Obamaville, Md.

Don't look so surprised.

It's not like I haven't told you this was out there. The blue tarps, families living in cars and cardboard boxes, kids sharing a cold can of spaghettios for supper.

FUCK YER HOPE AND CHANGE.

The Daily Mail:

Baltimore's people of the woods: Inside the hidden homeless camps made of milk crates, wooden doors and tarps on the outskirts of town
Photographer Ben Marcin's series 'The Camps' captures makeshift settlements near railway lines, gas stations, Walmarts and bridges He said many of Baltimore's homeless feel safer in the woods than in shelters While most homes are made from tarps, some more elaborate constructions use milk crates and wooden doors

A sheet of plastic laid over a clothesline. A mini-fortress of milk crates stacked under a tree. A thin mattress on a flimsy crate lying in a dark tunnel.
On the edge of Baltimore's woodlands, dozens of the city's transients live in makeshift homes which they consider safer than homeless shelters.
Photographer Ben Marcin has captured some of the shanties in his thought-provoking photo essay, 'The Camps', documenting the struggle, loneliness and ingenuity of Maryland's people of the woods.

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The Camps: Snapper Ben Marcin has uncovered the illusive, hidden dwellings of Baltimore's homeless in his moving photographic series

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Out of sight: Marcin searched for secluded territories, learning where camps were likely to spring up behind various railroad tracks, Wal-Marts and fast food areas

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Rough sleepers: Marcin said some of the homeless people he spoke to preferred to sleep under a bridge than in a shelter which they considered unsafe

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Desolate: Marcin's photo series reveals the loneliness of many rough sleepers who chose to carve out their own lives using whatever materials they could get their hands on

Similar to his Last House Standing series which captured lonely rowhouses around the Mid-Atlantic, Marcin shot the shanties around Baltimore without their inhabitants to add to the 'mystery'.
Marcin said he first stumbled upon the homeless dwellings as he hiked through the woods bordering the city during hunting season.

When he saw a 'mini-fortress' made of milk crates just yards from a major thoroughfare, Marcin began searching for other transients 'living off the grid'.

Most were based near railroad tracks, Walmarts, gas stations, and liquor stores.

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Representative: The incredibly diverse style of shelters reflect the personal struggles and needs of their owners

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Special touches: Despite living on the outskirts of town, shelter owners often tried to make their space homely with greeting mats and flower vases

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Inspiration: Marcin was inspired to track down the city's hidden dwellings after stumbling upon this makeshift home made up of stacked milk crates hidden in the bushes just yards from a major thoroughfare near downtown Baltimore

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While most of the camps Marcin came across used basic tarps or tents, several were quite elaborate such as this home built entirely of wooden doors

'I have always been interested in the unique places people live in, particularly where there exists an element of defiance or desperation, or both. In these situations, a house can often reflect the dilemma of its owner. In the case of the hobo camps, this reflection is quite pronounced for obvious reasons,' he told The Atlantic Cities.
'A sheet of plastic laid out over a clothesline may be the last stand for somebody who has either been rejected by society or who has refused to conform to whatever rules are being imposed on them.
'Several camp people I talked to said they wouldn't relocate into one of the City's shelters because they were afraid of being assaulted or having belongings stolen.'

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The road most traveled: Most of the settlements Marcin photographed were by waterways, railway tracks, Walmarts, gas stations and liquor stores

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Mystery: Marcin deliberately didn't photograph camp residents, instead focusing on how they lived, the mark they made and what they left behind

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Slums: Marcin came across a number of makeshift settlements or groups of people living off the grid around Baltimore

Marcin said about year after finishing the project, he returned to the woods to find all the camps were gone. One had burned to the ground, some had been bulldozed, while others moved to different locations.
'My guess is that these, too, will not be around for long,' he said.

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Living off the grid: While some homes comprised a sheet over a branch, this settlement had a clothes line, barbecue and gym equipment

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Out of the way: Marcin captured each makeshift abode in full panorama view, showing their isolation and alienation

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Traveling light: The dwellings Marcin snapped have since been abandoned, demolished or burned to the ground

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Homely: During his photographic odyssey, Marcin became increasingly fascinated at the effort that went into remaining hidden in plain sight and the creativity involved

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Hidden away: Marcin said he found himself 'practically stepping into a number of homeless camps that were carefully hidden among strips of trees or bushes' near highways and shopping centers

No options: While several residents told Marcin that living in a tent or sleeping on a mattress in the woods was a personal choice, it seemed to him that there was often no other choice

No Depression

Today is a milestone.

Today is 2 years since my job was eliminated.

Prospects are not good. I can't even get an interview to stock shelves at the local Lowe's or Target.

I'll be 50 in November. That doesn't help. Especially when 4 out of 5 college graduates can't find a job in their field of study.



I've been out of work for 2 years. "Unemployed need not apply."

