Little Blackfoot
It’s Friday.
I'm sorry my website looks like shit.
I didn't ask for this, but I 'work with' a company that doesn't care about its customers and does whatever it wants, whenever it wants.
To fix the issue, scroll down to the very bottom and click on "web view." That'll toggle you between web and mobile.
And hey - maybe you want mobile. That's fine.
Now, enough with that BS. Here’s a post for you to read.
I'm sorry my website looks like shit.
I didn't ask for this, but I 'work with' a company that doesn't care about its customers and does whatever it wants, whenever it wants.
To fix the issue, scroll down to the very bottom and click on "web view." That'll toggle you between web and mobile.
And hey - maybe you want mobile. That's fine.
Now, enough with that BS. Here’s a post for you to read.
Our GDP
The 4th Quarter GDP report came out today.
Seems like the American economy slowed down to a 1.9% growth level at the end of last year.
Economists had been expecting 2.2%.
They didn’t get it.
In fact, for the past 11 years we’ve failed to reach a 3% growth rate in this country.
We did have 3.5% GDP growth in the 3rd quarter, but when you factor in the dismal numbers for the rest of the year it just wasn’t enough.
Mostly this is due to our lack of exports and the trade deficit it creates. We just don’t make enough stuff.
Thankfully we can still grow, and our soybean crop and the increased exports of that crop saved us from even more abysmal numbers.
Still, the Dow is up 25% over where it was this time last year.
That’s great for the 52% of Americans that invest in the stock market or have their retirement account there.
For the other 48% of us, it doesn’t really matter.
We’ll get up and go to our shit jobs and continue to make our crummy pay.
Retirement will slip further and further away and we’ll keep counting the days until we can qualify for Medicare then Social Security.
For us, the economy isn’t working and indeed, has never worked.
But maybe Trump will change all that.
Yeah, right.
Seems like the American economy slowed down to a 1.9% growth level at the end of last year.
Economists had been expecting 2.2%.
They didn’t get it.
In fact, for the past 11 years we’ve failed to reach a 3% growth rate in this country.
We did have 3.5% GDP growth in the 3rd quarter, but when you factor in the dismal numbers for the rest of the year it just wasn’t enough.
Mostly this is due to our lack of exports and the trade deficit it creates. We just don’t make enough stuff.
Thankfully we can still grow, and our soybean crop and the increased exports of that crop saved us from even more abysmal numbers.
Still, the Dow is up 25% over where it was this time last year.
That’s great for the 52% of Americans that invest in the stock market or have their retirement account there.
For the other 48% of us, it doesn’t really matter.
We’ll get up and go to our shit jobs and continue to make our crummy pay.
Retirement will slip further and further away and we’ll keep counting the days until we can qualify for Medicare then Social Security.
For us, the economy isn’t working and indeed, has never worked.
But maybe Trump will change all that.
Yeah, right.
The Wall
I don’t think anyone in the Trump administration knows basic business or economics.
I mean, who’s going to pay for our new border wall with Mexico?
That’s easy – you and then your kids and then your grandkids.
But you’re paying for it.
You’ll do this with the 20% sales tax (call it a tariff or just a tax if you want to) that’s slapped onto every good coming into the country from Mexico.
You’ll also do that for most of the goods that don’t come from Mexico but which have one or two parts that do come from there.
So if you buy a piece of shit plastic bin at Walmart, that might now cost you $12 instead of the usual $10.
If you buy some fancy new car made across the border it’ll cost you $24,000 instead of the usual $20,000.
You’re the one paying that.
Oh, I’m sorry…did you think the corporations were just going to eat those costs and not pass them on to the consumer?
If I was living in fantasy land I might think that, but I’m not. I’m living in poverty in America and I have my eyes wide open and the shit-detector on full blast.
That’s why I know that this new border wall isn’t going to help me one bit.
Oh, it might create some jobs for those people living in Arizona or New Mexico or even Texas, but that doesn’t help me any.
Now every time I go to Walmart or some other box store I’ll have to pay 20% more for most items I buy.
Thanks, Trump, thanks for bending me over and sticking it right up my ass.
I mean, who’s going to pay for our new border wall with Mexico?
That’s easy – you and then your kids and then your grandkids.
- Mexico ain’t paying for shit.
- Corporations aren’t paying for shit.
- The rich aren’t paying for shit.
But you’re paying for it.
You’ll do this with the 20% sales tax (call it a tariff or just a tax if you want to) that’s slapped onto every good coming into the country from Mexico.
You’ll also do that for most of the goods that don’t come from Mexico but which have one or two parts that do come from there.
