Money

The Jobless Numbers That The Government Gives Us Are So Fake

April 19, 2024April 19, 2024 by Michael

How it is possible that initial claims for jobless benefits have been exactly the same for five of the past six weeks? As Jim Blanco has pointed out, there is no way that this is statistically possible. Honestly, I don’t know any other way to explain this other than to say that the numbers are being cooked. It appears that the bureaucrats in Washington have gotten so lazy that they aren’t even bothering to change the fake numbers that they are giving us. Even though large companies are conducting mass layoffs all over America, week after week we are given laughable numbers that indicate that everything is just fine. At this point, the charade has become such a farce that even CNBC has published an article about this…

Calling the state of the U.S. jobs market these days stable seems like an understatement considering the latest data coming out of the Labor Department.

That’s because most of the past several weeks have shown that first-time claims for unemployment benefits haven’t fluctuated at all — as in zero.

For five of the past six weeks, the level of initial jobless filings totaled exactly 212,000. Given a labor force that is 168 million strong, achieving such stasis seems at least unusual if not uncanny, yet that is what the figures released each Thursday morning since mid-March have shown.

Jim Bianco, the head of Bianco Research, was the first one to call attention to the absurdity of getting the exact same number for five of the past six weeks…

“How is this statistically possible? Five of the last six weeks, the exact same number,” market veteran Jim Bianco, head of Bianco Research, posted Thursday on X.

“Initial claims for unemployment insurance are state programs, with 50 state rules, hundreds of offices, and 50 websites to file. Weather, seasonality, holidays, and economic vibrations drive the number of people filing claims from week to week,” he added. “Yet this measure is so stable that it does not vary by even 1,000 applications a week.”

He is right.

Something definitely does not smell right about all of this.

Below is the number of initial filings for unemployment insurance.

How is this statistically possible?

Five of the last six weeks, the exact same number.

Effectively the same number in the last 11 weeks, except for the holiday weeks (President’s Day and Easter).
—
Consider… pic.twitter.com/vZbWWC7DRr

— Jim Bianco (@biancoresearch) April 18, 2024

Of course it isn’t just for the past few months that we have been given fishy numbers.

For a couple of years, jobless claims have stayed within a certain range no matter what has been happening in the real economy.

I simply do not have any faith in the official numbers that they give us any longer, and I don’t understand how anyone else can either.

According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the number of announced job cuts in the U.S. in March was 7 percent higher than the already elevated level that we witnessed in February…

Employers in the U.S. announced 90,309 job cuts in March — a 7% increase from February, according to data released Thursday from executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

That amount of planned layoffs mark the highest monthly total since January 2023, when employers announced 102,943 cuts. Companies are cutting jobs as a result of store closures, bankruptcies, organizational restructuring or general cost-cutting, Challenger said. The cuts suggest that “many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach,” Senior Vice President Andy Challenger said in a statement.

“While technology continues to lead all industries so far this year, several industries, including energy and industrial manufacturing, are cutting more jobs this year than last,” he said.

But all of these layoffs haven’t even made a blip in the initial jobless claims numbers.

How is that possible?

And the BLS says that the unemployment rate actually went down in February…

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed the labor market added 303,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in March, significantly more than the 214,000 expected by economists. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate decreased to 3.8% from 3.9% in February.

If the unemployment rate in the U.S. really was just 3.8 percent, I would certainly be celebrating.

But that is another number that is so manipulated that it has essentially become meaningless.

If you are not working in America today, you are put into one of two categories.

Either you are classified as “unemployed” or you are classified as “not in the labor force”.

According to the most recent BLS number, 6,429,000 Americans are considered to be officially “unemployed”.

But another 99,989,000 Americans are considered to be “not in the labor force”.

When you add those two numbers together, you get more than 106 million U.S. adults that do not have a job right now.

During the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, that combined figure never even reached 90 million.

But we had a horrifying “unemployment crisis” in 2008 and 2009, and today everything is just fine.

Give me a break.

They are gaslighting us really hard, and the vast majority of Americans are going right along with it.

