This is one indication that government statistics are a flat out lie. Both unemployment and inflation are much worse than they would have you believe. At the root of this is the Keynesian economic ideology, popular in mainstream thought, that places emphasize on consumption while neglecting production. As a consequence, production went offshore and the credit ran out.
I fully expect the Obama Regime to work from Hoover’s and Roosevlt’s playbook. Considering how much bigger and more powerful government has gotten since those days, I estimate that this Depression will be at least twice as bad and last at least twice as long. They’ll keep making the same mistakes, expecting a different result each time.Without a gold standard, there is no limit to how much money they can throw away. We should keep watch for signs inflation is going to take off again, probably not for at least a year.
Pretty hard to believe anything "official" when we can’t have much confidence in the figures being produced anyway.
Let’s make an analogy to a roller coaster. We’ve climbed on this roller coaster to the top of the ride with the housing bubble in 2005 and we’ve slowly been making our descent ever since then. Things really picked up speed as we got hit with the credit crisis in mid 2007. Since then things have gotten worse and worse. Right now we are looking left and right at the current conditions around us and trying to figure out how bad things are - and yes they are bad. But let’s turn our attention to the front of the roller coaster and consider all of the deflation of the money supply still to play out along with the structural problems of the housing bubble and see that the problems stretch off into the distance down, down, down. And look further and see that humanity will extrapolate the current conditions (downward direction) past what could otherwise be a bottom (just as a boom can outlast the fundamentals, so a crash can go beyond what is warranted).
So if we are on a roller coaster without any brakes and we can see what is ahead of us…at what point do we state that we are in a depression?
I don’t know about you but the wind is whistling through my hair pretty fast already.
Since I don’t want to leave this post on a desperate note I’ll refer to the good quote that joe2baba used: "a recession is when other people lose their jobs and a depression is when you lose yours". Even with widespread unemployment there will still be vast numbers of people that will have jobs. And so for those working the impact of the depression will be that their living quarters at home will be more crowded from taking in other relatives who, hopefully, are keeping themselves busy upgrading skills, trying to be entrepreneurial with their available labor, doing work around the house, gardening in the backyard, etc. There will still be many, many people working (although they may have taken pay cuts to keep their jobs). Obviously without accumulated investment and savings or helpful neighbors this adjustment can be quite painful.
So my roller coaster analogy only addresses the relative performance (i.e. direction) of the economy (down) but doesn’t tell us much about the economy’s ABSOLUTE performance which might keep chugging along to some extent but at a much lower level. And I’m optimistic that if people understand what is to come it can better help them make the adjustments that are needed.
I am just saying that people are going to blame basically everything on him, and I don’t think he deserves it. I personally think that no one can solve this, and I pity whoever has to be in charge of a failing country/world.
[quote=ashtonw]I am just saying that people are going to blame basically everything on him, and I don’t think he deserves it. I personally think that no one can solve this, and I pity whoever has to be in charge of a failing country/world.
[/quote]
Well, he DID put his hand up. And I refuse to believe he didn’t know what was going on…
Print Now that the US election is over, we get to think about the Future. And, no matter how you look at it, the entire world, the West particularly, is in for tough sledding financially.
I am a single mom which just lost her job in the middle of finding the crash course. I am terrify of our future. You can talk all about things that are happening but I need to know what to do. What are you doing to prepare for the future? How do you think the future will be? How soon the future is future for you?
Whatever you may think of Alex Jones is irrevalent in these videos, it’s what Ron Paul says that is important, sounds like something nasty will hit the fan between Nov 15,2008 and Jan 21, 2009
Sorry, I posted the wrong link to the video, you have to scroll down a bit till you see a video box with The Alex Jones Show, 2012, and Ron Paul in it.
I am a college student, so I don’t have much money. But what I do have in savings is going towards guns, ammo, gold, silver, and non perishable food. I am a mechanical engineering student, so their are still jobs available, but even our field is getting tougher to find a job. If I do get a job and can afford a home, it will be out in the country with plenty of farming land.
I would definitely recommend you listen to the audio clips that gregroberts posted. Ron Paul is one of the few who speaks the truth. He does have a bodyguard. In this clip, I have never heard him be so frank about what is about to happen. We have always heard the rumors about a New World Order, well, it’s here. One of the things he mentions is the new currency, Amero? This scares me. Because we’re not going to get 1 for 1 for our dollar, no way. So if you have 10K in the bank, you may only have 5K with the new currency.
Chris - Would love to hear your thoughts on the big meeting of world leaders in DC next weekend to discuss Bretton Woods II.
Good clip. Paul, to me, is a real straight shooter. The url to the clip is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqN2EKuXX2g
I’m going to look and post later what the redenomination meant to Mexicans and Argentinians with gold or silver…
From a fundamental aspect, I can see it wiping clean a lot of our national debt. I don’t see how it will help the economy from a consumer standpoint as the debt just gets redenominated as well.
From an empirestical/world government aspect - this sucks! I think the sheepal mentality won’t object…
I’m in the retail side of real estate and I’m starting to see landlord’s MUCH more willing to renogiate lease rates and terms. I’m in the process of renogiating a few for some tenants right now. The landlord’s do not want to lose any tenants right now since the market is obviously stagnant and finding a replacement would be very tough.
Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm run by Warren Buffett, the world’s
richest man reported a 77 per cent drop in third-quarter profits, as a $1.01
billion loss on derivatives and other investments combined with sharply
reduced results from its operations across the board.
The group announced net earnings of $1.06 billion, it’s fourth straight
quarterly decline, down from $4.55 billion the year earlier as so-called
operating earnings on its insurance underwriting business plummeted by 83
per cent.
I lost all respect for him when he started shilling for the Wall Street crooks. His cult of stockholders are due for some serious loses.
there is nothing to solve if you wish to have something solved you will have to do it yourself.
NONE of this is an accident. NONE of these people are fools or idiots. this is a well orchestrated campaign.
they know exactly what they are doing. and everything they do is benefiting certain individuals and institutions. particularly sachs and morgan and the other folks who gave birth to the creature. i am no economist but if i can read the dollar crisis and know what is going to happen then i would think people much smarter than me would also be able to figure it out.
the blame he will get is for being part of the next phase of the plan.
if you want a glimpse of the future that is your/our future read orlovs book and naomi klein "the shock doctrine"
jim kuntsler’s long emergency should prove quite enlightening. if you voted for bo i am sorry. you missed a great chance to vote third party and send a message to the corporate party.
oh btw you have heard he is not going to raise taxes on the top 5% didnt you…so much for campaign promises.
gee i cant wait for my national healthcare to kick in. and for the troops to leave iraq. and heck my new solar panels and windmill should be real nice. thank god the polar bears are now safe.
gee can i take your place in line to be in his shoes. he just got a new house. i would paint it but that’s ok. a new jet, a helicopter , camp david, an unlimited expense account. and of course a new puppy. and i would not mind having all the dollars in china either. but hey that is just me