Russia's Putin praises 

Crimea's 

'return home' in New Year address

Reuters 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a video conference with members of Russian Geographical Society expedition to the Southern Pole in Moscow .

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised New Year's address on Wednesday that the "return home" of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula to Moscow's control would forever remain an important chapter in Russia's history.

You see, Putin does not 

TAKE Crimea; 

he welcomes them into the motherland after 

they vote to be annexed.

Putin is facing the biggest challenge of his 15-year rule as the Russian economy is sliding sharply into recession, hurt by Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and falling prices for oil, Russia's chief export.

The West (Obama) 

thinks the sanctions have hurt Russia; 

it is a joke. 

Russia has everything it needs 

to stand alone even if 

the rest of the world does not like it.

His comments are likely to strike a chord in a country where many people have always viewed Crimea as part of their homeland because of centuries of shared history and the region's mainly ethnic Russian population.

They DO have a "shared history", and 

thus should be a part of Russia again.

"Love for one's motherland is one of the most powerful and uplifting feelings. It manifested itself in full in the brotherly support to the people of Crimea and Sevastopol, when they resolutely decided to return home," Putin said. "This event will remain a very important epoch in domestic history forever."

Crimea should never have 

been divorced from Russia, 

but since they have 

it is now time to restore this wrong.

Russia annexed Crimea in March following the ouster of a Russian-backed Ukrainian president in Kiev, triggering the deepest crisis in East-West relations since the end of the Cold War and prompting several waves of Western economic sanctions.

Ukraine and the West view the annexation as illegitimate.

The West (Obama) is truly stupid!

Putin's popularity has surged at home thanks to his tough stance on the Ukraine crisis, but a deepening economic crisis threatens to undermine the stability and prosperity on which his approval ratings partly rest.

When has the US 

EVER 

voted for more than 55% for a given President. Putin's popularity is about 90%!

Next year, the Russian economy is projected to fall by around 4.5 percent if the average price of oil remains near $60 per barrel, according to the central bank.
I doubt this fall, as Russia is so big 
it can easily control its economy. 

Yes the lowered oil price 

is not good for Russia, 

but they will do very well anyway. 

Thank you very much.

"The (next) year will turn out the way we make it," Putin said. "We have to fulfill, implement everything we had planned for our own sake, for the sake of our children and the Motherland."

Putin has always looked out for his citizens; that is why his approval rating is so high; Obama needs to learn from this lesson, as 

he looks down on America 

with a desire to destroy us!

The New Year's address was broadcast to Russia's Far East regions many hours before Moscow, when it is typically shown just before midnight. In a separate and apparently conciliatory gesture, Putin sent New Year's greetings to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing Putin's press service.

Putin is a strong Christian leader who has enough integrity to send this greeting.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alexander Winning and 

St. George police warn of parking lot scam 

By Geoff Liesik and Stace Hall 
December 30th, 2014

ST. GEORGE — Police are issuing a warning to the public after receiving a number of complaints about "very pushy" people trying to sell car repair services in parking lots in the St. George area. 

<"very pushy">

With this situation you should 

just show them your gun. 

They will leave. 

If not shoot them 

before they get you.

"This isn't a common business practice," said St. George Police Sgt. Sam Despain. "A lot of time these people do provide a service, from car repair to home repair, (but) what we've found in the past is people don't get what they pay for." 

Isn't this the truth?

Bryan and Kassie Pitts say they were approached by a man and woman when they stopped to get some food at a restaurant in Washington City on Dec. 14. The man flagged the Pitts' down as they were driving out of the parking lot and then pulled up next to their pickup truck.

< The man flagged the Pitts' down> 

No way I am going to even stop for this guy. 

If he blocks my way he is dead! 

The woman sat silently with a scowl on her face while the man did all the talking, Kassie Pitts said Tuesday. 
"I didn't get a very good look at him, but (the woman) was on the passenger side where they rolled down the window," Pitts said, describing the encounter as "kind of creepy." 
The man made repeated offers to fix a dent in the side of the family's pickup truck, even though Bryan Pitts told him he didn't want the dent fixed. 

<repeated offers>

If this happened to me 

I'd tell him to leave NOW.

