The REAL economic Report - Just How Bad is it?

If you have any money and you want to understand the lies that “your” government tells you with statistics, subscribe to John Williams shadowstats.com.

John Williams is the best and utterly truthful statistician that we the people have.

The charts below come from John Williams Hyperinflation Report, January 25, 2012. The commentary is supplied by me.

Here is the chart of real average weekly earnings deflated by the US government’s own measure of inflation, which as I pointed out in my recent column, Economics Lesson 1, understates true inflation.

This chart (below) shows the behavior of inflation as measured by “our” government’s official measure, CPI-U (bottom line) and John Williams measure which uses the official methodology of when I was Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury. The gap between the top and bottom lines represents the amount of money that was due to Social Security recipients and others whose income was indexed to inflation that was diverted by the government to wars, police state, and bankers’ bailouts.

This next chart shows the gains that gold and the Swiss franc have made against the US dollar. The Swiss franc is the top line and gold is the bottom. When gold and the Swiss franc rise, the dollar is falling. Notice that during President Reagan’s first term, when I was in the Treasury, gold and the Swiss franc dropped, that is, the dollar rose in purchasing power. Obviously, the supply-side policy that Reagan implemented strengthened the US dollar. It was only with the advent of the Bush policy of endless trillion dollar wars, reaffirmed by Obama, that the US dollar and economy collapsed relative to gold and hard currencies.

The recent drop in the Swiss franc is due to the Swiss government announcing that the country’s exports could not tolerate any further run up in the franc’s value, and that the Swiss central bank would print new francs to accommodate future inflows of dollars and euros. In other words, Switzerland was forced to import US inflation in order to protect its exports.

Here is nonfarm payroll employment. As you can see, the US economy has been in recession for four years despite the easiest monetary policy and largest government deficits in US history.

Here is consumer confidence. Do you see a recovery despite all the recovery hype from politicians and the financial media?

Here is housing starts. Do you see a recovery?

Here is real GDP deflated according to the methodology used when I was in the US Treasury.

Here is real retail sales deflated by the traditional, as contrasted with the current, substitution-based, measure of inflation.

These graphs courtesy of John Williams make it completely clear that there is no economic recovery. In place of recovery, we have hype from politicians, Wall Street, and the presstitute media. The “recovery” is no more real than Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction” or Iranian “nukes” or the Obama regime’s phony story of assassinating last year an undefended Osama bin Laden, allegedly the mastermind of Islamic terrorism, left by al Qaeda to the mercy of a US Seal team, a man who was widely reported to have died from renal failure in December 2001, a man who denied any responsibility for 9/11.

A government and media that will deceive you about simple things such as inflation, unemployment, and GDP growth, will lie to you about everything.

This Paul Craig Roberts article first appeared at his website Institute For Political Economy. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of several books including The Tyranny of Good Intentions and How the Economy Was Lost.

US Debt - Who Holds it and How Much

Everyone is talking about the U.S. debt and there is a lot of "funny math" being bantered about, especially given an election year and we're talking about the Government, after all. With that said here is a break down of how much "debt" the U.S. has and who exactly is paying for it aka who "holds" it.

Remember when dealing with the Federal Government nothing is as it seems, in fact, it is always much worse. The term "debt" in simple speak not gov-o-lawyer speak means money we currently owe and the bill has come in the mail, as of today. Remember, if the bill hasn't come in the mail yet the Government doesn't count it as debt or owing anything. (I know sounds wierd but it's true).

1. Federal Reserve - $1.65 Billion
- Other Intra-governmental Holdings (Medicare, Social Security) - $6.326 trillion (these two are lumped together by law)

2. China - $1.132 trillion

3. Other Investors/Savings Bonds - $1.107 trillion

4. Japan - $1.038 trillion

5. Pension Funds - $842.2 billion

6. Mutual Funds - $653.5 billion

7. State and Local Governments - $484.4 billion

8. The United Kingdom - $429.4 billion

9. Depository Institutions (local banks credit unions etc) - $284.5 billion

10. Insurance Companies - $250.1 billion

And the grand total is, if you have a calculator that big... 16 Trillion

But wait it gets better. The U.S. must pay interest on the money it borrows, just like on your credit card.

The U.S. Pays between .06% and 8.5% interest on $16 Trillion that's $16,000,000,000,000.

But wait there's more! As I mentioned earlier that is money where the "bill has come in the mail" so to speak. If you add in the bills that haven't come in the mail yet, but the Government HAS spent the money already it is $60 Trillion... $60,000,000,000,000.

