Michael Snyder, Contributor

Activist Post

Europe is not just heading into another recession. The truth is that Europe is heading into a full-blown depression. The economy of the EU is actually larger than the U.S. economy, and we are watching it melt down right in front of our eyes.

Things just continue to get worse in Europe, and yet somehow the authorities over in Europe just keep insisting that everything is going to be “just fine”. Well, everything is not “just fine” over in Europe right now.

Unemployment in the eurozone has just hit another brand new record high. In some nations in Europe, the unemployment rate is already significantly higher than anything the United States experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Europe is a continent that is collapsing under the weight of its own debt, and this is just the beginning. A lot more pain is on the way. Officials over in Europe are trying to hold the European financial system together with duct tape and prayers, but it could literally fall apart at any moment.

Europe has a much larger banking system than the United States does, so when a financial collapse happens in Europe, it is going to be very significant for the entire globe. Sadly, most Americans do not even pay attention to much of anything that is happening in Europe. They tend to think that the United States is the center of the universe and that as long as we are fine that everything will be okay.

Well, all of those people who are not paying attention need to wake up. First of all, the U.S. economy is most definitely in decline . Secondly, the European economy is imploding right in front of our eyes and Europe is going to end up dragging the entire globe down with it. The following are 11 facts that show that Europe is heading into an economic depression… 1. The economies of 17 out of the 27 countries in the EU have contracted for at least two consecutive quarters. 2. Unemployment in the eurozone has hit a brand new all-time record high of 11.7 percent. 3. The unemployment rate in Portugal is now up to 16.3 percent. A year ago it was just 13.7 percent. 4. The unemployment rate in Greece is now up to 25.4 percent. A year ago it was just 18.4 percent. 5. The unemployment rate in Spain has hit a brand new all-time record high of 26.2 percent. How much higher can it possibly go? This is already higher than the unemployment rate than the United States ever reached during the Great Depression of the 1930s. 6. Youth unemployment levels in both Greece and Spain are rapidly approaching the 60 percent level. 7. Earlier this month, Moody’s stripped France of its AAA credit rating, and wealthy individuals are leaving France in droves as the socialists implement plans to raise taxes to very high levels on the rich. 8. Industrial production is collapsing all over Europe. Just check out these numbers… You don’t have to be an economic genius to understand that the perpetual uncertainty over the Eurozone’s future has led to a widespread freeze on industrial investment and development. Industrial production is collapsing at an accelerating rate, falling 7% year-on-year in Spain and Greece, 4.8% in Italy, and 2.1% in France. 9. There are even trouble signs in the “stable” economies in Europe. In Germany, factory orders in September were down 3.3 percent from the month before, and retail sales in October declined 2.8 percent from the previous month. 10. The debt of the Greek government is now projected to hit 189 percent of GDP by the end of this year. 11. The Greek economy has shrunk by more than 7 percent this year, and it is being projected that the Greek economy will contract by another 4.5 percent in 2013. But sometimes you can’t really get a feel for how bad things really are over there just from the raw economic numbers. Many people that are living through these depression-like conditions are totally giving in to despair. Just check out the following example from an RT article from earlier this year…



Brave - The Browser Built for Privacy A 61-year-old Greek pensioner has hung himself from a tree in a public park after succumbing to the pressure of crushing debt. A note in his pocket indicates he is merely the latest in a rash of economic crisis-induced suicides. The pensioner’s lifeless body was found dangling by an attendant in a public park not far from his home in the suburb of Nikaia, Athens. The attendant also found a suicide note in the man’s pocket, The Athens news reports. The man, identifying himself as Alexandros, said he was a man of few vices who “worked all day.” However, he blamed himself from committing one “horrendous crime”: becoming a professional at the age of 40 and plunging himself into debt. He referred to himself as a 61-year-old idiot who had to pay, hoping his grandchildren would not be born in Greece, as the country’s prospects were so bleak. Please take note of what is happening in places like Greece and Spain right now, because similar conditions will soon be coming to the United States. This is one reason why I try so hard to encourage people to prepare for what is coming. There is hope in understanding what is coming and there is hope in getting prepared. You don’t want to end up getting blindsided by the coming crisis and end up sitting on a park bench trying to figure out if life is still worth living or not. Life is most definitely worth living. Yes, a storm is coming and the world is going to become incredibly unstable in more ways than one. But if you understand what is coming and you work hard to prepare, then you and your family will have a chance to thrive even in the midst of the storm. Please learn from what is happening over in Europe. The economic horror show that is unfolding over there is going to come to America too, and time is running out.

This article first appeared here at the American Dream. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here.