via CNN
I don't know if anyone has made this connection but this is the second time in a matter of months that Federal Law Enforcement has been defied by average citizens.
That is stunning, unprecedented and points to one undeniable fact.
We're on the brink of widespread civil disobedience.
I could be wrong but I don't think so. The country is on edge and the powers that be either don't know it or don't care.
(CNN) -- A wall of angry protesters blocked three buses of undocumented immigrants in Southern California, forcing them to turn around -- but with no clear final destination.Read the entire story here.
The immigrants had traveled from South Texas to San Diego and were on their way to be processed at the Murrieta Border Patrol station when the standoff took place Tuesday.
Protesters chanting "USA!" "Impeach Obama!" and "Deport! Deport!" blocked their route. A heated yelling match ensued between the demonstrators and a group of counterprotesters.
I don't know if anyone has made this connection but this is the second time in a matter of months that Federal Law Enforcement has been defied by average citizens.
That is stunning, unprecedented and points to one undeniable fact.
We're on the brink of widespread civil disobedience.
I could be wrong but I don't think so. The country is on edge and the powers that be either don't know it or don't care.
The debt has to be serviced. 6.4% of Federal budget goes to interest, and out of the 61 trillion the United States owes, 15% of our GDP goes to servicing debt. No one ever predicts the fall of nations, it's always after the fact that they realize it's over.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hate to say it, but the fall of the USA will be the most brutal and savage of any nation. So many different ethnicities, cultures, etc. It especially won't be good when the trucks and trains stop moving, considering food and whatnot. I doubt California fruit and Silicon Valley will be able to feed LA.
15% of GDP ??......woow....now that is one figure i was unaware off. Back in India when our Fiscal Deficit touched 4.8% to 5.2%, everyone raised a national Alarm bell. Within a year it was reduced to less than 3% with savage cuts to various Govt. Ministries. Thats why we couldnt sign the deal for those AH-64D's and M777's.
DeleteBut seriously....you need to get debt free and fast. Or its an Insult to your Founding Fathers Ideals of a free world because Debt signifies that "you" are "working" for "somebody" other than yourself. The higher the debt, the more you work for "their" agenda rather than your own.
we're already working on someone else's agenda. do you think the average American wants to be world police? nope, but the corporations need us out there to protect their interests.
DeleteDude check your math. If 6% of the federal budget (which is an accurate number going towards debt service) equaled 15% of GDP, then the federal budget would be 250% GDP.
DeleteThe national debt is NOT $61 trillion.
last i checked it was something like 17 trillion. i don't even know if thats correct but its still an astonomical number and the president/congress are still spending like drunk monkeys.
Deletethe issue is the same. we're in debt, debt isn't good and we need to do something about it.
lets stay focused on the big picture and not get bogged down in minutiae.
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DeleteTotal public and private debt of the United States is $61 trillion. http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?get_gallerynr=5029 http://www.usdebtclock.org/#
DeleteGrowing up: we always had a big garden. And big winters. Did fine.
ReplyDeleteMy parents had 1/2 dozen fruit trees and a small vegetable garden. They survived WW2 as children.
DeleteSomething tells me that many of us will and should be growing at least some of our food.
My grandparents (Great Depression Generation) kept a large pantry and a spare freezer so they could buy food (especially meat) when the prices were low, and avoid buying when the prices were high. Been doing the same myself with good results. We're also tending a large garden, though the fruit trees will need to mature for another year or two.
DeleteOf course none of that would matter were I still living in Silicon Valley. There will be islands of stability and relative prosperity in the years ahead. Make sure you're near one and reasonably far away from the obvious future hell-holes.
its funny. you know that wild pigs are considered a pest creature, but if things go as bad as i think they could we could soon look on those animals as a God send.
Deleteits almost like they're a gift to those that are willing to go out and harvest them.
Here's me playing a devils advocate of sorts with an alternative scenario-
ReplyDeleteWhat if instead of turning them away you accepted the immigrants. What if-
1.) The US Govt. and allied financial sector gave cheap loans to existing US citizens to set up factories where a certain percentage of people 30/40% have to be immigrants.
2.) US Financial sector and Govt. origanizations are already giving out cheap loans and credit and bail out packages to US corporations who are lavishing this largesse on Chinese factories.
3.) this largesse is denying US tax payer his due and indirectly subsidizing Chinese Powerty eradication and domestic consumption rather than helping the US do the same with their own citizens.
4.) The new 30/40% immigrant factories and companies that come up can only have US taxpayer or social security holder ownership.
5.) US citizens have immense talent which is evident from the huge number of servises and products available in the market. Its just that recently you have been prioritizing services sector rather than the production and factory sector.
6.) If these same enterprising citizens are given cheap credit, the amount of small medium and large scale set ups that will come up will be huge and diverse as hell.
7.) With Cheap labour these factories will be very competitive even if not cheaper than cheap chinese prison labour. I wouldnt call these immigrant cheap....lets call them economic. They can be your biggest weapon against China.
8.) 10 years of good behaviour and police record less service will get you a US Green Card Citizenship. Every worker on average will not strike/riot for atleast 10 years giving you long tern productive labour.
10.) Off course existing US citizens will get employment. Better 5 factories with 50% jobs than 2 with 100%.
