America - The Newest Third World Nation

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464 Comments

bmfrosty, on 08/28/2008, -25/+189This is the most awesome article ever. The tinfoil hat itself is the size of Deleware.
JKap, on 08/27/2008, -54/+168We have a communist ponzi scheme (i.e. the "Federal Reserve System") substituted for a sound monetary system whereby money is "created" through the application of toxic ink to worthless "Federal Reserve Notes" or through the magical processes of "Fractional Reserve Banking" whereby banksters transmogrify "money" in the form of "loans" for which only 10% of the principle of the "loan(s)" is in tangible existence before the "loan" (i.e. "fractional reserve"). A veritable money factory.

http://digg.com/business_finance/Meet_The_Federal_ ...

How can anyone expect to maintain a standard of living when the dollar is devalued and debased like this and the manufacturing base has all but disappeared?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Doll ...
inactive, on 08/28/2008, -28/+141LOL. Anyone who thinks America-the most powerful country in the world-is a third world nation is retarded. Sorry, the truth hurts. Second of all, I know how much Bush sucks, but he doesn't yield NEARLY the type of influence over the economy that people think he does. He's really just a small part of it.
atbnet, on 08/28/2008, -18/+118The author is a moron and has never visited a third world country. Buried as sensationalist *****.
SuperIntendent, on 08/27/2008, -19/+114Last time I checked there weren't any washed up celebrities on tv asking to donate to feed the poor young american children.
th3heretic, on 08/28/2008, -34/+109Hey guise imma' be original here by bashing America. On top of that, ill use a sensationalist title to make it hit the front page.
DreKor, on 08/28/2008, -5/+63Raw capitalism works, until the endgame of monopoly. Pure free trade works, until you realize that consumers are stupid and producers lie. Socialism works, until people decide they like owning stuff. Theoretical economic models look really good on paper, but they never work that way in application. And, once you throw a global economy into the mix, all bets are completely off. The best you can hope for is a system where goods or services of an equal perceived value are exchanged in good faith.
meuse, on 08/27/2008, -7/+56Third World People -> Third World Nation

Jim Cramer is being quoted out of context. It looks like the video was from last week, as Cramer talks about the huge declines in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The declines were the result of an August 18 Barron's article that stated Treasury would recapitalize the firms and wipe out existing holders of the common stock. Since that hasn't happened (yet), the stocks have gone back up this week. The companies have terrible balance sheets, and anyone actively trading in the stocks is just engaging in speculation. There's no evidence of insider trading.
inactive, on 08/27/2008, -23/+65Sorry, the Fed Reserve is as capitalist as it gets ... 'communism' means something other than 'anything I hate'

Wikipedia has a very good Marxism section, you should check it out sometime.
algaeturd, on 08/28/2008, -7/+48Quit referring to America as a Democracy. That's part of the problem. Realize that we're a Republic and after that, it's going to be a lot easier to start mending.
Y0tsuya, on 08/27/2008, -6/+44Cramer is a doofus.
funkymoose, on 08/28/2008, -6/+43I've been to a few third world countries... i'm pretty sure the US is nothing ***** like them.
FizzanoMatrix, on 08/28/2008, -11/+48Except not.
buddypriefert, on 08/28/2008, -37/+71Blah blah "America sucks" blah blah "all Bush's fault" blah blah "evil corporations" blah blah "police, law sucks" blah blah "Obama will save us"

It's all the same garbage. A buch of whiners thinking they are the underdog rebels and are somehow in the majority of mindset. After all, if this were the case (i.e. Digg views made up the majority of American opinion), then Ron Paul would have been gearing up for his acceptance speech.

Next....article please.
mrhuhk, on 08/28/2008, -21/+54Are you ***** really falling for this tripe?!

This guy goes on to ramble about "the international banking families". That is just the modern racists' euphamism for blaming the Jews!

