This article was written by Paul Craig Roberts and originally published at his website.
Editor’s Comment: Despite the rhetoric, “free trade” has been nothing more than a looting by corporations and agenda driven NGOs. With a deepening of these policies looming under the ominous Trans-Pacific Partnership, America is swiftly becoming an economically destroyed third world country, for some time now ruled over by a banana republic.
As Paul Craig Roberts points out, the “scarcity of jobs and the low pay are direct consequences of jobs offshoring,” meaning that the America’s decline has been an engineered one to bring the former middle class and prosperous American mainstream down to the level of other regions who are still struggling to develop at all. Until that changes, things will only worsen. While billionaire tycoons shape the world, Americans will be passing around worthless dollars, and standing in bread lines at FEMA camps, long since past looking for jobs.
The time to get prepared for the worst has long since approached. Get ready for what is coming.
US On Road To Third World
by Paul Craig Roberts
On January 6, 2004, Senator Charles Schumer and I challenged the erroneous idea that jobs offshoring was free trade in a New York Times op-ed. Our article so astounded economists that within a few days Schumer and I were summoned to a Brookings Institution conference in Washington, DC, to explain our heresy. In the nationally televised conference, I declared that the consequence of jobs offshoring would be that the US would be a Third World country in 20 years.
That was 11 years ago, and the US is on course to descend to Third World status before the remaining nine years of my prediction have expired.
The evidence is everywhere. In September the US Bureau of the Census released its report on US household income by quintile. Every quintile, as well as the top 5%, has experienced a decline in real household income since their peaks. The bottom quintile (lower 20 percent) has had a 17.1% decline in real income from the 1999 peak (from $14,092 to $11,676). The 4th quintile has had a 10.8% fall in real income since 2000 (from $34,863 to $31,087). The middle quintile has had a 6.9% decline in real income since 2000 (from $58,058 to $54,041). The 2nd quintile has had a 2.8% fall in real income since 2007 (from $90,331 to $87,834). The top quintile has had a decline in real income since 2006 of 1.7% (from $197,466 to $194,053). The top 5% has experienced a 4.8% reduction in real income since 2006 (from $349,215 to $332,347). Only the top One Percent or less (mainly the 0.1%) has experienced growth in income and wealth.
The Census Bureau uses official measures of inflation to arrive at real income. These measures are understated. If more accurate measures of inflation are used (such as those available from shadowstats.com), the declines in real household income are larger and have been declining for a longer period. Some measures show real median annual household income below levels of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Note that these declines have occurred during an alleged six-year economic recovery from 2009 to the current time, and during a period when the labor force was shrinking due to a sustained decline in the labor force participation rate. On April 3, 2015 the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that 93,175,000 Americans of working age are not in the work force, a historical record. Normally, an economic recovery is marked by a rise in the labor force participation rate. John Williams reports that when discouraged workers are included among the measure of the unemployed, the US unemployment rate is currently 23%, not the 5.2% reported figure.
In a recently released report, the Social Security Administration provides annual income data on an individual basis. Are you ready for this?
In 2014 38% of all American workers made less than $20,000; 51% made less than $30,000; 63% made less than $40,000; and 72% made less than $50,000.
The scarcity of jobs and the low pay are direct consequences of jobs offshoring. Under pressure from “shareholder advocates” (Wall Street) and large retailers, US manufacturing companies moved their manufacturing abroad to countries where the rock bottom price of labor results in a rise in corporate profits, executive “performance bonuses,” and stock prices.
The departure of well-paid US manufacturing jobs was soon followed by the departure of software engineering, IT, and other professional service jobs.
Incompetent economic studies by careless economists, such as Michael Porter at Harvard and Matthew Slaughter at Dartmouth, concluded that the gift of vast numbers of US high productivity, high value-added jobs to foreign countries was a great benefit to the US economy.
In articles and books I challenged this absurd conclusion, and all of the economic evidence proves that I am correct. The promised better jobs that the “New Economy” would create to replace the jobs gifted to foreigners have never appeared. Instead, the economy creates lowly-paid part-time jobs, such as waitresses, bartenders, retail clerks, and ambulatory health care services, while full-time jobs with benefits continue to shrink as a percentage of total jobs.
These part-time jobs do not provide enough income to form a household. Consequently, as a Federal Reserve study reports, “Nationally, nearly half of 25-year-olds lived with their parents in 2012-2013, up from just over 25% in 1999.”
When half of 25-year olds cannot form households, the market for houses and home furnishings collapses.
Finance is the only sector of the US economy that is growing. The financial industry’s share of GDP has risen from less than 4% in 1960 to about 8% today. As Michael Hudson has shown, finance is not a productive activity. It is a looting activity (Killing The Host).
Moreover, extraordinary financial concentration and reckless risk and debt leverage have made the financial sector a grave threat to the economy.