After all, if the government is telling us something it must be true, right?

Sadly, the truth is that we are in the terminal phase of the largest debt crisis in the history of the world.

When Barack Obama entered the White House, we were about 10 trillion dollars in debt.

Now we are 34 trillion dollars in debt…

The U.S. national debt is climbing at a rapid pace and has shown no signs of slowing down, despite the growing criticism of massive levels of government spending.

The national debt — which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors — increased to $34,576,488,508,928.92 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. That is down about $14.5 billion from the $34,591,001,330,876.91 figure reported the previous day.

By comparison, just four decades ago, the national debt hovered around $907 billion.

About every 100 days, we are adding another trillion dollars to the debt.

We are stealing gigantic mountains of money from future generations of Americans in order to make the present more pleasant.

Our politicians are injecting trillions upon trillions of borrowed dollars into the economy, and so our economy should be going gangbusters.

But it isn’t.

So what would things look like if the borrowing stopped and we actually tried to live within our means?

You might want to think about that for a while.

Because this debt cycle is coming to an end, and the crash that is ahead of us is going to be far more horrible than most people would dare to imagine.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s extremely controversial new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. You can connect with Michael on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and sharing his articles on your own social media accounts is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

U.S. Cities Fall Into A “Doom Loop” As The CRE Crisis Absolutely Explodes

April 18, 2024April 18, 2024 by Michael

In the entire history of the United States, we have never witnessed an urban collapse of this magnitude. During the pandemic, millions of Americans started working from home, and many of them have never returned to the office. Meanwhile, rapidly rising levels of crime, homelessness and migration have transformed many of our inner cities into extremely dangerous places. As a result, thousands upon thousands of businesses have left our core urban areas in search of greener pastures. So now there is lots and lots of commercial real estate space that is sitting empty, and commercial real estate prices have absolutely plummeted.

At this moment, we are in the midst of a meltdown that I believe will eventually be regarded as the worst commercial real estate collapse that America has ever seen.

In fact, we just learned that the number of commercial real estate foreclosures in March was 117 percent higher than it was during the same month in 2023…

The commercial real estate market is starting to buckle under the weight of higher interest rates and remote work.

There were 625 commercial real estate foreclosures in March, up 6% from February and 117% from the same time last year, according to a new report published by real estate data provider ATTOM.

Things are particularly bad on the west coast.

The struggles of San Francisco and Los Angeles are well documented, and so it is not much of a surprise that last month commercial real estate foreclosures in the state of California were up 405 percent compared to the same month last year…

California had the highest number of commercial foreclosures in March, with 187 properties. While that marked an 8% decrease from the previous month, it is a stunning 405% jump from the previous year.

“California began experiencing a notable rise in commercial foreclosures in November 2023, surpassing 100 cases and continuing to escalate thereafter,” the report said.

But it isn’t just the west coast that is facing a nightmare.

This is what St. Louis looked like at the time of the World Fair in 1904…

I know this may be hard to believe, but at that time it was a glorious city.

But now it looks like a hellhole.

Recently, a vacant office building in the downtown area sold for 98 percent less than it did in 2006…

A vacant office building in downtown St. Louis just sold for $3.6 million — a nearly 98% discount from its 2006 sales price, signaling a concerning course for the Midwestern city’s downtown area.

The former One AT&T Center, which at 44 stories is the third-tallest building in St. Louis, sold for $205 million in 2006 and recently sold for $3.6 million to the Goldman Group, a real-estate investment firm, according to CoStar News.

Very few people want to live or work in downtown St. Louis these days, because it has become “a very dangerous place”…

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday published a story on the “real estate nightmare” and detailed stories of boarded-up properties and occasional raids by police and firefighters searching for squatters and missing people.

“It’s a very dangerous place,” St. Louis Fire Department Chief Dennis Jenkerson told the paper.

As things continue to get worse, more people want to leave.

At this point, just about everyone acknowledges that St. Louis is trapped in an “urban doom loop”…

The cycle is often called the “urban doom loop,” which the Atlantic describes as the cycle of people moving away from city as things get worse, then things getting worse because more people moved away.

