April 23, 2024

Ron Paul Talks About Economic Collapse and Lack of Federal Reserve Transparency

October 29, 2013 by 1 Comment

dickensIn an interview with CNBC, former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul endorsed the efforts of his son, Senator Rand Paul, to hold up the nomination of Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve Chairman until laws are passed requiring more transparency from the Fed.

Senator Rand Paul has introduced legislation for an “Audit the Fed” bill which would require the Federal Reserve to disclose the details involving trillions of dollars the Fed has provided to both domestic and international financial institutions.

According to Ron Paul, “We don’t know the details of the trillions of dollars that were used to bail out banks and central banks around the world and corporations during the crisis.  The numbers that they give you I don’t think are all that revealing.”

Ron Paul has been one of the few voices in the American government pushing for financial responsibility by both the Federal government and the Federal Reserve.

After the most recent capitulation by Republicans to reduce the exponential increase in Federal government debt and spending, Ron Paul lamented the hypocrisy of the deal to end the government shutdown.

The latest spending-and-debt deal was negotiated by Congressional leaders behind closed doors, and was rushed through Congress before most members had time to read it. Now that the bill is passed, we can see that it is a victory for the political class and special interests, but a defeat for the American people.

The debt ceiling deal increases spending above the levels set by the “sequester.” The sequester cuts were minuscule, and in many cases used the old DC trick of calling reductions in planned spending increases a cut. But even minuscule and phony cuts are unacceptable to the bipartisan welfare-warfare spending collation. The bill also does nothing to protect the American people from the Obamacare disaster.

US debt to gdp

Members of Congress and the public were told the debt ceiling increase was necessary to prevent a government default and an economic crisis. This manufactured fear supposedly justified voting on legislation without allowing members time to even read it, much less to remove the special deals or even debate the wisdom of intervening in overseas military conflicts because of a YouTube video.

Congress surrendered more power to the president in this bill. Instead of setting a new debt ceiling, it simply “suspended” the debt ceiling until February. This gives the administration a blank check to run up as much debt as it pleases from now until February 7th. Congress can “disapprove” the debt ceiling suspension, but only if it passes a resolution of disapproval by a two-thirds majority. How long before Congress totally abdicates its constitutional authority over spending by allowing the Treasury permanent and unlimited authority to borrow money without seeking Congressional approval?

private debt gdp

Hopefully, those of us who understand sound economics can convince enough of our fellow citizens to pressure Congress to make serious spending cuts before Congress’s reckless actions cause a total economic collapse.

debt monster

Sound advice Mr. Paul, but the odds of preventing an economic collapse decline with each additional dollar borrowed by the government and each additional dollar printed by the Federal Reserve.  Debt at all levels is out of control and has overcome the ability of the nation to service the debt. Ironically, the only way to prevent a collapse today is through the Ponzi scheme method of further printing and borrowing which puts off the day of reckoning.

Realistically, Ron Paul has been ignored by the public and his fellow legislators for decades.  The odds of controlling the growth of debt by the U.S. and other major industrialized countries is almost zero since legislators are elected based on promises to extend the social welfare state and serve special interests.

The odds of central banks reducing quantitative easing is even more remote since an absence of money printing would hasten the economic collapse Mr. Paul warns about.  The future collapse predicted by Mr. Paul seems inevitable at some point and the only concern of an investor should be finding a safe haven for wealth preservation.

Filed Under: Currency debasement, Featured, US Debt Crisis Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Fed’s Inflate or Die Monetary Policy Guarantees A Monumental Financial Crisis

September 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

economic collapseBy: GE Christenson

The U.S. economy is being overwhelmed by a loss of faith and trust in politicians, government, and bankers, excessive debts, artificially low interest rates, unsustainable deficit spending, expensive wars, QE (money printing) to infinity, “Inflate or Die” monetary policy, potential derivatives implosion, Obamacare and so much more.

If you believe that total government debt can grow FOREVER and more rapidly than the underlying economy, this article is NOT for you.

