Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- January 8, 2012

A new excellent website to see how the actual economy is doing is paulcraigroberts.org

The Dismal Economic Outlook For The New Year - paulcraigroberts.org - Paul Craig Roberts - January 6, 2012 - Jobs offshoring, financial deregulation, and ten years of wars have severely damaged the US economy and the economic prospects of 90% of the American population. The signs are everywhere in front of our eyes. They are in the income distribution data, the BLS jobs data, the Census data, the poverty figures, and the high number of food stamp recipients.                   The signs are in the foreclosed and boarded up homes and the accompanying homelessness. They are in closed strip malls, in office building, warehouse, and shopping mall vacancies, and in the huge population losses of America’s manufacturing cities.                  The New Economy was a hoax, like Saddam Hussein’s “weapons of mass destruction” and the “war on terror.” Americans were deceived by “their” corrupt government, by greed-driven corporations, and by corporate shills among economists and the pundit class into believing that they were trading middle class “dirty fingernail” jobs in manufacturing for better middle class “clean fingernail” high-tech service jobs. Instead, reasonably paid manufacturing and professional skill jobs, such as software engineering and information technology, were traded for lowly paid jobs as waitresses and bartenders and for jobs in ambulatory health care.               Consequently, real median US income fell for the vast majority of the population. To keep consumers spending when they had no raises, the Federal Reserve used low interest rates to create a real estate and credit bubble. The low interest rates drove up housing prices, and Americans refinanced their mortgages and spent the equity in their homes. Americans maxed out credit cards. The rise in consumer indebtedness kept consumer demand growing and the economy afloat.                  But there is a limit to how far debt can outpace income, and the bubble burst. And when it burst the financial fraud that had been hidden in the euphoria was revealed. That set off the financial crisis.


US Economic Forecast for 2012 and the Election Year Cycle - Infowars.com - James Hall - January 4, 2012 - When it comes to business cycles, the former rules no longer seem to apply. The seminal events that changed the economic landscape after the 2008 financial crash still points to an uncertain future and marginal recovery. If you watch CNBC or Bloomberg business news, you hear that a modest recovery is in place. Accepting this kind of reporting may temporarily make you feel better, but in the real economy, the prospects for a rebound are mere fiction. Prosperity only exists for the chums of the insider financial system, who are immune from actual market conditions. Under the privileged and favoritism model, political subsidies and bailouts are more important than creative industry or innovative execution.               The businesses that produce and service the everyday functions of society flounder in a sea of uncertainty and a desert of capital illiquidity. Within this context, the only realistic way to examine the prospects for 2012, must factor in the political component. Yet the promoters of the corporatist system build up false hope, while fudging the number.                 Analyze the valid question; Can We Trust The Moderate Growth Forecasts? 

Lakshman Achuthan, chief operations officer of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, talks with Bloomberg about the next year in the U.S. Economic Outlook, Labor Market video.

Mr. Achuthan continues in a second video interview on the Daily Ticker – Says New Recession Unavoidable.


