Migration, Money, & Mayhem: Unpacking 2023's Most Disturbing Statistics
As the calendar year flips its final page, a familiar ritual unfolds: the annual avalanche of statistics. Radio stations churn out their "Top 50 Songs of the Year," social media platforms unveil their "Most Popular Posts," and everyone from corner shops to global corporations huddle over spreadsheets, dissecting the data left behind by the past 365 days. These countdowns aren't just nostalgic exercises; they're invaluable tools for navigating the future. Statistics, especially the hard-nosed, objective kind found in financial reports, offer a clear-eyed picture of what worked, what flopped, and where adjustments need to be made. They're a roadmap to growth, both for individuals & corporations, pointing the way towards lasting prosperity. So, while year-end lists may be fun, it's the numbers that truly hold the key to unlocking a brighter future. You cannot manage what you cannot measure.
It is helpful to examine the statistics of the United States through the lens of a corporation. The United States is technically considered a corporation after all:
The U.S. Constitution is best understood not as a “social contract,” but as a popularly issued corporate charter. The earliest American colonies were literal corporations of the Crown and, like all corporations, were ruled by limited governments established by their charters. From this, Americans derived their understanding of what a constitution is—the written charter of a sovereign that ordains and limits a government. The key Federalist innovation was to substitute the People for the King as the chartering sovereign. This effectively transferred the “governance technology” of the corporation to the civil government—including the practice of delegating authority via a written charter, charter amendment, and judicial review. Federalists used these corporate practices to frame a government that united seeming irreconcilables—a government energetic yet limited, republican yet mixed, popular yet antipopulist—yielding a corporate solution to the problem of arbitrary rule. Leading founders considered this new government a literal chartered corporation of the People. - Cambridge
The 2023 Economy
The United States Economy as of December 25, 2023:
United States National Debt - $33.946 trillion (up 2.49 trillion since January)
Debt-to-GDP Ratio - 135.45%. (up 6% since 2022)
‘Official Inflation Rate’ Federal Reserve - 3.14% (down 3.31%)
Shadow Stats Inflation Rate - 7.9% (1990 calculation) to 12% (1980 calculation).
Unemployment Rate - 3.7% (Nov 2023), Unemployed People - 6.3 Million (relatively flat)
U.S. Treasury Yield Curve (2 yr. vs. 10 yr.) - inverted 17 consecutive months. Currently inverted 41 Bps. Inversion nearly always precedes recession within 18-24 months of initial inversion.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve - 352.54 Million Barrels (down 19.04 Million)
Brent Crude - $78.33 per barrel (down .72 cents)
WTI & Dubai Crude Futures - flip on December 13, 2023, from backwardation to contango after approximately one year indicating fuel price increases ahead. Current: $73.56 May 2024: $73.88. War/Safety dangers in Red Sea mean major re-routes & delays of oil shipments despite falling consumer demand.
Average 30-Yr Fixed Mortgage Rate (21 Dec) - 6.67% (up .19%)
5 Bank Failures (FDIC) - Silicon Valley, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, Heartland Tri-State Bank, Citizens Bank (November 2023)
Liquidity Problems - the ‘Bank Term Funding Program’ from it’s inception March 8, 2023 to $131,335 Millions of Dollars on December 20, 2023. Yikes!
Spending
United States Spending as of December 25, 2023 according to the Debt Clock:
Largest Budget Items:
Medicare/Medicaid - $1.49 Trillion
Social Security - $1.39 Trillion
Defense/War - $833.86 Billion
Interest on Debt(Net) - $702.57 Billion
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Eric Gay
Border Invasion
According to the United States Customs & Border Protection Agency:
Federal authorities reported a seven-day average of more than 9,600 migrant encounters along the US southern border in December, a Homeland Security official said last week. That number is among the highest amounts ever recorded. The seven-day average reported on November 28 was around 6,800 encounters.
Over 2.05 million encounters for the Fiscal Year 2023. To put this into context:
Not pictured states 48-50 respectively: Alaska, Vermont, & Wyoming. - World Population Review
Total Cost of Border Invasion 2023: “At the start of 2023, the net cost of illegal immigration for the United States – at the federal, state, and local levels – was at least $150.7 billion.” - FAIR
Total Cost of Border Wall - “A January 2018 Trump administration proposal for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection called for $18 billion (~$20.8 billion in 2022) in funding for the wall over the following ten years.”
United States Population
General Overview
What really stands out is the declining Fertility Rate at 1.66, increase in Median Age to 38.1 years, & decline in the country’s Share of World Population to 4.23%. - Worldometer
Leading Causes of Death
Heart Disease
Cancer
‘COVID 19’ (old data 2021)
Unintentional Injuries
Excess Deaths
Number of Excess Deaths (Weeks 1-37, 2023) - 155,763 (7.8%) down from 495,749 (17.53% in 2022). Covid deaths - 76,187 (related) - OECD
Total United States Excess Deaths 2022 + 2023 - 651, 512
Total United States Deaths in Vietnam War: 58,220 (National Archive Data)
While falling excess deaths offer a glimmer of hope after last year's surge, the sheer scale of this ongoing tragedy remains unnerving. With a six-figure death toll, almost three times that of a devastating 21-year war, the lack of front-page headlines feels deafening.
Obesity
The United States population has a health epidemic. Nearly half of the United States population is considered obese:
Nationally, 41.9 percent of adults have obesity. Black and Latino adults have the highest obesity rates at 49.9 percent and 45.6 percent respectively. People living in rural communities have higher rates of obesity than people living in urban and suburban areas.
