What's up peeps, Santiny here.
I don't know how many of you really follow what is going on regarding the state of the U.S. economy and the health of the global financial system. This is something that I think about a lot.
You might hear in the news that the economy is growing and that the unemployment rate has never been lower. According to the United States Department of Labor, the unemployment rate as of November, 2017 is just a tick over 4%. The United States Department of Commerce states that as of Q3, the GDP has gown just past 3%.
On the surface, these numbers look pretty good. If things are as hunky dory as the media is claiming it is, then why is it that I hear that so many people are struggling? Heck, I'll even give you my testimony. Every time I go to buy groceries, I see that the prices of goods has gone up. My income is getting stretched thinner and thinner every year. As a result, I spend less on frivolous items and save more. However, don't my word for it- just ask your neighbors how they are doing.
Sure, the official unemployment rate might be low, but your neighbors are having to take on second jobs to make ends meat. This could mean a few things: they are not getting raises and inflation is hacking at their income, their pay is getting cut or their hours is getting reduced.
Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, often talks about how the official employment numbers is a hoax and disguises reality. He mentions that high taxes, government deficit spending and rising regulations push inflation upwards and increase costs for businesses. As a result, businesses lay off full-time employees in exchange for cheaper part-time workers. In other words, for every full-time job lost, two part-time jobs are opened. This largely explains why unemployment is so "low."
Then there is the health of the global financial system.. Look, I am not going to get into this as this is very long discussion. Mike Maloney, Founder and Owner of GoldSilver.com, can shed light on this more concisely.
I can go on and on about this, but the point is that I don't see the economy getting better in the short term. The numbers are skewed and information is omitted to conceal the truth. I see very challenging times ahead. More on this later..
-Dumb Goomba