More Americans Will Use Food Stamps For Thanksgiving This Year Than Ever Before and TANSTAAFL Is About To Become A Common Term

More Americans Will Use Food Stamps For Thanksgiving This Year Than Ever Before

By Elizabeth Flock - November 20, 2012 RSS Feed Print

More Americans will use food stamps to buy their Thanksgiving dinner this year than ever before, according to a new report from the nonprofit government watchdog group The Sunlight Foundation.

[PHOTOS: Presidents Pardoning Turkeys, Meeting Dinner]

The Food Stamp Challenge, which challenges higher-income families to live as if they are on food stamps, estimates that a person on food stamps has a budget of about $1.25 per meal. In other words, a family on food stamps must buy an entire meal per person for less than the cost of an average cup of coffee.

Usage of food stamps among low and no-income families has spiked since the collapse of the U.S. financial system four years ago. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, average participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamp program, has increased 70 percent since 2007. And economists have warned that usage of food stamps won't go down until unemployment improves.

[SANTORUM: Only Buy USA-Made Christmas Gifts]

This Thanksgiving, 42.2 million Americans will be on food stamps, according to the Economic Policy Institute. This is roughly the size of the populations of California and Connecticut combined.

Not surprisingly, feeding millions of Americans isn't cheap. The cost of the SNAP program last year reached $72 billion, the highest to date, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

[ENJOY: The U.S. News Collection of Obama Cartoons]

Those costs are a source of major contention in Congress, which stalled on a bundle of legislation known as the farm bill this summer because it could not agree how much money should be spent on food stamps. The farm bill, which directs the nation's food policy, devotes about 80 percent of its budget to the food stamp program.

More News:

• Wall-Mart Black Friday Protests Won't Work

TANSTAAFL Is About To Become A Common Term

The disintegration of an economy and a society can take two courses. One course is like rust. It is slow and barely perceptible. The other is a sudden collapse. The first course, if left untended, eventually  turns into the second.

The US economy is now rusting away. Arguably it has been for decades. For anyone interested in looking, the signs are there. They will soon become unavoidable for even the most disinterested of our citizens.

Dan Amos correctly described what is happening as a result of Washington’s overbearing involvement in the economy:

All government-directed economic activity grows at the expense of the private sector. And the election suggests that government coercion will drive even more U.S. economic activity in the future. This is a shame, because freely adjusting prices, competition, and innovation elevate living standards. Mandates, price controls, and subsidies — coercive actions — depress living standards. Quality falls. Shortages develop and persist.

Mr. Amos is correct but does not forcefully convey the reality of a dying economy. These effects are beginning to appear.

Many businessmen hung on, hoping for a change in the madness that passes for economic leadership and policy. These hopes were dashed with the re-election of the ideologue driving the madness. Obama won the electoral college, but not the confidence of business. They are just beginning to cast their votes and it does not bode well for the future. Here is a partial list of the business reactions to the outcome of the election:

LAYOFFS ANNOUNCED SINCE ELECTION:

1. Abbott Labs 700
2. Activision 30
3. Adventist Health 48
4. Airlines SAS 6000
5. AMD 400
6. American Cotton Growers 110
7. ArcelorMittal 20
8. American Independence Museum 4
9. Ameridose 790
10. American Airlines 4400 + 800 leaving voluntarily
11. American Coal 54
12. Atlantic Lottery Corporation 16
13. Assc Milk Producers 130
14. Aveo Oncology 45
15. ATI 172
16. Bankia 5000
17. Bechtel Power Corp 277
18. Bigpoint Games 47
19. Boston Scientific 1200
20. Brake Parts LLC 75
21. Brattleboro Retreat 31
22. Bristol Myers 500
23. Career Education 900 + Closing 23 Campuses
24. Cigna 1300
25. Citigroup 100
26. Commerzbank 6000
27. Consol Energy in W.V. 145
28. Covidien 595
29. Crouse Hospital Syracuse NY 70
30. Cummins 150
31. CVPH 27
32. DEP in Tallahassee FL 15
33. DuPont, Co. 64
34. Eagle-Tribune, Andover 21
35. Emanuel Medical Cente 24
36. Energizer Holdings 1500
37. Ericsson 1550
38. Exide Tech, Laureldale 150
39. City of Findlay, OH 39
40. First Energy 400
41. Gameforge Berlin 20
42. Gamesa Energy 92
43. GenOn Energy Inc 33
44. Glen Falls Hospital 29
45. Groupon 80
46. GT Advanced Tech 165
47. Harris’ Broadcast 17
48. Hawker Beechcraft 400 + Facilities closing
49. Hill Rom 200
50. Hills Holdings 300
51. HMX Group 567
52. Hostess 627
53. Iberia Airlines 4500
54. ICM of Colwich 25
55. ING 2350
56. Judson University 21
57. Juniper Networks 500
58. Kaiser Permanente 84
59. Kinetic Concepts 427
60. Kratos Defense Security 125
61. Lackawanna County PA 11
62. Lightyear Network Solutions 12+
63. Lonza 500
64. Majestic Star Casino/hotel 80
65. Major Wind Company 3000
66. Martha Stewart Living 70
67. Medtronic 1000
68. Mills Manufacturing NC 68
69. Momentive, Inc. 150
70. Monitor Group 235
71. Montco Behavioral Health/Dev 58
72. NBC 500
73. Nebraska Medical Center 38
74. Neovia Logistics Services 52
75. New Energy 40
76. Ormet 200
77. Panasonic 10000
78. PayPal 320
79. Penn Refrigeration 40
80. Penske Logistics 50
81. Pepsi 4000
82. Philips Electronics 218
83. Pierce Mfg 325
84. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne 100
85. Research in Motion 200
86. Rheem Manufacturing 50
87. Sentry Foods 70
88. Shaw’s Supermarket 700
89. Shawano foundry WI 90
90. Smith & Nephew 770
91. Smithfield Packing Co. 125
92. Solel Solar Systems 140
93. Southeastern Container 15
94. SpaceX 100
95. SRA Intl Inc 222
96. St. Jude Medical 300
97. Stryker 1170
98. Sulake 60
99. Sun Media 500
100. TE Connectivity 620
101. TECO Coal Corporation 90
102. Texas Instruments 1700
103. The Providence Journal Co 23
104. TMX Group Ltd. 100
105. Turbocare 220
106. Turkey Point Nuclear Plant 277
107. Oce North America, Inc. 135
108. Turbocare OCE 220
109. UBS 10000
110. US Cellular 980
111. UtahAmerican Energy Inc 102
112. Volvo Trucks Pulaski County 300
113. Wake Forest Baptist Medical 950
114. Welch Allyn 275
115. West Ridge Mine 102
116. Westinghouse 50
117. World Media Enterprises Inc 105
118. WPS Health Insurance 600
119. Wright Patterson AFB 115
120. Wyodak Coal Mine 11
121. Xerox 2500
122. Yakima Reg Med Ctr Washington 10+

ANNOUNCED BUSINESS CLOSURES SINCE ELECTION:

1. Bakers Footwear closing 150 stores nationwide, including 21 in California
2. The SCA plant in Barton – Plans Staff Reductions
3. Handy Hardware to close its 2-year-old Meridian, Miss. warehouse
4. Caterpillar Inc. will close its plant in Owatonna Minn.
5. Waltz Pharmacy in Waldoboro Maine
6. Zac’s Place in Hinsdale IL
7. Lone Star Steakhouse at 70th and O streets and Ruby Tuesday at 56th Street in
8. Lincoln NE
9. Career Education Corp – Closing 23 Campuses – 900 Jobs Lost
10. Handy Hardware to close its 2-year-old Meridian, Miss. warehouse
11. Shamrock Bar at Payne City’s Rose Avenue. in GA
12. Monitor Company Group LP
13. ThinkEquity LLC
14. Homer City Funding LLC
15. Caterpillar Inc. will close its plant in Owatonna Minn.
16. Mount Pleasant’s Albrecht Sentry Foods
17. The Target store at Manassas Mall Va.
18. Millennium Academy in Wake Forest NC
19. Target Closing Kissimmee FL Location
20. Calgary’s iconic Rideau Music store ( International )
21. The Andover Gift Shop in Andover MA
22. Grand Union Family Markets Closing Storrs Location CT
23. Movie Scene Milford Location NH
24. Update: TE Connectivity Closing Greensboro Plant – 620 Layoffs Expected
25. Gomer’s Fried Chicken in South Kansas City
26. Kmart in Homer Glen
27. Fresh Market on Pine Street in Burlington
28. AGC Glass North America to permanently close its Blue Ridge Plant in Kingsport Tenn.
29. The Target store at Platte and Academy in Colorado Springs
30. Island Colors – A Carolina Beach Clothing Store
31. The Roses store on Reynold Road in Winston-Salem NC
32. Meanders Kitchen losing its West Seattle location at 6032 California Ave
33. Bost Harley-Davidson at 46th Avenue North and Delaware Ave. in West Nashville TN
34. Townsend Booksellers in Oakland
35. The Kmart store in Parkway Plaza off University Drive in Durham NC – 79 Jobs Lost
36. Guarantee Shoe Store in Beaumont Texas
37. Associated Milk Producers Inc. Closing manufacturing facility in Dawson Minn. – 130
38. Jobs Lost
39. FacadeTek Inc Closes Whitestown Facility – 72 Jobs Lost
40. Comet Market in Punxsutawney Pa.
41. JC Penney store in Miracle City Mall Titusville FL
42. TurboCare Inc Closing Manchester CT Facility – 88
43. The United Colors of Benetton store on Armitage Avenue IL
44. Update: Bicycle shop Ten 27 Cycles 1027 Davis St. in Evanston IL
45. Two Sears Product Rebuild Centers in The Woodlands Texas
46. FesslerUSA Clothing Maker Closing in PA
47. Ralph Lauren’s plans to close its 14 stand-alone Rugby locations
48. Nashville Sash & Door Co. Inc Tenn.
49. First Portuguese church in North America in Bedford Mass Closing?
50. International Fashions in Carbondale’s University Mall IL
51. Harper’s Old Army Surplus Store in West Monroe La
52. Nova Financial Holdings
53. The Party Warehouse in West Springfield Mass.
54. TLC Wine and Liquor at 1205 W. Main St in Kent Ohio?
55. The HAPPY Place 1042 N Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA
56. Air Carrier Accessory Services – Chapter 7
57. SOW Inc. shelter on South Broad Street GA?
58. Systemax Inc., Closing Miami County Ohio Computer Plant – 120 Jobs Lost
59. Textbook publisher McGraw-Hill Cos. Closing 2 Distribution Centers – 166 Layoffs
60. First Place Financial Corp
61. Nash Finch Closing Cedar Rapids Iowa Food Distribution Center
62. Johnnie’s Foodmaster MA Closing all 10 Locations
63. Rainbow Foods will be closing its Forest Lake location MN – 59 Layoffs
64. Berry’s Camera Shop Inc. in Downtown Lafayette
65. Schreiber Foods to close their food packaging plant in Ravenna – 70 Jobs Lost
66. Kmart store at 5300 Salem Ave. Trotwood Ohio
67. Mr.Christie plant in Toronto ( International ) 2013 – 550 Jobs Lost
68. Coffee with T cafe in Stevenson Village business MD
69. Minas Basin Pulp and Power are closing a mill in Hantsport ( International ) – 135

ACTUAL LAYOFFS:

1. The Colonial Country Shoppe on Park Street in Adams MA
2. Vestas Wind Systems Closing R&D; Office in Louisville – 60 Jobs Lost
3. Dollar Castle in downtown Ferndale MI
4. Bistro One West in St Charles IL
5. Sun Dog Diner in Neptune Beach FL
6. Jim’s Builders Hardware in Wichita, Kansas
7. Madeleines Bakehouse in Fort Wayne Indiana
8. Barnes & Noble plans to close its doors in Union Station Dec. 31
9. The Semiahmoo Hotel in Blaine Washington
10. Highland Curves CA
11. The Salem Sport Shop in Salem Ohio
12. Navistar International Corp. to Close truck assembly plant in Garland, Texas – 900
13. Jobs Lost
14. Divine Mercy Catholic Books & Gifts Denton Texas
15. Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford IL
16. Garelick Farms Ends Production at Bangor Maine Facility
17. Fashion Tech Window Coverings in Portland?
18. Custom House Tavern Chicago IL.
19. Jim’s Builders Hardware in Delano
20. Lone Star Steakhouse at 1801 22nd St. in West Des Moines
21. Sears to Close Woodlands Product Rebuild Center – 117 Jobs Lost
22. Whitehead Inc Rockford Real Estate Company
23. Robert’s Mens Shop in Downtown New Philadelphia Ohio
24. Fort Tecumseh Olde Fashun Store in Ohio
25. Lakewood Beginnings Child Development Center in Lakewood Ohio
26. Green Fields Seed & Feed in Grand Junction Colo.
27. The Army and Navy Store in Melrose Mass.
28. Vitalistic Therapeutic charter school PA
29. Diamond Foods Inc Closing a plant in Fishers Indiana
30. Old Town Alehouse 5233 Ballard Ave in Seattle
31. Space Aliens restaurants in Minot and Grand Forks ND
32. DeWaay Financial Network LLC
33. Sears at Quail Springs Mall Oklahoma City OK.
34. Fashion Bug in O’Fallon MO is closing in January
35. Kmart Store in Oak Hill W. Va
36. Update: Jett & Hall men’s clothing store in Richmond KY
37. D.C. school List of Possible Schools Closing to Be released Later today
38. Dunkin’ Donuts in Holly Hill FL
39. Hostess Brands Inc Permanently Closing 3 Bakeries Following a Nationwide Strike
40. Philips Electronics subsidiary Lightolier will close its local fluorescent light
41. fixture manufacturing plant in Willington
42. Smithfield Packing Co. will close in 2013, laying off a total of 400 employees
43. SuperFresh outlets in Marlton and Westmont NJ
44. The Bagel Shoppe in Katonah NY
45. Ben Franklin and Homestead House Gifts in the Kimball Ridge Center in Waterloo IA
46. Several West Virginia Suzuki dealerships Being Forced to Close
47. Kowalski Cos Closing All 4 of its Metro Detroit Delis but to Continue Food
48. Production
49. Three Memphis charter schools and one in Nashville Tenn. Could Close Due to Poor
50. Test Scores
51. The Custer School District SD – Closing 2 Rural Schools
52. The Dressing Room, on North Lincoln Avenue IL
53. The Utica office of IBOPE NY

BANKRUPTCIES:

1. AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc
2. Aletheia Research & Management Inc
3. Omtron USA
4. Helmkampf Construction in Olivette
5. Clear Light Publishers
6. Monitor Company Group LP
7. ThinkEquity LLC
8. Homer City Funding LLC
9. US Suzuki Distributor – Chapter 11
10. Revolt Technology

This list should frighten every thinking American. It is a huge warning regarding what lies ahead. These changes are coming to an economy that is already unable to provide jobs or sustain living standards.

