"If you think the JPMorgan and Wells Fargo earnings reports were disappointing, just wait until the fourth quarter if the shutdown continues and a debt default occurs."

********

Default Would Be Catastrophic for Big Banks!
by Cyrus Sanati 

FORTUNE -- JPMorgan and Wells Fargo kicked off bank earnings season Friday morning reporting some less-than-stellar results. Weak loan volumes, shrinking net interest margins, legal mishaps, lackluster trading activity, and a lousy mortgage market wreaked havoc on the megabanks during the third quarter. It even pushed JPMorgan into the red for the first time in years. More -- http://goo.gl/m8ZYDI

The Huge Lie That Is Repeated By Those Doing Extremely Well In Our Country by Upworthy.com

There's a new film coming out that talks about what happened to the middle class in our country. Named "Inequality for All," it's by economist Robert Reich, and he hopes it will precipitate the kind of change that will make our country a very different beast than it is right now.  Video - http://bit.ly/1gECoXd

Securing money to keep New York's hospitals open continues to be a major problem for politicians! 

••••••••

Debating a Fix for Hospitals in Dire Straits by Anemona Hartocollis

"Of all the issues in the Democratic primary for mayor, one of the few that most candidates seem to agree on is that struggling New York City hospitals need to be saved." More -- http://nyti.ms/17jAwAX

And, how will attacking Syria affect the horrific economic situation in the U.S?

 

******  

 

Kerry Admits Possibility of 'Boots on the Ground' in Syria  

by Jon Queally

 

Boots on the ground?

Asked by Senate Robert Menendez (D-NJ) whether or not language should be inserted in a congressional authorization for an attack on Syria that would prohibit 'U.S. boots on the ground,' U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that would not be good idea. Kerry stammered, and then declared—"in the event Syria imploded, for instance"—that he wouldn't want to take that option "off the table" by inserting such a clause.

 

The High Probability of Being Poor by Matt Bruenig

 

"Late last month, the Associated Press ran a report about economic insecurity that managed to gain some traction in certain parts of the political internet, and since then, again and again in certain relevant debates. The statistical bomb dropped in the first sentence of the report really says it all:

Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream." More -- http://bit.ly/16sHOSG

 

This is a pretty sad story about the enormous salaries earned by the top CEO's in the United States - at taxpayers' expense!

******   

 

Why Supersized CEO Pay Is the Worst—in Three Charts
by Sarah Anderson

"At the Institute for Policy Studies, we’ve tallied the top 25 highest-paid CEOs for each of the past 20 years."

"That’s a total of 500 richly rewarded executives—each one of whom made more in a week than average workers could make in a year. We’re told CEOs deserve these massive rewards because they add exceptional “value” to their businesses. They’re getting “paid for performance.”

"Financial bailouts are just one example of how a significant number of CEO pay leaders owe much of their good fortune to taxpayers. Government contracts are another. CEOs of firms on the federal government’s top 100 contractors list occupied 62 of the 500 slots on the annual highest-paid CEO lists of the last 20 years. In the same years that their CEOs pocketed some of corporate America’s fattest paychecks, these firms received $255 billion in taxpayer-funded federal contracts." More -- http://bit.ly/186Zbrc

I believe we should all be concerned when banks start controlling power plants, airports and other "essential lifelines." An important article to be read by anyone concerned about the wealthy controlling our public assets and commodities!

 

******

 

The Leveraged Buyout of America by Ellen Brown

 

"Giant bank holding companies now own airports, toll roads, and ports; control power plants; and store and hoard vast quantities of commodities of all sorts. They are systematically buying up or gaining control of the essential lifelines of the economy. How have they pulled this off, and where have they gotten the money?" Article -- http://bit.ly/15ciaEO

Clarion Call Rings Throughout Nation: 'Low Pay Is Not OK'.

Wave of fast food worker strikes resurges on Thursday with walkouts across the US by Andrea Germanos 

"Right now, fast food companies keep employees at poverty-level wages while reaping billions of dollars in profits for their shareholders every year. Across the economy this practice drives increasing inequality, slow growth, and declining living standards. It is holding back our economic recovery and contributing to our high poverty rates and rates of working poor. Americans deserve better. The fast food workers’ movement shows that there is a broad demand for change—one that is only getting stronger." More -- http://bit.ly/14J3jzb

 

  Federal contracting jobs doubled between 1996 & 2009 for low-paying jobs, which means taxpayers are subsidizing these jobs twice!

