Are We Raising Our Children to Be Slaves?

“You can’t make it without an education!" "Go to college!" "Graduate from high school, go to college, get a good job." How many of us heard these mantras while growing up? How many of us have said these mantras to our children? Other people's children? Despite the fact that getting a  college degree today paves the road to debt slavery  where the chains and fetters are invisible and the wealthy, powerful owners, anonymous.

“Slavery is likely to be abolished by the war power and chattel slavery destroyed. This, I and my European friends are glad of, for slavery is but the owning of labor and carries with it the care of the laborers, while the European plan, led by England, is that capital shall control labor by controlling wages." -- Chas. Hazzard, The Hazzard Circular, 1862

As we start 2018, student loan debt is close to $1.5 trillion, where an estimated 44.2 million Americans have one or more student loans on file.  Student loan debt surpasses total U.S. credit card debt by approximately $659 billion. It is the second largest financial asset on the federal government's balance sheet, making up 51.8% of total assets. Only mortgage debt is higher. Not to mention, according to the Federal Reserve is the only form of consumer debt that continued to grow in the wake of the Great Recession.

Parents and students have little understanding of how this loan program operates.   They don't understand that there is an entire "ecosystem feeding on federal student loans."

“The companies making those calls are just one part of an ecosystem feeding on federal student loans. There are also debt servicers, refinance lenders, firms that help former students stay out of default and for-profit schools that make money as borrowers try to repay more than $1.2 trillion in government-backed education debt.

They don't understand that the cost of living is rising faster than income that make it increasingly difficult for people to keep up with the everyday expenses of life. They don't understand that a four-year degree is no longer the golden ticket to full time job with benefits and job security. They don't understand that the "four-year" degree actually takes five, six or even more years, which, of course, costs even more money.

When will we catch up with reality?  What was true 40 years ago doesn't make it true today.  What was true for baby boomers is not true for millennials and/or generations x,y,z, etc. 

“It’s not unusual for me to talk to a couple that between them has $200,000 in student loan debt now. It’s not unusual at all. I talk to them almost every day on this show. And they’re 32 years old, they’ve been out of school for four, five or six years and they’re just treading water. They’re stuck because no one in their life—no supposed high school counselor, no parent, no financial-aid officer—smack you silly. Financial aid is $200,000 in student loan debt. Give me a break. Nobody looked at you and said, “You know, when you bring that baby home from the hospital, there’s a possibility you may want to use your education to raise your children.” -- Dave Ramsey

Links:

Student Debt Crisis

Hazard Chronicle Documentary Evidence

Student Debt Relief

Student Debt Slavery: Bankrolling Financiers on the Backs of the Young

Narrow bankruptcy laws make it nearly impossible to discharge student debt: From the The Cost of Opportunity: A series chronicling the student loan debt crisis in Wisconsin series


Rising Tuition Costs and the History of Student Loans

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We the Toxic Assets?

The "middle class" is an historical anomaly and in my humble opinion, was artificially created to build the wealth of the ownership class until it was no longer needed. Well, this class is no longer needed, hence its current decline.

Today, as J.A. Myerson point out in the video below, "the middle class is the working class plus debt." We're now in the process of returning to the natural harmonious capitalist order which does not include a "middle class". Home ownership, college, medical insurance, etc. is a privilege of wealth

“In the digital age where American workers have increased their productivity hugely with no real increase to their wages, the middle class has only been able to keep up the incredible consumption schedule it is used to by taking on a ton of debt. We go into debt to buy the home, the health care, the education, the automobile, that working class people aren’t traditionally entitled."

Links:

Who's Profiting From $1.2 Trillion of Federal Student Loans?

No FAFSA, No Diploma in Louisiana

After Math Error, Fitch Doubles Student-Debt Downgrade Estimate

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Are the Beltway Elites Intentionally Throwing the U.S. Under the Bus?

Or just us Americans?  Between the on-going disaster of the incredibly complex Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, roll-out, which Nancy Pelosi famously said they have to pass to find out what it is;  the partial government shut-down spearheaded by a man married to a VP at Goldman Sachs; the threat of the first default in American history, which it appears will be ongoing (see quote below); the firing of top military leaders for what seem like trivial matters, not to mention, S&P rating downgrade of U.S. debt;  the fiscal cliff episode; sequestration, Wall Street provoked financial collapse in 2008, etc., the U.S. is a buffoon on the befuddled world stage right now, a continuous unfolding spectacle, and no one in power seems to give a damn. If anything, they're promoting that image for all it's worth. 

“Like the House GOP bill, the emerging Senate measure -- though not finalized -- would reopen the government through Jan. 15 and permit the Treasury to borrow normally until early to mid-February, easing dual crises that have sapped confidence in the economy and taken a sledgehammer to the GOP's poll numbers.

At the same time, beltway politicians have no problem allocating billions, if not trillions of dollars to fight unwanted, undeclared wars that extend  to nearly every corner of the globe; to supposedly "aid" other countries;  to prop up/bail out Wall Street; to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the NSA, the TSA, fusion centers, unconstitutional spying programs, etc,  yet we can't pay our own workers, feed our own people, or pay our troops?

