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I live in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland in Australia, which has been ravaged by floods the past week. My family and I are safe & dry but tens of thousands of families have lost their homes and possessions which will not be covered by insurance due to flood clauses, and some have lost loved ones in horrendous circumstances. Over the past weekend after the flood levels dropped, literally thousands of people unaffected by the floods descended on Brisbane city and nearby suburbs armed with brooms, spades, gloves and gumboots to clean up the homes of strangers that are inches deep in smelly sticky mud. Federal, state and local government resources were coordinated extraordinarily well and the total cost to Queensland and the nation is expected to be close to or exceed $20billion. 75% of Queensland was declared a disaster zone, and to give you a reference point the State of Queensland has a land mass about 20% of the United States.
While this disaster was unfolding, the Australian media was totally focused on the floods, with little international news getting any prominence and the shocking shooting of Gabrielle Gifford in Tucson became yesterdays news. However, the following article came out in "Business Speculator", an on-line business commentary website, this morning in Australia, which re-focused my thoughts on world events and in particular the plight of a great many Americans in the post-GFC world. I share article this with you not as a personal comment as I am not qualified or knowledgeable enough of US affairs, but the article may reflect a growing international view of societal changes in America.
A comment made frequently by people whose homes were destroyed in the floods was "we're OK, we've lost our home and possessions and our business but we survived and we will rebuild. But many others are much worse off than we are." That is an extraordinary statement of hope. All I can say is that I sincerely hope that the American people can navigate their way through the problems caused by the GFC, because the world needs a healthy, wealthy and vibrant America.
Nano
America's extreme class make-over
Robert Gottliebsen
Published 6:33 AM, 17 Jan 2011 Last update 10:06 AM, 17 Jan 2011
A fundamental change is taking place in American society. The American middle class is in steep decline, creating stark population differences that will damage the US dream of equality of opportunity.
My former TV producer, Jackson Hewett, is holidaying in Australia from the US and says that in many ways this decline in the middle class is contributing to the sharper division in US politics, and exacerbating the home foreclosures and perhaps even the unexplained community violence.
In times gone by, a factory worker could rise to be foreman and beyond. Most of the factories have now gone to China and the factory worker must find income where he or she can. That income is often much reduced. The person working in the low rungs of the retail store might still progress to become an executive, but increasingly the big retailers pay the minimum wage to female employees and don't provide a ladder up to the middle class, let alone the top.
The American home was the sign that you had made it to the middle class. But between one in five and one in four US households now owe more on their house than it is worth. They are no longer in the middle class and are struggling to survive.
CoreLogic estimates the aggregate level of negative equity in the US now stands at $744 billion, a figure that will weigh on the housing market .
During 2010, the loans on 1.1 million houses were foreclosed. In 2011 it will be at least 1.3 million. Each one of those foreclosures represents the end if a middle class dream.
According to American Banker, Amherst Securities believe that 11 million US borrowers are in danger of losing their homes unless the government improves its loan modification efforts by coordinating with the private sector. (There are roughly 58 million in outstanding residential loans in the US).
US economists and share analysts concentrate on the signs of American recovery, but what everybody misses is that with a devastating drop in middle class numbers, the socioeconomic structure of US society is fundamentally changing.
It's the middle class that prevents extremism in a society. When you substantially reduce the middle class numbers then the dynamic of a society can change.
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This looks like a great documentary! The sad thing regarding what the banks did to get in trouble is happening all over again. Structured products are still being highly created and used. Additionally, banks are lying about their earnings and balance sheets by holding trash assets in off balance sheet subsidiaries and they are claiming phantom income on notes that are deeply in default and will never be paid back. I don't think another bailout will be well received which will make things very interesting.
Makes you realize with all this stuff we are nothing more than the spoiled 16yo that complains Daddy only got them a BMW and not a Porsche for their birthday.