Volume 75 - Where Are We Heading...?

It's the middle of the 4th Quarter (2010) and a good time to ask the 'big' question:
Where are We Heading as a Nation?

Economically speaking, as the Managing Partner & Founder of a small business the outlook is not very good. There are no 'indicators' on my radar screen showing any type of improvement in the foreseeable future. The Price of Gold has reached new levels never before seen, with some predictions pushing the $5,000 an ounce ceiling; but (possibly) more important is the Price of Silver which has climb to not only record levels but levels that were deemed improbable with no new ceiling in site. These two factors alone point out the Global Disaster 'sitting' in the wings.

Here's why:

1. Small business employs 97% of the working American workforce. Small business exists because historically they were able to borrow money and acquire lines of credit. Notice the word 'historically' - Today, that is simply not the case. Banks are not lending money and have cut deeply into any 'lines of credit' that were once available; yet, the Federal Government and this Administration simply just 'don't get it'! Why? Take the last bill signed by President Obama that supposedly gave 'small business' $30-billion in a lending bill. Where did the money go? It went to the Banks, earmarked for small community banks (right!) This administration 'hopes' that by going to somebody else that it may eventually get to the Small Business community; another 'Wizard of Oz' concept. As stated by Brian Miller, the President and COO of 'The Entrepreneur's Source, "If it does not (get into the hands of small business owners quickly) and we're faced with the same kind of situation that we were with TARP, where the banks just sit on the money and they don't get it in the hands of people that need it, then it's going to be a colossal failure."

2. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) announced that U.S. bank failures in 2010 were double the bank failures of 2009. The FDIC reported that another 702 banks ere nearing collapse. This same FDIC reports a negative balance of over $20 Billion dollars.

3. The US is experiencing the worst unemployment rate in 125 years and October job losses were the biggest in 34 years.

4. The rate of foreclosures thus far in 2010 exceed 2009 by an 80% increase.

5. Immigration analysts project another 100 million people flooding America within the next 25 years with 70 million of these 'new' Americans will be third world immigrants and their children with over half being 'illegals' as our Government is unable or unwilling to take the correct stand on immigration policies, procedures and enforcement.

6. There are now over 40 million Americans (one out of seven Americans), according to Government reports, living in poverty.

7. High Schools across this country are experiencing drop out rates of nearly 50%.

8. The U.S. ranks 18th and 24th in Math and Science on the World Stage with the majority of Math and Science Graduate Degrees going to non-Americans within our Graduate Schools.

8. We have 500,000 military personnel located on 700 military bases in 120 countries.

9. We have keep 35,000 troops at our expense on the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea for the past 50 years.

10. We are spending over 150 billion per year in Iraq and Afghanistan.

11. Our National Debt is now over 13 TRILLION Dollars

Because of the Mid-Term Election and the Declaration of the American People for directional change, the Republicans return to power in the House; however, this has happened in our History before, so (as the saying goes) We'll See................................