Yet for 3-1/2 years, through my wife's unemployment and then my own, I've been able to keep the bills paid. It has cost me nearly every sent I have in savings and early retirement withdrawals. That's about to end.



The August numbers are out today. On my two year anniversary.

Unemployment is holding steady at 9.1%.

They say that like it's a good thing.

Truth is, unemployment is holding steady because the 99ers are starting to expire at a faster and faster pace now. People who have expired their benefits and are no longer counted as unemployed although they have not found a job.



Now they're just counted as bums I suppose.

To hear the idiots and morons on the TeeVee we have a chance to turn this all around in 2012.

For myself and millions like me, that is too late. By then we will be finished.

The President has a BIG JOBS SPEECH next week.

To the media the big deal with it is how will it affect the Packers game?



Meanwhile, The August numbers show NO JOBS were created in August.

None.

That hasn't happened since 1945.

And President Barack Obama, back home from his 10 day Martha's Vineyard Vacation, refreshed and ready to work, is heading to Camp David for the next couple days.

While Congress, who fled town right after passing that debt debacle in early August, has yet to be heard from.

None of them seem to care about the un(der)employed, except as how it will affect their chances in 2012.

Kids are living in their cars and under blue tarps in the woods. They tape screening to the windows to keep the mosquitos out but let air in during the warm summer nights. They're dropped off at school in the same vehicle they sleep in and do their homework in afterwards. Spaghettios are a luxury meal to them. A can split among 3 or 4.

This is not the America my father left me. Nor yours.

But hang in their, kids. 2012 is coming.

It's just 72 weeks until a new administration.

You can hang on that long, can't you?

Employers add no net jobs in Aug.; rate unchanged
Employers added no net jobs in August, while unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Employers stopped adding jobs in August, an alarming setback for an economy that has struggled to grow and might be at risk of another recession.

The government also reported that the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent. It was the weakest jobs report since September 2010.

Stocks tumbled on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 190 points in early-morning trading.

Total payrolls were unchanged in August, the first time since 1945 that the government has reported a net job change of zero. Economists warned that the economy can't keep growing indefinitely if hiring remains stalled.

"Underlying job growth needs to improve immediately in order to avoid a recession," said HSBC economist Ryan Wang.

Fears that the United States will slip back into recession have been rising since the government reported over the summer that the economy barely grew in the first half of the year. Consumer and business confidence has been sapped by the political standoff over the federal debt limit, a downgrade in the U.S. government's credit rating and a debt crisis in Europe.

Job growth had already been sputtering before it stalled completely last month. The economy produced an average 166,000 a month in the first quarter, 105,000 a month in the second quarter and just 28,000 a month so far in the third quarter, said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo.

The dispiriting job numbers for August will put more pressure on the Federal Reserve, President Barack Obama and Congress to find ways to stimulate the economy. So far, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has been reluctant to try a third round of bond purchases designed to jolt the economy by further lowering long-term interest rates.

Obama next week will deliver a rare address to a joint session of Congress to introduce a plan for creating jobs and boosting economic growth. But House Republicans have resisted any federal stimulus spending.

The weakness in employment was underscored by revisions to the jobs data for June and July. Collectively, those figures were lowered to show 58,000 fewer jobs added. The downward revisions were all in government jobs.

The average work week also declined, and hourly earnings fell by 3 cents to $23.09.

"There is no silver lining in this one," said Steve Blitz, senior economist at ITG Investment Research. "It is difficult to walk away from these numbers without the conclusion that the economy is simply grinding to a halt."

With job creation stalled and wages declining, consumers won't see much gain in incomes. That will limit their ability to spend, which undercuts growth. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.

"The importance of job growth cannot be overstated," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc.

The economy needs to add roughly 250,000 jobs a month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate, which has been above 9 percent in all but two months since May 2009.

In August, the private sector added 17,000 jobs, the fewest since February 2010. That compares with 156,000 in July and 75,000 in June.

"The stagnation in US payroll employment is an ominous sign," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. "The broad message is that even if the US economy doesn't start to contract again, any expansion is going to be very, very modest and fall well short of what would be needed to drive the still elevated unemployment rate lower."

Hiring fell across many different sectors. Manufacturers cut 3,000 jobs, its first decline since October 2010. Construction companies, retailers, and transportation firms also cut workers.

The health care industry added 30,000 jobs last month.

The economy expanded at an annual pace of only 0.7 percent in the first six months of the year. That was the slowest six months of growth since the recession officially ended in June 2009.

In August, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since April 2009, according to the Conference Board.

Most economists forecast that growth may improve to about a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. But that's not fast enough to generate many jobs.

The Obama administration has estimated that unemployment will average about 9 percent next year, when Obama will run for re-election. The rate was 7.8 percent when Obama took office.

The White House Office of Management and Budget projects overall growth of only 1.7 percent this year.

"The economy continues to stagger," said Sung Won Sohn, economist at California State University Channel Islands. "It wouldn't take much (of a) shock to tip it onto a recession."