From Asia Times:

“Instead of honoring its duties as a responsible leading power, a self-serving Washington has abused its superpower status and introduced even more chaos into the world by shifting financial risks overseas, instigating regional tensions amid territorial disputes, and fighting unwarranted wars under the cover of outright lies.

This is a nation that claims the moral high ground? American Exceptionalism? Hardly. Murder has become routine as civilians are slayed all over the world via remote-control drone attacks. Torturing prisoners of war is seen as par for the course. Covertly, or not so covertly, spying on American citizens is becoming normalized and a giant casino is what stands in as thee economy of choice. 

It seems the motive here is to pave the way for endless future extortion, plunder, fear-mongering, and the continuous subversion of the middle-class.

In Ted Cruz's own words:

“Everyone agrees that the debt ceiling is going to be raised,” Cruz told CNBC’s Larry Kudlow in an interview tonight.

“The question,” he continued, “is whether Harry Reid and the president will maintain the same negotiating position they have on the continuing resolution, which is we will bargain for nothing, give us 100 percent of what we want or we will threaten a default.” 

So, in my humble opinion, there is no question that the powers that be are throwing we, the Americans under the bus, but what about America, the nation?  What could possibly motivate the ruling class to do such a thing?  Well, in a nutshell, globalization.  Our privileged leaders are no longer loyal to our nation, only to the wealthy and powerful corporate elite, which has, "in effect, seceded". These magnates, capitalists, moguls, and banksters are global in every sense of the word, their only loyalty is to their ever-growing immense wealth, as they seek out the most beneficial havens with no regard for national boundaries. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a transnational agreement brokered by corporations and negotiated largely in secret, that President Obama is pushing, is very good evidence that this is indeed, true.

I think the following, by bullingdonmorons sums it up much better than I ever could:

“ALL our politicians know exactly what they are doing.

Our politicians are simply service managers for the banks and corporations who now rule the world. We have been shafted. We were never given any choice, no-one ever put it in any manifesto, we never voted for it, but we got it all the same. The bankrupt ideology of Neo-Liberalism, with its dogma of economic liberalization, free trade, privatization and deregulation, and its mantra that all human activity is a market from which a profit can be made.

The ruling elite now own our land, gas, electricity, railways, water and media. They have corrupted our politicians and our police. They are now coming for our pensions, our NHS, our roads, our schools and our green spaces. They have systematically destroyed the unions, dismantled our protections, created mass unemployment and are dismembering the welfare state, They caused an economic crash which bankrupted our economy and yet they walked away with their wealth intact.

And what do we get in return? Austerity, recessions, huge debts and deficits. A government conducting a systematic assault upon the sick, the poor and the disabled, slashing welfare budgets and forcing people off benefits. 500,000 of us now use food banks. They make it easier to sack us, make us work longer hours for less pay, force our kids to work for nothing, raise the retirement age whilst cutting our pensions and weaken our health and safety laws. And all just so a handful of people can be immensely rich. Frankly, it's sickening.

But by far the worst damage they have inflicted upon us is that they have destroyed our children's futures.

My generation grew up under governments that believed in full employment and a welfare state. We benefited from decades of struggle, hard won rights that enabled us to have a decent standard of living, own our homes and be cared for when we got old or sick.

However, for 30 years, we have let them slowly dismantle everything my parents and grandparents had fought for. For the millions born since 1980, the only assets they will own will be the ones passed on by their parents. They live in rented accommodation, or negative equity or have interest only mortgages. Their pensions are worthless. They spend every penny they earn, have no savings and buy everything with credit.

But it's even worse for our grandchildren. 50% of them are now loaded with debt before they even leave education. If they are lucky enough to have a job, it's on minimum wage, on zero hour contracts, or part time work, or stacking shelves for nothing. They have no protections, no rights. Pensions are just a pipe-dream. None of them have any hope of getting a mortgage. This is the true cost of the last 30 years. In our lifetime, they have managed to strip away everything our forefathers built for our kids, reducing them to the level of medieval serfs, possessing NOTHING. It's heartbreaking.

So, It's time to get angry, and we need someone to express that anger, because none of our politicians are going to do it. Someone to speak for the millions of hard working people who only want a decent life for themselves and for their kids to have a decent future. Someone that speaks up for all of us, not just a privileged few. Someone that tells us that our worth is not measured by our wealth, but our value as human beings. Someone that tells us that compassion and empathy are not bullshit. Someone that tells us that ordinary people can expect to have a decent job, a decent house and decent healthcare. Someone that tells us our elderly can live out their final years in a degree of comfort. Someone that tells us our sick and disabled should be allowed to exist with a shred of dignity. Someone that tells us that the most disadvantaged will not be looked down upon as scum.

Someone that tells us that our kids can still have hopes and dreams.