11.) Within 5 years, Texas will become the most "Industrialized" state in USA with an economy bigger than California. You will be able to rival all those superlarge industrial zones that China has without brutalizing people and stomping over human rights. A true alternative to Chinese style Governance.
what if we do as you say.
Deletewhat do we do with the next 2 million people from central and s. america that suddenly turn up on our border stating that they're escaping oppression? what about the 2 million people in Syria that are running from war? what about the 6 million people in Africa that are running from war, pestilence and famine?
if we do as you say the draw will be undeniable and the off switch will be murky because we refuse to follow our own laws.
liberals live in a fantasy world where they lead with their hearts instead of their brains. thats why liberals can't run anything. they live in a theoretical, not real world....your idea sounds good in theory but in practice it would destroy America.
Ask any company doing business in third world countries what price they have to pay for doing business outside. Paying for welfare projects because the govt. couldnt provide any, corporate social responsibility, building schools for employees kids from scratch, creating your own technical training schools for employees becuase of low talent, protection money to locals for not creating a ruckus, bribes to every level in the bureucracy, bribes to contractors who supply to you, hosting huge armies of politicians supporters and thugs during elections etc. These are payments that add on to the cost of doing business which is to a large extend absent from working in USA which is why most companies would actually prefer a factory being staffed by mexicans and run by americans in Houston rather than Tijuana protected by US law and taking full advantge of US Infrastructure Advantage.
DeleteYou dont have to accept all the millions who want to come in. Get a qouta system in place. You already have a large number of "Foreign" people- Brits, French, Indians, Germans, Japanese etc. in your services, tech, medical, education sector. The US allows such a large number of "Foreighners" because their contributions yield large benefits which can be taxed and which provide employent to a large number of "Domestic" workers. All you have to do is extrend the same courtesy to the lower levels of your society......the ones who work in factories, carpentors, smiths, tailors etc. These factories can be hugely profitable and employment generationl as any STEM (science Tech. Engineer Mathematics) job that you soo readily allow "Foreighners" to get.
DeleteNote- You need more Citizens. High performing, Law abiding Citizens who contribute to society cause China's numerical advantage is increasingly being enabled by technical/technological advantages.
we have a real unemployment rate of probably 20%. we've had stagnate wages for over 20 years because of a glut of labor. we are an advanced country. we can produce all the doctors, engineers etc that we need. what we can't do is produce those people that will work for peanuts.
Deletethats why corporations are so into immigration. they can get labor for cheap.
thats not how an advanced nation maintains a standard of living.
maybe when the economy picks up we can be more liberal with our immigration policy. until then SHUT DOWN THE FUCKING BORDERS!
Here is why we need immigration, very simple statistic. By 2050 the Potential Support Ratio (number of 18-65 year olds vs number of children and retirees) in the old "core" (US, Western Europe, Japan) will be 2:1. In the 1950s globally that number was 12:1, by 2050 it will be 4:1 globally. In the "gap" that number will be 10:1 by 2050. By 2050 we are going to be so desperate for people who can work we are going to be bringing them in crazy to keep the ship running. This means you've got 2 choices, bring them in now and assimilate them overtime, or go through the cultural horror show currently taking place in Europe due to immigration (return of Nazi Parties across Europe, inevitable violent push back from a labor pool undergoing massive culture shock). Btw US and China will hit the "Florida mark" (25% retired population) at the exact same time, meaning they'll have more old people than we have people thanks to the One Child Policy (known as the 1:2:4 problem, 1 male, 2 parents to support, 4 grand parents to support), that's not a situation where a country wants to go to war and bleed off their worker pool.
DeleteHere's a novel idea: Instead of destroying our culture and country in order to keep subsidizing old people... We just stop subsidizing old people.
DeleteAnd I'm saying that as someone with two very ill parents who rely on Social Security.
Whatever government pays for, we see more of. Whether it's old people, the sick, the poor, or single mothers. Without the subsidies, our culture would have to find real solutions to these issues instead of encouraging them to get worse over time. A good example of which would be the health care system's complete disregard of preventative medicine in favor of waiting until people's bodies are broken to start care.
Sorry, it's just too bad for them. They should have seen Social Security and Medicare for what it is; the greatest ponzi scheme the world has ever seen.
DeleteOld people die. They better have enough wealth stashed away to support themselves, or they better have loving children. That's how it used to be, and it should never have changed.
That's it. I've decided I'm going to buy that bug out bag that I saw online and then outfit it with my personal gear. If there is a revolution I will want to vanish into the woods and go anonymous until I get my bearings.
ReplyDeleteWhy not stay and help your local community fight/work? Seriously. This lone-wolf bunker crap is nonsense.
Deletei agree with you up to a point. if you grab your stuff and simply head into the woods then you're a refugee at best. at worst you're going to find yourself ill equipped for long term survival. on the other hand how many of us actually live in a community? we have neighbors but how many of us hangout and barbecue and share our lives with those people?
Deletethe reality is that where you live is wher eyou've gonna make your stand.
that doesn't mean that you will share everything but a mutual aid pack, mutual defense and bartering might be the best we can hope for.
what people really need are large old fashioned families. thats the only way to really be self contained.