Inflation At Fastest Pace in 27 Years

Memo to Phil Gramm, people are really suffering.

The Labor Department reported that soaring costs for gasoline and food pushed inflation at the wholesale level up by a bigger-than-expected 1.8% in June, leaving inflation rising over the past year at the fastest pace in more than a quarter-century.

Over the past 12 months, wholesale prices are up 9.2%, the largest year-over-year surge since June 1981, another period when soaring energy costs were giving the country inflation pains.

Phil Gramm doesn't understand the suffering of the average American and he is Mccain's chief economic advisor. He is also responsible for a great deal of legislation that did away with oversight. Imagine him as the Treasury Secretary under McCain. That should send chills down the spine of all middle and lower class Americans.

These people do not have your best interests at heart. They are there solely to facilitate the destruction of the middle class. The understand that without a middle class it is much easier for a ruling class to take and hold power. It has been the middle class that has kept our democracy strong. Kill the middle class and you will kill the democracy but hey that's exactly what they want.

Consumer Debt Surges $8B In May

The financial condition of the middle and lower classes continues to deteriorate.

Consumers boosted their borrowing in May, mostly reflecting heavy credit card use to finance their purchases.

The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3.6% in May, roughly the same pace as logged in the prior month.

The pickup pushed total consumer debt up by $7.8 billion to $2.57 trillion. That was a bit more brisk than the $7 billion over-the-month increase economists were expecting.

The increase was led by much stronger demand for a category called revolving credit, which is primarily credit cards. Use of revolving credit rose at a 7.1% pace in May, a month where a flow of tax rebates helped to energize consumer spending. In April, consumers cut back on such credit at a 0.5% pace.

What this reports tell us is that the middle and lower classes are depending on high interest credit cards to meet the ever rising cost of living. Most consumers are at or close to maxing out on their credit and do not have the ability to pay more than the minimum payment. The credit cards companies will see ever greater profits while the middle and lower classes will be choked by high interest payments on this debt. This cycle can only mean that a recovery from this economic mess is nowhere in sight.

Job Market: No Bottom Until '09

So we have a housing market in the toilet, a stock market in bear territory and a worsening job market that will be in turmoil until 2009. Can things get any worse?

Economists are forecasting that the unemployment rate retreated slightly in June after May's big spike. But few believe that is a sign that the battered labor market is at or even near the bottom.

When the Labor Department releases its June employment report Thursday, economists expect the unemployment rate to fall to 5.4% from 5.5% last month.

But job losses are also expected to continue. Economists are predicting that employers cut 60,000 positions from U.S. payrolls in June, up from the 49,000 job loss reported in May.

This would be the sixth consecutive month of job losses.

One reason for the expected decline in unemployment at the same time that overall job losses are increasing is that the unemployment reading jumped in May due to a large number of teenagers looking for summer jobs.

Many of those teens likely gave up job search efforts in June, which will reduce the number of people counted as unemployed. It's also worth pointing out that even if the unemployment rate dips to 5.4%, that's still up from 5% in April.

And some economists even think the unemployment rate increased in June, due to the flooding in much of the Midwest.

Rich Yamarone, chief economist at Argus Research, said he believes unemployment could inch up to 5.6% in the month.

But putting aside the monthly blips in the unemployment rate, there is no denying that the job market is weak. Several economists see more job losses ahead as employers pull back on hiring plans due to soft demand for their products.

The job market has been weak for some time. Finding high paying middle class jobs is becoming harder and harder. Is there anyone that works for a large company that is not dealing with processing or accounting done in Mumbai or other areas outside the United States? How do our lawmakers pay them back for shipping our jobs overseas? They give them tax incentives to do it.

When will the middle class wake up and realize that it is their political ineptitude that allows this corrupt system to flourish? When will they stand up and say enough is enough? When will they realize that paying a larger share of taxes on a higher income is better than a lower rate on lower income? In the end there will still be more money for everyday needs and a federal deficit that will not kill the economic future of the next generation. Will we again let these politicians use fear and loathing to get us to vote against our own best interests?

This election could be the start of the rebirth of the greatest country on earth or it could be the final nail in the coffin of what was the envy of the world. The choices are clear, the policies of the two Presidential candidates are so different that a decision should be easy. If you let them scare you with terrorism or play to your prejudices then we will all lose and the future of this nation will be one of militarism and poverty for the masses. That is not what our founding fathers had in mind.