...and my final offer... ten years ago it was $2.5 Trillion. So how did we go from 2.5 trillion to 60 trillion... You can thank George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush for getting us to almost 30 Trillion and Barack Obama for taking us from 30 Trillion to 60 Trillion in four short years.

SOPA and PIPA are Nothing Compared to ACTA - The real Freedom Killer

By now everyone knows about SOPA and PIPA and we have effectively put those on hold, for now. But just when you thought it was safe to get back on the internet "ACTA" the Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement comes along and has everyone running for the hills...

So what is ACTA the short version is; imagine the copyright laws of the U.S. now pump them up on steroids, subtract all forms of democracy and input from every country in the world, add more steroids, more fines, more jail-time all under the watchful eye of European Union suits. And that is just the sort version, yea it looks like it's going to be that bad...

To read the complete proposed law go to www.stopacta.info or click HERE.

5 Reasons Why Ron Paul is the ONLY National Security Candidate

Ron Paul is not simply the anti-war candidate. He is also the national security candidate. This is an important truth that is overlooked.

The wars in the Middle East have been sold to the American people as “national security” wars, but this is a big lie. The wars have nothing to do with America’s national security interests. So, the anti-war position is the same as the pro-national security position.

Washington’s Blog shined a light on the real reasons for America’s endless wars in the article, “Are The Middle East Wars Really About Forcing the World Into Dollars and Private Central Banking?”

Ron Paul is the world’s biggest opponent of private central banking, the fiat dollar system, and the endless war on terror. His resistance has a moral dimension for sure, but his main argument is that America has not benefited from the wars either economically, militarily, or politically.

Throughout his presidential campaign Dr. Paul has repeated the point that America’s national security and economic health are being ruined by Washington’s multiple unsustainable and costly wars.

But Dr. Paul’s rejection of the war on terror mythos is not the only reason why he should be considered as the national security candidate. He puts the national security of America ahead of politics and party every single time, no matter the issue. Whether the issue is a war against Iran or indefinite detention in America, Dr. Paul is consistently for the defense of America’s national security.

It is clear that Dr. Paul is the only serious national security candidate in the 2012 presidential race. Below I’ve listed five issues which showcase Dr. Paul’s national security credentials.

1. Dr. Paul agrees with senior members of the U.S. Military that a war against Iran is a bad idea, and with the U.S. intelligence community that Iran does not have a nuclear bomb. His political foes in his party are confusing America’s national security interests with Israel’s national security interests. And in doing so, they are severely undermining the economic health and security of the United States.

2. Dr. Paul’s opposition to the indefinite detention provisions in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) are grounded in the belief that unconstitutional laws threaten America’s national security. Earlier this week, he introduced legislation to repeal the section of the NDAA that allows the military to snatch up American citizens in the night and keep them hostage in secret prisons without trial. This government power will be abused and the social fabric of America will be destroyed. As Washington’s Blog stated in an article headline,“Indefinite Detention Hurts Our National Security and Increases the Risk of Terrorism.”

3. In August 2010, Admiral Mike Mullen, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. national debt poses the biggest threat to America’s national security.

Dr. Paul has done the most among political leaders in raising public awareness about the rapidly growing U.S. national debt and the risks of U.S. bankruptcy. He is the only true anti-debt candidate, which proves that he truly cares about the economic security and social well-being of America, unlike every other Republican candidate and President Obama.

On January 18, 2012, Senator Jim DeMint endorsed Ron Paul’s views on foreign policy and national debt, saying:

“If we spread ourselves too thin around the world were not gonna be able to defend the homeland, particularly with the level of debt that we have right now. It’s foolish for us to think that we can have military bases all over the world, spend billions of dollars when we’re going broke back home. It just isn’t gonna happen.”

4. Ron Paul’s defense of America’s national security begins at the borders. He says as President he will protect America’s borders and restore the legal paths to citizenship in the United States. His pro-legal immigration/pro-border security platform is in line with the true values and national security interests of America.

5. The foundations of America’s national security are the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, especially the first amendment and the second amendment. They are currently under attack by the hijacked government, which is an attack on America’s national security. Dr. Paul will restore the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, which would significantly improve the security of the United States.

America would not be America without a free press and an armed citizenry. If both were destroyed, which is a very real possibility if internet censorship and police state legislation are not resisted, then the fire of liberty that is America will be extinguished forever.

Saman Mohammadi is the writer and editor at The Excavator Blog

Thank you Infowars.com

Hillary Clinton joins U.N. World Gun Ban

Never heard of the United Nations push to confiscate every gun on the planet, including every United States citizens guns? Well that is not surprising those in power have been trying quite hard to keep this under wraps. None the less it is very real and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is supporting the world gun ban with full force!

