Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith via PeakProsperity.com,
That America is in the throes of a systemic health crisis can no longer be denied. According to the U.S. Department of Health And Human Services, more than two-thirds (68.8 percent) of adults are overweight or obese. (Overweight is typically defined as a body-mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher. A BMI of 24.9 is not exactly featherweight; I would have to add 30 pounds to reach a BMI of 24.9. )
Harvard University have admitted that a recent outbreak of mumps occurred in students who were already vaccinated against the disease. The University have sent out an urgent appeal to students, asking them to take “better precautions against infecting each other with mumps”. Authorities at Harvard have admitted in a letter to students that being vaccinated against mumps does not give them immunity: [T]hose who have been vaccinated for mumps—though much less likely to contract the virus—can still be infected. Naturalnews.com reports: By the way, the letter – from Paul J.
Following the drastically revised-away surge in spending in January, and the savings rate surge to 2012 highs in Feb, March's income and spending data released today showed more problems for The Fed. While income grew 0.4% MoM (more than the 0.3% expectations), spending disappointed with a mere 0.1% rise (against +0.2% MoM expectations). Year-over-year spending growth slowed to 3.5% - the weakest since December and income growth slowed to 4.0% YoY leaving the savings rate at its highest since January 2013.
Income up, Spending down:
Aspartame is marketed as a diet product in many foods and beverages due to the fact that it allows food manufacturers to avoid using sugar, replacing it with an artificial substitute that they claim tastes like sugar. However, the chemical sweetener consumed by millions worldwide is not an affective diet product at all. It can make you gain wait, and worst of all may be doing your health a lot of damage. Wakingscience.com reports: The woman in this story, who remains anonymous, is the sister of a writer who was featured on Rhonda Gessner’s blog.
As reported moments ago, Q1 GDP which came at just 0.5% growth, was a lousy number in which virtually every component besides personal spending (and government) subtracted from growth. In fact, in nominal terms, Q1 GDP grew only $22.2 billion annualized, of which personal consumption was more than double, or $52.5 billion.
But what did Americans spend money on in Q1? To our surprise, Healthcare, Obamacare was no longer what soaked up most Americans' cash in the first quarter (nonetheless, it was a runner up with $10.8 billion in spending).