We should all be born equal, with an equal chance to develop, to achieve, to succeed. But far too many are now condemned to a life of struggle by a system that creates so many losers for the benefit of so few winners. It is not only unfair and unjust, it is unsustainable.

And it's time we all stood up and said, enough is enough.

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Why Encourage Students to Take on Crippling Debt in Pursuit of Degrees That Don't Even Provide the Earning Potential to Pay it Off?

We're creating an uber-debt ridden population in order to support an uber-wealthy class and maintain the largest economic inequality in our nation's history, and we're doing it through our higher-educational system.  How? We're graduating students leveraged to the hilt, who either can't get a job, or if they're lucky enough to find employment, make just enough to pay off their debt. In other words, they are indentured servants, who can't save or build for their futures, who cannot become entrepreneurs, who, in a nutshell, cannot serve broader society because they must follow the almighty dollar first and foremost. Moreover, this albatross of debt impacts on the ability to start families, because, as we know, children are expensive!

This is not just a problem for young people. Many parents take out parent plus loans to support their kids. Some have to go back to college to change careers and take out loans when they're in their 40's and 50's, especially now when jobs are scarce. They can look forward to having their social security garnished.

“About twice as many Social Security recipients are not receiving all of their Social Security payments this year because they have unpaid federal student loans, according to a report by SmartMoney.com.

According to a 1996 law, the federal government has the authority to withhold portions of Social Security payments if defaulted debt is owed to the government, including federal student loans.

“It’s quite extraordinary because normally Social Security benefits can’t be touched by creditors,” said Deanne Loonin, a staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.

From January through August 6 of this year, the government reduced the size of about 115,000 retirees’ Social Security checks, almost double the department’s enforcement in 2011, according to data from the Treasury Department. In 2007, there were 60,000 cases and in 2000, there were only six cases.

Yet, not going to college is not an option for many young people. In fact, too many parents/teachers/friends insist that getting the "best education" at the "best schools" no matter what the cost, is absolutely necessary to that young person's future. The problem is most--parents/teachers/friends and students, alike-- do not consider the long-term consequences of accumulating life-long debt.. They do not consider that student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Instead, our young people are given a rosy prognosis when choosing schools and told not to worry about the future with easy to qualify for loans.

Universities are now corporatized. The parasitic corporate model of inflated infrastructure and bureaucracy that rewards elite executives with enormous salaries and squeezes everyone else, making them jump through endless bureaucratic hoops. Between the ever-increasing growth of administrative expenditures--huge amounts devoted to funding unnecessary administrative positions--and government subsidized institutions, colleges and universities have no incentive to reduce cost.

“U.S. universities employed more than 230,000 administrators in 2009, up 60 percent from 1993, or 10 times the rate of growth of the tenured faculty, those with permanent positions and job security, according to U.S. Education Department data.

Spending on administration has been rising faster than funds for instruction and research at 198 leading U.S. research universities, concluded a 2010 study by Jay Greene, an education professor at the University of Arkansas."

There is about $1.2 trillion in student loans outstanding with all but 15% of that owned or guaranteed by the government. The chart below shows the student loan amount held directly by the federal government., rising at about $110 billion per year.

“The Obama administration is forecast to turn a record $51 billion profit this year from student loan borrowers, a sum greater than the earnings of the nation’s most profitable companies and roughly equal to the combined net income of the four largest U.S. banks by assets.”

Learning to live below one's means and gaining the ability to distinguish between "needs" and "wants" might be the only way out.

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Average Student Loan Debt Up 58% Since 2005!

The average student loan debt was $17,233 in 2005 and had risen by 58 percent to $27,253 by December 2012 and the federal government will take in $34 billion in profit! 

"With the current level of unemployment, American college graduates are finding it difficult to find jobs commensurate with their education. Without a steady income, many former students are unable to pay back their student loans.

America’s unemployment rate was as high as 13.8 percent at the end of March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) alternative measures of labor underutilization. This number is far higher than the published official statistic of 7.6 percent because it includes those who would like to work but are not currently looking for a job—including so-called discouraged workers—as well as those who only work part-time because they cannot find a full-time job.

The Economic Collapse website said in April 2012 that in 2011 (the latest such statistics available) more than 50 percent of college graduates had not landed a job or had accepted a position that did not make use of their skills. Often, these individuals took a part-time position, leaving them at or below the poverty level.

The Debt.org website states that student debt is at $1 trillion and increases another $3,000 every second. The average student debt amounts to $26,000.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Fed) provides statistics that correspond to the Debt.org information, published at the end of March using data from the last quarter of 2012.

“Student loan debt is the only form of consumer debt that has grown since the peak of consumer debt in 2008. Balances of student loans have eclipsed both auto loans and credit cards, making student loan debt the largest form of consumer debt outside of mortgages,” the Fed states.

Enriching the Federal Government

On April 9, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), an alliance of student groups and young people, released an Issue Brief accusing the U.S. federal government of making billions on the federal student loan program.