 If he did not 

I would take out my gun 

and shoot him dead!

"He kept pushing and pushing, (saying), 'Oh, we've got a great deal. I can do it right here and now,'" Bryan Pitts recalled. 
Ditto the above!

Something just seemed odd about the would-be repairman and his offer, Pitts said. "I was half and half," he said. "Maybe he was actually trying to get some work, but the other half was like, "No, this just doesn't feel right. Stay in the truck." The Pitts say they eventually convinced the couple to leave them alone after telling them a family member could fix the dent for free. 

Why should anyone 

have to convince someone 

to leave them alone. 

Simply show them your concealed weapon; 

they will leave!

"That finally got the hint across," Bryan Pitts said. Despain said the behavior described by Pitts and others in recent weeks has all the hallmarks of a scam. "We find that people are looking for a quick buck," he said, "and if they can scam people or deceive people, they will." Despain encouraged people to ask to see someone's business license if they are approached in a parking lot with a sales pitch. If necessary, police can verify a business license, too. 

<quick buck>

They can earn their quick buck 

from others, but NOT from me. 

Don't bother 

asking to see their business license; 

they will leave 

when you do the right thing.

"The police department is always willing to help and make sure that people are on the up and up," Despain said. "If there is a concern, we can look into that." 
It's never a good idea to follow someone to an undisclosed area under the pretense of "going to their shop" for repair work, the sergeant said, adding that exercising a little common sense can help people avoid scams. 

Boy this one takes the cake, 

and especially for women or after dark. 

What would these people be thinking? 

Right they are not thinking!

In case you just don't know about this, 

it is they way people 

end up buried in a 

shallow grave in the outback!

"If somebody provides services or promises to do something that sounds too good to be true, it usually is," he said.

BREAKING NEWS FROM IRAN

BREAKING NEWS FROM IRAN

Home  News  Nuclear  Obama’s concessions are ‘aiding Iran to build a nuclear bomb’, Senator warns
 Tuesday, 09 December 2014 

Barack Obama is aiding Iran's ambitions to build a nuclear bomb by making concessions to the regime in the ongoing nuclear negotiations, US Senator Dan Coats has warned.

Does this surprise anyone? 

It is no secrete that 

Obama is out to destroy America.

The president has 'no coherent regional strategy' when dealing with the world's largest state-sponsor of terrorism, Senator Coats said.

He has "no coherent strategy" 

to do anything. 

He is a dust devil flying with the wind.

 He wrote in the Northwest Indiana Times newspaper: "The Obama administration’s recent announcement that it has yet again extended negotiations with Iran over its illegal nuclear programs is confirmation of another foreign policy failure under this president.

Obama is the great appeaser that 

makes Neville Shoot look like a piker.

"The Obama administration is guided by no coherent regional strategy. Challenges to vital American interests in this region come directly from Iran, the world’s largest state-sponsor of terrorism.

Why not in Iran?

 Obama is supporting 

WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS  

The Black Muslim brotherhood 

all over the world!

"Not only is President Barack Obama ignoring the clear and present danger posed by these Iranian ambitions, he is abetting those ambitions by surrendering key positions first and then pursuing negotiations that confirm our weakness."

He has always 

"surrendered key positions" 

in his negotiations. 

A good example is 

when he went to Russia 

to get an aggreement with Putin

 to reduce nuclear weapons. 

Putin increased 

to 3,000 nuclear warheads. 

The US reduced to 600.

That is some negotiating!

The President had abandoned the UN position of eight years that Iran must halt its nuclear program, and made no progress on the core issue of preventing the regime from enriching uranium, he said.

How could the US prevent anything evil?

The idiot dictator and 

his hunchman, Kerry, are totally inept!

Senator Coats added: "When the UN Security Council passed its first resolution demanding that Iran cease enriching uranium, Iran had 800 centrifuges doing that illegal work. Today, after two years of direct negotiations on the issue, Iran has 19,000. 

Yes sir we are making great progress! 

Iran is laughing at Obama 

AND the US.

"It is difficult to see how these lengthy negotiations have made any real progress on the core issue. Any negotiated agreement that gives Iran the ability to retain so much enrichment capability is completely unacceptable and should be rejected by Congress.

