Capitalism is something that is rather interesting in that it doesn’t give you what you want, but rather it gives you what you deserve. Then again, it would be hard to argue that there is real capitalism in America with a Federal Reserve that artificially controls our money and interest rates and a ever growing government that acts on behalf of itself to gain popularity and redistribute wealth to the most popular vote. The statistics and main stream results are speaking for themselves. Bill Bonner, from The Daily Reckoning, in one of his latest email blasts put out some amazing statistics that we had to share with our subscribers.

 

19 Statistics About the Poor that will blow you away!!!
 
 

 Breadlines

 

#1 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of “very poor” rose in 300 out of the 360 largest metropolitan areas during 2010.

 

 

#2 Last year, 2.6 million more Americans descended into poverty. That was the largest increase that we have seen since the U.S. government began keeping statistics on this back in 1959.

 

 

#3 It isn’t just the ranks of the “very poor” that are rising. The number of those just considered to be “poor” is rapidly increasing as well. Back in the year 2000, 11.3% of all Americans were living in poverty. Today, 15.1% of all Americans are living in poverty.

 

 

#4 The poverty rate for children living in the United States increased to 22% in 2010.

 

 

#5 There are 314 counties in the United States where at least 30% of the children are facing food insecurity.

 

 

#6 In Washington DC, the “child food insecurity rate” is 32.3%.

 

 

#7 More than 20 million U.S. children rely on school meal programs to keep from going hungry.

 

 

#8 One out of every six elderly Americans now live below the federal poverty line.

 

 

#9 Today, there are over 45 million Americans on food stamps.

 

 

#10 According to “The Wall Street Journal,” nearly 15% of all Americans are now on food stamps.

 

 

#11 In 2010, 42% of all single mothers in the United States were on food stamps.

 

 

#12 The number of Americans on food stamps has increased 74% since 2007.

 

 

#13 We are told that the economy is recovering, but the number of Americans on food stamps has grown by another 8% over the past year.

 

 

#14 Right now, one out of every four American children are on food stamps.

 

 

#15 It is being projected that approximately 50% of all U.S. children will be on food stamps at some point in their lives before they reach the age of 18.

 

 

#16 More than 50 million Americans are now on Medicaid. Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans were on Medicaid. Today, approximately one out of every 6 Americans are on Medicaid.

 

 

#17 One out of every six Americans are now enrolled in at least one government anti-poverty program.

 

 

#18 The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased by 46% since 2006.

 

 

#19 It is estimated that up to half a million children may currently be homeless in the United States.  

 

 

Now on to some things in the news…

 

Oil hits $100 per barrel for the first time since July. There are many wild cards at play and we expect this trend to continue for the long term and for oil to keep going up. Look out for the oil companies, they are going to be huge money makers. 

 

A new Gallop poll shows that Americans are more worried about the economy more than ever. The poll found that 86% of Americans are dissatisfied with the country’s current conditions. Not too shocking!

 

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urges congress that the time for an economic boost is now. His exact ‘Keynesian’ quote was, “I don’t think we can afford to sit here for 14 months or 12 months and not act to help an economy that is still so weakened.” It’s really frustrating to consider that these guys have learned nothing from the failed programs of the past and as Peter Schiff puts it, “you can’t fight fire with fire.” Unfortunately, consumers hitting the retail stores for the holiday season and boosting sales slightly still wasn’t good enough for Geithner. Maybe if Obama wore a Santa hat this Christmas, the Dow Jones would go up to 15,000?!

 

IMF 

 

China keeps getting told what to do. This time it was the IMF that chimed in and told them that they need a “freer market,” as ironic as that sounds. The IMF told them that they need to relax their grips on their banks, exchange rates, and interest rates. Here is a quote directly from Jonathan Fiechter, the head of the IMF team that conducted this latest analysis, “While the existing structure fosters high savings and high levels of liquidity, it also creates the risk of capital misallocation and the formation of bubbles, especially in real estate.” It is so easy to go and spout out excellent advice but unable to implement it yourself. Maybe the U.S. government can take a hint and free up this market so the government can stop creating bubbles in so many inefficient and worthless programs.

 

Freddie Mac (FMCC) and Fannie Mae (FNMA), the largest providers of U.S. home loan funding, on Tuesday said they made numerous changes to their refinancing guidelines, seeking to enroll more borrowers whose property values have fallen during the housing bust. Well, there goes having a “free market” in the housing market with the epidemic continuing.  The moves are seen as one way of removing some doubt among lenders of their responsibility for the initial loan, a sticking point for approvals of loans under the U.S.’s Home Affordable Refinance Program. Isn’t it so nice to know that the government is right there for us to take the risk out of any business transaction that the poor banks would ever have to make. About 10.9 million U.S. households, or nearly 23% of those with a mortgage, owe more on their home loans than their properties are worth, according to data provider CoreLogic Inc. Sounds like a setup for more safety nets and bubbles.

 

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Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of the fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise.” Cato the Elder