Decline is a slow process, until it becomes fast. It is not easy to see at first. It should be obvious to most that our economy is approaching a critical stage. When you have destroyed the trust and confidence of business, there will be no job creation.

Some parting words are in order for those responsible for the decisions reflected above. Shutting down and giving up is anathema to the spirit that built this country and is now only found among our entrepreneurial class. It goes against the very fiber that drives success. It is a last resort for entrepreneurs.

The decision to quit is lonely, involves guilt, self-doubt and remorse. It is the last act for someone that has tried everything to avoid it. Giving up and withdrawing is not an act of retribution. People do not willingly choose to go to Galt’s figurative gulch. They are forced there.

While the masses exult in the continuation of their  food stamps, cell phones and other booty, the real story of this election is yet to be told. The nation is about to find out that policies and elections have consequences more important than free stuff.

The war against private enterprise can no longer be denied. President Obama’s re-election ensures that it will continue and likely accelerate. The makers are beginning to give up. The takers don’t have a clue. Soon the country is going to get a real-life lesson in economics. TANSTAAFL (There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch) is about to be learned.

View article...

Stephanie S. Jasky, Founder, Director - FedUpUSA.org -  h/t to Tony Caputo

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe

FedUpUSA.org -  Freedom isn't free!
Please help FedUpUSA stay online.

(click logo below)

Related:

Small Business Owners Explain Why ObamaCare Causes Cuts in Hours and Layoffs

Most Americans Clueless As ObamaCare Rolls Out

HOW TO SURVIVE THANKSGIVING AT YOUR LIBERAL RELATIVES

First They Came For The Cupcakes, And I Did Not Speak Out

Full List of Obamacare Tax Hikes

Denny’s to charge 5% ‘Obamacare surcharge’ and cut employee hours to deal with cost of legislation

How Many Businesses Have Announced Closings or Lay-Offs Since Obama Won A Second Term?

Technorati Tags: food stamps,holidays,Thanksgivings,joblessness,TANSTAAFL,economy,layoffs,ObamaCare,taxes,jobs

A Wicked Financial Storm Descends On America

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton – The NoisyRoom

Ever since 2008, this blog has been warning about economic devastation heading our way. You see it everywhere you look today, if you bother to look that is… Gas prices are at close to an average of $4 a gallon and in parts of California, it is now hitting $7, with no end in sight. Food inflation that is rising so precipitously, it takes your breath away – but the government says there is no inflation.

In the world that is America now, all things seem to be upside down and sliding full-blown out of control. This includes the Communist who is our current Commander-in-Chief. He claims he is drilling for oil, when the opposite is true. He is blocking all of it and piling so many regulations on our coal plants in lockstep with his bud, Cass Sunstein, that they are shutting down as well. Lie after lie after infernal lie.

As for unemployment, the government is manipulating the hell out of those numbers in an attempt to calm the sheep before the slaughter. They claim it has fallen to 8.2%. Take a long look at the U6 rate, which tracks not only those out of work, but those who’ve essentially given up looking for work. It currently sits at 14.5% – close to double what is being claimed by our ‘progressive’ leadership. Real unemployment stands at closer to 19.1% and is perhaps substantially higher than that.

People are giving up on finding work. A second, even more brutal wave of foreclosures is also on the horizon. Real hunger is coming to the US and hard times that will make the Great Depression seem like the good ole days are pounding on our door. A majority of states are now close to being unable to cover pensions and other entitlements as well as expenses. Bankruptcy is an understatement for what these states are facing. So, to “solve” the problem, a number of them are taxing more which makes it worse and worse. All the while, the rising flood of fuel prices surges against the levee.

When truckers cannot fill their tanks anymore because of the cost, store shelves will become barren wastelands. Real food deserts. When people get hungry, especially when their children are hungry, they get mean and desperate. Just what the Progressives had in mind. Violence, chaos and mayhem in the streets.

So, you say… the election is not far off and we can get rid of Obama then. Maybe, maybe not… I understand a company owned at least in part by Soros will be handling voting results. It doesn’t take a genius to see how that would be manipulated. Then there is a potential war with Iran. If Obama feels his reelection is in jeopardy, war with Iran will look like just the right emergency. Or, there could be any other number of emergencies, real or ginned up like the Trayvon Martin murder that is sparking racial unrest.

If nothing else, the debt we owe will literally drag us into hell all by itself. We’re broke and we aren’t going back to yesteryear anytime soon. That would take massive cuts and pain and no one with that kind of spine exists today in our government. But until the last penny is stolen and the last party is thrown by the Progressives, they will keep spending until there is nothing left but death, war, famine and blood. And they are okay with that, trust me. We face the abyss and our leaders are embracing the gulf.

From The Economic Collapse Blog:

#1 According to one new survey, approximately one-third of all Americans are not paying their bills on time at this point.

#2 The U.S. housing industry is bracing for another huge wave of foreclosures in 2012. The following is from a recent Reuters article….

“We are right back where we were two years ago. I would put money on 2012 being a bigger year for foreclosures than 2010,” said Mark Seifert, executive director of Empowering & Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP), a counseling group with 10 offices in Ohio.

#3 The Citigroup Economic Surprise Index, a key indicator watched by many economists, is on the verge of heading into negative territory.

#4 We are supposed to be in the middle of an economic recovery in the United States, but bad news just keeps pouring in from major companies. For example, Yahoo is firing thousands of workers and Best Buy is closing dozens of stores.

#5 Richard Russell says that the “big money” is starting to quietly exit from the financial markets….

“My guess is that this is the big money that has been holding off as long as it decently can — and then dumping their goods just before the close. I don’t think the big money likes this market, and I think they have been slowly exiting this market, as quietly as they can.”

#6 Goldman Sachs is projecting that the S&P 500 will fall by about 11 percent by the end of 2012.

#7 All over the country, local governments are going into default and we have not even entered the next recession yet.

#8 The U.S. government will add more to the national debt in 2012 than it did from the time that George Washington became president to the time that Ronald Reagan became president.

#9 The Federal Reserve is desperately trying to control interest rates. The Fed purchased approximately 61 percent of all government debt issued by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2011. This is the only thing that is keeping interest rates in the United States from soaring dramatically.

#10 German industrial production is falling at a pace that is far faster then expected.

#11 Italy’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now up to 120 percent.

#12 The Spanish government admitted on Tuesday that Spain’s debt-to-GDP ratio will rise by more than 11 percent this year alone.

#13 Yields on Spanish bonds are rising to dangerous levels.

#14 The Spanish government is projecting that the unemployment rate in Spain will exceed 24 percent by the end of the year.

#15 Unemployment in the eurozone as a whole has risen for 10 months in a row and is now at a 15 year high.

#16 In the aftermath of a 77-year-old retiree killing himself in front of the Greek parliament in protest over pension cuts, the economic rioting in Greece has flared back up dramatically.

