Economic pressures

[Danny B]

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Greece-Everyone-Needs-Know%C2%AE/dp/0199948798

Move Over Greece, Italy's Crisis Will Be Worse | Zero Hedge
Italy is trying to increase it's birth rate. The People are demanding more welfare to make kids more affordable. Without assistance the population falls. With assistance, GOV debt grows. Eventually, it will be recognised that; either GOV produces debt-free money OR, the population continues to decline.

The CFR does a very good job of analysing Trump's financial plans. They clearly show that he just can't make everybody happy.
"In 2013, and then again in 2015, Congress voted to temporarily suspend the limit. (debt ceiling)

The current suspension expires in March, and Trump administration appointees have signalled differing philosophies. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has warned of the dangers of defaulting, while the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, has previously favored using the debt limit to push for spending cuts."
Trump Budget Deficit and the U.S. Debt - Council on Foreign RelationsGlobal (economic) warming

It remains to be seen just how long Pox Americana can conduct business as usual.
The United States of Permanent War

[Danny B]

Martin Armstrong Warns "Rising Civil Unrest In America Is Highly Dangerous For The Future" | Zero Hedge
Pox Americana has run up ENORMOUS debts, primarily in service to the mother country, israel. It is an artificial country and does NOT have any long-term prospects.
The West is trying to institute socialism and going broke in the process. U.S. GOV debt is reckoned at $ 20 trillion but, is actually double that. Unfunded liabilities are reckoned at $ 213 trillion. (Kotlikoff)

The debt system has destroyed the West and the cabal with it.
Analyzing the Emerging World Order: The Future of Globalism | Global Research - Centre for Research on Globalization
Russia does not have any GOV debt and it is definitely a rising star, What does Russia produce? 1 | The Vineyard of the Saker
George Soros is doing his part to bring a color revolution to America and crash it down. The feces-for-brains Marxists believe that the Cloward-Piven strategy is the key to future happiness;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloward%E2%80%93Piven_strategy

When the great reset happens, that will hasten the fall of the West. Our balance-of-trade deficit is $ 1.5 billion a day. With the crash of credit, our imports will crash,,, including oil.
The upcoming debt-ceiling and budget negotiations will bring a huge dose of reality to our financial state.

We let corporatism run away from control. A corporation has no brain, heart, soul or morality. It is just a pile of money looking to get bigger. "ALL societies that fall into moral collapse soon fall into economic and political collapse", Douglas MacArthur.
It is possible for capitalism to be moral but, it is not possible for crony-capitalism to be moral. It's very basis is un-earned advantage.

http://jayantbhandari.com/capitalism-morality/

[Danny B]

Nowhere to kick the can

The old paradigms of capitalism, socialism, republics, democracy, stimulus and trickle-down economics are broken. They were destroyed by the computer and birth-control. Not to mention super-cheap shipping.
The so-called liberals and progressives have crashed into stupid policies and intransigence. They go running from the room if they hear anything that doesn't agree with pre-formed opinions and old beliefs.
Our brave new world features a crashing consumer base, a demographic crash, runaway automation, bankrupt socialism, etc.

Confidence has fled the scene but, the CBs have printed so much money, it is thwarted while looking for a safe haven. The whole neo-liberalism doctrine has been destroyed by forces beyond the keen of politicians.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2017/feb/25/just-as-neoliberalism-is-finally-on-its-knees-so-too-is-the-left

Regulatory-capture gave us the One Party and the One Bank.
There are NO policies that can rescue the system. Mankind can not expand without limit. Finance systems can't survive without endless expansion.

Neoliberalism self-destructs with NOTHING to replace it. https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...imf-economists
Socialism is incompatible with human nature. BUT, socialism is the firewall between non-producers and Darwinian pressures. Corporatism completely takes man out of the equation. A corporation has no brain so, it doesn't perceive that consumption withers away when potential customers are destitute. A corporation is immortal and immune to prosecution. It has no perception of limitations.
Democracy always , eventually morphs into socialism and communism. A democracy can only be a temporary arrangement.
Trump has the smartest bankers advising him. They ALL read Armstrong. They can see the approaching train wreck. Survival of Goldman Sachs is now impossible without the survival of America.
Helicopter money won't save us in the long run. Social credit has possibilities but, it can't co-exist with human nature. The end of life is death. The opposite of life is boredom. There are ongoing experiments to give everybody a monthly check. I don't hold out much hope. The Libs don't have any answers. The neocons don't have the answer; Neocon panic and agony | The Vineyard of the Saker