What the ***** is wrong with the folks who dugg this ***** up?
alexkball, on 08/28/2008, -5/+36If you think the November election is going to fix anything I've got news for you...
kevinwiz, on 08/28/2008, -11/+39Maybe there should be.
LemonChicken, on 08/28/2008, -3/+32I was thinking the same thing, glad someone else around here has most/all of their screws tight.
inactive, on 08/28/2008, -31/+57I'm beginning to wonder if Bush didn't actually plan to destroy the economy in order to create a financial crisis to justify increased dictatorial powers. As the article states “America is a very rich nation, it will take a lot to bring her down”. It's hard to believe that such a destruction of the economy in such a short time could happen accidentally. These "Neo-con artists" presumably understood the consequences of what they were doing.

If you don't believe that we are falling behind the rest of the world and slipping into third world status, go to Asia. You will be amazed by the progress they have made, while our infrastructure is crumbling.

Thomas Friedman wrote a pretty good article about this. I'm not a fan of Friedman's, but this article makes some good points.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/opinion/27friedm ...
fuzzmeister, on 08/28/2008, -22/+47"the deliberate high treason committed on 9/11 by senior Bush/Cheney administration officials was a new low. We have now experienced almost seven years of wars based on this false flag operation."

Err, thanks but no thanks. Too bad an intriguing viewpoint about the economy (albiet one I don't agree with) was ruined by baseless conspiracy theories.
fuzzmeister, on 08/28/2008, -8/+31What's your alternative? Shiny pieces of metal? Why does that have any real value either?
andyb747, on 08/28/2008, -6/+29"I hated Bush before it was cool"
orlyfactor, on 08/28/2008, -2/+25Wasn't he saying that Bear Stearns was fine a week before it was sold for $2?
qXdc, on 08/28/2008, -6/+28The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various government reports:

* Forty-three percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.

* Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.

* Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.

* The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)

* Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.

* Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.

* Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.

* Eighty-nine percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.
n1eb, on 08/28/2008, -66/+84Capitalism works. Free trade works. The Government needs to get out of the way of business. Don't let the left turn ths United States of America into the United Socialist States of America.
justinx0r, on 08/28/2008, -17/+35Buried as inaccurate. This anti-America spam is getting ridiculous.
Iztikeit, on 08/28/2008, -5/+22Actually capitalism would allow other forms of money to compete. There would not be a single currency in a true capitalist economy.
inactive, on 08/28/2008, -9/+24What quality your points may have had was overshadowed by the disgusting vitriol in the way you allowed silly anti-Bush comments dominate the piece. The simple fact is that neither of the major parties has clean hands. Both Dems and Republicans sold our nation down river long ago. And yet we still act surprised even after hearing from Perot, Paul and multiple billionaires about our financial status.
chuckDontSurf, on 08/28/2008, -1/+16Yeah, I stopped reading somewhere around "and then to *bate* the Japanese to attack us to get American in the Second World War".
Spell-check: the idiot's bane.
why3th, on 08/28/2008, -24/+39Because Big Business cares so much for the homeless, the poor, the sick, and the handicapped.
Kev585, on 08/28/2008, -1/+15maj0rm0j0:
Research this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_republ ...

US of A always has and always will be a republic. We never have and likely never will be a direct democracy.
TheDHC, on 08/28/2008, -11/+24hellllooo sensational title! where have you been all my life!
DangerCollie, on 08/28/2008, -1/+14Not yet, but there have been several stories about the free medical clinics held in...I want to say TN. Where thousands show up to get free medical care. They start lining up hours early and the volunteer doctors and nurses still end up turning people away.

I live out in the twigs and can say with certainty there are families living in squaller. Most of them can't afford to live in the big city so they drift out this way.

You were making a joke but it's not that funny.
Spire3660, on 08/28/2008, -2/+14We are a republic first and foremost. Our rights are supposed to be enshrined, regardless of what the majority(democracy) thinks. I think it is you sir, who should be looking up definitions. Democracy can be an evil thing, twisted by the tyranny of the majority. Just becasue alot of people think something is right or just does not make it so.
kishosingh, on 08/28/2008, -4/+16It is good joke!
omegared, on 08/28/2008, -12/+24***** big business, most of the jobs are provided by small business. All big business does is screw over workers. If big business had its way there would still be child labor, no minimum wage, no environmental or labor standards. You think big business supported any of those things? You think a free market without any regulation would look after the common worker, and the environment? Guess what big business opposed all those things, that are taken for granted today.
Iztikeit, on 08/28/2008, -3/+16No, we're a Republic alright. It's a form of Democracy.
snassiri, on 08/28/2008, -5/+17the hybrid economic model we have today helps big business, and i mean the socialist aspect. Think about it: redistributing wealth to the lower class by means of supplying for necessities (housing, food, health care) frees up their pocketbook so they can spend more of their money as disposable income, becoming consumers of things that, quite frankly, no one really needs.