Home Prices Post Record 15.3% Drop

Prices in 20 cities fall for 21st month in a row. One sign of hope: Pace of decline eased in many areas.

U.S. home prices posted record declines in April, extending a painful losing streak for U.S. home prices.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index fell to a record low of 15.3% on a year-over-year basis, and was down 1.4% from March. The 10-city index was down 16.3% year-over-year and 1.6% for the month.

The 20-city index is based on data going back 19 years, while the 10-city index is 21 years old.

There is one sliver of hope. Although every city surveyed posted year-over-year price drops, the month-to-month pace of declines did slow in many cities. And eight metro areas actually posted gains from March to April.

Bright spots
Hard-hit Cleveland was the biggest winner, with prices up 2.9%. Charlotte, N.C. posted a slight gain of 0.2%, up for the second straight month, while Dallas prices were up 1.1% in April, also up for the second month in a row.

"There might be some regional pockets of improvement, but on an annual basis the overall numbers continue to decline," said David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.

Indeed, there are anecdotal reports that investors have begun to snap up distressed Cleveland properties at very low prices, according to Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Washington-based think tank.

"The data suggests that Cleveland has found a bottom," he said, "although it's just one month's data and I wouldn't make too much of it."

Also on Tuesday, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) reported that its monthly house price purchase index was down 4.6% year-over-year in April.

While the closely-watched Case-Shiller index tracks the sale prices of the same homes over the years, OFHEO's index only tracks sales of homes with mortgages insured by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. These loans were for $417,000 or less, until Fannie and Freddie's loan limits were raised in early March.

The overall price declines reported by Case-Shiller have been remarkably consistent over the past two years. Prices on the 20-city index have dropped for 21 straight months, since July 2006. The 10-city index has fallen every month since June 2006.

Declines accelerating
What's more, recent drops have been particularly steep. The 20-city index fell 2.2% in March, 2.6% in February and 2.3% in January, and is now it down another 1.4%.

"In the bubble markets, we continue to see very rapid rates of price declines," said Baker. "If anything, it may be accelerating."

Las Vegas prices plunged 26.8% compared with April of 2007, the worst drop among the 20 cities Case-Shiller covers. Prices there fell 2% in April.

Other hard hit cities include Miami (down 26.7% year-over-year and 4.1% in April), Phoenix (25% and 3.4%) and Los Angeles (23.1% and 2.2%).

"Bubble markets are now trapped in a vicious negative cycle," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, "with foreclosures driving prices down, which leads to more foreclosures."

Foreclosures account for a much larger proportion of sales than they did a year ago, he said, and that pulls down the numbers. "But just because the average home in your market is down 25%," he said, "doesn't mean that your house is down 25%."

Still, plummeting prices could derail some of the foreclosure prevention efforts underway across the nation. As home prices fall, that wipes out home equity, often leaving homeowners underwater, with mortgages worth more than their homes.

Some 10 million homeowners are now underwater, according to Economy.com, and that number will continue to grow as home prices plummet.

Underwater borrowers have higher rates of foreclosure than those with some home equity, since they can't tap their homes for cash in case of an emergency. And some owners are simply walking away from homes that have lost so much value rather than continuing to make expensive payments every month.

The flood of foreclosures may be darkening an already bleak picture, said Zandi, "but the market is very bad right now."

If you feel poorer lately its not just a feeling it is a reality. We are facing an economic perfect storm that has the ability to wreak havoc for the next few years as we try to dig our way out of the mess left behind by the awful policies of this administration.

They allowed the financial industry to regulate itself and as usual the American people are left holding the bag while those at the helm of these financial firms walked away with millions. Once again the little guy gets screwed while the rich laugh all the way to the bank after robbing the middle and lower classes.

Bush Urges Congress To End Offshore Oil Drill Ban

Exxon Mobil profit when Bush took office was 8 Billion, it is now over 30 Billion. Still think he isn't in the pocket of Big Oil and that drilling will only benefit them.

President George W. Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to end a ban on offshore oil drilling, responding to consumer anxiety over soaring gasoline prices with a plan sure to anger environmentalists.

Bush said opening federal lands off the U.S. coast -- where oil drilling has been banned by both a presidential executive order and a congressional moratorium -- could yield about 18 billion barrels of oil.

That would meet current U.S. consumption for about 2-1/2 years, but it would likely take a decade or more to find the oil and produce it.

Still want to drill and destroy the only environment that we have to get a short term fix a decade from now or do you want to develop alternate sources of energy that could replace oil? That will never happen as long as oil men and their flunkies roam the halls of Congress and get installed as President of the United States.

