It’s an amazing time when the optimists among us are expecting only a severe recession. But that’s the case right now. Most observers know what is coming. It’s a Depression (capital “D” intended) that’s coming, called by some another Great Depression, and by others the Greater Depression. I think that’s accurate.
Why? We have built our house on the shifting sands of credit, not financially stable savings. We made the mistake of assuming paper profits that were so inflated they weren’t even taxed (how insubstantial must a type of profit be for even the U.S. Government not to recognize it?). Sure, Capital Gains on Real Estate used to be taxed when the property was sold, but no longer. That, as much as anything should have tipped us off that they weren’t real.
Over the next two years, Americans will learn some hard lessons. Among them:
- Real Estate prices cannot and do not go up forever.
- Houses and ATMs are two very different things.
- Our leaders don’t know nearly as much about the economy as they pretend to.
- Spending more than you make doesn’t work for individuals, businesses or governments.
So, Americans are left watching the spectacle devoted to what the government is going to do to fix this. Soon, maybe in the next 3 weeks, maybe in the next 3 months, we as a society will come to the conclusion that the government hasn’t the first clue about how to fix the problem. At that point, Americans’ attention will shift to what they can do individually to protect themselves. My suggestion is that you make that shift now.
Toward that end, I’m putting together a report titled “A New Great Depression: What you can do to prepare your family and yourself for economic disaster.” It’s going to be a free report, downloadable from this site when it’s finished, hopefully by the end of the week.
In it, I’ll lay out where we are right now as an economy, and some of the things I believe we’ll be facing as Americans over the next 10 years. The report will have a set of steps to prepare for the aftermath of the collapse we’re seeing unfold right now.
As soon as I have it finished, I’ll post the link to download the report.
Posted in
Economy,
Housing Bubble,
Politics,
Society Tags:
Depression,
Dow,
Economy,
Greater Depression,
Market Crash,
Recession
—WCN Warning: Economic/Terrorist event possible—
Here’s my bet.
Yes.
I think the outpouring of angry comment from the constituents of the 435 House members, all of whom are up for reelection in November, will convince a big enough number of them that if they want to keep their jobs (for whatever that will be worth in the post-crash United States), they will vote against the bailout.
The American people are angry. They have a right to be. They’ve been manipulated, lied to, drugged with cheap credit, cheap mass media “entertainment” rich with endless hours of inane reality TV, ridiculously expensive popular culture retail fluff and the American Panto of loundmouthed talking head news/debate shows. They’re waking up from the American Dream, which is starting to look like a night’s restless sleep brought on by a huge malt liquor bender, their head hurts and they’re pissed.
Con Artists like Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd and the like are still trying to shove this pork-infested rescue of their rich patrons, getting progressively more strident in their swearing the bailout is necessary to keep the U.S. from plunging into a depression.
I, for one, am already depressed! I’m depressed that those who profess to lead our nation don’t feel they’ve stolen enough, that they have to take what’s left before fleeing town themselves. Then again, I think it’s possible that the thieves who have put us (with our distracted and at times unconscious help) in this precarious position may well have thought their gravy train would continue indefinitely. Is it possible their panic is more caused by their sudden realization that the income derived from their stealing may be at an end, too? Could it be they’ve overreached, and are about to kill their own golden goose?
That would sure panic me!
In any event, as painful as it will be, our economy and political system needs an overhaul, a cleaning that will sweep away those we’ve foolishly allowed to lead us. Americans need to really read the Constitution and once again embrace this document. it’s still relevent and will save us.
If we let it.
***Update***
Clearly, I was wrong about the bill failing. I keep this post up because I don’t want to hide the fact that I was wrong in my optimism that the Executive and Legislative branches of our Government would listen to the will of their constituents. They did not. There reportedly hasn’t been a greater outpouring of opposition to legislation they were pushing in the history of our Republic.
They failed us. And should pay for this dereliction of duty with massive electoral change in the November elections. No member of the House, Republican, Democrat or Independent (all of whom are up for reelection, of course) who voted for this atrocious bill should be summarily release from service by being voted out of office. The same for any Senator up for re-election, though I would guess you will find a lower percentage of those, since only a third of the Senate is begging for their continued employment in November. Though I haven’t looked at the numbers, the water for this abomination was probably born by those who had another 2 or 4 years left in their term.
Cowards, crooks, thieves and liars. I am ashamed. It is time for change.
Posted in
Economy,
Politics,
Society,
US Tags:
Bailout,
Congress,
Constitution,
Depression,
Economy,
Politics
—WCN Warning: Economic/Terrorist event possible—
Congress refused to pass a $700B bailout bill on Monday. The reasons for the failure of this bill, if you listen to the media are basically, two:
1. Many people don’t believe there really is a dire economic emergency that requires Congress to take action to hold off a “Greater Depression.”
