Stefan Molyneux

I think it's kind of a false dichotomy to say that if two men talk about men's issues, this somehow takes away from women's issues. If that's not true, then there's no harm focusing on men's issues – if it is true, then since feminism has not been talking about men's issues very much over the past few decades, I think your beef would be more with feminism than with people talking about men's issues. I also don't think that it's true that women as a whole will be alienated by men talking about their thoughts and feelings.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWduCHFvq-Q] https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/WBLNL_TO57Wl9zMrsi792pjcIg8NCIHLxxJto5J4QGYsbtWKr-wdrdospFZVE1up_YgNnRT7mNiNxVsvhwxv4s18LPDF626J-H8MCz7ygN2v6a90BfhnThzn Completely Pathetic: Link Link Linkhttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/hh7AhjwS5ydkCkK3aG155BbcO2M9Q48Fy5TUaODAJqU2NikWpx3cR4sSllg0tWvUignF5najeqwQBvvlcd_8RzdPlqL08SIPHY8qxAAf9S9CgIBOn-txb_XS Link http://www.whoownstheworld.com/about-the-book/largest-landowner/ Random interesting facts: Link Automatic cuts will be borne over seven months and Congress can stop them at any time if the two parties agrees on how to do so. Link March 27th Deadline Unless Congress agrees to extend funding by March 27, the federal government will shut down. Since October 2010, the federal government has been funded by a series of “continuing resolutions,” temporary extensions of current discretionary spending on programs, other than mandatory entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare and some defense spending. The current measure, passed in October 2012, runs out March 27, meaning Congress is slated for another continuing resolution before then. Visualizing what $100 million in cuts look like with pennies Visualizing what $17 billion in cuts looks like as water in a bucket Link The Trend is continuing, cuts or no cuts Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)—Increase in government revenues during his tenure: 65 percent; increase in government spending: 69 percent; total GDP growth: 75 percent; national debt at the end of his presidency: $2.9 trillion George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)—Revenue increase: 16 percent; spending increase: 23 percent; GDP growth: 22 percent; national debt: $4.4 trillion Bill Clinton (1993–2001)—Revenue increase: 72 percent; spending increase: 32 percent; GDP growth: 54 percent; national debt: $5.8 trillion George W. Bush (2001–2009)—Revenue increase: 6 percent; spending increase: 89 percent; GDP growth: 36 percent; national debt: $11.9 trillion Barack Obama (first term, 2009–2013)—Revenue increase: 38 percent; spending increase: 8 percent; GDP growth: 15 percent (estimated): national debt: $16.5 trillion. Link Washington can’t even cut non-essential spending Last year, the president proposed 210 cuts to save $24 billion in a year, which included eliminating a redundant Air Force satellite system and an entire fleet of C-27J cargo airplanes that the Pentagon didn't need. Similarly, both Presidents Bush and Obama wanted to pull funding for a non-essential agriculture program that made digital versions of public TV broadcasts for a rural audience. The funding still continues. Link More often, congress can make non-essential spending worse In 2011, for instance, Obama suggested scrapping Voice of America's radio broadcast in China, because studies showed few people were listening. But House Republicans wanted to send the program an additional $14 million to keep it on air. What do they affect? Link The cuts, known as the "sequester," will take $85bn from the US federal budget between Saturday and October 1. Link The US government is the nation's largest employer, with a workforce of roughly 2.7 million civilians spread across the country. If the cuts stay in place, more than 800,000 of those workers could see reduced work days and smaller paychecks between now and September. Link Pentagon -13% The Pentagon will be forced to slice 13 percent of its budget between now and September 30 Link Various Domestic Programmes” get -9% Link Gloom and Doom! (Reuters) - Delays of four hours or more at airports. - Exasperating wait times for people, and goods, crossing America's borders. - Reduced paychecks for thousands of civilians employed by the Pentagon. - The U.S. Coast Guard, crippled in its patrols of U.S. waters. - Meat shortages, thanks to cutbacks in food inspections. - Teachers of low-income children and special-education students losing their jobs. Link Air Traffic Controllers "There are going to be delays as a result of a reduction in man-hours and personnel among our air-traffic controllers," Carney said. Link Coast Guard "The Coast Guard will reduce its presence in the Arctic by a third," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared at a White House briefing on Monday. Link Homeland Security We will curtail our air and surface operations by more than 25 percent, affecting management of the nation's waterways, as well as fisheries enforcement, drug interdiction and migrant interdiction." Link Safety Net Untouched ...roughly $85 billion from about 30 percent of the programs funded by the government. The sequestration plan enacted by Congress in August 2011 left the rest of the $3.7 trillion U.S. budget untouched, including the Social Security program for retirees and the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs for seniors and the poor. What is the stated point of them? Why are they happening now? Link Automatic cuts cutting $85 billion in federal programs under the automatic "sequestration" cuts scheduled to take effect at 11:59 p.m. on Friday Link Sequestration debut The sequestration plan enacted by Congress in August 2011 When do they go into effect? Link Between Saturday and October 1 Link Nothing Specific "There's no calendar of dates for specific actions or cuts on specific dates," Department of Health and Human Services public affairs officer Bill Hall told ABC News. Some cuts won't be felt for a while because they have to do with government layoffs, which require 30 days notice, in most cases. Are more cuts planned for the future? Link From Medicare savings to tax revenues, the latest budget from President Obama includes scenarios that almost certainly will never play out... (CNN MONEY) Phantom savings from Medicare The 2013 budget forecasts Medicare savings of around $48 billion a year by the end of the 10-year window. The projections correctly assume that the famous "doc fix," which is scheduled to lower physician payments by around 30% each year, will not occur, Congress always kills the provision Made up future spending cuts divergent from 40 year trend The budget projects that discretionary spending will fall 22% from 2013 levels, adjusted for inflation, to 3.4% of GDP, by 2022. That's far below the 40-year average of 4.7%, and a figure only reached or breached in seven years over that period. Made up Growth The budget reckons that GDP will expand at 2.7% this year, and 3% next year, then cruise at around 4% from 2015 to 2017. But those numbers are a lot higher than the scenario most forecasters expect. The CBO predicts far lower growth for 2012 and 2013 Interest rates need to stay low, but will they? Today, the U.S. is paying an average interest rate of just 2.1% on the $11.6 trillion in debt in the hands of investors. That's one-third of the average of 6.5% since 1986. To keep interest payments down, the Treasury has systematically reduced the average maturity on its bonds to benefit from the extremely low yields on short-term notes. Today, almost 60% of all U.S. debt needs to be repaid within four years. (Where is the money for the 60%!?!). Everything is possible through made up Interest rates What's far less convincing is the forecast for longer-term rates. The budget sees ten-year bond yields rising gradually to 5.3% over ten years. That's 0.5 points below the 30-year average. It's also highly possible, if not probable, that future rates will be above the norm because of America's elevated level of debt, even the level that the budget predicts. Consequences: If the average rate on America's mountainous, $19.5 trillion in debt is one point above the prediction, add $200 billion to the deficit. At two points, it's $400 billion, and the budget gap jumps far over $1 trillion once again. If rates rise more rapidly than predicted, the debt will also be far higher, compounding the problem. What are people’s reactions? Do they actually do any significant good? Link Cuts? More like reduced growth! ...the federal budget, excluding interest payments, will still grow by $13 billion in 2013 and $1.8 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The cuts, which will hit each year for a decade if they aren’t replaced, mostly eat away at projected increased spending, not the prior year’s level of outlays. All the same, some programs will see authentic cuts. The sequester slashed discretionary items like environmental protection and education by $72 billion, or 5.6 percent. But by 2019 this category of spending will once again be higher than it was in 2012. Link Mr.Don Dodge from Google writes...Amazing US Budget in personal terms; Income $24,690 minus Spending of $37,950 = New Debt 13,260. Existing credit card debt $143,000, Budget cuts so far $38. Would any reasonable person propose $38 of spending cuts when they are overspending by $13, 260, and already in debt by more than $143K? Oh, and the proposed US budget cut numbers are over 10 YEARS. The impact on the deficit for 2013 is insignificant. We will still have a huge annual deficit, and add at least $1 Trillion more to the long term debt. This insanity is hard to understand unless it is reduced to personal terms like above. It has been going on for 50 years, and has reached crisis proportions. Time to get serious before we end up like Greece, Italy, or worse. Link Not completely Recent but still very informative: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/A8UH3gEqL3kZR2tYpqT9mGt_sVUhkZrym0wtFXOhEZmPbX119R75u5OGuo4Ea-ABOua_Qy5FyhIsXpb2UOJ05K4zWEsCAjVh-XW_R_Mew4Dqhf9bA4i7wEOR Link Slightly Slowing the Acceleration of the Acceleration... “ Tens of billions do indeed sound enormous. They are not,” wrote Gartman, author of The Gartman Letter. “They are lost at the right of the decimal point in this stunningly large budget proposal.” The U.S. budget deficit has grown significantly in the past year, causing growing alarm among investors and economists. The deficit hit $188.2 billion in March, up $65.4 billion from the prior year. http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.ca/2013/03/obscene-government-waste.html

[video coming soon] List of Scandinavian Countries: Norway Sweden Denmark Other Semi Socialist Countries to look into: Finland Switzerland Canada Arguments structure for presentation: 1. If socialism and big government are so bad, then why are scandinavian countries so successful relative to other first world countries like the U.S or countries in Europe? Are they really so much better? - Some things are much better in the US. - In January 09, right after the banking crisis, Unemployment was at 9.8% in Sweden vs 7.3% in the U.S Link Link Is their socialist style government really more controlling than other governments? - Scandinavian countries don’t have to run an empire - Scandinavian countries, while being social-democratic, are all more economically free than the US in many ways - Large section of schools are privatized as well as in social security The Nasa effect. Have they really built their wealth on the Socialist model or has this model been introduced after the wealth? - Scandinavian countries were built on laissez faire capitalism and have declined since the introduction and implementation of their massive welfare state - The creation of large swedish companies has halted since the 70’s accompanied by the lowest rate of self employment in the OCED 2. Why have some scandinavian social-democratic states been so successful relative to democratic countries during the crisis. Increases of Freedom through the Recession - Certain taxes have been cut and some have increased their level of economic freedom through various means during the latest recession: “Among the 160 countries studied in the Index of Economic Freedom, Sweden ranks 21st, and is one of the few countries that increased its economic freedoms during the financial crisis” LInk High Savings - Sweden went to the recession with a surplus Link - Norway saves a lot of its oil money for the future Link [/font]Faster Growth in the U.S https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/oVSxvwLh0RrMsOfrNXo5Ik29F-cXC-mzDVvKQsuTVSkgw0KYBZpNFNISmdDceEt0GuGK-EuK6qqQ9P7nhXit-iIORPxxAxH9yDdL_tOd0ehbfShwY5tk Link [/font]Americans Enjoy More Output and Higher Standard of Living[/font][/font][/font][/font] [/font] Link [/font]Nordic Countries Have Lower Corporate Tax Rates Link [/font]Nordic Countries used have competitive taxes rates with the U.S [/font] Link [/font]Despite being Heavily Taxed, Nordic Nations enjoy, relative to other countries, very high amounts of Economic Freedomhttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qIdZIVUKmbeFTFLXsPRNlbmult0MmvhBEUkA_Qkd34unJOiqAS4ABVS-iIQRXGJDTnQpCckbeiBczhV2u0m5klpOFX_W7APvnlpQkFCoBO4w5Z9mGJU[/font] Link [/font]Living Standards are Greater in the U.S [/font]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/U2J-fcSXcSMnwV60uinuCH7tjRC6pIz_ePcM4L9W-l5bHeZqScGgQnDYSgkm2tX3toZveONmGf8yA-RW9ZmsWA9SFuKCbKfjGxcmc2NzloGcpxdEehs Link [/font]Increase in Government Spending leads to Lower Growthhttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/5b1Q8-DY67OnOKPOBnvRhk3c_CBweqvHfoqytv_qeTQ2Cj58hgfESKvOJq56osUsKGa_c_54-je7G0-qu6tFg4_KydPq3akeTNQ6jSr_S0u0WumsPOw [/font] Link [/font]Swedish GDP has been dropping since the 50’s https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/pX8sVeqzW68mIOlQTK-2mDodVGuoy4R-owxU4Vlb_aNdzBFwUMFlVggNLkNng6IHYlZ09h0KtdQaRGSKSFN43_-7eGjsZF1FDr9NGDHlJm8mkvv8pPq9Jxqi Link [/font]The Rise in the Government State did not bring prosperity but exactly the opposite https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/0l--IvV6S08A7C3JLNumPPx5SrzbrJfxu83mHJYw2Ay-v2lvD_eRonCT4ZelG8jcjo0u3S2Gwx3uRlCzR4BtdiTmVIQ2KzBlvq6GOuWFS-GXhXaxZDjuHSs1 Link Ease of doing Business Index[/font][/font] [/font][/font][/font][/font][/font] [/font] 0) Leads Relative to household in the United States, Swedish family income is considerably less between 1980 and 1999. In fact, the study concludes, average income in Sweden is less than average income for black Americans, which comprise the lowest-income socioeconomic group in this country. The research came from the Swedish Institute of Trade They have open markets, low levels of regulation, strong property rights, stable[/font] currencies, and many other policies associated with growth and prosperity. Indeed, Nordic nations generally rank among the world’s most market-oriented nations. And both Iceland and[/font] Sweden have partially privatized their social security retirement systems. Why are Nordic nations relatively rich?[/font] Has the welfare state has helped or hindered these countries’ economic performance? The Nordic nations also deserve attention for important reforms. Iceland, for instance, has a flat tax (albeit with a 36 percent rate), personal retirement accounts, and quasi-privatized fisheries. Sweden, meanwhile, has an extensive school choice system and personal retirement accounts.[/font] 1. A nation with a big welfare state needs to compensate with ultra-free market policies in other areas if it wants economic growth. Denmark may not be enjoying strong economic performance, but it does reasonably well, particularly compared to some other European nations. The lesson to learn is that a nation that is screwing up on one policy – such as Denmark with fiscal policy – needs to be very careful not to allow mistakes in other areas. 2. An even more important lesson to understand is that Denmark waited until it became a rich nation before it adopted the welfare state. Indeed, this is the story of just about every North American and Western European nation. The burden of government spending didn’t explode until the 1960s. This is important because there is a relationship in the academic literature, known as Wagner’s Law, which revolves around the tendency for rich nations to have big governments. Some people naively conclude that this means big governments lead to more prosperity. But this puts the cart before the horse. Denmark and other western nations became rich first, and then government expanded. 1) Debt Link [/font]Norway was successful through the financial crisis [/font] During the height of financial meltdown in 2008, Norway actually grew by 2.2 percent. Link [/font]Norway has kept a relatively low debt to GDP ratio at 49.6% it’s less than half of the U.S’s 102.9% Link [/font]Anti-Debt: Norway saves lots of oil money for future generations Norway shines especially brightly: unlike Britain, it is saving its North Sea oil and gas revenues into a sovereign wealth fund, now worth 2.384 trillion kroner (£228bn), or 1.4 times its GDP. Only 4% of the fund goes into the national budget, the rest is saved for future generations. 2) Socialization Level Link [/font]Government Employment Levels[/font] On average, the share of state employment in total dependent employment across Scandinavia is 32.7%, compared to only 18.5% in the non-Scandinavian countries of the EU-15.” 16 In the United States, government workers account for slightly more than 15 percent of the workforce. Link [/font]Nordic Countries have Lower Corporate Tax Rates ...every Nordic nation enjoys a lower corporate tax rate than the United States. Corporate income in the United States is taxed at 39.3 percent, while the tax rate in Nordic nations is no higher than 28 percent. Link [/font]Nordic Countries rank high in Ease of doing business rankings [/font] Another measurement that reveals a similar pattern is the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index, which measures the amount of bureaucracy and regulation one has to put up with when starting and running a business in any given country. Here too, the Scandinavian countries score in the top 10s and 20s 3) Health care 4) Income Link [/font]2007 U.S has higher income than Nordic countries - Per capita GDP in the United States is more than 15 percent higher than it is in the Nordic nations. - The average person in Nordic nations has barely 51 percent as much private consumption as an average American. - Norwegians are the most prosperous, but even their private consumption is just 56 percent of U.S. levels. Both the Swedes and the Finns have less than 50 percent of the private consumption of average Americans. 5) How they’ve fared through the economic crisis and reasons as to why they’ve done so well. 6) Education and High School Graduation rate Link A Significant Portion of Swedish Schools have been Privatized Since the change was introduced in 1992 by a center-right government that briefly replaced the long-governing Social Democrats, the numbers have shot up. In 1992, 1.7% of high schoolers and 1% of elementary schoolchildren were privately educated. Now the figures are 17% and 9%. Link Uk private educated kids Around 7% of children in the country are privately educated Link USA privately educated kids = 10% 7) Welfare/ Warfare Link [/font]Nordic countries have much lower military spending 2011: Military Expenditure by percent of GDP US: 4.7 Norway: 1.6 Sweden: 1.3 Finland: 1.5 Switzerland: 0.9 Denmark: 1.5 Canada: 1.4 8) Family Single parenthood 9) Crime, Incarceration Rate, Levels of Violence 10) Degrees of freedom compared to the U.S Link Sweden has more free market than the U.S Sweden would be more free market than the United States in the Economic Freedom of the World rankings. In recent years, policy makers have abolished both the death tax and the wealth tax. And the corporate tax rate has been reduced significantly below the U.S. level. Link Sweden has more free market than the U.S #2 ...first international ranking of property rights, for instance, the United States trails the four Nordic nations in the survey. 39 Norway is number one, Sweden and Denmark are tied for third, and Finland ranks number 11—all above the number 14 ranking for the United States. Link Economic Freedom of The World Annual Report Freedom = Wealth and High Standard of Living - Nations in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per-capita GDP of $37,691 in 2010, compared to $5,188 for bottom quartile nations in 2010 current international dollars - In the top quartile, the average income of the poorest 10% was $11,382, compared to $1,209 in the bottom in 2010 current international dollars. - Life expectancy is 79.5 years in the top quartile compared to 61.6 years in the bottom quartile. Link Sweden abolishes Wealth tax while U.S is Performs the Opposite Fredrik Reinfeldt, Sweden’s youthful 42-year-old prime minister, who won elections last September, said a proposal to eradicate the 1.5 per cent tax on personal wealth About 77% of American households would see a tax increase compared to their 2012 tax levels, according to the analysis by the Tax Policy Center, Link Link1 [/font]Link2 [/font]Denmark has High Taxes but makes up for its Economic Freedom in other Areas 1) Conversely, Denmark has a very bad tax system, but it has very free market policies in other areas, so it ranks 15 out of 141 countries. (Economic Freedom of the World Ranking index) 2) * Denmark ranks 113th for fiscal policy in the Economic Freedom of the Worldreport. But...Unlike the U.S... * Denmark is the 5th best nation in the world for protecting property rights and maintaining a sound legal structure. * Denmark is the 11th best nation in the world for avoiding over-regulation of credit, labor, and business. * Denmark is the 24th best nation in the world for sound money. * Denmark is the 25th best nation in the world for freedom to trade across borders. * Because very few nations have consistently good scores in all these categories, Denmark ranks 4th among all nations when you combine these important measures of a free market economy, surpassed only by Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand. 11) Historical Advantages Link [/font]Sweden and Switzerland have stayed out of wars Another factor which continued Swedish prosperity was the fact that Sweden was able to stay out of both World Wars, and indeed all other wars as well. Sweden is in fact the country with the longest consecutive period of peace, having fought no war since 1809 Sweden has thus enjoyed 5 more years of peace than Switzerland, which participated in the Napoleonic wars in 1814. Link Self-imposed, permanent, and armed, designed to ensure external security. Switzerland is the second oldest neutral country in the world; it has not fought a foreign war since its neutrality was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1815. Link [/font]Low government spending in the 1950s in Sweden and also one of the most powerful economies Even in the early 1950s, Sweden was still one of the freest economies in the world, and government spending relative to GDP was in fact below the American level. Sweden had the highest per-capita income growth in the world between 1870 and 1950, by which time Sweden had become one of the world's richest countries, behind only the United States and Switzerland, and Denmark 12) Miscellaneous Link [/font]Levels of government Nordic vs U.S [/font] The public sector in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland consumes, on average, more than 48 percent of economic output. Total government outlays in the United States, by contrast, are less than 37 percent of gross domestic product. Revenue comparisons are even more striking. Tax receipts average more than 45 percent of GDP in Nordic nations, a full 20 percentage points higher than the aggregate tax burden in the United States. Link [/font]Swedish Economic Performance History Between 1870 and 1950, average growth in Swedish GDP and productivity was, by some measures, the fastest in the world. In 1970 Sweden was the fourth-richest member of the OECD club of industrial countries. But for most of the past 50 years the story has been one of relative decline, including a deep recession in the early 1990s (see chart 1). By 1998 Sweden had fallen to 16th in the OECDrankings. It has since climbed back a bit, but the relatively strong growth of the past decade should be seen mainly as a rebound from the 1990s through. Link List of countries in the OCED[/font] https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/cu2MTk93hfsMZs7dBo7ZI1qTLUZOmwwHft3O9w3l1fS8VT6dYCN2xxn4try_euwmaJYEE3ZyYGuTUE16K2_MsdgrC_tMLfKmWAaiH_V_nNuUv6IvK0tFLCYr https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/jWyQIKvcKm4Ki6OiEM-A2tMg_XSA4nxXysXhgWYMhpMIQIdoQxLuUUBX6i9nqyjpXZfLt_tpowWqVhe0OfVJEfdMfeRQ3chWkY26vnwlruLKpJ-3IpeNV9DM