Business Insider’s Eliza Relman described the doom loop afflicting Midwestern cities: “Commercial property taxes make up a large chunk of many city budgets, so as office vacancies rise, the decreased revenue could force leaders to curtail municipal services or make cuts to key programs. Declining services and quality of life in turn pushes residents out, leading to a self-reinforcing exodus. Without serious changes, these midsize cities in the middle of the country could be quietly sliding into oblivion.”

Honestly, I don’t know why anyone would still want to be in St. Louis.

Violence is a constant threat, and it has experienced the largest decline in foot traffic of any major U.S. city…

Locals said they are often depressed and scared by the sight of empty shops and restaurants, according to the WSJ. Sidewalks are left barren as fewer people choose to commute into the downtown area, and recently installed signs urge visitors to “park in well-lit areas.”

According to the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, the business district of St. Louis experienced the greatest drop in foot traffic of 66 major U.S. cities between the start of the pandemic in 2020 and the summer of 2023.

Sadly, this is the road that almost all of our major cities are now going down.

New York was once one of the finest cities on the entire planet, but now the streets are littered with open air markets that are selling stolen goods, drugs and sex services…

Roosevelt Avenue near 91st Street is littered daily with migrant vendors hawking goods they ripped off from shopkeepers just steps away, while prostitutes proposition passersby at all hours — and frustrated merchants and residents say they’re helpless to do anything about it.

“It’s relentless,” said Milton Reyes, who manages Mi Farmacia pharmacy on the avenue. “You should see it on Saturdays. It’s so heavy, you can’t even step onto the sidewalk. There are a lot of doctors’ offices right around here and my customers don’t even want to get dropped off.

What a nightmare.

The police do patrol the streets, but as soon as they are out of sight the open air markets resume business as usual…

In Jackson Heights, the hookers now share the landscape with shoplifting migrants who mob and ransack local retailers, then brazenly sell their stolen merchandise for 20% or 30% less just steps from the stores, retailers said.

“They are stealing,” Francisco O’Porta, a security guard at Lot-Less, told The Post. “They rip it out of the box, but it’s ours. You can see. It is brand new, but they are selling it as used. It’s our stuff.

“They have been training people,” said O’Porta, 55, of Long Island City. “They have lookouts, you know, people to yell so they can pick up and leave when police come. I am catching a lot, a lot of them stealing. I caught 20 people last week. Twenty in one week. They are hurting business.”

If New York authorities cannot get crime under control, the mass exodus out of the Big Apple will get even worse.

According to the video that I have posted below, the city now has “a $4.4 billion shoplifting economy”…

This is what societal collapse looks like.

And you definitely do not want to be in an environment like that when things really start hitting the fan.

The moral character of our country really matters.

Sadly, it has been declining for decades, and now we have a complete and utter horror show on our hands.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

The UN Security Council Is About To Vote On A Palestinian State

April 17, 2024April 17, 2024 by Michael

Why are they being so quiet about this? On Friday, the UN Security Council will take a vote which will determine whether or not “the State of Palestine” will be granted full UN membership. If this vote is successful, that will formally create a Palestinian state that will have full recognition by the international community. So this is a really big deal. Algeria is the nation that has put this draft resolution forward, and it is scheduled for a vote at 3 PM Eastern time on Friday afternoon…

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote Friday on a Palestinian request for full U.N. membership, said diplomats, a move that Israel ally the United States is expected to block because it would effectively recognize a Palestinian state.

The 15-member council is due to vote at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) Friday on a draft resolution that recommends to the 193-member U.N. General Assembly that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations,” diplomats said.

It is being projected that 13 of the 15 members of the Security Council could vote in favor of this resolution, and so Israel is counting on the Biden administration to veto it…

A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the U.S., Britain, France, Russia or China to pass. Diplomats say the measure could have the support of up to 13 council members, which would force the U.S. to use its veto.

Just think about this for a moment.

The only thing standing in the way of a Palestinian state is Joe Biden.

