The Money Party on the Road To Ruin

Decline and Fall (Probably) Feb 21 - The Money Party is that bipartisan collection of the super wealthy and their minions. There are Democratic and Republican wings but, ultimately, it's all one big party to maintain the status quo and expand those who benefit from it. Here are the results of the party's efforts over the last 10 years. It won't get any better any time soon.

Michael Collins

The Money Party is destroying the United States.  For 10 years, there have been no new jobs with flat income.  Unemployment and poverty are making a big comeback. The party consists of those who own and control concentrations of great wealth and the select few who serve them (their Mandarins).  Based on the efficiency of the demolition job, you have to wonder, is this is by design?  If greed, ignorance, and paranoia constitute a plan, then they are master planners. (Image)

Look at the glaring problems below.  Then ask yourself, has there been one single program implemented to address any of these problems, just one?  Our elected representatives enable the relentless process of driving down the United States.  They bicker and fume at the edge of issues.  However, when it comes to neglecting the real needs of citizens and the country, they are as one.  All rewards and resources flow to their patrons and owners, the made men and women of The Money Party.  We are nothing to them.

There have been no net new jobs since 2000.  The minimal growth from 2000 to 2010 disappears when you factor in 10% population growth over the same period.

You would think that somebody in charge would take this seriously.  New jobs with decent pay represent the key to many of the other problems we face.  Yet nobody bothers to do anything about it or even starts a serious effort to seek solutions.

Income has been flat for 10 years.

How are people supposed to survive, raise their families, pay their medical bills, etc. if income remains flat while inflation eats away at existing resources?

The following maps show the relative increase of unemployment since 2000 based on the official unemployment formula.

Real unemployment figure tops 20%.  Employer payroll reports are the basis for the "official" figures.  That rate is artificially low since it leaves out the self employed, discouraged workers, long term unemployed, and the underemployed.  The government's U6 unemployment rate, 17%, is a more accurate measure.  When you add "estimated" long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994, total unemployed is at 23% of the workforce.

(Image:  Shadow Government Statistics)

Bankruptcy petitions and individuals involved are up nearly by a factor of three since 2006.  There are any number of reasons. Rising bankruptcies, no new jobs, increased prices, and flat incomes all have a great deal to do with this trend.

At the end of 2010, 14% of US homes were either in foreclosure or delinquent in payments.  People can't make home payments if they are unemployed.  Their ability to make payments will vanish as their flat salaries are eaten away over time.  But nothing is done.

The poverty rate is up around 40% when you use a measure that factors in out of pocket medical expenses, not considered in the "official" poverty rate.

It only makes sense that people will descend into poverty.  What else happens when you lose your job and are unable to find a new one?

Large sections of the country look like a wasteland due to extended neglect and hard times. Michigan's Central Station in Detroit sat unused and abandoned as the city around it decayed.  The Economist called California's San Joaquin Valley "the Appalachia of the West" because of record high unemployment that reaches 30% to 40% range in some small towns. Described as the food basket of the world, the valley is collapsing in on itself.

Michigan Central Station, Detroit, abandoned and unused for years Image

In addition to completely failing the people, the party let the nation's infrastructure fall into ruin.  The American Society of Civil Engineers graded the status of bridges, roads, etc.  The Money Party gets a big fat "D" for their stewardship.

Fixing all this would provide a stimulus of phenomenal proportions.  It would produce bonds that were actually worth something in the future.  The Money Party can blow things up but building and repairing are beyond their abilities to comprehend.

We are led by fools.

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