2. Republicans, childishly miffed over being insulted by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who while speaking just before the vote layed all the blame at the feet of the Bush Administration.
Typically, these two reasons are basically made of that substance, bovine-produced, that is often said to be “hitting the fan.”
The huge outpouring of “VOTE NO TO THE BAILOUT BILL” from an angry populace was in fact, a vote of NO CONFIDENCE to our elected leaders, who often fail to remember that they do, in fact, work for US. We were saying “we’re not going to allow the same fools who created this problem attempt to SOLVE this problem, because we’re not confident they know how to do so.”
The vote on Monday was a startling and very welcomed affirmation that we call the shots, and if Congress wants to keep the cushy jobs they live their lives trying to hang on to, they’ll do what we tell them to do, or they’ll be out on their asses.
NO to a bailout. NO to the people who created this crisis (Bush, Bernanke, Paulson, Congress) spending hundreds of billions of our dollars to try and fix this problem.
In NPR’s defense, in a story that followed the one cited above on Morning Edition, a much friendlier friendly version of this opinion surfaced. Though the concept of “no confidence” wasn’t meantioned, I believe that future events will make this very, very clear.
Posted in
Economy,
Politics Tags:
Bailout,
Congress,
Depression,
Economy,
Recession
—WCN Warning: Economic/Terrorist event possible—
Despite the massive outcry from constituents that demanded their elected officials vote against yesterday’s $700B Wall Street bailout, observers and some marching-in-lockstep lawmakers are saying, to quote Billy Crystal’s character from The Princess Bride, “Miracle Max,” the bill is only “mostly dead.” In other words, there may still be a way for Congress to circumvent the wishes of the American People and pass a bill that gives Wall Street liars and gamblers a “do-over,” paying for their gambling bill and making them whole.
If only I would have had access to that kind of bailout the last time I went to Vegas.
Washington, DC needs to hear this: The American People don’t want to send the message that it’s OK to bail out thieves and gamblers.
Sure, there will be hardship. That’s a consequence of cutting corners and looking to “get something for nothing.” What many on Wall Street are seeking to avoid is not only the harsh reality of paying the bill on a bad investment, but also jail time. And there WILL be jail time. The hardship must come, if we truly want to cleanse our economy of this problem. What those responsible for the fiasco caused by OTC derivatives and toxic debt repackaging really fear is the outrage the hardship will create. Outrage that will inspire investigations, trials and prison time.
It will be tough, but it’s necessary.
Posted in
Economy Tags:
Bailout,
Depression,
Economy,
Recession
—WCN Warning: Economic/Terrorist event possible—
As we wait for the markets to open (in about 40 minutes from this writing), many readers of WCN are asking “what will happen if the economy ‘melts down?’”
That’s a good question. The answer to which brought a chilling silence to the assembled Congressional leaders when Bernanke and Paulson briefed them several days ago, pleading for the adoption of the $700B bailout plan.
In short, the result could very well be the end of the United States of America as a viable economic entity. To be blunt and even shorter: Chaos.
The United States is an economic system that depends on a lot of moving parts working together in complicated subsystems. Money must flow, in the form of credit, trucks must roll, supplying a long supply line of commerce that stretches from the manufacturer of millions of products all the way to the checkout stand, and people must go to work so they can earn paychecks that go into bank accounts so all of this can be paid for.
If there’s no money to buy loads of plastic, made-in-China stuff at Wal-Mart, there are no jobs for the Wal-Mart checkers, with no money going into THEIR checking accounts, etc. If money can’t flow to pay for fuel, big trucks pulling semi-trailers can roll into your local Safeway to deliver the food that you use YOUR bank credits to buy and take home. Without those trucks rolling, there’s nothing on the shelves of that Safeway.
Chaos.
If you were watching CNN or Fox News over the weekend, you may be wondering why all of these professional, usually cool-under-fire politicians were on camera clearly shaken, unsure and in my estimation, on a couple of occasions, almost ready to cry. They were staring into the abyss, know that even if they passed a bailout package, there was no guarantee that it would save them from the plunge along with the rest of us.
And it was interesting seeing them so shaken. It is absolutely critical that you realize these people who pretend to serve us in Washington, DC have created a system that almost totally insulates them from the challenges we “unwashed masses” face in our lives. From health care to a retirement system that is completely detached from our Social Security system. Their system is well-funded and not, as ours is, bankrupt. To see these people, who by the way created this crisis, sweating it along with the rest of this, is interesting.
—Update—
Here we go…Down +100 9:34am…
Down 300+ 10:45am…
Posted in
Economy,
Politics Tags:
Bailout Plan,
Congress,
Depression,
Economy,
Recession
—WCN Warning: Economic/Terrorist event possible—
Three important posts from the Northeast Intelligence Network
Our current economic crisis: Could part be a terror attack on U.S. financials?
Analyzing patterns and pre-attack indicators
More in financial terrorism possibilities
Though other indications have come our way, these three posts from NIN are very clear, concise and paint the most complete picture of any website available.
Information has come to WCN from the most reliable sources that U.S. officials are taking very seriously the possibility of “severe disruptions” in the next two weeks, centered on October 7. It’s also very interesting and troubling that the “web bot project” from this group is suggesting that their predictive linguistic data gathering is suggesting a potentially massive and important event near that same date.
This is a time when our economy is at its most vulnerable. I believe this is all very real.
Be safe and be prepared.
This is a developing story that WCN will continue to follow.
Posted in
Economy,
Terrorism Tags:
Depression,
Economy,
Islam,
Terrorism,
War
We’re at a critical juncture in our history. The American economy has been built on credit, truly huge amounts of credit, and the problem is the American people have stopped seeing the credit they spend as wealth and real money. Las Vegas uses chips as money in casinos, not just because it’s safer or simpler, but because they know the psychology of gambling. A player will find it much easier to put a black chip at risk than a one hundred dollar bill. A blackjack table wouldn’t see nearly as much business if vacation gamblers had to open their wallets and put their hard-earned cash on the table.
Credit cards are the same thing. How often have you made purchases on your credit card (or your debit card for that matter) that you never would have forked over cash for? I’ve done it, and in my advancing years I’ve become pretty conservative. The cliche that we’ve been using our homes as ATMs for the past several years is perfectly accurate. We’ve been spending money we didn’t have, profits we hadn’t realized that banks, mortgage brokers and other financial services entities called “equity.” We’re waking up with a huge financial hangover after many years of binge spending.
Congress is debating how to solve the problem. In truth, they’re debating how best to spin a “solution” to the American people that will make them look clean and faultless in the situation. It’s all politics. What our “leaders” do on Capitol Hill doesn’t, in the long run, mean anything. The problem is well beyond anything they can do to solve it. The vast majority of them don’t even understand it. The only important person inside the Beltway that I can confidently say understands what’s going on is Ron Paul, but he’s been so marginalized by the media, he’s out of sight. That’s a shame of historical enormity, because Dr. Paul gets it. The American people will never realize what our two parties have cost us by spinning Ron Paul into the media wilderness, and I feel sad about that.
There is no solution that Congress and the great mass of Americans will accept, because a true, cleansing solution will be economically painful and will mean a dramatic reduction in our standard of living. There’s no room for that in the “American Dream.” But the American Dream is just that, a dream. It is time to wake up, because the sun is coming up and the new day is starting, even though dark clouds threaten. Many Americans will find waking so disorienting and painful, they’ll try to convince themselves they’re still asleep, and will refuse to face reality. They’ll try hard to maintain their standard of living, but it will be impossible. Faced with an angry populace, our leaders will do whatever they can to keep this false, plastic dream alive. They’ve actually gotten quite good at this over the past couple decades, but they’re having to get more and more dramatic in their “solutions.” It’s getting out of hand, and will escape their control very soon.
At that time, I fear our Government’s only option will be military action to distract the American people from the truth of our economic situation. American forces exchanged fire with Pakistani troops today, and that’s a problem, because they’re supposedly our allies. They’re also a nuclear power. I think what’s happening, is that the Bush administration is pushing really, really hard for some resolution to the bin Laden situation, and telling Pakistan that it’s time to give him up. They don’t want to do that, but George Bush doesn’t want to leave office with bin Laden still free. He wants the image of the man who masterminded 9/11 paraded through the streets of New York in chains to be his lasting legacy. Maybe then, he must figure, will people forget about all the failed policies, corruption and incompetence that marked his administration. But, the Pakistanis won’t go down so easy, especially possessing nukes. It could get very, very ugly, very, very quickly.
Posted in
Economy,
War Tags:
Bailout,
Depression,
Economy,
War
Was the 20th Century. Americans wanted to keep the rally alive and make the 21st Century American as well. The “financial tsunami” currently washing over our economy suggests this century won’t belong to us. But who will dominate?
Many believe China. Others say Brazil. Russia, of course, has their own ideas about who should dominate. It’s a tough call. With the blank check bailout Congress is currently debating (and will eventually, whether they want to or not, will pass) a plan that effectively converts us from a Capitalist country to a Communist one. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s essentially true. We are setting up a system in which the government owns and lends. By buying up billions in mortgages, the U.S. Government is converting millions of American homes into public housing.
That’s not the government’s job. But in bailing out Wall Street and buying bad investments from the fools who made them, the government is taking ownership of things it has no business owning. It’s the kind of huge government expansion the founders cautioned against.
Posted in
Economy Tags:
Bailout,
Depression,
Economy,
Recession