(If you were to take the time to read all of the articles listed here then you would understand why I am so passionate about what I know to be the right path for humanity to travel on right now!-Phil Haxton)
When Will the Recovery Begin? Never
By Robert B. Reich, Robert Reich's Blog. Posted July 10, 2009.
Are green shoots emerging? Not until people feel more secure economically.
The so-called "green shoots" of recovery are turning brown in the scorching summer sun. In fact, the whole debate about when and how a recovery will begin is wrongly framed.
On one side are the V-shapers who look back at prior recessions and conclude that the faster an economy drops, the faster it gets back on track. And because this economy fell off a cliff late last fall, they expect it to roar to life early next year. Hence the V shape.
Unfortunately, V-shapers are looking back at the wrong recessions. Focus on those that started with the bursting of a giant speculative bubble and you see slow recoveries. The reason is asset values at bottom are so low that investor confidence returns only gradually.
That's where the more sober U-shapers come in. They predict a more gradual recovery, as investors slowly tiptoe back into the market.
Personally, I don't buy into either camp. In a recession this deep, recovery doesn't depend on investors. It depends on consumers who, after all, are 70 percent of the U.S. economy. And this time consumers got really whacked. Until consumers start spending again, you can forget any recovery, V or U shaped.
Problem is, consumers won't start spending until they have money in their pockets and feel reasonably secure. But they don't have the money, and it's hard to see where it will come from. They can't borrow. Their homes are worth a fraction of what they were before, so say goodbye to home equity loans and refinancing. One out of ten home owners is under water -- owing more on their homes than their homes are worth. Unemployment continues to rise, and number of hours at work continues to drop. Those who can are saving. Those who can't are hunkering down, as they must. Eventually consumers will replace cars and appliances and other stuff that wears out, but a recovery can't be built on replacements. Don't expect businesses to invest much more without lots of consumers hankering after lots of new stuff.
And don't rely on exports. The global economy is contracting.
My prediction, then? Not a V, not a U. But an X. This economy can't get back on track because the track we were on for years -- featuring flat or declining median wages, mounting consumer debt, and widening insecurity, not to mention increasing carbon in the atmosphere -- simply cannot be sustained.
The X marks a brand new track -- a new economy. What will it look like? Nobody knows. All we know is the current economy can't "recover" because it can't go back to where it was before the crash. So instead of asking when the recovery will start, we should be asking when and how the new economy will begin. More on this to come.
Abyss of Joblessness: The Economy Can't Improve Unless We Put People Back to Work
By Bob Herbert, The New York Times. Posted June 29, 2009.
“By May 2009,” according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, “the total number of underutilized workers had increased dramatically from 15.63 million to 29.37 million — a rise of 13.7 million, or 88 percent. Nearly 30 million working-age individuals were underutilized in May 2009, the largest number in our nation’s history. The overall labor underutilization rate in May 2009 had risen to 18.2 percent, its highest value in 26 years.”
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/140961/abyss_of_joblessness%3A_the_economy_can%25
The Dark Side of Climate Change: It's Already Too Late, Cap and Trade Is a Scam, and Only the Few Will Survive
AlterNet. July 7, 2009.
Father of the Gaia Theory, James Lovelock says we can't stop climate change, but that humanity will continue in some smaller form. "Carbon trading, with its huge government subsidies, is just what finance and industry wanted. It's not going to do a damn thing about climate change, but it'll make a lot of money for a lot of people and postpone the moment of reckoning.”
http://www.alternet.org/environment/141081/the_dark_side_of_climate_change%3A_it%27s_already_too_late%2C_cap_and_trade_is_a_scam%2C_and_only_the_few_will_survive/
Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?
By Joseph Romm, Climate Progress. Posted May 12, 2009.
I will leave you with some key questions. Can nine billion people be fed? Can we cope with the demands in the future on water? Can we provide enough energy? Can we do it, all that, while mitigating and adapting to climate change? And can we do all that in 21 years time? That's when these things are going to start hitting in a really big way. We need to act now. We need investment in science and technology, and all the other ways of treating very seriously these major problems. 2030 is not very far away.
http://www.alternet.org/water/139970/could_food_shortages_bring_down_civilization/
David v. Goliath: Help Michigan Citizens Protect Their Water from Nestles Bottling Operations
By Leslie Samuelrich, Corporate Accountability International. Posted July 1, 2009.
Time is ticking. It's been nine years now since Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation first went to court to stop Nestlé from pumping millions of gallons from a rural Michigan wildlife preserve. And the outcome of a court hearing on July 6 will determine whether our judicial system can work to protect community water rights.
http://www.alternet.org/water/141052/david_v._goliath%3A_help_michigan_citizens_protect_their_water_from_nestle%27s_bottling_operations/
Gas Pump Thievery: Who’s Really Behind the Rising Prices at the Pumps?
By Jim Hightower, AlterNet. Posted June 25, 2009.
