Hopeless, Not Serious
- The US birth rate in the last two years is the lowest since the 1920s and will soon lead to redundancies in elementary and then middle schools;
- One out of 6.5 Americans is now on food stamps;
- The number of 25- to 30-year-olds living with their parents is at 36%, an all-time high;
- Federal debt is currently 100% of GDP, and the US government is $60 trillion in the hole on unfunded liabilities – the only way to feel good about this is to look at Europe, which is worse off at $70 trillion;
- Unemployment is not getting better, capital spending is not getting better, and we're seeing a significant decline in US imports and exports, as well as the average American's standard of living;
- Current Fed policy is making things worse, Hunt said. Corporate profits are down, capital spending and investment is down, and we're seeing "a significant decline in both US exports and imports." Median household income has dropped 3% and is now equal to that in 1995, and the personal savings rate is the lowest since 1929.
- New-home sales have fallen since 2008;
- 20-22% of Americans are underwater with their mortgage, but Miller believes that the real number of "zombie homeowners" who can't sell or move may be around 40-45%;
- Car and truck sales are trending up – a bad omen, said Miller, because "no one goes out and buys both a house and a new car."
- The dog changes its respiratory pattern;
- The dog changes its posture.