Thread: Yes, It Is Halftime In America – So Now Is The Time To Get Your Financial Priorities

Yes, It Is Halftime In America – So Now Is The Time To Get Your Financial Priorities In Order

Did you see the Chrysler commercial featuring Clint Eastwood that aired during the Super Bowl the other night? It was entitled "It's Halftime In America", and it was truly a great ad. To me, it was the most memorable Super Bowl ad this year by far. It conjured up images of the America that so many of us remember so fondly. It reminded us of how life in this country used to be. Unfortunately, America is currently headed down a road that is taking us in the opposite direction. Yes, it is halftime in America, but there is no guarantee that what is ahead is going to be great. In fact, if we continue to make the same choices that we have been making, a national nightmare is inevitable. Let us hope and pray for a fundamental change of direction for America, but let us also prepare for what is going to happen if that does not take place. There is a "pause in the action" at the moment, so now is the time to get your financial priorities in order. Now is the time to prepare for the storm that is coming. If you wait until the storm is right on top of you it will probably be too late.

But I must admit that I really loved that ad. First of all, any Super Bowl ad that includes Clint Eastwood is almost automatically going to be a great ad. Secondly, it was very refreshing to see a commercial address some of the very serious problems that this country is facing.

The ad ended with Eastwood making the following statement....

"This country can't be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. Ya, it's halftime in America, and our second half is about to begin"

A video of the complete ad is posted below....



Kudos to Chrysler for producing such an extraordinary ad. I have to admit that I actually prefer Chrysler to Ford and GM. I like their style and I think they make some very nice vehicles.

But Chrysler is far from out of the woods. They almost went under during the last recession, and if the U.S. economy experiences another major recession they might not survive it.

Yes, Chrysler did earn $183 million in 2011.

But in 2010, Chrysler lost $652 million.

Hopefully Chrysler can string a few more profitable years together, but there is certainly no guarantee that is going to happen.

As I have written about previously, the U.S. auto industry is in the midst of a nightmarish long-term decline.

The combined U.S. market share of the "Big Three" U.S. automakers fell from 70% in 1998 to 53% in 2008.

When you examine the numbers over a longer time frame, they are even more striking.

For example, in 1970 General Motors had about a 60 percent share of the U.S. automobile market, but today that figure is down to about 20 percent.

In an effort to cut costs, U.S. automakers have been eliminating jobs and sending jobs out of the country.

In the year 2000, the U.S. auto industry employed more than 1.3 million Americans. Today, the U.S. auto industry employs about 698,000 people.

So the U.S. auto industry has not exactly bounced back.

They have survived for now, but there is no guarantee that this is going to be permanent.

Many considered the Chrysler Super Bowl ad to be an endorsement of the auto bailouts and of the economic policies of the Obama administration.

But that wasn't the case at all. In fact, it turns out that Clint Eastwood was actually a harsh critic of the auto bailouts as Reuters recently noted....

"We shouldn't be bailing out the banks and car companies," actor, director and Academy Award winner Eastwood told the Los Angeles Times in November 2011. "If a CEO can't figure out how to make his company profitable, then he shouldn't be the CEO."

And Clint Eastwood certainly did not mean to endorse Obama during the commercial. The following is what Eastwood told Fox News about the ad....

"I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys, and there is no spin in that ad. On this I am certain.

l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK."

The cold, hard reality of the matter is that America has not "bounced back" since 2008. Sadly, the truth is that we are even in worse condition than we were back then....

-Our national debt has risen by about 50 percent since 2008.

-Our states are in more debt than ever.

-Our local governments are in more debt than ever.

-The U.S. economy has lost about 6 million jobs since 2008.

-Approximately 14 million more Americans have gone on food stamps since Barack Obama became president.

-More Americans are living in poverty than ever before.

-New home sales in the United States hit a brand new all-time record low during 2011.

-The number of "long-term unemployed workers" has more than doubled since Barack Obama entered the White House.

-The amount of money that the federal government gives directly to Americans has increased by 32 percent since Barack Obama entered the White House.

-Despite claims that things are "getting better", the truth is that the percentage of Americans that actually have jobs is almost exactly the same as it was two years ago.

Amazingly, Barack Obama seems to think that he has done a good job and that he deserves a second term. On Sunday, Obama told NBC's Matt Lauer the following....

"I deserve a second term, but we’re not done"

Many Americans are buying into the hype. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll has found that Barack Obama's approval rating is actually rising.

But it won't last long. As the economy crumbles his approval rating will start going down once again.

The sad truth is that America is in the middle of a long-term economic decline because our economy is not built on a solid foundation.

The false prosperity that we are enjoying now is being fueled by the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world. We consume far more wealth than we produce, and we pay for it by constantly going into more debt.

At some point the merry-go-round is going to stop and when it does it is going to be incredibly painful.

An increasing number of Americans are waking up to this reality. One recent survey found that 61 percent of all Americans believe that there will be "a major catastrophic event" in the United States within the next 20 years. A significant portion of them believe that the "catastrophic event" will be economic in nature.

That same survey found that only 15 percent of all Americans feel as though they are completely prepared for the coming catastrophic event.

Remember what happened back in 2008. When the financial crisis struck, millions of Americans lost their jobs very rapidly. Since many of them did not have any money stored up, a lot of them lost their homes as well.

Since it is "halftime in America", now is the time to get prepared for the next great financial crisis.

Now is the time to reduce your expenses.

Now is the time to get out of debt.

Now is the time to set aside some money so that you will have something to live on if you do happen to lose your job. I typically recommend that you have at least 6 months of living expenses stored up.

Now is the time to start a side business. Even if you are broke, there are some businesses out there that you can start up for no money. It isn't easy to start a business with no money, but it can be done.

Now is the time to grow a garden. Fruits and vegetables are often some of the most expensive items at the grocery store, and by growing them yourself you become less dependent on the system.

And that is the key. We all want to try to become less dependent on the system.

There is no guarantee that your job will always be there.

There is no guarantee that your insurance company or the financial institutions that you are working with today will always be there.

There is no guarantee that the government will be there "to save you" when you really need it.

Yes, it is halftime in America.

So get ready for the second half, because it is going to be a real nightmare.



Yes, It Is Halftime In America – So Now Is The Time To Get Your Financial Priorities In Order

NOTE TO CLINT EASTWOOD: CHRYSLER IS OWNED BY A FOREIGN COMPANY AND IS NOT LONGER AN AMERICAN COMPANY.

IT IS OWNED BY FIAT OF ITALY. BTW, Italy is bankrupt, along with the entire EU.

I know but I think many are using it as a political football....I didn't see it that way at all did you????

Originally Posted by kathyet

I know but I think many are using it as a political football....I didn't see it that way at all did you????

I saw it as a "time to get rid of Obama" message. Guess it depended on how you view the country.

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

I saw it as a "time to get rid of Obama" message. Guess it depended on how you view the country.

I did too

It's the fourth-quarter. One team is standing on the sidelines beaten and battered trying to figure out if it can pull off a miracle come back. It's the fourth-quarter in America, too. Just last month 1.2 million formerly employed people disappeared into the black hole of a political unemployment equation - never to be counted again. This isn't a game to those millions of Americans who are out of work or under employed - this is their life. But the other team doesn't see it that way. To them it's about winning at all costs - even if it means playing outside the rules.

GM and Chrysler know all about playing and winning that kind of game. Thanks to a corrupt league with a president that picks the winners and losers. It's about playing in the freest economic system in the world and getting bailed with someone else's money when they lost all of theirs.

The people of America know a hell-of-a-lot about this kind of game; and what losing this game would ultimately mean for their future and the future of this country. People began to pull together in 2010 and made their voices heard loud and clear. And the America they once knew is now on its way back.

I've seen our great country go through many ups and downs in my lifetime. Sometimes so far down it felt like we'd never get up. But we always did, and we came together as a free people under the leadership of men and women who were true team players. That's what America does, and that's what America will do again this year.

What matters most now is coming together as a team, and regardless of the stacked odds against us, pulling together and winning one more for the Gipper.

Let what happened in Detroit be more than a just a lesson; let Ford be your inspiration of who and what we are as a free people. And let GM and Chrysler be a constant reminder that the price America pays for freedom should never be in bailouts. That's not who we are, that's not true freedom.

So don't let the odds in this fourth-quarter scare you, remember, is aint over till it's over. Come this November there's a great chance the other team will be standing on their sideline watching in amazement as America mounts a heroic fourth-quarter comeback game winning drive. It'll be another one for the record books.


Read more: Blog: It's the Fourth Quarter in America

Here is more information on that commercial....


Clint Eastwood's Chrysler Super Bowl Ad: The Untold Obama Connection
4:05 PM PST 2/7/2012 by Tina Daunt


Unite America Art Split - P 2012
Two members of the creative team that produced the two-minute minute spot for ad agency Wieden+Kennedy donated their personal time in 2008 to make pro-Obama art.

This year’s most discussed Super Bowl ad—a two-minute spot for Chrysler narrated by Clint Eastwood—continues to generate controversy in conservative political circles, where a host of questions have been raised about the automaker’s alleged motives for commissioning the advertisement.
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In the days ahead, similar politically charged queries also are likely to be raised about the highly regarded Portland Oregon-based ad agency that produced the spot—Wieden+Kennedy, some of whose key creative professionals privately supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

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Eastwood was the surprise narrator of the spot that aired during Sunday’s NFL title game, one which both Republican and Democratic politicos have characterized as subtly echoing some of the incumbent president’s major reelection campaign themes. Political advertising mavens also have pointed out that the Chrysler ad’s title and theme—“It’s Halftime in America”—closely parallels one of the two most famous campaign ads in history: Ronald Reagan’s famous—and legendarily effective—“It’s Morning in America” spot.