Top 12 Trends 2012 - rense.com - Trends Research Institute - Gerald Celente - December 21, 2011 -  
1. Economic Martial Law: Given the current economic and geopolitical conditions, the central banks and world governments already have plans in place to declare economic martial law with the possibility of military martial law to follow.
2. Battlefield America: With a stroke of the Presidential pen, language was removed from an earlier version of the National Defense Authorization Act, granting the President authority to act as judge, jury and executioner. Citizens, welcome to "Battlefield America."
3. Invasion of the Occtupy: 15 years ago, Gerald Celente predicted in his book Trends 2000 that prolonged protests would hit Wall Street in the early years of the new millennium and would spread nationwide. The "Occtupy" is now upon us, and it is like nothing history has ever witnessed.
4. Climax Time: The financial house of cards is collapsing, and in 2012 many of the long-simmering socioeconomic and geopolitical trends that Celente has accurately forecast will come to a climax. Some will arrive with a big bang and others less dramatically but no less consequentially. Are you prepared? And what's next for the world?
5. Technocrat Takeover: "Democracy is Dead; Long Live the Technocrat!" A pair of lightning-quick financial coup d'états in Greece and Italy have installed two unelected figures as head of state. No one yet in the mainstream media is calling this merger of state and corporate powers by its proper name: Fascism, nor are they calling these "technocrats" by their proper name: Bankers! Can a rudderless ship be saved because technocrat is at the helm?
6. Repatriate! Repatriate!: It took a small, but financially and politically powerful group to sell the world on globalization, and it will take a large, committed and coordinated citizens' movement to "un-sell" it. "Repatriate! Repatriate!" will pit the creative instincts of a multitude of individuals against the repressive monopoly of the multinationals.
7. Secession Obsession: Winds of political change are blowing from Tunisia to Russia and everywhere in between, opening a window of opportunity through which previously unimaginable political options may now be considered: radical decentralization, Internet-based direct democracy, secession, and even the peaceful dissolution of nations, offering the possibility for a new world "disorder."
8. Safe Havens: As the signs of imminent economic and social collapse become more pronounced, legions of New Millennium survivalists are, or will be, thinking about looking for methods and ways to escape the resulting turmoil. Those "on-trend" have already taken measure to implement Gerald Celente's 3 G's: Gold, Guns and a Getaway plan. Where to go? What to do? Top Trends 2012 will guide the way.
9. Big Brother Internet: The coming year will be the beginning of the end of Internet Freedom: A battle between the governments and the people. Governments will propose legislation for a new "authentication technology," requiring Internet users to present the equivalent of a driver's license and/or bill of health to navigate cyberspace. For the general population it will represent yet another curtailing of freedom and level of governmental control.
10. Direct vs. Faux Democracy: In every corner of the world, a restive populace has made it clear that it's disgusted with "politics as usual" and is looking for change. Government, in all its forms ­ democracy, autocracy, monarchy, socialism, communism ­ just isn''t working. The only viable solution is to take the vote out of the hands of party politicians and institute Direct Democracy. If the Swiss can do it, why can't anyone else?
11. Alternative Energy 2012: Even under the cloud of Fukushima, the harnessing of nuclear power is being reinvigorated by a fuel that is significantly safer than uranium and by the introduction of small, modular, portable reactors that reduce costs and construction time. In addition, there are dozens of projects underway that explore the possibility of creating cleaner, competitively priced liquid fuels distilled from natural sources. Plan to start saying goodbye to conventional liquid fuels!
12. Going Out in Style: In the bleak terrain of 2012 and beyond, "Affordable sophistication" will direct and inspire products, fashion, music, the fine arts and entertainment at all levels. US businesses would be wise to wake up and tap into the dormant desire for old time quality and the America that was.



US Closes 2011 With Record $15.22 Trillion In Debt, Officially At 100.3% Debt/GDP, $14 Billion From Breaching Debt Ceiling - Zero Hedge.com - Tyler Durden on January 3, 2012 - While not news to Zero Hedge readers who knew about the final debt settlement of US debt about 10 days ahead of schedule, it is now official: according to the US Treasury, America has closed the books on 2011 with debt at an all time record $15,222,940,045,451.09. And, as was observed here first in all of the press, US debt to GDP is now officially over 100%, or 100.3% to be specific, a fact which the US government decided to delay exposing until the very end of the calendar year. We wonder, rhetorically, just how prominent of a talking point this historic event will be in any upcoming GOP primary debates. And yes, technically this number is greater than the debt ceiling but it excludes various accounting gimmicks. When accounting for those, the US has a debt ceiling buffer of... $14 billion, or one third the size of a typical bond auction.


DailyJobCuts.com
Charlie Trotter Closing Shop - NBCChicago.com - January 1, 2012 - Restaurant shutting down August 31
Florida hit hardest by Sears store closings - AP - December 29, 2011 - (List)
Sinbad restaurant serves final meal - Times-News - blueridgenow.com - January 1, 2012 -  (Hendersonville, NC restaurant closes - Typical story about small business America in this economy)


The Bank Holiday is coming - Ann Barnhardt and I (Warren Pollock) have an open conversation organized to provide background to this crisis, the setting of legal precedent, netting, settlement, and future trends including a potential bank holiday. We talk about MF Global as it applies to savings and commercial banking, brokerage, insurance, and commodities. We talk about numeric impossibility of solving the problem, incest between government and finance, having the victim of the crisis pay rather than the fraudster. We explain how the MF Global bankruptcy process will define how customer funds will be treated in a bank holiday. We talk about the idea of having an honest bank holiday to root out fraud vs an economic crisis which plays to looting and criminal activity of vested interest.

The Hounds viewership grew by 42.7% in 2011

We still have a lot of work to do when it comes to winning the public over and getting them to understand the validity of this newsource, but we are proud of what we have accomplished so far in the time of the existence of the Hickory Hound. Last year (2011) saw 22,920 unique viewers visiting this website compared to 16,058 in 2010 and 13,652 in 2009. That is an increase of 6,862 unique views from 2010 to 2011.

When looking at pageloads and people visiting various pages and documents on the site, the site grew to 39,865 pageloads in 2011 versus 28,374 pageloads in 2010. That is a 40.5% increase in pageloads. So one can see that the growth in the site was across the board and people are reading the site in depth.

