What Is The Truth?
In the movie A Few Good Men, the line "You can't handle the truth" is delivered by Jack Nicholson's character, Colonel Jessup, during a heated courtroom interrogation scene with Tom Cruise's character, Lieutenant Kaffee.
The context of the line is that Kaffee is trying to get Jessup to confess to ordering a "Code Red," which is a violent hazing ritual that resulted in the death of a fellow Marine
Jessup is angry and defensive, and he believes that the truth of what happened is too harsh for Kaffee and the public to handle. He delivers the line as a way of dismissing Kaffee's request for the truth and asserting his own power and authority.
Call Me A Skeptic Regarding Government Reporting
We are being told things are just rosy, people are working lots of jobs and the economy is doing quite well. Maybe there is more cocaine in Washington than the stuff recently discovered in the White House.
Employment is considered to be a positive development. The Biden administration keeps telling us that there are many jobs available for people who want them and that the unemployment rate is less than 4%. But is this actually the case?
To answer that question, it is imperative to understand that our government places unemployed persons into one of two categories . . .
Jobless people are classified into one of two categories by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—either unemployed or not in the labor force. To be classified as unemployed in the month they are surveyed, people must be actively looking for work. If they are not actively looking, they are classified as not in the labor force.
As the definition of "officially unemployed" has narrowed over time, only 6.097 million Americans of working age are now thought to fall into that group.
Meanwhile, an astounding 99.8 million Americans who are working age are categorized as "not in the labor force".
Totaling both groups, there are 105.897 million Americans who are working age and unemployed at the moment.
Let Me Attempt To Put That In Context.
That figure never even reached 90 million during the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009.
That means that the number of Americans who are working age and unemployed at this time considerably exceeds that which we saw during the Great Recession.
Please resist the urge to buy the nonsense that the government is peddling to you.
No low unemployment exists. John Williams actually calculates that the nation's actual unemployment rate is something in the range of 25%. - Michael Snyder
More Hidden Facts
After all that has happened in our world, there are still people who are in disbelief about what is happening economically. Let’s talk about business bankruptcies already in 2023.
Corporate bankruptcies have surged in 2023, with more than 230 companies filing for bankruptcy between January and April. This is the highest level since 2010 for the first two-and-a-half months of the year.
The majority of bankruptcy filings in 2023 have come in the form of Chapter 11 filings, structured toward reorganization. The increase in bankruptcies is attributed to a potent brew of economic troubles hitting financially weakened companies. The surge in bankruptcies is a stark reflection of the greater stress that businesses now face.
The bankruptcy boom of 2023 goes back more than a decade, when the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate was next to nothing. Companies with weaker balance sheets may continue to feel the pain all the way into next year.
The Reasons for the Surge of Bankruptcy Filings in 2023
Higher borrowing costs: Companies are facing higher borrowing costs due to a jump in interest rates, which makes borrowing more expensive for companies and individuals.
Rising inflation: The prices of goods and services have gone up with inflation, which has expanded debt loads for households and businesses.
Supply chain disruptions: The supply chain disruptions have caused operational conflicts for businesses, which has led to bankruptcy filings.
Clawback on bank lending: Banks have cut back on lending, which has made it difficult for businesses to obtain loans.
General economic weakness: The growing number of households and businesses filing for bankruptcy reflects the mounting economic challenges they now face.
Things Are Pretty Goofy at the House of Mouse
Soaring prices are keeping ordinary American families away from Disney World and Disneyland — the result of runaway Bidenflation plus Disney’s penchant for finding new and creative ways to gouge consumers at every turn.
Now, a notable Disney official has briefly admitted that the company's high prices are an issue as it navigates its biggest financial crisis in decades.
In an interview with the travel website The Points Guy, Disney's head of theme parks Josh D'Amaro described pricing as a balancing act that still requires adjusting.
We don't always get it right, he acknowledged, repeating what he had previously said.
According to Yahoo Finance, Disney was valued at just over $197 on March 8, 2021, and currently sits at about $89. In other words, it is down about 55%.
According to reports, the average 401(k) account is down about 20% so far this year. When you realize BlackRock and Vanguard own 14.61% of Disney, this gives us a bit of insight into why those accounts are down. And, Disney is just the tip of the iceberg.
Did The Supremes Just Help Tame Inflation?
The Federal Reserve's efforts to control inflation have recently received support from the Supreme Court.
The top court rejected President Joe Biden's plan to cancel over $500 billion in student loan debt on Friday. Re-entering these debts on household sector balance sheets could significantly reduce consumer spending, particularly in the services sector where inflation has been stubbornly persistent and on the verge of rising. This would be in addition to the recently announced October end of the pandemic pause on payments.
Despite the substantial increase in interest rates, one of the factors driving consumer spending has been the suspension of student loan payments. Consumer expenditure increased by 8.4% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. Consumer expenditure increased by 5.9 percent over the past year, as of May. Inflation has accompanied this change in expenditure from goods to services.
Some economists have predicted that the combined effect of higher interest rate, fading (but still lingering) stimulus payments, and the resumption of student loan payments could push the economy into a recession. - Breitbart