  

****** 
 

Testimony on Low-Wage Work: How Our Tax Dollars Drive Inequality by Amy Traub

 "For our report “Underwriting Bad Jobs: How Our Tax Dollars Are Funding Low-Wage Work and Fueling Inequality,” my colleague Robert Hiltonsmith and I analyzed data on federal contractors, health care spending, Small Business Administration loans, federal infrastructure grants and Public Buildings Service property leases.[1] We found that through these sources of federal funding, nearly two million private sector workers are employed, doing jobs we have decided are worthy of public funding, for wages of $12 an hour less, in some cases much less. There is no single private sector employer responsible for this many low wage employees." Read more -- http://bit.ly/16KCRaB.

Fascinating article about the continued wage gap not only between men and women, but more so by race and ethnicity!

******
 

In Reality, Middle-Class Blacks And Middle-Class Whites Have Vastly Different Fortunes by Matt Bruenig

"With the passing of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, commentators have been assessing the status of blacks in society. Matt Yglesias has a post about the black-white income gap, and how it has not budged in 40 years. Brad Plumer has a post at Wonkblog that features a list of 10 charts showing the persistence of the black-white economic gap, including rates of unemployment, poverty, and so on.

The statistics provided in these posts—and indeed most statistics provided on this question—compare all blacks against all whites. This kind of comparison is worth making for certain purposes, but it also has its limitations. By itself, such group-level comparisons lend themselves to the hasty conclusion that the difference between the economic situations of blacks and whites is mainly that blacks are more concentrated on the low end of the economic ladder." Article -- http://bit.ly/16WqPrX

 

I recently read about a poll taken by a national organization that said the average American nearing retirement age has only put aside $10,000! Why aren't Americans saving more money?

 ******

 

Will You Have a Middle-Class Retirement? by Tom Sightings

 

"What is middle class in America today? According to a definition from the Brookings Institution, the middle class comprises families with incomes between one-half the median income and twice the median income. Today this would make a middle-class annual income range from about $25,000 to $100,000."

"But your location and your situation make a big difference. If you're trying to raise a family on $100,000 a year in New York, Washington or Los Angeles, you're barely scraping by. If you're a retired couple without kids in Macon, Ga., or Mason City, Iowa, you're among the richest people in town." Read article -- http://bit.ly/1c9S6cs

After years of economic turmoil, most families now believe the most valuable--and elusive--possession in American life is economic security.

This sentence jumped off the page at me when reading the article below by Ronald Brownstein. This is evidently the  "ambivalent" message from the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll which explored the public's perception of what it means to be middle class in America today. The poll reveals even more unsettling feelings by the majority of people interviewed!

 ******

Meet the New Middle Class: Who They Are, What They Want, and What They Fear by Ronald Brownstein

 

"After years of economic turmoil, most families now believe the most valuable--and elusive--possession in American life is economic security. Americans still believe they can reach for the stars, but they are increasingly fearful they are standing on a trapdoor as they try." Read more -- http://bit.ly/17XSo2f

 

As written in the article below by Tami Luhby for CNNMoney, its evident that most Americans are feeling the pinch of inflation over the past 10 years, and are really scared about how its going to affect their future financial security! The article gives several examples of how people are dealing, or not dealing, with inflation and current economic conditions in the U.S., but the bottom line is that many economists don't see any changes coming down the pike to change the tough situation middle-Americans are finding themselves.

******
 

 Why America's Middle Class is Losing Ground by Tami Luhby

"In the wake of the Great Recession, millions of middle-class people are being pinched by stagnating incomes and the increased cost of living. America's median household income has dropped by more than $4,000 since 2000, after adjusting for inflation, and the typical trappings of middle-class life are slipping out of financial reach for many families." 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/05/news/economy/middle-class-wages/index.html 

Obama’s Plan to Save the Middle Class: Redistribution Now, Education Later by Ezra Klein

 

"My colleague Jim Tankersley writes that “there are two kinds of middle-class Americans struggling today. There are the people who can’t find work or can’t work as many hours as they’d like. And there are full-time workers who can’t seem to get ahead. In Tuesday’s State of the Union and its response, there wasn’t much for either group — at least when it comes to their biggest problem.” Read more -- http://wapo.st/VaNdvI 

  In a report written by three Citigroup analysts in October 2005 (see link below) describing the pattern of growth in the U.S. economy, they stated that the U.S. is comprised of only two distinct groups -- the rich and the rest. The report goes on to say:

"... the second group didn’t matter; tracking its spending habits or worrying over its savings rate was a waste of time. All the action in the American economy was at the top: the richest 1 percent of households earned as much each year as the bottom 60 percent put together; they possessed as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent; and with each passing year, a greater share of the nation’s treasure was flowing through their hands and into their pockets."

