The American Economic Depression And U.S. Obesity

As I outlined last fall on Seeking Alpha, Phillip Morris International was a good investment because economic pressures in the Far East have been encouraging Asians to smoke more. Here in the U.S., smoking is decline, but economic pressures are encouraging more Americans to engage in other unhealthy habits. Not surprisingly, alcohol and drug abuse has been on the rise in this country during this economic depression. However, eggheads haven't made the connection between American economic pressures and the exponential rise of obesity in the U.S.

In a previous post, I argued that the U.S. has been in an economic depression for over a decade. This period of time correlates nearly perfectly with the exponential rise of obesity.

Along with 10+ years of negative GDP...

Buried Headlines: Saturday, May 12, 2012

The top headline says it all. Who in their right mind actually believed that a Marxist, "community organizer", rookie senator would make a good U.S. president? More than 50% of the dumbed-down American electorate, unfortunately.

Around The World, Obama's Presidency A Disappointment

Hypocrite: Socialist Hollande Owns Three Homes On The Riviera

Hugo Chavez Ends Successful Cuba Cancer Treatment

Here Comes The "Cavalry": Complicit Feds Investigate JPMorgan Disaster

Best Of ECOMINOES (So Far...Yay!)

ECOMINOES is less than two months old, but I think it has enough decent content to warrant a recap of posts you may have missed. Enjoy!

Washington On The Back Of Small Business
The 28 million displaced U.S. workers have little chance of landing good jobs and contributing to the economy as long as small business is under attack through regulations and taxes.

Transportation Contract Stuffing Abridged
SC taxpayers spent millions of dollars for no reason but to blemish what should be pristine views of Charleston.

Strike Three, Bernanke. You're out!
...and now your promotion of inflation is strike three. You're out, Mr. Bernanke!

The Green Shoots Of Civil Unrest
Long-term unemployment is a pestilence that, left unchecked, will eventually tear at America's social fabric.
 
Herman Cain Was Right, Romney Should Consider "9-9-9"
Herman Cain's "9-9-9" tax reform plan would be an excellent alternative to Mitt Romney's ever-changing weak plan. 

Student Loan Forgiveness: The Necessary Bailout
The federal government should declare long-term unemployed student debt holders legally eligible for bankruptcy and subsidize all uncollectible debt. Yes, I said that.

Buried Headlines: Friday, May 11, 2012

A clueless, aloof Obama on the economy: "Sometimes I forget" the magnitude of the recession.

Obama: 'Sometimes I Forget' Magnitude of the Recession

ABC's Robin Roberts On Interviewing Obama: "I'm Getting Chills Again"

JP Morgan is in big trouble. Are we witnessing the beginning of a 2008 financial crisis redux?

2008 Financial Crisis Redux? Severe JP Morgan Troubles

A 20 Second Summary Of What Happened With JP Morgan

Rick Santelli On CDS Regulation And Why Bank Analysts Failed

In other news:

Economy 2013: Seeing Downward Arrows

I'm very pessimistic about 2013:

Mitt Romney has a good chance of winning the presidency, but even if he doesn't, Republicans will likely have full control of Congress in 2013. Under Republican control, Congress will pass necessary austerity measures that will put negative pressure on the economy. The economy will already be weakened by growing inflationary pressures, and will fall into recession in Q1 2013 if predicted tax increases and spending cuts are triggered.

Regarding the Federal Reserve, whoever is president in 2013 will be stuck with Ben Bernanke as chairman for the duration of the year. Mr. Bernanke, who has made it clear that he will try every Modern Monetary Theory trick in the book to avoid a second Great Depression, will be unable to pull the economy out of recession. Bernanke will, however, exacerbate inflationary pressures, which will be particularly harmful to the poor and the unemployed, whose government entitlements will be severely cut due to austerity.

So, what do I see in 2013, apart from an official declaration of recession from the National Bureau of Economic Research?

Buried Headlines: Thursday, May 10, 2012

Chicago-style politics knows no bounds. A new Obama jobs ad claims the President helped an employed man get a job.