Myself and the others who are associated with this site participate here, because we believe in the mission. We could spend time doing more leisurely activities and I am sure that there are many people who wish that we would "find something better to do." In the peril in which we find this community and our society, we feel we have a calling. Of course most of the input on this site comes from myself, but the connections that have been developed have been invaluable and we would not be growing at the rate we have without them. I thank each and every one of my colleagues from the bottom of my heart for being friends and talking issues out with me and providing expressed input themselves.

I remember a few weeks ago when we were accused of being one sided and narrow minded about the Union Square issues. People are starting to wake up around here and see through a lot of the rouse of simplistic labeling that goes on in this community. We have seen it all. First the insiders try to co-opt you. When that doesn't work, then they move on to saying you are a conspiracy theorist. When you have multiple incidents where your logic proves credible, then they move on to attacking your character. In the end the insiders don't understand that they are losing their grip, because people are witnessing the gamesmanship and as the scams are forced into higher and higher stakes, people are going to become more and more aware, because it is affecting more and more people personally.

When times were good, people weren't forced to pinch pennies and waste to a certain extent was acceptable. Now people have had to tighten their belts and scramble to keep financially level. Some people seem to think somebody else has to take the big haircut, while they trim around the edges. In times like these, all most of us expect is fairness when it comes to shared sacrifice. That is why we have pointed to certain issues involving economic and social equitability in this community. To me, Social Justice is not the bad word that some want to make it out to be; because we are not seeking equal outcomes. We are seeking a level playing field.

I think the growth of the blog shows the awakening going on in this community and to a certain extent legitimizes the message, which in turn brings with it a level of credibility. We will not take that for granted.

I don't know what the upcoming year has in store. I don't take for granted that this blog will continue to grow and growing at 40% in 2012 certainly isn't a given. I appreciate everyone of the 57,334 views that have been granted by the perusers of this site, even when they don't see eye-to-eye with me and vise-versa. It is certainly my hope that we will all enjoy the advancement and enhancement of our lives in the year ahead. And that is the goal we will continue to work towards in the many days ahead.

Peace Be with you all!!!

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of January 3, 2012

This newsletter is about the Hickory City Council meeting that I attended this past week. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.

At right of this page under Main Information links is an Hickory's City Website link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the left of the page you will see the Agenda's and Minutes link you need to click. This will give you a choice of PDF files to upcoming and previous meetings.

You will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date.

Here is a summary of the agenda of the 1/3/2011 meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below:

Please remember that pressing Ctrl and + will magnify the text and page and pressing Ctrl and - will make the text and page smaller. This will help the readability for those with smaller screens and/or eye difficulties.

Invocation by Rev. Karla Woggon, Episcopal Church of the Ascension

Reaffirmation and Ratification of Second Readings. Votes recorded on first reading will be reaffirmed and ratified on second reading unless Council Members change their votes and so indicate on second reading.

A. Community Appearance Grant to the Hickory Elks Lodge – Non-Residential Property Located at 356 Main Avenue NW in the Amount of $5,000.00 (First Reading Vote: Unanimous)
B. Community Appearance Grant to Michael and Nora Perkett – Non-Residential Property Located at 813 Main Avenue SW in the Amount of $5,000.00 (First Reading Vote: Unanimous)
C. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 11 (First Reading Vote: Unanimous)
D. Grant Project Ordinance No. 5 (First Reading Vote: Unanimous)
E. Grant Project Ordinance Amendment No. 6 (First Reading Vote: Unanimous)
F. Approval to Enter into an Economic Development Agreement with Punker, LLC (First Reading Vote: Unanimous)

The Hound's reason why I have put the above reaffirmation and ratification items as reported in the night's agenda is to ask where the vote is that took place at the last meeting pertaining to the Canopy/Tent structure that is to be built on Union Square. The Council voted 7-0 to vote upon to move forward on that item and now it is conveniently not included in the votes that were taken from that night. There was most definitely a vote that took place that night, as I have documented on this site. As I stated, they will place this in the Consent Agenda and there will be no discussion. B-I-N-G-O, just look below in the Consent Agenda under item B. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 12, No 2. To appropriate $285,976 of Capital Reserve Parking Fund and budget for the construction of the Permanent Structure Canopy Project for Union Square. Credibility on display once again.


Consent Agenda:
A. Resolution of Intent for Petition of Hollar Hosiery Investments, LLC (James Clayton Neill, Manager) to Close a Portion of Highland Avenue, SE (Authorize Public Hearing on February 7, 2012)

B. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 12
1. To transfer $44,474 of General Fund Contingency to the Unemployment Insurance line item. This transfer is necessary to cover an unexpected increase in the City of Hickory’s annual Unemployment Insurance expense to the North Carolina Employment Security Commission.

