A happy shout out to economic historian Price Fishback for reminding us in a piece published in the New York Times that, as bad as things may now seem in the economy, they are nowhere near as bad as during the great depression of the 1930′s in the US.
He begins by saying that economic cycles and downturns are a natural part of the economic cycle [and "nature's" cycle], but that we may be more sensitive to them now because the big downturns have been coming less frequently since the 1980′s. In other words, we may have gotten a little spoiled and less used to the hardships of the normal business cycle [this lag in business cycles may have something to do with the increasingly loose monetary policy of the last several decades, which climaxed during the reign of "Bubbles" Greenspan].
And according to the theories of Soviet economist Nikolai Kondratiev on the nature of economic supercycles, we are basically due for another big downturn in the world economy. In other words, this is all part of the divine plan and this too shall pass.
But comparison with the Great Depression just doesn’t hold up. Yes the stock market is [...]
Alternative Health & Pfizer Bites It
From the “Americans aren’t so stupid after all and may be starting to wake up”
Image via Wikipedia
department.
Healthnews.com reports “American consumers spent an estimated $34 billion on alternative medicine in 2007. In fact, alternative medicine accounts for over 11 percent of out-of-pocket spending on health care in the United States. “
Alternative medicine is anything not controlled by the pharmaceutical mafia which protects hundreds of billions of dollars in profits every year by manipulating and exploiting groups such as senior citizens into becoming drug addicts courtesy of your local doctor and the mainstream medical establishment, which includes the FDA, your friendly local government strong-arm men.
Think yoga, biofeedback, diets, nutritional and fitness coaching, chiropracters, naturopathy, hypnosis, vitamin supplements, herbs, natural and organic foods, a brain that actually functions part of the time, meditation, tai chi, gardening, long walks and prayer to the holy godfather in the sky. You create your reality with your thoughts, so think positively.
It’s great to see Americans finally waking up to the incredible health benefits of alternative health therapies, particularly the anti-aging supplements that can extend lifespan. Over 1/3 of all Americans are now using some form of alternative medicine, [...]