Whatever the "rich" forfeit in taxes paid, they regain all the more so when their companies receive that money back. The rich get richer, so to speak. The middle class feels the pain, because they have to prop up the system with their tax money. They have to forgo savings just to remain consumers. Even if they do attempt to save, the devaluation of the currency makes saving quite hard.

I'd call this a corporate dictatorship if anything. At any rate, no matter what the system is, the corrupt will still find a way to bend the rules into their favor. However in a free market with a sound monetary system, the difference is that savings is meaningful, and if people are saving and not spending, then that puts a dent into corporate pocketbooks.

Think about the whole "economic stimulus" thing. You were given tax money to spend on consumer goods! Who ended up with that money in the end? The big corporations! It's twisted, really.
CourtesyFlush, on 08/28/2008, -3/+14Great Scott!

I was drinking coffee and watching TV at the time!

Does that make me a suspect?
fuzzmeister, on 08/28/2008, -7/+18I'd say that the promise of the most powerful and influential nation in the world is a pretty good way to back up a currency. As for gold, it can be manipulated even more easily than any fiat currency, people can buy it up and drive prices through the roof, and any new discovery can put prices into freefall. Also, although it certainly has uses, there's nothing that makes gold inherently different than many other metals, which would give it some irreplaceable value, calling into question why we chose this one (the answer: pure tradition). Fiat currency is a step forward, and we shouldn't be trying to jump back into the 19th century.
enantiodromia, on 08/28/2008, -7/+18that's humorous, considering all the corporate welfare, subsidies, and tax shelters the GOP loves to give big business.

hands off indeed.
Ymeg, on 08/27/2008, -15/+25Out government has some insane notion that it can manage the nature of human trade better than the consumers and businesses who make up the economy.
Khast, on 08/28/2008, -0/+10Ding! Ding! Ding! you get a prize. Our system is not going to get any better, it is just going to sink deeper into debt. You know anything about WWII? You know anything about how the Germans tried to pay off their debt? Well, then you know exactly what will happen to the US dollar if we keep "Loaning" non-existent money, or printing extra money to pay off our debts. Our dollar value will tank. The US Peso anyone???? (Just joking, the Peso will be worth more than the US dollar if we did that.)
HoboMaster, on 08/28/2008, -0/+10The GOP hasn't been free market in a couple of decades. Don't equate free-market capitalists with Republicans, because it's just not the case.
waydee, on 08/28/2008, -2/+12Hey if being at the top of productivity scores is worth working longer hours, getting far less time off and less state benefits us devilish socialist Europeans are more than happy to let you keep it up - do it for the rest of us!

There's a good reason why America seems to be so productive - you get royally ***** when it comes to quality of life.

And hundreds of years? try a hundred at the very most.
inactive, on 08/28/2008, -3/+12your point? That doesn't change the fact that we aren't a third world country.
smurfsahoy, on 08/28/2008, -3/+12gold is an economic standard 100% because of perception and convention, flawl, just like paper money. Don't be ridiculous. If usefulness were the reason to use something as currency, you should be rooting for aluminum or copper.
AbsurdParadox, on 08/28/2008, -14/+23Clearly you do not understand how business works.

Customers care about the homeless, the poor, the sick, and the handicapped. Therefore, the big businesses do care.

What doesn't make sense to me is that people think the free market can't operate because people can't be trusted... so they want to give a group of people a monopoly on force and call them government! Its completely ridiculous.

Also, what the hell is with you people acting like "Big Business" is some individual person.
snassiri, on 08/28/2008, -2/+11it's neither. We live in a corporate dictatorship.
chispito, on 08/28/2008, -0/+9I hate your spelling but you're the highest up comment pointing out the idiocy of this sky-is-falling crap.
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