In the last two years there has been a lot of talk about the fiscal cliff, the debt ceiling, the bank bailouts and how the economy continues to recover and has now turned the corner. If it were a bank, there is no need to declare bankruptcy. The government will rescue you and you will come back bigger and stronger than ever. The problem is that the average United States is nowhere near being its own financial institution and is not on the receiving end of any government bailouts. Recently, the number of Americans filing for bankruptcy has decreased and the media uses this as a platform to show that the economy has turned around. There is only one mistake with that theory, the US GDP for the last quarter was negative. 1%. To me, this sounds like things are getting worse and not better. In 2012 alone, the US trade deficit is expected to be between $500 billion and $600 billion. Companies are leaving the country en masse, and if they don’t leave, they declare bankruptcy and close their doors.

We have now entered the twilight zone, as nearly one in six Americans receives food stamps. Consumer confidence is now at record lows and recently touched the lowest level in more than a year. The government keeps talking about all the jobs created, but in the last week of January first-time jobless claims totaled 368,000. Some economists predict that this number will exceed 400,000 in the near future, showing stress fractures in the economy. While people are still trying to avoid filing for bankruptcy at all costs, the federal government imposed a payroll tax increase on all working Americans, costing the average worker $100 per month. Since the last election, companies continually announce future layoffs, making the American worker more pessimistic than ever. A Gallup poll recently showed that 65% of all Americans believe 2013 will be a year of economic hardship and 50% think America’s best days are behind it. Just because the media says it over and over again doesn’t mean it’s true.

Americans’ debt ratios continue to rise as banks continue to lend to people, but they can’t really afford it. In essence, they are creating a payday loan effect where people borrow on future income to pay bills in the past. At some point with all the interest in fees, the loan sharks will get everything and people will have nothing to survive on. The only option for these people is to file for bankruptcy to stop these creditors. When the big banks failed a few years ago, the government stepped in to help their friends at our expense. Many of them are in trouble again and the government is once again allowing the Fed to turn on the printing presses to help their friends through quantitative easing. While most people don’t understand the impact this monetary policy will have on Main Street. Like the Weimar Republic and Zimbabwe, in a matter of time the US will begin to feel the effects of hyperinflation’s quantitative easing. Money will become so diluted that prices across the country will skyrocket and the only option for hard-pressed Americans will be to file for bankruptcy. If wages don’t follow suit, many people will lose their homes to foreclosure just so they can put food on their table. One thing is for sure: the people should not count on the government for anything.