If you believe that governmental deficit spending, QE, and bond monetization can continue FOREVER without major consequences, this article is NOT for you.

But if you are sane enough to know that our current economic policies will produce a “train wreck,” read on…
A slow-motion collapse is occurring and most of us do not see it.

Consider these thoughts from insightful writers: –
Collapse Indicated by Stalling Growth in Global Financial Reserves

Hugo Salinas Price:

“As it is, the US can only continue to monetize government debt. Higher dollar interest rates are inevitable and will cause further government deficits; the debt overhang in both the US and Euro Zone is so great that a rise of a few points in interest rates will explode the deficits, and so on and so forth.

Bottom line: Stalling growth in International Reserves tells me that a world financial collapse is in the offing.”

Collapse Indicated by Loss of Trust in Western Economic Systems

David Stockman:

“There is no honest pricing left at all anywhere in the world because central banks everywhere manipulate and rig the price of all financial assets. We can’t even analyze the economy in the traditional sense anymore because so much of it depends not on market forces, but on the whims of people at the Fed.”

“The Blackberry Panic of September 2008, in which Washington policy makers led by former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson, panicked as they saw Wall Street stock prices plummet on their mobile devices, had very little to do with the Main Street economy in the United States. The panic and bailouts that followed were really about protecting the bonuses and incomes of very wealthy and politically well-connected managers at banks and other heavily leveraged businesses that were eventually deemed too big to fail. What followed was a massive transfer of wealth from the taxpayers and middle-class savers, in the form of bailouts and zero interest rates on bank deposits imposed by the Fed, to the so-called One Percent.”

“I think the political realities of the situation make the most likely scenario one in which there will be some kind of real financial collapse and disorder that will require a total reconstruction of the system.”

The Burning Platform:

“Despite the frantic efforts of the financial elite, their politician puppets, and their media propaganda outlets, collapse of this aristocracy of the moneyed is a mathematical certainty. Faith in the system is rapidly diminishing, as the issuance of debt to create the appearance of growth has reached the point of diminishing returns.”

“We are witnessing the beginning stages of political collapse. The government and its leaders are being discredited on a daily basis. The mismanagement of fiscal policy, foreign policy and domestic policy, along with the revelations of the NSA conducting mass surveillance against all Americans has led critical thinking Americans to question the legitimacy of the politicians running the show on behalf of the bankers, corporations and arms dealers.”

“We are supposedly five years past the great crisis. Magazine covers proclaimed Bernanke a hero. If we are well past the crisis, why are the extreme emergency measures still in effect? If the economy is growing and jobs are being created, why do we need $85 Billion of government debt to be monetized each and every month?”

“Just the slowing of debt creation will lead to collapse. Bernanke needs a Syrian crisis to postpone the taper talk. Those in control need an endless number of real or false flag crises to provide cover for their printing presses to keep rolling.”

Bill Fleckenstein:

“Since April, the 10-Year has gone from about 1.6% to as high as 3% recently. Now we have to see when this rally in bonds stops. The bond market will then roll over and then the Fed won’t have the tapering as an excuse. It means the bond market has ceased to price in the scenario that the Fed wants, and the bond market is not responding to the Fed’s moves in the short-run. In the old days we would call that ‘losing control of the bond market.’ And if that starts to happen, all hell is going to break loose.”

Michael Pento:

“The 10-Year went from 1.4% to 3%, and that made Mr. Bernanke panic. The average on that (10-Year) yield is 7% in the modern era since 1971 when we closed the ‘gold window.’ So, if the average is 7%, and the United States of America, this once great land, can’t (even) tolerate a 3% yield on the 10-Year Note, that means the Fed can never unwind QE.

That’s enough to cuff Mr. Bernanke’s hands. So the Fed is indeed trapped as you indicated. They cannot significantly bring down QE. That means a perpetual increase in the Fed’s balance sheet. That (also) means an inexorable rise in asset bubbles like stocks, bonds, and real estate, and it’s going to end (very) badly.”