The absence of growth in real consumer income means that there is no growth in aggregate demand to drive the economy. Consumer indebtedness limits the ability of consumers to expand their spending with credit. These spending limits on consumers mean that new investment has limited appeal to businesses. The economy simply cannot go anywhere, except down as businesses continue to lower their costs by substituting part-time jobs for full-time jobs and by substituting foreign for domestic workers. Government at every level is over-indebted, and quantitative easing has over-supplied the US currency.
This is not the end of the story. When manufacturing jobs depart, research, development, design, and innovation follow. An economy that doesn’t make things does not innovate. The entire economy is lost, not merely the supply chains.
The economic and social infrastructure is collapsing, including the family itself, the rule of law, and the accountability of government.
When college graduates can’t find employment because their jobs have been offshored or given to foreigners on work visas, the demand for college education declines. To become indebted only to find employment that cannot service student loans becomes a bad economic decision.
We already have the situation where college and university administrations spend 75% of the university’s budget on themselves, hiring adjuncts to teach the classes for a few thousand dollars. The demand for full time faculty with a career before them has collapsed. When the consequences of putting short-term corporate profits before jobs for Americans fully hit, the demand for university education will collapse and with it American science and technology.
The collapse of the Soviet Union was the worst thing that ever happened to the United States. The two main consequences of the Soviet collapse have been devastating. One consequence was the rise of the neoconservative hubris of US world hegemony, which has resulted in 14 years of wars that have cost $6 trillion. The other consequence was a change of mind in socialist India and communist China, large countries that responded to “the end of history” by opening their vast under-utilized labor forces to Western capital, which resulted in the American economic decline that this article describes, leaving a struggling economy to bear the enormous war debt.
It is a reasonable conclusion that a social-political-economic system so incompetently run already is a Third World country.
References:
http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/Household-Income-Distribution.php
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/income.html
all American managers who decided to sent jobs overseas should be sent to a concentration camp
VirginiaMom,
it goes deeper than just that, outsourcing has been going on since the lat 80’s and just gained more strength in the later years, BUT it not only is because of the business managers BUT the regs. from the government as well, we NEED MAJOR reform in the country to survive, and that is NEW politicians who CARE about the GOOD of this country and NOT just to line there own pockets!!!
We have to fix this situation, and quick…
You cant.
Even the republican presidential candidates, that are talking about cutting corporate and individual tax rates to bring jobs back cannot fix things.
10-20 years ago when jobs first started leaving, the usa could’ve held on to most of them by keeping their tax rates low and corporations being ruthless and just picking up entire factories and moving them to non union states and cutting wages to building a car to 15 to 30 dollars per hour, but many of the jobs that left are now being doing for less than $10 per hour; they’re never coming back unless americans are going to accept that kind of wage.
and you throw in robots and automation and a lot of jobs have disappeared forever and this is going to continue.
the next 25 to 50 years are going to be real dark imo because the west has a lot of people expecting the high salaries and lifestyles they are used to will continue forever and they are not going to.
imo, world war 3 may come about just as an excuse for the elite to get rid of a lot of people and definitely a lot of people with costly health issues.
lena, agreed…
I look at it in terms of how will our children will survive…
I wonder where we will be in 20 years…
Brave and Swinging,
Hit me guys, ready to meet…
You want to fix this situation?
Vote conservative.
(Notice I didn’t say, “Republican” or “Democrat”. Especially not “Libertarian”.)
Thats a laugh!
Everybody knows voting is now just an excercise in futility,,,
Nothings going to change other than the weight of the boot that will be used to squash anyone who gives a crap
He clearly does not understand the real problem.
Kula,
do you remember that one of Mitt Romney’s companies build the voting machines, and they can be set to do what ever they want them to and NO – ONE knows! we have been scammed for years and what the government is really prepping for is CIVIL un-rest in this country! caused by a multitude of issues, we will see, because as it occurs is WHEN WE need to make the ove and oust ALL the scum in washington. and THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE AFRAID OF.
Got a recommendation? Seems like were out of them.
Kevin2
“We need a more permanent solution to our problem”.
“Jesus Christ Superstar”.
Buy made in the USA.
A lot of plumbing fixtures are still made locally, Weber BBQ pits, Redwing boots, if it’s food grown in Mexico, don’t buy it. I’ve looked, can’t find a pair of tennis shoes made here, wear them longer. Now shoes are coming from Vietnam, look out China.
Pick a product and tell the public “In the interest of American jobs we will not allow the importation of this ——- any longer.”
But alas WE sold out our fellow Americans for cheaper materialist goods. WE see it everyday with the cars on our roads, Infinity, Lexis, Benz, Fiat, Volvo, VW, BMW.