Obama Ad Claims President Helped Employed Man Get a Job

One in Three Young U.S. Workers Are Underemployed 

They Love Money Printing: Bernanke Gets 75% Approval From Investors

How The Fed Quietly Bought 1,150 S&P Points

S&P Opens The Pandora's Box: The Wall Of Refi Worry Is $46,000,000,000,000 Tall

Mortgage Rates Fall To New Lows Again

Humbly Asking For Your Support

The more time I dedicate to ECOMINOES, the less time I dedicate to earning a living.

If you wouldn't mind chipping in until the site can support itself, I'd greatly appreciate it. The suggested donation is $10, but feel free to contribute as little or as much as you wish. Thank you so much!

"Don't tread on us." - Christopher Gadsden (1724-1805), principal leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement in the American Revolution.

Buried Headlines: Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The unemployed don't care about gay marriage. They care about JOBS!

Diverting Attention: Obama/Romney Flap Over Gay Marriage

Fed Clears China's First US Bank Takeover

More BLS BS: 324,000 Women Dropped Out Of Labor Force?!

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: The Disproportionately Affected American Male

Market Has Longest Losing Streak In 10 Months

Sprott Berates Berkshire's Buffoons And Says "All Markets Are Manipulated"

Buried Headlines: Tuesday, May 8, 2012

BLS stands for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I call it the Bureau of Lies and Subterfuge.

Will America Have Negative Unemployment In January 2022?

Why the Job Market Will Continue Shrinking

Jitters: Dow Logs 5-Day Decline

Liberals Steer Outside Money To Grass-Roots Organizing

Report: Bush's $80K Phone Bill

Tuition Inflation In Two Simple Charts

The Occupy Wall Street crowd complains about the high cost of tuition, but little do they realize that their own utopian government enables tuition increases.

Colleges see that the Government hands out student loans like candy...

VIDEO: The Spaniards Have It Right: Carpe Diem

Considering that Spain has a 25% unemployment rate and an eye-popping 50% underemployment rate, it sure looks like young Spaniards have found a good way to forget the global depression. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from los tíos.

Buried Headlines: Monday, May 7, 2012

Let's start the work week with some malas noticias!

Admin Drafted Memo To Shield Obama If OBL Raid Failed

Defense Budget Casualties Light On Civilian Side

Greek Voters Punish Ruling Coalition Over Austerity

Americans Paying More in Taxes than for Food, Clothing, and Shelter

Sky-high Electric Bills Courtesy Of Obama EPA’s War On Coal

The Disproportionately Affected American Male

Multiple post-financial crisis studies have concluded that this depression has disproportionately affected American males. Men have been far more likely than women to lose their jobs. They've been far more likely to be unemployed for more than a year. They've been far more likely to end up taking a "McJob". They've been far more likely to turn to drugs or alcohol to cope. They've committed five times as many suicides as women. The studies from which I gathered these depressing data can be found here, here, and here.

So why has the Great Recession disproportionately affected American males?

Buried Headlines: Sunday, May 6, 2012

Read the headlines, but don't let the depressing news ruin your Sunday.

Trouble For The EU: Socialist Wins French Presidency

War On Drugs: More Victims In Mexican Massacre Found Across Border

TSA Reveals Passenger Complaints…Four Years Later

Facebook Stops Users From Posting ‘Irrelevant Or Inappropriate’ Comments

America's Installed Dictator: Egypt Imposes Curfew, Deploys Army After Protests

Greek Exit Polls: Pro-Bailout Parties Plunge; Anti-Bailout Radical Left, Neo-Nazis Soar

Systemic Jobs Crisis In the US

Defending Libertarian Scholar Dr. Charles Murray (From Stephen Colbert)

Dr. Charles Murray (of "The Bell Curve" fame) is, along with Drs. Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams, one of my favorite contemporary economists and intellectuals. Sowell and Williams, who are black, get the stock-standard "uncle tom" treatment from the black community because they are self-made men who don't fear criticizing African-American self-balkanization. Murray, on the other hand, who is white, just gets death threats and deplorable treatment from the mainstream media.

Observe how funny man and Charleston limousine liberal Stephen Colbert (family name: "COL-berT") treated Dr. Murray last month in front of millions of impressionable youths: