jobs

#Illegals Dwarf American Households in #Welfare: “ #Obama Seeking $17K For Every Illegal Minor”

May 9, 2016 by mac slavo

Who exactly is the burdensome, broken and disturbingly unsensible welfare system being run for?

A new study found that both illegal and legal immigrants, who typically work low wage jobs, receive more in government assistance each year than struggling American families do.

via the Washington Examiner:

Illegal immigrant households receive an average of $5,692 in federal welfare benefits every year, far more than the average “native” American household, at $4,431…

The Center for Immigration Studies, in an analysis of federal cost figures, found that all immigrant-headed households — legal and illegal — receive an average of $6,241 in welfare, 41 percent more than native households. As with Americans receiving benefits such as food stamps and cash, much of the welfare to immigrants supplements their low wage jobs.

The total cost is over $103 billion in welfare benefits to households headed by immigrants.

Not only is this staggering cost a source of contention with American taxpayers, but it is something of a hidden boon for corporations who can get away with paying workers, many of whom are illegal, less money in wages because their livelihoods are being supplemented by welfare.

For traditional non-immigrant families, it is a double blow to an economy that has forced many native Americans on welfare as well while they watch good jobs slip away and an increasing number of desperate people from all backgrounds race to the bottom.

Though there are many employers benefiting from government largess, Walmart is the classic example of the company that pays its workers minimum wage, only to encourage them to apply for food stamps and other welfare benefits – which are largely then spent inside their own store walls.

But worse than the already over-sized dependence upon the federal government by new arrivals and undocumented immigrants, is that the pace set by the amnesty president who clearly wants to break the system Cloward-Piven style.

Obama is apparently calling for a huge increase in welfare benefits for minors, who according to the Washington Examiner, are often being used by their illegal immigrant parents for household income:

The new report follows another that found President Obama seeking $17,613 for every new illegal minor, more than Social Security retirees get.

While millions of average citizens are struggling and watching the American dream die in front of them, the government is doing all it can to break the back of the real economy, and hand off money from the dole to the very competing workforce that is undermining the effort of Americans just to make it and hold on to what they have.

Stay vigilant, the squeeze is on.

Why Is Obama Encouraging Illegal Immigration When We Can’t Take Care Of Millions Of Our Own Citizens?

This Is How Bad The Economy Really Is: “Walmart Customers Are Too Broke To Shop”

More Evidence: Slave Labor Not Cheap Enough; Walmart Has Ninth Straight Quarterly Decline in Sales

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

#McDonald’s Will Replace Jobs with #Kiosks: Ex-CEO Says $15 Wage “Will Trigger Massive Layoffs”

April 28, 2016 by mac slavo

The future of fast food service will involve much less human interaction.

Instead, humans will line up like rats to pellet dispenser, and computer screens will take orders, as the classic menial, entry-level job will gradually disappear along with many other jobs in the workforce.

Former McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi, who headed the company during the 90s, blasted the push for a $15 minimum wage, which he argued, food companies won’t pay – they just won’t pay it.

And jobs will suffer because of it.

The company will admitted choose to cut jobs altogether, and phase in automated kiosks, rather than pay more in minimum wage. (Perhaps that was their plan all along, and the $15/hour minimum wage controversy is the perfect excuse to put it into action.)

via the Daily Mail:

A Former McDonald’s CEO has predicted that raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour will cost people entry-level jobs.

In a column he wrote for Forbes, Ed Rensi says… “it will mean wiping out thousands of entry-level opportunities for people without many other options.’

[…]

Labor organizers have been demanding an increase in wages… Rather than raise prices, McDonalds is more likely to replace people with self-service computer kiosks so they do not have to pay the high wage. […] Over a million American youths may otherwise be out of a job.

[…]

‘You’ll see their legacy every time you visit the Golden Arches, where “would you like fries with that” is a button on a computer screen rather than a phrase spoken by an employee in their first job,’ he wrote.

Admittedly, McDonald’s has already cut thousands of jobs in Europe, where it put in more than 7,000 kiosks to take orders rather than pay wages.

And you can bet that there is much more of that sort of thing coming.

From the company perspective, it is obviously a matter of the bottom line. For society, it is an unfortunate perfect storm as automation alone is poised to destroy millions and millions of jobs.

The future just doesn’t need many burger-flippers and order takers – the computers do it much more efficiently and accurately, after all.

Could they cut money elsewhere – like from the salaries and bonuses of overpaid CEOs? Of course.

But that’s not the point, and it won’t make the difference. These companies simply don’t care… and the economics are against anyone caring ever again.

It is harsh, but true. Please brace yourself as best as you can for this looming change in our society.

As Zero Hedge reported, McDonald’s has already been rolling out test kiosks in Chicago, and as the above article noted, in Europe as well:

According to Brand Eating, fast food king McDonald’s has been spotted testing a self-serve McCafe coffee station/kiosk out in downtown Chicago. The station is located in the restaurant but apart from the counter and looks to be a theoretically more convenient way for those who just want a cup of coffee to skip the regular line (while also freeing employees from having to make each drink in the back)

In essence, this is the company’s latest venture to make employees responsible for one less task as corporate HQ slowly but surely responds to minimum wage hikes sweeping all states, and in the process, outsource its minimum wage workers to simple machines which will never unionize or have any demands aside from being cleaned occasionally.

That site, of the self-serving kiosk, is already familiar at many grocery stores and Wal-Marts, and will become a mainstay of the shopping experience in all sectors, along with driver-less cars, and somewhere, unrecognized by the media, an endless line of former middle class and working people desperate on food stamps and benefits.

It is all happening so fast… before we know it, it will have happened.

Where will everyone go? What will they do?

The Age of Machines and Unemployment: “Robots Could Steal 80 Million US Jobs”

This is a Tipping Point: Robots “Cheaper Than Any Human Worker” Means the End of Jobs

Hey Boss, The Robots Are Coming For Your Job Too: “Easier to Automate First”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Already Under Crushing #Debt, #Arizona College Forces Students to “Fund #Illegal Immigrants”

April 8, 2016 by mac slavo

Will students at colleges across the country soon be forced to pay for the higher education of illegal immigrants, even as most will already have to struggle for years to repay expensive and burdensome student loans?

That’s what is happening at Prescott College, a private institution in Arizona, and it could become the trend everywhere.

Unbelievably, as good jobs become more and more scarce, the next generation will be forced to support foreign workers who will also serve as competitors in the market place.

via Campus Reform:

Prescott College in Arizona has decided to charge students a $30 annual fee to finance a scholarship fund for illegal immigrant students.

The fee was originally proposed by students and faculty from the Social Justice and Human Rights program, according to Fox News, and will automatically be added to each student’s $28,000 tuition bill starting next semester unless they take advantage of an opt-out provision.

[…]

Prescott College is a private institution, and does not receive either state or federal funding, but some experts warn that the school may yet face pushback over the new fee and scholarship, even as it seeks to bolster the fund through private donations.

College campuses have become sanctuary grounds for many undocumented immigrants seeking a better life, and liberal academics and students have often been willing to back their interests.

But for the average student legally born in this country and attempting to build a better life, it is a slap in the face from both sides – as mandatory contributions for scholarships to illegals pile onto the extreme levels of debt that education imposes, all while the competition for decent employment becomes stiffer.

“It is beyond absurd that this college is going to force all the students to subsidize the education of a student who is in the country illegally,” added Jessica Vaughn, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies. “It’s a shame these students and faculty don’t have the same drive to help some of their fellow citizens who can’t afford college and who are forced to compete with illegal workers for job opportunities.”

“At a time when student loan debt is over $1 trillion it is irresponsible for Prescott College to offer this privilege at the expense of other students,” Andrew Kloster, a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Legal & Judicial Studies, told Fox News. “While the dollar amount seems small per student, the fee does send a message to potential donors to Prescott College that the administration is less concerned with sound financial management than it is with making a political statement.”

Like President Obama, these colleges have put a premium on a protected minority group at the expense of ordinary Americans who have seen their living standards decline significantly with economic decline and globalization.

At what point does the plight of the American aspirant become as a important as a “special” group that has been favored by politically motivated interests on campus, and what does that mean for the quality of “education” at such an institution?

Why Is Obama Encouraging Illegal Immigration When We Can’t Take Care Of Millions Of Our Own Citizens?

Owned: How Student Loan Debt Is “Producing a Perpetual Serf Class”

Immigration End Game Revealed: New Law Would Give Illegal Immigrants The Right To Vote, Collect Government Benefits

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

The Bubble Will Burst, But #Fed Is Waiting For Politics “With #Trump Lurking Around”

March 24, 2016 by mac slavo

It’s no conspiracy. The music will soon stop and the economy will take a big hit when the bubble bursts – even the timing has been chosen.

The Fed has been pumping easy money and buying time with future pain for years now, but the worm is turning. Only, the turn is taking a pause so as to avoid helping – yes – Donald Trump and his bid for the presidency.

SHTF just reported on the startling revelation that not only has quantative easing changed the financial landscape in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, but it has been directly responsible for a full 93% of market action since that time.

