Here we all are now, in the winter of our discontent in the winter of 2010, and just ahead of all of us is the year of 2010.As many of you know, just ahead is the Cardinal Crisis transits of July and August, then a long, active, emotional fall season that leads into another winter, then, the new astrological year of March 2011, which officially opens, in my view, this new decade.
The inclinations of global transits has shown me that the world economic crisis is far from over, and that the effects will be long-lasting in the lives of billions of people who have had their destinies altered by others who do not ask before they decide the fate of the populations of many nations.
From the looks of what policymakers are doing (as opposed to what they are saying) it appears that most of them have their heads in the sand - hoping that somehow - the world economy will recover fast enough so their own heads will not be chopped off by populations seething for revenge after the worse economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Consider this: the U.S. economy has lost 8.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, according to official figures.
New figures show that the pace of the recovery is slowing. According to the Conference Board's index leading economic indicators went up for a 10th straight month in January 2010, but the rate is easing.
Economists continue to be concerned that economic growth will stagnate in 2010 with government support programs winding down but with unemployment rates still in double digits.
The key message from all economic indicators is that the desired economic recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s is just limping along — "stumbling at times, but it is moving forward," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist.
Overall, the jobs outlook remains grim. Most people under the age of 50 are proportionally out of work. This constitutes the majority of workers required to get the economy back on the road towards recovery. So, until those 50 and under are employed we will not see a recovery. It is that simple.
So, with all this dandy economic news, how are things going with the fellows who started it all?
Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi says in his article, Wall Street's Bailout Hustle, that "The bottom line is that banks like Goldman have learned absolutely nothing from the global economic meltdown.
"In fact, they're back conniving and playing speculative long shots in force — only this time with the full financial support of the U.S. government. In the process, they're rapidly re-creating the conditions for another crash, with the same actors once again playing the same crazy games of financial chicken with the same toxic assets as before.
The question everyone should be asking, as one bailout recipient after another posts massive profits — Goldman reported $13.4 billion in profits last year, after paying out that $16.2 billion in bonuses and compensation — is this:
In an economy as horrible as ours, with every factory town between New York and Los Angeles looking like those hollowed-out ghost ships we see on History Channel documentaries like Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes, where in the hell did Wall Street’s eye-popping profits come from, exactly?
Did Goldman go from bailout city to $13.4 billion in the black because, as Blankfein suggests, its “performance” was just that awesome? A year and a half after they were minutes away from bankruptcy, how are these assholes not only back on their feet again, but hauling in bonuses at the same rate they were during the bubble?
The answer to that question is basically twofold: They raped the taxpayer, and they raped their clients.”
For more, see - http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/32255149/wall_streets_bailout_hustle
Dustin Ensinger says globalization, like any other free-market reliant economic system, produces both winners and losers. "In America, the winners have been the haves while the have-nots have gotten the short end of the stick, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute.
In its State of Working America 2008/2009 Report, Ensinger says the EPI found that 34.6 percent of all income growth over the past three decades went to Americans whom make up the top one-tenth of one percent of all wage earners. Over the same time period, the bottom 90% of wage earners realized just 15.9 percent income growth.
"The social stratification of America is at least partially a result of the era of globalization and the free trade policies that it ushered in, which have caused the decline of manufacturing jobs in the country.
“Until the 1970s, the productive core of the country burned with such a fiery light that it illuminated the entire world,” says author Gabor Steingart in World War for Wealth: The Global Grab for Power and Prosperity.
“The United States provided dollars and products for everyone. The American empire's nuclear power helped in the reconstruction of war-torn Europe and Japan. The United States was the world's greatest net exporter and greatest creditor for four decades.”
This loss of manufacturing prowess caused the American middle-class to fall behind. Today, top executives earn, on average, 100 times more than their employees! In the 1960s, that gap was just 30 times as much. It is no coincidence that since the 1960s, the United States added roughly 46 million jobs, while shedding over two million manufacturing jobs.
“For many blue- and white-collar workers, this decline is already absolute because they have less of everything than they used to,” Steingart writes.
“They possess less money, they are shown less respect in society and their chances for climbing up the social ladder have deteriorated dramatically. They're the losers in the world war for wealth.”
According to the EPI, this gap between people at the very top and those at the very bottom of the socioeconomic scale is even more pronounced.
For instance, in 2006, the 400 highest earning taxpayers in America made $105 billion in total adjusted gross income, for an average of $263 million each. Those making minimum wage in 2006 made approximately $13,100 for a difference of 20,000 to one.
A recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found the American wage gap between rich and the poor is greater than that of 30 other developed nations - including the United Kingdom, well known for its class system that allows little upward mobility.
The OECD study also found that America's wage gap is more fitting for an economically downtrodden nation like Russia or Turkey.
It says that the top 10 percent of earners in America made roughly $93,000 per year, while the 10 percent on the low end of the scale made only $5,800 per year.
Americans have witnessed their wages stagnate, their purchasing power drop and their upward mobility virtually disappear because of a growing lack of manufacturing capacity. Manufacturing jobs pay-well, create wealth and are a tide that allow all boats to rise.
If the U.S. is to close this gap between rich and poor, then the nation must focus on manufacturing. To do that, America will need to refocus its economic polices to emphasize production and exporting rather than the failed polices of today that emphasize "free trade" and importing goods.
“The United States has promoted the worldwide exchange of commodities like no other nation, and the result is that their local industry has begun to be eroded,” Steingart writes.