The United Nations and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are moving forward with their plan to confiscate your guns.

The United States joined 152 other countries in support of the Arms Trade Treaty Resolution, which establishes the dates for the 2012 UN conference intended to attack American sovereignty by stripping Americans of the right to keep and bear arms.

Working groups of anti-gun countries will begin scripting language for the conference this year, creating a blueprint for other countries when they meet at the full conference.

The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Former United Nation’s ambassador John Bolton has cautioned gun owners about the Arms Trade Treaty and says the UN “is trying to act as though this is really just a treaty about international arms trade between nation states, but there’s no doubt that the real agenda here is domestic firearms control.”

Establishing the dates for the Arms Trade Treaty Conference is just the first step toward their plans for total gun confiscation.

The worldwide gun control mob will ensure the passage of an egregious, anti-gun treaty…

. . .and that’s where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton steps in.

Once the UN Gun Ban is passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations it must be ratified by each nation, including the United States.

As an arch enemy of gun owners, Clinton has pledged to push the U.S. Senate to ratify the treaty. She will push for passage of this outrageous treaty designed to register, ban and CONFISCATE firearms owned by private citizens like YOU.

So far, the gun-grabbers have successfully kept the exact wording of their new scheme under wraps.

But looking at previous versions of the UN “Small Arms Treaty,” you and I can get a good idea of what’s likely in the works.

Don’t let any of the “experts” lull you to sleep by saying “Oh, we have it handled” or “Until you know exactly what’s in the treaty you can’t fight against it.”

Judging by Ambassador Bolton’s comments — who certainly knows what to expect from the American-freedom-hating international crowd that infests the U.N. — we are certain the treaty’s going to address the private ownership of firearms.

If passed by the UN and ratified by the U.S. Senate (which is where we must ultimately make our stand), the UN “Small Arms Treaty” would almost certainly FORCE national governments to:

*** Enact tougher licensing requirements, making law-abiding citizens cut through even more bureaucratic red tape just to own a firearm legally;

*** CONFISCATE and DESTROY ALL “unauthorized” civilian firearms (all firearms owned by the government are excluded, of course);

*** BAN the trade, sale and private ownership of ALL semi-automatic weapons;

*** Create an INTERNATIONAL gun registry, setting the stage for full-scale gun CONFISCATION. So please click here to sign the petition to your U.S. Senators before it’s too late!

You see, this is NOT a fight we can afford to lose.

Forget the Iran Debate We Are Now at War With Libya

While Presidential candidates debate each other about how fast to go to war with Iran all citing the nuclear threat and all forgetting every other country that has nukes and is hostile toward the U.S. (read the complete list and more HERE)

On January 12, 2012 President Obama officially sent more than 12,000 troops into Libya. Yes Libya!

The troop deployment is said to help stabilize and add security to the region, the troops will be taking control of strategic sea ports and oil fields.

In my opinion this is just getting ridiculous. The U.S. sending troops to any country at will. With no regard for the will of the people of the U.S. to declaration of war no-nothing.

What right do we have to drop troops in on another sovereign country? National Security? Oil rights? Democracy? Peace?

When in history has an in-peaceful act like sending troops ever brought about peace, the answer is... Never.

We, as voting Americans, need to stop this warmongering, Military Industrial Complex touting, nation building system that we have currently devouring our once great nation.

Vote Ron Paul 2012 and let's get our own country in order and end this wold tyranny we are imposing.

Do not believe the lies that bring about fear. Remember "Perfect love casts out all fear". Every candidate is spewing fear to get the voters to do their will. We do not need to be in Libya, Iran, Iraq or any other country except at home building our own country.!

Vote Ron Paul 2012!

Curent Nuclear Weapon Count Around the World

With all the talk of Iran and a nuclear program I thought it important to list the current nuclear weapons tally sheet...

Are we going to preemptively go to war with every country that has nuclear weapons and is hostile toward the U.S.?

Country	Nuke Count	Hostile to U.S.
China	240	*
France	300	*±
Russia	1566	*
United Kingdom	385	*±
United States	5113
India	100	*±
Israel	250
Pakistan	90	*±
North Korea	12	*

As we can see from the chart there are many countries that have nuclear weapons most of which are hostile to the United States.

The * symbol means the country is hostile to the U.S.

The ± symbol means that the country has possible hostilities toward the U.S.

- France, United Kingdom, India, Pakistan have an increasingly greater hostility toward the U.S. given the amount of growing Muslim influence.

- China, Russia, North Korea make their hostilities toward the U.S.