Hank Paulson Interview:

“Paulson believes there will be another financial crisis.”

“It’s a certainty. As long as we have markets, as long as we have banks, no matter what the regulatory system is, there will be flawed government policies. Those policies will create bubbles.”

Alternate Interpretation: As long as we have Treasury Secretaries who represent the interests of Goldman Sachs and Wall Street bankers instead of the US economy, then we can be certain of another financial crisis.
Collapse in Retirement Income

Dennis Miller:

“While the Federal Reserve holds down interest rates and floods the banking system with money, it’s destroying the retirement dreams of several generations. The Employee Benefit Research Organization reports that 25 – 27% of baby boomers and Generation Xers who would have had adequate retirement income – under return assumptions based on historical averages – will run out of money if today’s low interest rates are permanent.”

In addition to the problem of low yielding investments caused by the historically low interest rates created by the Fed, even more retirees will run out of money, much sooner, when the inevitable inflation in food and energy prices smacks the U.S. economy, and especially retirees.
Discussion

It seems clear that we are losing faith in our politicians, our leaders, and our financial systems. Approval levels for congress and the President of the United States are low. Too-Big-To-Fail banks and “banksters” are despised and openly criticized.

The Federal Reserve is losing credibility; more and more people are realizing that QE is good for the bankers and the wealthy, but that it does little for “Main Street” people except drive up the prices they pay for food and energy.

The American public is generally opposed to war in the Middle East but that seems to matter little to the political and financial elite who will profit from the war.

Most people, so it appears, know that inflation is much higher than officially stated, and that inflation will become far worse than it is today. (When was the last time you saw a cup of premium coffee or a gallon of gasoline for less than $1?)

Read: Going Dark! Economic Cycles Point Downward

GE Christenson
aka Deviant Investor

Filed Under: Currency debasement, Featured, Gold, US Debt Crisis Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Collapse of Bernanke’s Credit Bubble Will Destroy the Global Financial System

September 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

collapseBy: GE Christenson

The U.S. stock market is near all-time highs, while politicians and economists are blathering about recovery, low inflation, and good times, but instability and danger are clearly visible in our debt based monetary system. To the extent we rely upon the fantasies of ever-increasing debt, money printing, and credit bubbles, we are vulnerable to financial collapses. Perhaps a collapse is not imminent, but it would be foolish to ignore the possibility. Consider what these insightful writers have to say:

The Fantasy of Printing Money To Solve Problems

Bill Fleckenstein:

“Money-printing cannot solve problems. It doesn’t really give us much gross domestic product growth, as we have seen. It hasn’t really helped on the employment front either, as job growth is meager (of course, it is also hampered by other government policies). What money-printing has accomplished is to push the stock market high enough to cause people to once again become delusional in their expectations.”

Egon von Greyerz:

“Debt worldwide is now expanding exponentially. With absolutely no possibility of stopping this debt explosion, we will soon enter a period of unlimited money printing leading to a total destruction of paper currencies. The consequence will be a hyperinflationary depression in most major economies.”

Andy Hoffman:

“No, Larry Summers won’t be able to save the day… The damage is already done; and thus, NOTHING can turn the tide of 42 years of unfettered, global MONEY PRINTING – which as I write, has entered its final, terminal phase.”

Bullion Bulls Canada:

“So the ending is already clear. The U.S.S. Titanic is about to be intentionally sunk (again), and B.S. Bernanke’s ‘fingerprints’ will be planted all over the crime scene.”

CREDIT BUBBLE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WILL EVENTUALLY COLLAPSE

John Rubino:

“…nothing was fixed after 2008, just as nothing was fixed after the housing, tech stock, and junk bond bubbles burst. The response has been the same each time, only progressively more aggressive and experimental. That the financial, economic and political mainstream think that the system has been reset to ‘normal’ because asset prices are back where they were just before the 2008 crash is, well, crazy. With financial imbalances bigger than ever before – and continuing to expand – the only possible outcome is an even bigger crash.”

