One of the best ways to determine where things are heading is to look back at how much has changed over the past 12 months. 2019 has been one of the most memorable years in our history, and it has certainly set the stage for the critical events of the decade to come. However, not everyone views this moment in our history the same way. For example, one “expert” that is being heavily quoted by the mainstream media is claiming that 2019 was the culmination of “the best decade in human history”. His main argument seems to be that since “the ecological footprint of human activity” appears to be shrinking, the world must be a better place than it was before as a result. And certainly there are many other voices out there that are boldly proclaiming that we have entered a golden new era of peace and prosperity and that the best is yet to come.
You can buy that argument if you want, but there are other voices that believe that everything that is wrong with our society is reaching a very dangerous crescendo. For those with that perspective, it appears that we are very close to a societal tipping point and that the years ahead are when we will finally pay the price for decades of exceedingly bad decisions.
So what do you think?
Will the 2020s be the best of times or the worst of times?
As you ponder that question, here are 50 numbers from 2019 that are almost too crazy to believe…
#1 According to a Gallup poll that was just released, Barack Obama and Donald Trump came in tied for “the most admired man in America” this year. They both got 18 percent in the survey, and no other man had more than 2 percent.
#2 At 10 percent, Michelle Obama topped the list in the Gallup poll for “the most admired woman in America” this year.
#3 Global stocks have increased in value by more than 25 trillion dollars over the past 10 years.
#4 In the United States, 84 percent of all stocks are owned by the wealthiest 10 percent of all Americans.
#5 The U.S. government is now more than 23 trillion dollars in debt.
#6 During the Obama and Trump administrations, we have added more than 12 trillion dollars to the national debt.
#7 Over the past 12 months alone, we have added another 1.1 trillion dollars to the national debt.
#8 Every single hour of every single day, we are stealing more than 100 million dollars from future generations of Americans.
#9 According to the IMF, total global debt has now reached the 188 trillion dollar mark.
#10 U.S. corporations are now close to 10 trillion dollars in debt.
#11 Total corporate debt has now reached 47 percent of U.S. GDP. That is the highest level in our history.
#12 Total U.S. household debt is about to cross the 14 trillion dollar mark.
#13 A study that was recently released found that 70 percent of all Americans are struggling financially right now.
#14 The average family in the United States cannot afford to buy a home in 71 percent of the country.
#15 58 million jobs in the United States pay less than $793 a week.
#16 According to the Social Security Administration, 50 percent of all Americans make less than $33,000 a year.
#17 63 percent of the jobs that have been created in the United States since 1990 have been low wage jobs.
#18 Roughly 40 million Americans struggle with food insecurity.
#19 70 percent of Americans “have cried about money”.
See: 177 Different Ways to Generate Extra Income
#20 A recent survey found that more than two-thirds of all U.S. households “are preparing for a possible recession”.
#21 According to the most recent government figures, 24.6 million Americans have used an illegal drug within the last 30 days.
#22 If you can believe it, 46 percent of all Americans have taken at least one legal pharmaceutical drug within the last 30 days. That is almost half the country.
#23 A New York woman named Alexa Kasdan recently went to see her doctor because she had a cold and a sore throat. Her insurance company was billed $25,865.24 for the visit.
#24 Americans spend more than 140 billion dollars a year treating cancer.
#25 If you are an American woman, there is a 1 in 3 chance that you will get cancer at some point in your life.
#26 If you are an American man, there is a 1 in 2 chance that you will get cancer at some point in your life.
#27 Over the past decade, the suicide rate among young Americans has risen by 56 percent.
#28 The suicide rate for the overall population increased by 41 percent between 1999 and 2016.
#29 One survey has discovered that 15-year-old students in China are almost four full grade levels ahead of 15-year-old students in the United States in mathematics.
#30 A different survey discovered that one-third of all American teenagers haven’t read a single book in the past year.
#31 According to a recent survey of 2,000 adults, a whopping 88 percent of all Americans believe that the holiday season is the most stressful time of the year.
#32 48 million Americans still have holiday debt from last year.
#33 23 percent of all U.S. children live with a single parent. That is the highest rate in the entire world by a wide margin.
#34 Today, approximately 40 percent of all babies in America are born to unmarried women.
#35 The U.S. fertility rate has fallen 15 percent since 2007 and is now at the lowest level ever recorded.
#36 One very alarming survey found that the average American spends 86 hours a month on a cellphone.
#37 The average person will watch more than 78,000 hours of television programming over the course of a lifetime.
#38 Today, almost half of all homeless people in the entire nation live in the state of California.
#39 Over half of all California voters have considered leaving the state.
#40 According to an American Bar Association survey, only 38 percent of all Americans know that the U.S. Constitution is the highest law in the land.
#41 58 percent of American adults under the age of 35 agree that some version of socialism “would be good for the country”.
#42 Almost one-third of all U.S. Millennials are still living with their parents.
#43 According to the Pew Research Center, only 65 percent of Americans now consider themselves to be Christians. That is the lowest level ever recorded.
#44 The bird population of North America has declined by 3 billion since 1970.
#45 Scientists are telling us that at the current rate of extinction, nearly all insects could be gone “in 100 years”.
#46 African Swine Fever has already killed one out of every four pigs in the world, and many experts believe this crisis is still in the very early stages.
#47 Within the last 365 days, there have been approximately 37,000 earthquakes of at least magnitude 1.5 in the United States.
#48 The upcoming election is a “significant source of stress” for 56 percent of U.S. adults.
#49 A survey that was conducted a couple of months ago found that 67 percent of all Americans believe that we are “on the edge of civil war”.
#50 The final full moon of this decade was on 12/12 at precisely 12:12 AM eastern time. And it turns out that it was also exactly 6,666 days from 9/11.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
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