“Some production sectors have left the country for good. In the recent past, free trade has primarily benefited the very rival states that are now mounting an economic offensive on the United States - and which have cut off a large slice of America’s global market share for themselves."
Navigate Well Or Bury Your Head In The Sand
So, here we are, in mid-February 2010, and wondering: what to do now? Double-digit unemployment, business contraction, rising foreclosures, deteriorating communities, and a weak economy caused by malfeasance at the highest levels of the financial community has led to emotional depression which has been underway since early 2009.
I have some ideas about how to navigate.
One idea is this: understand that global transits show 2010 to be a transitional year. This will give you one key element in how to approach the year, and, how to prepare for the proactive year of 2011.
The main global configurations involve the outer planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto, which will form a T-square which peaks during July and August 2010.
This T-square, especially involving Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, hearken back to the early 1930s, which was at the height of the Great Depression. The massive business contraction and societal impacts ultimately led to geopolitical tensions that then led to the outbreak of the Second World War.
The new T-square has the same power to cause enough disruptions during the 2010s that the world could regress back into the bad habits known to inflict human beings under negative economic conditions.
Much depends on the ability of a new generation to alter the present course the outgoing generation of Baby Boomers has put us all on; however, only time will tell if this new generation has enough clout and courage to make the right decisions to alter the dark path the Boomer generation has placed much of the world on.
Personal Considerations
Many people feel stuck. Out of work, tired, and frustrated with the lack of progress so emotions by spring 2010 begin to peak with the warmer weather. By July 2010, people feel that they have had enough of sitting on their hands with empty pockets and they will want action.
The economic contraction continues. The year and a half of waiting for the economy to recover will have people emotionally involved; seeking change, but not feeling the kind of change they want.
Under this cloud of uncertainty, one thing is certain - nothing is going to be the same. The sooner people accept this, the better.
In order to navigate the new decade, it is essential for anyone who wants to get ahead of the transits of the 2010s to make preparations to make changes in their own lives so that the world transits.
Transiting Jupiter moves quickly through to July 2010, but then takes part in the Cardinal T-square involving Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. This will cause the public mentality to slow down, but to demand action.
Because of the lack of action, and the building frustrations since 2008, inclinations force many people to react impulsively. This is the Cardinal Crisis transits in motion during July and August 2010.
- Relocate & Move if desired
- Reorient your career & personal life for 2011
- Make emotional, mental, and spiritual adjustments
- Use July, August & September to revise goals & objectives
World transits are useful until July, so navigating into one's goals and objectives in 2010 will primarily be all about making a transition from one's old lifestyle into a new one. Most transitions are not easy; but can be made easier if one accepts the realities of change by taking the lead.
Opportunities are plenty between March through late June 2010 for those who want to get ahead of the transitions in personal and professional matters. It is essential therefore to be ready for the opportunities that present themselves and to take them before the strong cardinal transits of summer in the northern hemisphere.
July, August & September 2010
The inclinations are quite strong with the T-square involving Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Pluto with transiting Mars in the mix as well. Energies are impulsive, action-oriented and can be dangerous.
Travel is not favored. Summer activities in and around bodies of water are also unfavorable as accidents which involve the head and feet are widespread during these months because of the powerful cardinal inclinations.
The thing about the Cardinal Crisis transits is the fact that too many people are trying to make things happen within too short period of time after wasting the winter, and spring months of 2010. Those who fail to take advantage of opportunities, or erect barriers on others are doing themselves the worst kind of damage that will extend far into the new decade.
Obviously, the warmer weather in the northern hemisphere has much to do with this, so, after the cabin fever of a cold and snowy winter, expect most people want action during the summer months that traditionally is a time for vacations.
However, this particular summer is one for staying close to home, to relax, and not to travel, nor to take chances due to the powerful cardinal inclinations. It is not a time to be part of crowds, as the cardinal energies are simply too impulsive, with temperamental people acting out of frustrations rather than tolerance and patience.
As the summer wanes into September with both Jupiter and Uranus back in tropical Pisces for their second conjunction in three months (and first in Pisces) the coming autumn season bodes well for those who made time to relax over July and August and who, by mid-November, are ready to once again be ready for Jupiter's direct station.
The Spring of 2011 will follow the months of July & August as very active astrologically. Spring 2011 is a significant time period that allows active progress for those who have been patient in applying 2010's global transits.
No matter what you do - stay on target with your personal goals and professional objectives despite the need to carefully navigate barriers erected by others; especially those who are unbalanced, and not quite in their right minds.
You may observe that some people who have personal emotional and mental issues may cause disruptions in the lives of others leading up to the Cardinal Crisis transits. It is best to navigate very well around these people so as to not have them waste your valuable time.
Be very careful to check out people in positions who have to make choices that affect you and others, such as those who run companies, are "leaders" in the community, or who operate vehicles/vessels, but who exhibit signs of impulsiveness, confusion, and being unbalanced. Avoid them like the plague or you will be sorry in 2010.
These uncertain times indicate that it is time for an aging generation to retire, as younger generation steps in to take charge. However, during transitions such as these which come every 18 years or so, expect to notice that those who have overstayed their welcome will not be the most balanced individuals who are able to make common sense decisions. They will require more attention than you would normally prefer to give them.
The year of March 2010 to March 2011 features transitions for many people. How one uses this solar year will greatly determine who is ready by March 2011 for the new global era that will have started in earnest.
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