Bill Holter:

“THIS is where THE REAL BUBBLE is! The biggest bubble in all of history, (larger than the Tulip mania, South Sea, the Mississippi Bubble, 1929, current global real estate and global stock bubble combined then cubed) is the current and total global financial system. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE is based on credit. In fact, over 60% of this credit is dollar based and ‘guaranteed’ by the U.S. government. The minor little problem now is that we have reached ‘debt saturation’ levels everywhere. There are no more asset classes left able to take on more credit (air) to inflate the balloon. The other minor detail is that the ‘asset’ that underlies the value of everything (the dollar and thus Treasury securities) is issued by a bankrupt entity. What could possibly go wrong?”

Discussion

Growing and healthy economies mean more people are productively employed. It appears that much of the “growth” in the U.S. economy over the last five years has been in disability income, food stamps (SNAP), unemployment, student loans, welfare, debt, and government jobs – none of which are productive. Examine the following graph of Labor Force Participation Rate – the actual percentage of the populace that is employed. Does this look like a healthy economy experiencing a recovery or a collapse in productive employment?

The damaging effects of 100 years of Fed meddling in the U.S. economy, many expensive wars, 42 years of unbacked debt based currency, and unsustainable growth in credit and debt have left the Western monetary system in a precarious position.

Using common sense, ask yourself:

  1. Can total debt grow much more rapidly than the underlying economy which must support and service that debt? FOREVER?
  2. Can government expenditures grow much more rapidly than government revenues? FOREVER?
  3. Will interest rates remain at multi-generational lows? FOREVER?
  4. Will a fiscally irresponsible congress rein-in an out of control spending system that our fiscally irresponsible congress created?
  5. Is another and larger (than 2008) financial collapse likely and inevitable?
  6. Do you still believe in the fantasies of ever-increasing debt, printing “money” and credit bubbles? Are you personally and financially prepared for a potential financial collapse?
  7. Have you converted some of your digital currencies into real money – physical gold and silver? Is it safely stored outside the banking system and perhaps in a country different from where you live?

Read: The Reality of Gold and the Nightmare of Paper
Read: What You Think is True Might Be False and Costly

GE Christenson
aka Deviant Investor

Filed Under: Currency debasement, Featured, Gold, Silver, US Debt Crisis Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Does The Decline In Gold Signal An Imminent Financial Collapse?

June 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

GOLD COINBy: GE Christenson

Unsustainable trends can survive much longer than most people anticipate, but they do end when their “time is up” – at the culmination of their time cycles. Examples of these trends include deficit spending, exponential debt increases, overpriced bond markets, and unbacked paper currencies, to name a few. For perspective on how and when these trends could change direction, we analyzed more than 20 different cycles. They nearly unanimously point to tectonic shifts in the months and years ahead. We have been warned!

At this point, we have enough confirmation to accept that the precious metals crash – starting in April of 2013 – was the first warning of what is coming globally.

Financial crashes and economic collapses are not inevitable, but they seem more likely in the next few years, starting later this summer. Preparation might appear to be a waste of time and resources, but lack of preparation could result in the loss of wealth, incomes, jobs, and lives. Perhaps our leaders will guide the world economies through some upcoming hard times, but they might also aggravate those hard times by following policies that benefit the political and financial elite at the expense of the middle class and the poorer classes. Look at current trends in government and banking, and decide for yourself!

The remainder of this decade is likely to be quite problematic for most of the world’s population, particularly the poor. People who have the majority of their assets in stocks, bonds, and paper debt may also be hurt as the currencies are inflated and purchasing power declines sharply.

We have presented a summary of cycles for stocks and bonds, war, gold and silver. We show the source of the cyclic information, the relevant timing, and some commentary.