Le Pen may win; https://www.theatlantic.com/news/arc...france/517155/
If she is allowed to press ahead with he plans, the Eurozone will collapse; How France scrapping the euro could go beyond a ‘Lehman moment’

As if things aren't already bad enough, "
GEERT Wilders appears on track to win the Dutch election as anti-EU populism continues to sweep across Europe. But what happens if he wins? "
Armstrong calls for the crash to kick off THIS year. The EU will be lucky to last until the end of 2017.
If the PTB can't somehow make the industrial economy serve the majority of the people, those people will have to revert to an agrarian economy. The developed world will lose most of it's cities.
We're heading into the worst of times with the worst of "leaders".

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/career-politicians-arent-qualified-to-run-the-country-20170222-guj8gw.html

Politicians kick the can down the road but, they have flat run out of road.

[Danny B]

The fast approaching paralysis

If you search on "congressional gridlock", it returns 68,000 results. Things have never been this bad. Soros is doing his part to make them worse. Israel has always used sexual entrapment to get control over politicians. Trump is hell bent on exposing all the dirt. The politicians are hell bent on stopping him. They have already signalled that they are going to oppose him at every turn.
There is a dawning appreciation for just what this will mean in the fast-approaching debt ceiling negotiations.
David Stockman: Giant Fiscal Bloodbath Coming Soon, Everything Will Grind to a Halt in 2017 – InvestmentWatch

https://dailyreckoning.com/fiscal-horror-show-playing-soon-washington/

Global sovereign debt to hit new all-time high - S&P | Reuters
"Britain's post-Brexit double downgrade will mean the percentage of world debt now with a top grade 'triple-A' rating will fall to an all-time low of just 7 percent down from around 13 percent a year ago.

S&P's calculations also showed Japan faces by far the highest debt rollover ratio this year, reaching a sum equivalent to 66 percent or two thirds of the size its economy."

The State printed tons of money,,,, the State created ZIRP so that the money would be interest-free. The State could finance itself on this free money.
Greenspan, "I never said that the FED is independent".
The tunnel-vision of the State to finance itself with free money never gave any thought to collateral damage. Like most parasites, it gives little thought to the health of the host. (the producing economy).
The cash-drain from the banks and the mega-consumption from the State (wars, etc) has drained the economic life out of most of the economy.
Incurring debt to support investment with a return is one thing.
Incurring debt solely for consumption is another.
The State incurred debt for consumption until that was no longer possible. Now, it incurs debt at ZIRP (free money) to try to maintain spending (consumption) levels.
The State exudes giga-tons of monetary pixels to keep the consumption party going. The surfeit of "money" has no place to go, other than, mal-investment. The State must $hit out even more money to compensate for the defaults in the mal-investment.

Trump said that the dollar is too strong. The coming federal gridlock should change all that. The S&P downgraded U.S. debt a few years ago. It may suffer another downgrade by summer.

[Danny B]

Evidently people are more important than money

I have TONS of posts writing about all the various symptoms and facets of our economic system. I found an article that condenses the problem(s) down to just a few ideas. I only wish that I were so inspired with information and clarity.

https://econimica.blogspot.com/2017/02/stuff-to-think-about-this-sunday.html

Intellectual Intolerance - Stunning Speech From Stanford University Provost Exposes "The Threat From Within" | Zero Hedge

[Danny B]

“Trump Does Not Yet Understand The Magnitude Of The Problem… It’s Going To Shock The System” | Silver Doctors

Stocks are at 2.7 times historical valuations. Sooner or later, gravity will take over.
When selling starts in markets, it'll trigger an 'avalanche', Marc Faber says
Everybody except the muppets know this but, the exodus hasn't started yet. This "action" is called; "picking up dimes in front of a steamroller". Timing the market is called; "catching a falling knife".
Just Five Charts: From ?Hope? To ?Nope? - Investing Video & Audio Jay Taylor Media

Greece is to be privatized and completely dismembered as a State, Greece to Surrender Gold, Utilities and Real Estate in Exchange For Pieces of Paper Printed in Brussels
From comments;
"According to wikipedia there are "deposits" in banks. This is faulty. Even David Icke is wrong on that point, but a less bit wrong. David Icke understands "fractional banking" as the money "multiplies".
No, banking is total fraud. Bottomline is ECB / IMF has created the money that is current debt. Now they want 7% interest on money they did not have (i.e. using EU states, including Greece as collaterals)
7% means debt will double in 10-12 years
EU is created so that no country can expand money supply. Those who do that (all will have to, and the only option is loans) will be punished by interest rates like 7% (26% one year in case of Greece) -> and they will default. The default is by design.
Austerity will accelerate the default.
PM Tsipras is viewed as an agent for EU banks. Yanis Varoufakis is defending Greek interests.
We have learned US Elite and US Media are lying, cheating scumbags. EU elite and EU media are the same."

