The total debt of the United States is approaching 120% of our GDP when you combine the debt of the US Federal Government, the States and local governments, and this NEW debt we have taken on in the form of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and AIG.

Historically, no economy can grow quickly if at all when their debt is 90% or more of GDP.  Historically, no government or economy can survive when it actually hits 120%.

This Time is Different helps explain what has happened, what is going on, where we are and what are options are now.  That’s the key, we can bitch moan and complain about what has happened, but what we really need to do is recognize the real situation and prepare to choose our next options.

David Stockman, a former Ronald Reagan finance insider from the 80’s who helped craft Reagonomics has called the US Economy destroyed.  Flatline was diagnosed this week.  He ticks off four points by which the GOP (not the Democrats all though they definitely provided a serious assist) DESTROYED the US economy.

MarketWatch article – breaks down the 4 points clearly

Original Op Ed article by Stockman himself "Four Deformations of the Apocalypse"

This is a must read article.  It doesn’t matter if you are a Republican, A Democrat, a Libertarian, a Tea Party mover and shaker, an independent, a communist or a prairie dog just trying to ride out the storm in a hole in the ground.

This article identifies the 4 major causes of the downfall of the US economy and holds no punches.  That doesn’t mean we should watch ringside as the great fighter gets pummeled, but it does mean that we need to be aware of what happened, how it happened, who contributed and what dogmatic bull they are trying to shovel now to protect their jobs and tell us not to panic when the barn burns with all the horses inside.

Maybe you are one of the 3 million plus people that lost a job in 2009 or maybe even one of the 5 million plus people that lost a job the year before in 2008.  Either way, you are probably very happy to learn that in 2009 the Federal Government spent $787 billion dollars to create just 600,000 jobs.

Actually, according to their own numbers, ALMOST 600k jobs.

That means the government spent $1.3 million per job!  That stimulus money may be helping someone, but it sure isn’t helping the majority of people that lost or are losing a job from getting a new one or saving their current job.

What could $787 billion purchased that would have been a better investment in America?

At that rate, the US government could have sent all 8 million unemployed workers from 2008 and 2009 back to college for 3 semesters to retrain and had $70,000 left to pay them a salary to work doing ANYTHING!

Seven states received a wakeup call this week as new unemployment statistics confirmed that depression era level double digit unemployment has already struck.

Seven states posted unemployment rates larger than 10 percent in January, according to figures released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Michigan was saddled with the nation’s highest jobless rate in January, 12.5 percent in statistics that were not seasonally adjusted. It had been the only state to rise above 10 percent during the previous month, December 2008.

Also topping the 10-percent mark in January were Rhode Island (11.4 percent unemployment), Oregon (10.9 percent), South Carolina (10.9 percent), California (10.6 percent), North Carolina (10.3 percent) and Nevada (10.2 percent).

7 states post jobless rates above 10% – Business First of Buffalo:

During the depression unemployment didn’t just stop at the 12% level.  It accelerated to the 20% levels around the world.  Twenty percent levels are still not the norm, but these 7 states have a head start and might feel the worst of the depression early on.

Currently the National Unemployment rate is at 8.1%.  This does not include what is considered the ‘real’ unemployment numbers of people that the US government has stopped tracking all together, typically because their unemployment insurance benefits have expired.