JUST STOP BUYING THEIR STUFF. STOP EATING AT CHAIN RESTAURANTS. BUY LOCAL, BUY USED, BUY USA
AND STOP CREDIT CARD USE, 1 1/2-3% OF THE SALE GOES TO THE BANK
Here’s a recommendation for when you can’t pay your electric bill:
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/blogs/new-refrigerator-cools-food-without-electricity
Btw, does anyone here remember the debates I use to have with that fucking moron Clark about the evils of FREE TRADE ???
What ever happened to that idiot ??? 🙂
@DK:
What you call “FREE TRADE” is NOT true free trade which is based on free association. “FREE TRADE” as you conceptualize it is actually CRONY TRADE, which is anything but “free.”
Crony trade is the spawn of government and corporate collusion, i.e. Fascism.
The problem lies with the concept of the “Corporate Entity.” An entity created by the State.
Corporation
n. “an organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person to carry on business (or other activities), which can sue or be sued, and (unless it is non-profit) can issue shares of stock to raise funds with which to start a business or increase its capital. One benefit is that a corporation’s liability for damages or debts is limited to its assets, so the shareholders and officers are protected from personal claims, unless they commit fraud.” Translation: No individual is held responsible for the actions of a corporate entity, UNLESS that entity falls out of favor with the State. See Jon “too big to jail” Corzine.
Bottom line: Major corporations are the State. See The Trilateral Commission, and The CFR.
“It is clear that the Executive Branch of the U.S. was literally hijacked in 1976 by members of the Trilateral Commission, upon the election of President Jimmy Carter and Vice-President Walter Mondale. This near-absolute domination, especially in the areas of trade, banking, economics and foreign policy, has continued unchallenged and unabated to the present. Windfall profits have accrued to interests associated with the Trilateral Commission, but the effect of their “New International Economic Order” on the U.S. has been nothing less than devastating.”
Here it is folks , a classic flip flop by our resident dipshit DK ( he is usually the free trade apologist, today not so much). He will take whatever side offers him the chance at the moment of appearing to be a genius. If you’re not paying attention you might actually be fooled by him.
Here there are no Conservatives that will admit to it. I’m ready to start shooting at government people. Thankfully, our authorities are so lazy or incompetent , they are not yet a solid threat. So I “hang out”.
Not a threat? The EPA has spent more than $1.4 million dollars on guns and ammo to protect the Spotted Owl.
40 federal government agencies like the EPA have more than 100,000 well armed officers with assault rifles.
Just a week ago, I spotted three Arizona Highway (Transportation) Department law enforcement vehicles and officers. These armed police were not DPS, AZ Rangers or any other known (to me) law enforcement agency.
Apparently the Highway (street) Department needs its own armed officers to issue citations for (frivolous) violations. To their credit they couldn’t find a reason to cite me, but they damn sure tried to find a violation, with the first officer calling in two separate backups.
I must be on someone’s list. 🙂 🙂
durangokidd said:
“I must be on someone’s list.”
LOL. Ya you are! You’re a high status member of the blue list, a.k.a. List of FedGovSimps. “Sympathisanten.”
Why do you think they didn’t cite you? They vetted you on the spot by checking your archived posts on SHTFplan. They determined that you were a fellow FGS. I’m surprised they didn’t give you a badge, a costume, and an invitation to join them on the spot!
“Heimatschutz!”
Yeah! Vote.
I no longer care about the “elections” as I know that they are pre-determined. I care about my family and wish to be with them when we all face death. We have all been warned and the truth has been out there for many, many years….sadly, mankind has chosen to ignore these warnings and has chosen instead, to embrace that which God deplores. There is no turning back the tide of evil now, so have Faith, Prepare for that which is coming, and live and love and laugh in the name of the Lord.
Plus the knock-on-effect of cheap turd world labor.
Total economic isolation is the only way to save our lifestyle? What else will? We can’t compete with the third world? Unless we become the third world? Us or them? Do we really need them? We can grow and produce everything we need. But then the internationalists won’t make money. Do we need them? They have bought our government with bribes . And now the chickens are coming home . That big sucking sound. The bigs don’t care their making lots of money . It will take years to recover . Unless ww3 ?
lena
The developed would had protective tariffs that, “leveled the playing field” against ultra cheap labor. The threat of communistic nationalization like what happened in Cuba when Castro took power was well in the minds of manufacturers. These two factors kept jobs here. The USSR collapsed ending the fear of nationalization of industrial assets and the globalist business interests with plenty of money to spread around got “Free Trade” passed. It first happened here in the baby step of NAFTA and Democrats traditionally supporters of organized labor supported it hesitantly, as their ultra popular President Clinton offered federal money and assurances placating their re-election fears. Labor, ignorant of how their Congressman, Senator and President votes supported Clinton and the very people that for practical purposes sent their jobs overseas. The Republicans who never hid their support for NAFTA took the rap. With disorganized sheep casting ballots the party of the little guy Democrats voted for China Free Trade and as icing on the cake the demise of Depression Era Banking/Finance regulations Glass-Stragall. Want to hear a the ignorant speak? Say “Free Trade” and you’ll hear, “Damn Republicans”. They’ll vote for Bill Clinton again and in his absence Hillary too. In the end it really doesn’t matter as at the Presidential level you had no body to vote for. I suspect Ross Perot real job was to put Clinton in office as GH Bush had no chance of getting the three items TPTB wanted passed because he was an evil Republican.