Testosterone Levels
According to a 1999-2016 study published in the Urology Times Journal in 2020 -
After controlling for confounders—including year of study, age, race, BMI, comorbidity status, alcohol and smoking use, and level of physical activity—total testosterone was lower among men in the later (2011-2016) versus earlier (1999-2000) cycles (P < 0.001). Mean total testosterone decreased from 1999-2000 (605.39 ng/dL), 2003-2004 (567.44 ng/dL), 2011-2012 (424.96 ng/dL), 2013-2014 (431.76 ng/dL), and 2015-2016 (451.22 ng/dL; all P < .0001).
Elevated BMI was associated with reduced total testosterone levels (P < .0001), with the mean BMI increasing from 25.83 in 1999-2000, to 27.96 in 2015-2016 (P = 0.0006). Lokeshwar noted that even men with a normal BMI (18.5-24.9) had declining total testosterone levels (P < .05) during the same time frames.
The United States is/on the verge of entering several wars. Only 23% of military-age adults in the county are physically/mentally fit to serve in the armed forces. This is a recipe for disaster.
Photo Credit: Eddie Mulholland/Telegraph
Living with Parents
Empty nesters? Not so fast. It used to be a common practice that parents would kick the kid’s asses out highly encourage an independent life of their children as soon as they turned 18 years of age. Kids couldn’t wait to start their own journeys, free of their parent’s rules. Now…forget it.
About 50% of young adults are still living at home with their parents, a September 2023, Harris Poll for Bloomberg News revealed. Right now, about 23 million Americans ages 18 to 29 are living with family. That’s the highest number since the 1940s, following the great depression.
Cost of a 5-Front War
The United States is facing the potential for war on five fronts.
Russia/Ukraine - the U.S. has sent more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support since 2022.
China /Taiwan/Arms Race -
This is a strategy-driven budget — and one driven by the seriousness of our strategic competition with the People's Republic of China," Austin said during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "At $842 billion, it's a 3.2 percent increase over [the] fiscal year 2023 enacted ... and it is 13.4 percent higher than [the] fiscal year 22 enacted. - USDOD
Hamas via Israel - the U.S. normally sends approximately $3.8 billion/year to Israel, now another 14.3 billion is being requested by the Biden Administration to assist in the war effort.
Iran/Iraq/Yemen -
U.S. Providing Aid to Yemen Since 2015 - more than $444 million in February 2023, total to the humanitarian response in Yemen to over $5.4 billion since the conflict began. This does not include the cost of the U.S. being involved in kinetic war in Yemen.
Stateside - via any of above countries by Cyber warfare, Sleeper Cells, Migration EMP, Infrastructure Attacks
As of December 18, 2023, it appears the United States’ entire east coast is exposed with four Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) & five additional ships policing the eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Yemen, & the south & eastern Pacific.
The United States attempted to form a Red Sea safety escort coalition with 38 member Combined Maritime Forces but the trust level just isn’t there:
The proposed US naval coalition to protect commercial shipping against Houthi threats is called Operation Prosperity Guardian."The US has invited all 38 other members of what is known as the Combined Maritime Forces, or CMF, a US-led maritime security coalition in the Middle East, to join it.
So far, only nine countries have publicly said they will join the US: Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the Seychelles and the UK.
But almost immediately, questions were raised. The Spanish government denied it had joined, the French were worried their participation might distract from other operations and the Italians said their ship would remain under Italian command.
Spreading ‘democracy’ is a costly business.
Overall 2023 Analysis
2023 resonated with statistics, each number painting a poignant picture of the nation's state. From the tremors of bank failures & inflation's bite to the shifting demographics & the invisible toll of war on multiple fronts, the US faces a complex web of challenges. Yet, it's precisely by delving into these statistics, dissecting their trends & nuances, that we can truly grasp the financial & social threats America faces, & pave the way for a more resilient future.
On an initial glimpse, it may seem like the majority of the aforementioned issues are beyond any one individual’s control. Here is where I challenge my fellow Warriors to take personal responsibility for what they can control such as:
Hedge Against Inflation - stock-up on non-perishable food, hygiene, medical, mechanical equipment now before war breaks out & the supply lines are cut.
Take Charge of Your Health - you don’t have to fall victim to heart disease, cancer, obesity, &/or other disease. Workout every day (make time for it), eat minimally-processed foods, build up your natural immunity via vitamins & sunshine, & reduce your dependence on vices such as cigarettes/vaping, alcohol, medications.
Order Your Finances - be prepared for the stock market to collapse. Do not have in the bank or in a brokerage account more than you can afford to lose. Keep a minimal amount of money in the bank to cover your monthly expenses. Be prepared for bank shut-downs, runs, & cyber attacks by having at least one month’s worth of expenses in cash. Have barter-able fiat currency alternatives such as gold, silver, & bitcoin in your possession (or relatively close).
Create a Survival Checklist - create checklist scenarios for emergencies such as massive power outages, natural disasters, nuclear detonation, fire, & intrusion. Create a family plan with steps to execute the checklist & practice the plan.
Feel free to check out my ideas list for recommended supplies & inspiration to help you prepare for what is to come in 2024 & beyond. I hope you learned some interesting & helpful things from my research.
Until next time my fellow Warriors, stay informed, stay vigilant, Ever Forward!