By David
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.
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