I’m on a plane about to take off for Colorado, but figured I’d leave everyone with my updated Pledge of Allegiance applicable for modern day America. Enjoy comrades.
I pledge allegiance to the Fed of the United States of Bernakistan, and to the S&P 500 for which it stands, one ponzi, under Federal Reserve Notes, with debt-serfdom and food stamps for all.
See you on the other side,
Mike
This trend has been in place since the financial crisis, but the fact that it is accelerating is extremely disconcerting. First off, this is not the kind of behavior that should be witnessed in an “economic recovery.” Second, we need to remember the huge percentage of Americans on food stamps and/or disability. As I have discussed previously, many of them also have jobs. So essentially, a wage and a check from the government is still not enough to survive. They still need to tap into a loan from their 401k plans.
From the Washington Post:
More than one in four American workers with 401(k) and other retirement savings accounts use them to pay current expenses, new data show. The withdrawals, cash-outs and loans drain nearly a quarter of the $293 billion that workers and employers deposit into the accounts each year, undermining already shaky retirement security for millions of Americans.
A report due out this week from the financial advisory firm HelloWallet found that more than one in four workers dip into retirement funds to pay their mortgages, credit card debt or other bills. Those in their 40s have been the most likely culprits — one-third are turning to such accounts for relief.
This is a very interesting yet ominous article from Reuters about the current food bank situation in these United States. As a result of the drought this summer the Federal government ended up buying less food than normal, and because this excess food is used to provide assistance to the poor in many cases, there simply may not be enough to go around. This sets up a potentially tragic situation as we head into 2013, and is likely to bring heightened social unrest to our shores as I outlined in my recent article The Global Spring.
From Reuters:
The worst U.S. drought in more than half a century has weakened the safety net for the 50 million Americans who struggle to get enough to eat, and the nation’s food banks are raising the alarm as the holiday season gets into full swing.
Executives at major food banks across the United States worry they will not be able to keep pace with demand, which they don’t expect to ease until more Americans find better paying jobs. In a sign of how stressed the budgets of many Americans are, a record 47.1 million people used food stamps in August 2012, up from 45.8 million the year earlier.
With such pressures at work,on-hand supplies at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank have fallen from a peak of about 3.3 weeks in 2010 to less than two weeks – the lowest in recent history, according to its president and CEO, Michael Flood.
Tightening food supplies last summer forced the food bank to start a waiting list because it does not have enough inventory to expand beyond the 640 agencies it already supplies with food. There are now 565 nonprofits on the waiting list, Flood said.
Government commodities once made up 28 percent of the food flowing through the Feeding America network, which includes about 90 percent of U.S. food banks and provides food for about 37 million people during the year. This year those commodities account for 17 percent, Feeding America said.
The Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina has seen its monthly supplies of TEFAP products plummet by roughly two-thirds to about 170,000 pounds from 500,000 pounds. At the same time, state budget cuts have slashed its annual funding by about half to $500,000, Executive Director Clyde Fitzgerald said.
This is a development we must all keep a close eye on.
Full article here.
In Liberty,
Mike
As more and more information emerges about the food stamp program in the United States, the more absurd and downright disturbing the entire thing becomes. I first posted on the topic in late June with the piece The Government is Encouraging More Food Stamp Usage, Calling it “Stimulus”. I thought this was ridiculous enough, but only a couple of weeks later it become mainstream news that the USDA was using Spanish-language soap operas to encourage “non-citizens” to enroll in the free food program (as a result of public outrage the USDA actually removed those videos from its website). Oh, but the rabbit hole goes far deeper. We now find out that the USDA has an official agreement with the Mexican government to boost participation. I wish I was kidding but one of the English and Spanish posters used to market food stamps to Mexicans is actually titled “Food Stamps Make America Stronger.”
It has now become so obvious that TPTB are engaged in a deliberate and desperate scramble to get as many people living in the United States as dependent as possible on the government for survival. Hungry people that need handouts are obedient slaves. It really is that simple.
