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3rd World Status; A Pink Slip Away:

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Mike Folkerth
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Good Morning Middle America, welcome to your King of Simple News Network, where the news that concerns Middle America is reported daily while we still have a Middle America to report to.

Today’s article is a revised re-run, I think that you will agree it’s worth a re-read.

This is one of those mornings that I wish I were blissfully ignorant. I find myself understanding far too much about America’s precarious economic conditions.

The U.S. is on life support from foreign nations. The Chinese, Arabs, East Indians, Japanese et al, loan us approximately $3 Billion per day in an attempt to keep us treading water. More than 3 Million jobs have been lost in industry and farming continues its slide to corporate ownership.

There are between 12 and 15 million known illegals in the U.S.. Medicare is slated to fail within 10 years. Personal savings remain negative for the third consecutive year (never before seen in our history). The first of 78,000,000 baby boomers became eligible for social security in January.

The national debt has increased by 1000% in the last 25 years to $9 Trillion and we have become the largest debtor nation on earth. Middle America is being selectively wiped out by our own countries trade policies. What have we done?

Some how, some way, Middle America has to awaken to these and other discouraging facts; life as we know it for this class of Americans is in the balance. Not one of our current presidential candidates has a viable plan for saving Middle America. They are totally and completely beholden to special interests…rich special interests.

Many, many years ago a good friend who is very bright and very realistic, explained to me that the U.S. could become a third world economy in the blink of an eye. I wanted to believe that he was crazy; but I knew better.

He explained that once a person loses his or her job, it’s a short trip to 3rd world status. That being said, employment then, is all that separates us from that unfortunate state. That and the social safety net that currently exists to supposedly create a floor for the level that one could sink.

But who supports that safety net? The remaining job holders; so with declining jobs and tax collection, is there a safety net? The short answer is no.

I want you to do something for me. Come on, pacify me for just a moment. I want you to stop reading and pretend that you are unemployed. Not only unemployed, but unemployable, as in, there are no jobs available. How long would it be before you reached third world status?

How long would it take before you couldn’t make your house and car payments or even purchase food? What would you do for medical care?

Don’t just dismiss this as, “It won’t happen to me.” That is what those in manufacturing, banking, home building, and mortgage lending industries thought.

What would you do? Where would you go? I can tell you; in a short time you would go broke and reach third world status.

Scary huh? But you say you’re in management and life is good. Here’s a prediction. I hope I’m wrong. I believe the next huge round of layoffs in the U.S. will be in upper middle management. Companies in trouble (like say banks) jettison their heaviest baggage first.

The #1 job in the U.S. is that of a sales clerk, number two, A cashier.

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Mike Folkerth is the author of "The Biggest Lie Ever Believed" and is not your run-of-the-mill author of finance and economics. The former real estate broker, developer, private real estate fund manager, auctioneer, Alaskan bush pilot, (more...)
 
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