Eight years has passed since this article was written. Please let me know your thoughts on the authors' predictions. Better yet, let your city, state and Federal Representatives know your thoughts and concerns!

******

Can the Middle Class Be Saved? by Don Peck

"The Great Recession has accelerated the hollowing-out of the American middle class. And it has illuminated the widening divide between most of America and the super-rich. Both developments herald grave consequences." Continued -- http://bit.ly/TzO1mB

Reviving U.S. Manufacturing Key to Rebuilding the Middle Class by Bill Simon

"One of the biggest obstacles facing Americans today is a lack of opportunity and social mobility. While we have entry-level and high-end jobs, we have lost the jobs in the middle that helped each generation of Americans do better than the one before it. Some call this an "hourglass economy"; I tend to think of it as a canyon being hollowed out between the two ends of the job market." Continued -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-simon/post3792753_b_3792753.html

DOJ Wants More Control 

Can you imagine what we could do with all of the money our government is currently allocating to find out what people are reading, watching and listening to on their digital devices? 

I'm very concerned about this, and wonder if its all just a diversion to distract people from real problems that are affecting Americans every day -- like the shrinking of their savings accounts, the inability to make mortgage payments or pay their rent because of the loss of jobs -- while big corporations continue to see huge profits. Aren't these the issues we should be focused on, and spending money on? Read the following article about the latest authority DOJ wants.

* * * * * * 

DOJ Seeks Supreme Court Approval for Warrantless Cellphone Searches  by Ryan Gallagher

"Should cops have the right to search through your cellphone without a warrant if you get arrested? The Justice Department thinks so. In a petition to the Supreme Court filed last week, the government argues that it should be allowed to rifle through the phones of arrested suspects because having to apply for a warrant could thwart their ability to bring criminals to justice. The DOJ is asking the court to weigh in on the matter after the First Circuit of Appeals ruled earlier this year that police should have obtained a warrant when searching the phone of a suspected Massachusetts crack dealer back in 2007." Continued -- http://slate.me/170wv2R

On Bill Moyers

"An American journalist and liberal public commentator, Bill Moyers served as White House Press Secretary in the Johnson administration from 1965 to 1967. He also worked as a network TV news commentator for ten years. Moyers has been extensively involved with public broadcasting, producing documentaries and news journal programs. He has won numerous awards and honorary degrees for his investigative journalism and civic activities. He has become well known as a trenchant critic of the U.S. media (particularly modern, corporately structured news media). Since 1990, Moyers has been President of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy."

"In a 2003 interview with BuzzFlash.com, Moyers said, "The corporate right and the political right declared class warfare on working people a quarter of a century ago and they've won." He noted, "The rich are getting richer, which arguably wouldn't matter if the rising tide lifted all boats." Instead, however, "[t]he inequality gap is the widest it's been since 1929; the middle class is besieged and the working poor are barely keeping their heads above water.
"He added that as "the corporate and governing elites are helping themselves to the spoils of victory," access to political power has become "who gets what and who pays for it.
 
"Here's one of his latest broadcasts..."

'How People Power Generates Change' 

http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-how-people-power-generates-change/.

They Are Systematically Destroying Our Independence And Making Us All Serfs Of The State by Michael Snyder 

"The percentage of Americans that are economically independent has dropped to a stunningly low level. In order to be economically independent, you have got to be able to take care of yourself without any assistance from anyone else." 

More -- http://www.infowars.com/they-are-systematically-destroying-our-independence-and-making-us-all-serfs-of-the-state/

Cameron Fleeing America To Escape Collapse?
by Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones

"If you think that Hollywood director James Cameron’s decision to leave America and move his entire family to a farm in New Zealand is simply to provide his kids with a “strong work ethic,” as Cameron claims, then think again." Read more -- http://www.infowars.com/cameron-fleeing-america-to-escape-collapse/ 

Another recent article that caught my eye! Something to think about unless people start to stand-up and do something about what is happening to the middle class in this country!

Should You Move To Another Country To Escape The Collapse Of America? 10 Questions To Ask Yourself First

Headlines like the one below should concern all of us! It's time to get our heads out of the stand, and to take actions to stop the new millionaires and billionaires in this country from having so much influence over local, city, state and Federal laws and regulations affect our pocketbooks, including retirement accounts.

Both online and traditional news is so overwhelming these days that most people seem to think that ignoring the facts about what is happening in our country, and the world, will just go away. This couldn't be further from the truth! Read the article below, share it with your friends, and write a letter to your State and Federal legislators about it!

Billionaires Dumping Stocks, Economist Knows Why