The brief states that the U.S. government earns 36 cents profit on each dollar loaned to students. With an estimated 21.8 million student loan recipients and approximately $108.9 billion in outstanding loans, the federal government will take in $34 billion.

On subsidized Stafford loans, which are federally guaranteed loans based on financial need, the federal government earns an estimated $3.5 billion, while on unsubsidized Stafford loans (also federally guaranteed loans, but anyone may apply for such loans), the federal government makes an estimated $20 billion.

With Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS loans, the federal government makes $5.1 billion and $5.3 billion respectively. Under the Parent PLUS student loan, parents may take out a loan on behalf of their children to cover any amount not covered by any other financial aid package.

“The federal student loan program as it currently operates is the opposite of a low cost program to student loan borrowers—it makes billions in revenue yearly. Meanwhile, student loan borrowers, continuing to face economic uncertainty, bear the brunt of continued high costs,” according to the U.S. PIRG brief.

Subsidized Stafford Loan Impasse

The interest rate on federally subsidized loans, which serve low- and moderate-income families, will increase from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1.

The interest rate was lowered over time from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent under the 2007 College Affordability Plan and was meant to return to 6.8 percent in 2012. The Obama administration and Congress extended the availability of the lower rate until July 2013.

The brief suggests that the increase in the interest rate will harm students and only add to the federal government’s profit.

“More than two-thirds of all subsidized student loan borrowers come from families with annual incomes of less than $50,000. These families have been hard hit in the recent recession and continue to face high unemployment and tight family finances,” the brief states.

Student Loan Debt and Defaults on the Rise

Research by credit-scoring company FICO stated on Jan. 30 that student loan defaults are rising at an accelerated rate. At the forefront are students who took out student loans more recently.

The percentage of student loan defaults by those who took out a loan during the last two months of 2005 and the first month of 2006 was 12.4 percent. But the default rate by students who took out loans during the last two months of 2010 and the first month of 2011 was 15.1 percent. That’s a 20 percent increase in the rate of defaults over a five-year period.

A FICO December 2012 survey of lending industry professionals indicates that close to 60 percent of respondents expect student debt delinquencies to rise by mid-2013. Yet these professionals are still providing ever-increasing loan amounts. The average student loan debt was $17,233 in 2005 and had risen by 58 percent to $27,253 by December 2012.

“The stakeholders in the student lending industry have to take a hard look at the terms and repayment rules for student loans, and the industry may have to develop a new lending model to prevent a bad situation from getting completely out of hand,” said Dr. Andrew Jennings, FICO chief analytics officer, in the FICO release.

Quoting a March 2012 Fed report, FICO said in January that outstanding student loan debt reached $870 billion, exceeding the $693 billion in credit card debt and $730 billion in auto loan debt.

In 2005, the credit reports of 12 million Americans showed two or more student loans, according to the FICO report. By 2012, that number had more than doubled to 26 million.

“The worsening state of the student loan industry should raise concerns. The combination of lower credit quality, increased debt loads and trying economic conditions will lead to even more distress in the industry,” the FICO report warns.

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Criminalizing Poverty: Debtor's Prison For the 99%.

Today, it was reported that the unemployment rate declined even as those not in the labor force grew by over 660,000 to 90 million.  However, the real unemployment rate is 23%. if you include, "estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994," and "short-term discouraged and other marginally-attached workers as well as those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time employment."

No jobs, stagnant wages, soaring food prices, soaring food stamps, millions of underwater home owners and millions of homes in shadow inventory, etc., but, despite all this "the economic recovery is on track" according to the mainstream news. The simple truth is the dream of a new home, a new car, secure retirement and nice vacations is just that, a dream. The new more attainable dream is a frugal lifestyle demanding sacrifice and hardships, simply to ensure survival, that is, without ending up in debtor's prison,.

No, this isn't 1830. It's 2013, and thousands of Americans are sent to jail because they can't afford to pay their bills.  That's right, courts and judges in states across the U.S. are incarcerating people for not being able to pay debts such as traffic tickets, medical bills and court fees.

At the same time that the economy worsens, and poverty increases, the financial and legal penalties for being poor in America are only getting worse. Apparently, people are supposed to earn money despite the fact that jobs were shipped overseas decades ago to ensure corporate profits by the same sadistic class of people who plundered the wealth of the people. Well, they need a scapegoat, and who better than those who cannot protect themselves: the poor. Meanwhile, the plundering class is squirreling away trillions in offshore accounts.

Federal imprisonment for unpaid debt has been illegal in the U.S. since 1833. But it is legal in one-third of the states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington. However, it doesn't really seem to matter if it's legal or not; Ohio's not listed, yet, "several courts in Ohio are illegally jailing people because they are too poor to pay their debts and often deny defendants a hearing to determine if they're financially capable of paying what they owe, according to an investigation released Thursday by the Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union."

Links:

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

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Is Japan Imploding Under Weight of Debt?