The cheerleaders are hard at work;

[Danny B]

The Event Horizon

Kunstler DOES have a way with words; A Hole in the Head - KUNSTLER
The winding down of the post-war boom was anticipated decades ago. Evidently, a lockdown from the Deep State was seen as the "answer". Deep State's Message: Prepare For Totalitarianism - The Daily Coin
Aside from the police state, we have the tribe doing a huge push to socialism. Not content with the proven loser of socialism, they are also instigating wars in MENA to flood Europe, et al with refugees. Multi-cultiNews - ...AND YOU THOUGHT WE WERE A WEIRD MOB? - The Pickering Post
"The strengthening of multicultural or diverse Australia is also our most effective insurance policy against anti-Semitism. The day Australia has a Chinese Australian Governor General I would feel more confident of my freedom to live as a Jewish Australian."
--Miriam Faine, editorial committee member of the Australian Jewish Democrat"

http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2012/08/the-war-on-white-australia-a-case-study-in-the-culture-of-critique-part-4-of-5/

So, they believe that destroying everything to make a world safe for the tribe is the main objective. One has to be extremely stupid to think that destroying social cohesion is the road to greater security.
America is scheduled for a final collapse in 2032---2036. (Armstrong). Igor Panarin says that it will break into 6 sections.
Trump may drain the swamp but, he can't undo 40 years of bad fiscal management.

[Danny B]

Falling wages makes everything look expensive

More and more States have caught on to the fact that you can't have an economy if you don't have people. China has reversed their one-child policy and is now paying you to have kids. Evidently, they aren't paying enough to get people to comply.

https://www.rt.com/news/378864-china-second-child-pay/

March 2017: The End Of A 100 Year Global Debt Super Cycle Is Way Overdue

https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2017/02/peak-wealth-and-peak-energy/

This is a good article and the guy has given a lot of thought to the end of cheap oil. There is just one flaw.

Crude OilHow We Got Here In One Sentence - DollarCollapse.com

[Danny B]

poison pills and energy flux density

Politicians of all stripes really love Ponzi schemes. It allows them to give to voters the proceeds of the future work of their children. Socialism always breaks the bank because politicians promise too much.
Armstrong; "So welcome to the pre-arranged time-bomb of Obama and Boehner. The press will blame this all on Trump. In the end, they will destroy socialism and contribute to the breakup of the United States"
"So the debt crisis looming on the horizon depends entirely upon how bad the Democrats and the press try to spin this to hurt Trump, but they will shoot themselves in the foot and help to destroy socialism and Western Culture if not unleash civil unrest."

"Trump inherits a pre-programmed time-bomb and Obama has organized protests to try to make sure Trump is blamed for everything Washington created since World War II."
"Yes, this debt crisis is right on time with our forecast made decades ago. Of course, the politicians will be faced with the collapse of socialism. Where will the money come from to keep all of these programs going? "
"The debt deal struck by President Barack Obama and the then House Speaker John Boehner back in October 2015, was done purposefully to ensure that the debt crisis would not unfold under Obama and the Democrats. The debt deal was absurd that the $20 trillion mark for the US debt ceiling as of March 15, 2017 would become permanent"

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/sovereign-debt-crisis/the-obama-boehner-debt-crisis/

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/pension-crisis/teamsters-local-707-goes-bankrupt/

Energy, Money, And The Destruction Of Equilibrium | Zero Hedge

Crosspost, nobody is sure where Trump is going; Neocon Or Isolationist? Who Cares! The Future Is All About Russia, Iran, And China | Zero HedgeUS Mint Releases New Fort Knox "Audit Documentation": First Critical Observations | Zero Hedge

Energy flux density and society; https://larouchepac.com/energy-flux-density

http://schillerinstitute.org/economy/2016/1111-4laws/ross4L.html

[Danny B]

So, a growth in money supply is counted as GROWTH ??
Written by Jim Rickards,,, the SDR guy.

https://dailyreckoning.com/next-signal-watch/

"My own thinking is that Fed is now in a tightening mode because even the die-hard Keynesians have finally come to realize that their money printing policies of QE1, QE2, the Taper, and QE3 all have failed miserably. So they are pretending that the economy is on the mend to give them cover to allow rates to rise in order to restock ammunition for the next major economic catastrophe."