The effects of spanking on the fight/flight mechanism are just tragic.

Hi Alecia, how nice to meet you! You might want to think of coming to Dayna's unschooling conference in August, I will be speaking... http://daynamartin.com/unschooling-events/ how did you first come to peaceful parenting? What were your influences?

Ethics

Define 'ethics'?

Truth as a methodology is absolute - reason and evidence - truth as a conclusion must always be open to better reasoning and evidence.

judge the world before you judge yourself...

http://www.fdrurl.com/donate Thank you thank you thank you everyone so much! [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uK_AyKg0W0]

Alan, that is a totally heartbreaking and true comment, shared...

Any kind of decent donation - let your conscience guide you in that - and you're on the credits brother! Just include your name in the note on PayPal, and live forever!

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uK_AyKg0W0]

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLr3v_PgqFc] On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin interviews Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio, about the economy, the apparatus of the state and the philosophy of anarchism.Donations gratefully accepted at http://www.fdrurl.com/donateFreedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web - http://www.freedomainradio.comSUBSCRIBE http://www.youtube.com/user/breakingt...LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb.me/BreakingTheSetFOLLOW Abby Martin @ http://twitter.com/AbbyMartin

Hi Courtney nice to meet you, what was uncomfortable about your relationships?

Having come from a ruling class, I can tell you that peaceful parenting is not at all the norm. Boarding school and caning was my lot.

That's a great idea, if you would like to do the research, I would be happy to do the presentation!

The moment you use the word "god" you are making specific knowledge claims about an entity, which are testable.

ah thanks!