Japan has debt that is 20 times its annual tax revenue which essentially means it is already insolvent. So, in a giant experiment, Japan's central bank made a drastic shift in monetary policy today, it's doubling its monetary base.

Kyle Bass on Japan implosion:



Japan's Debt Problem Visualized :

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$21 - $32 Trillion Hidden in Secret Tax Havens,

Wealth does not trickle down. It floods offshore in an amount roughly equal to the combined GDP of the United States and Japan, according to the new report The Price of Offshore Revisited

At least $21 trillion of unreported private financial wealth was owned by wealthy individuals via tax havens at the end of 2010. This sum is equivalent to the size of the United States and Japanese economies combined. The research comes amid growing concerns about the enormous gulf between rich and poor in countries around the globe.

There may be as much as $32 trillion of hidden financial assets held offshore by high net worth individuals (HNWIs), according to our report The Price of Offshore Revisited, which is thought to be the most detailed and rigorous study ever made of financial assets held in offshore financial centres and secrecy structures.

Credit Suisse’s global wealth estimate for mid-year 2011 puts total global wealth at $231 trillion, including financial assets and non-financial assets (principally housing and land) at market value . Credit Suisse does not offer a figure for offshore holdings but the ratio of this $231 trillion figure to TJN’s $21-32 trillion figure headlined above is roughly 1:10, supporting our view that our new estimates are reasonable and conservative.

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Austerity: Destroying the Social Contract Here and in the Euro

Is there any question that both Europe and the US governing powers side with the 1%? Corporate and bankster welfare queens abound! Socialism for the wealthy is alive and well, while the rest of us are subject to increasing austerity measures totally unnecessary considering the US government has well over $100 TRILLION in its CAFRS. That alone should tell you that the concept of austerity is not economic, but one of political control.

As Hugh says responding to the naked capitalism article:

Breaking the social contract is what kleptocracy is all about. Or rather it is about breaking one side of it. The 99% are supposed to honor all the duties of the contract, which largely means paying off the debts the 1% have incurred, supporting public institutions which the 1% control, and obeying the laws which the 1% write. But as regards the benefits for the 99% that flow from the social contract: personal and political rights, jobs, housing, healthcare, education, and retirements, these are being trashed, tossed, and looted by the same 1%.

In this sense, we are all Greece. Look at America’s decaying infrastructure, high unemployment, housing disaster, declining system of public education, student debt, overpriced healthcare that leaves tens of millions un- and under insured, pensions that no longer exist, are underfunded, or gutted by Wall Street gambling, and the multiple attempts by both parties to slash Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. How are we any different from Greece? How is the rest of Europe? East Asia, China, and Japan? Kleptocracy dominates them all. It plays out different ways in different countries. But the social contract is being destroyed, to the benefit of the 1% and the detriment of the 99%, in them all.

Links:

Greece has been ordered to reduce health care from its current 10% of GDP to below 6%.

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California Deficit is a Big Lie

Clint Richardson, author of the Reality Blog, and producer of the documentary, Corporation Nation, which exposes the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) - the full accounting of government and its investments...the true source of financial auditing for government that's  never spoken about publicly -in his latest article, reports once again, on "the purposeful omission of massive amounts of wealth by your government". Specifically, Jerry Brown's big lie: that California's deficit is now "$15.7 billion, far greater than the original $9.2 billion estimate in January. (CNN, May 15, 2012)"

The Simple Truth

The State Government of California has $100′s of billions in liquid investments and assets, could easily pay off all of its debt tomorrow, and would have $100′s of billions left over.[...]

Richardson  explains and proves that over $577 billion in investment fund balances aren’t being reported by the California State, (California CAFR) contrary to what Jerry Brown claims in the government's latest propaganda video.

"So… is California in such a financial deficit, as the Governor and his proposed and revised budget plan so matter-of-factly states?

This is the question that we will be answering today. But in order to answer this question, we must go to the true source of financial auditing for government, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). This report – the full accounting of government and its investments – is virtually never spoken of publicly. It is not mentioned on the nightly news. And it is not referred to when addressing the people about taxpayer issues and budgetary considerations and shortfalls. In short, this CAFR report is the Holy Grail of government accounting; very difficult to read and comprehend, and worse of all… it is hidden in plain sight."

Below, Brown addresses and purposefully lies to the people of California, threatening to cut school funding by multiple billions if the people of the State do not vote in favor of his new budget plan.

Now, the first thing that must be understood is the difference between the partial “budget report” as referred to above by the Governor, and that of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – which is the full audit of the California government. The following paragraph is taken directly from the 2011 CAFR report, and explains this difference quite succinctly…

On page 200, the 2011 California State CAFR explains the following (emphasis mine):

“On a budgetary basis, the State’s funds are classified as either governmental cost funds or nongovernmental cost funds. The governmental cost funds include the General Fund, most of the funds that comprise the Transportation Fund, and many other funds that make up the nonmajor governmental funds reported in these financial statements. Governmental cost funds derive their revenue from taxes, licenses, and fees that support the general operations of the State. The appropriations of the budgetary basis governmental cost funds form the annual appropriated budget of the State.