#17 At this point, Greece is experiencing an economic depression with no end in sight. Some of the statistics coming out of Greece are really hard to believe. For example, one port town in Greece now has an unemployment rate of approximately 60 percent.

#18 The IMF is asking the United States to contribute more money for European bailouts.

#19 At this point, even some of our top scientists are projecting economic trouble. For example, researchers at MIT are projecting a “global economic collapse” by the year 2030 if current trends continue.

We don’t have till 2030… I personally don’t think we have until 2013. As the stock market (which is hideously manipulated) teeters on the edge of Armageddon and those with any money at all are running for the exits, the warnings of a wicked financial storm descending on America are blaring for all they are worth. And it would seem America is still asleep. Prepare to reap the whirlwind of an economic collapse – we are at its door.

Breitbart.com: As mention above:  Record 87,897,000 Americans Not in the Labor Force amid  disappointing unemployment numbers that fell 80,000 jobs short of projections, another number is raising eyebrows: the number of Americans not in the labor force has hit a record high 87,897,000.

This figure explains why overall unemployment dropped from 8.3% to 8.2%, as the Department of Labor's unemployment figure does not include people who have given up hope and are not actively seeking employment.

When the number of individuals who have stopped looking for a job and/or who are working part-time but desire full-time employment is included--a figure known as the "underemployment rate"--real unemployment stands at 19.1%.

Define Gradual Adjustment

Shell shocked doesn’t quite convey what we felt last week when we filled up with gas here and the price per gallon jumped 35 cents in two days. We spoke to others filling their tanks and they were all dazed and angry as well. Our only difference is we saw this coming even before Obama was elected.

Then came the fun-filled trip to the store (we go to a variety of them here and all had similar results), where we witnessed a 20% jump in overall grocery prices in one week. We looked at each other and said, “How are we going to survive this?” Yep, we’ve put away some food, but with hubby losing his job recently and still looking, we have not had funds to prepare the way we know we need too. We are just getting by barely as the majority of Americans are. And like most of America, we are very, very worried.

Take a good look at what you are buying. For instance, my entire life we have bought 5 pound packages of sugar. Now, the bag is reduced to 4 pounds for the same price. Look at the astronomical increase in the price of coffee as well. Just staggering. And if you are weak of heart, don’t go near the meat counter. To get a package of rib eye this week, the price was a whopping $41.25. Cass Sunstein is that you?

Obama in 2008 – those were the days huh? They don’t come back evidently.

In 2008, Obama swore he would get us off that evil foreign oil. Looks like he’s doing just that – he’s just not replacing it with anything we can use. But he is giving millions to his crony capitalist buddies in the green industries. Green is the new red, don’t cha know… As for me and mine, drill, baby drill! And now!!

From Buzz Feed – Obama’s 2008 Gas Ads:

Two Videos - View on NoisyRoom

Good frickin’ times. How’s that Hope and Change crap working out for everyone? Gas is now$6 a gallon in Tampa, Florida and that’s not just Premium – it’s $5.89 a gallon for Regular. It’s $5 a gallon in Los Angeles. Giddy up baby, cause we haven’t even gotten started yet. With war coming in the Middle East that will no doubt engulf the globe, prices will rise even more. Obama will not allow drilling on American soil and that will raise prices more again. In fact, what he is doing is guaranteed to cause a collapse down the road and that is just what he wants. They blame it all on speculation – I blame it on Marxism and wealth redistribution.

Want more? Our water prices are about to triple due to a crumbling water distribution system. That’s an additional $900 a year in water bills on top of gas prices and the massive food inflation that the government claims doesn’t exist.

But wait, there’s more! Credit card debt in the US is now at toxic levels. With unemployment in reality being closer to 22% in the US (don’t believe the fluffy numbers the government pushes), people are turning to whatever they can to survive the 2012 American Depression. They’ve got nothing more to lose and to feed their families they will use and are using every bit of credit left to them. This debt in most cases will never be repaid.

MyFoxDC:

(New York Post) – More American households are falling back into the debt hole, this time without the safety net of home values to help bail them out, the New York Post reported Sunday.

Last year, total US consumer debt reached its highest point in a decade, according to a credit card industry observer.

And:

The trend — month to month, quarter to quarter and year to year — is rising steeply.

“Consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 7.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 4.5 percent, and non-revolving credit increased 9 percent in December,” the Fed wrote in a note along with the latest monthly report, which also reviewed 2011.

These numbers, Dvorkin warns, mean that many middle-class Americans are taking big risks.

In a weak economy with high unemployment, Dvorkin noted, many people with big card balances become vulnerable to financial catastrophe.

Ya think? We join the world in being broke and out of miracles – it’s all in the family now.

So, I’d like to ask President Obama… Define gradual adjustment. You planned all of this to bring us to our knees and destroy the America we all know and love. Well done and you are almost at Mission Accomplished. All you need is one more emergency and WWIII will do nicely. It looks like Obama’s ‘gradual adjustment’ more closely resembles a hockey stick graph.

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton  -  the NoisyRoom

Farming and Rural America

EXECUTIVE ORDER - -ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WHITE HOUSE RURAL COUNCIL

FOOD FIGHT - June 9th Executive Order: ALERT -- RURAL AMERICANS -- FARMERS -- ANYONE WHO EATS: BEWARE "We are from the Government and We are here to Help!"

Video:  ALERT! RURAL AMERICANS - FARMERS - ANYONE WHO EATS: BEWARE

Something we all need to know about!!

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release June 9, 2011
EXECUTIVE ORDER
- - - - - - -

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WHITE HOUSE RURAL COUNCIL

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America and in order to enhance Federal engagement with rural communities, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. Sixteen percent of the American population lives in rural counties. Strong, sustainable rural communities are essential to winning the future and ensuring American competitiveness in the years ahead. These communities supply our food, fiber, and energy, safeguard our natural resources, and are essential in the development of science and innovation. Though rural communities face numerous challenges, they also present enormous economic potential. The Federal Government has an important role to play in order to expand access to the capital necessary for economic growth, promote innovation, improve access to health care and education, and expand outdoor recreational activities on public lands.

To enhance the Federal Government's efforts to address the needs of rural America, this order establishes a council to better coordinate Federal programs and maximize the impact of Federal investment to promote economic prosperity and quality of life in our rural communities.