Sure it is "unacceptable", Senator, but 

remember Obama makes laws as he goes 

WITHOUT ANY congressional approval.

"The administration has made it clear that it intends to circumvent congressional scrutiny of any deal because of widespread, bipartisan opposition. This would be a serious mistake.

Yes, of course, it is a mistake, but 

he does it anyway and 

you let him!

"This is the most significant national security issue of our age, and it is being mishandled to secure a 'legacy' for the Obama administration. It is important to reassert a vigorous congressional role before our country is burdened with a bad agreement that does little to prevent a nuclear Iran.

Obama does not want "national security. 

He is hell bent on destroying America!

"In the meantime, another extension of the misguided, mishandled negotiations means the Iranians can continue their dangerous nuclear activities, secure additional sanctions relief according to the terms of the interim agreement and buy more time to undermine the international sanctions regime. I am working with my Senate colleagues to break this dangerous cycle."

<<buy more time>>

you should be using your time for impeaching Obama 

and having him executed as a traitor!

Obama gives democracy the shaft

This is NOT new for our dictator.

By Jennifer Rubin December 23 

Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace writes: “U.S. assistance to advance democracy worldwide is in decline. Such spending has shrunk by 28 percent during Barack Obama’s presidency and is now less than $2 billion per year. The decline has been especially severe at the U.S. Agency for International Development, which traditionally funds the bulk of U.S. democracy assistance and established itself in the 1990s as the largest source of such aid worldwide. According to data provided by the agency, USAID spending to foster democracy, human rights and accountable governance abroad has fallen by 38 percent since 2009.” He argues that “it is a policy choice, reflecting both skepticism about the relative importance of democracy work by senior U.S. aid officials and, more generally, the muted emphasis on democracy-building by the Obama foreign policy team.”
Here for once I must side with Obama (Yikes). Why should we be sending aid to anyone when we are borrowing it?

That’s a gentle way of putting it. A less tactful but perhaps more accurate assessment is that this president prefers the ephemeral stability of autocrats to the messy business of democracy. President Obama has made his preferences perfectly clear: He chose engagement with Iran’s mullahs over the street protests in the Green Revolution. 

Our dictator-in-chief 

always sides with the 

Black Muslim Brotherhood, because 

he IS one!

    * He preferred Hugo Chávez’s stooge, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who attempted a constitutional coup, over the pro-Western middle class in alliance with the Catholic Church.

Of course, Chavez is Obama's lover. 

Have you seen the 

passionate kiss they engaged in?

    * Obama decided to ally himself with whoever clawed his way into and held (temporarily) power in Egypt — be it Hosni Mubarak, Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi or Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi (who took power in a coup, which the administration would not call a coup).    

Again I must remind you 

Obama always sides with the Brotherhood

 and their evil ways!

 * The Castro regime gets unconditional recognition, while Cuban dissidents get the back of the hand.    

It looks good that Obama 

can help his friend and lover, Castro. 

He doesn't care about 

any of his people in the US.

 * The blood-soaked Syrian regime remains in power because Obama had no confidence in the “farmers and dentists and folks who have never fought before.” Thank goodness he wasn't around in 1775; he surely would have put money on the British.   

Did you know that 

Obama has  been 

supporting the REBELS in Syria 

against the established government? 

Obama is a Muslim dictator so 

what do you expect?  

* The Obama-Hillary Clinton tag team opposed and delayed passage of the Magnitsky Act designed to punish Russian human rights abusers; now Obama refuses to provide defensive weapons to our democratic ally Ukraine to defend itself against Russian invaders.    

Here the writer is wrong. 

The Russians are NOT invaders!

Why should we 

send weapons to 

"our democratic ally, Ukraine?" 

We have NO business in the Ukraine.

They are mostly Russian;

they have the 

right to secede into Russia, if they wish.

* For six years, Obama has berated and tried to undermine the elected government of Israel, our closest ally in the Middle East. He is mute on the corruption and lack of functioning democracy in the Palestinian Authority.

Obama, among many other evil things,

 is a liar and fraud. 

He went to Israel 

and told Newtenya he would support him.  

Then on the same trip

 he went to Assad; 

he told him the same thing. 

All the time he is supporting the Syrain rebels!

