Aside from the brief uproar over the AIG bonuses and the recent “tea party” protests on tax day, Americans have, indeed, been largely silent about the state of the economy.

And although the Federal Reserve has reported the economy may be “leveling out,” just last month U.S. trend forecaster and author Gerald Celente, founder and director of the Trends Research Institute, predicted an unprecedented global economic collapse was still to come.

Citing extreme drops in retail sales over Christmas of between 23 to 35 percent, bankruptcies of major retailers, store closings, and the financial collapse of banks, bonds and brokerage firms in 2008, Celente paints the picture of dire straits ahead that will surpass those of the Great Depression.

He projects that the commercial real estate collapse about to occur this year will dwarf the residential real estate collapse we’ve just experienced, and continue to address.

Other predictions include unemployment rates that will rival that of the Great Depression as well.

“Using 1930s models to get us out of this is really stupid,” says Celente, because back then most people didn’t own homes; there was no such thing as a home equity loan. They didn’t have credit cards, and consumers were not 14 trillion dollars in debt. We also had a manufacturing base in the U.S. at the time -- something we no longer have.

“We will see crime levels in the U.S. that will rival that of a third world country,” says Celente. “When people lose everything, and they have nothing to lose, they lose it.”

With this dreary picture that the U.S. economy as we now know it is plummeting down a rocky slope, Americans should be up in arms, demanding real change to get us out of this mess. But as J.B. Williams suggests in the above article, most are not even blinking an eye. He says:

The photo at right is from a 1934 issue of the Chicago Tribune ... and it shows that more of us should heed the lessons of history. As it stands, Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) is one of the few who has continued to push for level-headed sanity during this economic breakdown.

He is also one of the few courageous enough to point the finger of blame where it belongs, in large part on the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve system is a primary cause of inflation and one of the reasons why your financial future is unstable, insecure, and likely to include more inflations, recessions and depressions, like the one going on right now.

We got into this mess, as Paul says, by spending too much, running up debt and printing too much money. In the heels of another just-passed “stimulus” package, Paul explains that this move can only delay recovery and prolong economic agony.

A recent article from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons reports that the bailout already tops $8.7 trillion. According to AAPS, the bailout includes:

• More than $1.5 trillion in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. loan guarantees, including a $139 billion assist to the lending arm of General Electric Corp.
• $1.8 trillion in cash, tax breaks, and loan guarantees doled out from Treasury to taxpayers, financial institutions, and credit companies
• $300 billion for homeowners from the Federal Housing Authority
• $25 billion to auto companies from a program overseen by the Energy Department, which is separate from the bailout proposal that failed in the Senate
• $5 trillion in new money, loan guarantees, and loosened lending requirements from the Federal Reserve Bank

Congress should be cutting spending, not increasing it, and instead putting the control of what to spend on in the hands of the people … not the government.

Unfortunately, the United States appears to be addicted to easy money, the inflationary programs of the Federal Reserve, and deficit financing. As Ron Paul said regarding the last bailout involving the U.S. housing industry:

J.B. Williams asked in his article what it would take to wake up the average American and allow them to really see what’s going on. One of the first steps, I believe, is to stop being afraid.

One of the biggest dangers facing the U.S. economy is fear. Once you become afraid and focus on your financial fears, you put your intention on what you don’t want. By doing this you activate powerful natural forces that tend to provide you with whatever thoughts you are attaching strong emotions to.

So the more you fear a financial collapse, the more you are actually focusing on having that very event happen. This is why it’s important to yell “CANCEL” anytime negative thoughts about the current financial situation in the United States enter your mind.

You can also use the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help release negative financial thoughts that are bothering you -- and visit this audio page from Dan Sullivan once a day for a five-minute boost, or listen to all five audios at once if you have time.

I have been participating in a coaching program run by Dan Sullivan for the past year; he is an amazing mentor and has helped me in many ways. I suspect his audio page will help you too.

The more you and others overcome your financial fears, the more likely we will all reap the benefits of this positive focus and intention.