Sec. 2. Establishment. There is established a White House Rural Council (Council).
Sec. 3. Membership. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture shall serve as the Chair of the Council, which shall also include the heads of the following executive branch departments, agencies, and offices:
(1) the Department of the Treasury;
(2) the Department of Defense;
(3) the Department of Justice;
(4) the Department of the Interior;
(5) the Department of Commerce;
(6) the Department of Labor;
(7) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(8) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
2
(9) the Department of Transportation;
(10) the Department of Energy;
(11) the Department of Education;
(12) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(13) the Department of Homeland Security;
(14) the Environmental Protection Agency;
(15) the Federal Communications Commission;
(16) the Office of Management and Budget;
(17) the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(18) the Office of National Drug Control Policy;
(19) the Council of Economic Advisers;
(20) the Domestic Policy Council;
(21) the National Economic Council;
(22) the Small Business Administration;
(23) the Council on Environmental Quality;
(24) the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs;
(25) the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs; and such other executive branch departments, agencies, and offices as the President or the Secretary of Agriculture may, from time to time, designate.
(b) A member of the Council may designate, to perform the Council functions of the member, a senior-level official who is part of the member's department, agency, or office, and who is a full-time officer or employee of the Federal Government.
(c) The Department of Agriculture shall provide funding and administrative support for the Council to the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations.
(d) The Council shall coordinate its policy development through the Domestic Policy Council and the National Economic Council.
Sec. 4. Mission and Function of the Council. The Council shall work across executive departments, agencies, and offices to coordinate development of policy recommendations to promote economic prosperity and quality of life in rural America, and shall coordinate my Administration's engagement with rural communities. The Council shall:
(a) make recommendations to the President, through the Director of the Domestic Policy Council and the Director of the National Economic Council, on streamlining and leveraging
3
Federal investments in rural areas, where appropriate, to increase the impact of Federal dollars and create economic opportunities to improve the quality of life in rural America;
(b) coordinate and increase the effectiveness of Federal engagement with rural stakeholders, including agricultural organizations, small businesses, education and training institutions, health-care providers, telecommunications services providers, research and land grant institutions, law enforcement, State, local, and tribal governments, and nongovernmental organizations regarding the needs of rural America;
(c) coordinate Federal efforts directed toward the growth and development of geographic regions that encompass both urban and rural areas; and
(d) identify and facilitate rural economic opportunities associated with energy development, outdoor recreation, and other conservation related activities.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) The heads of executive departments and agencies shall assist and provide information to the Council, consistent with applicable law, as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Council. Each executive department and agency shall bear its own expense for participating in the Council.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 9, 2011.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/2011ruralcoun...

On Thursday June 9th, same date as the EO above, Glenn sat down with legendary investor and author Jim Rogers, to talk about what he thinks is in store for America. What, if anything, can be done to save her and keep her competitive with the rest of the world in the future? And more importantly, what can you do to prepare for what could be coming? He talks quite a bit toward the end about the woes of Farming in the U.S..  How the average farmer is 58 years old, nobody is majoring in agriculture and how nobody has been able to make money on farming in the US for years. Japan is in the same situation.

Video:  Jim Rogers on the state of farming and agriculture

Video:  Organic Farms and Gardens Destroyed by HR 875: The Food Safety Modernization Act. Glenn Beck

Related: 

Jim Rogers: Dollar Is Doomed, Own Real Assets (Video) 

Beck: An Hour With Jim Rogers

Video:  "This Is The Most GUTLESS Institution!" Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur  -  on 2012 Agriculture Department Spending Debate

Resources:

A Gift to My Children: A Father's Lessons for Life and Investing

Hot Commodities: How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market

ALARMS: WORLD BANK HEAD RAISES FOOD PRICES AS U.S. CREDIT RATING OUTLOOK LOWERED BY S&P

CNTV reports:

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have held their spring meetings at the World Bank building in the US capital, Washington DC.

They discussed the outlook of the global economy, and the challenges that lie ahead.

It’s the fourth year of the global financial crisis, and the world economy is slowly picking up. But there are still great vulnerabilities and uncertainties.

That’s the message world financial leaders are sending out from their spring meeting.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick says the surge in food prices is the biggest threat to the world’s poor, pushing 44 million more people into poverty over the past year.

Robert Zoellick, World Bank President, said, “Of particular concern is food prices. This is the biggest threat today to the world’s poor, where we risk losing a generation. We are one shock away from a full-grown crisis. The financial crisis taught us that prevention is better than cure. We cannot afford to forget that lesson.”

Keep reading …

Video: WORLD FINANCE LEADERS WARN OF UNCERTAINTY - 44 million Recently Pushed into Poverty CCTV

 

Naming Names:  Your Real Government

Gold Hits Record High, Silver Soars on Inflation Fears

THE GLOBALISTS’ TAKEOVER OF AMERICA: Part 1 – COLLAPSE THE ECONOMY

THE GLOBALISTS’ TAKEOVER OF AMERICA: Part 2 – COLLAPSE THE ECONOMY

Soros, Obama and the rest of the cabal about to be Trumped?

US – World's Major Food Supplier – Must Import Wheat to Fill Corn Gap

A Golden Tipping Point: University of Texas Takes Delivery Of $1 Billion In Physical Gold

Seven Brutal Facts that Prove Obamanomics Is a Total Disaster

Soros and Friends Re-Order Global Finance at Bretton Woods

Soros Moves to Control American Food…

Congressman Wants Ticking Debt Clock Installed on House Floor… Perhaps Not a Bad Idea!!

Geithner:  GOP Leaders Told White House They’ll Vote to Raise the Debt Ceiling  -  God Help Us!!

Stockpiling Food Against Economic Uncertainty

Markets Are Tanking After S&P Downgrades U.S. Debt Outlook to Negative

Dollar Doomed: Bob Chapman Pt 1, Pt 2

Say "Goodbye" to the Dollar

20 Signs That A Horrific Global Food Crisis Is Coming

BRICS Make Move to Shove Dollar Aside 

Video:  Collapse (Full Movie)

The Con of the Decade Part I

After today’s warning of  Lowering American Credit Rating, Raising the Debt Limit Cannot Even Be a Consideration!!

This is perhaps our last ‘warning’ before the hammer falls that we must stop spending or make our government be responsible!

NO ON RAISING THE DECT CEILING… CALL THE HOUSE, SENATE AND WHITE HOUSE TODAY!!

Food Prices Approaching 'Dangerous Levels;' 'Volatility' On The Horizon? (UPDATED)

Food and Water storage, along with your current food, shelter, clothing, fuel, and other basic needs, are necessary for human life. We currently live in a civilization of unimagineable prosperity and ease of access, both in terms of affordability, and in terms of proximity access. The vast majority of us can literally drive a few blocks, in some cases, or a few miles, at worst, and purchase all of the above, then return to our place of shelter from the elements.

The vast majority of human history has been a story of scarcity of at least two or more of these essentials, and our current  prosperity IS THE EXCEPTION.

Sadly, we're about to see this time of plenty and ease become a fond memory, if the plans of the radical left continue to be realized.

I have family members who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, and they remember the scarcity of food and the poverty of choices available to those in a top/down government control society; the current paradigm of plenty and affordability can literally vanish overnight.

Store shelves can be cleared in a matter of hours, within the entire radius of the fuel tanks of your vehicle, should something go awry. And much can go wrong.

With rising food, fuel, clothing, and other prices on the brain, should another terrorist attack, or other such event take place, you can count on bottled water and convenience foods (frozen foods, etc.) to literally disappear before the sun goes down on the day you read this.

If this happened, today, are you ready to weather what may come?

And beyond the time when you would run out of comfort foods and convenience foods; are you prepared to make due with long-term food storage you have available, right now, in your pantry/basement/cold storage/cellar? Do you even have a place to store food in your current residence?

What would you do if you needed to call upon such resources beginning tonight? Would you be kicking yourself for not thinking ahead?

And if you DO have food storage, do you have enough water? Do you have enough grains, legumes (beans), powdered/freeze-dried milk and other dairy/protein sources to last the first year of scarcity, should things go really wrong?
Could you make it a month with what you have?

If you have enough, do you have sufficient home defense resources to hold off starving masses searching for something to fill their painfully-empty stomachs, and do you have the requisite training/will to use it?

Do you have a family depending upon you to provide for and protect them? Are you prepared to do so, in such a circumstance?