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZSzCPXohtU]. Stefan Molyneux, host Freedomain Radio, interviews renowned political expert and gender theorist Dr. Warren Farrell, author of The Myth of Male Power, and many other great books. You can find out more about Dr. Farrell at http://www.warrenfarrell.com Support the Show: http://www.fdrurl.com/donate Freedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web - http://www.freedomainradio.com

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZj_sy1khVs] The Philosophy of Divorce, by Stefan Molyneux, Host of Freedomain Radio. Freedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web - http://www.freedomainradio.com Donations gratefully accepted at http://www.fdrurl.com/donate

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bjXRYff4hI] Links to New Data: http://www.brainfacts.org/~/media/Brainfacts/Article%20Multimedia/Across%20the%20Lifespan/Diet%20and%20Exercise/Obesity%20Trends%20Chart.ashx?w=648&h=370 http://www.brainfacts.org/across-the-lifespan/diet-and-exercise/articles/2010/obesity-and-the-brain/ ( Graph on the 4th picture to the right of the rat one) http://www.carbohydratescankill.com/1521/nutrition-experts-take-aim-at-obesity-crisis-blaming-usda-control-of-dietary-advice ( Potentially good graph ) http://biovedawellness.com/2010/10/is-the-obesity-epidemic-a-result-of-our-stupidity/ (Graph goes to 2004) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7151813.stm ( World Obesity Graph but goes to 2004) http://www.grc.com/health/lowcarb.htm ( Past and Projected Obesity rates (bottom of page) ) http://www.themonastery.org/blog/2012/04/obesity-a-problem-for-churches-to-tackle-too/ (obesity and driving in America Graph ( Middle of page ) ) 1) Trends 2) Obesity and High Fructose Corn Syrup 3) Subsidization of Obesity 4) Current Statistics 5) Mental Health and Obesity 6) Causes Behind Deterioration of Mental Health Ideas for presentation the issue and its trends Food subsidies - inflating the cost of healthy foods and deflating the cost of unhealthy foods which is healthier HFCS vs sugar tariffs on sugar which can be considered healthy relative to HFCS HFCS prices suppression Corn and soy subsidization levels vs other food Price consequences for consumers - HFCS is in everything now Fast-food and consumer foods consequences Mental deterioration the issue; current and historical statistics hypothesis as to why; overall wealth destruction being turned into slaves through the government debts being preyed on by increasing taxes, the federal reserve and the debt Food stamps; unemployed and depressed with budgeted amounts of free food money Definition of Obesity: Link People are considered obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of the person's height in metres, exceeds 30 kg/m2 Examples of Obese Weights 5”11 220lbs and over is Obese 5”5 182lbs and over is Obese 6”4 250lbs and over is Obese Link 1) Trends Link[/font] [/font] Link [/font] Link [/font] [/font] Link Obesity and HFC consumption rates[/font] Link [/font]Children’s BMI over time [/font] Childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years. In 1980, the obesity rate of 6-11 year olds was 6.5%, in 2008 had tripled to 19.6%. For toddlers and preschoolers aged 2-5, the obesity levels have risen from 5% to 12.4% in the same amount of time. A child is considered obese if their BMI (Body Mass Index) is 30 or higher Link [/font]Increase increase increase[/font] This certainly seems to be borne out by the statistics: in 1980, only about a third of Americans were considered overweight and only 13 percent were classified as obese, rates not much greater than in 1960. But in the past twenty-five years these numbers have skyrocketed. Today, more than 60 percent of Americans are considered overweight and one in four is obese—a two-fold increase in less than three decades. Even more alarming is the rise in juvenile obesity; today, 15 percent of American children are considered obese, more than twice as many as in 1980. Link [/font]HFC massive increase in consumption 1970-1990[/font] The consumption of HFCS increased > 1000% between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group. HFCS now represents > 40% of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States. Link [/font]Obese doubled last 30 years[/font] ...number of obese American adults has more than doubled in the past 30 years to about 78 million. Link Obesity 1960-70s vs Now [/font] In the 1960s and 1970s only 13 percent of U.S. adults and 5 to 7 percent of U.S. children were obese. Today, 17 percent of our children, 32 percent of adult males, and 36 percent of adult females are obese. 2) Obesity and High Fructose Corn Syrup Link [/font]HFC doesn’t cut hunger so it leads to weight gain; Yale study[/font] Fructose, a sweetener found on many food labels, may contribute to weight gain and obesity because it has minimal effect on brain regions that control appetite, a study by Yale University researchers found. The brain requires glucose as a fuel, Sherwin said. When there isn’t enough in the body, it turns on cells to try to get a person to eat more. Once glucose levels rise, the brain turns those cells off. The study found that fructose doesn’t have the ability to operate that off switch, he said. Link High Fructose vs Glucose In a study conducted by University of California researchers, 16 volunteers were given a strictly controlled diet including very high levels of fructose. Another group was given the same diet but with high levels of glucose (regular sugar) replacing the fructose. Over 10 weeks, the volunteers that were given fructose produced new fat cells around their heart, liver and other digestive organs. They also showed signs of food-processing abnormalities linked to diabetes and heart disease. The control group of volunteers on the same diet, but with glucose sugar replacing fructose, did not have these problems. Link High Fructose Corn Syrup vs sugar Another study found that when people were given HFCS-sweetened beverages, they gained significantly more weight than when they consumed the sugar (in the form of jelly beans) Link High Fructose Corn Syrup vs Fat in Rats In a study by Princeton researchers last year, psychology professor Bart Hoebel noticed a disturbing trend in HFCS consumption. “When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese — every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this; they don’t all gain extra weight.” Link HFC consumption has been increasing https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/C19CwXO3sAmnZOwHhRwi2GJTf2ZNXT3km6dIkUpPkyf4IxmssRxF100-aqrPYJ85GOJcIgaILHBvlfArXuadG9FeQ3whorSyZgC4Cqal1X4KPBjt8n7MwpCV Link [/font]Increasing a lot[/font] In 1970 HFCS represented < 1% of all caloric sweeteners available for consumption in the United States, but the HFCS portion of the caloric sweetener market jumped rapidly in the 1980s and by 2000 represented 42.0% of all caloric sweeteners 3) Subsidization of Obesity Link [/font]Subsidization Pyramid[/font] https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/lNqJ4UD-7Pn_aqZTLQTSNW2lmhjnJum8gMFhJvOmB9tlRuX4b5cnNLALMgQuiUR_wyMPUadPIbWCr66UjDRXlVv-rBUkTILEdU4nmE0T0MhnsdvrKod5Eauz Link [/font]Price of veggie increases 3 fold vs fats and oils[/font] Freedom to Farm Act and dispenses fixed subsidy amounts to farmers based on previous crop yields. Although the intention of the act was to eliminate crop subsidies, it resulted in the imbalanced allocation of government subsidies. For example, in 2001, large agribusinesses represented 7% of US cropland, yet they received over 45% of the government subsidies. In contrast, small specialty farms represented 76% of the cropland, yet they received only 14% of government subsidies during this time. As a result of this imbalance, the cost of fruits and vegetables has risen disproportionately compared with that of fats and oils. For example, the cost of fruits and vegetables increased by 118% from 1985 to 2000, whereas the cost of fats and oils increased by only 35% during this period. Link [/font]HFC starts replacing corn syrup[/font] High-fructose corn syrup started replacing sugar around 1980 mainly because it's cheaper. It's almost half the price of sugar, partially because the United States, the world's largest grower of corn, subsidizes farmers who grow it, and that lowers its price. The United States also restricts the import of sugar, which hikes its price. Link [/font]Corn is subsidized while cane sugar imports are taxed[/font] Corn is subsidized by the U.S. government, making the high fructose corn syrup cheaper. While tariffs and import taxes are placed on foreign sugar. Link [/font]Major US crop subsidies: Corn, Soy[/font] The U.S. Farm Bill has allocated significantly increased funding in subsidizing corn and soy crops over the past several decades. Over $34.5 billion was spent on corn subsidies and $11 billion was spent on soybean subsidies from 1985-2002, and more than $50 billion was spent subsidizing corn in the past decade.Other subsidized crops that receive the most funding are wheat, cotton, and rice. Together, these five crops account for 90% of all subsidy payments. ...two-thirds of calories consumed in the U.S. come from just four crops, which happen to be the four food items with the highest subsidy levels. Link Unhealthy foods are heavily subsidized Corn and soybeans are also used to make a wide variety of processed foods, many in the form of sugars and fats such as high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oil. Subsidized Fast Food The ability of fast-food restaurants to put hamburgers on the 99¢ value menu can also be linked to cheap commodities. These foods (which become artificially low in cost) are used as feed grains by the meat industry as a way to rid the system of the overproduced subsidized crops. 