Fw: Third World America

--- On Sun, 9/19/10, Bill and Therese' <jet727@gulftel.com> wrote: From: Bill and Therese' <jet727@gulftel.com> Subject: Third World America To: "Bill and Therese" <jet727@gulftel.com> Date: Sunday, September 19, 2010, 8:44 AM    http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/14/third-world-america/print/ "Welcome to the ground level of America's economic crisis.  The U.S. unemployment rate is 22.1%.  One in 10 homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments.  Home sales are at record lows.  the economy has been growing for several quarters, the growth is anemic—only 1.6 per cent in the second quarter of this year—and producing few new jobs. Even with interest rates at unprecedented lows, there is anxiety about the possibility of a double-dip recession.  Sales of existing homes are at their lowest level in 15 years, and new home sales plummeted this summer to the lowest levels on record.  Property and sales tax revenues have shrunk.  And nowhere is this more apparent than at the local government level, where officials are being forced to roll back the everyday hallmarks of modern civilization. Cincinnati, Ohio, is cutting back on trash collection and snow removal and filling fewer potholes. The city of Dallas is not picking up litter in public parks. Flint, Mich., laid off 23 of 88 firefighters and closed two fire stations. In some places it's almost literally the dark ages: the city of Shelton in Washington state decided to follow the example of numerous other localities and last week turned off 114 of its 860 street lights. Others have axed bus service and cut back on library hours. Class sizes are being increased and teachers are being laid off. School districts around the country are cutting the school day or the school week or the school year—effectively furloughing students. The National Association of Counties estimates that local governments will eliminate roughly half a million employees in the next fiscal year, with public safety, public works, public health, social services, and parks and recreation hardest hit by the cutbacks. A July survey by the association of counties, the National League of Cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors of 270 local governments found that 63 per cent of localities are cutting back on public safety and 60 per cent are cutting public works." http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/14/third-world-america/print/