    * Obama’s secretary of state wants a “special relationship” with the Communist regime of China. The Chinese political prisoners are not considered so special.

Why not? 

Obama is also a communist

 and wants to 

make America a communist dictatorship 

with himself as the dictator 

and controlled by George Soros.

Left-wing totalitarians, right-wing autocrats, secular thugs or Islamist mullahs — they all receive Obama’s indulgence, cooperation, assistance and restraint. Some of us recall the 1970's, when liberals deplored U.S. support for characters such as the Shah of Iran and Chile’s Augusto Pinochet  – who were at least pro-Western and anti-Communist. Now Obama’s genial approach toward tyrants and hands-off stance toward aggression would make the  1970's practitioners of realpolitik blush. But what is the excuse for preferring the rule of the jackboot in Syria, Russia, Iran, China, Cuba and other human-rights-free zones — even when these regimes threaten international order?
Sure Obama prefers the "jackboots" 
over right. 

Didn't Hitler do the same thing? 

Obama the dictator of America 

has done more 

harm and killing in 5 years 

than Hitler did in 10!

If you want to collect paper agreements for your presidential scrapbook, enjoy the superficial aura of stability and avoid conflicts that may make demands on the United States, you’d do precisely what Obama has done — including squeezing USAID and the Pentagon budgets. We should look next time for a president who sides with the oppressed, resists aggression, funds both the military and USAID’s soft-power activities and makes clear that if thugocracies want better relations with the United States. they must improve their behavior at home and internationally.

There may not be a "next time" 

unless we get rid of Obama 

and all his Czars. 

Obama is heading for a dictatorship and 

a dictator rules for life. 

May his be short!

It’s WAR On The Streets Of America

by Keith Jacobs in Survival & Preparedness 
beginning-of-the-end-snyder

The following article has been generously contributed by Michael Snyder, founder of The Economic Collapse Blog and author of The Beginning of the End.

Make no mistake – there is now a state of open warfare on the streets of America. Earlier this year it was being reported that the number of police officers killed on the job was up 40 percent in 2014, and that was before all of the civil unrest caused by the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. 

At this point, attacks on police officers are becoming a frequent occurrence all over the country, but no incident has stunned the nation as much as the “execution-style” murder of two NYPD officers on Saturday by a radical Islamic gunman identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley. Just prior to the attack, Brinsley posted a message on Instagram in which he declared that he was “putting wings on pigs today”. Many would like to dismiss this as an “isolated incident” and pretend that everything is just fine in America, but that is not the truth. 

The reality of the matter is that anti-police sentiment in this country is at an all-time high, and the level of anger and frustration in our increasingly radicalized urban communities has reached a boiling point. As economic conditions continue to deteriorate and police tactics become even more brutal in the years ahead, the kind of rioting, looting and senseless violence that we witnessed in Ferguson is going to become commonplace in major cities all over the United States.

Is history going to repeat itself?

Is history going to repeat itself?

I recently read the book, “7 Tipping Points that Saved the World,” by Christ Stewart and Ted Stewart. In it, the authors describe how radical Islam came within a hair’s breadth of taking over the world.

As I read that chapter and reflected upon my last two articles on ISIS proliferation and atrocities, I thought again: If we don’t get leadership in Washington that can deal with such matters, history will repeat itself, except radical Islam could possibly win this time.

As the Blaze explained, “In ‘The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World,’ Chris and Ted Stewart ask a question: How unusual is freedom in history? The answer may surprise some of you. The Stewarts estimate that fewer than 5 percent of all people have ever lived under conditions we in the Western World would consider free. The book explores a series of critical events, ‘obvious forks in the road leading to very different outcomes that resulted in this extraordinary period we live in.’” The Stewarts also discuss how fewer than 12 of the 193 countries around the world have a democratic government that has lasted for more than 50 years. And to what do those few countries – like the U.S. – owe the great privilege of freedom? The Stewarts say not merely our own efforts to fight for it but also the efforts of others through history. A few noteworthy examples include:

At small band of Greek soldiers and their naval officers in a life-or-death conflict with the Persians in 480 B.C. Our allies in Great Britain who refused to surrender to the crushing power of Hitler’s Third Reich.A handful of Frankish soldiers who opposed the conquering armies of Islam more than 13 centuries ago In my last two columns, I discussed how Obama’s foreign policy of appeasement has only emboldened our enemies, especially is the case with Islamic extremists.