The Two Faces of John McCain

This is really brilliant. Now we need to ask does he just not remember what he is saying or is he lying? Either way he should never enter the White House.

Senate GOP Blocks Windfall Taxes On Big Oil

Do you need any more proof that the GOP is bad for the middle class?

Saved by Senate Republicans, big oil companies dodged an attempt Tuesday to slap them with a windfall profits tax and take away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response to the record gasoline prices that have the nation fuming.

GOP senators shoved aside the Democratic proposal, arguing that punishing Big Oil won't do a thing to lower the $4-a-gallon-price of gasoline that is sending economic waves across the country. High prices at the pump are threatening everything from summer vacations to Meals on Wheels deliveries to the elderly.

To make matters worse they made sure that alternate sources of energy would lose their tax breaks.

Shortly after the oil tax vote, Republicans blocked a second proposal that would extend tax breaks that have either expired or are scheduled to end this year for wind, solar and other alternative energy development, and for the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation. Again Democrats couldn't get the 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster.

The GOP will continue to stand in the way of economic progress that could help the average family until there is a filibuster proof Democratic majority. Remember this come November and make them a permanent minority party if not an instinct party. If you are a middle class American and vote for more of this shit then you are worse than stupid, you are suicidal. Disgusting absolutely disgusting.

Hillary Clinton Concedes

She may have lost but she has forever changed the role of women in politics. I didn't always agree with her tactics but I did feel something wonderful was lost today when she ended her historic run for the Presidency. Unfortunately only one could win but both made history. Hillary Clinton will remain a force to be reckoned with and will forever be known as the woman who broke through so many boundaries. Love her or hate her it is hard not to feel some sense of pride in her accomplishments and some sadness that someone had to lose..

Unemployment Rate Sees Largest Monthly Jump Since 1986

The national unemployment rate increased by a half percentage point in May, the largest monthly jump since 1986, and employers cut 49,000 jobs.

There are about 1.5 million more unemployed job hunters now than at this time a year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. An estimated 8.5 million unemployed people are looking for work.

Joblessness in May soared to 5.5 percent, up from 5 percent in April, reaching its highest rate since October 2004.

Every time you turn around the economic news worsens. Families across the country are afraid of what tomorrow holds.

"The numbers are consistent with an economy on the edge of recession, if not in one," said Frank Lenk, chief economist at the Mid-America Regional Council in Kansas City. "Since payroll employment data tends to get revised downward once all the data is collected, it might be worse than the current data suggests."

The statistics bureau's report did, indeed, issue revised employment counts for March and April, indicating that employers had 15,000 fewer workers on their payrolls in April and 15,000 fewer on their March payrolls than initially estimated for those months.

The jobs report indicated that the January-May period this year represents the first time since February-June 2003 that national payrolls declined for five consecutive months.

John McCain will be having some sleepless nights digesting this report. Remember he recently said people were better off now then they were seven years ago. Sure they are John for your rich lobbyist friends. The rest of us are screwed.

Oil Surges To A Record $138.00

When will world governments do something about the rampant speculation that is driving prices through the roof?

Oil prices shot up nearly $11 a barrel and settled Friday at a record $138.54 on geopolitical jitters, a dollar decline and a forecast that oil would hit $150 by July 4.

Friday's spike in the July contract for light crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange marks the largest single-day increase in oil prices on record. The contract hit an intraday record of $139.12, breaking the previous trading record of $135.09.

"The bulls are running rampant and the bears have panicked," said oil industry analyst Stephen Schork, editor of the Schork Report. "It's pure hysteria, absolute panic," he added.

The rally highlighted concerns that retail gas prices, which have surged near a nationwide average of $4 a gallon, will continue to crimp consumer spending and fuel inflation.

I know many people who have no choice but to drive to work since Public transportation is not an option and they are suffering.

I remember when they said oil would not hit $100.00 per barrel. That now seems like a bargain. This will have a devastating effect on the economy and will push us into a deep and lasting recession. Our standard of living is already on the decline. When will we finally recognize that these insane conservative economic policies are destroying this country and its people? Will we let them fool us again in 2008 and vote against our own best interests?

The economic situation in this country and I am sure soon around the world is frightening. The rich have made their millions and the rest of us can now all go to hell.

Consumer Debt Jumps $8.9 Billion

Americans' personal debt jumped to a more-than-expected $2.6 trillion in April, according to a report from the Federal Reserve released Friday.

