"US debt is largely fictitious"

"US debt is largely fictitious"

The United States is in serious debt but the latest numbers show the US national debt has surpassed $14 trillion. From June, 2010 until the end of the year the US racked up another trillion dollars worth of debt. Economist Michael Hudson says the important thing to realize is the government doesn't borrow money it creates it, the whole issue of whether the US has a debt problem is largely fictitious.

Congress leaves unemployed Americans in the cold

Congress leaves unemployed Americans in the cold

Hundreds of thousands of Americans will see their federal unemployment benefits expire this week, and millions more by the end of the year, just in time for the holiday season. Economist Max Fraad Wolff says there is a lot of room to cut the deficit instead of these benefits, starting with military which spends more than half the world's defense budget

US Congress refuses to extend unemployment benefits

US Congress refuses to extend unemployment benefits


Extended unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Americans begin to run out Wednesday, cutting off a steady stream of income and guaranteeing a dismal holiday season for people already struggling with bills they cannot pay. Daniel Vision from the National Inflation Association says the United States economy will never recover as long as the government continues to distort the economy with economic programs like cash for clunkers.

Stimulus failed, austerity next for US?

Stimulus failed, austerity next for US?


As many Americans continue to struggle with the economy worsening, is the United States' economy headed towards austerity measures? President Obama told Americans that we need to make broad sacrifice in order to correct the long term fiscal course. Joe Weisenthal says the most likely scenario is some kind of long term sacrifice, such as reducing the cost of Social Security or Medicare.

Austerity coming to America

Austerity coming to America


The 2009 stimulus plan was supposed to get the US economy back on track, however almost one year after Congress passed the Recovery Act the US is still struggling to get its finances back on track. While Wall Street is back to normal, everyday Americans are seeing high numbers of unemployment and home foreclosures. As the stimulus fails, could the US see European style austerity measures?

Peter Schiff: "US in process of collapsing"

Peter Schiff: "US in process of collapsing"

As the US financial crisis continues, the G20 has started to take place in South Korea. Going into the meetings the US hopes to "rebalance" the world's economies. Can US treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner do anything substantial at the G20 meetings? Peter Schiff from Euro Pacific Capital says for the US to continue its failed policy and blame other countries for what is an American problem makes no sense.

Obama gets book to face, David gets his streaker

Obama gets book to face, David gets his streaker


US President Barack Obama was in Philadelphia this weekend to rally democrats ahead of November's midterm elections. He got a little more than he bargained for on his trip when a book was thrown at his head and a little later President Obama dealt with a streaker looking to earn a few extra bucks, a million to be exact! Alki David creator of battlecam.com and filmon.com said that he will live up to the bet he made and pay the man who streaked, he even did some streaking of his own today.

America's Crumbling Infrastructure

America's Crumbling Infrastructure


Across America, the list keeps growing of examples of America's infrastructure crumbling. From Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans to the recent pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA, it's becoming clear that the problem of aging infrastructure is not going away anytime soon.

The 3 Minute Download: Jake Diliberto, Max Fraad Wolff and Eric Montalvo

The 3 Minute Download: Jake Diliberto, Max Fraad Wolff and Eric Montalvo


Tonight on The 3 Minute Download, as the Afghanistan war continues to wage on, there has been a major question hanging over the campaign. How will the United States measure success in Afghanistan? Plus, it was exactly 2 years ago today that Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy when it could not find a buyer and the US Government would not bail out the company. So, what has changed to ensure that this will never happen again? US soldiers 'killed Afghan civilians for sport and collected fingers as trophies' according to a report that accuses twelve soldiers of participating in this act.

2 years of economic doom, is the future clearer?

2 years of economic doom, is the future clearer?


As the US marks the second anniversary of Lehman Brothers bankruptcy - the biggest in US history, the economic outlook continues to look grim. RT's Anastasia Churkina looks at what America has been through since the collapse and what could follow next.

US economic outlook 'clouded'

US economic outlook 'clouded'


was exactly 2 years ago today that Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy when it could not find a buyer and the US Government would not bail out the company. So, what has changed to ensure that this will never happen again? Unfortunately, the United States financial forecast is still cloudy two years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.