The Federal Reserve is a leviathan if there ever was one. Even its whispers float boats and sink ships. Easy credit has gone so far beyond the logical extremes, and the proverbial roadrunner has pointed out that we are all hanging out over a cliff.

Contracting the money supply (by raising interest rates) is the snap reaction, but it will hurt. So they are prolonging the pain in order to shift the blame and distract everyone from the real problem as much as possible.

Like everything else, it is now somehow Donald Trump’s fault. This time, because the Fed is a in a position where it supposedly “can’t” raise markets and stabilize the economy.

Via the New York Post:

Like it or not, the Federal Reserve will play a big role in this year’s presidential election.

The Fed last week pulled back on its economic outlook for 2016 and beyond. […]

The upcoming election and, especially, the surprising strength of Donald Trump also make it almost impossible for the Fed to boost rates. If Trump gets elected, the Fed will almost immediately be hit by audits that will reveal lots of secret, sinister things.

So Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her fellow central bankers can’t do anything — like raise the cost of money — that might slow the economy down and give Trump a better shot at winning the presidency.

[…]

But then the Fed gets boxed in by politics, especially because of Trump. Even though it eased policy in a controversial move right before the re-election of President Obama, the Fed will probably use the November election as an excuse to freeze policy until after the vote. It doesn’t want the economy to weaken or, worse, the stock market to tank.

Wow.

Sounds like the Fed, which so often claims not to be political, is admitting to the political weight of its station – which is, incidentally, private and quite powerful indeed over American life. The “politics” are over calls to make it accountable, a task which is apparently insurmountable and somehow detrimental to economic stability, itself a fragile ghost.

The Federal Reserve’s power over monetary policy and the power it derives from issuing currency to the nation at interest are at the heart of why former Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul has called for auditing and ultimately ending the Fed:

Allowing a secretive central bank to control monetary policy has resulting in an ever-expanding government, growing income inequality, a series of ever-worsening economic crises, and a steady erosion of the dollar’s purchasing power. Unless this system is changed, America, and the world, will soon experience a major economic crisis. It is time to finally audit, then end, the Fed.

Donald Trump, who has proven to be a lightning rod on all issues, has pointed out that Janet Yellen is likely holding off on raising rate because it is clear from basic policy dynamics that the massive recession that has built up like a puss-filled sore would burst, and in turn, Obama’s Administration would appear culpable for the decline.

Instead, Trump has charged, the Fed is putting that off in order to avoid giving his candidacy a boost – nevertheless, the recession is probably inevitable, and a clear result of Federal Reserve monetary policy.

Yellen is “keeping the economy going, barely,” Trump told The Hill. “The reason they’re keeping the interest rate down is Obama doesn’t want to have a recession-slash-depression during his administration.”

He added: “Janet Yellen is highly political and she’s not raising rates for a very specific reason: because Obama told her not to because he wants to be out playing golf in a year from now and he wants to be doing other things and he doesn’t want to see a big bubble burst during his administration.”

They’ve got everyone at gun point, but the gun is concealed, and they won’t let anyone looking in their pockets or question their moves.

‘Don’t anybody get political around here, or the economy gets it…’

The problem with gun control is that criminals don’t follow the laws, and the rest of the economy is totally disarmed and unable to do anything about the hostile actions of the nation’s central bank, save the few who have a bit of gold or silver to turn to. This is economic autocracy in action.

Ron Paul: Unless the Fed is Stopped, America Will “Soon Experience Major Economic Crisis”

“Fed Risks Triggering Panic and Turmoil”: World Bank Warns Against Raising Rates

Federal Reserve Insider Alan Greenspan Warns: There Will Be a “Significant Market Event… Something Big Is Going To Happen”

Proof It Is Rigged: “Fed Moved 93% of Entire Stock Market Since 2008″

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

#Trump Video From 25 Years Ago Will Shock You: “I’m Tired of Seeing This Country Ripped Off”

March 18, 2016 by mac slavo

The Donald has completely taken over the news cycle.

His path of victory after victory in GOP primary states has the establishment freaking out, and every major media outlet scrambling for a way to stop Trump, or at least to damage his reputation.

But why is he being compared to Hitler and inducing aneurysms among the political elite?

Obviously it isn’t the name-calling or fiery rhetoric that has the system’s minions losing sleep and openly-plotting his demise.

No. It is for one basic reason: his rhetoric and campaign promises have centered around restoring American sovereignty.

