"Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program."-- Spencer W. Kimball
#1 The poorest 40 percent of all Americans now spend more than 50 percent of their incomes just on food and housing.#2 For those Americans that don’t own a home, 50 percent of them spend more than a third of their incomes just on rent.#3 The price of school lunches has risen to the 3 dollar mark at many public schools across the nation.#4 McDonald’s “Dollar Menu & More” now includes items that cost as much as 5 dollars.#5 The price of ground beef has doubled since 2009.#6 In 1986, child care expenses for families with employed mothers used up 6.3 percent of all income. Today, that figure is up to 7.2 percent.#7 Incomes fell for the bottom 80 percent of all income earners in the United States during the 12 months leading up to June 2014.#8 At this point, more than 50 percent of all American workers bring home less than $30,000 a year in wages.#9 After adjusting for inflation, median household income has fallen by nearly $5,000 since 2007.#10 According to the New York Times, the “typical American household” is now worth 36 percent less than it was worth a decade ago.#11 47 percent of all Americans do not put a single penny out of their paychecks into savings.#12 One survey found that 62 percent of all Americans are currently living paycheck to paycheck.#13 According to the U.S. Department of Education, 33 percent of all Americans with student loans are currently behind on their student loan debt repayments.#14 According to one recent report, 43 million Americans currently have unpaid medical debt on their credit reports.#15 The rate of homeownership in the U.S. has been declining for seven years in a row, and it is now the lowest that it has been in 20 years.#16 For each of the past six years, more businesses have closed in the United States than have opened. Prior to 2008, this had never happened before in all of U.S. history.#17 According to the Census Bureau, 65 percent of all children in the United States are living in a home that receives some form of aid from the federal government.#18 If you have no debt at all, and you also have 10 dollars in your wallet, that you are wealthier than 25 percent of all Americans.#19 On top of everything else, the average American must work from January 1st to April 24th just to pay all federal, state and local taxes.
U.S. Stock Futures Point to More Losses Published August 21, 2015, Dow Jones Newswires (Reuters) U.S. stocks were poised for a slightly lower open Friday, rounding out a week marked by fears about a cooling Chinese economy. Investors on Friday received fresh evidence of the slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. An early gauge of China's factory activity slumped to a six-and-a-half year low in August, triggering steep declines in stocks across Asia and Europe, where many companies depend on China for demand. U.S. stock futures indicated a 0.2% opening loss for the S&P 500 and a 0.4% opening loss for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Changes in futures aren't necessarily reflected in market moves after the opening bell. Declines in European stocks were bigger. France's CAC-40 lost 1.1% and Germany's DAX slipped 1%. U.S. stocks fell sharply on Thursday, with the Dow tumbling nearly 360 points to its lowest level since October. The downbeat tone to stocks continues to be driven by "the uncertainty and speculation about the pace of global growth and what might the Fed do in September," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed officials remain divided on whether to raise rates next month. Mr. Sandven noted that the renewed Chinese growth scare came as U.S. companies have largely finished reporting second-quarter earnings, giving investors little else to focus on. Including results from 484 companies in the S&P 500, earnings are on track to slip 0.6% in the second quarter, according to FactSet. Hewlett-Packard Co. reported a 13% drop in quarterly profit. Revenue fell 8%, marking the 15th decline in the past 16 quarters. The results were H-P's last before its planned breakup on Nov. 1. Shares lost 0.2% premarket. Foot Locker Inc. posted a better-than-expected 29% jump in profit amid broad-based sales growth. Shares rose 2% premarket. In commodity markets, gold futures were nearly flat at $1153.20 an ounce. Crude-oil futures fell 0.9% to $40.97 a barrel. Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year yield at 2.082% versus 2.084% on Thursday. (By Saumya Vaishampayan)