Hunger and Humiliation in the Belt-Tightening Economy

(It is important to remember that this is not an accident. Nor is it a natural “correction” to the market; this economy we are suffering from is a choice that has been made to toss us all into a deep recession so that they will be able to pass the economic policies that they have been wanting to pass. The price of oil is steadily rising because of speculators (or at least, that is the new talking point on the subject. In fact, we know that Big Oil, the Saudis, and Bush’s war of choice drove up the price of oil, just like it was supposed to); the FED dropping rates devaluing the dollar at a tremendous rate; outsourcing of jobs and “in-sourcing” of them to the privatized prison system; the super aggressive lending programs of the corrupt housing markets; reduction of pay-rates through the excessive use of H1b and H2b Visas (coupled with an open border policy to our south for nearly two decades); all of these things and more have combined to strip this economy to the bone. They were all choices made by Friedman Free-Market economists waiting to drop the next “brick” on us. And it’s working. This is Disaster Capitalism at work. The next war of choice, Iran, will cast this country into a depression that will rival the Great Depression, while it makes certain families and politicians wealthy beyond all imagining.)

by Nicole Colson from Counterpunch, here.

 Clip coupons. Stop eating at restaurants. Grow a vegetable garden. Learn to do without.

Everywhere you look, the mainstream media–finally waking up to the economic reality facing millions of poor and working-class Americans–are suddenly full of “helpful” suggestions for those feeling the squeeze of rising food prices.

But are platitudes about how best to tighten our belts the answer?

Food Banks Face Rising Costs and Need

(This is by design. As the Fed continually drops the Prime Rate, it devalues the dollar verses other currency, and raises prices through inflation. You combine that with the sky-rocketing price of oil (which BTW has been proven not to be tied to product availability (supply and demand) but rather market speculation, market instability, and the pre-meditated illegal invasion and occupation of a stabilizing force in the Middle East). The rising fuel prices fan the flames of even more inflation. Jobs being outsourced due to relaxed government regulations and tax breaks, and constant union busting tactics on the Federal and State level serve to reduce wages across the board. Increases in H1B visas for skilled and educated labor serves to reduce the average earned wage for college grads. This is NOT an accident. This administration, and many in Congress, serve the interests of people like the Waltons (Wal-Mart) and the Rockefellers (Exxon, GE, JP Morgan Chase) at the direct cost of the American people. When do we start to see this as the treason it is? They are attempting to turn us into a third world nation to make us easier to control and more profitable for them.)

from MSNBC story here.

STOCKTON, Calif. – Jackie Hoffman sifted through a laundry bin filled with aging bread, choosing a loaf of white.

Like nearly a third of the first 50 customers to arrive at the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton that morning, Hoffman was new to the pantry. But since she lost her sales job at a local newspaper in December, she has not found work in Stockton, which has the highest foreclosure rate in the country and a hurting job market.