The largest debtor nation on earth has a population also addicted to debt. When will we reverse this trend and start living within our means? The answer to that could be frightening. I beleive the rise in this number is the result of Americans trying to get fixed income loans to pay off ridiculpusly high interest rates on revolving credit. The American middle class is now the working poor with a credit line. A line that most are near the end of.

Homes In Foreclosure Top 1 Million

Mortgage bankers report hits a grim benchmark in first quarter, showing a record number of homes in jeopardy.

More than one million homes are now in foreclosure, the highest rate ever recorded, according to a trade group which warned Thursday that number will continue to climb.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's first quarter report showed that a record 2.5% of all loans being serviced by its members are now in foreclosure, which works out to about 1.1 million homes. That's up from the 2% of loans, or about 938,000 homes, that were in foreclosure at the end of 2007.

The report also showed that 448,000 homes, or about 1% of loans being serviced, began the foreclosure process during the first quarter. That's up from about 382,000 homes, or 0.83%, that entered foreclosure in the last three months of 2007.

The seasonally-adjusted rate of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments also hit a record high. Nearly 3 million home loans, or 6.4%, have missed at least one payment, while about 737,000 are at least three months past due, but not yet in foreclosure.

Have you noticed that Wall Street just keeps going higher with executives at top firms earning hunderds of millions of dollars. It shows the complete disconnect between the rich and the rest of us struggling to get by.

Millions dollar apartments are selling like hot cakes in Manhattan while the middle class, forced to live in the suburbs because they can't afford even a simple one bedroom in the city, are seeing the value of their homes declining and their ability to pay their mortgages in serious doubt.

"The figures aren't surprising, but they're pretty ugly nonetheless," said Michael Larson, real estate analyst with Weiss Research. "We're talking higher delinquencies and foreclosures pretty much across the board."

And he doubts that there's much reason to expect the foreclosure crisis to abate until next year at the earliest, adding that it could be a couple of years or more before foreclosure rates retreat to more normal historical averages.

"It's the same story we've been seeing for a while now - we had too much reckless lending, and buyers who got over-extended," he said. "We've had an unprecedented decline in home prices on a nationwide basis, which is public enemy number one for mortgage loans. And now you've got an overall economy that has slowed adding to this toxic stew."

Where are those who participated in this reckless lending? They are counting their millions while those they swindled are close to homelessness. Does this sound like America to you?

Americans $1.7 Trillion Poorer

The Bush years continue to decimate the American Middle class.

Americans saw their net worth decline by $1.7 trillion in the first quarter - the biggest drop since 2002 - as declines in home values and the stock market ravaged their holdings.

Meanwhile, the amount of equity people have in their homes fell to 46.2%, the lowest level on record.

The net worth of U.S. households fell 3% to $56 trillion at the end of March, according to the Federal Reserve's flow of funds report, which was released Thursday.

The value of real estate assets owned by households and non-profits declined by $305 billion, while financial assets fell by $1.3 trillion, led mainly by a $556 billion drop in stocks and a $400 billion decline in mutual funds.

The first quarter's decline follows a $530 billion drop in wealth in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The economic damage done to the middle class has been so pronounced that those who were solidly middle class are now just scraping by and those in the lower middle class are now the working poor. Unfortunately that group is growing by the day while the rich are getting richer.

We have the oportunity to start to rebuild the American middle class but it will take participation by all voting age Americans to effect the change that is necessary to restore sane fiscal policies that move people from poverty to middle class. Ignorance could literally mean death.

Private-Sector Unexpectedly Adds 40,000 Jobs in May

While reading this remember it takes 150,000 new jobs per month to keep up with a growing population.

U.S. private-sector employers added 40,000 jobs in May, according to a private report on Wednesday by ADP Employer Services that defied Wall Street's expectations of a fall.

The ADP data release comes ahead of the government's monthly jobs report due on Friday, one of the biggest events on the monthly economic calendar. A Reuters poll shows analysts expect that to show non-farm payrolls fell by 58,000 in May.

Economists' median expectation for the May ADP jobs figure was for a drop of 30,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll.

However, a separate survey showed U.S. companies' planned layoffs rose 15 percent in May from April to the highest monthly total since December 2005.

What this report does not tell us is if these 40,000 jobs are more service sector jobs which pay less and offer less benefits or are these decent middle class jobs? My guess is that they are not since those jobs seem to be a thing of the past.

