“In 2010 native born workers lost 1.2 million jobs raising the “published” unemployment rate to a “reported” 9.7 from 9.2 percent for native born workers.  On another note foreigners gained 656,000 jobs in the US during the same time which in turn lowered their “published” unemployment rate to a “reported” 8.7 from 9.3.  During the recovery, more foreigners have taken jobs in hospital services, education and other sectors.” AP-Foxnews.com
- What does this say to you?

“In 2010 states appropriated almost $6.2 billion for four-year colleges and universities between 2003 and 2008 to help pay for the education of students who did not return for year two and further.  The cost of educating students who drop out after one year account for between 2 to 8 percent of states' total higher education appropriations.” AP-Foxnews.com
- How much is this going to increase your taxes among other things?
- Where are these uneducated young minds going to work for considering the already distressed job force and overeducated graduates who competing for the same job at less money then they are expecting?

“Social security for 2011 will remain as it was in 2010 with no increase to the senior citizens who depend on it to live their daily lives.  No increase will be given till “at least” 2012.” AP-Foxnews.com
- What are senior citizens and/or children of those senior citizens going to do?  Many senior citizens retirement accounts have taken major blows or knocked out entirely so where will the extra money come from?  How will children support their parents in need of help as inflation rises, cost of durable & non durable goods increase and money in nearly every household is already tight and accounted for due to monthly expenses?

“The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year, leaving “one in seven” Americans in poverty.  The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said in September 2010 in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households.  The poverty rate increased from 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million people, in 2008.” AP-Foxnews.com
- Do you think we are out of or anywhere near the end of the recession?  Where does this leave you and your family for present and future times?

“The share of Americans without health coverage rose from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent or 50.7 million people mostly because of the loss of employer-provided health insurance during the recession. Congress passed a health overhaul this year to address the rising numbers of uninsured people, but its main provisions will not take effect until 2014.  Last year saw the biggest single-year increase in Americans without health insurance, lifting the total number to the highest since the government began tracking the figures in 1987. The number of people covered by employment-based health plans declined from 176.3 million to 169.7 million, although those losses were partially offset by gains in government health insurance such as Medicaid and Medicare.” AP-Foxnews.com
- In California employers’ expenses are rising and will continue to do so.  If you reside elsewhere is your home state in the same position?  Regardless this is a fact nationwide.  What does this mean to you and your family regardless if you work for a large corporation or a small to medium size business?  Large corporations have large overhead, small to medium size businesses do not have “as deep” of pockets that large corporations have.  Where does this leave you or a loved one in the event serious medical attention is needed and the money is not there to receive it?

“Lost incomes were cushioned somewhat by increases in Social Security payments in 2009 as well as federal expansions of unemployment insurance, which rose substantially under the economic stimulus program. With the additional unemployment benefits, workers were eligible for extensions that gave them up to 99 weeks of payments after a layoff.” AP-Foxnews.com
- What is this going to cost you as a tax payer?
- Are you one of the unfortunate several who is having or had to take advantage of the additional unemployment benefits?”

“The 2009 poverty level was set at $21,954 for a family of four, based on an official government calculation that includes only cash income, before tax deductions. It excludes capital gains or accumulated wealth, such as home ownership, as well as noncash aid such as food stamps.  Among the working-age population, ages 18 to 64, poverty rose from 11.7 percent to 12.9 percent. That puts it at the highest since the 1960s.” AP-Foxnews.com
- If this is the calculation nationwide and poverty is at an all time high since the 1960’s, how many people need help now more then ever?  If you are in this unfortunate position, you are not alone!

“Nationwide, government at every level is requiring more and more of the workforce to get its permission just to earn a living.  In the 1950s, only about 5 percent of the workforce needed a government license to do their job. Today, that number is over 30 percent.  And governments impose all kinds of other requirements that make it hard for would-be entrepreneurs to start and grow small businesses.  Unemployment in the United States has now topped out at over 14 straight months, that’s the longest stretch since the Great Depression!” AP-Foxnews.com
- What does this mean to you?
- Do you want the government possibly controlling what you make, where you work, etc?  Or would you rather make the call as to how you earn a living and where you spend your “professional time?”

“A report done by “60 Minutes” provided an in-depth report on the realities of the unemployment situation in America today.  When you take into account the underemployed as well as the unemployed, the national rate hits 17% and a staggering 22% in California.  To put a face on the realities of the underemployed in America reporter Scott Pelley spoke with a fiber-optics engineering manager who has been looking for work for over a year.  He just took a job working at a Target.   20% of the unemployed in America have college degrees.  According to the report, 1/3 of the unemployed have been out of work for over a year. This hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.” Biggoverment.com
- In the event these staggering percentages are correct, how confident does it make you feel that we are not being told true and factual numbers?  How can we trust the numbers from here on out if we are told things are getting better?  Do you feel they are getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

"If you are sitting there in front of a screen, thinking your information is going to be good enough to make smart judgments that will permit you to outperform the hundreds of thousands of people on Wall Street who have access to better information and more timely information than you, you're mistaken," New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer says.

Americans have pulled $60 billion out of U.S. stock funds this year, according to the Investment Company Institute, a trade group. Meanwhile, investors have piled money into Treasuries and bond funds that are considered safer investments. And at the same time, banks like Wells Fargo have reported that money is moving into checking and savings accounts.  It's natural for people worried about their jobs or the falling value of their homes to sock cash into more conservative investments. But this has been no garden-variety recession.  Charles Geisst, a finance professor at Manhattan College who has written 18 books on the history of markets, says investors balked at buying for years after the Crash of 1929 and Black Monday in 1987. The view both times: The odds are stacked against the little guy.  To combat such an impression, the Securities and Exchange Commission was established in 1934, and "circuit breakers" were instituted after the 1987 crash to stop massive selling. But all of the safeguards don't seem to be helping lately.  If the stock markets had any reputation for integrity, they lost it in the past year," Geisst says.” AP-msnbc.msn.com
- Is it frightening to know the main catapult which Americans utilize in order to set up, secure and fund their retirement has not only lost major reputation in the past 12 months but also has the major possibility of not recovering for some time in the future?
- How many other times has this catapult failed investors in the last decade?  The collapse of the Internet bubble and portfolio-draining scandals involving high-flying companies such as Enron and WorldCom.  More recently, investors have lived through the housing bubble, the collapse of Wall Street firms such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and stomach-churning days when it wasn't clear whether capitalism would survive. AP-msnbc.msn.com
- Is this what you want to “count on” for producing and funding your retirement or do you want to take matters into your own hands?