Key quotes:
The Mexican government has been working with the United States Department of Agriculture to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps.
“USDA and the government of Mexico have entered into a partnership to help educate eligible Mexican nationals living in the United States about available nutrition assistance,” the USDA explains in a brief paragraph on their “Reaching Low-Income Hispanics With Nutrition Assistance” web page. “Mexico will help disseminate this information through its embassy and network of approximately 50 consular offices.”
Sessions isn’t simply concerned that the USDA has eschewed transparency with their Mexican partnership or that legal immigrants are encouraged to get on the government’s handout rolls — he is also worried about the lack of protections against undocumented immigrants receiving benefits for which they are not qualified.
As the senator detailed in his letter to Vilsack, and the USDA’s 2011 Guidance on Non-Citizen Eligibility for SNAP explains, although undocumented immigrants are usually not eligible to enroll in SNAP, illegals may enroll their eligible children.
It is up to the states to determine if applicants or households are qualified aliens. In some circumstances, SNAP benefits can be conferred upon people who merely state, upon penalty of perjury, that they are in the country legally.
“Applicants need only attest that they are citizens of the United States, and the state must accept that attestation as conclusive,” Sessions explained in his letter.
Mexico is the only country with which USDA has a nutrition assistance outreach partnership agreement.
Full article from the Daily Caller is here.
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away, and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any farther obedience.
- John Locke
When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.
- John Lennon
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix
Go Back to Sleep
Most of you that are taking the time to read this have already experienced some level of “waking up” over the past several years or longer. Most of you have also probably felt from time to time that the knowledge you possess is a burden and have fully appreciated the meaning of “ignorance is bliss.” I know this because I have felt these very same emotions at times. The most important thing to remember; however, is that we are just awake individuals within a wave or cycle of awakening. There were those that came before us and there will be many, many more to come after us. Last Thursday, I was at Freedom Fest in Vegas for a brief stint and I had the honor to meet and break bread with some of the most influential minds in the Liberty Movement. As I sat there at the table at Delmonico’s, thoroughly impressed with the intellect, commitment and total sense of purpose of the people around me I became more sure than ever that TPTB don’t stand a chance. The problem for those control freak clowns is that ten years ago they had at least 95% of the American populace completely asleep. I would estimate that number at the moment to be around 75%. If I am anywhere close to being right, that means that 25% of the population is at least somewhat aware that things aren’t as they appear to be. They are asking serious questions and looking for serious answers. Breaking it down even further, I would say that 5% of the population can be described as fully awake and somewhat committed to fully committed. This is something like 15 million Americans and is more than enough. Most importantly, once you are truly awakened you never go back to sleep. In my five years or so in this adventure I have seen the transformative process of many, many people within my personal circle of friends and contacts. Not ONE, I repeat not ONE of them has ever fallen back into the matrix mindset. It just doesn’t happen and it reminds me of quotes about truth and lies. As Mark Twain said “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” Then there is the counter quote from I can’t remember who that “lies require commitment.” Believe me, they are committed! That said, too much is coming out now and what TPTB are doing in the markets is desperately manipulating everything so that another wave does not wake up. There are terrified that this next wave of people will be the tipping point for their control structure. They are correct but it is coming soon to smack them in the face no matter what they do.
Obama’s Executive Orders…Connecting the Dots
While we all know about the NDAA, which Obama signed into law late last year that opens the door to the incarceration of American citizens without a trial, what is a little less known are a series of Executive Orders signed by our Noble Peace prize winning Assassinator in Chief. Of particular interest to me are Executive Order 13603, or “The National Defense Resources Preparedness,” and Executive Order 13618, “The Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions.” You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to get what these EO’s are all about. The first one basically gives government control of any and all resources it needs (and seemingly the ability to nullify or suspend existing private agreements) “if” there is a national emergency, while the second one does the same for communications. So essentially our wonderful government that cares about us so very much is setting the stage to take total control (natural resources and the means of communication) whenever this national emergency that they seem to be fully anticipating comes to fruition. A good summary of all the EO’s can be found here. They expect the sheeple to be in such a catatonic state of fear and shock that they will beg for daddy government to take away all their rights and ignore the Constitution so that their EBT cards work. Why else do you think the government is desperately trying to get as many Americans on food stamps as possible? See my post “The Government is Encouraging More Food Stamp Usage, Calling it “Stimulus”.
