Its still the cleanest dirty shirt in the hamper, The dollar is in decline. But its not collapsing at this point. Its still the major world reserve currency. For how long, given the Empires various bone headed stunts, is a matter of debate.
I've been hearing tales of the proletariat rising up, for more than 60 years at this point. It goes back much further than that. "Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains"... We all saw how that worked out. Given the experience of the last four years (during the Plandemic), if they were going to "rise up" they would have by now.
BJ, Countries are buying gold with their US T-Bills. They aren't using T-Bills as their reserve currency. They are switching to gold as fast as they can buy it with the US fiat dollars.
The workers are not going to rise up. They may walk away from their jobs, but there will not be a revolution with violence.
I'm aware of that. Its becoming ever more difficult for certain parties to keep forcing gold lower. But the fact remains that the dollar remains the worlds major reserve currency. Unless we get something drastic (always possible) I'd expect a continued slow decline. As for the other, lets hope not. That's exactly what those behind the Empire want. They know how to deal with violence. Emergent behavior is much more difficult to predict and interdict.
As you probably know Charles, Pam Martens is reporting:
"Wall Street Has Moved Vast Sums of Its Trading to Its Federally-Insured Banks: (Wall Street trading houses have been allowed to own federally-insured banks since the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 under the Wall Street friendly Bill Clinton administration.)"
"Taxpayer-backstopped federal deposit insurance at commercial banks in the U.S. was never meant to be a get-rich scheme for the wild and voracious appetites of traders on Wall Street. But a quarterly report produced by the federal regulator of national banks – (those operating across state lines) – shows that vast amounts of trading on Wall Street is now taking place inside the federally-insured commercial banks that are owned by the trading powerhouses on Wall Street: JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America."
Why should a federally-insured bank be engaged in trading activities? How is it even legally allowed to do that?
Or how about the bizarre jump in trading in precious metals inside federally-insured banks:
“In just one quarter, precious metals derivatives had soared from $79.28 billion to $491.87 billion. That’s a 520 percent increase in a span of three months….” (See JPMorgan Chase and Citibank Hold 90 Percent of All Gold and Other Precious Metals Derivatives Held by All U.S. Banks.)
When will economic gravity collapse this corrupt system?
Carl - Maybe the system is already collapsed? Maybe the economic statistics we get are all fake? Maybe the economy is already in shambles like it was in the Great Depression? Maybe the politicians only lie -- they cannot tell the truth, because the truth is too incriminating? Maybe the wonders of modern "deep fakes" from AI systems is now being done with the economy? I suggest we should act as if the collapse has already happened. Then when the collapse becomes undeniable, we will be in a better position than we would otherwise be.
CHS - I agree, it is hard to believe that this immoral behavior has gone on as long as it has. It is only because those in power have the latest high-speed computers and AI, and all the best fraud-creating tools that money can buy, that things have been sustained this long. We are in the smoke-and-mirrors territory.
I was just thinking about our Neofeudal society and economy. The Big Boys want ALL the money and power. We are subhuman serfs to them. "They think we're scum!" Lt. Ripley in "Alien3".
In 2001, the Dot Com Bubble collapsed. Starting in January of 2001, the Fed dropped interest rates from 6% to 2% in 12 months and down to 1% over the next two years. The market bottomed out in late 2002, with the S&P 500 down 39% in 448 days. Nasdaq performed even worse.
In 2008, as the Global Financial Crisis unfolded, the Fed interest rate was back to 5%, which they immediately started dropping in September. 372 days later, the S&P 500 had lost 54% of it's value.
This was likely the first time, at least recent US history, when massive US money creation was a primary tool to forestall a greater world financial calamity. And it led to the Fed keeping interest rates artificially low, around zero percent, from 2009 through 2016. That may prove to be the point when the current and growing transfer of wealth from the lower to the upper classes began. When banks and businesses become "To Big To Fail", it intensived the growing trend of income and asset discrepancies.
The Covid 2020 short term market collapse was a unique situation, but could have been much worse without government promises to take action. That resulted in the Fed creativing 14+ Trillion dollars the last four-and-one-half years. Not that I agree with the creation of that money. That money represents maybe the greatest wealth transfer in our nation's history. Sure, most folks received a small stimulus check, extended unemployment checks, etc.. but most of the funding ended up in the pockets of people already in the top 10% net worth bracket. Part of that was from market gains since the 2020 lows, one of several reasons the rich got richer.
The Fed lowering interest rates does not always lead to lower market values. In 1980. 1987, 1995 and 1998, he markets actually gained ground as rates were reduced. At least short term. But those were different times, when we hadn't created massive amounts of debt and held a different governing world view.
With our government's normalcy bias view and high debt situation, we likely no longer have the Fed "tools" to prevent the next financial crisis from quickly deepening to collapse once it begins. There will be consequences Sure, fiat money can be created again, to some degree, but how much and for how long without real world global consequences, like rampant inflation. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) will again prove to be a fatally flawed philosophy. One with terrible consequences.
If currency creation (or one of a hundred other reasons) leads to a massive market collapse, the most deeply affected initially are the 10% who own 90% of the market. Since they are the primary drivers of the economy, this could lead to a depression, where all citizens will suffer. There will be a trickle down negative effect of some major type. Those who took the most recent market gains will take the most market losses, but it may take decades for every one of us to recover from a newer greater depression.
“Pump me up”
That’s our stock market and housing market in many locations
Are seeing some cracks though
See government still pushing home ownership even though new home buyers soon learn that the cost of ownership is much more than they expected
David, The dollar is collapsing. When the currency goes, it all goes.