Of course he actually wants a Palestinian state to be established, but he wants it to happen as a result of peace negotiations.

And after the current war in the Middle East is concluded, there will be an all-out push to achieve that goal.

For now, the war in the Middle East is poised to go to a dangerous new level.

Israel is preparing to retaliate against Iran, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is promising that even the “slightest action” by Israel will provoke a “painful response”…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has warned Israel it will face a “painful response” if it takes the “slightest action” in response to Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile barrage against the Jewish state over the weekend.

Iran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel on the night of Saturday-Sunday came in response to an April 1 air strike on Tehran’s embassy compound in Damascus that has been widely blamed on Israel.

So what would that “painful response” look like?

Well, Raisi has also said that “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime” after Iran was finished…

Raisi said Saturday’s attack was a limited one but that “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime,” should it escalate the current situation, the official IRNA news agency reported.

What he is describing is all-out war.

Right now, there are government billboards in Tehran which ominously declare that “Tel Aviv is our battleground”.

The Iranians are known for their bold talk, but in this case I don’t think they are bluffing.

I believe that they really will try to hammer Israel if there is any sort of an attack on Iranian soil, and one Iranian official is even warning that his nation is “prepared to use a weapon that we have never used”…

But Iranian security chief Abolfazl Amouei last night warned that if Israel does respond then Tehran is “prepared to use a weapon that we have never used”.

It is unclear what weapon Amouei was referring to, but he warned Israel to “act wisely” as it considers its next steps.

There has been a lot of debate about how hard the Israelis should hit Iran.

But the truth is that Iran is going to strike back really hard no matter what form the attack takes.

And it appears that a decision has already been made. In fact, on Wednesday British Foreign Secretary David Cameron openly admitted that it is “clear the Israelis are making a decision to act”.

During a visit to Israel, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Wednesday that while Israel has clearly decided to retaliate against Iran, he and other diplomatic leaders hope Israel shows restraint in its action. He added that, through sanctions, Iran “needs to be given an unequivocal message” by the G7, a forum of advanced economies that includes the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy.

“It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” Cameron said in Jerusalem. “We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible.”

After meeting with Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he appreciates their support and advice, but said Israel alone will decide how to protect itself and how to respond to the Iranian attack.

I think that it is true.

I think that the Israeli government has decided on a course of action.

But at this point I have a hard time believing that something is imminent.

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are coming up very quickly, and virtually the entire nation of Israel shuts down to celebrate.

The Israeli government knows that Iran will strike back really hard once an attack happens, and having Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread ruined by Iranian missiles would be very unpopular politically.

So my guess is that any Israeli retaliation against Iran will be delayed until May.

Of course I could be wrong.

We shall see.

Meanwhile, on the northern front Israel and Hezbollah continue to pummel one another.

On Wednesday, mass casualties were caused when a Hezbollah drone hit a community center in northern Israel…

Israeli emergency authorities are reporting that casualties from a suicide drone attack on a northern Israeli village have risen to at least 18 people wounded.

Hezbollah took responsibility for launching the suicide drone which ultimately scored a direct hit on a community center, with Israeli media noting that air warning sirens failed to sound during the attack. However, Hezbollah claimed it was targeting a building used by the Israeli military.

According to Times of Israel, “The victims were taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. which said that one victim was listed in critical condition and two others were seriously wounded.”

In response, the IDF conducted an airstrike in northeastern Lebanon…

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that it carried out an airstrike against a site belonging to Hezbollah’s air defense unit in northeastern Lebanon’s Baalbek, hours after the terror group carried out an explosive drone attack on northern Israel, wounding 14 soldiers and four civilians,

In a short statement, the IDF said fighter jets struck Hezbollah air defense infrastructure north of the city of Baalbek, almost 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Israeli border.

It appears that it is just a matter of time before there is all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.

And we are also on the verge of seeing all-out war between Israel and Iran.

The great Middle East conflict that I have been warning my readers about has arrived, and I believe that in the months ahead events will spiral completely out of control.