I know many people who are suffering financially. They work long hours with awful commutes and can still not make ends meet. Where are the family values people, who like to tell us all how to live, on this issue? They are too worried about gay marriage and abortion to do anything remotely resembling advocacy work for the middle class. The middle class is fast disappearing and no one seems to be doing anything about that. How many parents do you know that hardly see their children? Its kind of hard to see them when you are working two jobs and still struggling to get by.

Stocks Fumble On Bank Woes

Wall Street slides after a pair of financial firms announce management shakeups, and S&P cuts debt rating for Merrill, Lehman and others.

Stocks tumbled Monday on new worries about the financial sector after S&P cut its debt rating on a number of banks, and Wachovia and Washington Mutual announced management shakeups.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 135 points, or 1%. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1% and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.2%.

Both Wachovia and Washington Mutual announced management changes in the morning, sparking early stock declines despite a pair of better-than-expected economic reports.

The broad stock declines accelerated in the afternoon after S&P said it was cutting its debt rating on Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley to "negative" from "stable" and cut its long-term outlook on JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. The changes followed S&P's conclusion of its review of the securities industry.

It is very worrisome that some of the biggest names in the banking and brokerage industry are having their debt rating lowered. What S7P is saying is that they have doubts about these large institutions ability to pay their long term debts. Those who think this financial crisis are over are sadly mistaken.

Only time will tell how bad this crisis will become but for now I would pay close attention to the financial news and have a plan in case of the worst happening. This crisis could have been averted with strict oversight and regulation but the Republican Congress felt it was best to let industry police itself. We all can see how successful that strategy has been.

Home Prices Plunge

Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller study shows record decline for housing prices in first three months of 2008.

U.S. home prices dropped at the sharpest rate in two decades during the first quarter, a closely watched index showed Tuesday. It's a somber indication that the housing slump continues to deepen.

Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller said its national home price index fell 14.1% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, to its lowest level since its inception in 1988. The quarterly index covers all nine U.S. Census divisions.

The narrower indices also set record declines. The 20-city index tumbled 14.4% during the quarter, the lowest since that index was started in 2001. The 10-city index plunged 15.3%, a record in its 20-year history.

"There are very few silver linings that one can see in the data. Most of the nation appears to remain on a downward path," said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee.

Nineteen of the 20 metro areas surveyed reported annual declines, with 15 of them posting record lows. Six metro areas lost more than 20%.

Las Vegas had the worst quarterly performance, falling 25.9%, followed by Miami and Phoenix. Only Charlotte, N.C., stayed above water, gaining less than 1% over the previous year.

With this report you can be sure that the rate of foreclosures will only grow. Even those paying their mortgages may decide its not worth it to struggle to pay for a home now worth less than the purchase price.

Many people have seen their equity taken away with these falling prices. Real estate was always supposed to be a safe investment, it has now turned into a national nightmare. Those who created this mess are laughing all the way to the bank as the the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

More on Greed

While watching this remember that this man is responsible for THOUSANDS of people losing their jobs.



Visit War On Greed. Until we understand why we are losing our way of life we will be powerless to stop it.

Greed Is Killing America

I will be posting some eye opening videos on the Private Equity Industry which is responsible for many of the economic issues facing our nation.

Fed Lowers Growth Forecast, Raises Inflation

The Federal Reserve is finally waking up to the fact that inflation is a huge problem.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday slashed its U.S. economic growth forecast for 2008 and signaled that mounting concerns over inflation would make further interest rate cuts unlikely.

"Several members noted that it was unlikely to be appropriate to ease policy in response to information suggesting that the economy was slowing further or even contracting slightly in the near term," the Fed said in minutes from its April 29-30 policy meeting.

Fed officials said that cutting benchmark interbank lending rates by a quarter percentage point to 2 percent at their last meeting was "a close call," reinforcing the impression that policy-makers may be putting further interest rate moves on hold.

"If you had any doubt that the Fed is signaling a pause, that doubt is gone," said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York.

So the Federal Reserve is now out of options to try to spur this economy. With oil hitting record highs daily and people suffering economically all they can do is sit by and watch as we enter what I believe will be a deep and protracted recession.

The oil speculators are getting rich while the average family is having an even harder time making ends meet. Where are the lawmakers to stop this rampant speculation? Washington is broken and it is going to take citizen action to take back our country from the special interest groups that are fast turning us into a third world nation.

The Real John McCain

Tell the media to tell the truth about John McCain