Economically, he has talked about undoing globalism and free trade, bringing back good American jobs, protecting the border (and yes, building the 10+ foot high wall) and saying no to a culture of exploiting illegal immigrant workers at the expense of American employment.

Never mind if he can keep any of those promises, because just hyping them up has been enough to cause mass panic and hysteria in the corporate halls of Washington, Wall Street and the lapdog media.

But what might surprise you, even shock you, is that he has been talking this way for decades.

Just listen to what he told Oprah and her audience more than 25 years ago (circa 1987):

“I’d make our allies pay their fair share” “I’m tired of seeing what’s happening with this country.” “I’m tired of seeing this country ripped off.”

And there’s much more than that. The Daily Caller rounded up several examples of his consistent appeals for a “strong negotiator” on trade and foreign affairs.

Promising to balance trade and fight for American workers is NOT what the prevailing elite – who are losing control of the political establishment – want to happen.

Their plan, as voiced at exclusive think tanks and confabs like Davos, Bilderberg, the Council on Foreign Relations and many others, has been to level the prosperous American middle class and force workers in the United States to whittle their way down to complete serfdom – and absolute dependence upon government handouts and a meager place in the grand pecking order of world domination.

Trump won’t be a savior, but things now are looking like they might bump him off just for even reminding the American people of how far things have fallen and little anyone else on the political stage has done to stop the free fall of the American Dream.

To the contrary, most of the political tools on stage have been only too willing to play a hand in the destruction of this once strong and vibrant country in exchange for favors and kickbacks.

2016 is about one thing: how fed up and angry people are at the system which has operated on behalf of the interests of a handful of insiders and the expense of everyone else.

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Self-Driving Cars Programmed to Sacrifice As They Hit the Road: “Someone Is Going to Die”

March 16, 2016 by mac slavo

Self-driving cars are poised to take over U.S. roads and destroy American jobs… and they will also kill people, even if by accident.

Right now, they’re makers are in the process of convincing Congress that they can handle their own regulations – even as they continue working out the kinks.

The U.S. Senate subcommittee for Commerce, Science and Transportation heared testimony from Duke University roboticist Missy Cummings, who admitted that fatalities and accidents are inevitable as self-driving cars attempt to integrate with a busy and complex society.

The London Guardian reports:

The robot car revolution hit a speed bump on Tuesday as senators and tech experts sounded stern warnings about the potentially fatal risks of self-driving cars.“There is no question that someone is going to die in this technology,” said Duke University roboticist Missy Cummings in testimony before the US Senate committee on commerce, science and transportation. “The question is when and what can we do to minimize that.”

Automotive executives and lawmakers sniped at each other over whether universal standards were necessary for self-driving cars….

Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, who have cosponsored legislation that proposes minimum testing standards for automated drivers… “The credibility of this technology is exceedingly fragile if people can’t trust standards – not necessarily for you, but for all the other actors that may come into this space at this point.”

These “standards” reflect the programming that will make sometimes fatal choices in the mix of situations that may involve innocent by-standers and no-win situations.

In these cases, is there a “moral” gradient that computers and people can see eye-to-eye on?

If the self-driving car is designed to avoid children at all costs, does that mean it could be programmed to kill (or sacrifice) you if/when you are caught inside of a car headed for disaster, or on the opposite side of the road as the child? There are no clear answers.

The standards are already becoming morally complex. Google X’s Chris Urmson, the company’s director of self-driving cars, said the company was trying to work through some difficult problems. Where to turn – toward the child playing in the road or over the side of the overpass?

Google has come up with its own Laws of Robotics for cars: “We try to say, ‘Let’s try hardest to avoid vulnerable road users, and beyond that try hardest to avoid other vehicles, and then beyond that try to avoid things that that don’t move in the world,’ and then to be transparent with the user that that’s the way it works,” Urmson said.

But the “morality” of the decision-making structure of the computer’s processes, and the inevitability of chaos for at least some individuals is only part of the story.

Autonomous vehicles will, ironically, also be quite vulnerable to hacking – as Internet-connected devices in the car can be manipulated and used to takeover the commands and data of really any of the newer “smart” cars on the road. The problem will be even bigger as self-driving cars become a bigger part of our life.

“We know that many of the sensors on self-driving cars are not reliable in good weather, in urban canyons, or places where the map databases are out of date,” said Cummings. “We know gesture recognition is a serious problem, especially in real world settings. We know humans will get in the back seat while they think their cars are on ‘autopilot’. We know people will try to hack into these systems.”

“[W]e know that people, including bicyclists, pedestrians and other drivers, could and will attempt to game self-driving cars, in effect trying to elicit or prevent various behaviors in attempts to get ahead of the cars or simply to have fun,” she said.