Once thousands of missiles are flying back and forth, the opportunity for restraint will be gone.

And at this absolutely critical moment in human history, Joe Biden and his minions are running things in the White House.

We are in so much trouble.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

This Is The Weapon That Is Being Used To Destroy America’s Middle Class

April 16, 2024April 16, 2024 by Michael

The middle class in the United States has been steadily shrinking, and the gap between the ultra-wealthy and the rest of us has grown to absurd proportions. But it wasn’t always this way. When I was growing up in the 1980s, it seemed like almost everyone was middle class. Of course there were wealthy people and poor people in the 1980s too, but the vast majority of the population was comfortably somewhere in the middle. Sadly, things have changed so much since that time. Today, most of the people that I know are struggling. According to a report that was just released, in all 50 states it now takes an income of more than $100,000 in order for a family of four to live “the American Dream”…

A new report from GOBankingRates used that framework to analyze how much money a family of two adults and two children would need in each state to own a home, a car and a pet. The report tallied estimated annual essential expenses for such a family and then doubled that figure.

Using that framework, GoBankingRates found that all 50 states require more than a $100,000 annual income, according to the report, with 38 states needing more than $140,000.

Is your family bringing in more than $100,000 a year?

If not, “the American Dream” is not for you.

Sorry.

Our leaders purposely pursued policies that they knew would cause inflation, and when new money enters the system most of it tends to flow into the hands of those at the top of the economic food chain.

So the ultra-wealthy have been doing very well in this economic environment, but high inflation is absolutely eviscerating all the rest of us.

At this point, it takes the average U.S. household an extra $1,069 per month just to purchase the same goods and services that it did three years ago…

Inflation is once again gaining steam, forcing the average American to shell out a lot more money for everyday necessities.

The typical U.S. household needed to pay $227 more a month in March to purchase the same goods and services it did one year ago because of still-high inflation, according to calculations from Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi shared with FOX Business.

Americans are paying on average $784 more each month compared with the same time two years ago and $1,069 more compared with three years ago, before the inflation crisis began.

What we are witnessing is the collapse of the middle class.

The cost of living has been rising faster than incomes have been, and that is putting an extraordinary amount of financial stress on U.S. households.

For example, the cost of auto insurance has risen more than 22 percent over the past 12 months…

The cost of auto insurance rose 2.6% in March, bringing the total annual gain to 22.2% — the fastest yearly rate on record. When compared with the beginning of 2021, before the inflation crisis began, motor vehicle insurance is more than 50% more expensive.

Housing costs have been increasing at an even faster pace.

If you can believe it, the average monthly mortgage payment on a newly purchased home has risen by 96 percent in just four years…

The real estate firm Zillow reports that since January 2020, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home has nearly doubled. It’s up 96% in just four years.

According to Zillow, a typical buyer will now pay nearly $2,200 a month, with a 10% down payment. Meaning, homeownership now costs well above the 30% of median income that was once thought to equate to “affordable” housing cost in America.

Home ownership is now out of reach for a huge chunk of the population.

Needless to say, that isn’t a good thing.

Why aren’t the American people more upset about all of this?

In a desperate attempt to maintain a middle class standard of living, many Americans are piling up enormous amounts of debt.

According to CNBC, some economists believe “that debt growth has become a substitution for income growth”…

Economists have suggested that debt growth has become a substitution for income growth. Student loan debt reached an all-time high of $1.77 trillion in the first quarter of 2023 and Americans collectively owe $1.13 trillion on their credit cards as of the fourth quarter of 2023. This debt can have a ripple effect, especially when entire generations are starting their adulthoods with thousands of dollars in debt.

In many cases, people that have greatly overextended themselves now find themselves absolutely drowning in debt.

One 28-year-old woman that purchased a Chevy Tahoe three years ago still owed $74,000 to GM Financial and was eventually forced to sell the vehicle…

Three years ago, 28-year-old Blaisey Arnold entered a local auto dealership and came away with the keys to an $84,000 Chevy Tahoe.

But this month, the wedding photographer and mother shared a video to TikTok describing how she was forced to sell her dream car.

