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(The Economic Collapse Blog)—When you are creeping out on a very high tree limb, everything may seem fine until suddenly the limb snaps and disaster strikes. I think that is a perfect metaphor for what we are facing as a country. Our politicians in Washington have artificially propped up our economy for years by piling up 34 trillion dollars in debt, and the “experts” at the Federal Reserve have artificially propped up the financial markets for years by pumping trillions upon trillions of dollars that they created out of thin air into the system. But now we are so far out on a limb that there is no way back, and there is no safety net below. Ultimately, our fate will be the same as this guy…
Heart-stopping video footage shows the moment a Florida man plummets 60 feet into a creek after a branch he was standing on broke beneath him.
Christopher James Sikes Smalley was enjoying a day at Crystal Springs, a popular swimming spot in Vernon, when a branch he was climbing on snapped.
A clip shows Smalley hanging on to a branch above him with one hand and balancing on top of another.
Suddenly, the branch below Smalley gave way, causing him to fall and hitting other branches before landing in the water.
Fortunately, Smalley was not killed.
But this was a fall that he will never forget for the rest of his life.
I had to write about this, because it reminded me of what so many people out there are going through right now.
Millions of Americans are currently experiencing their own individual “economic collapses”, and that includes a lifelong Democratic in Pennsylvania named Stacey Ellis that was recently interviewed by the BBC…
She has switched stores, cut out brand-name items like Dove soap and Stroehmann bread, and all but said goodbye to her favourite Chick-fil-A sandwich.
Still, Ms Ellis has sometimes turned to risky payday loans (short-term borrowing with high interest rates) as she grapples with grocery prices that have surged 25% since Mr Biden entered office in January 2021.
“Prior to inflation,” she says, “I didn’t have any debt, I didn’t have any credit cards, never applied for like a payday loan or any of those things. But since inflation, I needed to do all those things….I’ve had to downgrade my life completely.”
Have you had to “downgrade” your life too?
If so, you are far from alone.
For example, a 26-year-old security guard in Brooklyn named Dylan Garcia now only eats two times a day because that is all that he can afford…
Dylan Garcia, a 26-year-old security guard from Brooklyn, says he’s never struggled to buy groceries as much as he has now.
Instead of the fresh food and brand-name items he used to enjoy, he now stocks up on ramen noodles and frozen vegetables – and only eats twice a day because he can’t afford more.
At checkout, he routinely uses “buy now, pay later” schemes, which allow him to pay the bill in installments, but have led to mounting debt.
If you can still eat three meals a day, you should be very thankful for what you still have.
Of course it isn’t just food prices that have been soaring.
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Housing has become ridiculously unaffordable, and this week we learned that home prices are now higher than ever…
Findings from Redfin show the median U.S. home sale price soared to $397,954 in June – a nearly 5% increase from a year earlier. That marks the highest level on record and the biggest annual increase since March.
The monthly mortgage payment at that price, when accounting for the 6.86% median interest rate for a 30-year mortgage, is now $2,749. That is roughly $88 shy of April’s record, thanks to a slight drop in mortgage rates.
In a desperate attempt to make ends meet, many Americans have been going very deep into debt.
That worked for a while, but now delinquency rates are spiking.
In fact, the percentage of credit card balances that are considered to be in serious delinquency has risen to the highest level in more than a decade…
The flow of credit card debt moving into delinquency hit 8.9% in the first quarter at an annualized rate, above pre-pandemic levels. In fact, the percentage of credit card balances in serious delinquency – payments are at least 90 days late – climbed to its highest level since 2012.
This is an especially dangerous time to be piling up credit card debt, because credit card interest rates have moved into uncharted territory…
Finally, a vivid reminder that once credit card rates go up they almost never go down, in Q2 the average interest rate on credit card accounts rose again, up to 22.76% from 22.63% in Q1 and 1 basis point below the all time high.
While so far consumers have pretended they can afford to pay this interest upon interest, there will come a day when the brick wall will finally be reached and the US consumer’s Wile E Coyote moment will finally come meet its gravitational implosion.
Most people don’t realize this, but there is no federally mandated limit on credit card interest rates.
So these days many credit card companies are just going hog wild.
Some cards now come with a rate of more than 30 percent on unpaid balances, and that is deeply immoral.
Don’t fall into their trap, because the goal of these predators is to bleed you dry.
Many businesses all over America are also reaching a breaking point here in 2024. For instance, one of the largest flooring suppliers in the entire country is on the verge of bankruptcy…
One of America’s biggest flooring suppliers is considering bankruptcy – the latest retailer to face financial problems.
LL Flooring, with 442 stores across 47 states, has seen its sales falling over the past year as Americans cut back on renovating their homes.
And I was deeply saddened to learn that the company that makes Tonka Trucks and Lincoln Logs has now officially filed for bankruptcy…
A toy company behind favorite brands including Tonka, K’nex, and Care Bears has filed for bankruptcy.