Summary

There are many cycles that suggest a stock market correction or crash is near. That correction/crash will probably be accompanied by a correction in the bond market that reverses much of the bullish action of the past 30 years. (Signs of a bond bear market are already visible.) Gold and silver should rally substantially as their cycles are turning up while money flees the stock and bond markets and attempts to find safety in an increasingly dangerous world. Financially and socially, many cycles have turned downward; and many will not bottom until later in this decade. Much can go badly wrong during the next seven years. Now is NOT the time for complacency or procrastination.

Along with the decline in equities, bonds, and the value of paper money will come – probably – more social unrest, considerably higher consumer prices for food and energy, bankrupt local, state and national governments, more debt defaults, higher unemployment, possible monetary and/or economic collapse, and a likely escalation in regional and global wars.

A gradual cooling (NOT warming) will reduce crop yields and drive already expensive food prices much higher. The world’s poor will suffer. Hungry people are inclined to rebel and threaten governments. Hence governments will become more repressive and will increase their information gathering on all those viewed as potentially threatening to the status quo.

(Read entire article here.)

GE Christenson

aka Deviant Investor

Filed Under: Currency debasement, Featured, Gold Tagged With: , , , , ,

Gold, Dow and Oil All Plunge On Economic Weakness – Is Gold Still A Safe Haven?

June 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

The combination of increasingly ominous economic reports along with the Fed’s failure to announce bold new monetary initiatives resulted in a brutal reassessment of risk by investors.  Stock, commodity and precious metal markets all plunged with the Dow down 250 points, gold down by $41.60 per ounce  to $1,566 and silver off by 4.4% to $26.98.  Crude oil in New York trading was off 4%, dropping below $80 a barrel for the first time in eight months.

Since the end of May, the Dow had rallied over 700 points on rumors of massive coordinated central bank easing.  Investor optimism changed in a flash after yesterday’s FOMC announcement that Operation Twist would continue in an effort to further reduce long term interest rates.  Markets were clearly expecting more concerted action.  The Fed has already suppressed interest rates to all time lows with little to show for it.  In addition, the crisis in the Europe is on the verge of spinning out of control as insolvent sovereign states comically attempt to bail out insolvent banks.

The steep sell offs in oil and other commodities since early May have been a screaming warning sign of a steep slowdown in the global economy.   Further adding to investor concerns is the inability of policy makers to address fundamental economic problems that have beset the global economy since 2008.  Government borrowing, spending and a storm of money printing  has only made the fundamental problem of excessive debt burdens worse.  Now, as the world rapidly slides back into recession, we have to wonder – where do we go from here?

 

Oil - courtesy stockcharts.com

Gold - courtesy stockcharts.com

Despite Bernanke’s frequent remarks that “We stand ready to act” and his assertion that the Fed has many “tools in the toolbox”, the worst nightmare seems to be unfolding – a Fed that is out of options (or out of touch) as the world economy marches to the brink of a financial meltdown.

Will the world slide into a deflationary abyss as central banks stand aside and allow free markets to clear the debt excesses of the past two decades?  Not likely based on the entire history of the Federal Reserve.  What is highly likely, however, is that as the United States reaches the limits of credit expansion and taxation, neither the public nor our elected politicians will accept austerity as the road to restructuring the economy and national balance sheet.   Reality be damned as we reach the tipping point – the public will demand their entitlements and the politicians who resist will be voted from office.  The pressure on the central bank to “solve” our economic problems through an endless series of QE follies will result in a national financial nightmare.

Where does gold go from here as the world financial system totters on the brink?  No one can predict the short term moves in gold, but in a very uncertain world, there is one undeniable  dictum – “Gold is money.  Everything else is credit.”  (JP Morgan -1912).

Filed Under: Featured, Gold, Silver, US Debt Crisis Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Ultimate Price Of Gold Will Shock The World As Loss Of Global Confidence Leads To Economic Collapse

August 13, 2011 by 1 Comment

Gold had another stellar week while stock markets gyrated wildly.   As measured by the closing London PM Fix Price, gold gained $77.25 on the week, hitting all time highs and closing at $1,736.   After the London close, gold recovered from an earlier pullback and closed in New York trading at $1,747.30, up $11.30 from the London close.