Nongovernmental cost funds consist of funds that derive their receipts from sources other than general and special taxes, licenses, fees, or state revenues and mainly represent the proprietary and fiduciary funds reported in these financial statements. Expenditures of these funds do not represent a cost of government and most of the nongovernmental cost funds are not included in the annual appropriated budget…”

And so we can see that governments participate in many business activities; and we must first and foremost understand that a large portion of liquid investment assets are held within what the government calls “non-governmental” activities, including “Enterprise Operations”. These investment assets are usually kept in what are called “Investment Funds”.

But government is only obligated (by its own law) to report what it refers to as “governmental” or “taxpayer” activities to the citizenry on its “Budget/Appropriations Report”. Tax in… Tax out…

In short, the Governor of the great corporate State of California is lying to his taxpayers through the act of omission of these CAFR facts, by only referring to a hand selected portion of that CAFR, which is called the State’s annual budget report. While this should be tried as perjury, the laws of the State/Federal government protect him from this ever happening.

To help in your understanding, let’s say that you were to have a checking account with $1,000 and a savings account with $10,000 in two different banks, and that you only reported to the government that you had $1,000 dollars as your net worth because you don’t want to use your savings account to pay bills (taxpayer obligations) to government. You’d be audited and put in a federal debtor’s prison. But for government, the simple designation of “non-governmental” or “non-taxpayer” income and investment returns allows them to hide all of this wealth from the people and the “Budget Report”, while never mentioning the funds and wealth in the CAFR report. The only difference is that government does this legally – because government makes its own laws!

Why do they do this?

The answer is simple, really… TO JUSTIFY THE CONTINUATION OF, THE RAISING OF, AND CREATION OF NEW TAXES!!!

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The Next Bubble Burst: Student Debt?

Private lenders have preyed upon unsuspecting young people desiring to further their education for years. Of course, they have intentionally targeted those coming from poor socio-economic backgrounds. What else is new?

Well, now that the student debt bubble has accumulated over $1 trillion in student loan debt, starting July 1, Federal Pell Grants are set to be cut for hundreds of thousands of students across the US. Whats more, the Senate "blocked President Obama’s student loan interest-rate reduction plan and also shot down a GOP proposal, leaving the chamber without a solution and little more than a month to go before rates are scheduled to double".

The reforms will save $11 billion over 10 years, according to reports. Students will lose the $5,550-a-year grants in order to find the savings.

"The loss of Pell Grants could put college out of reach" for many students with fiscal hardships, the newspaper reported.

Under old rules, students who had taken at least six units of college courses but who did not have a diploma were eligible for the loans. The new rule eliminates the Pell Grants as well as other subsidized loans for the students, known as "ability-to-benefit" students.

Here's the thing. We're told the government can't find a way to pay for extending student loan rates, yet, we're not told that the government earns more money on these student loans than they pay out!  Meanwhile, half of all college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed.  And unlike a mortgage, one cannot walk away from one's student loan debt, even if one can't walk, can't talk...in other words,  in a coma, as student loan debt cannot be expunged, nor forgiven.

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The Diminishing Returns of a College Degree

Not all that long ago, a college education in America ensured not only a job, but elevated socio-economic status. In fact, just as recently as 2007, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, more than half of all  college graduates who had applied for a job received an offer by graduation day, albeit, without the elevated socio-economic status. In 2008, that percentage fell to 26%, and in 2009, less than 20%.  Moreover, not all that long ago, one person - usually, the father, even without a college degree - could provide for a family of six, eight, and even ten. Today, it takes two people, sometimes working two jobs, to support a family of four.

Meanwhile, student debt is the only sector growing at an ever-increasing rate since the 2008 financial crisis. The average annual tuition at a private nonprofit four-year college is about $35-40,000! So, now that student debt has reached the $1 trillion mark - the second biggest debt sector for US households - leaving college grads with unprecedented levels of college debt, not to mention, the youth unemployment rate in the US is rivaling many third-world countries, is a college education really worth it? Could it be that those who choose not to attend college may actually end up earning more than their college-degreed counterparts?

Over 17 million Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. For instance, over 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees (8,000 of those, doctoral or professional degrees), 80,000 bartenders, and over 18,000 parking lot attendants.

It should be more than obvious that public policy designed to create more college graduates isn't really concerned with sustainable jobs for future graduates. The purpose of the policies is to prop up the education bubble and the lending industry that supports it.

So, maybe it's time to reexamine our assumptions about the necessity of a college education, those ideological templates we use to understand the world, especially when, according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the US has one of the highest number of employees working in low wage jobs of high paying industrialized nations. One out of every four Americans employed work in jobs that pay less than $10 per hour.