Do you have life insurance to last years, if necessary, but no food storage, water storage, clothing (especially underwear/socks & other items you wouldn't want to trade for used items from others), fuel, and other essentials to last even a single year?

Please think about what's coming, and how you can prepare; time appears to be running out. Are you ready? If not, will you begin to prepare...today?

Here's some food for thought:

This first video clip is from November 4th of 2010:

Video:  2010.11.04 - Glenn Beck on QE2 & Commodity Speculation (Food Prices To Skyrocket)

This one is from yesterday's Glenn Beck on FNC:

Video:  2011.02.15 - FNC - Glenn Beck - From Cairo to Madison, Workers Unite

Before the relevant news stories, here's a partial transcript:
--------

President Obama's Budget, Inflation and You | Glenn Beck

This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," February 15, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GLENN BECK, HOST: Welcome to "The Glenn Beck Program."

Tonight, forget BMWs and iPads and jewelry. Do you want to know what the next luxury item is? Believe it or not, orange juice.

So, I want to ask you this question -- what did you tell Washington to do in November? Did you tell them to increase or decrease the debt? Did you tell them to increase or decrease taxes? Increase or decrease spending?

It was pretty clear what Americans said last November. Have Americans forgotten? Or has Washington?

I'll explain. Come on, let's go.

(MUSIC)

BECK: Hello, America.

There is something I want you to consider tonight, the president's budget. Has the country or any country ever devalued it's a way to economic prosperity? That you have to answer. I hope so -- because that is the path our government is taking us down.

I've been warning for years that our current fiscal path is unsustainable. I said this under George W. Bush and I was mocked and called a fearmonger. And conservatives told me, oh, you're just trying to lose the election for George W. Bush, and it was innocence then now and it's nonsense now from the left.

It's an unsustainable path. People in Washington on the left used to say it until they got into power. People on the right used to say until they got into power.

It's political talking point. It's not. It's reality. And you get that. The American people understand that.

Another thing I've been harping on is to prepare for the worst but hope for the best. I know it's controversial. It's almost like what our grandparents used to do. By the way, did you see the New York City and state has released an entire guide onto -- on what to do in case of a total meltdown? Do we have it here nor not?

We'll show it to you in a minute. It's pretty amazing. Yes.

Oh, the fearmongers -- or are they just preparing on what to do in case?

How about the governor of Wisconsin? He's now telling the National Guard to prepare for civil unrest in Wisconsin. What a fearmonger. Or is he being responsible in preparing? More on that coming up in a few minutes.

All the experts and politicians keep trying to soothe Americans over with warm tales of recovery and winning the future. I'd love to share those, but the reality on the ground isn't matching the -- hey, we're in the beginning of the recovery, you know? It doesn't. Talk about dangerous rhetoric. That would be it.

The fed can keep playing tricks to mask the real problems but not for very long. Inflation, there's no masking the rising cost of inflation, is there? I mean, have you been to the grocery store?

Here's what inflation is -- a persistent substantial rise in the general level of prices related to the increase in the volume of money and resulting in the loss of value of currency. Got it? First part, substantial rise in the general level of prices related to the increase in the volume of money supply.

So, if they weren't printing anything and this orange juice was a dollar and then they started to print more money, the orange juice would cost more because there are too many dollars out there now trying to buy that one glass of orange juice. Well, is that happening? The experts say, of course, not. Really?

Well, let's look around the world. U.K.'s inflation levels hit 4 percent. Eurozone's inflation levels jumped to 2.4, and that isn't it. Experts -- experts are now predicting -- try this one on for size -- that the new, and I'm quoting, the new luxury item in America will be this -- excuse me. Orange juice?

They say factory prices and problem with drought -- factory prices could rise as much as 80 percent for orange juice and 60 percent for apple juice.

Let me show you what is happening, the six-month price percentage moves. This is six months. This isn't over a year. Six months, with just a few of the necessities.

Here they are. Cotton is up 125 percent. Six months, sugar 82; corn,59 percent; coffee, 41 percent; rice, 40 percent.

Let's look at some others -- oats, if you're a horse, panic; copper, 36 percent; lumber, you want build a house, up 33 percent. Put some gutters on it, why don't you? Or just have that old-fashioned thing called electricity. Oil, 25.1 percent.

During that same six months stretch, what has the dollar done? The dollar has dropped by 6 percent. Every time we print more money, the value of your dollar that you have earned at work goes down, making the price go up. By the way, we are now the number one buyer of our own debt.

Oh, do you remember the old days? Old days when I told you -- it was about a year ago, I told you this and everybody said, "Glenn Beck is a fearmonger." Oh, there I am. Here I am. A year ago, showing who's buying our debt -- who's buying our debt and what's going on. "He's a fearmonger, that's crazy!" Hmmm!

Number one, tell you about cotton. Let me show a real life example. This is cotton. Just in the last six months, cotton has gone up 125 percent. So, you have to go out and buy a new shirt.

It's a great shirt. This is a non-iron Brooks Brothers shirt. These are fantastic shirts. This shirt was six months ago, $79.50. Today, it is $88. Here it is.

But the real hidden trick is the hidden value of your dollar -- it's like a hidden tax. The value on the same time of your dollar has dropped 6 percent. So, you need to add another 6 percent to the cost of this, because it takes more of your dollars to buy them. So, it makes it not $88 but actually $93 for this shirt. Does that sound like a recipe for success? Especially when the government continues to spend and print.

Again, did you tell Washington in November to increase or decrease the debt, taxes and spending? Do you remember?

Let me go back to the president's budget announcement today which basically amounts to pouring gasoline right onto the fire. It is $3.73 trillion budget. It is greater than the combined GDPs of France, Italy and Ireland. Those three countries, everything they spend, everything they buy, everything they sell for an entire year is what this budget is.

It will also be the biggest one year debt jump in the history of mankind, $2 trillion of debt. For the man who said we have to get our deficits under control, he's not doing it.

He's -- maybe it's like -- it's like golf, Mr. President. You play a lot of that. Low score wins, low score, not high score. He's tripled -- tripled -- the deficit in two years.

But now, he says he's ready to slow it down. He wants you to believe that he's no longer going to spend. No, those days are behind him. Remember -- this is the same administration that spent the last two and a half years arguing and arguing and arguing that you had to spend in order to save the economy -- stimulus or debt, it's the only way.

And those -- may I quote-- those Tea Party people will destroy the country if they get in there and start cutting spending. Now, all of a sudden, he wants you to believe that he has the virtue of spending cuts down. I'm going to go way out a limb here and say -- I don't think he believes that. Something in my tummy says, I don't think so.

Let's look at some of the real cuts, because today is a new day, maybe the president -- the sky has opened up and all of a sudden, he's seen the light. Here he is today. Listen carefully.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: What my budget does is to put forward some tough choices, some significant spending cuts so that by the middle of this decade, our annual spending will match our annual revenues. We will not be adding more to the national debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: That is fantastic -- our spending to match our revenues. That is great. And all you have to do is go to President Obama's budget page 171 to see him tell the truth.

Here are the receipts. These are the things that are revenues and these outlays are our spending -- receipts and outlay. What we take in. What we put out.

All right. Here's our deficit. Woo, bad one, $1.6 trillion and then $1.1 trillion. Uh, 2013 we're up to the middle of the decade yet, $768 billion, 2014, $645 billion in deficit.

