By Victor Thorn —
By 2008, President George W. Bush had executed a piledriver on the American economy, sending it into a death spiral. Six years later, despite an $831 billion stimulus package and nearly doubling of the national debt, Barack Obama has proven himself to be an economic lightweight.
The numbers speak for themselves. On June 6, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said in a statement, “Since President Obama came into office in 2009, 7.2 million people have left the workforce entirely.” In terms of gender, the workforce participation rate among women hasn’t been this low since 1991, whereas full-time employment plummeted by 3.2 million since Obama stepped into the Oval Office.
Granted, some jobs have been created. Temporary help has risen 16% over the last six years, while low-paying service jobs increased by 8%. Sadly, construction and manufacturing have lost 20% and 11.7% respectively on Obama’s watch.
The economic bloodletting has hit all sectors of the economy. During the first quarter of 2014, government figures showed a titanic 2.9% decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In a May 30 article, political editor Daniel Halper highlighted what several charts the Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee produced on the shape of the economy.
“A staggering one in eight men [age 25-54] are not in the labor force at all, meaning they are neither working nor looking for work. This is an all-time high dating back to when records were first kept in 1955.”
Stated differently, 10 million men in their prime working years are unemployed or have entirely given up on seeking a job. Although the White House touts a relatively rosy unemployment rate of 6.3%, if one checks the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ U-6 charts which tallies total unemployment and underemployment, that number soars to 16.1%.
Aggravating matters even further, China—clearly the slave labor capital of the world—is now urging corporations to dump the U.S. dollar and instead purchase products with their currency, the renminbi, or literally, “people’s currency.” Through coercion and promises to slash the price of imports, the Chinese are systematically attempting to destroy the U.S. dollar. A Financial Times article from June 4 stated that
“China’s renminbi is rapidly displacing the U.S. dollar as a trading currency not only in Asia and Europe but now also in the U.S. home market. The value of renminbi payments between the U.S. and the rest of the world rose by 327% in April from the same month a year ago as more U.S. corporations switched to using the Chinese currency to pay for imports from China.”
With a weakened dollar and legions of disillusioned workers, it’s no surprise that Wall Street adviser David John Marotta remarked in January that America’s misery index reached a 40-year high.
Forces of Financial Ruination Join Together to Destroy U.S.
By Victor Thorn
As a former Kansas lawman, political columnist and founder of Heartland USA, which strives to preserve American sovereignty, Dr. Greg Evensen sees nefarious forces at work in the world today.
On June 17 Evensen told this reportor: “There’s a globalist entity that I call the Council on Economic Defeat, which feels that all countries should exist on a level playing field. At the present time, President Barack Obama and many prominent Democratic Party members agree with this sentiment. Their plan involves a massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar that will send this country into oblivion.”
When asked for more details, Evensen explained: “This world conglomerate, akin to a UN council of economic ministers, would be the ruling body that decides what resources each country has depending on their debt level. Since government spending is off the charts, they’ll level out our economic advantage by radically slashing the value of U.S. currency by at least one third. There will also be additional pressures to hamper our GDP so that it doesn’t increase.”
Government figures show that GDP for the first quarter of 2014 dropped by 1% while Goldman Sachs claimed it fell by more than 2%.
If this scenario proves correct, Evensen envisions catastrophic consequences.
“We’ll reach a point where there’s no retreat from the policies that bankers have imposed on our government,” he said. “At that point markets will begin a serious slide into the abyss because the dollar’s value will go down so far. If that happens, the American people will be forced to eat terrible losses through increased taxation and a devalued currency.”
Lastly, when describing our economy in 2014 under Barack Obama, Evensen stated, “It’s on life support and going down rapidly. Notify the family and tell them that death is imminent.”
Debt & Currency Collapse Travel a Collision Course
By Victor Thorn
On June 17 AMERICAN FREE PRESS interviewed Harvey Gordin, the CEO of USA Gold LLC, a well-known investment firm that helps people add gold and silver to their portfolios. According to Gordin, America’s national debt is the biggest problem the country is facing, far worse than terrorism, war or Russia.
