26 Economic Facts Every American Should Know Before the Debate (Video)

  I invest in the stock market from time to time, however, lately due to  High-frequency trading (HFT is a type of algorithmic  trading characterized by high speeds, high turnover rates, and high  order-to-trade ratios that leverages high-frequency financial data[1] and electronic trading tools), and inflated equity prices, politics, as well,  I had decided to stay on the sidelines for a little while. 

Michael Snyder writes: Are you ready for the most anticipated presidential debate in decades?   It is being projected that Monday’s debate between Donald Trump and  Hillary Clinton could potentially break the all-time record of 80  million viewers that watched Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter debate back  in 1980.  Many Americans probably hope to see some  personal fireworks between the two nominees, but the two candidates have  both expressed a desire to focus on substantive issues.  There will  likely be quite a few questions about the economy, and without a doubt  this is an area where Trump and Clinton have some very sharp differences.  The  mainstream media would have us believe that the U.S. economy is in  pretty good shape, and if that was true that would seem to favor  Clinton.  But is it actually true?  The following are 26 incredible  facts about the economy that every American should know for the  Trump-Clinton debate… 

The  mainstream media would have us believe that the U.S. economy is in  pretty good shape, and if that was true that would seem to favor  Clinton.  But is it actually true?  The following are 26 incredible  facts about the economy that every American should know for the  Trump-Clinton debate… #1  When Barack Obama entered the White House, the U.S. government was 10.6  trillion dollars in debt.  Today, the U.S. government is 19.5 trillion dollars  in debt, and Obama still has several months to go until the end of his  second term.  That means that an average of more than 1.1 trillion  dollars will be added to the national debt during his presidency.  We  are stealing a tremendous amount of consumption from the future to make  the economy look much, much better than it otherwise would be, and we  are systematically destroying the future in the process. #2  As Obama prepares to leave office, the rate at which we are adding to  the national debt is actually increasing.  During the fiscal year that  is just ending, the U.S. government has added another 1.36 trillion dollars to the national debt. #3 It isn’t just the federal government that is on a massive debt binge.  Total U.S. corporate debt has nearly doubled since the end of 2007. #4 Default rates on U.S. corporate debt are the highest that they have been since the last financial crisis. #5  Corporate profits have fallen for five quarters in a row, and it is  being projected that it will be six in a row once the final numbers for  the third quarter come in. #6 During the month of August, commercial bankruptcy filings were up 29 percent compared to the same period a year ago. #7  The rate of new business formation in the United States dropped  dramatically during the last recession and has hovered at that new lower  level ever since. #8 The Wall Street Journal says that this is the weakest “economic recovery” since 1949. #9 Barack Obama is on track to be the only president in all of U.S. history to never have a single year when the U.S. economy grew by at least 3 percent. #10 In August, the Cass Freight Index dipped to the lowest level that we have seen for that month since 2010.   What this means is that the total amount of stuff being shipped around  the country by air, by rail and by truck is really dropping, and this is  a clear sign that real economic activity is slowing down in a major  way. #11 Capital expenditure growth has turned negative, and history has shown that this is almost always followed by a new recession. #12 The percentage of Americans with a full-time job has been sitting at about 48 percent since 2010.  You have to go back to 1983 to find a time when full-time employment in this country was so low. #13 The labor force participation rate peaked back in 1997 and has been steadily falling ever since. #14 The “inactivity rate” for men in their prime working years is actually higher today than it was during the last recession. #15 The United States has lost more than five million manufacturing jobs since the year 2000 even though our population has become much larger over that time frame. #16  If you can believe it, the total number of government employees now  outnumbers the total number of manufacturing employees in the United  States by almost 10 million. #17 One study found that median incomes have fallen in more than 80 percent of the major metropolitan areas in this country since the year 2000. #18 According to the Social Security Administration, 51 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year. #19 The rate of homeownership in the U.S. has fallen every single year while Barack Obama has been in the White House. #20 Approximately one out of every five young adults are currently living with their parents. #21 The auto loan debt bubble recently surpassed the one trillion dollar mark for the first time ever. #22 Auto loan delinquencies are at the highest level that we have seen since the last recession. #23 In 1971, 61 percent of all Americans were considered to be “middle class”, but now middle class Americans have actually become a minority in this nation. #24 One recent survey discovered that 62 percent of all Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. #25 According to the Federal Reserve, 47 percent  of all Americans could not even pay an unexpected $400 emergency room  bill without borrowing the money from somewhere or selling something. #26 The number of New Yorkers sleeping in homeless shelters just set a brand new record high, and the number of families permanently living in homeless shelters is up a whopping 60 percent over the past five years. Despite all of  the facts that you just read, the truth is that there is one particular  group of people that have been doing quite well during the Obama years.   I really like how Charles Hugh Smith made this point in one of his recent articles… The  top 5% of households that dominate government, Corporate America,  finance, the Deep State and the media have been doing extraordinarily  well during the past eight years of stock market bubble (oops, I mean  boom) and “recovery,” and so they report that the economy is doing  splendidly because they’ve done splendidly.  FURTHERMORE, GERALD CELENTE REPORTS:  95% of all wealth has gone to the top 1%,  The world’s 62 people richest people own more than the world combined In the U.S., the 400 wealthiest people are worth $3.5 TRILLION The wage gaps are the worst they’ve ever been in history.   By recklessly creating money out of thin air and pumping it into the financial markets, the  Federal Reserve has greatly enriched the elite, but they have also  dramatically increased the gap between the very wealthy and the rest of  us.  Since he has been in the White House during this  time, Barack Obama has gotten the credit for this temporary stock market  bubble, and most of the elite love Obama anyway. But  in the process the stage has been set for the greatest economic and  financial implosion in U.S. history, and the pain that is coming is  going to affect every man, woman and child in this country. That is why Peter Schiff has described the coming collapse of the U.S. Dollar as what will be the Single Largest Event in All of Human History! Despite that, there are STILL people who have not lifted a finger to prepare themselves.  During the  debate, Trump and Clinton will talk a lot about tinkering with tax rates  and regulations, but those measures are essentially going to be  meaningless when compared to the massive economic tsunami that is  coming.  The next president is  going to inherit the biggest economic problems that this nation has ever  faced, and it is going to take a miracle of Biblical proportions to  turn the U.S. economy in the right direction. 99.9% of Americans have no  earthly idea just how bad things are going to get here in America when  the Dollar does collapse. Expect people eventually having to hurt one  another for food. For a handful of posts with interviews included that  will give you all the details you need, I suggest the following “must  see” articles.  More important than  understanding the financial tsunami that is coming, is preparing for it.  So, if you’re not one who enjoys learning about economics, might I  suggest skipping the posts, and go directly to preparing for the worst  times this country has ever seen… Great Depression not withstanding…