Unemployment in the United States has reached its highest levels since the Great Depression. The Labor Department recently released figures to show the number of new claims were down. The total rate of people not working, the (U6) number from the government, was at 16.5% in June. There are FIVE MILLION more unemployed in our country today, than just one year ago.

While the recession has taken a toll on the country, you often hear the story of farm labor and food growth as being one area where the United States will maintain a degree of strength. Yesterday, in doing the weekly grocery shopping at a major food chain, the picture below said volumes.

No wonder their are farmers going out of business in the US. We're outsourcing our vegetables as well as everything else. Its even more interesting to me the "product of" sticker did NOT EVEN HAVE the USA printed on it. The assumption being that if the store actually bought products from the USA regularly, they would say as much. Not the case here.

When an economy becomes only about consumption, and not about creation of value, that economy must die. The "NIMBY" philosophy, the reluctance of Americans to do physical labor, not to mention the impossible legacy costs forced on companies by unionism, has put the economy of the United States in a death spiral. No amount of money printing is going to change that.

The latest poll information shows only 34% of Americans believe the country is heading in the right direction. The President's numbers for disapproval of his performance are at an all time high for this President.

Go to the local farmers markets whenever possible. Look for and use products that are grown and made at the local level. There are some who will scream protectionism and jingoism from this advice. You may not be far from wrong.

What is clear is the more wealth transference that occurs, the weaker the US economy becomes. We've been weakened by high fuel prices, a government who thinks monopoly money is the way out of our troubles, and the Wal-Martization of the country.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt on Charlie Rose said we're going to have to start building things in this country again. Can't outsource everything for cheap labor. Can't make it as a financial economy or "service" economy alone.

Economic theory will tell you in the long run protectionism is not a positive attribute. That is correct. When an economy's balance of trade becomes negative, as the USA trade balance has been for a long time, economic collapse is not unlikely.