Obama Tells Americans “Your Success Wasn’t Yours”
Regular readers understand that I do not believe there is “free market capitalism” in America today. Sure there are remnants of it left, but increasingly there is simply crony capitalism in which the Federal government partners with large corporate interests to allow them to grow bigger, more powerful and importantly, more dependent on the government itself for its profits and influence. This is deliberate, just as it is a deliberate plan to get more people on food stamps. It is all about power and control. That said, there are still many small businesses and also large business owners that got to where they are through their own blood, sweat, tears as well as intellect and vision. While the 0.01% financial oligarchs and crony capitalists all over America should be exposed and called out for the traitorous parasites that they are, this should not mean we just lump all successful people into this category. Yet, this is exactly what our pathological liar President did in his most recent demonstration of verbal diarrhea. I am sure everyone has already seen this clip, but I am mentioning it nonetheless because it is so significant. He stated:
Look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there… If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.
I mean every time I think this guy can’t hit a new low he manages to achieve one within a week. No mention of the fact that a top campaign contributor to him, Jon Corzine, is a thieving crook. Nah, nothing to see here folks. Meanwhile, if you read between the lines of his little tirade (look how angry he looks in the video), it is clear what he is trying to say. You are a nobody. You are nothing without the state and without the good graces of the political elite. We own you. If the political leaders in Washington D.C. that produce absolutely nothing but hot air and then steal from you left and right say that you do not even own your own success, then indeed you own nothing. This fits in perfectly with the Executive Orders I referred to earlier. The game plan and meme here is obvious. You are cattle. The government owns your land and its resources, your success and ultimately your mind. Are we going to let them have them?
Peace and wisdom,
Mike
The government is using Spanish soap operas to encourage non-citizens into the food stamp program. We are desperately trying to hang on to America’s top ranking in food stamps, ponzi schemes and prisons. Your government at work!
Key Quotes:
The government has been targeting Spanish speakers with radio “novelas” promoting food stamp usage as part of a stated mission to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps.
In addition to the Spanish-language outreach, the USDA is also pushing to get non-citizens enrolled in the program. The radio novelas overcome one of the hurdles the agency has identified as hampering participation: “lack of knowledge” about the program.
“Although many non-citizens are now eligible for SNAP, SNAP participation has been historically low among eligible non-citizen households,” reads a 2011 Guidance on Non-Citizen Eligibility.
In the 1970s, one in 50 Americans were on food stamps — today that figure is one in seven. SNAP spending has doubled since 2008 and quadrupled since 2001.
Read the full article from The Daily Caller here.
Posting from the Freedom Fest in Vegas,
Mike
Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.
Common sense is not so common.
I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: “O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.” And God granted it.
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another.
The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice.
All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
- All Quotes by Voltaire
Where Food Stamps Go to Die
We all know the economy sucks. We all know we are headed in the wrong direction. We all know our leaders are corrupt, immoral, greedy and violent. You don’t need me to tell you that. One thing that I have noticed recently while watching the financial markets is that despite the fact most stocks charts I pull up look awful, the major indices continue to hang in or grind higher. While it is not new news that a few large cap stocks are holding the major averages up, I want to focus on one in particular. Wal-Mart. Yes we all know Wal-Mart. Everyone has an opinion; whether you love it or hate it. In this instance, I’m not so much interested in the company itself, the stores or disturbing images of some of the people seen shopping there. No, in this case I want to take a look at the stock and ponder what it tells us about the state of affairs in both the U.S. and the global economy as a whole.