2. To appropriate $285,976 of Capital Reserve Parking Fund and budget for the construction of the Permanent Structure Canopy Project for Union Square.


The Hound doesn't need to add any more to this than has already been alluded to over the past two weeks. If you haven't read it, I have provided the links below sequentially.

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of December 20, 2011 -- Addendum on Union Square's largest Awning yet - $285,000 - 12/21/2011
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of December 20, 2011 - 12/22/2011
Subterfuge and Obfuscation by Hickory's Insiders -- Silence DoGood - 12/27/2011
No Public Hearing for the Big Tent on Union Square - 1/2/2012


C. Capital Project Ordinance No. 1
1. To accept a $285,976 appropriation of Capital Reserve Parking Fund Balance and budget for the Construction of the Permanent Structure Canopy Project for Union Square.

Departmental Reports:
1. Report on City Council Visit to Chattanooga, Tennessee - Assistant City Manager Andrea Surratt gave the presentation. and was introduced by City Manager Mick Berry who said that 4 City Council members attended a series of conversations, visits, and tours.Ms. Surratt stated that they were visiting areas that had planned well for their downtowns, redevelopment areas, and manufacturing areas that have experienced decline.

Chattanooga has a professional full time Mayor and the Head of the County Government. They talked about branding, vacant buildings, and wayfinding. They met with a lady named Missy Crutchfield who is the administrator of the administration arts and culture department.This is a Mayor appointed position that is equivalent to the Arts Council, the DDA, and some of the education groups (Champions of Education) all lumped into one function under her direction. They have transformed Chattanooga from being one of the most dirty cities in the U.S. to being one of the greenest cities in the U.S.

They went to an area called North Shore - The Chattanooga Riverfront Story - The Tennessee Aquarium. She talked about the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge. There is a lot of mixed use there. She talked about the LED lighting there. They visited the Chattanooga  Business Development Center, which is a partnership between Chattanooga and Hamilton County. This is an incubator, which is a former manufacturing facility which is subdivided into units with central access to business needs.

Ms. Surratt talked about the multiple farmer's markets in Chattanooga and the group called Gaining Ground - (Facebook Page). She next showed a local youth hostile. She showed redeveloped areas along tyhe water front and the local aquarium. "They have a good presence about their public spaces." The last stop was the Volkswagen facility that incorporated a lot of open spaces.

Alderman Lail talked about the similarities of the MSAs of Chattanooga and Hickory. They have about the same size, but while Chattanooga's population is more centrally located around the city of Chattanooga, our population is more dispersed throughout the MSA. 150,000 people live in the City of Chattanooga, while only 40,000 people live in the City of Hickory. Alder Patton talked about the presence of corporate offices in downtown Chattanooga that made a huge difference in their downtown. They have a tremendous amount of private money available. When they want something done, they just put it out there and people jump on it. People step in and get things done to move things forward.

Alderman Lail talked about the major benefactor, the Lyndhurst family. Alder Patton talked about how there was art everywhere they went. Alderman Lail talked about what impressed him was the space that connected business owners with entrepreneurs. The Company Lab - (Facebook) connects idea people with artists. He said this space was full of energy. manager Berry spoke of a DVD that is available called Chattanooga's heroic drive and he passed it to other council members.

Alderman Lail asked Manager Berry to speak to how this is part of our process. Manager Berry spoke about how this was a different approach to the city's annual retreat. They have been to Roanoke, Burlington, Chattanooga and are looking to next go to Asheville and Greenville, SC. They will set out goals early in the Spring.

The Hound is glad that Hickory officials learned something from a city that is apparently making progress, because they aren't afraid to try some new things. Notice how they talked about a couple of specific Business Incubation Initiatives. Remember how Mayor Wright spoke out against such initiatives back in the Summer, because they compete against existing business.

I think it is great how this Council has great back and forth dialogue and brings more color to presentations and conversations when the Mayor isn't present. Maybe this isn't the Mayor's fault, but every time a Mayor Pro-Tem presides over a City Council meeting, the Council sure does perk up and bring some energy into their public deliberations.

Alder Patton stated, with some of the art, that a Chattanooga representative said that some people (1/3) are just deadset against anything, 1/3 love it, and another 1/3 take a wait and see approach. I think that is the dynamic of Hickory, but I also think a lot of those "deadset against" people serve in positions of power in our city. I don't think that can be said for most of you who read the Hound. We are definitely in favor of progressive actions.

