Saturday, January 25, 2014

Another Opinion and Indicators...L&C

If I had my book published, and I was well received, I would love to have a talk show. My guests would include the "OTHER" voices that do not get recognition or a venue within the media to state their view of the economy, the government and the environment. I would also like to provide a platform for opposition voices in world locations like the Ukraine, Japan, Middle East, et al. I would give equal time to the side that these people feel are in error. At the end of the show contrary to the usual format of prevailing productions, I would offer my two cents, whatever that is worth.
Today, I offer you, dear reader, a voice that is not well known, but shares my concern about the direction of the US economy, energy and the environment.
Peak Prosperity.com
is a website founded by Chris Martenson. He is a former biochemical scientist. He has written a book called Crash Course. His real worries center on debt creation by the Federal Reserve which has been growing at a plus 9% over the last twenty years, while our economy reflected in GDP has only averaged between 2% to 3% during the same period or triple which is unsustainable. He sees a financial crisis. He also fears that the global community is following our model and the effects on energy and the environment is also unsustainable. Unlike myself, he does not talk about the individual or labor within the economy, but he offers ideas to help the individual if there is a disruption within our society where water, energy and food could suffer from this disturbance. If you are interested, you can go to his website. Now, I will include some tidbits which fall under indicators like the stock market declining over 4% the past week.
Middle Class Jobs
You can file this under disappearing jobs to which our society is experiencing.
No one has given a definite description as to what entails being in the middle class, however economist agree that it is someone that falls within the following wage scale of $13.84 to $21.13 an hour, qualifies.
1)  Mechanical drafters average annual salary of $50k and are declining at a 5% rate.
2)  Insurance appraisers average $58k and are losing jobs at 5%.
3)  Insurance underwriter average $62k and declining at 6.5%.
4)  Mail clerk and mail machine operator, not including Post Office average $26.9k and down 8.8%.
5)  Prep tech average $37k and falling at a 12.9% rate.
6)  Telephone operator average $32k and declining at 13%.
7)  Switchboard operator average $25k and also down 13%.
8)  Reporters and correspondents average $35k and declining at 13.8%.
9)  Reservation transportation average $32k and down at 14%.
10)Embalmers average $42k and dying like their job to the tune of 15%.
11)Door-to-door workers average $21k and falling 15%.
12)Computer operator average $38k and suffering at 17%.
13)Postmaster and mail superintendents average $63k and ouch! down 24%.
14)Data entry key-er average $28k and down 24.6%.
15)Word processors and typists average $35k and disappearing at a 25% clip.
In the news...
Now, add to the above the following news that Intel is laying off  5% of its workforce or 5k jobs. Hewlett-Packard is cutting 34k jobs or 11%. In addition, J.C.Penny is closing 33 stores and Macy's plans to also close some of its locations. In a previous piece I warned about Game Stop. They are also closing stores. While you digest that, add this for desert.
Hacking
Target and Neiman-Marcus and that adds up to a correction.
Liars and Crooks: the media for reporting that Congress agreed to fund the government and that there will not be a debt crisis in 2014. The issue has only been forestalled not concluded.