So if you buy a piece of shit plastic bin at Walmart, that might now cost you $12 instead of the usual $10.
If you buy some fancy new car made across the border it’ll cost you $24,000 instead of the usual $20,000.
You’re the one paying that.
Oh, I’m sorry…did you think the corporations were just going to eat those costs and not pass them on to the consumer?
If I was living in fantasy land I might think that, but I’m not. I’m living in poverty in America and I have my eyes wide open and the shit-detector on full blast.
That’s why I know that this new border wall isn’t going to help me one bit.
Oh, it might create some jobs for those people living in Arizona or New Mexico or even Texas, but that doesn’t help me any.
Now every time I go to Walmart or some other box store I’ll have to pay 20% more for most items I buy.
Thanks, Trump, thanks for bending me over and sticking it right up my ass.
North Korean Skiing
I see that North Korea is using child labor to keep its elite-level ski hill in operation.
Child labor…child slavery…what’s the difference?
And really, do you care?
Of course not!
This is North Korea – a country we pretty much gave up on and allow to do whatever the hell it pleases.
We sure won’t be going in there to ‘fix’ things, not with their million-strong army.
So those child slaves will have to fend for themselves.
That’s why I’m always surprised that we think this country is so strong.
If these people have been living in near-slavery for the past 6 decades, my, they’re very weak people.
If they can’t even rise up to overthrow their dictators, what makes you think their army is going to rise up to stop the world’s armies from coming in and ending the madness that goes on there?
I don’t think their army is worth shit.
I imagine they’ll drop their weapons much like the Iraqi army did. There was another army the world thought was tough until they got onto the field of battle with them.
Mainly, I think this situation in North Korea points out the hypocrisy of America.
C’mon – wake up.
Open your eyes!
You’re reading this site, you’re smart enough to know what’s going on and what isn’t and what’s simply fed to us as bullshit.
In America we say that we want the world to be a good and safe place, but that’s not true.
If a country has resources we want, sure, we’ll go in there and make sure it’s good and safe.
If it’s a place that has no resources – like North Korea or Niger or Sudan – then we don’t go in.
Those people can die or live in slave-like conditions – we don’t care.
It’s not worth our time or money to go into those places, nor is it worth our time and money to try and convince the UN or other countries to do the same.
It’s just not worth it.
Saving kids isn’t cost-effective.
Going in and drilling for oil is, but not the kids.
I think it’s important to remember that the next time the corporate media gives you some sob story about some area of the world that America needs to ‘save.’
Ask yourself, ‘why is that area worth saving but others are not?’
When you begin asking those questions you start down the road that our government doesn’t want you to start down.
It’s a road of freedom and liberty and justice, concepts our government kicked to the curb generations ago.
Child labor…child slavery…what’s the difference?
And really, do you care?
Of course not!
This is North Korea – a country we pretty much gave up on and allow to do whatever the hell it pleases.
We sure won’t be going in there to ‘fix’ things, not with their million-strong army.
So those child slaves will have to fend for themselves.
That’s why I’m always surprised that we think this country is so strong.
If these people have been living in near-slavery for the past 6 decades, my, they’re very weak people.
If they can’t even rise up to overthrow their dictators, what makes you think their army is going to rise up to stop the world’s armies from coming in and ending the madness that goes on there?
I don’t think their army is worth shit.
I imagine they’ll drop their weapons much like the Iraqi army did. There was another army the world thought was tough until they got onto the field of battle with them.
Mainly, I think this situation in North Korea points out the hypocrisy of America.
C’mon – wake up.
Open your eyes!
You’re reading this site, you’re smart enough to know what’s going on and what isn’t and what’s simply fed to us as bullshit.
In America we say that we want the world to be a good and safe place, but that’s not true.
If a country has resources we want, sure, we’ll go in there and make sure it’s good and safe.
If it’s a place that has no resources – like North Korea or Niger or Sudan – then we don’t go in.
Those people can die or live in slave-like conditions – we don’t care.
It’s not worth our time or money to go into those places, nor is it worth our time and money to try and convince the UN or other countries to do the same.
It’s just not worth it.
Saving kids isn’t cost-effective.
Going in and drilling for oil is, but not the kids.
I think it’s important to remember that the next time the corporate media gives you some sob story about some area of the world that America needs to ‘save.’
Ask yourself, ‘why is that area worth saving but others are not?’
When you begin asking those questions you start down the road that our government doesn’t want you to start down.
It’s a road of freedom and liberty and justice, concepts our government kicked to the curb generations ago.