Between NAFTA, tougher bankruptcy laws, the repeal of Glass Steagall, bubbles galore, and and a financial system that might as well be a roulette wheel, the best we can hope for is a low-wage recovery. Newly added jobs are coming from lower paying sectors while productivity increases and profits filter to the top of the economic class. 3,500,000 high-wage jobs lost during recession and only 179,000 have been added so far. Therefore, a college degree that's risen anywhere from 500-1000% since 1970,  in inflation adjusted dollars, is sure to sap  future earnings with few exceptions.

Older Americans are 47 times richer than younger Americans.

In 1984, households headed by people age 65 and older were worth just 10 times the median net worth of households headed by people 35 and younger.

But now that gap has widened to 47-to-one, marking the largest wealth gap ever recorded between the two age groups.”

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Forget China. What Abou the Rise of Germany?

Hitler may have failed to conquer Europe by military might, but it seems, modern Germans are succeeding through trade and financial superiority and strength. With the recent news of Greece default, and other European countries - reland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain - economic basket-cases, Germany renews its call for a European constitution demanding member nations to forfeit fiscal sovereignty and require EU fiscal oversight to approve regional laws.

A fiscal union means it is one economic policy, one taxation system, one social security system, one debt, one economy, one finance minister. And all of the above would be German

Instead of admitting the euro is a failure, and doing away with the system altogether, Angela Merkel is pushing a German-dominated Europe.  First, Papandreou had to go, then Berlesconi, replaced by puppet governments sure to go along with the plan.

On the surface, this may not sound the alarm bells; however, it should because Germany's finance minister is on record for stating the US is in worse shape than the worst of the worst European nation.  Guido Westerwelle told reporters, "We need more efficient decision structures."

Well, the Germans are experts on efficiency, that's for sure!

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How Goldman Sachs Helped Cover up Greece's Debt.

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Quattuordecillion in Secrert Sovereign Wealth Funds?

I was still trying to conceptualize $1 trillion when I came across the concept of $1 "quattuordecillion" - that's one, followed by 45 zeros:  $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000! Enough money to buy a gold cube the size of the orbit of Saturn!  Now, I don't know about you, but I was never taught to count that high. In fact, to be honest, I never knew such a word existed; let alone, the idea of that much wealth.  So, one has to ask: who possesses this unbelievable accumulation of wealth?  If in fact, it exists. Well, who do you think? That infinitesimally small group of people who possess and control everything else: the global elite. Of course, they have done everything in their power to keep this a big secret, including a launching a disinformation campaign on the Internet that includes all the big players: Wikipedia, Google, etc.

The global GDP is reported to be $55 trillion annually, but you see governments maintain two sets of accounting books. One which is displayed to the public which contains official data issued by the government, and another secretive version which is used between sovereign entities. It is this secretive ledger that contains both the collateral accounts and Saint Germain's Foundation Divine and World Trust

Okay, for those of you who do not equate deep research with conspiracy fruitcakes, a little history:

In 1875 the wealth and assets of the royal families and nations held under colonial rule were centralized into one combined account to be used to the benefit of all nations. Then in 1921 the Royal Families and nations that owned the wealth in the Collateral Accounts agreed to establish the Trilateral Trillenium Tripartite Gold Commission to house and oversee these combined funds that contain deliverable precious metals and currencies worth upwards of one quattuordecillion dollars.  The  Combined International Collateral Accounts of the Global Debt Facility, contains within its ledger, the World Trust which is now worth $1 quatrodecillion dollars

From 1944/5 - 1994/5 The Trilateral Trillenium Tripartite Gold Commission (TTTGC) was organized and implemented, by the Nations of the World, with a Term period of 50 years. During this term period the Commission held the Mandate, Rights and Authorities over The Combined International Collateral Accounts of the Global Debt Facility. Following the expiry of the 50 year term, the Nations of the World, disappointed with the biased way The Combined International Collateral Accounts had been utilised within the 50 years, agreed not to extend the term of the TTTGC, but instead appointed a single independent person to the position of International Treasury Controller with full rights, authority, and legal ownership of the Combined International Collateral Accounts.

Extensions of this agreement were expanded through international treaties, some of which are still classified as top secret, including:

Jekyll Island Treaty (1910)
The London Treaty (1920)
The Second Plan of the Experts (1929)
The Hague Agreement (1930)
The Far East Combined Depositories Agreement (1932 1945)
The Bretton Woods Agreement (1944)
The B.I.S. / Allies Agreement (1948)
The Green Hilton Agreement (1963)
The Schweitzer Conventions (1968)
The Election / Appointment of Sole Arbiter Agreements (1995)
The Washington Panel (1998)
The Treaty for Respecting the Rights (2003)

These treaties were ratified by the sovereign nations of the world.. Proof of such is recorded in every nations charter of the U.N. The USA charter is based on the constitution and thus subject to constitutional law. Only Kings/Queens, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and in some cases Minsters of Finance or Foreign Affairs are granted access to these accounts. Verification is undertaken through a specific office under specific protocols dictated by the Head Office of the United Nations.