No president is perfect. But compared to presidents like Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and even George W. Bush, Obama’s laissez-faire foreign policy plan – namely, ignore or negotiate with our enemies – is only causing their expansion and empowerment. They have spread like wildfire while he has coddled them and played the passive, retreating giant. And he is not the first in recent history to make this calamitous mistake.      

Prime Minister Arthur Neville Chamberlain (1937-1940) was also known for his appeasement foreign policy. Despite signing the Munich Agreement in 1938 and conceding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Germany, Adolf Hitler continued his blitzkrieg and invaded Poland. Rather than diverting war, Chamberlain exasperated its conditions and so had to work triple time to fight a stronger Germany in its first eight months of World War II. Only when Britain hit its tipping point, did it even declare war on Germany in September 1939.

President Jimmy Carter is another example of the failure of appeasement foreign policy. In reaction to the Vietnam War, Carter downgraded the role of U.S. military and sought a more peaceful path on the planet by downplaying the threat of our enemies, too.

Dr. Robert G. Kaufman, a professor of public policy at Pepperdine University, summarized Carter’s plight well. In his May 1977 speech at Notre Dame University, Carter dismissed what he called “our inordinate fear of communism.” As a result, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. The revolutionary government of Iran held 52 American hostages for 444-day hostage crisis, something that also bolstered the strength of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s Islamist, oppressive anti-American regime. Moreover, the refusal of U.S. military and economic aid to Granada strengthened their relationship with communist Cuba and heightened tensions with the U.S.

And not to be forgotten is President Carter’s then-director of the National Security Agency (1977-1981), Adm. Bobby Ray Inman. Inman’s communications were intercepted and uncovered that Libyan Dictator Moammar Gadhafi made a “loan” of $220,000 to President Jimmy Carter’s brother, Billy, as Libyan sway to gain influence inside the White House.

It took a tough president like Ronald Reagan to right the international wrongs of President Carter and regain America’s place in the world. As far as President Obama is concerned, professor Kaufman made this comparison: “The ineffectiveness of President Obama’s foreign policy resembles the record of President Jimmy Carter. … President Obama also has reprised Carter’s mistake of offering too little, too late.” Because of Obama’s foreign policy of appeasement, ISIS has seized Syria and Iraq – and is spreading around the world – Hamas and Hezbollah are greater enemies of Israel, Russia is invading the Ukraine, North Korea is more vigilant against the West, Egypt and Libya are in political and military disarray, etc.

Remember, early in Obama’s presidency when supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the so-called “Arab Spring” was the new U.S. path for world peace? Understanding the end outcome of Barack’s appeasement foreign policy is like looking into a historical crystal ball: Radical Islam has spread over the last seven years, the global community is more volatile than ever, and the U.S. is in a more unstable and vulnerable position and inching closer and closer to another world war. As the old adage goes: If we don’t learn from history, we are bound to repeat it.

The seven tipping points that the Stewarts discussed remind us that each of those who fought for freedom through the ages have – in some way or another – made it easier for us to grab the baton of liberty. But the fact is, each country must fight to preserve freedom; otherwise, it will unravel one thread at a time. Like a frog in a kettle, we won’t realize it’s over until it’s too late. That is exactly the boiling or tipping point the U.S. is at with radical Islam and other extremist powers in the world, and the only way out is through stronger leadership in Washington.

Professor Kaufman from Pepperdine University noted the only way out: “Count on worse to come until Americans elect a neo-Reaganite president who will renounce the Carteresque foreign policy of Barack Obama.” That reminds me of the 2012 video that my wife, Gena, and I made, in which I explained: “If we look to history, our great country and freedom are under attack. We’re at a tipping point and, quite possibly, our country as we know it may be lost forever if we don’t change the course in which our country is headed.”

I added, “Our great president, Ronald Reagan said, ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.’” Gena finished, “President Reagan went on to say that, ‘You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.’” Reagan’s words are truer today than ever, if we only heed them. I ask again: Is history going to repeat itself? Is it already?