So, Yellen is going to use these positiveBSWhat Financial Disaster Awaits Us Next? - Investing Video & Audio Jay Taylor MediaFree money will do that.https://media.wix.com/ugd/1f610b_d64...1eec3a76dc.pdfKeynes said that we need perpetual war to keep the economy stimulated.
David Stockman: Trump Will Create a Debt Crisis Like Never Before | Fox Business

https://capitalistexploits.at/2017/03/world-whack-coming-watch-4-catalysts/

[Danny B]

https://mishtalk.com/2017/03/02/draghis-dilemma-eurozone-inflation-hits-2-with-italy-on-bond-life-support/

With a one-size-fits-all interest rate, Germans would pay much higher interest rates to cover potential defaults from the weaker economies.

"However it is what happens after this blow off top phase that is more interesting: that is the moment the "Icarus" trade becomes the "Humpty Dumpty" trade."
" On March 15th the Fed will likely tighten for the 2nd time in 3 months.
As if that wasn't enough, March 15th is also the date of the Dutch election, and also when the US debt ceiling will be - hopefully - reinstated and immediately surpassed."
AMAZING chart; http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...%20rates_0.jpgwtf are they smoking?
Bank Of America Sets A Date For The Market's "Great Fall" | Zero Hedge

Then, there is malware; https://arstechnica.com/security/201...und-the-globe/
"Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan said, in a note, the Fed may be worried it is going to overshoot on full employment " wtf are these people smoking?
Three reasons the Fed wants to hike rates in March

[Danny B]

Crypto currencies

Currently, pretty quiet.
MATASII has a pretty good article about the collapse of retail stores causing a collapse of retail property values. They think that the retail RE crash will be worse than the collapse of residential RE.

https://matasii.com/the-coming-financial-implosion-is-not-going-to-be-about-the-banks/

All the bankers and Central Banks are talking about starting up Digital currencies. Most of our sovereign currencies only exist in electronic form already. The complete loss of bearer currencies represents a complete transfer of control from the individual to the State. The State developed TOR for it's own uses, No Conspiracy Theory Needed: Tor Created for U.S. Gov't Spying | Network WorldRisk of Bitcoin Hacks and Losses Is Very Real | Fortune.com

https://hacked.com/biggest-bitcoin-hacks-thefts-time/

If you treat the digital Dollar and Bitcoin as currencies, then Bitcoin is far better, as there is a restraint on its issue. Digital Dollars are conjured out with absolutely no control over the quantity created.
Central Bank-Issued Digital Currency will never happen, because everyone could bypass the private banks. It would put - as even the Bank of England found in a study - our monetary system upside down. People would demand all their deposits in central bank digital currency, because you can transmit it to everyone and store it securely without banks. We would end up in a full reserve system. Never going to happen.

What could possibly go wrong with just adding some binary digits into somebody's account without adding value to a countries fake Gross Domestic Product ?
It's worked a treat so far.

We're going in to a credit collapse. Considering the blighted record, of banks, the State, and crypto currencies, it doesn't look like ANY of them engender trust. Rickards may talk up the SDR until our ears go numb but, at the end of the day, it can be produced in any quantity. Our trading partners aren't going to accept something that the West can conjure up without limit.
Wages have crashed,,, the consuming population has severely diminished, discretionary spending has crashed.
Crypto currency isn't even a bandage.

Remember, if Bloomberg and the bankers want it, you DON'T
The Monetary Reset: E Dollar Concept is Being Pursued by The BOE, PBOC, and Yes, The Fed.

[Danny B]

Hopium and desperation in the Eccles building

Currently, the FED funds rate follows ~exactly the population of 15---62 year old consumers. The consumer base is falling. The FED funds rate is stuck on the floor trying to stimulate the economy. They are trying to use low-interest to stimulate increased spending. The credit system can't tolerate a shrinkage in consumption. In the run-up to the next FED meeting, we see that hopium is going to decide the day.



11 Quotes From Trump?s Speech To Congress That Show That The U.S. Economy Is In A State Of CollapseRussia and China Team up Against Washington’s Gold Racket

The Central Banks sold off their gold (for paper that they can print without limit) for several years to depress the price (raise the perceived value of their currencies.

https://srsroccoreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Central-Bank-Offical-Net-Gold-Purchases-2003-2015.png

They are hard at work trying to block gold from being considered as a store of value.
NEW UNCOVERED INFORMATION: Why Central Banks Were Forced To Rig The Gold Market | Zero Hedge

https://dailyreckoning.com/feds-open-conspiracy/

So, they get their rate hike and then,,,, are forced to walk it back. The prime interest rate is solidly tied to consumption by the (shrinking) consumer class.