Well, OK, here's the middle of the decade. We're still $607 billion away from that. Here's what we're taking in and here's what we're spending, this should be zero and these two must match.

Well, he must have meant 2016. No, it's actually going up here. 2017, no, it's down from the year before, but -- OK, 2018, 2019, 2020 -- oh, boy, it's getting bad again, 2021.

Mr. President, I mean, I could be missing something or maybe you're just -- oh, what's that old-fashioned word, lying. Which is it? It's deficits every year through 2020.

Now, his explanation for this obvious discrepancy was well, I'm not counting the interest on the debt -- oh, I know. Here I thought we were being honest. Oh, my goodness, that is so great. Isn't it great you just not count an entire category? But even if you do that -- still deficits every single year.

He also promised to cut $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Whew, that is an average of $100 billion every year. That is two Joe Biden high speed trains. Whoa! That's California's pension losses. That's insanity
-- in the scope of the entire budget, that's nothing. We're spending $3.7 trillion this year.

And our national debt now has grown bigger than our economy. Every dollar spent on clothes, advertising, food, services, airplanes, products, slap chops, jails, roads -- you name it -- it's now equal to our debt. And we haven't even begun sending money to the state to bail out their union pension funds. And that's coming, my friends.

If that wasn't good enough news for you -- Glenn, I'm -- I can't believe your show. There is some happy news. Yes, I know. Wait, there is more.

Obama's budget also projects that the interest on our debt as a percentage of GDP will triple to an all time high of $554 billion by the middle of the decade. Yes, let me show it to you. Let me show you. OK?

Here's the interest in 2010. Our interest was 1.3 percent of our GDP. That means all the money that we spend and make in the United States, OK? Here it is.

Now, let's look what happens with our budget. Uh-oh, red is bad. Must be like the golf thing. Now he's confused because that was like high score wins -- no, Mr. President. Low score wins.

Here's what it means -- if your salary stayed the same -- actually, the government says it's going up -- we'll be lucky if our salary stays the same. But your credit card interest goes up, that means the percentage of your credit card interest is growing a bigger portion of your salary that you to have pay. And this is just the interest to keep the loan sharks at bay.

You're not paying the credit card off. You're not getting anything new. You're just paying the interest on that debt. And we haven't even talked about the rising interest rate yet....
--------

Food Costs at Records as U.N. Warns of Volatility

Published February 04, 2011 | Reuters

Global food prices tracked by a U.N. agency hit their highest level on record in January, a problem set to worsen after a massive snowstorm in the United States and floods in Australia.

The United Nations said on Thursday its Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index rose for the seventh month in a row to reach 231 in January, topping the peak of 224.1 last seen in June 2008. It is the highest level the index has reached since records began in 1990.

"These high prices are likely to persist in the months to come," FAO economist and grains expert Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement.

Wheat underscored the problem affecting commodity prices around the world, settling on Thursday slightly lower after hitting a 2- year high earlier in the day. Corn and soybeans, which also have been hovering near long-term highs, also declined.
Global food inflation is a mounting worry for world leaders. It has contributed to political unrest in countries with high poverty rates and unemployment, as evidenced in the toppling of Tunisia's president in January. That unrest has spilled into Egypt, Yemen and Jordan.

In response, some countries are increasing food imports and have built stockpiles to meet their domestic needs. Among them is Algeria, wary after food riots in early January. It has made huge wheat purchases to avoid shortages, and on Thursday it announced plans to lift a 19-year-old state of emergency in a bid to avert spreading protests.

In Central America, Honduras has frozen prices on many basic foodstuffs despite complaints from farmers. El Salvador is increasing anti-poverty programs by 30%, and Guatemala is considering slashing import tariffs on wheat and is handing out food and cash vouchers to landless peasants.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick in a Reuters interview urged world leaders to "wake up" to the dangers of rising food inflation, a problem said he sees no relief from.

"We are going to be facing a broader trend of increasing commodity prices, including food commodity prices," he said.

SUPPLY THE KEY
Catastrophic storms and droughts have slammed the world's leading agriculture countries in recent months, including flooding and a massive cyclone in Australia and a powerful winter storm that swept across the United States.

Dubbed "Stormageddon," one of the biggest snowstorm in decades dumped up to 20 inches of snow in some parts of the U.S. grain belt this week, paralyzing the shipment of grain and livestock.

A deep-freeze forecast for the Midwest, the bread basket of the United States, threatens the region's winter wheat because it may lack sufficient insulating moisture to withstand the cold.

Sugar prices also have surged to three-decade highs on fears of damage Cyclone Yasi would bring to the Australian cane crop. Prices for Malaysian palm oil, a cooking staple in the developing world, hit 3-year highs on flooding.

Big companies have had to adjust to higher raw material costs. Kellogg Co, the world's largest breakfast cereal company, said on Thursday it has boosted prices on many of its products to offset rising costs for ingredients such as grains and sugar.

"Today's announcement by the Food and Agriculture Organization should ring alarm bells in capitals around the world," said Gawain Kripke, a policy and research director for Oxfam America, an international development group.

"Governments must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past when countries reacted to spiraling prices by banning exports and hoarding food. This will only make the situation worse and it is the world's poorest people who will pay the price," he said.

Janis Huebner, economist at Germany's DekaBank said inflation partly fueled by increasing food prices could in turn trigger interest rate rises in several countries this year.

"This could mean a slowing down of growth in the countries which raise their interest rates," he said. "This could involve Asian countries and other regions, this would somewhat brake growth but I do not expect a hard landing."

STOCK BUILDING
Some countries, particularly where food prices loom large in household budgets, have been building up food stocks to contain prices -- and to limit the political and social fallout.

During the last food price crisis, the World Bank estimated that some 870 million people in developing countries were hungry or malnourished. The FAO estimates that number has increased to 925 million.

"2008 should have been a wake-up call, but I'm not yet sure all the countries in the world that we need to support this have woken up to it," the World Bank's Zoellick said.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, last week bought 820,000 tons of rice, lifting rice prices, while suspending import duties on rice, soybeans and wheat.

Algeria last week bought almost 1 million tons of wheat, bringing its purchases to at least 1.75 million since the start of January, and ordered a speeding up of grain imports.

On a day of bloody confrontation in Egypt, where protesters are demanding an end to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, the U.N. World Food Programme's Executive Director Josette Sheeran said the world was now in an era where it had to be very serious about food supply.

"If people don't have enough to eat they only have three options: they can revolt, they can migrate or they can die. We need a better action plan," she said.
--------
WORLD BANK: FOOD PRICES APPROACHING ‘DANGEROUS LEVELS’

Posted on February 15, 2011 at 6:02pm by Meredith Jessup

WASHINGTON (AP/The Blaze) — The World Bank delivered a stark warning of the impact of the rising cost of food Tuesday, saying an estimated 44 million people had been pushed into poverty since last summer by soaring commodity prices.

The group’s president, Robert Zoellick, says global food prices have hit “dangerous levels” that could contribute to political instability, push millions of people into poverty and raise the cost of groceries.

“Global food prices are rising to dangerous levels and threaten tens of millions of poor people around the world,” Zoellick said. “The price hike is already pushing millions of people into poverty, and putting stress on the most vulnerable, who spend more than half of their income on food.”

