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The Media, Mueller, the Big Con and the Democratization of Narrative
The Media, Mueller, the Big Con and the Democratization of Narrative Falling for a con is painful. The first reaction is to deny being conned, of course. The second is to blame skeptics for being correct in their skepticism. Here’s the fundamental “story” of the Mueller Investigation: elites don’t like “the little people” democratizing public […]
Which Nations Will Crumble and Which Few Will Prosper in the Next 25 Years?
Which Nations Will Crumble and Which Few Will Prosper in the Next 25 Years? Adaptability and flexibility will be the core survival traits going forward. What will separate the many nations that will crumble in the next 25 years and those few that will survive and even prosper while the status quo dissolves around them? As […]
While the Nation Fragments Socially, the Financial Aristocracy Rules Unimpeded
While the Nation Fragments Socially, the Financial Aristocracy Rules Unimpeded America’s aristocracy is not formalized, and that’s the secret of its success. If there is one central irony in American history, it is this: the citizenry that broke free of the chains of British Monarchy, the citizenry that reckoned everyone was equal before the law, the […]
Here’s The Problem: The Pie Is Shrinking
Here’s The Problem: The Pie Is Shrinking At that point, the only way to enable debt-serfs to service their debts is too give them free money, i.e. Universal Basic Income (UBI). Scrape away the churn and distraction and the problem is simple: the pie of prosperity is shrinking, and the “fixes” are failing. The status quo […]
What If Politics Can’t Fix What’s Broken?
What If Politics Can’t Fix What’s Broken? This is the politics of decline and collapse.The unspoken assumption of the modern era is that politics can fix whatever is broken: whatever is broken in society or the economy can be fixed by some political policy or political process– becoming more inclusionary, seeking non-partisan middle ground, etc. What […]
The Doomsday Scenario for the Stock and Housing Bubbles
The Doomsday Scenario for the Stock and Housing Bubbles It was always folly to believe that inflating asset bubbles could solve the structural problems of a post-industrial economy. The Doomsday Scenario for the stock and housing bubbles is simple: the Fed’s magic fails. When dropping interest rates to zero and flooding the financial sector with loose […]
Credit Exhaustion Is Global
Credit Exhaustion Is Global Europe is awash in credit exhaustion, and so is China. The signs are everywhere: credit exhaustion is global, and that means the global growth story is over: revenues and profits are all sliding as lending dries up and defaults pile up. What is credit exhaustion? Qualified buyers don’t want to borrow […]
Sometimes the Best Solution Is To Leave Things As They Are
Sometimes the Best Solution Is To Leave Things As They Are We must distinguish between the oft-lauded creative destruction of what is obsolete and destruction in pursuit of fleeting fashion. I recently received an insightful email from a reader who had come across my archives of free-lance articles and essays on home and urban design. I wrote […]
What Happens When More QE Fails to Reverse the Recession?
What Happens When More QE Fails to Reverse the Recession? The smart money is liquidating assets, paying off debt and moving capital into collateral that isn’t impaired by debt or speculative valuations. The Federal Reserve’s sudden return to “accommodative” dovishness in response to the stock market’s swoon telegraphs its intent to fire up QE once […]
We’re Overdue for a Sell-Everything/No-Fed-Rescue Recession
We’re Overdue for a Sell-Everything/No-Fed-Rescue Recession We’re way overdue for a sell-everything recession, one that the Fed will only make worse by pursuing its usual policies of lowering interest rates and goosing easy money. As I noted last week, central banks, like generals, always fight the last war–until the war is lost. The global economy is […]
2019: The Three Trends That Matter
2019: The Three Trends That Matter Look no further than Brexit in Britain, the yellow vests in France and the Deplorables in the U.S. for manifestations of a broken social contract and decaying social order. Among the many trends currently in play, Gordon Long and I discuss three that will matter as 2019 progresses: 2019 Themes (56 […]
he Coming Global Financial Crisis: Debt Exhaustion
The Coming Global Financial Crisis: Debt Exhaustion The global economy is way past the point of maximum debt saturation, and so the next stop is debt exhaustion.Just as generals fight the last war, central banks always fight the last financial crisis. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008-09 was primarily one of liquidity as markets froze […]
A Recession Survival Guide
A Recession Survival Guide The funny thing about slashing your budget to survive a recessionary storm is that it works wonders whether the recession is deep or shallow. We know that after 10 years of expansion, a recession is baked in. Trees don’t grow to the moon, etc. We also know that some people will hardly […]
The Ruling Elites Love How Easily We’re Distracted and Turned Against Each Other
The Ruling Elites Love How Easily We’re Distracted and Turned Against Each Other No wonder the ruling elites love how easily we’re distracted and divided against ourselves: it’s so easy to dominate a distracted, divided, blinded-by-propaganda and negative emotions populace. Let’s say you’re one of the ruling elites operating the nation for the benefit of […]
France’s Ghosts of ’68: General Strike vs. Macron and the Technocrat Elites
France’s Ghosts of ’68: General Strike vs. Macron and the Technocrat Elites The Paris elites and their enablers may find that the next general strike won’t immobilize Paris, it will strangle Paris from the periphery. Eleven months ago, I posited in The Ghosts of 1968 (2/14/18) that the idealistic hope that mass demonstrations could trigger real reform […]