60% of corn and 47% of soybeans grown in the U.S. are used to produce grain feed for livestock. Healthy Food are and Have Become Much More Expensive While the costs of sugars and fats have become cheaper, healthier options like fruits and vegetables have become more expensive, rising nearly 40 percent over the past 20 years. Corn and soybean costs decreased 32% and 21%, respectively, since the passage of the 1996 Farm Bill. According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, $1 could purchase 1,200 calories of potato chips or 875 calories of soda but just 250 calories of vegetables or 170 calories of fresh fruit. Cheap HFC for the Rest of the World In 2001, two-thirds of world corn exports came from the U.S. As observed by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy(IATP), due to the North American Free Trade Agreement and the 1996 Farm Bill, ³agribusinesscompanies have consistently dumped corn onto export markets at between 10 and 30 percent below its cost of production Link [/font]Traditional Sugar is very expensive in the US, leading producers to use HFC[/font] "I'm now paying between 55 and 58 cents a pound [for refined sugar], pretty amazing when you look at the pricing in Europe at approximately 40% to 50% less," said Joe Vittoria, chief executive of PEZ Candy Inc. Link High levels of subsidization of corn Since 1994, the federal government has supported corn producers to the tune of $6 billion per year Link [/font] [/font] Link [/font]Sugar Tariffs Cost US citizens 2.5 billion in 2009 alone[/font] Link Calories for a Dollar[/font] A few years ago two nutrition experts went grocery shopping. For a dollar, Adam Drewnow­ski and S. E. Specter could purchase 1,200 calories of potato chips or cookies or just 250 calories worth of carrots Link [/font]HFCS prices have lowered and people have responded[/font] Between 1985 and 2010 the price of beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup dropped 24 percent, and by 2006 American children consumed an extra 130 calories a day from these beverages. Over the same period the price of fresh fruits and vegetables rose 39 percent. Link [/font]Healthy Food is becoming increasingly expensive while unhealthy subsidized food stays cheap[/font] Link [/font]Change in Prices of foods 1985-2000 and consumption 1975-2000[/font] Link [/font]Good food is driven out of the hands of children and replaced with pop[/font] Between 1965 and 1996, adolescents’ milk consumption decreased by 36% as soft drink consumption increased by 287% in boys and 224% in girls, according to research by Popkin and colleagues published in the July 2000 issue of Archives of Disease in Childhood 4) Current Statistics Link [/font]High levels of unhealthiness[/font] [/font] A staggering two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and about one-quarter to one-third of adults fall into the obese category and it is projected to go to FIFTY percent by 2030. Link The average American is now 10 pounds overweight 5) Mental Health and Obesity Link [/font]Decrease in mental health for teenagers in the last 30 years[/font] The proportion of 15/16 year olds reporting that they frequently feel anxious or depressed has doubled in the last 30 years, from 1 in 30 to 2 in 30 for boys and 1 in 10 to 2 in ten for girls. The proportion of 15/16 year olds with behaviour problems (as rated by parents) also increased, from approximately 7 per cent in 1974, to approximately 15 per cent in 1999. Link Much more people are depressed than 60 years ago 10 times more people suffer from major depression now than in 1945 Link Deteriorating Mental Health; Much more anti-depression medication use Antidepressant prescribing has risen nearly 400% since 1988, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 1 in 10 Americans over age 12 now takes an antidepressant, the study finds, and yet two-thirds of those with severe symptoms of depression do not take antidepressants at all. Link [/font]Depression = Higher Obesity Rate[/font] Obesity, Luppino and colleagues found, increases the risk of depression in initially non-depressed individuals by 55 percent Link [/font]Depression = Higher Obesity Rate #2[/font] ...mood disorders generally and major depression in particular increased risk of future obesity more than twofold. Depressed males had a sixfold increased risk of obesity[/font] Link [/font]Depression = Higher Obesity Rate #3[/font] ...[/font]found an overall odds ratio (OR) of 1.18, confirming that depression is associated with an 18% increased risk of being obese. Link [/font]Depression = Higher Obesity Rate #4[/font] In a sample of young adults during a 15-year period, those who started out reporting high levels of depression gained weight at a faster rate than others in the study 6) Causes Behind Deterioration of Mental Health Link [/font]Decrease in Economic Freedom [/font] According to the Cato Institute’s latest Economic Freedom of the World report –– which incorporates more than forty “objective components” related to each country’s government size, property freedom, monetary policy, trade policy and regulatory climate – the United States has seen its economic freedom plunge “precipitously” in recent years. From 1980 to 2000, the United States was generally rated the third freest economy in the world, ranking behind only Hong Kong and Singapore.” However in 2005 America slipped to No. 8 on this index. And as of 2010 – the latest year for which data is available – our country had fallen all the way to No. 18. Destruction of Wealth, the middle class, the nuclear family and an increasing rate of government predation/ Increases in government spending, record deficits, violation of property rights, more onerous regulation of business, and wars on terrorism and drugs have all contributed to the erosion of economic freedom in America[/font] See “There Will Be No Economic Recovery. Prepare Yourself Accordingly.” Each square is a crate worth 100 million dollars or a years work of 3500 average Americans.https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/u38gR-U43MMp1ROTxdARaXcv5yZSpTplF0Va6xxm96zqKsdU7b_J5OQIK8pyJxnYNYPXAe5obcPibSTGIclWfC0K_punSZVXHbyxdYcrLtEecPcrEz6M_bco https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ldh_a5dbaKOvPvYnTC9a_teJQ1_Czh-a3PLGIAWtYy6JRbkHAWoh3YvgTHXtosvc5f5Fw8T_fAjkOgW9M-0tXgBciPGJunw5bDLBI09ShOCXz8xdsRMbAznT Link Free food - 44 million Americans on Food Stamps or over 14000 for each of the 3000 Walmarts that exist in the US[/font] Free food and no work - [/font] 45.5 percent of Americans were employed in 2010 [/font]Link [/font] Link [/font]Unemployment Leads to Depression [/font] According to a recent study published in the "International Journal of Epidemiology," unemployment is a major risk factor for depression, even in people without previous vulnerability. Link Unemployment Leads to Depression #2[/font] The results indicated that depression is a severe problem in the unemployed population. Depression is more elevated among the long-term unemployed. Link The Unemployed are Depressed About 6% of those with jobs reported symptoms of depression, compared with 21% of unemployed people surveyed Link People on Food Stamps Buy a lot of Soda Grocers have told Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest that around six percent or 4 Billion dollars a year of SNAP benefits goes toward buying sodas. Link People on Food Stamps or have ever been on food stamps are at a higher risk of becoming obese A separate study, published last August, linked these two striking statistics. People never receiving food stamps had lower rates of obesity than those who had been on them at some point in their lives, even after accounting for differences in socioeconomic status. Link People on Food Stamps have, on average, a higher BMI than non food stamp users. BMI is the index in which people judge obesity and overweightness. Participants in the U.S. Food Stamp Program have, on average, a body mass index (BMI) more than one point higher than nonusers, according to research published in the current issue of Economics and Human Biology. This difference was especially high for women: those buying their food with stamps carried around an average of 5.8 pounds more body weight. The findings came from an analysis of some 4,000 enrollees in federal food stamp programs who were compared with nearly 6,000 people not using food stamps, along with variables including BMI, race and other socioeconomic factors. Link Link2 Number of people on Food Stamps and its monthly benefit in dollars over time https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/44MJo-vJiWL2877ij7Qgk_k4TrqLzmzazYcTrp6DgHDH9K1NJ9lmOfh87tHHq_hOeZRerebYxRjbDlNlFGzW1z8MVTcih6-8c0zdgknzEQAPUXaOPjbuVX9phttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/iatXmu3Zyb7Sq03k5LmeHa6WTX_ecVS91ukDjw3ViapLM2a8GstZyVIXmYVL1qaLpKmzrRgKorT_9EYhakua3FHggkaASVPbNzYO2aIYzS0qFKsC8Vl_Nf1K Link [/font]A lot of People are Clinically Depressed and the Rate is Increasing[/font] Nearly 1 in 10 Americans suffers from clinical depression and 3% have major depression, according to a 2006-2008 survey of 235,000 adults from 45 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), marked an uptick in rates of the mood disorder: a similar study conducted in 2001-2002 reported 6.6% of the population as depressed.

