Ethiopia versus America

Ethiopia versus America
by Andrew Snyder, Editorial Director, Inside Investing Daily

Dear Reader,

Here is a question bound to offend somebody. Why are so many African countries dirt poor?

I mean, despite billions of dollars in foreign aid, why are citizens in a country like Ethiopia starving to death?

Some folks say it's a lack of resources. Others want you to believe it boils down to education. Or even the weather.

But the truth is, it is something much broader, much more pervasive.

In his book The Shackled Continent, Robert Guest writes "Africans are poor because they are poorly governed."

It's true.

Ethiopia is one of the world's five poorest countries because it is run by thugtators. Its leadership is nothing more than thieves in designer suits. Or as some say, it's a government of thieves, for thieves, by thieves.

Ethiopia is one of the most repressive countries in the world. It jails more journalists than any other African nation. Its judicial system is a controlling wing of the party in power. And property and civil rights have little meaning. If the government wants what you have, it will take it.

In other words... Ethiopia is the exact model of failure that is headed our way.

No, we are not going to wake up one day in a land of hunger and despair. Ethiopia wasn't always poor and hungry, either. It took a long time to sink that low.

But mark my words, it is coming our way one small step at a time.

In fact... in some respects, it's already here.

According to something called the Economic Security Index, get this, one in five Americans lost at least a quarter of their available household income in the past three years... and had no cash cushion to soften the blow.

Imagine that. At the same time our government (we've already proven they are thieves in custom suits) has created trillions of dollars' worth of bailouts and free-money handouts, the average American is getting poorer.

In other words, as the leaders of our thug-ocracy hand millions to handpicked solar companies or their former colleagues on Wall Street, Joe Sixpack has sprung a leak.

The African country's government is infamous for taking aid money and using it to promote its agenda. It's sort of what our Federal Reserve did three years ago, at least according to this Bloomberg piece.

On Dec. 5, 2008, Bernanke's troops cut $1.2 trillion worth of checks to the nation's top banks. The cheap cash was supposed to help them recover from their horrific mistakes.

At the same time, though, Bernanke told us the situation was not that bad... that the Fed was "forcing" banks, as Jamie Dimon put it, "to help motivate others to use the system."

The problems our nation faces, dear reader, are clear. Our government has grown too large, too fast.

We're not Ethiopia yet... but, then again, this ain't your granddaddy's America, either.

From the Inside,

Andy

Editor's Note: My message today is far from rosy. Our mission, though, is not only to show you what's gone wrong, but to show you the opportunity in it all. That is why I asked our newest editor and the boss at our Small Cap Insider, Derek Simon, to share some of his wisdom. He proves there is still hope in America.