Its still the cleanest dirty shirt in the hamper, The dollar is in decline. But its not collapsing at this point. Its still the major world reserve currency. For how long, given the Empires various bone headed stunts, is a matter of debate.
I've been hearing tales of the proletariat rising up, for more than 60 years at this point. It goes back much further than that. "Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains"... We all saw how that worked out. Given the experience of the last four years (during the Plandemic), if they were going to "rise up" they would have by now.
BJ, Countries are buying gold with their US T-Bills. They aren't using T-Bills as their reserve currency. They are switching to gold as fast as they can buy it with the US fiat dollars.
The workers are not going to rise up. They may walk away from their jobs, but there will not be a revolution with violence.
I'm aware of that. Its becoming ever more difficult for certain parties to keep forcing gold lower. But the fact remains that the dollar remains the worlds major reserve currency. Unless we get something drastic (always possible) I'd expect a continued slow decline. As for the other, lets hope not. That's exactly what those behind the Empire want. They know how to deal with violence. Emergent behavior is much more difficult to predict and interdict.
As you probably know Charles, Pam Martens is reporting:
"Wall Street Has Moved Vast Sums of Its Trading to Its Federally-Insured Banks: (Wall Street trading houses have been allowed to own federally-insured banks since the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 under the Wall Street friendly Bill Clinton administration.)"
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/09/wall-street-has-moved-vast-sums-of-its-trading-to-its-federally-insured-banks/
"Taxpayer-backstopped federal deposit insurance at commercial banks in the U.S. was never meant to be a get-rich scheme for the wild and voracious appetites of traders on Wall Street. But a quarterly report produced by the federal regulator of national banks – (those operating across state lines) – shows that vast amounts of trading on Wall Street is now taking place inside the federally-insured commercial banks that are owned by the trading powerhouses on Wall Street: JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America."
Why should a federally-insured bank be engaged in trading activities? How is it even legally allowed to do that?
Or how about the bizarre jump in trading in precious metals inside federally-insured banks:
“In just one quarter, precious metals derivatives had soared from $79.28 billion to $491.87 billion. That’s a 520 percent increase in a span of three months….” (See JPMorgan Chase and Citibank Hold 90 Percent of All Gold and Other Precious Metals Derivatives Held by All U.S. Banks.)
When will economic gravity collapse this corrupt system?
Carl - Maybe the system is already collapsed? Maybe the economic statistics we get are all fake? Maybe the economy is already in shambles like it was in the Great Depression? Maybe the politicians only lie -- they cannot tell the truth, because the truth is too incriminating? Maybe the wonders of modern "deep fakes" from AI systems is now being done with the economy? I suggest we should act as if the collapse has already happened. Then when the collapse becomes undeniable, we will be in a better position than we would otherwise be.
CHS - I agree, it is hard to believe that this immoral behavior has gone on as long as it has. It is only because those in power have the latest high-speed computers and AI, and all the best fraud-creating tools that money can buy, that things have been sustained this long. We are in the smoke-and-mirrors territory.
I was just thinking about our Neofeudal society and economy. The Big Boys want ALL the money and power. We are subhuman serfs to them. "They think we're scum!" Lt. Ripley in "Alien3".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8rb3VoxIpI&t=2s
"You will own nothing, and be happy".. Or else...
In 2001, the Dot Com Bubble collapsed. Starting in January of 2001, the Fed dropped interest rates from 6% to 2% in 12 months and down to 1% over the next two years. The market bottomed out in late 2002, with the S&P 500 down 39% in 448 days. Nasdaq performed even worse.
In 2008, as the Global Financial Crisis unfolded, the Fed interest rate was back to 5%, which they immediately started dropping in September. 372 days later, the S&P 500 had lost 54% of it's value.
This was likely the first time, at least recent US history, when massive US money creation was a primary tool to forestall a greater world financial calamity. And it led to the Fed keeping interest rates artificially low, around zero percent, from 2009 through 2016. That may prove to be the point when the current and growing transfer of wealth from the lower to the upper classes began. When banks and businesses become "To Big To Fail", it intensived the growing trend of income and asset discrepancies.
The Covid 2020 short term market collapse was a unique situation, but could have been much worse without government promises to take action. That resulted in the Fed creativing 14+ Trillion dollars the last four-and-one-half years. Not that I agree with the creation of that money. That money represents maybe the greatest wealth transfer in our nation's history. Sure, most folks received a small stimulus check, extended unemployment checks, etc.. but most of the funding ended up in the pockets of people already in the top 10% net worth bracket. Part of that was from market gains since the 2020 lows, one of several reasons the rich got richer.
The Fed lowering interest rates does not always lead to lower market values. In 1980. 1987, 1995 and 1998, he markets actually gained ground as rates were reduced. At least short term. But those were different times, when we hadn't created massive amounts of debt and held a different governing world view.
With our government's normalcy bias view and high debt situation, we likely no longer have the Fed "tools" to prevent the next financial crisis from quickly deepening to collapse once it begins. There will be consequences Sure, fiat money can be created again, to some degree, but how much and for how long without real world global consequences, like rampant inflation. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) will again prove to be a fatally flawed philosophy. One with terrible consequences.
If currency creation (or one of a hundred other reasons) leads to a massive market collapse, the most deeply affected initially are the 10% who own 90% of the market. Since they are the primary drivers of the economy, this could lead to a depression, where all citizens will suffer. There will be a trickle down negative effect of some major type. Those who took the most recent market gains will take the most market losses, but it may take decades for every one of us to recover from a newer greater depression.