After my Windows 8 "upgrade" experience, I'm sorry, sorely tempted.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYtbEJfQtDI] General data Index; 0 - Employment numbers 1 - Graphs 2 - Jobs 3 - Middle class wealth A - Reduced standard of living, income and savings B - Consumer Debt/Debt C - Class polarization 4 - Poverty rate 5 - General Economy and Inflation 6 - Government Finances 7 - Expert Predictions 8 - Signs of accelerating collapse 9 - Historical similarities 10 - Cost of regulations 11 - Miscellaneous 12 - Public Vs Private 0 - Employment numbers ( J22 ) Euro zone unemployment reaches near 15-year high...Link [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]11.8 Percent[/color]: The unemployment rate in the eurozone has now risen to 11.8 percent - a brand new all-time high. [/list] Unemployment in the euro zone reached its highest level in almost 15 years in February (2012), with more than 17 million people out of work, and economists said they expected job office queues to grow even longer later this year. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The average unemployment rate in Greece in 2010 was 12.5 percent. During 2011, the average unemployment rate was[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]17.3 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap], and now the unemployment rate in Greece is up to[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]21.8 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [/list] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] The unemployment ra[color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]t[/color]e in Greece is now up to[color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 25.4 percent[/color]. A year ago it was just 18.4 percent.[background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 26 Percent[/color]: The unemployment rate in Greece is now 26 percent. A year ago it was only 18.9 percent.[background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The youth unemployment rate in Greece is now[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]over 50 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]. The unemployment rate in the port town is Perama is[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]about 60 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The unemployment rate in Spain is now up to[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]23.6 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](Also in Section 9) ( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] The unemployment rate in Spain has hit a brand new all-time record high of[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 26.2 percent[/color]. How much higher can it possibly go? This is already higher than the unemployment rate in the United States ever reached during the Great Depression of the 1930s.[background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 26.6 Percent[/color]: The unemployment rate in Spain has risen to an astounding 26.6 percent. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The youth unemployment rate in Spain is now[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]over 50 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Youth unemployment in Italy is up to[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]31.9 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] - the highest level ever.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The unemployment rate in Portugal is up to[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]15 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] The unemployment rate in Portugal is now up to[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 16.3 percent[/color]. A year ago it was just 13.7 percent. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The youth unemployment rate in Portugal is now[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]over 35 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 22 Percent[/color]: A whopping 22 percent of the entire population of Ireland lives in jobless households. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 27.0 Percent[/color]: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Cyprus. Back in 2008, this number was well below 10 percent. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] ( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 37.1 Percent[/color]: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Italy - a brand new all-time high. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 56.5 Percent[/color]: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Spain - a brand new all-time high. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 57.6 Percent[/color]: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Greece - a brand new all-time high. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Y[/color]outh unemployment levels in both Greece and Spain are rapidly approaching[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] the 60 percent level[/color]. [/list] ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Accelerated increase in unemployment [/list] As I wrote about recently, the number of unemployed workers in Italy has risen by more than 37 percent over the past year. The unemployment rate in France is now above 10 percent, and it has risen for 16 months in a row ( J24 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Every Second [/list] ...every second young person is on the dole, according to the country's statistics office ELSTAT. ( J24 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [color= #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]I[/color]n the 17 European countries that use the euro as their currency, the numbers are even worse. Almost 4.3 million low-pay jobs have been gained since mid-2009, but the loss of midpay jobs has never stopped. A total of 7.6 million disappeared from January 2008 through last June. [/list] ( J24 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Uk unemployment start vs now [/list] ...unemployment is still 879,000 higher than it was in the summer of 2007, when the financial crisis began. 1 - Graphs [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J22) Unemployment rates for selected regions in Europe [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][/font] [/list] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Youth unemployment across the EU [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font]The number of Spanish bankruptcies has taken off since 2007, hitting an all time high in the last quarter. [/list] ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] ...international institutions are pulling their funds out of Spanish banks as fear builds. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font]Corn prices have surged and remain high, which will filter through to food inflation. [/list] https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/WUphkfP-V56wARkzngPUzC_ySlvddFvX_p4zP2nqVGHjIoSVM26J91yYOE0RL4SsKFzmh20cK9v5K7A_GmYgMS3z8UV2EJfW9XEhISxzCoj-U5FFsQE ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link [/color]The Misery Index, the crude calculation that adds a country's inflation rate to its unemployment rate [/list] ( J24 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Bigger European Countries are also contribute to the terrible European Union statistics [/list] ( J24 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Youth Unemployment chart for European countries... [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Wealth change in percentage per country 2011-2012[/font] [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Global Wealth Pyramid[/font] [/list] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qr68RsJM4xvho8Doj9ZTghoWA-kd2TXMkKSeaWX5S1mcPLWe-uHt1jrRAiiEcvI9qNZTfCHD4BkjxfWmLOOlzR9HqlC4znXUg3Gk3RS1Bq_I1U680bM [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Household debt :: Income ratio G7 countries[/font] [/list] https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/bTzQA2k8n9cmUy70lv7q2u0kCLKXPK5hzNiYd2kib-cB-vOcoBvX93qv7_2Xt7jyXRdXVOG95hAe_yACQvxnLafCOYWK_jCjYCMzr38hKCqOp0U62kE [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Austerity? Please...[/font] [/list] ...If the gross debt is equivalent to your mortgage, the deficit is the overdraft, the running gap between your outgoings and ingoings https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/twQTGLZBIgc0p9qfvm2jF6qOo1UxEWM6p-E1mY31c-DqFfKJ02UbB0yo7sjlP11TSEZihu8r5kguW2q251-S8ey5QCSCE2qt0leS_H_bfD9HC0kDvJs [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Widespread Economic Slowdown[/font][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font] [/list] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dE4EG7TR-y1PYXPPbx4Ls-Enlr-bwJbVsqPkjZQgYZmn0D65dnWTGilyOKEc4qBzmqtqCxlGRzWT3bxPLTPrckAHH1QIK9yMDz5uAeapSxijscy8XGo [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]European Government debt[/font] [/list] https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/9faKg9CAwkMbkJiBvQUcSFFbLeTZ-kIqL7BByqnn3JgLnOBsBiUGl1Q298UfFWgcwRviL7IVPJe2quLOKgBsiWrcqfsWg33wAZMbydruzbE9agPfBlg [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Chilling especially when compared to the US[/font] [/list] https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/5odRjk710XyCqQDkP8aXCxNMndKcoVl1VaoldkZkzG7E62cosfcfPzNkwK868Tiawjnr24RfDQPwSHGYuMCppQ_vb0JolSir53JGokDSnAPoIXX-V8U [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 )[/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Link [/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Gross Government debt[/font][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] The Cause[/font] [/list] This graph, drawn from European Central Bank data, shows how much more debt European countries are carrying than they did a decade ago. The green bars show countries’ debt-to-GDP ratios in 2000; the blue lines are 2010:https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_Ks2rBp-jXoCfPoxXSEWsl5EiaWyvpK9Sbgd2BIQqYnbozRbJ0WFeM-Z4wVIdXEYu1Ze3ZEfo2gRZG9iWL26rJDBPy3HYPOyHBdBbe4yY3r-becl90w [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Income inequality[/font]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RhfmXYbmKp8cugWMb3CSOl-to8IkxQsGaH56danQ5DjH9WiRVWfYABPiYLCqbcLwcl84t6udK1thOxDoVa21J_yv1mm7trIpDc7jIR5pch0v5-6z1SY[background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] 2 - Jobs [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link [/color]In Germany, which is believed to have no economic difficulties, 25% of the population have the so-called ‘mini jobs’ and earn less than 400 euros per month. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Underemployment and misrepresentation UK[/font][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font] [/list] The unemployment rate has remained low compared with previous recessions, but figures on underemployment from the Office for National Statistics indicate this is a result of people taking on more part-time roles The number of underemployed workers remained flat in the years before the recession, but between 2008 and 2012 it rocketed from 2.07 million to 3.05 million, and the recession has forced an extra 1 million people into working fewer hours than they want In total, one in 10 workers are currently underemployed. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]More Underemployment[/font] [/list] ...the chance of getting a decent-paying job is diminishing. Some 50 percent of all new employment contracts in the EU are temporary work contracts. For workers aged 20 to 24, the proportion is 60 percent. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Private Sector Destruction in Greece[/font] [/list] Private sector salaries dropped 22.5 percent in 2011, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 3 - Middle class wealth A - Reduced standard of living, income and savings [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Home prices in Spain fell[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]by 11.2 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] during 2011.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The number of property repossessions in Spain rose[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]by 32 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] during 2011.