U.S. Conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNearly half<\/a> of all Maine tenants cannot afford rent, new study says.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe average transaction price (ATP) of new vehicles sold by dealers to retail customers in June [2022] hit a new breath-taking record high<\/a> of $45,844, up by 14.5% from a year ago, and beating the prior record set in May, according to estimates by J.D. Power.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUS consumer sentiment hit a new record low<\/a> in June [2022] amid growing concerns about inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInterest costs on national debt are up 30% this fiscal year<\/a> and could increase more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUS oil reserves running low<\/a> \u2013 Bloomberg.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe price of diesel went above $5.50 a gallon in the beginning of May [2022], and has stayed there ever since, a 70% increase<\/a> from just a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. could soon experience a severe shortage<\/a> of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), impacting U.S. drivers already hit with soaring fuel prices. DEF is a solution made up of urea and de-ionized water that is needed for almost everything that runs on diesel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe retail industry is facing a potential wave of bankruptcies<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStock market’s fall has wiped out $3 trillion<\/a> in retirement savings this year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell over half of people surveyed<\/a> expect their standard of living to decline in retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c44% of workers are worried about a layoff or job loss<\/a>, CNBC\u2019s All-America Workforce Survey found. Some 84% are concerned about a recession.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNetflix cuts 300 employees<\/a> in new round of layoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTesla is laying off workers who only just started<\/a> and withdrawing employment offers as Elon Musk’s job cuts begin.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnited Airlines will cut 12% of Newark flights<\/a> in effort to tame delays.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStarbucks used \u2018array of illegal tactics\u2019<\/a> against unionizing workers, labor regulators say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoughly 1 in 4 American expatriates is \u2018seriously considering\u2019 or \u2018planning\u2019 to renounce their U.S. citizenship<\/a>, according to a survey from Greenback Expat Tax Services.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cElon Musk says Tesla\u2019s car factories are \u2018gigantic money furnaces\u2019<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMinnesota State colleges, universities raise tuition 3.5%<\/a> for nearly all students.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c27 of America\u2019s top 30 universities are raising tuition and fees<\/a> for the next academic year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy health-care costs are rising<\/a> in the U.S. more than anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor Native Americans, justice is still far out of reach<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince 2010, at least 15 big U.S. cities registered more than 1,000 killings of homeless<\/a>, official statistics reveal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost half<\/a> of the people serving life without parole are 50 years old or more and one in four is at least 60 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n International Conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe face a global economic crisis<\/a>. And no one knows what to do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFight against inflation raises spectre of global recession<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFood insecurity and hunger have doubled since 2019<\/a>, according to experts. The threat of famine is faced by nearly fifty million people around the world. Levels of less severe hunger have doubled since 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe world\u2019s bubbliest housing markets are flashing warning signs<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMetal prices are headed for the worst quarter<\/a> since the financial crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAirports around the world battle long lines, canceled flights<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEurope\u2019s travel woes deepen<\/a> as strikes add to scrapped flights.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSri Lankan prime minister: Island\u2019s economy \u2018has collapsed\u2019<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to ACORN Canada nearly one in two Canadians<\/a> are living paycheck-to-paycheck making them vulnerable to predatory banking practices.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMajority of C-Suite Execs thinking of quitting, 40% overwhelmed at work<\/a>: Deloitte Survey.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCazoo to cut 750 jobs<\/a> in UK and across Europe amid recession fears.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUK economy ‘running on empty’<\/a> as recession signals mount \u2013 PMI.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUK retail sales fall<\/a> in May [2022].\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUK pushed 100,000 people into poverty<\/a> by lifting pension age.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c7 out of 10 people in the UK want government action on soaring executive pay<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrench energy giants urge consumers to cut energy use<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrance sees nuclear energy output plummet<\/a> at the worst possible moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBelgian workers march<\/a> against cost-of-living crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFood basket [in Iceland] increased nearly 17%<\/a> in last seven months.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAustralian central bank aims at real wage cuts for years<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGerman business climate drops more than expected<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGermany looks at potential rationing of natural gas<\/a> after Russia cuts supply.