In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche
The real problem is that gasoline prices in some parts of the country are higher than others. In some regions, gas prices are so high as to be a drag on the economy and a possible threat to retail sales.
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What is even more worrisome is that the number of bank repossessions, or REOS, increased by 49% between February and March 2015, RealtyTrac reported. The bank repossession rate hit a 17-month high and rose to a rate that was 25% higher than for March 2014. These statistics indicate that the foreclosure crisis has returned with a vengeance, folks.
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It is time we took a serious look at our entire tax system and started reforming it. We need to restore fiscal sanity in Washington and, more importantly, create a system that stimulates the economy and helps average Americans, not one that takes 12% of even the poorest citizens’ income for dubious purposes. We also need a tax system in which the rich pay their fair share.
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• Abolish the payroll or withholding taxes, which take a percentage of a person’s salary. These hit the working poor heavily, and they do not raise enough money to cover the costs of programs like Social Security and Medicare.
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Hiltzik and The Baffler’s Helaine Olen pointed out that some of those conditions no longer exist. Today’s would-be Millionaire Next Door would likely graduate from college with a mountain of student loan debt, leaving him with little extra money to start a business and a strong incentive to stay in the cubicle farms. Low inflation, a booming stock market, and high real estate values also make it difficult for working stiffs to accumulate income earning assets.
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Americans now have less economic freedom than Danes, Chileans, Canadians, Swiss, New Zealanders, Australians and even Estonians, according to the Index. In fact, the level of economic freedom in the USA is only slightly higher than that in the United Kingdom, which American conservatives love to disparage as a bastion of socialism.
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One has to wonder how major cities like Los Angeles and Chicago can survive with just the very rich and the very poor. That sounds more like a third world country than the United States of America. It also sounds like a recipe for social and political unrest.
Read Moretudent loan debt is now the most insidious and destructive form of obligation in America. It’s worse than mortgages and possibly even a greater threat to economic stability and individual futures than subprime mortgages were.
Read MoreThe bottom line is that investors that do not understand the reality of the times that they live in are doomed to lose money. Understanding the big picture is vital if you want to make money in today’s America.
Read MoreBasically, any company that offers high-quality merchandise or a high level of convenience at a good price is poised to profit in this economy. People want to save as much money as possible, but they don’t want to think of themselves as “poor”; income inequality, which makes people conscious of poverty, drives this trend.
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