RECESSION IS OVER! CAN'T YOU TELL?

Did you see the "What Have They Been Smoking" headline today? "The Recession Is Over." That's what a panel of experts charged with determining these things announced. They say the "current recession ended in June 2009."

WOW, ARE YOU FEELING BETTER NOW?

Or are you one of the millions of Americans looking for a job, or worried about losing your job? Have you had your hours or wages cut? Do you have that squeeze in the pit of your stomach because things are so insecure?

Reported unemployment stubbornly remains at 9.6%, but the real jobless rate is 17.5% as reported by CNBC. If you are not part of this statistic today, you could be tomorrow.

Maybe you are one of the 2.6 millions Americans who have lost their home to foreclosure, or maybe your home is worth 30-50% less than you paid for it, or maybe you are behind in your mortgage payments like one in four Americans are? Or maybe you live in a neighborhood blighted by abandoned homes and therefore you can't sell yours?

Or maybe you have been forced to default on consumer debt and have filed for bankruptcy. A record number of bankruptcies are being filed every month.

Or you might be struggling to feed your kids, keep a roof over their heads, keep them healthy and educated, all while your purchasing power is in the tank and sinking fast.

These statistics are appalling, and economists are projecting that unemployment will not come down significantly anytime soon, and there will be record foreclosures for at least another 2 years.

We have the highest POVERTY RATE (43.6 million Americans living on wages below $22,000 a year) since the only other recession that lasted as long as this one has. That one was called THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

So while the hallucinating panel members can bend their statistics to make it appear "the recession is over," out here in the real world it sure doesn't feel like it.

This recession won't be over until our government gets its financial house in order, and that won't happen until the current crop of Washington Elites is FIRED. Until then we have to hang together and help each other as much as we can. As Americans we are all in this together.