Bicycle and falling deaths far exceed deaths from "mass shootings."

by AWR Hawkins 2 Oct 2014

Death statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coupled with crime statistics from the FBI show that bicycle and falling deaths far exceed deaths from "mass shootings." For example, on September 24 the FBI released a study showing there were 64 incidents of "mass killings" (mass shootings) for the years 2000 through 2013. The gunmen in these incidents took the lives of 418 people.

Breitbart News reported that The New York Times and AP jumped all over the study, producing headlines about how "mass shootings" are on the rise and crafting stories that revolved around the attacks at Sandy Hook Elementary and the Aurora movie theater. The 418 people who were killed over a 14-year period works out to an average of 29.8 persons a year. To be clear, no one wants to see even one life lost to tragedy, but the mainstream media's focus on "mass shootings" to the detriment of other news where hundreds or even thousands more lives were lost is telling.  For example, the CDC bicycle-related injury report for 2010 shows that almost twice as many people died on bicycles in that one year than were killed in "mass shootings" during the 14 years studied by the FBI. Thus, while there were 418 deaths in "mass shootings" from 2000 to 2013, there were 800 deaths by bicycle in 2010 alone. Moreover, there "were an estimated 515,000 emergency department visits" due to bicycle accidents.

And CDC death statistics for 2010 show there were 26,009 deaths from "falling" for that year alone. That's right--26,009 deaths in one year from falls from ladders, counters, roofs, mountains, etc. There were an average of 29.8 deaths a year for 14 years from "mass shootings."

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins   Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

5 Sure Signs the U.S. Economy is Finished

By MONEY MORNING STAFF REPORTS

With the S&P 500 at all-time highs and Americans getting ready to spend more than $600 billion on Christmas, what's not to love about the "New Economy?"

According to the vast majority of Americans... plenty.

In recent CNN exit polls, 78% of Americans said they are worried about the economy, with 69% saying economic conditions are not good. Meanwhile, a full 65% believes the country is on the "wrong track."

And the fact is, the gap between high- and low-income groups is the widest it has been in 100 years and the share of U.S. consumers who call themselves middle class has never been lower.

But those aren't the only signs the economy isn't all that it's cracked up be. In fact, there are five unmistakable signs the U.S. Economy is teetering on the brink. 

1. The homeownership rate continues to plummet.
According to the Census Bureau, the share of Americans who own their homes was 64.4% in the third quarter. That marked the lowest level of home ownership since the first quarter of 1995. Meanwhile, the share of first-time buyers was just 29% in September, compared to 40% historically... so much for the "American Dream."

2. Real wages have been falling for years.
Median inflation-adjusted income last year was $2,100 lower than in 2009 and $3,600 lower than in 2001. And according to recently released data from the Social Security Administration, 50% of all American workers made less than $28,031 a year, while a whopping 39% brought home less than $20,000.

3. The labor force participate rate has collapsed.
The percentage of people in the work force has dropped to 62.7%, matching the February 1978 lows. A remarkable 92.6 million people are not in the labor force.

4. The typical household is now worth 36% less.
According the Russell Sage Foundation, the inflation-adjusted net worth for the typical household was $87,992 in 2003. Ten years later, it was only $56,335, posting a 36% percent decline. It's little wonder 40% of Americans reported that their families were "just getting by" or struggling to do so.

5. The of money has fallen to an all-time low. velocity
In a healthy economy, consumers and businesses buy and sell things frequently and money changes hands very rapidly. But when an economy is sick, the rate at which money changes hands drops like a rock. Economists call this the "velocity of money," and it's fallen to lowest level ever recorded. With 76% of Americans now living paycheck to paycheck, and millions more dependent on government aid, it's easy to see why.

But the worst may be yet to come...A well-connected Washington, D.C. insider recently issued a major warning that could dramatically affect ALL U.S. citizens, but would hit everyday Americans particularly hard. His name is Jim Rickards and he's a financial market adviser to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the CIA, the NSA, and 14 other U.S. intelligence agencies. And with his knowledge about the inner workings of the government, the economy, and the U.S. banking system, he sees some big, major changes ahead for the United States. In fact, what he's predicting just might be the final nail in the coffin of the middle class.