Middle Class Dismissed

America’s Baby Bust

"For more than three decades, Chinese women have been subjected to their country's brutal one-child policy. Those who try to have more children have been subjected to fines and forced abortions. Their houses have been razed and their husbands fired from their jobs. As a result, Chinese women have a fertility rate of 1.54. Here in America, white, college-educated women—a good proxy for the middle class—have a fertility rate of 1.6. America has its very own one-child policy. And we have chosen it for ourselves. Forget the fiscal cliff, the sequestration cliff and the entitlement cliff. Those are all just symptoms. What America really faces is a demographic cliff." Continue reading →

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Excessive Criminal Laws Trap Honest American Businessman

"Florida seafood importer Abner 'Abbie' Schoenwetter spent years in a U.S. federal prison for supposedly violating the laws of Honduras... even though the Honduran government proved he was innocent. In an appalling miscarriage of justice, Schoenwetter lost his thriving business and years with his family. This shocking true story warns of the U.S. government creating new criminal laws that affect every American -- a problem known as overcriminalization." Continue reading →

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Depreciating Dollar Not Good For People, But Good for ‘the Economy’?

"All the nations are inflating, so that their exporters will not suffer from an appreciating currency. Central bankers regard appreciating currency as a disaster. They are mercantilists. Yet we know that, as individuals, to hold on to an appreciating currency is a great thing. Why is it a great thing for individuals to hold an appreciating currency, yet it is also a good policy for a central bank to expand the money supply, so as to decrease the international value of the currency? There seems to be something wrong here. There seems to be cognitive dissonance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDepreciating Dollar Not Good For People, But Good for ‘the Economy’?

Americans Collecting Disability Increased 1,385,418—Now 1 for Each 13 Full-Time Workers

"During President Barack Obama’s first term, the number of Americans collecting federal disability insurance increased by 1,385,418 to a record 8,827,795. As a result, there is now one person collecting disability in this county for every 13 people working full-time. Forty-two years ago, in December 1968, there were 51 people working full-time in this country for each person collecting disability. Back in January 2001, there was one person collecting disability for every 23 full-time workers; by December 2004 there was one person collecting disability for every 19 full-time workers; and by December 2008, there was one person collecting disability for every 16 full-time workers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans Collecting Disability Increased 1,385,418—Now 1 for Each 13 Full-Time Workers

Bad Economy Has Young Europeans at Home

"In 2011, more that 50 percent of the 25- to 34-year-olds in Greece, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Malta still lived in their parents' homes. In Portugal, Italy, Hungary and Romania more than 40 percent of those in this age group remain in the nest (see graphic). These numbers are in stark contrast to those in the EU's most northerly member nations, with less than 5 percent of 24- to 34-year-olds in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. A similar phenomenon, dubbed the 'boomerang generation,' has been identified in the United States, where some 29 percent of Americans in the same age have had to return to their parents' home in recent years." Continue reading →

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Well Educated Young Spaniards Move Back In With Parents

"Nationwide, more than half of people under 25 can't find jobs, while in Andalusia the figure is higher than 62 percent. Those who are a little older -- around 30 and well educated -- are seeing their lifelong dreams turn into failures. Many are forced to do what García and Vivar have done. The two grown men gave up their apartments and moved back into their parents' homes, because they were no longer making enough money. According to figures by the European Union statistics agency Eurostat, 37.8 percent of Spaniards under 35 are now living with their parents." Continue reading →

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Nearly Half Of American Families Live On The Edge Of Financial Ruin

"A sobering new report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development shows nearly half of U.S. households (132.1 million people) don't have enough savings to weather emergencies, or finance long-term needs like college tuition, health care and housing. According to the Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, these people wouldn't last three months if their income was suddenly depleted. More than 30 percent don't even have a savings account, and another 8 percent don't bank at all. Plenty of the middle class have joined the ranks of the 'working poor,' struggling right alongside families scraping by on food stamps and other forms of public assistance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNearly Half Of American Families Live On The Edge Of Financial Ruin

Number of People who will Lose Job-Based Health Insurance Doubles Because of Obamacare

"Seven million people will lose their job-based health insurance, according to a new economic report from the Congressional Budget Office. That’s nearly double the previous estimate of 4 million. According to NBC, the 'fiscal cliff' deal cut by Congress 'takes away some of the tax breaks that employers get for providing health insurance to workers and their families. The change will lead to a greater reduction in such coverage and higher enrollment in insurance exchanges than previously estimated by CBO.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNumber of People who will Lose Job-Based Health Insurance Doubles Because of Obamacare

Bus Station Erupts With Heckling At Argentine Finance Minister And His Family

"Things are looking bad for Argentina's economy — central bank reserves are at 2007 lows due to capital flight, inflation is heading up, and the IMF is ready to punish the country for manipulating economic statistics. This is not the time when, as a Minister of the Economy, you want to get caught coming back from vacation in Uruguay with your family. But that's just what happened to Vice Finance Minister Axel Kicillof, a young father, and his wife as they were taking the Buquebus shuttle home from beach spot Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, La Nacion reports." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBus Station Erupts With Heckling At Argentine Finance Minister And His Family

Greek Finance Minister Gets Bullet In The Mail

"Greece's finance minister was sent a bullet and a death threat from a group protesting home foreclosures, police officials said on Monday, in the latest incident to raise fears of growing political violence. The package was sent by a little-known group called 'Cretan Revolution', which warned the minister against any efforts to seize homes and evict homeowners, police sources said. The group sent similar letters to tax offices in Crete last week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreek Finance Minister Gets Bullet In The Mail