I have heard labor, jealous of other blue collar people making a better wage say, “Those damn Steel Workers, were making too much money” while they toiled in the low paying textile industry. Guess what? Their $15 / hr (hardly high paying) job went overseas to Asia for 25 CENTS PER HOUR.
Oops World not would…….. auto spell damn
yep, both parties share blame on this for decades. they gave away jobs, techonological and military advantages and anything else they could think of.
the few that figered it out see dark days ahead because its too late to reverse.
@lena:
“Kevin2” and “Plan twice, prep once” are actually the same individual!
Note well… Some people employ and enjoy multiple tags (user names).
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) finds a release on the internet.
Sad But True.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8MO7fkZc5o
I use only one handle, deal with it.
What’s your problem?
Mostly incorrect. Jobs didnt go overseas. Either for the most part did companies. For the most part companies made partnerships with Indian, then Chinese companies to make product for them. US companies in those days were trying to separate themselves from the ever expanding product lawsuit cases that were happening in the 1970’s,1980’s. Its really hard to sue a company if they are just selling someone elses product. (Even if they own part of the company) especially if that company is overseas. Then there was the EPA who was running around fining and shutting down companies for being grouse polluters. Then the companies with deep pockets found that they could undercut their competition by buying overseas and selling in the states instead of making here. Prior to 1980 there was a ever expanding middle class who were taking large chunk of market share from the large companies. The small companies were much more inventive and didnt have the overhead of the large companies so they could make product and sell it cheaper than the large companies. But the large companies had money and bank connections. So on comes the free trade agreements and the large companies flourish and the small companies fail. Today we are getting to the end results of this where the large companies can charge what they want because they have destroyed the competition.
Ed
“Mostly incorrect. Jobs didnt go overseas.”
Interesting play with words. The jobs did end in the US and for the most part the rest of developed world and went to the developing world at a sub fraction of the cost.
Germany and some of northern Europe has a niche market of very high quality goods that China & India has yet to penetrate yet.
Its not mostly correct it is correct.
Its not a play with words. If you dont understand the reason for your competition/enemy’s reasoning, You cant succeed. They did not go overseas to make a few more bucks at the expense of the American people. They went overseas to destroy the competition. Which they did. However lately the middle class has been investing in China too. So the Big Business is losing market share again. What it means is that they plan to return. Hence all the anti China propaganda being unleashed today. When China gets closed it will leave all the small business hanging high and dry. They have neither the capital to do it their selves or the willing industrial base to do it for them. All the small guys are either gone or captive to a large company. So the big company with the deep pockets will build their billion dollar automated plants here in the USA and make their products here with limited competition from anyone.
Just take a look at all the companies that the big companies are snapping up these days. Unlike the 1980’s when the stripped and sold them for scrap they are holding on to them and waiting.
” They did not go overseas to make a few more bucks at the expense of the American people”
They could pay $40 / hr including benefits and an EPA, OSHA and a few state regulations to boot or in the absence of tariffs and less than $1 /hr compensation. Na, increased profits from lowered labor costs had nothing to do with it. Competition? They all went overseas competition included. They had easy labor to exploit with governments willing to let them do it. Cancer causing chemicals? Forgetaboutit. Kill off 6000 people as Union Carbide did in India? No worries mate.
When robotics take over the low cost labor is moot. Who gets what and where we will see.
Not arguing with you but trying to make a point.
Union Carbide killed off 15000 people there. But that was prior to EPA by many years and They were there prior to WW2.
Union Carbide was actually one of the victims of the rush to china and was acquired by Dow Chemical. One of the major players in the rush to china.
Ive been to china both in the 1980’s and a few years ago. When I first went cars were tough to find. Lots of small trucks but few cars. Today Id be willing to bet there ore more cars there than in the USA. Housing was in the 1980’s Tenements in crappy high rises for the most part. Today it is luxury condos and even tracks of single family homes. You dont get that by paying $1 per hour.
Ed
Bhupal occurred in 1986. The EPA and OSHA were formed in 1970. I’m well familiar with it. It was a catalyst for Oil Refining to separate from the the more profitable upstream operations of Exploration and Production in the oil industry. From that was born Valero and the like.
