, what has at least crossed most rational people’s minds…
How ‘disappointed’ will you be when OWS vanishes down the memory hole with no apparent results?
Which is not to overlook the true significance of OWS, that we are NOT as DIVIDED as the corporate owned media would have us believe we are, (an important accomplishment all by itself.)
Again, the pragmatists among us know that nothing is going to ‘change’ until we force change to happen.
How unfortunate is it for the rest of us that the only the most ‘anti-social’ forces among us are prepared to act?
Worse, the ones that control the, er, ‘spotlight’ call the tune and right now there are some downright whacko people calling the tunes!
Which, on the flipside of this ‘unity’ coin that OWS represents, united over nothing isn’t exactly inspiring.
Dialog about change covers a lot of ground and it opens some dangerous doors…but if we don’t 'move' things will never improve…
Which brings us to the next harsh realization, ‘improvement’ is ‘relative’.
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner
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