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 70 Percent[/color]: It has been reported that some homes in Spain are being sold at a 70% discount from where they were at during the peak of the housing bubble back in 2006. At this point there are[color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] approximately 2 million[/color] unsold homes in Spain. [/list] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]The crisis also hurts young Britons of 18-32 years old - according to the survey, one in five cannot pay their utility bills, and one in eight young resident of England skips lunch for the opportunity to feed their family.[/font] [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font]And 10 per cent of the nation's 25 million households are under such extreme financial pressure that they have been forced to default on household debts including mortgage repayments[background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Travel expenses cut[/font] [/list] ...European consumers expected to spend €15bn less on their holidays in 2010 B - Consumer Debt ( J24 ) Link EU’s sovereign debt is nothing compared with Europeans’ household debt mountain [/list] ...Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands all have private-sector debt that far exceeds the safety threshold of 160% of GDP... ...Spain private sector debt equivalent to 227% of GDP... ...Portugal private-sector debt of a whopping 249% of GDP ...Portugal’s corporate debt to GDP is still as high as it was at the peak of the financial crisis ( J25 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Global Household Debt Increase [/list] For the entire period 2000–12, aggregate debt rose by 81%, equivalent to 5% growth per annum. A rising global population accounts for part of the increase: debt per adult grew just 45% for the entire period C - Class polarization [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Cancer of Inequality[/font] [/list] ...Germany, the richest one percent of the population possesses 23 percent of all wealth and the richest tenth controls 60 percent. Half of the population possesses just 2 percent of all wealth. [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Global Income Inequality[/font] [/list] Taken together, the bottom half of the global population possess barely 1% of total wealth, although wealth is growing fast for some members of this segment. In sharp contrast, the richest 10% own 86% of the world’s wealth, with the top 1% alone accounting for 46% of global assets. 4 - Poverty rate [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 36 Percent[/color]: Today, the poverty rate in Greece is 36 percent. Back in 2009 it was only about 20 percent.[background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 44 Percent[/color]: An astounding 44 percent of the entire population of Bulgaria is facing "severe material deprivation". [/list] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Hunger[/font] [/list] A report this year by a Catholic charity, Caritas, said that it had fed nearly one million hungry Spaniards in 2010, more than twice as many as in 2007. That number rose again in 2011 by 65,000. In Madrid recently, as a supermarket prepared to close for the day in the Entrevias district of Vallecas, a small crowd gathered, ready to pounce on the garbage bins that would shortly be brought to the curb. NyTimes. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Poverty[/font] [/list] The Caritas report also found that 22 percent of Spanish households were living in poverty and that about 600,000 had no income whatsoever. All these numbers are expected to continue to get worse in the coming months. About a third of those seeking help, the Caritas report said, had never used a food pantry or a soup kitchen before the economic crisis hit. [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] One of every four Spanish children is in poverty[/font] [/list] ( J24 ) Link Widespread Poverty Growth [/list] In 2011, 119.6 million people, or 24.2% of the population, in the EU27 were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared with 23.4% in 2010 [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Percent in Poverty[/font] [/list] 16.4 % of the population, 80 million people, live below the poverty threshold in the European Union 20.2 % of children under 16 years of age are poor in Europe. The northern countries show a lower rate, from 10 % for Denmark to 12.4 % for Sweden. In return, the highest rates are observed in Romania (31.3 %) and in Bulgaria (26.4 %) or even in Spain (25.3 %). The poverty rate of young people under 16 years in France is below the European average (18.4 %). The poverty rate of persons aged between 16 and 24 years is in average 21.6 % in Europe...lowest rates are observed in the Czech Republic (12.6 %) or in Austria (13.1 %)...in Greece (27.8 %) is more distressing. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] UK students are Hungry[/font] [/list] In its study, the British Guardian newspaper found that 83 percent of teachers in the UK every day see hungry students. Over half of teachers say that in the last couple of years the number of hungry school children has increased [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Poverty rate young people in Europe[/font] [/list] In 2007, 20 % of young Europeans aged 18–24 were at risk of poverty... [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Greek Poverty[/font] [/list] According to the Hellenic Statistical Agency's first official report in 2012...the poverty rate for children under 17 years was at 23 percent in 2011, which is three points higher than the poverty rate for the whole population. 5 - General Economy and Inflation [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The Greek economy shrank[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]by 6 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] during 2011, and it has been shrinking[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]for five years in a row[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] The Greek economy has shrunk by more than 7 percent this year, and it is being projected that the Greek economy will contract[color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] by another 4.5 percent[/color] in 2013. [/list] ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Overall, the Greek economy has contracted by [color= #4f809e; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]about 20 percent[/color] since 2008.[background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) It is being projected that the Portuguese economy will shrink[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]by 5.7 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] during 2012.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Greek Gasoline[/font] [/list] According the new york times, after several recent tax increases, gasoline costs around $8.20 a gallon in Greece... [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Consequences of youth unemployment[/font] [/list] CheckRisk estimates that economies facing 20% or greater youth unemployment run the risk of long term GDP loss of 0.5% to 1% per annum. This is a combination of social welfare costs, emigration, contraction of the tax base, state pension contribution gaps and the loss of productive capacity 6 - Government Finances [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Greece now has a debt to GDP ratio of[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]approximately 160 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Greek civil servants have had their incomes slashed[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]by about 40 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] since 2010.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Greece is still facing unfunded liabilities in future years that are equivalent to[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]approximately 800 percent of GDP[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The total value of all toxic loans in Spain is equivalent to[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]approximately 13 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] of Spanish GDP.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [/list] Fresh data shows that toxic loans – bank loans that are at serious risk of default – have gone from 1 per cent of outstanding loans in 2008 to 7.6 per cent today. The value of potentially dud loans is €136-billion, equivalent to 13 per cent of Spanish GDP. Link [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The GDP of Spain is about[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]1.4 trillion dollars[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]. The three largest Spanish banks have approximately[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]2.7 trillion dollars[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] in assets and they are all on the verge of failing.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) The ratio of government debt to GDP in Spain will rise[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]by more than 11 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] during 2012.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Banks in Portugal borrowed a record[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]56.3 billion euros[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] from the European Central Bank in March.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) When you add up all forms of debt in Portugal (government, business and consumer) the total is equivalent to approximately[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]360 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] of GDP.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Italy's national debt is approximately[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]2.7 times larger[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] than the national debts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal put together.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) If you add the maturing debt that the Italian government must roll over in 2012 to the projected budget deficit, it comes to approximately[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]23.1 percent[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] of Italy's GDP.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) Italy now has a debt to GDP ratio of[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]approximately 120 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap].[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 20 Percent[/color]: It is estimated that bad loans now make up approximately 20 percent of all domestic loans in the Greek banking system at this point. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 60 Percent[/color]: Citigroup is projecting that there is a 60 percent probability that Greece will leave the eurozone within the next 12 to 18 months. [/list] ( J23 )[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] The debt of the Greek government is now projected to hit[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 189 percent of GDP[/color] by the end of this year. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 200 Percent[/color]: The debt to GDP ratio in Greece is rapidly approaching 200 percent. [/list] ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font]An astounding [color= #4f809e; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]9.86 percent[/color] of all loans that Spanish banks are holding are considered to be bad loans which will probably never be collected. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Debts by nation in the last 5-6 years[/font] [/list] United Kingdom Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 43.4 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 85.0 percent France Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 63.7 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 86 percent Germany Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 67.6 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 80.5 percent Spain Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 39.6 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 69.3 percent Ireland Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 24.8 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 106.4 percent Portugal Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 63.9 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 108.1 percent Italy Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 106.6 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 120.7 percent Greece Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 106.1 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 170.6 percent The Eurozone As A Whole Debt to GDP ratio in 2007: 68.4 percent Debt to GDP ratio in 2012: 87.3 percent ( J25 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Debt in Total... [/list] ...As a whole, Europe owes €10,840,197,700,000 7 - Expert Predictions [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #1e1e1e; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Lord Rothschild takes £130m bet against the euro[/color] [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Future Double Job Loss[/font] [/list] Maarten Goos, an economist at the University of Leuven in Belgium, says Europe could double its middle-class job losses. 