To curtail - or possibly, escalate illegal activities -  in 1995, the Trillenium Trilateral Tripartite Commission was stripped of its power and placed under the control of the International Treasury Controller and the Office of International Treasury Control, at the United Nations. Additionally, they now have jurisdiction over the IMF, World Bank, and the Bank of International Settlements which are all part of the Collateral Accounts. Despite this; the IMF, World Bank, and BIS continue to use the assets illegally for their own financing without giving any thought to the needs of the people of the world.

A controversial whistle blower has said that the US did not like that result and so the US, UK and France and their allies have continued to act as rogue nations attempting to keep stolen assets (and seeking to steal more) from the Collateral Accounts. These nations are, supposedly, covertly hindering the work of the OITC; hiding behind the secrecy provisions in the various treaties that established the OITC, as they seek to limit and even destroy the OITC's global wealth creation initiatives. He has also claimed that some of the assets were deposited at Ft. Hood, in an underground facility.

Who, in particular, is in charge of all this wealth? The Office of International Treasury Control?  Well, a man named Dr. Ray C. Dam is currently Chairman of this little known office.  Dam was appointed by the nations of the world as International Treasury Controller, Legal Decadency to Heir, Sole Arbiter, Owner and Controller of all Combined International Collateral Accounts of the Global Debt Facility, under International Legal Transfer Record RCD1088.   However, Dr. Ray C. Dam is a person, but His Excellency Dr. Ray C. Dam is a certified and indemnified international Central Banking financial institution operating as The Office of International Treasury Control.

The Assets of the Combined International Collateral Accounts are in constant use, assisting to finance countries and such organisations, either in part or full, as the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, The International Finance Corporation, International Development Banks, United Nations, and additionally under-pinning the US Dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency.

George Freund posted the documents "purporting the sovereign wealth of those who claim to be sovereign".  And below you will find a letter that has been verified as being issued by Russell L. Munk, International Division, US Treasury, General Counsel, International Department, US Treasury, Washington D.C. 20220, USA, as of the date of the letter.
Now, for the important part. How do these funds reach you and me? Oh, I didn't tell you. These prosperity funds were created, in part, for the common man; although, we're at the bottom of the heap, because they must first travel down through 30.000 different trust funds beginning with the World Trust, at the highest level, under the world court.

• Level one: Saint Germain's Foundation Divine and World Trust
• Level two: 180 Royal Trusts. Examples include the French Trust, Russian Trust, Vatican Trust
• Level Three: Illuminati Family Trusts. Examples include Warburg Trust, Rothschilds Trust Rockefeller Trust
• Level Four: 250+ Corporate Trusts including GE, Lockheed, and at&t
• Level Five: Prosperity Program Trusts and 72 Bank Roll Programs managed by the IMF under the guidance of Saint Germain Bank roll programs include Bergavine, Omega and Freedom

The funds travel through each level they must be signed off by 4-5 trustees per trust

Starting at 38:40, the video below explains the collateral accounts

Ecclesiastes 6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

Related Links:

Global Settlement Foundation: Finality of Settlement

Finality of Settlement Part II
Green Hilton Agreement 

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A Global History of Debt By Region: Map from 1970-2010

A global history of debt from 1970 to 2010

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California Targets Children for Parent's Debt.

While the wealth of the richest Californians is left untouched, for years, under governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and now Jerry Brown, the state of California has targeted children to pay the debt of their parents. Many of the debts were brought on by clerical error or fraud and therefore were especially no fault of the children.

Moreover, billions have been cut from social services like CalWORKS, with the expectation that the weakest and most vulnerable sections of the population will pay off huge debts.

California welfare regulations for years have allowed, and even required, counties to go after minors for the debts of their parents, state officials told the Associated Press.

Attorneys for a Hartley and a Fresno man who filed suit Nov. 23 to try to stop the practice say they believe thousands of young people throughout the state are being unfairly required to repay millions of dollars in welfare money that mistakenly or fraudulently was obtained by caregivers or guardians.

Officials at the California Department of Social Services, which administers the welfare program called CalWORKS, said they do not track the number of children required to make such payments. The state's 58 counties recouped $61.5 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. The counties reported $133 million in overpayments for the same time period.

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Collection Agencies Now Want Deadbeats Arrested

Debtors prison for we the taxpayers, yet when banksters and corporate execs plunder billions and even trillions of dollars...what do they get? Huge bonuses!

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What Does $15 Trillion Look Like?

Visualize U.S. debt here.

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As the Debt Ceiling Crisis Turns

The Federal Reserve gave out $16.1 trillion in emergency loans to U.S. and foreign financial institutions between Dec. 1, 2007 and July 21, 2010, according to "first-ever audit of the central bank". Yet, we're supposed to worry about what is essentially, chump change, in comparison? Debt ceiling crisis, my ass!

Okay, let's pretend it's real. According to Rob Johnson, Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute (see video below), it's much easier to go after we, the people, than to take on Wall Street, the Military Industrial Complex, Big Pharma, etc., to pay for this so-called "crisis". As he says, it's the "logic of collective action".

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