What we are against is manipulations of process that take away the citizens' ability to have any input in the decision making process. The narrow mindedness doesn't come from people wanting to participate in local governance. It comes from people who don't respect the intelligence of the local citizens to make informed decisions and some governors work harder to keep people from being able to participate than if they would allow them onto the playing field. We have too many of the local governing decision makers that want to shape decisions towards their personal desires, instead of through consensus as to what is best for the entire community.

We also need local business stakeholders to realize that they have a selfless role to play if they want to revitalize the local marketplace. Look at what they espoused about Chattanooga's businesses investing in these projects. I hope that Council learned something here and doesn't take it as, "That's nice, but we can't do that in Hickory," because we can do this exact paradigm in Hickory.

Citizens Requesting to be Heard



Larry Pope once again comes before the Council. Mr. Pope talked about the lack of respect given to a citizen of the city. He goes on to address issues involving inaccessibility to his vision impairment involving the site construction of the "Canopy Structure" on Union Square. There are several problems due to how the square has been roped off for the building of the Farmer's Market "Canopy Structure" area.

Larry also spoke about the City Administration's policy of charging 25-cents per page for copies of public information that have been requested, 10-cents is reasonable. It is unreasonable that the city should be charging that much and the only reason they are is to try to make the costs for information requests cost prohibitive. The city has stated that part of the costs is to pay for administrative workers time involved in making copies. We shouldn't be paying for city workers to do what is supposed to be part of their job. 

City Manager Berry stated that Ms. Arnita Dula (the city staff attorney) had placed the letter in the mail and he didn't know why Mr. Pope hadn't received it. He stated that he delivered a letter to the City of Hickory pertaining to the issue and was supposed to hear back within 10 days, but has not yet heard back and the deadline would have been Saturday. Mr. Pope stated that Mr. Berry should understand why he wouldn't take his word for it when the City has told so many untruths in the past. He is asked to put requests in writing, which he has others do due to his visual impairment. He talked about how the city talks about tight budgets, but has plenty of staff on hand and Mr. Berry has a new secretary in his office. He wondeers why the city can never find money to do things when it is needed, but when they want something, like the Farmer's Market building, they can find it.

Mr. Pope talked about what has gone on in the recent past and stated that it is obvious that the City (administration) is going to do what it wants to do. Why is it alright to spend money on this structure on Union Square, but it wasn't alright to spend money to fix the swimming pools in the poor and minority areas in South Hickory?

No Public Hearing for the Big Tent on Union Square

You can go look at the Agenda for City Council meeting to be held on Tuesday night January 3, 2012. The appropriations for the "Canopy Structure" has been placed in the Consent Agenda. So once again you see that our "Conspiracy Theory" once again ends up being "Conspiracy Fact." Including the appropriations at the airport, they have now designated spending on short term projects right at $500,000, with no public discussion, in the past two weeks.

It would feel good to be right if this weren't another travesty of the Democratic Process, but Hickory most definitely has the governance it deserves. I'm not going any further into this, because I would only be forced to repeat myself for the 1,000+ time. Everyone that is paying attention knows what the deal is.


B. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 12 (Exhibit VI.B.)
1. To transfer $44,474 of General Fund Contingency to the Unemployment Insurance line item. This transfer is necessary to cover an unexpected increase in the City of Hickory’s annual Unemployment Insurance expense to the North Carolina Employment Security Commission.
2. To appropriate $285,976 of Capital Reserve Parking Fund and budget for the construction of the Permanent Structure Canopy Project for Union Square.

C. Capital Project Ordinance No. 1 (Exhibit VI.C.)
1. To accept a $285,976 appropriation of Capital Reserve Parking Fund Balance and budget for the Construction of the Permanent Structure Canopy Project for Union Square.

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- January 1, 2012

Happy New Year. Welcome to another year. Let's work hard to turn this thing around. It won't happen without action. It won't happen without effort. There are no easy answers and no knights in shining armor. The sooner everyone realizes that, the sooner we can correct the problems we face.

China, Japan to Back Direct Trade of Currencies - Bloomberg - By Toru Fujioka - December 26, 2011 - Japan and China will promote direct trading of the yen and yuan without using dollars and will encourage the development of a market for companies involved in the exchanges, the Japanese government said. Japan will also apply to buy Chinese bonds next year, allowing the investment of renminbi that leaves China during the transactions, the Japanese government said in a statement after a meeting between Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing yesterday. Encouraging direct yen- yuan settlement should reduce currency risks and trading costs, the Japanese and Chinese governments said.