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNew poll reveals 51% of Dutch<\/a> consider Israel an apartheid state.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cResidents across Israel move into tents to protest steep housing costs<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCost of food in Kenya increased 12.40 percent<\/a> in May of 2022 over the same month in the previous year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInflation inducing extreme poverty<\/a> [in Zimbabwe].\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore poverty and misery<\/a> ahead for most Argentines as food prices soar.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/strong><\/p>\n While people want a human-centered alternative to the misery and anarchy that has been worsening for many years, they do not trust the politicians in the cartel parties of the rich (democrats and republicans) to bring about such an alternative. People have been dissatisfied with the political representatives of the rich for decades. A new report (June 2022) from the Pew Research Center (PRC), \u201cAmericans\u2019 Views of Government: Decades of Distrust, Enduring Support for Its Role<\/a>,\u201d shows that \u201c65% say most political candidates run for office ‘to serve their own personal interests’.\u201d The report stresses that:<\/p>\n Americans remain deeply distrustful of and dissatisfied<\/em> with<\/em> their government. Just 20% say they trust the government in Washington to do the right thing just about always or most of the time \u2013 a sentiment that has changed very little<\/em> since former President George W. Bush\u2019s second term in office. (emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This inevitable distrust and dissatisfaction has grown more over the past 30 months and will increase in the coming years. Imperialists are not interested in sharing power and wealth. They are not interested in the dignity and humanity of all. On the contrary, all their actions and policies further degrade the social and natural environment. It cannot be otherwise in the final and highest stage of capitalism. Parasitism, reaction, and decay increase in this retrogressive period and take a heavy toll on the social and natural environment.<\/p>\n The majority clearly have little to be satisfied about when it comes to the direction of the economy and society. They want to know how and why we are in the abysmal mess we are in today and why it is so impossible for the rich and their political representatives to solve even small problems. Why is there no stability and security centuries after the scientific and technical revolution empowered humankind to easily meet the needs of all many times over?<\/p>\n Experience has also taught people that constantly begging politicians to do the most basic simple things has left millions exhausted, disillusioned, and humiliated. People do not want to fight for years just to secure minor changes that favor them. It is clear that voting once every four years for the lesser of two evils has not stopped economic, social, cultural, political, and educational decline. It has not empowered people to become the decision-makers in society. It has not given people a real voice. It is no surprise that about 100 million eligible voters boycott<\/a> the presidential election every four years because they feel so disillusioned, ignored, devalued, and marginalized by an obsolete political set-up that has long served a privileged minority. The situation is not much better in the rest of the Anglo-American world.<\/p>\n The fact that the financial oligarchy is a historically superfluous force that is a huge drag on society means that only working people and their allies can usher in a new human-centered alternative. Relying on old structures, frameworks, and arrangements stopped working long ago. Those things do not work anymore because they are not taking people where they need to go. The necessity for new thinking, a new outlook, a new politics, new leadership, and new arrangements is sharper than ever.<\/p>\n Concrete, sustained, collective action with analysis is needed to move forward. A government that upholds a public authority worthy of the name must come into being so as to affirm the public interest. Such a government will provide human rights with a guarantee in practice. It will not privilege narrow private interests or use disinformation to deprive people of an outlook and politics that advances their interests.<\/p>\n There is an alternative to the barbarism of the current conditions engendered by the rich and their outmoded system. New forms of ownership, new social relations, and a new human personality are necessary and possible. History is forcing such ideas, thinking, and topics on human consciousness.<\/p>\n Part one<\/a> (April 10, 2022); Part two<\/a> (April 25, 2022); Part three<\/a> (May 10, 2022); Part four<\/a> (May 16, 2022); Part five<\/a> (May 22, 2022); Part six<\/a> (May 30, 2022); Part seven<\/a> (June 6, 2022); Part eight<\/a> (June 13, 2022); Part nine<\/strong><\/a> (June 17, 2022).<\/p>\n This post was originally published on Dissident Voice<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The top-down assault on living and working standards continues unabated worldwide. This is coupled with the growing pressure on everyone to fend-for-themselves like animals, which is engendering greater insecurity and instability with each passing month. Even worse, no meaningful and lasting relief is on the way, only more suffering. Major corporations, however, are having a [\u2026]<\/p>\n The post \u201cBooming\u201d Economy Leaves Millions Behind: Part Ten<\/a> first appeared on Dissident Voice<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[459,305,14,141],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719104"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=719104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":719105,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719104\/revisions\/719105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=719104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=719104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=719104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dissidentvoice.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/51aJlTn5R8L._SX331_BO1204203200_-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>The post \u201cBooming\u201d Economy Leaves Millions Behind: Part Ten<\/a> first appeared on Dissident Voice<\/a>.\n