http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/
There's truth here. And a nice business idea.

That's my reaction, anyway. I never got a double A+ for doing stuff that foolish. The student loan bubble has yet to pop... Probably lots of these other agencies getting downgraded are also severely compromised. No one wants to admit it for fear of causing our house of cards to topple all at once...

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Economy/Business News Alert: S&P downgrades Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
August 8, 2011 11:14:28 AM
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Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Monday downgraded the credit ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other agencies linked to long-term U.S. debt.

The agency also lowered the ratings for: farm lenders; long-term U.S. government-backed debt issued by 32 banks and credit unions; and three major clearinghouses, which are used to execute trades of stocks, bonds and options.

All the downgrades were from AAA to AA+.

http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/O914NF/8ADZ6H/IEIEV7/H0P74R/G2BX7/4O/h

For more information, visit PostBusiness.com

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It's a great idea: base our hopes and dreams on a Happiness Index instead of the GDP...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/asian-investors-anxiously-monitor-us-debt-talks/2011/07/31/gIQAAyq9lI_story.html?wpisrc=al_economy

I guess they're happy that we can keep steering their freight train toward that cliff. Obama is the pragmatic fall guy, demonized by most. He calmly goes about the business of finding something productive that we can agree on. He is willing to disagree with his own party, which is refreshing and hopeful. His positions make sense to me. I have long been disappointed that he could not take on big business more directly. I know he wants to, the socialist pig. Just now though with today's agreement we see that the guys with the corporate jets have as much control over the law as everyone who is afraid to see medicare cut.

The author here point out that the new generation of US college grads are ill-prepared for the world that they are confronted with. And he explains it in generational terms. The theme of the Boomer era was self-discovery, freedom and expression. The theme for this new generation of graduates will be different, but it is not clear that any of their teachers are preparing them for success. The successful young adult is beginning to make sacred commitments — to a spouse, a community and calling — yet mostly hears about freedom and autonomy.

It's Not About You
by David Brooks
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/opinion/31brooks.html?_r=3

Nice bit here from Andrew Sullivan on why he cannot support the so-called conservatives in American politics today. He is politically conservative, but can't endorse the Republican party because the offenses of the neocons have been too many and too obnoxious. ( Here's his manifesto, originally posted on The Daily Dish, explaining his reasons.Collapse )

If we break it down, and this number does not include any personal debt you may have, we each owe over $31,000.00. This is based on an estimated population of 304,931,288. Thirty one thousand / head. And counting.

This impressive collection of Ron Paul clips (posted by Joseph Mercola) shows that the current bailout battle is the result of a long slow process that really kicked off in 1971 when the gold standard was dropped, and our money became just paper without anything of value behind it. When money is just paper, and a central bank (the federal reserve) can print more at will, the government thinks that it can spend more money than it has. This is what has happened. The federal reserve has kept interest rates falsely low, and created the housing bubble that just popped. If we allow congress to authorize the TRILLIONS to bail out banks and other corporations, we are signing the death warrant for our own currency. We are in a recession, and headed for a Greater Depression, and it will be much worse if we allow the Bush regime to shove through a bailout like they shoved through the Patriot Act. But Ron Paul says it better than me. Check it out, and let your representatives know if you would rather that we NOT bail out every giant failing business. We, the taxpayers, would be foolish to saddle our great grandchildren with this kind of debt. It is time for average lazy Americans to pull ourselves together and stop our government from ruining the rest of our lives. NOW. Today. Call. Write. Fax. Email. DO SOMETHING. Don't just sit back and expect me to do it for you. If you are a CITIZEN you are responsible. It's easy to find the contact info on the web. Do it for yourself, not for me. And God Bless us ALL.