In an appearance on Fox News Monday, GOP political strategist Karl Rove charged that, “The leadership of the auto companies feel they need to do something to repay their political patronage. It is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the president of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising.”

Chrysler Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne, however, insisted to a Detroit radio station interviewer that the spot had "zero political content. I think we need to be careful, and God knows, I mean I can't stop anybody from associating themselves with a message but it was not intended to be any type of political overture on our part.”

STORY: Clint Eastwood on Chrysler Super Bowl Ad: 'I Am Certainly Not Affiliated With Mr. Obama'

Similarly, in an email to the New York Times Tuesday, Eastwood wrote, “The ad doesn’t have a political message. It is about American spirit, pride and job growth.” (Chrysler paid NBC about $12.8 million to air the spot; Eastwood will reportedly donate his fees for narrating and briefly appearing in the ad to charity.)

Wieden+Kennedy, which produced “It’s Halftime in America,” has a reputation as a highly creative ad agency with a flair for weaving appealing, socially conscious themes into its clients’ messages. Its major corporate accounts include Nike, Coca Cola, ESPN, Honda, Old Spice, Microsoft, Proctor and Gamble, Starbucks, Heineken, Dodge and Chrysler for which it produced a Super Bowl spot last year. The agency currently is collaborating with former Vice President Al Gore on a project linking gaming and concern over global warming.

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Several members of the Wieden+Kennedy team that produced the Eastwood spot were among the creative professionals who privately supported Obama’s first election campaign. Creative director Aaron Allen, for example, created a striking poster, called "Unite the States of America," on candidate Obama’s behalf. The poster shows an Obama silhouette bringing together red and blue spheres meant to represent America’s partisan division. His official bio notes that he “also works on personal art projects, including a poster for the 2008 Obama campaign that was shown in several galleries and publications.”

The ad’s art director, Jimm Lasser, created an entire art exhibit in New York around Nike-style shoes bearing Obama’s image. Another of the creative directors, Michael Tabtabai has used his Twitter account recently to send out the message “Obama x Incredible Hulk. America STRONG!” and linking to an image of an action doll of the president looking like the comic book super hero.

The Eastwood spot actually was produced by Los Angeles and New York-based Chelsea Pictures, which selected David Gordon Green, best known for the comedy film Pineapple Express, to direct the ad.

In the Chrysler ad, the director and star narrates an inspirational message while images of Detroit assembly lines and ordinary working Americans roll across the screen. Finally, Eastwood emerges from a gritty tunnel to speak to the camera in person. “It’s halftime. Both teams are in their locker rooms discussing what they can do to win this game in the second half,” Eastwood begins. “It’s halftime in America, too. People are out of work and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering what they’re gonna do to make a comeback.

ANALYSIS: Was Chrysler's Super Bowl Commercial a Nod to Obama?

“We find a way through tough times, and if we can’t find a way then we’ll make one. All that matters now is what’s ahead, how do we come from behind, how do we come together, and how do we win. Detroit’s showing us it can be done.” Eastwood also speaks of an America “roaring back.”

Just an hour or so before the spot aired, Obama told a pre-game interviewer that he “deserves a second term,” in part because his economic policies have coaxed the country into recovery—a point Democrats argue was reinforced by the most recent declines in unemployment. The President made a similar set of points during a recent address in the Motor City, where his administration’s successful bailouts of Chrysler and General Motors are highly poplar.

While the background of some of Wieden+Kennedy’s creative team probably will fuel further conservative suspicions, there’s also some online evidence suggesting that there was neither consultation nor collaboration between the agency and the Obama reelection campaign. Following the president’s Labor Day speech to a Detroit audience, creative director Joe Staples tweeted, “I think Obama just paraphrased our ad in his Labor Day speech [from Detroit] Holy crap.”

Sunday, Obama political adviser David Axelrod tweeted that the ad was a “powerful spot”, but then went on to wonder, “Did Clint shoot that, or just narrate it?”

Chrysler’s spot, moreover, wasn’t the only Super Bowl ad that seemed to adopt themes from the Obama reelection campaign’s playbook. GE’s advertisement showed American workers once more on the assembly line turning out industrial projects for domestic consumption, something the president hopes to encourage with his policies. Both ads sounded themes similar to Obama’s in front of the largest audience ever to watch an American television broadcast—111.3 million people.




Clint Eastwood's Chrysler Super Bowl Ad: The Untold Obama Connection - The Hollywood Reporter

One recent survey found that 61 percent of all Americans believe that there will be "a major catastrophic event" in the United States within the next 20 years.

20 years? We have that long?? Doubt it.

Originally Posted by SicNTiredInSoCal

One recent survey found that 61 percent of all Americans believe that there will be "a major catastrophic event" in the United States within the next 20 years.

20 years? We have that long?? Doubt it.

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From where I sit, we've had at least three, with one very imminent in the past 12 years: 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2012. The first three all occurred in November ..