The bulk of the workforce, the big numbers in China is at $1 hr. The assembly people don’t own the cars.
Interestingly jobs are leaving China for even cheaper labor in SE Asia.
Chinas wages are held back by that Korean War statement, “The bottomless pit of Asian manpower”. The majority of their people are still scattered in rural areas. Skilled labor may bring a premium. Whats a premium in China relative to US wages? A whole lot less.
Business is not immoral. They have no desire to intentionally hurt anyone. They’re amoral and couldn’t care less about you one way or the other. A human being and a cog in the machine. Its just a different part of the manufacturing process.
Companies were willing to move operations from the unionized north to the non union south to save 25% on labor in the 1960s. They were damn sure willing to go overseas once tariffs dropped to save 90% on labor.
Cheap labor willing to be exploited. Its just as tempting as candy for a kid.
Paul Craig Robers knows from what he speaks.
“Jobs didnt go overseas. Either for the most part did companies. For the most part companies made partnerships with Indian, then Chinese companies to make product for them.”
That’s what is implied by the phrase “jobs went overseas.” Of course very few people here went to work overseas, but it’s mere semantics to discuss how businesses and jobs left the country.
Oh, and yes, the matter of legalities (and taxes) was, most definitely, a huge factor in sending American companies overseas (again, semantics: contracting with business offshore.)
Wow . I experienced this first hand. I worked in a plant that made fire fighting skids & equipment for ships and oil terminals ( a division of sun oil. Starting in 1981 we noticed some of the steel was coming from Canada . The old timers were pissed most of them wwll veterans. In 82 a picture of a new plant in Mexico was put on the break room wall . It caused sutch a ruckus they had a plant meeting & told us they are just expanding & calm down … 1983 the plant closed.
All the posters here are wrong in one big sense,they assume that what has happened in the past will continue to happen in the future.The assumption is that whole deal will just keep going on like a perpetual motion machine that never stops,.. they are wrong,it will stop in the near future when the worlds Central Banking System comes to a grinding halt.It is as simple as this,…the political & financial systems can not survive much longer as things now stand! When they do collapse it will be a brand new Ball Game.
Americans were lead to believe that they are some sort of exceptional people (courtesy of their system and thanks to credit abundance)…however, they are extremely ignorant about their own history and it will be a unique opportunity to witness how they learn -the hard way- that they are not immune to an economic collapse.
Even Paul Craig Roberts says the following about his American fellows:
“People as uninformed and as gullible as Americans have no future. Americans are a dead people that history is about to run over.”
I believe you are describing Democrats. I’m an American, and I am exceptional, because I’m free. If I go down it is because of Democrats.
The rise of the US was largely because of two world wars as foreign competition was destroyed. WWII did not bring us out of a depression. The aftermath of WWII did as we had the oil, gold, factories all intact and in abundance. Lucky those born in 1936. Too young for Korea, too old for Vietnam. Throw a dart at the stock page in 1955 and buy what you land on, sell in 1990 when you go on pension. Buy a home, any home, anywhere. You paid $12,000 and sold for $250,000. Job, hell if you can walk and chew gum you got a good job. I know of people, fresh out of High School that walked out of an interview with DuPont because the ER representative said, “Shift Work” and they got a job down the road just as good that was M-F day a week later.
Ahh the 1950s.
Yes it was a one time anomaly in the entire history of the world that created the middle class. Those born between 1935 and 1941 lived and worked in the prime era. The large influx of the baby boomers born after the war entering into the workforce created a abundance of labor and more demand for homes & other goods. So inflation happened. And the fake gas shortage in the 70,s started the decline. We are now and have been a nation in decline. The solution is to learn to know how to live poor.
Ahh the 1950s
Great time for Americans, then came war, drugs, and ‘free sex’ in the 60’s
@DK:
What up K2???
Romano is a new troll. Or an old troll under a new name.
“People as uninformed and as gullible as Americans have no future. Americans are a dead people that history is about to run over.”
Not until GOD removes His protective hand, but we are getting close with 55 million aborted children.
Crossed the tipping point some time ago. There IS a fix, but the pain is more than the country can politically take. I expect a continual decline ( maybe fast, maybe prolonged). Amazing how much crap Americans are willing to tolerate-no, actually, I believe the majority are wlling participants in the decline.
Eppe,
AMEN to that my friend!
This is what happens when Marxists take over. Look at Cuba, etc. The USA today is no where near the one that I was born into.
Off Topic:
Listening to a Christian Talk Radio show today discussing the Islamic invasion of Europe. Then some Patriot calls in and tells people to start stockpiling guns/ammo/food and use their churches to form Militias! America IS waking up.
Watch out fur them hogs, buy a (another) gun today.
Better off buying some real world martial training in tactics and such than another gun.