How wealth of members of Congress has TRIPLED in 25 years - while average U.S. family has suffered a DROP in their worth - Daily Mail (UK) - David Richards - December 27, 2011 -

• Median net worth of member of Congress rose from $280,000 to $725,000 between 1984 and 2009
• Over same 25 years the wealth of the average U.S. family slipped from $20,500 from $20,600

From captains of industry to former finance executives members of Congress have always been richer than their fellow Americans. The reasons put forward for their wealth now include the high cost of entering politics in the first place as well as inheriting wealth and marrying into money. Protected from the economic ravages faced by the rest of the population the lawmakers are now edging into the '1 percenter' income group attacked by the Occupy Wall Street protesters. The anti-corporation protesters have given voice to rising concerns over banker bonuses, unemployment and distribution of wealth. The movement which began in New York in September - and marked its 100th day of protests last week - has spread to cities across the U.S. and across the world. While the rise in lawmaker's wealth might not attract controversy when times are good it starts to become an issue when times are tough....

The New York Times' report into the wealth of members of Congress found that they were also getting rich compared with affluent Americans. It found that the median net worth of members of Congress rose 15 per cent from 2004 to 2010 as the net worth of the richest 10 per cent of the country remained for the most part flat.



3.5 Million Homeless and 18.5 Million Vacant Homes in the US - Occupy America - Diane Sweet - December 30, 2011 - In the last few days, the U.S. government census figures have revealed that 1 in 2 Americans have fallen into poverty or are struggling to live on low incomes. And we know that the financial hardships faced by our neighbors, colleagues, and others in our communities will be all the more acutely felt over the holiday season.             Along with poverty and low incomes, the foreclosure rate has created its own crisis situation as the number of families removed from their homes has skyrocketed.                  Since 2007, banks have foreclosed around eight million homes. It is estimated that another eight to ten million homes will be foreclosed before the financial crisis is over. This approach to resolving one part of the financial crisis means many, many families are living without adequate and secure housing. In addition, approximately 3.5 million people in the U.S. are homeless, many of them veterans. It is worth noting that, at the same time, there are 18.5 million vacant homes in the country.                 The stark realities that persist mean that millions of families will be facing the holidays in temporary homes, or homes under threat, and far too many children will be wishing for an end to the uncertainty and distress their family is facing rather than an Xbox or Barbie doll.            
Housing is a basic human need and a fundamental human right. Yet every day in the United States, banks are foreclosing on more than 10,000 mortgages and ordering evictions of individuals and families residing in foreclosed homes. The U.S. government’s steps to address the foreclosure crisis to date have been partial at best.             The depth and severity of the foreclosure crisis is a clear illustration of the urgent need for the U.S. government to put in place a system that respects, protects and fulfills human rights, including the right to housing. This includes implementing real protections to ensure that other actors, such as financial institutions, do not undermine or abuse human rights.



Young people using 'no stigma' solution of insolvency as record numbers are hit by the crippling cost of living - Mail Online - Becky Barrow - December 30, 2011 - Young people addicted to the ‘have now, pay later’ culture, or who cannot cope with the crippling cost of living, are being plunged into insolvency in record numbers, official figures revealed yesterday.            The shocking figures, from the Government’s Insolvency Service, said more young people are taking out a new type of insolvency than any other age group.                   Since the Debt Relief Order was introduced in April 2009, one in four have been taken out by a young person between the age of 25 and 34.....           In their late twenties and early thirties, many of their parents had got married, bought a home, had children and started to build up a pension.              But their children, who are now grown-up, have no chance of getting onto the property ladder, have large debts and little chance of being able to afford to pay into a pension.               Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, the debt advisers, said: ‘Many struggling 25 to 34-year-olds might have expected to be further up the financial ladder by now.             ‘At the same age, their parents would most likely have bought their first home, have a comfortable pension lined up and be saving for the future.                  ‘For today’s 25 to 34-year-olds, the picture is much bleaker.’            She said their debt situation is made worse by the fact that many young people took out debts, hoping that pay rises in future years would mean they could easily pay them off.                   In reality, millions of workers have seen their pay either frozen since the start of the recession in 2008, or have received paltry pay rises which are far below inflation............