If the FED raises rates, the dollar gets stronger.
" have warned that rates will rise BECAUSE the Federal Reserve will be criticized if they fail to do so when they are faced with a stock market that is rising. However, while one by one, several Fed officials have all signaled in recent days that the Fed is ready to resume raising interest rates as soon as this month, the real crisis for the Fed will be raising rates will strength the dollar and put even more pressure on Europe and emerging markets. Hence, the 64 billion dollar question is will the Fed abandon international policy objectives for domestic?"

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/interest-rates-world-news/why-the-fed-needs-to-raise-rates/

If the FED raises rates, that will put pressure on European banks. Reportedly, a few European banks are owners of the FED.
"Domestic Policy Objectives will win out over International. This will only have the same impact of causing capital inflows for the dollar will rise. Yet the Fed has no choice. To do nothing will invite attacks by the Democrats who will say they are only helping the rich get richer watching the stock market rise irrespective of the economy. What we are facing is asset inflation FIRST. "
"nomy. What we are facing is asset inflation FIRST. That means Draghi and the ECB will be in even a more difficult position trying to maintain negative interest rates that have completely FAILED to revitalize the European economy. It has been 8 years of a complete brain-dead economic policy by the ECB." The EU and ECB are toast.

https://dailyreckoning.com/feds-getting-ready-raise-weakness/

So, the FED desperately wants to raise rates so that they can lower them when the next recession hits. BUT, raising rates will bring on a huge market retraction.
The election of populists in France, Netherlands and Austria will send even more capital fleeing. The upcoming forced devaluation of the Yuan will cause more capital flight.

[Danny B]

March of the muppets,,, bankruptcy of the FED GOV

The stock market just goes higher and higher. The fact that returns are terrible doesn't seem to dissuade investors (gamblers). The big boys have set all this up and theyThe Second Dumbest Kind Of Money Is Pouring Into Stocks - “With A Vengeance” - DollarCollapse.com

FED GOV is RAPIDLY running out of cash. It's near vertical on a graph.
"I think what people are missing is this date, March 15th 2017. We are burning cash at a $75 billion a month rate. By summer, they will be out of cash."
"So, with two weeks left until the debt ceiling suspension expires, Treasury's cash balance plummeted to $109 billion this week as of Thursday"
Then we will be in the mother of all debt ceiling crises. Everything will grind to a halt."
This Is The Only Chart Americans Should Be Worrying About Right Now | Zero Hedge
6 weeks of cash left.POTUS at SOTUS - KUNSTLER

"Here are some examples from the real world. In 1952, it cost $30 to have a baby in an excellent hospital. If we adjust that by official inflation as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistic's inflation calculator to 2017, the cost would be $275. ($1 in 1952 = $9.16 in 2017)."
" My father paid 1.8% of his wages for "hospital group insurance" in the early 1950s (for a household of four kids and two adults.) For someone earning $1,000 a week, the equivalent today would be $72 a month out of a monthly gross income of $4,000.
My spouse and I pay $1330 a month for barebones healthcare insurance in today's sickcare system."
This is an excellent article on the enormous cost of crony-capitalism, oftwominds-Charles Hugh Smith: Why Is the Cost of Living so Unaffordable?

https://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/107462/coming-great-wealth-transfer

https://mishtalk.com/2017/03/03/pension-benefit-guarantee-corporation-running-out-of-cash-millions-affected/

Thanks to the blessings of having the reserve currency, we are spending ourselves down very slowly. It is a different story for Venezuela.
"The Venezuelan government only has $10.5 billion left in foreign reserves, which the government has been using in recent years to pay outstanding debts." " Venezuela will have to pay $2.1 billion by this April, and a total of $7.2 billion by the end of the year. "
"Inflation is expected to increase by 1,660% this year and another 2,880% next year"

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/venezuela-is-on-its-last-legs-as-government-cash-reserves-rapidly-dwindle_032017

Here in Los Angeles; http://laist.com/2014/09/19/los_ange...t_of_the_m.php

[Danny B]

WHAT technical support?
Citi's Matt King: "We Think You Should Sell" | Zero HedgePresident Trump and Gold | AVERY B. GOODMAN BLOG