Owning one is meaningless if you don’t know how, when and where to use it effectively when the time to use it comes.
Better off buying some real world martial training in tactics and such than another gun.
Any suggestions??
Them Hogs
Fascists we’re the core supporters of Free Trade and with it the great industrial evisceration. The Democrats (socialist/communists) were bought off by them; “Thats the fact Jack”. Anything else is revisionist history.
“Grind the middle class between the grindstones of high taxes and inflation” V.I. Lenin
Last time I looked Lenin isn’t considered a “Fascist”.
The goal of a Marxist is to destroy the middle class to make way for a classless society, which never comes about. Instead we get an Elite/Political class, and an underclass. Which is what is happening here.
I happen to agree with the book “Liberal Fascism” by Jonah Goldberg, which pretty much proves that there is no practical difference between Marxism and Fascism, as they both want to replace God’s Freedom with Government.
Watch out fur them hogs
The people at the top, Bulderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, Council Of Foreign Relations are the heads of business and finance, multi billionaires; they’re fascists. The communists in government work for them. Think of fascists contracting out to communists the administration of government upon the masses. In essence thats exactly what it is. Make no mistake the billionaires that run the show are not communists. They aren’t sharing anything. “From those according to their means to those according to their needs” is not a philosophy they subscribe to and they run the show.
The John Birch Society caught on to this five plus decades ago.
The Fascists of today have no nationalism, no allegiance to any nation. They’re “nation” is the entire world.
I’ll give you this, “It matters little if the boot on your throat covers a communist or fascist foot”.
So why do you support the US FedGov on matters like the Bundy Ranch?
I read a quote from some woman that went . America is in a certain period when it’s to late to change the system from within , And too early to hang the bastards. Get ready there’s a fight coming.
“Giant Sucking Sound”
Old Ross was right.
Sgt.
Sgt
When Ross climbed in the polls and became a real contender he sabotaged his own campaign ensuring a Clinton victory. Clinton as we know did what GH Bush wanted but couldn’t. Ross was the controlled vent for the masses that intentionally derailed the very cause he expounded.
Ross Perot is an insider.
Oh yes TPTB are very very good at being very very bad. They’re Sun Tzu playing chess. The body politic is Barney Fife playing checkers. They’re grooming several contenders for the 2020 and 2024 Presidential elections while John Doe is wondering if he will have a job next year.
Despite what all the smart people tell, when you ship jobs over seas you also lose innovation.
Many great ideas were born by those “unskilled” workers standing on those assembly lines.
Now those ideas are hatched in China or Mexico and those “unskilled” workers are flipping burgers or greeting shoppers, truly no future.
There is much to be said for having a job that instills pride and accomplishment in its workers.
Politician’s of both parties have sold out the average American with these trade deals.
What country being properly governed would give away good paying jobs?
What country being properly governed would allow open borders and an influx of illegals creating a black market labor force?
What country being properly governed would run debt to such levels, repayment is impossible?
What country has degraded to the point it’s politicians govern from one crisis to another?
You get the point, I have to go and finish chores…..
Thanks
…knee deep in brass humming the Battle Hymn of the Republic, not a bad way to go…
Knee deep in brass with Lead Zeppline running through my head,
Kulafarmer
Up to my ass in Brass playing, “Communication Breakdown”.
Followed by the “Immigrant Song”.
BAHHHAHAHA!!!!!
Kula,
knee deep in brass, listening to ( running through the jungle)
AMEN, brings back memories!!
I need neighbors like you men. I’m screwed.
Times aren’t the same neither are workers and the workers that know what they are doing have had their pay cut don’t give a shit anymore. I just try to make it through another day scrimping and hoarding picking up supply’s when they are cheap rotating them maintaining my home and vehicles. Working nowadays is a joke. I give 10percent of my energy to work and 90 to prepping and family. businesses exist for ceos bonuses that’s all. Kids will need to learn how to take the bull by the horn or they won’t make it. If you build a shed or finish a basement or any construction or auto repair work get your kids involved in the process. They need to learn how to do things to save a buck because they won’t be making much $ in the future. Pass guns down to them as they get older and move out or whatever they will be worth a small fortune. I’ve been told I’m cheap whatever assholes don’t pay my bills. If they wanna piss their hard earned $ away its their business I don’t.
There’s nothing wrong with being thrifty Asshat, it’s a valuable skill.
I guess most if not all posters here at SHTf are masters at turning their hand to different tasks, recycling, repairing, reusing etc.
Like you I’ve saved a shit load of money over the years by having a go for myself.
Youtube is a fine place when you need a little help or fresh take on ideas.
Be well fella.
It’s truly sad what they’ve done (and are continually doing) to this country of ours. When that slag Clinton whens the election we are done.