8 - Signs of accelerating collapse (J22) ...only 22% of British bosses confident...[color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [/list] The annual snapshot of the mood of boardrooms to mark the start of the annual World Economic Forum, held in the Swiss alpine town, found that only 22% of the people running UK companies were very confident about growth prospects over the next 12 months. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) In Greece,[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #4f809e; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]20 percent[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] of all retail stores have closed down during the economic crisis.[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] [background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap](J22) [/font]Greece on the breadline: HIV and malaria make a comeback...[color= #1155cc; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [/list] The incidence of HIV/Aids among intravenous drug users in central Athens soared by 1,250% in the first 10 months of 2011 compared with the same period the previous year, according to the head of Médecins sans Frontières Greece, while malaria is becoming endemic in the south for the first time since the rule of the colonels, which ended in the 1970s. "There has also been a sharp increase in cases of tuberculosis in the immigrant population, cases of Nile fever – leading to 35 deaths in 2010 – and the reappearance of endemic malaria in several parts of Greece." [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 28 Percent[/color]: Sales of French-made vehicles in November were down 28 percent compared to a year earlier. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 1997[/color]: According to the Committee of French Automobile Producers, 2012 was the worst year for the French automobile industry since 1997. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] The economies of 17 out of the 27 countries in the EU have contracted[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] for at least two consecutive quarters[/color]. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Earlier this month, Moody's[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] stripped France[/color] of its AAA credit rating, and wealthy individuals are leaving France in droves as the socialists implement plans to raise taxes to very high levels on the rich. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Industrial production is collapsing[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] all over Europe[/color]. Just check out these numbers... [/list] You don’t have to be an economic genius to understand that the perpetual uncertainty over the Eurozone’s future has led to a widespread freeze on industrial investment and development. Industrial production is collapsing at an accelerating rate, falling 7% year-on-year in Spain and Greece, 4.8% in Italy, and 2.1% in France. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] There are even trouble signs in the[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] "stable" econom[/color]ies in Europe. In Germany, factory orders in September were down[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 3.3 percent[/color] from the month before, and retail sales in October declined[color= #000000; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 2.8 percent[/color] from the previous month. [/list] ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Weakening Giants [/list] Even the "strong" economies in Europe are being dragged down now. For example, unemployment in Germany has risen for five months in a row. ( J23 ) Link Deposit Flight From Europe Banks Eroding Common Currency [/list] Banco Santander SA (SAN), Spain’s largest bank, lost 6.3 percent of its domestic deposits in July, according to data published by the nation’s banking association. Savings at Banco Popular Espanol SA, the sixth-biggest, fell 9.5 percent the same month. Eurobank Ergasias SA, Greece’s second-largest lender, lost 22 percent of its customer deposits in the 12 months ended March 31, according to the latest data available from the firm. Alpha Bank SA (ALPHA), the country’s third-biggest, lost 26 percent of client savings during that period. [background=transparent; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Homeless rate in Greece[/font] [/list] In 2011, there were 20 percent more registered homeless people than the year before. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Consumption Stand-still in Greece[/font][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font] [/list] The Greek news media reported a 27 percent drop in garbage collections in the greater Athens area, and a precipitous decline in smoking, with consumption dropping to 2.3 million cigarettes in 2011, from 3.1 million in 2007. Mass transit use has dropped by double digits. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]World Wealth Decline [/font] [/list] ...total global household wealth fell by 5.2% between mid-2011 and mid-2012 [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Germany catastrophic economic data[/font] [/list] ...figures showing German business confidence has fallen to the lowest in two-and-a-half years, the data was described as “a catastrophe and very bad news” by Thomas Harjes, European economist at Barclays in Frankfurt. Accelerating Flight The pace of withdrawals has increased this year. Spanish bank deposits fell 7 percent from the beginning of January through the end of July, compared with a 4 percent drop the previous six months. The decline in Portuguese savings accelerated to 6 percent from 1 percent, while Irish deposits fell 10 percent compared with almost no change in the last six months of 2011. ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Capital Flight [/list] Overall, 94 billion, the equivalent of 7 percent of GDP was withdrawn from the Spanish banking system in the month of July alone. ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Accelerated Ruling Class Predation [/list] On Monday ( 3 Sep 2012) it was announced that Spanish banking giant Bankia will be getting an emergency "cash injection" of between 4 and 5 billion euros. ( J23 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Shrinking Demand [/list] Chinese exports to the EU declined by 16.2 percent in July. U.S. exports to Europe have been steadily falling as well. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Suicide Increase [/font] [/list] The suicide rate in Greece is more than 30 percent higher than it was last year. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Suicide Increase [/font] [/list] The number of suicides in Greece over the last 12 months has increased by 40 percent... ( J24 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Suicide Call Increase Greece [/list] In 2010, there were about 2,500 calls made to the number. In 2011, there were twice as many. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Suicide increase in many countries. NYTimes[/font] [/list] In Greece, the suicide rate among men increased more than 24 percent from 2007 to 2009, government statistics show. In Ireland during the same period, suicides among men rose more than 16 percent. In Italy, suicides motivated by economic difficulties have increased 52 percent, to 187 in 2010 — the most recent year for which statistics were available — from 123 in 2005. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Companies Prepare[/font] [/list] Ford has configured its computer systems so they will be able to immediately handle a new Greek currency. JPMorgan Chase, though, is taking no chances. It has already created new accounts for a handful of American giants that are reserved for a new drachma in Greece or whatever currency might succeed the euro in other countries. 9 - Historical similarities [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] The unemployment rate in Spain has hit a brand new all-time record high of[color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 26.2 percent[/color]. How much higher can it possibly go? This is already higher than the unemployment rate in the United States ever reached during the Great Depression of the 1930s. [/list] [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] 10 - Cost of regulations [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]10 Months[/color]: Manufacturing activity in both France and Germany has contracted for 10 months in a row. [/list] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 17 Months[/color]: In November, Italy experienced the sharpest decline in retail sales that it had experienced in 17 months. [/list] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] 20 Months[/color]: Manufacturing activity in Spain has contracted for 20 months in a row. [/list] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font]Manufacturing activity in Europe has contracted for 13 months in a row. The following is from a recent [color= #4f809e; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Reuters report[/color].... [/list] [background=transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J23 )[/font][color= #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/color][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] [color= #000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]2 Million[/color]: Back in 2005, the French auto industry produced about 3.5 million vehicles. In 2012, that number dropped to about 2 million vehicles.[background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/list] [/font] 11 - Miscellaneous [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J24) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Slave opinion survey[/font] [/list] In July of 2012, the results of the survey "Eurobarometer" that tracks the level of anxiety and concern among residents ...71 percent of the EU citizens consider the economic situation in the country poor, 30 percent of the residents of the EU assess their position in the labor market as unsatisfactory, 100 percent of Greek believes that the economy is in trouble, 99 percent of the population of Spain, 96 percent of Irish, 93 percent of Hungarians and 92 percent of Italians. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] [/font][background=transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Marriage Decline in the Uk [/font] [/list] …marriages registered in England and Wales in 2007 was 231,450, a 3.3 per cent drop on the previous year, and only three quarters of the number recorded in 1991. [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Marriage Decline in the EU 1970-2009[/font] [/list] ` https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/OkKbnDJOiT26nWiPalkzmoE4b_s-ljiaYyF5dRTW-y4lO4HcfeF70XYj4vyRjKZSyi9MYeQKykCLrQ6leZf-LkZ3jSaD-9x15bq1UUueuBTQQUdxZDk [background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]( J25 ) [/font][color= #1155cc; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color][background=transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap] Rise in Births outside of marriage EU-27[/font] [/list] ...In the EU-27 some 37.4 % of children were born outside marriage in 2010, while the corresponding figure for 1990 was 17.4 % ( J25 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Lack Reading Skills [/list] One in five European fifteen year olds has poor reading skills and 75 million Europeans have low qualifications, often lacking basic reading and writing skills. ( J25 ) [color= #1155cc; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap]Link[/color] Record Low 2010 [/list] According to Eurobarometer, the EU is at a record low in approval ratings. Fewer than half of its citizens regard it as “a good thing” and only 42 per cent have confidence in its institutions.

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