Silver ending the week down slightly at $38.29 while platinum gained $91 to $1,800 and palladium edged up $5 to $747.

Gold has gained $253 or 17% since July 1st when it closed at $1,483.00.  The rapid price gains have pushed gold above its long term trend line.  Gold is now trading at $290 (or 20%) above its 200 day moving average.  On previous occasions in late 2009 and the fall of 2010 gold also traded more than $200 dollars above the 200 day moving average and the result was a minor pullback or sideways consolidation.

 

Gold - courtesy kitco.com

Gold may be overbought on a short term basis but the fundamental reasons for owning gold are expanding exponentially.  Public realization that dysfunctional governments are incapable of solving our economic problems is resulting in a loss of confidence.  A loss of confidence combined with a debt crisis and out of control spending can have only one result – increasingly worthless paper money and stocks as the  world central banks attempt to prevent an economic collapse with zero interest rates and printed money.

Gold Outperforms paper stocks

Government and  central bank policies have been destroying the value of the US currency for decades and have given birth to crashing housing markets, lower incomes, depression level unemployment and numerous stock market crashes.  When one  considers that the last hope of preventing an all out depression now lies in the hands of the very central banks who have already brought Hell down upon us, we should all be very, very scared.

If the last ditch efforts of the Central Banks fail to contain the financial collapse that is imminent, expect to see governments institute totalitarian measures in order to maintain a semblance of organized society.  As bankrupt empires collapse, they also attempt to expropriate every last dollar of wealth from its citizens in order to maintain their grip on power as long as possible.

The most recent large scale example of the implosion of an empire was the USSR, whose sudden collapse surprised CIA analysts who had been studying the Soviet Empire in detail for decades.  Ironically, those even more surprised by the collapse of the USSR were the politicians and bureaucrats who ran the country into the ground as they remained oblivious to their economy killing policies.  Tragically, misguided and misinformed middle class citizens of the USSR saw the value of their rubles collapse along with pension plans, bank savings and other financial assets.  Those who walked away with more than they had, other than corrupt politicians, were those few citizens who converted paper money into gold or silver before the financial system imploded.

A potential short term price correction in gold is a meaningless concern.  Developed world economies are in inexorably decline from which there is no escape.  The primary concern for most US citizens should be to develop a financial strategy that does not leave them impoverished when the end game arrives.

Unfortunately, most Americans have a religious conviction that “The Government” will save and nourish them as has been promised by every politician of this century.  These promises will all be broken but Americans won’t believe it until it happens, at which point there is no financial escape.

As a worldwide systemic financial collapse grows more probable with each passing day, Americans remain in denial and place their life savings in US government debt and bank accounts, secure with the promise that they are “guaranteed by the government”.   Sorry folks, bankrupt governments don’t keep promises.  The proof of American citizens’ faith in paper assets is their very low commitment to gold and silver.  The public will belatedly turn to gold and silver en masse when the system starts crashing down around them.  This event will be the real rush to gold and at that point, prices will rise thousands of dollars per week.

When establishment journalists warn of a “bubble” or “top” in gold, don’t get annoyed – simply buy more gold, especially on pullbacks.  The ultimate price of gold will wind up shocking even the biggest gold bulls.  When gold demand is insatiable and supply very limited, attempting to figure out the ultimate high price for gold is a fruitless exercise. (see Why There Is No Upside Limit For Gold and Silver).

Precious Metals Prices 8/12/11
PM Fix Since Last Recap
Gold $1,736.00 +$77.25 +4.66%
Silver $38.29 -$0.95 -2.42%
Platinum $1,800.00 +$91.00 +5.32%
Palladium $747.00 +$5.00 +0.67%

 

Filed Under: Featured, Gold, palladium, Platinum, Silver, US Debt Crisis, Weekly Recap Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,