And she most likely will,
101 reasons to not give a crap and not participate in the lie
If American jobs are gone why do we have to import tens of millions of foreigners to fill the unfilled jobs Americans aren’t filling?
Cheaper….paid less than locals.
If American jobs are gone why do we have to import tens of millions of foreigners to fill the unfilled jobs Americans aren’t filling?
Because you learned your trade from your father and uncles, plumbing, framing, concrete, painting, brick, name it. They couldn’t export ever job, but they can import labor.
Clinton pushed through NAFTA as soon as he took office, the deal engineered in Poppy Bush’s tenure. Bush’s “thousand points of light” NWO is well under way, you can’t blame one side over the other when their objectives are the same. They are all traitor’s to the American people. If the people have any power they would have already expressed it. How can anyone doubt the final game is the culling of hundreds of millions worldwide? All of the mentioned actions point clearly to the plan. Yet all we have is people saying if they mess with me I’ll blow them away. No togetherness, no public pushback. The American people are afraid to use their greatest weapon, their voices united publicly against the treason marching along at a quickening pace with barely a speedbump to slow it down. Too much trouble to even raise a whisper, that’s some powerful fear inducing mind control.
aljamo
Food and Circus. Plenty of circus.
While the Libertarian in me supports the legalization of marijuana the timing is so interesting. I understand that age demographics is a strong driving force behind legalization but I think the “opiate of the people” comes into play. I been to Jamaica many times. The people there accept their lot in life. I have nothing and will never have anything, the government is corrupt; solution, get stoned.
Kevin2:
I agree wholeheartedly. I believe in legalization. I have a healthy respect for drugs. The proper use of drugs is a God send but abuse is the recipe for disaster. Maryjuana should never be used by teenagers as it interfere with the development of the brain. Makes you stupider. Great drug for epileptics, Chemo patients, child birth, or even when passing a fecal blockage. But to get high to escape responsibility, no.
The government knows that people tend to increase their intoxication to, “drown their sorrows”. Would you rather have a million drunks or a million pot smokers to contend with. The drunks might decide to rally in protest at noon. The pot heads will forget about it. Violence? The drunks might actually talk other drunks into some violent act in anger over their circumstances. The pot smoker might complain but do nothing violent because someone took his cheeseburger.
Seems to me Uncle Sam would rather deal with the pot heads.
Too funny and true.
Kevin2… disagree about cannabis smokers disinterested in civil dissent. The drunks could not carry it out, that’s for sure. The cannabis users have already proved their dissent credentials during the Vietnam war protests, which by the way were most always peaceful. Using cannabis does not make most individuals unable to think or function. Those sterotypes are straight from the gestapo government and associated corporate behemoths like big pharma medicine and the industrial prison police state complex. Just like reefer madness lies pouring out for over 75 years. Who spends the most for TV ads? In this region it’s big pharma hands down. Selling chemical concoctions that are deadly to millions. No one dies from cannabis, in fact their health improves.
I walk out my door in nowhere Texas and there’s no one else here.
Our government no longer cares in the least what your and my opinion is.
Using your example of NAFTA, if I don’t support it where should I go to be part of the group pushback? I’m not saying this to be mean and I value your opinion but I believe the die has been cast already and our fall as a nation has been calculated.
Suppose 100,000 patriots gathered in Times Square to state their opposition to NAFTA. I don’t think would get the coverage deserved or their opposition intelligently presented by the MSM? They would be marginalized by the media and Amerika would change the channel. They would be portrayed as right wing religious fanatics clinging to their bibles and guns.
I can’t see the future but believe we will collapse via war, economics, pandemic or some other way in the future and this is why we sometimes refer standing in a pile of brass.
Everyone’s home is the line in the sand. I stand outside, talk with my 2 geese, the 4 ducks, visit with the chickens, put some grub out for the horses and I am in the presence of God.
In the mean time TPRB could not care less what my opinion is on any given issue. They will do what they are going to do regardless of us…
Again- I value your posts here and am not trying to offend you, only to let you know what I’m seeing…
Everyone’s home is the line in the sand.
I get up every morning, go out side to get the paper. There are no dead bodies or sounds of gunfire but the sirens of emergency vehicles on their way.
Gonna be a good day.
Didn’t use my AK.
Haha!
Kevin2… If the people can’t change anything, then just get stoned and say screw it all. It makes sense actually if that is the alternative to quiet much of the dissent. I’ll buy that! Where can I buy that seeing as how it is illegal in most of these United States per big pharma and police state dictates? What me worry!
aljamo
Report back in a decade. I’ll bet fully 25% of the states have it legalized. In 20 years all of them. They see the money too with taxes.
I do not own a television. But at one time I was TV aficionado. Once right in the open a Senator made the startling claim that the third world would be lifted economically and the US suppressed economically so that an equal financial balance could be created making way for a new world economic system.
