Friday, February 25, 2011

Economic Conditions in US Worsening as Debt Builds

Images via Financial Armageddon
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Economic conditions for everyone in the US -- except perhaps for protected government employees and special private sector friends of the government -- appear to be worsening. This is despite a massive growth in the size of government and overall government spending and debt. If the US government's intent was to invest in the future, it has clearly missed its mark. Only special interests are benefiting from this government spree.
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Government spending as a percent of US GDP continues to rise as more spending is of a "fixed and non-discretionary" type, and debt levels spiral out of all control.
US rankings for economic and other measures of societal well-being have done nothing but decline under the Obama regime.

Despite the artificial suppression of US interest rates by the Federal Reserve, new business investment remains low. Ominously, large investors are once again looking to high-risk investments -- just like in 2005 before the crash.

Gold and precious metals prices continue to rise, as persons at all levels of wealth and income lose confidence in their governments.

State and local governments across the US are beginning to feel the pain, and find themselves struggling against the death-grip of public sector unions just to survive.

Beneath everything else, there is the demographic collapse among the best educated, most skilled, and most intelligent populations of the developed world. Japan is showing the results a bit sooner than most other developed nations. And most observers who are fed a steady diet of mainstream media pablum are likely to never understand the crucial effect of the demographic implosion upon their lives. But smarter people will factor it into their plans.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

Images via Financial Armageddon

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