What happens when untold, growing masses of people are unemployed or under-employed, hungry, and losing their homes? And jobs just are not available to provide hope?
Permitting oneself an occasional philosophical reflection and contextual refocus can prove to be important in our personal quest to come out ahead. All of us in the good old USA could use just such a pause right about now.Look, there is absolutely no way the gargantuan political machine in Washington will ever consider backing the dollar with gold -- much less (God forbid) cutting spending and taxes at the same time. The dollar is doomed.
So what will happen next? I keep coming to only one bleak conclusion: the United States will have to default. And that will be the final call for the dollar. Food shortages, rationing, and martial law could become the status quo.
It will undoubtedly seem farfetched to some of you, but I don't think the United States can survive the failure of its currency -- especially considering that the catastrophe will be the direct result of decades of governmental lies and manipulation. The states sent legislators to Washington who have systematically and purposely destroyed our currency. They manufactured an irresponsible Ponzi scheme that created false prosperity, over and over again. I simply don't think the states in the Union -- many of whom asserted their independence at another point in history -- will sit still for more of the same.
[snip] What nonsense is likely to triumph? We don’t know the answer, as yet, because everything depends on the leaders that emerge as the crisis develops. Negative emotions, like envy and ethnic intolerance, are likely candidates. We must hope and pray they will not be exploited by political opportunists or demagogues. The danger is greatest when the people lose their patience. But first, many will lose their jobs, their life savings, and their future prospects.
This country needs a patient and tolerant spirit. We need unity and caution, if only to preserve those institutions which stand between our existence and the abyss. We must not forget that America’s nuclear arsenal upholds global order. The nuclear missiles of Russia and China are aimed at us, even now, because these countries want to form a new world order – in which they dominate. If the United States loses its nuclear deterrent as the result of internal disorders, then Russia and China will be tempted to carry out their destructive plans. In that event, a compound negative interest will be applied to the population and wealth of the entire world – and a new Dark Age will be born.
1.Wave one of commercial real estate foreclosures and loan failures. Some of the biggest of the big buildings will be foreclosed and those planned but not built will never see daylight. Meanwhile, vacancies skyrocket while budgets are busted with dropping rents. One analyst estimated the New York City Financial district buildings will see 66% occupancies with breakeven budgets being much higher. You will see some major shopping malls shut down.
2.The second wave of residential foreclosures and loan failures arrives dragging down all real estate values both commercial and residential. They will sink like a rock in over-built states and within those regions previously hit the worst. This is related to the next mortgage failure cycle. Some of those formerly upscale, McMansion subdivisions will turn into ghost towns.
3.Wave one of auto loan failures containing billions in bank, credit union and auto finance company loans will smash credit markets. The reaction will be stunning and probably stop most vehicle lending temporarily for weeks paralyzing automakers and those lenders still doing car and truck loans.
4.Wave one of several future waves of credit card failures estimated at $40 billion by bank credit analysts will be an April smash. Normally card failures are in the 1-2% range annually. This larger event opens doors for a historic new number of non-payers and delinquents. This cycle is mostly job loss related but most of it is due to overspending by cardholders.
5.Wave one of the CDS Credit Default Swaps will hit markets like a Tsunami. These failures will be so overpowering, those in charge will be stunned and flabbergasted by the numbers. The figures are so large we cannot even imagine the amounts. One analyst said it was estimated between $500 and $750 Trillion dollars! There is no margin or deposit money on these trades.
View the article.
Just came across this page at www.layoffdaily.com and thought some might want to bookmark it:
Better consider carefully your next moves. The world economy is deteriorating more quickly than leading economists predicted only weeks ago, with Britain yesterday becoming the latest nation to surprise analysts with the depth of its economic pain.
Britain posted its worst quarterly contraction since 1980 on the heels of sharper than expected slowdowns reported from Germany to China to South Korea. The grim data, analysts said, underscores how the burst of the biggest credit bubble in history is seeping into the real economies around the world, silencing construction cranes, bankrupting businesses and throwing millions of people out of work.
"In just the past few days, we've had a big downward revision, we're seeing that an even bigger deceleration is on the way than we thought," said Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
The nation's 11th recession of the postwar era began in December 2007 and easily could become the longest since the Great Depression, although most forecasters expect a weak recovery to begin in the second half of this year.
But what are the odds that we’re in the early stages of what will eventually become a depression rather than just a recession?
The answer starts with definitions. While the term "depression" is reserved for the most extreme economic collapses, there is no technical definition, say economists. [snip]
It's been a good long while since I've had the time for a genuine blog post here, so I'm going to steal the time right now to make various comments on the state of the world as they pertain to crisis preparedness.
Looking back at the last several posts here, it looks like we're proclaiming the end of the world via a dissolving economy. We normally try to keep an even keel and simply raise awareness of a wide range of potential threats. Our overall goal is to encourage preparedness.
