13-10-23 US: New Jersey under the Greater Depression

Atlantic City during better days

Occupy Tel Aviv, October 23 - a young guest from New Jersey, working class, in his 20s, has just arrived.  His description of conditions in his area is much worse than I imagined.  Media don't give any clue of how deep today's depression is. And the official statistics are too abstract.

It starts from the fact that straight from the airport he sought a place to sleep for free in a park, and got to the Occupy Tel Aviv camp. He is not the first of this type either...  Already a couple of years ago I saw three young Americans in Jerusalem pooling up money to buy a ice cream bar...  American tourists used to be seen and act as millionaires some years ago.  With the falling value of the dollar (regardless of futile and costly efforts of the Bank of Israel to reverse the trend), everything is too expensive for him.

He described communities devastated by foreclosures, unemployment, shut down businesses, high crime, deserted areas in major cities with signs saying "no police coverage".  Atlantic City with shut down major entertainment outlets, and a new casino, built at investment of billions, which is likely to be shut down.  

His personal life is best described as a migrant construction worker (welder).

And I don't believe the situation in the US has hit rock bottom yet either.. 

It did not have to be this way, robbing of the People continues at full blast...