What might surprise you, though, is that the wheeler-dealers now jacking up our pump prices don't operate under the BP Exxon Mobil Shell Chevron brands -- but the logos of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other Wall Street traders that have been placing vast, unregulated, secretive bets on the future price of oil. They're playing an electronic casino game in a global "dark market" of exotic derivatives and credit swaps. If this sounds vaguely familiar to you, it's because this is the same game that Wall Street played with subprime mortgages, leading to the present crash of our economy. And, yes, these are the exact same banksters that you and I are presently bailing out with our trillions of tax dollars.
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/140889/gas_pump_thievery%3A_who%27s_really_behind_the_rising_prices_at_the_pumps/
Secretary Chu Makes $1 Billion Down Payment For More Dirty Coal
By Jeff Biggers, AlterNet.
Posted June 15, 2009.
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu made a $1.073 billion down payment today on the construction of FutureGen, "the first commercial scale, fully integrated, carbon capture and sequestration project in the country in Mattoon, Illinois." Chu's buy-in into "clean coal," a phrase that young liberal Democrat Francis Peabody first used back in the 1890s to peddle his brand of "smoke-free" clean coal in Chicago, places him in the company of FutureGen Alliance promoters like Peabody Energy, whose first quarter 2009 profits "only tripled" this spring -- Peabody celebrated an 8-fold increase in profits in the last quarter of 2008.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140672/secretary_chu_makes_%241_billion_down_payment_for_more_dirty_coal/
Pacific Institute. June 30, 2009.As long as we see rivers as something to be consumed or treated as a dump, we will never be a healthy society.
http://www.alternet.org/water/141022/the_health_of_our_society_is_mirrored_in_the_health_of_our_rivers/
Reckoning at Coal River: Media and Nation Must Bear Witness to Coalfield Tragedy This Week
AlterNet. June 22, 2009.
The human rights and constitutional violations of Americans by ruthless outside coal companies will be on full display to the media and the nation.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140834/reckoning_at_coal_river%3A_media_and_nation_must_bear_witness_to_coalfield_tragedy_this_week/
How Will Climate Change Affect Where You Live?
Christian Science Monitor. June 16, 2009.
Here's what the new US climate report sees as already happening in various parts of the country and predicts will occur unless changes are made.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140717/how_will_climate_change_affect_where_you_live/
Water-Energy Dependency May Put a Damper on Water Banking in California
Water Matters @ Columbia. June 16, 2009. The interwoven nature of water and energy in California will undoubtedly grow more complex -- and strained -- in the years to come.
http://www.alternet.org/water/140689/water-energy_dependency_may_put_a_damper_on_water_banking_in_california/
Do Exports of Water-Intensive Crops Hurt Drought-Prone Areas?
Miller-McCune.com. June 20, 2009.As California and Australia are finding out, what makes economic sense to farmers may be becoming an environmental problem.
http://www.alternet.org/water/140795/do_exports_of_water-intensive_crops_hurt_drought-prone_areas/
Corporate Profits Muscle Out The Public Option
Campaign for America's Future. June 17, 2009.
Senators are catering to the private insurance industry that has profited from the problem rather than helping to solve it.
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/140738/corporate_profits_muscle_out_the_public_opition/
How We Can Free Ourselves from a Fossil-Fuel-Soaked Diet
Chelsea Green Publishing. June 11, 2009.
By gradually relocalizing our food production we can return to an agricultural system that is much less energy intensive.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140540/how_we_can_free_ourselves_from_a_fossil-fuel-soaked_diet/
The Earth Is Hiring: Paul Hawken's Inspiring Commencement Speech
**(This is a must read!)**
YES! Magazine. June 11, 2009.
"Nature beckons you to be on her side. You couldn't ask for a better boss. This is your century. Take it and run as if your life depends on it."
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140545/the_earth_is_hiring%3A_paul_hawken%27s_inspiring_commencement_speech/
Why Our Food System May Suffer the Same Fate as Our Financial System
AlterNet. June 11, 2009.
By consolidating, centralizing and homogenizing our food system, we've put all our proverbial eggs in one basket -- and that's a big risk.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140535/why_our_food_system_may_suffer_the_same_fate_as_our_financial_system/
Why US Rep. Nick Rahall Is Not the Eco-Hero Many Claim Him to Be
AlterNet. June 10, 2009.
He has overseen, or blatantly overlooked, one of the most egregious environmental and human rights violations in the nation: mountaintop removal.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140537/why_us_rep._nick_rahall_is_not_the_eco-hero_many_claim_him_to_be/
Why Is the American Coal Foundation Setting the Curriculum at Elementary Schools?
In These Times. June 9, 2009.
Big Coal has worked its way into the classroom.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140523/why_is_the_american_coal_foundation_setting_the_curriculum_at_elementary_schools/
Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness
Counterpoint Press. June 8, 2009.
A 10th-generation rancher in New Mexico shows how to restore the environment, agriculture and ranching communities.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140390/deeply_rooted%3A_unconventional_farmers_in_the_age_of_agribusiness/
Obama Must Say No to the Coal Barons Desecrating Our Mountains
AlterNet. June 8, 2009.
Now is the time for us to flex some grass-roots political muscle and force Obama to stick to his promise to stop mountaintop coal removal.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140440/obama_must_say_no_to_the_coal_barons_desecrating_our_mountains/
California's Water Woes Threaten the Entire Country's Food Supply
AlterNet. June 6, 2009.
