Doomed By Debt

I am a sucker for a good infographic. Here is one for the problem of sovereign debt.

 

This is only the debt of the national governments. No personal or corporate debt is included. Also the imputed and unstated debt of the various governmental pensions and senior medical retirement programs like Medicare. 

How much does the average person have in retirement savings? 

Just how much has the average American family saved up? According to the EPI, the mean retirement savings of all families is $95,776.

But that number doesn't tell the whole story. Since so many families have zero savings and since super-savers can pull up the average, the median savings, or those at the 50th percentile, may be a better gauge. The median for all families in the US is just $5,000, and the median for families with some savings is $60,000.

Note that this is the savings for each family. This means that once you include the national debt the net savings rate is zero because most families have more than one member. 

I am not sure that any president, even St. Trump, can really do much about the lack of savings and high debt level. No one is even talking about the unfunded liabilities.  

Most News Is Fake

Most videos you see on the news is to some extent faked. That is just the nature of the news. There is a narrative, and that narrative determines what is broadcast. You are being played. 

This particular video was immediately removed after it was posted by the "White Helmets." But a copy had already been made: 

The White Helmets are funded by the West:

1: The White Helmets receive funding from UK ($65m via UK Foreign Office), US (US State Dept via USAID $ 23m), Holland ($ 4.5m), Germany ($ 7.87m) and Japan (undisclosed sum from the Intl Cooperation Agency), Denmark (undisclosed sum) – via the Mayday Rescue “foundation” that was set up by the British ex-military trainer of the White Helmets in order to transfer funding to the White Helmets. The White Helmets also receive equipment and supplies from various EU member states. This funding is concealed behind the generic heading of “Emergency Health and Relief Support to the Population Affected by the Crisis in Syria”, through the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG-ECHO), formerly known as the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office.

You can read the link for an alternative narrative on the White Helmets. 

But remember, you are being played. 

What If Jesus Was Appointed to Trump's Cabinet?

Jesus as Secretary of Defense Obviously, this is absurd. But my purpose here is to outline what would be said about Jesus if he was nominated for a cabinet position. 

• Jesus' parents were forced to get married.
• Jesus was a troubled youth that ran away from home. 
• Even though Jesus was a professional man, he relied on women for his livelihood. He did not work. 
• One of men closest to Jesus was a known terrorist. Another associate committed suicide. Another associate betrayed him at the end. 
• Jesus compared people of a different ethic background than himself to dogs.
• Jesus never married. You know what that means. 
• His supporters burnt Rome.
• His supporters refused to show allegiance to our nation (by burning incense to the emperor). 
• Jesus is a Jew. 
• Jesus is a phony faith healer. 
• Jesus supported a law that condemned homosexuality. 
• Jesus told stories rather than use plain language in order to deceive his listeners. 

Jesus would never be confirmed to Trump's cabinet. 

My point is not to say that Trump's picks are great. My point is that the quality, or lack of it, to Trump's picks don't matter. He is Trump. The same kind of thing took place with Obama, Bush and Clinton. It just depends on the political orientation of a particular media outlet. 

Don't be deceived. 

Why Was Hillary Nominated?

The Elites that run the Democratic Party thought that turkeys could fly. 

Media Deception: Caught in a Loop

If you think that the news media is saying the same thing over and over again, it is because it is. Even Saturday Night Live notices it, that is now obvious it is. 

There are a number of tricks that media uses to deceive the viewer. Repetition like this is one of them. This is a well known public speakers technique. Another is the man in the street interview. The editor selects the worst possible subject from the many interviews they have done. Or from their point of view the best possible suspect based on the narrative they are trying to sell. Thus an interview I saw about a Trump voter took place in a smoky pool hall. This supposedly represented the "working man."

Notice also the use of accents in the ones chosen to participate in interviews or in presenters they hire. A person from the South will imply that the person is slow and rather stupid. This is absurd, but that is how a southern accent sounds to many viewers. This is why a potential actor or presenter with an accent will lose their accent as quickly as possible. I remember hearing the actor that played Adama in Battlestar Galactica in an interview. He had a rather lower class British accent that he lost for the role. Note also the occasional hiring of a presenter with posh British accent. This sounds intelligent and suave to the average viewer. John Oliver was hired for his accent more than anything else. It is especially effective when someone with such an accent curses. This is done for the effect it gives the viewer. 

Everything you watch on TV is designed for the effect it gives the viewer, do not be deceived. Being aware of these techniques is the first step. Discussing these manipulatively shows, especially with your children, is extremely important.