The bank says in a new report that global food prices have jumped 29 percent in the past year, and are just 3 percent below the all-time peak hit in 2008. According to its Food Price Watch, the World Bank’s food price index was up by 15 percent between October 2010 and January 2011, is 29 percent above its level from just a year earlier, and only 3 percent below its 2008 peak.

Wheat prices have been hit the hardest, doubling between June last year and January 2011, while maize prices were up 73 percent.

“Measures to address the recent round of food price spikes include expanding nutritional and safety net programs in countries where food prices are rising fastest, avoiding food export restrictions, and finding better information on food stocks,” the group noted. “More investments in agriculture, the development of less food-intensive biofuels and climate change adaptation are also needed.”

Zoellick said the rising prices have hit people hardest in the developing world because they spend as much as half their income on food and suggested rising global food prices were an “aggravating factor” for protests which have toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia in recent weeks.

Additionally, Zoellick said he expects food prices to continue to rise, and that export bans and weather disruptions are partly to blame.
--------

Report Card on Obama's First Two Years

By K.E. Campbell | Posted January 20, 2011
Two years ago today, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States. Are you better off today than you were two years ago?
Numbers don't lie, and here are the data on the impact he has had on the lives of Americans:
--------
* This number is going to increase significantly within the next several weeks due to food and assumed food and gasoline/heating oil increases.
♦ This increase is a fraction of what it will be if the current budget is passed, and Obamacare isn't totally repealed.
--------
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

See Chart on:  Report Card on Obama's First Two Years

Sources:

1 - U.S. Energy Information Admin.

2 - Wall Street Journal

3 - Bureau of Labor Statistics

4 - Census Bureau

5 - USDA

6 - U.S. Dept. of Labor

7 - FHFA

8 - Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller

9 - Heritage Foundation and WSJ

10 - The Conference Board

11 - FDIC

12 - U.S. Treasury

h/t Jared Law at the 9/12 Project

 

Video:  Food inflation is a global reality

REPLIES TO THIS DISCUSSION

Permalink Reply by Spencer Willard on February 16, 2011 at 9:55am

Start your Gardens now.

Permalink Reply by Marla Beihl on February 16, 2011 at 10:05am

I agree with you completely! Already started since we live in Southern California. I'm still getting tomatoes off of last years plants even after a few mornings of freezing temps and lots of rain. I'm already planning to increase what I plant and I'm finally going to learn how to can or "put things up" as my Grandma used to say. We have to be self-sustaining as much as possible!

Permalink Reply by Minuteman on February 17, 2011 at 3:35am

And learn indoor small scale growth methods.

Research Wheatgrass juicing and understand the benefits/limitation of the food value of it. Store extra wheat berries to support this method of nutrition.

Extremely handy for those who know not how to till the soils....

Permalink Reply by Wellsie 4 hours ago

I just received an email from efoodsdirect.com.  They make bulk canned & pouched foods as well as water purification.  You can get free shipping:  http://www.efoodsdirect.com/free-shipping.aspx

 

Permalink Reply by Katie Kalpin on February 16, 2011 at 10:16am

And this my dear friends is why i have learned too hunt, learned too chop fire wood, learned how too make stream water into drinkable water, this is why I have learned too grow my own food....in MY basement!  Anytime a sale hit's the store...we buy wayyyyyy too much. Is it too much...uhhhh NO. ;) We have all the wheat and grains and sugar that we could need for three years lol. TP, paper towels, meds that don't go bad for a long time. all of that stuff.

We are Americans remember? We are strong. Look at how the Founding Fathers lived, the people before them, the American Indians. We are the Non-government Dependant people...remember? We Can survive on our own. All we have too do is learn, teach ourselves. We will be the ones too survive...not the Liberals. Remember that liberals depend too much on others. Sadly this will be a time of survival of the fittest....No one will have enough too share or help others. This is dangerous! We need too be prepared! Not scared. Go online..learn the secrets on how too grow your own stuff in the Basement of your home, Trust me it is the best thing that you can do! :) We must prepare for this! It is coming we are going too have an egypt type thing going on. But it is us! We can do this without fighting!

Permalink Reply by Karen on February 16, 2011 at 12:44pm

Katie,  Did you take a class to learn how to grow foods in your basement?  Do you recommend any books on the subject?

Permalink Reply by Katie Kalpin on February 16, 2011 at 2:27pm

I did take a few classes on how too do this. :) I have a few books at home lol I have too get back there to remember the names! I'll post them here asap! ;)

Permalink Reply by Barbara on February 17, 2011 at 4:10am

Look into growing sprouts, it is nothing more than grows seeds in a jar and eating them once they start sprouting.
There are books on how to do it.

Permalink Reply by Josie on February 16, 2011 at 9:27pm

Katie, how an you grow in the basement without alot of sunlight.  Grow lights are too expensive to use for the 15hrs of light source plants need and we will not be able to rely on having electricity unless you generate your own.

Sounds like you have prepared well.  Good for you.  I do worry about being able to help others.  I know every few that have made any attempt to stock up on supplies.

I live in Illinois and my worry is heat in the winter (no fireplace available).

I think it would be wise for each one of us to learn a skill to barter with, such as soap, candle,  cheese making, shoe repair, sewing, butcher etc. 

I would like to start raising chickens but it is not allowed in my town.  I thought of saying they are pets if I have a problem.  But then I would not be able to slaughter them anyway and having feed for them would be another problem - I guess if you are hungry enough anything is possible. 

Does anyone know what happens to the chickens in the winter time?  Do they stay outside or do they come in?  I have thought about keeping them in my basement, but worry about criters, smell etc.  Does anyone out there know if it is possible to keep chickens in a basement in winter conditions?

Sounds so silly and immature but we have gotten so far away from all this stuff.

Permalink Reply by Elizabeth McLaughlin on February 16, 2011 at 9:31pm

I believe a portable solar generator could operate an electric heater.

Permalink Reply by Minuteman on February 17, 2011 at 3:15am

NO!!!

Don't buy in to those Solutions From Science "solar generators" with the intention of running large loads like electric heating units!!!

If I could shout this at your front porch I would.....

Permalink Reply by Barbara on March 3, 2011 at 7:38pm

Grow sprouts, this is nothing more than seeds. Google it, go to book stores. Seeds do not need light of any kind they only need heat 70 degrees or higher to grow. It is done in a jar. You put the seeds in a jar rinse well, soak, drain, and put up in a cabinet or closet. They need to be watered a few times through out day till they sprout, then place them in the fridge. Must be eaten with in three to four days, they are a good source of vitamins, higher volume not like when they grow into a plant and produce the vegetable.
I got a book from grandmas country.com

 

***  We would highly suggest that you put together a plan. It is later in the day than you might think.  ***

Put in a garden

Get Chicken

Work toward having 6-months+ canned and dehydrated food on hand for everyone living in your household plus extra.

Store water

Dig a well if you can

Invest in a short wave radio system

Partner up with neighbors

Be ready and able to defend yourself

Have Bug-out-Bags for everyone in your household and include supplies and food for pets

Ammunition, food and water will be worth more than gold, silver or jewelry for bartering

Have plenty of candles and matches on hand

Learn to make your own ammo

Learn the basics of hunting and fishing to help feed yourself and your family

Related:

Homegrown Revolution  -  Something We Should All Be Doing

Bartering

The Hidden Dangers of Your Home-Grown Veggies

** Terror threats rising as FEMA orders $1 Billion in dehydrated food - National Finance Examiner | Examiner.com **