Back in 2013, a couple of white hat hackers demonstrated how vulnerable a number of newer cars are to hacking. The possibilities are down right frightening – everything from the stereo and windshield wipers to the brakes can be hacked and remotely controlled – or shut off when you need them most. Just imagine what is possible in 2016.

What happens when these self-driving cars of the future disagree with the human passenger about the priorities, or what is allowed in a critical situation – like escaping a car jacking assault or avoiding a cop in pursuit?

It isn’t hard to see how trusting technology on the roads is going to complicate the future, and restrict our human ability to make decisions about important factors on the road. Let’s just hope somebody programs these intelligent machines with some common sense.

“Government Wants to Control Your Car” and Prevent You From Tinkering Under the Hood

How Smart Devices Could Take Out Power Grid: Hack “Air Conditioners, Turn On/Off Repeatedly”

Cyber Attack May Be To Blame For Deadly Amtrak Crash ‘Throttling Speed’

Infrastructure Cyber Attack: “We Don’t Know How Many Utilities Are Compromised”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Here’s the Robot That Is Going to Take Your Job

February 24, 2016 by jake anderson

Jake Anderson
February 24, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Recently, the Anti-Media reported on new economic forecasts that predict robots and machine automation could replace 50 percent of the American workforce within two decades. Specifically, at least one major bank, Forbes, and legions of economists expect America to lose somewhere around 80 million jobs as artificial intelligence and advanced robotics make it financially lucrative for corporations to outsource labor to technology.

It seems that Google-owned Boston Dynamics may now be able to put a face to the future automated fleecing of America. This week the company fed the Terminator-inspired nightmares of people all over the world by releasing a video of Atlas, its new humanoid robot, which is seen completing menial factory tasks and traversing landscapes with ease.

[Read more…]

From theantimedia.org Team

This Is The Collapse: Discount Grocery Store Serving Poor Cleaned Out: “Bargain-Hungry Shoppers Emptied the Shelves”

February 19, 2016 by contributing author

This article was written by Michaela Whitton and originally published at The Anti-Media.org.

Editor’s Comment: This story isn’t quite what you might think at first if you just scanned over it, but it still demonstrates an alarming trend: namely, just how desperate so many have become.

Basically, it amounts to riot-prone and often struggling people fighting over bargain-basement junk food after it was put on sale. But what does this level of reaction say about society and the level of economic crisis the world has reached? Basically, that almost anything can make things come unhinged.

If people are reacting this strongly over undercutting food prices, it suggests how much food insecurity exists, and how difficult it has become for most to pay the bills. Food banks have been overwhelmed nearly everywhere. In fact, this grocery chain found the problem to be big enough to create this cheap food marketing niche – which will now need to rethink its business strategy. What happens when the food isn’t just cheap, but unavailable? Multiplied against the whole environment of economic stress, there is every reason to think things are practically just falling apart.

Grocery Store Forced to Review Trading Rules After Shelves Go Empty

by Michaela Whitton

London’s new EasyFoodstore has been forced to review its trading rules after it had to close temporarily when bargain-hungry shoppers emptied the shelves. The mega-discount food store is the latest venture of EasyJet entrepreneur, Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

The millionaire businessman was inspired by the idea after seeing the widespread use of food banks in Britain. “This is another way the Easy brand can serve the less well-off,” the budget airline owner said.

Easy on the wallet

With a weekly shop for a family of four costing just £15.75, it’s no surprise the store rapidly became a victim of its own success. After a promotional offer charging just 25p for everyday food items generated so much publicity, hundreds of bargain-hunters cleared the shelves and the store had no choice but to close until it was able to re-stock.

The recently opened food shop in Park Royal, north-west London, carries a basic range of 76 cheap and cheerful items including pizza, tea, coffee and tinned goods. It has been quickly forced to bring in a 10 item purchasing limit to deter its competition from stockpiling products.

In her brilliant opinion piece for the Guardian, Joanna Blythman says the EasyFoodstore is in a different league from the “no frills” food shopping that she claims is now such a familiar feature of the British retail scene. She adds that poverty is a money problem, not a food problem, and won’t be cured by artificially “cheap,” nutritionally impoverished, lowest-common-denominator food.

“Surely no society on earth can ultimately afford food this cheap? If we factor in the hidden costs to society, from grave public health issues to climate change, it most certainly doesn’t constitute a bargain,” she said.

The predictions are that EasyFoodstore products are to rise from 25p to 50p after February. However, with Foodbank use in austerity Britain at record levels, is it any wonder that rationing is required?

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com