Basic Fun also owns Playhut, Fisher Price Classics, Lite Brite and Lincoln Logs, and makes toys for Walmart, Target and amusement parks.
Tonka – famous for its rugged toy trucks – was founded in 1946 and celebrated its 75th birthday two years ago with Shaquille O’Neal.
Meanwhile, Care Bears were one of the biggest toys of the 1980s after being launched at the start of that decade.
For years, the U.S. economy has been creeping farther and farther into the danger zone.
The limb that we are standing on is really starting to make some very alarming noises, but our leaders don’t seem to care.
Sadly, it is only a matter of time before disaster strikes.
If we had made much different choices, we could have ended up with much different results.
Ultimately, we shall reap what we have sown, and that is not going to be pleasant at all.
Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
Five Reasons to Believe Trump’s Would-Be Assassins Are Deep State Assets
by JD Rucker
Tinfoil hat time. By no means am I going to convince anyone with this short article that Ryan Wesley Routh (or Thomas Michael Crooks, for that matter) is an asset for the Deep State. That is not the intention because to “prove” it would be as impossible as “proving” anything…
Hurricane Forecasts Poised to Be Spectacularly Overstated, Raising Doubt About Climate Science
by Just The News
Penn State celebrity climate scientist Michael Mann announced in April that his research group’s 2024 North Atlantic season forecast was expecting an “unprecedented” 33 named storms, with a range between 27 and 39. That prediction has turned out to be a dud. With Hurricane Francine hitting the coasts Thursday, the…
Another Attack on President Trump Prompted Prepper Surge
by Sponsored Post
The 2nd attempted assassination of Donald Trump has prompted renewed concerns over the nation’s future. Website traffic on Sunday was higher than it’s been in our history. One does not have to be a Republican to realize that chaos may be in store for us soon. At Prepper All-Naturals, we’re…
DJT’s Attempted Assassin Made 19 Donations to Democrats
by Independent Sentinel
The attempted assassin of Donald J. Trump is Ryan Wesley Routh, who has made 19 donations to Democrats. The donations were to Elizabeth Warren, fake Hispanic Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, and Tulsi Gabbard. Allegedly, Routh also claimed to have fought in Ukraine in 2022 and supported the war….
Dem Rep. Crockett: MAGA Is a Domestic Threat, Trump Is Stoking Them
by Breitbart
Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said Sunday on MSNBC’s “Inside” that MAGA is a domestic threat that former President Donald Trump is stoking them. Crockett said, “Springfield is going through hell, but they are going through hell because the guy who says he wants to be the commander-in-chief is actually bringing…
Sunlight and Clouds, Not CO2, Drive Earth’s Climate, New Study Finds
by The Epoch Times
This year’s summer months were characterized by cold outdoor pools that eagerly welcomed guests, concrete that scorched the soles of bare feet, and popsicles that melted in the relentless, blazing heat. In August, the European Commission’s Copernicus report found that the global average temperature had reached record highs in the…
The Man That Just Tried to Assassinate Donald Trump Has Very Alarming Links to Ukraine
by Michael Snyder
(End of the American Dream)—We are starting to learn more about Ryan Routh’s background, and what we have learned may help to explain why he attempted to shoot Donald Trump. It turns out that Routh is a rabid pro-Ukraine activist. In 2022, he actually traveled to Ukraine to fight in the…
Bill Gates Forecasts Another Global Pandemic ‘Likely’ Within Next 25 Years in Ominous Health Warning
by End Times Headlines
War or another global pandemic, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates is cautioning that, if the world manages to avoid the former, the latter is a very real possibility within the next 25 years. “A lot of unrest” in today’s age could spark a major war, he told CNBC’s “Make It.” “If…
US Foreign Policy Should Defy China, Recognize Taiwan as a Country
by The Gateway Pundit
The U.S., as the world’s most powerful country, should have an independent foreign policy. Currently, the U.S. abides by the One-China policy to appease Beijing. The U.S. should no longer allow Beijing to dictate its foreign policy and should recognize the independence of Taiwan, a high-functioning, multi-party democracy whose citizens…
Florida Will Conduct Investigation Into Trump Assassination Attempt: DeSantis
by Jack Phillips
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday announced the state will launch its own investigation into the apparent assassination attempt targeting former President Donald Trump earlier in the day. The FBI has said in a statement it is investigating the matter as an assassination attempt, while law enforcement officials said on…
‘Stop This Reckless Escalation’: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Tells Biden Not to Authorize Long-Range Missile Attacks on Russian Territory
by The Gateway Pundit
The world is handing on the edge of a major escalation with unpredictable consequences, as Ukraine relentlessly pushes for the US to make decisions that can have unpredictable consequences. All around the world, peace-loving people who can see the danger ahead are cautioning the western NATO powers – notably the…