I jumped out of my chair. I ran into the next room and reported this shocking news. But no one else jumped a heartbeat. It was the destruction of the American economy!!!!!! No, no one got the level of my utter shock and horror.
I returned to the dumb down brain numbing television for years. But no where was there any mention of this plan.
It is the plan. Individual events may occur incidentally but this is the result of the Zionist takeover of our country in the 1960’s. That was our Bolshevik Revolution. The establishment that we overthrew was our American Republic in favor of a Zionist led Communist/Facist organization of individuals who seek WORLD Domination and who so far have been successful.
This new trade agreement is one more nail in our coffin. Russia’s communist leader told us when Kennedy was alive, “I will bury you”. Not many took this as serious as it really was and is.
1vet… You sound like you live in paradise compared to what I imagine the majority deal with. I envy your living situation and outlook. Best Wishes brother.
Start your own business. That is the most American thing you can do to overthrow this regime. Buy American made products. Support American local business even if it costs more. Make something and offer it for sale. This is revolutionary. This war will not be won with bullets but with innovation, imagination, and perseverance. USA. USA. USA.
well no shit,i argued with machinest at work before clinton and nafta! if you could not see this coming with a bad eye your just fucked in the head!!!
Obama gave alien students up to two years after graduation to stay and work. He gave companies a tax break for hiring aliens that would save them 12,000 per hire. Then they make US citizen employees train the new ones before being let go. US citizens have no one to back them up. Its more profitable to fire US citizens and save all that money.
I used to be a big fan of Paul Craig Roberts, but his credibility in my mind has dropped several notches over the years. This article, however, is a very good one – except for his mention of the absolutely LOATHSOME and diabolically evil cockroach Chuck Schumer.
Anyone possessed even a thimble full of love for the traditional American nation – does not deserve anyone’s respect for mentioning the name of Chuck Schumer in an article that professes to express concern for the state of America. Chuck Schumer is a hate filled jewish supremacist who has dedicated his entire political career to doing everything he can to (a) disarm law abiding American citizens, and (b) destroy White Western Civilization by burying the White West under swarms of millions and millions of non-Whites from every backwater Third World hell hole on the Planet as part of the global wide jewish driven and financed effort to destroy every historic White European nation, dispossess White Europeans as the dominant majority in the nations that their people founded and built, thereby depriving White European people of their God-given right to self determination and self rule, which clearly meets the official definition of ‘Genocide’ as defined by the 1947/1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment for the Crime of Genocide.
Roberts is worried about the USA descending to third world status? Well, Chuck Schumer is a leading proponent of flooding the USA with millions of low IQ, unskilled, parasitic, largely violent, hostile, incompatible, indigestible non-Whites and lusts to reduce the White majority who’s ancestors built this nation to minorities inside their own native homelands.
And, Chuck Schumer calls any White American who opposes this genocidal agenda a ‘racist’ for resisting the destruction of the nation that they built and the malicious displacement of their people inside their own nation? Does Chuck Schumer think his fellow jews over in Israel are ‘racist’ for not allowing their nation to be flooded by millions of black Africans or millions of Syrian refugees?
Short answer is: No. He views that as merely common sense and a healthy desire to not be invaded and displaced inside his tribe’s own nation.
You are fighting yesterday wars on the job front
Well you all know about robots, been around for years and they can build things like cars and mobile phones.
Trouble is the price, it’s starting to drop thought the floor so anyone doing a repetaive manual jobs is in danger and these people in turn will retrain and that will push labour rates down for everyone else.
Being smart won’t save you because A.I is coming to town so we need to say to the governments and corporations that they need to share the wealth these robots create or we will burn these production plants to the ground.
Yes they will think of ways to cull the population, these are the times we are living in today, profit always comes first for bankers and it is they who are running the world, not Obama, he’s a puppet on a string.
The article is all problem and no solution. The Northwest Front has a long-term survival plan in the Pacific Northwest.
In the late 1930s Oswald Mosley from Britain6 stated the secret to the success of the US was that we made everything we needed in the US. England had farmed out its industries to empire countries and the people of Britain lived in slums on the dole I WWII Tommy Atkin6s as a result was a poor physically speciman compared to the German6 soldier Now it is the turn of the US to farm out jobs where people are happy to earn two cans of kitty kat a day wages. Why do we put up with it you damn6 fools We won WWII because we made planes and tanks faster than the axis could blow them up. Where is our industry n6ow folks
I currently reside in the 3rd world city of Houston Texas.
Stop relying on Wash DC to fix things…they break things..they don’t fix things.
Start the trade war!! Tax all junk entering the ports at half value of the contents. So what if the other nations tax the US exports… there are none!! I guarantee you that you would see the greatest industrial boom INSIDE THE USA that same year the great trade war begins.