Wal-Mart’s stock is up 14% YTD, which is triple the return of the S&P 500. The stock also packs a dividend yield of 2.3%, so the total return is even better. In the last month or so the stock has become a real powerhouse as you can see in the chart below. Crushing any and all shorts under the weight of its rapid appreciation.
Wal-Mart Three Year Chart
I think the above chart, in particular the move in the past month or so, speaks volumes to what is happening on a macro level. First, from a purely flow of capital perspective, the U.S. economy was the last one to hit recession (most money managers still have no idea). With Europe in a situation where monetary and political chaos appears likely here and now (and inevitable ultimately) and the BRICs in total free-fall, we have seen a rush into perceived safe havens. We all know about treasuries and bunds, but at some point people don’t want to continue to funnel money to instruments yielding negative real returns. So what has apparently happened is global money managers have been allocating more dollars to very large cap U.S. shares as an alternative to treasuries and bunds.
There’s more to it of course. Nothing exemplifies the ghetto status of the U.S. economy more than the success of Wal-Mart in the face of the ongoing destruction of what was once a vibrant and strong middle class. In case you missed it, Marion Nestle, Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at NYU, came out with some interesting tidbits regarding the food stamp program. One of them is extraordinarily disturbing. She shows that Wal-Mart’s gets as much as 25% to 40% of revenue at some stores from food stamp dollars. This says it all folks. Food stamps are or course the perfect business for Wal-Mart and JP Morgan, which as I pointed out previously makes a lot of money running the program and keeping the populace in perpetual serfdom. Meanwhile, guess what another of the best performing stocks this year is? Corrections Corp of America, ticker CXW, up 41% YTD! Guess what they do? Yep, you guess it. They lock up the serfs that get out of line. This is the Bloomberg description of CXW.
Corrections Corporation of America provides detention and corrections services to governmental agencies. The Company owns correctional and detention facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. Services include design, construction, ownership, renovation, and management of new or existing jails and prisons, as well as long distance inmate transportation services.
There you have it folks. What sectors are leading the American economy in the “recovery”: Food stamps and Prisons. They are actually perfectly complimentary. If the food stamps don’t work the prisons will.
Meanwhile, in the real economy we have the latest earnings blowup. Ryder System, a company involved in the leasing, rental and logistical business of trucking lowered its forecast and the shares were smashed. Too bad you can’t lease a truck with an EBT card, although who knows, that might be in the next stimulus package.
Ryder Three Year Chart. Thanks for Playing!
The global economy is currently staring into a cyclical recession in the midst of the biggest structural debt and derivatives ponzi scheme that mankind has ever witnessed. The desperation to keep things looking decent into the election continues at a frantic pace and now there are only four more months left. As I have said before, if they do not allow pressure to be released until after the elections the comeuppance is going to be way more awful than I care to think about. Prepare accordingly.
Peace and wisdom,
Mike
This article from the Huffington Post really says it all. If you aren’t on Wall Street borrowing from the Federal Reserve at 0% and buying financial assets on leverage or stealing from the citizenry in the cesspool we call Washington D.C., you are becoming poor. How’s that for Hope and Change.
Key quotes:
The number of PhD recipients on food stamps and other forms of welfare more than tripled between 2007 and 2010 to 33,655, according to an Urban Institute analysis cited by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The number of master’s degree holders on food stamps and other forms of welfare nearly tripled during that same time period to 293,029, according to the same analysis.
The sluggish economy has pushed graduates with law degrees to look for jobs outside of the legal profession, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Many adjunct faculty members are likely to be on welfare, since they live on “poverty wages,” the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
All of these factors, plus a less-than-stellar job market, have forced many PhDs to work in menial jobs. There are 5,057 janitors with PhDs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by the Houston Chronicle.
Read full article here