Nearly a third of the country's food supply comes from California, but drought there may be a catastrophe for farmers -- and the rest of us.
http://www.alternet.org/water/140487/california%27s_water_woes_threaten_the_entire_country%27s_food_supply/
If We Don't Stop Wall Street's Colossal Theft Now, Where Will This Country Be Next Year?
AlterNet. June 5, 2009.
Come attend events across the country next week to learn more about how we can stop Wall Street before it bankrupts all of us.
http://www.alternet.org/action/140490/if_we_don%27t_stop_wall_street%27s_colossal_theft_now%2C_where_will_this_country_be_next_year/
Chevron's Inhumane Energy Exposed to Light of Day but Oil Giant Keeps on Spinning
AlterNet. June 5, 2009.
Chevron's wrought destruction in the U.S., Angola, Burma, Canada, Chad, Cameroon, Ecuador, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and the Philippines.
http://www.alternet.org/world/140488/chevron%27s_inhumane_energy_exposed_to_light_of_day_but_oil_giant_keeps_on_spinning/
Report Warns of Armed Conflict in the Middle East Over Water
Agence France Presse. June 3, 2009.
Climate change threatens to reduce the availability of scarce water resources, increase food insecurity and hinder economic growth.
http://www.alternet.org/world/140429/report_warns_of_armed_conflict_in_the_middle_east_over_water/
Have West Virginia Officials Lost Their Minds When It Comes to Water Safety Standards?
Center for Progressive Reform. June 3, 2009.
West Virginia has the most ridiculous reasoning for subjecting its residents to less stringent levels of mercury in the state's water.
http://www.alternet.org/water/140395/have_west_virginia_officials_lost_their_minds_when_it_comes_to_water_safety_standards/
Our Economy Is Going to Keep Tanking Until We Stop Shoveling Billions to Rich People
CounterPunch. June 2, 2009.
There's a cycle going on here: if you don't put money in consumers' hands, you get repetitive cycles of layoffs and growing unemployment.
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/140394/our_economy_is_going_to_keep_tanking_until_we_stop_shoveling_billions_to_rich_people/
Carbon Capture Can't Make Coal Clean
AlterNet. June 1, 2009.
WE Energies has proclaimed that it has captured carbon at a coal-fired plant, but this "success" won't come close to making coal clean.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140389/carbon_capture_can%27t_make_coal_clean/
Taibbi's Scream: Stop the Political System That Has Let Goldman Sachs Fleece Us for 90 Years *****
AlterNet. July 8, 2009.
The sordid story of how Goldman Sachs and Co. engineered bubbles in the economy and made a hefty profit.
http://www.alternet.org/story/141163/taibbi%27s_scream%3A_stop_the_political_system_that_has_let_goldman_sachs_fleece_us_for_90_years/
Sub-prime Redux? Wall Street Banksters to Trade California IOUs
AlterNet. July 6, 2009.
Will buyers downplay the risks inherent in California's debt?
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/141119/sub-prime_redux_wall_street_banksters_to_trade_california_ious/
Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny
The New Press. July 7, 2009.
Third-party candidates are effectively shut out of the presidential race by the two major parties designed to squash the competition.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/140493/grand_illusion%3A_the_myth_of_voter_choice_in_a_two-party_tyranny/
Wildfires Are Linked to Global Warming -- But Media Obscure the Relationship
Miller-McCune Magazine. July 6, 2009.
As climate change intensifies, wildfires are going to increase in the U.S. Publicizing the link could help drive home the danger of global warming.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/141110/wildfires_are_linked_to_global_warming_--_but_media_obscure_the_relationship/
Rolling Stone Expose Declares Goldman Sachs Behind Every Market Crash Since 1920s
Raw Story. July 4, 2009.
Matt Taibbi explains how the company created market bubbles and then profited from the crash that followed.
Thanks to Our Fossil Fuel Addiction, We May Be Setting Ourselves Up for a Catastrophic Natural Event
AlterNet. July 3, 2009.
Too much CO2 in the air and not enough oxygen in the oceans may release a toxic dose of hydrogen sulfide -- an unheralded executioner.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140912/thanks_to_our_fossil_fuel_addiction%2C_we_may_be_setting_ourselves_up_for_a_catastrophic_natural_event/
Worker Uprising Against Wells Fargo Spreads After Major Victory to Keep Factories Open
AlterNet. July 2, 2009.
Workers fight back against Wells Fargo for closing their factory and they win! Now other workers take on the fight.
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/141064/worker_uprising_against_wells_fargo_spreads_after_major_victory_to_keep_factories_open/
Chamber of Commerce Launches $100 Million Campaign to Protect Wall Street's Power at Our Expense
AlterNet. July 2, 2009.
The CoC is the world's most powerful lobbying machine and it's working to make sure our money gets funneled to corporate execs. (If you want a clear picture of how lobbying works, read this!)
Toxic Chemicals: A Culprit Behind the Autism Outbreak
Teflon, plastics, formaldehyde, and other household chemicals are seen as leading drivers behind the autism outbreak.
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