Foreigners Dump Record Amount Of US Treasuries In Past Month - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - 12/30/2011 - With year end fund flows making absolutely no sense for the most part, thank you global central planning, as the euro plunges and the market refuses to follow, with risk assets rising on speculation the ECB (and/or Fed) are about to restart printing yet gold collapsing (on one or two hedge funds liquidating, yet econ PhDs already rewriting their theses on why the "gold bubble has popped"), and finally with Treasurys soaring to near all time highs (10 Year under 1.9% yesterday even as stocks surged on data from the National Advertisers of Realtors, aka NAR, of all fraudulent and corrupt entities), here is the latest observation to make the confusion complete. As the Fed's critical H.4.1 weekly update shows (which is leaps and bounds more accurate than the Treasury's TIC international fund flow data), in the week ended December 28, foreign investors sold the second highest amount of US bonds in history, or $23 billion, bringing total UST custodial holdings to $2.67 trillion, a level first crossed to the upside back in April. This number peaked at $2.75 trillion in mid-August, and as the chart below shows the foreign holdings of US paper have been virtually flat in all of 2011, something which is in stark contrast with what the price of the 10 Year would indicate vis-a-vis investor demand. And going back further, the last week is merely the latest in a series of Custodial account outflows. In fact, in the last month (trailing 4 weeks), foreigners have sold a record $69 billion in US paper, a monthly outflow that was approached only once - in the aftermath of the US downgrade (when erroneously it is said that a surge in demand for US paper pushed rates lower - obviously as the chart shows nothing could be further from the truth)....


As '11 Ends, 11 Charts Of 11 Disturbing 11 Year Trends - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - 12/30/2011 - Please Go check out the charts from this submission


Annual New Year's Eve economic forecast with Karl Denninger-On the Edge with Max Keiser-12-30-2011

The Trends for 2012

We have been at this for a while now. Including the original Letters to the Editor in the local Paper, we are entering the 6th year of providing information on all levels of government and society. We have grown fairly well over this time. Sure, I wish we could grow faster and certainly this sometimes feels like a daunting task, but through persistence and perseverance, we will continue pushing forward through 2012.

What worries me is people's denial. I don't mind being labeled, but folks what good does it do you to throw out simplistic labels with no definition. People with ideas that you don't understand aren't radicals. People that will kill you, maim you, and imprison you are radicals. People with ideas that you don't agree with are people with another point of view. They might have a different perspective. They might be prescient. They might be on the cutting edge. Maybe you are the person with the problem.

When I listen to others and look at all of the inputs, I have a feeling that if you feel that 2011 was a wild ride, well you ain't seen nuthin' yet. It doesn't look like the real economy is turning around. Sure they can spin the job numbers, but the number one trend that I see involving society is that paper means nothing. Paper is not a valuable physical asset. Go write an IOU to a friend and then tear it up. Promissory notes, Deeds, and anything that must be notarized is still paper and it can easily be deemed worthless if all hell breaks loose. When the Government provides you a promise it is only as good as their word and that changes with the wind. It is the same thing when any Incorporated Entity (Including the Government) provides you with statistical data... Garbage in, Garbage out... Liars, Damned Liars, and Fools. GET OUT OF PAPER!!!

The next piece of advice that you should heed is to quit getting your information from media who do not provide in depth information. If you come to me and tell me that you heard something from a television news broadcast, then I will consider it hearsay. Most information provided on this blog is multi-sourced. Local investigative information is sometimes not, but it is either eye-witnessed or comes from reliable sources who I have been able to trust. I also separate events from opinion. You don't get that, for the most part, from electronic media. My job as an information source is to point to subjects, hopefully  pique your curiosity, point to other sources, and hope that you will inform yourself and maybe become a source point for me and this network in the future.

Why do I think that the upcoming year will be a wild ride?

1) Election in chaos - Most people are not satisfied with President Obama. His approval rating is in the low 40% range and his disapproval is in the upper 40% to over 50% range. That should mean real difficulties for him with 7+ months to the Convention and 10 months to the election, but the Republicans have no clear frontrunner and most candidates down in the 20% range. People are very dissatisfied with their choices and this dissatifaction is going to lead to anger as the economy continues to faulter.

2) The Government can't paper over the Depression anymore. In the past 3 years, we have seen the National Debt increased by $4.5 trillion from $10.6 trillion to the current $15.1 trillion and Obama is asking for an increase in the debt ceiling to $16.8 trillion. The Debt Ceiling had just been increased by $2.4 trillion on July 31, 2011. So, we have basically blown through $2.4 trillion in 5 months. That should logically tell you when you add things up that we are running a $5.76 trillion dollar deficit (12months in a year/5 months since July* $2.4 trillion), at least...  And are you feeling any improvement in the economy? A Ponzi Scheme by any other name is still a Ponzi Scheme. We are on a Parabolic Curve of Debt with no purpose. In the end it will break our currency and it will leave the economy in tatters.

3) No control over the economy - What I expressed to you above should scare the living bejesus out of you, but what is even scarier is that the government which is supposed to represent us has no control over our currency, because it has no control over the monetary supply. The Federal Reserve can manipulate the currency in any way it sees fit and The Federal Reserve is not an Entity of the United States Government. It is a Cartel that represents the handfull of megabanks that basically rule the economic world. To understand where we are today go read Ben Bernanke's speech before the National Economic Club on November 21, 2002 entitled Deflation - Making sure it doesn't happen here. We are at the mercy of a man's self-fulfilling theory. He is debasing the currency upon exactly what is expressed in this speech.

4) If you can't control the economy, then you have to control the people - If Fed Chairman Bernanke's prophecy above is fulfilled, then you are going to see a debasement of the currency along the lines of the scheme pulled by the Federal Reserve in 1933 in conjunction with Franklin Roosevelt's administration. People were made to turn in their gold. On April 5, 1933, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, which ordered people to turn in their gold to the government at payment of $20.67 per ounce. Shortly after issuing his order, Roosevelt increased the price to $35 an ounce. That is a 69.3% debasement of the currency that happened in one fell swoop. We have already seen inflation take hold in commodities. Look at the increases in the price of food, precious metals, and fuel that have taken place over the last several years. You are the boiling frog. and the water is simmering. People are going to get angry and the government is going to attempt to control the dissent through their Homeland Security mechanism. They have taken advantage of the fear created after 9/11 and fostered it. They never cared about protecting the American people. They have only cared about protecting the government. Big Brother is watching over you. Does that make you feel better?

5) The World in turmoil - What happens with fuel prices if the fuse is lit with Iran. I see people everywhere saying that we should go ahead and fight Iran. What about the shaky situation with China. The United States and the mega corporations turned China into the giant it is today. Some of it was done to neutralize the power of the USSR, but much of it was done to offshore our manufacturing economy in the name of cheap labor and huge profits for the Wall Streeters. Now, China has made deals with Russia, India, and Japan to make direct economic trades without utilizing the US Dollar as a reserve currency. That does not bode well for the Dollar, but why should the Dollar be the Reserve Currency with the way it has been manipulated?

The Hound summarizes: It is hard to see from the darkness when you have your head firmly entrenched in your backside. I began the year by listening to an older gentleman waxing nostalgic about the glory days of yesteryear. How he liked the way things were and how we just need to tweak around the edges to get back to what we had. He didn't like the idea of transformation.

What this gentleman fails to realize is that we are not the transformers. What he is witnessing is evolution. We do not make the changes. We are chasing the evolution of the planet attempting to adapt in order to survive. We will either figure out a way to survive or we won't survive. It is as simple as that. So you can stand in the way of this evolutionary process, but if you fail to figure out how to ride this wave, then it is going to squash you like a bug. If you are scared, get out of the way. Do not impede the rest of us from trying to figure this thing out. 'Tis better to get in the back and ride than to drive us face first into the wave.

No Fear Baby!!! No Fear!

The top stories from the Hickory Hound in 2011

Stories Involving Hickory and the Metro Area

Governor Perdue's former assistant Morganton Attorney Juleigh Sitton indicted on Felony Campaign charges - November 28, 2011

Morganton Shenanigans - Wide Ranging & Far Reaching Implications - September 1, 2011

What is Going on at Hickory City Hall?!?!? - September 6, 2011

Do people even know? Hickory Airport Operators (River Hawk Aviation) in Bankruptcy - June 18, 2011

North Carolina Congressional Redistricting plan renders Hickory Irrelevant - July 6, 2011

Will Hickory Airport Operators be forced to liquidate -- and why is no one talking about this?!?!? - September 16, 2011

Legislative Issues/ Economic Outlook Forum - January 20, 2011 - January 23, 2011

WOW!!! - Greater Hickory Rated as the 6th Saddest Metro Area in the United States - March 17, 2011

The 4 categories of people who live in our area in relation to Politics and Power - October 10. 2011

City of Hickory takes over operations at Airport - River Hawk Aviation OUT - December 9, 2011



Stories of National and International Significance

Gadaffi's Stash - Money Laundering - U.S. MegaBanks - Business as Usual - March 7, 2011

An Economy Out of Control - February 21, 2011

The Food Crisis -- February 19, 2011 - February 19, 2011

The Impending Collapse of JP Morgan - March 5, 2011


Stories of a Non-Political Nature


Where are the UNC Board of Governors? - (Part 2) - Everybody knows "The Carolina Way" - July 1, 2011

Rick Barnes: NC State and Hickory need you to come home - March 20, 2011

My letter to the UNC Board of Governors about the UNC-CH Football Scandal - July 7, 2011

Catawba County's Bobby Lutz helping restore basketball Tradition at NC State - April 11, 2011