“It’s a lot whenever somebody owes a trillion of anything,” said Gordin. “In fact, it’s so big that if you counted to a trillion by saying one number every second, it would take 31,688 years to reach a trillion. Now, multiply that by 17, which is what this country owes, and you realize the problems we face. Worse, I haven’t even included the $125 trillion in unfunded mandates that no one seems willing to discuss.”
When considering the ramifications of the U.S. dollar losing its status as the world’s reserve currency, Gordin predicted: “The U.S. will become a third world country. We’ll be hurt worse than anyone else, especially those with money in the bank. If the petrodollar is dropped, it’s possible that the money people have deposited in banks could lose 50% of its value, if not more.”
Gordin’s reasoning couldn’t be more clear.
“Debts must be repaid, and whether it’s a business or government, they can do it three ways,” he said. “First, debts can be erased by taking money out of profits. Since the government has no profits, they’ll either declare bankruptcy or paper-over their debts via hyperinflation. Essentially, they’ll satisfy creditors with worthless money. Today, our dollars are backed by nothing but debt.”
As to who could affect the future of the U.S. dollar, Gordin focused his attention on one man: “George Soros has made fortunes in the past by attacking a country’s currency. Look at his role in the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Everyone with money in the bank lost their shirts. That’s the way Soros operates.”
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has accused Soros of intentionally ruining his country’s economy through shady investment deals, manipulating Malaysia’s stock market and then devaluing the country’s currency.
Can This Man Save America?
By Victor Thorn
During two interviews conducted on June 18-19, Jim Traficant, a former sheriff, congressman and writer for this newspaper, said with assurance that, despite the current tough times, he believes there’s hope.
“Our economy is ready to implode at any moment, and it can only get worse if we stick with the financial scheme at hand,” said Traficant. “But PROJECT FREEDOM USA (PFUSA) would make America a tax haven for the world. Corporations that abandoned this country over the past few decades would return from China and South America. Every major auto company in the world would be building cars in America.”
PROJECT FREEDOM USA refers to a new organization set up by Traficant and AMERICAN FREE PRESS that seeks to abolish the IRS and the Federal Reserve and take back control of America’s taxes and monetary system.
The solution, according to Traficant, is right before our eyes. “The Communist Manifesto’s second plank is a progressive income tax,” said Traficant. “Experts agree that whenever governments use this type of tax system, it damages their means of production. We need to open up this country once again to manufacturing.”
Convinced that taxation stifles growth, Traficant referred to another statistic: “The top 10% of wage earners in America pay 70% of all income taxes. How much more are these people expected to pay before they’re completely without incentive? Our government controls America’s production through the tax code. It must stop.”
When questioned about President Barack Obama, who has had no business experience throughout his life, Traficant answered: “Obama has taken us beyond socialism. We’re a quasi-communist nation now. The president was content to utilize stimulus activity, but nobody can grow out of debt by accumulating more debt. Soon there won’t be any difference between Uncle Sam and the former Soviet Union.”
Bankers were also on Traficant’s mind. “If we don’t take back control of our monetary policy, America could collapse into civil war,” he said. “Why in God’s name are bankers allowed to control our money? The money trust has to go.”
Other problems exist, according to Traficant. “Government is way too big and must be reduced,” he said. “We don’t need the departments of Education, Transportation and Energy.”
Traficant next addressed the subject of labor. “This country can’t prosper if the government keeps taking larger chunks of our money and redistributing it,” said Traficant. “Some 47 million people are on food stamps. Under PFUSA, government workfare would replace welfare.”
As a closing thought, Traficant stressed, “The current tax system doesn’t handle this country’s needs. Rewarding dependency kills investments and jobs. Let’s throw out what we have because it can’t be fixed.”
Victor Thorn is a hard-hitting researcher, journalist and author of over 40 books.
