“H2O” in California sent this news item about Kern County, California: Kern unemployment continues to climb: 17.4% in February. H2O’s comment: “The bulk of Kern’s population is located in the Southern San Joaquin Valley, where agriculture and oil are the lynchpins of the local economy. With the legislative/judicial droughts being imposed on California, local farmers have been allocated just 15% of their annual contractual water supplies. This means that they cannot secure the crop loans necessary to grow the crops to feed the nation for the fourth year in a row. Food shortages are right around the corner, I fear.”
Alice W. was the first of several readers to mention his commentary by Charles Krauthammer at NRO: The VAT Cometh.
GG sent this: Supply fears start to hit Treasuries
Also from GG, the latest Friday Follies: Regulators shut 2 Georgia banks, 1 in Florida, 1 in Arizona; makes 41 US bank failures in 2010.
Items from The Economatrix:
Banks Unlikely to Cut Mortgages for Many Borrowers
Eurozone Agrees On Bailout Plan for Greece
Underemployment Hits 20% in Mid-March
Jobless Rate Rose in 27 States in February; 4 Hit Record Levels
Spring Outlook: Housing Sales Are Looking As Bleak As Ever
“We Are At A Tipping Point”–The Only Thing that May Save the Euro is a Collapse of the US