Despite paying $1,400 a month in payments totaling more than $50,000, she still owes a balance of $74,000 to her lender – GM Financial.

Can you believe that?

Of course she is far from alone.

At this point, millions upon millions of Americans have gotten into trouble with debt, and credit card delinquency rates have risen to unprecedented levels…

Delinquency rates among American credit card holders are at an all-time high, while at the same time a record number of “active accounts” have “a balance of over $2,000,” according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia report.

If Americans really understood what our politicians in Washington and the “experts” at the Federal Reserve were doing to us, there would be massive protests in the streets right now.

These days, a lot of Americans that had actually retired are now heading back to work due to the rapidly rising cost of living. Hope Murray is one of those people…

Hope Murray retired in 2013 after a 50-year career that ranged from game show producer to Hollywood party planner to casino executive.

She settled into a life of golf, game nights and pickleball in her San Diego community, her daughter living nearby.

Then things got more expensive. Gas was nearly $5 a gallon, medication costs were adding up, the grocery bill was increasing.

Can you imagine going back to work when you are 80 years old?

That is what she had to do, and now she spends her retirement years handing out samples at Costco…

So last October, at the age of 80, Murray ended her retirement and got a job giving out samples at Costco.

She likes observing the people – some go grocery shopping in heels and a full face of makeup and others wear pajamas and slippers. Some people take one sample and others gobble three or four.

“It just comes into my checking account every other week, and I can pay for everything,” she said of her $18-an-hour paycheck.

In recent months, prices have started to surge once again.

It has become clear that the cost of living crisis is not going away any time soon.

The middle class in the United States is going to continue to shrink, and that is not good news for any of us.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

This Is Why The Price Of Gasoline Could Soon Double…

April 15, 2024 by Michael

Can you imagine paying seven dollars for a gallon of gasoline? It could soon happen, because it appears that Israel is about to strike Iran, and that is likely to cause events in the Middle East to spiral completely out of control. Right now, approximately one-fifth of all oil used in the world goes through the Strait of Hormuz. An apocalyptic war in the region could potentially close the Strait of Hormuz until the conflict is resolved one way or the other. In addition, oil infrastructure could be destroyed in Iran and other nations in the Middle East as the fighting rages, and that could substantially reduce global oil production for an extended period of time. Our way of life depends on cheap oil, and so if a major regional war in the Middle East causes the price of oil to go skyrocketing that is going to deeply affect all of us.

On Monday, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States was just $3.63…

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. was $3.63 as of Monday, according to AAA, up almost 4 cents from a week earlier and 22 cents from a month ago.

Even though the average price of a gallon of gasoline has risen more than 20 cents in a month, I would still consider it to be at a very low level, especially compared to what is eventually coming.

One expert that was interviewed by MarketWatch is warning that the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. could hit $5.40 this summer…

Colas estimated that a spike in oil prices pushing U.S. gasoline to $5.40 a gallon this summer would make a recession later in 2024 “a genuine possibility.” U.S. gas prices averaged $3.634 a gallon at the pump on Monday, according to AAA, at last check.

And that same expert also warned that if the price of oil reaches $125 a barrel it could push the U.S. economy into a recession…

“Crude prices are our chief concern, but we are a long way” from $125 a barrel — a level of West Texas Intermediate oil that “would almost certainly cause a recession if sustained,” said Colas. “Gasoline prices are the transmission mechanism between Mideast conflict and the US economy: when pump prices increase quickly, consumers must cut back on other spending.”

Personally, I think that such a projection is wildly optimistic.

If Israel and Iran start lobbing thousands of missiles at one another, we could easily see the price of oil surpass $150 a barrel, and it is likely that the average price of gasoline in the U.S. would shoot past $7.00 a gallon.

And if nuclear weapons are used in the Middle East, there is no telling what might happen.

Right now, the financial markets are waiting to see if Israel chooses to retaliate.

If the Israelis strike Iran, and oil infrastructure is targeted, that will definitely “send oil prices up”…

If Israel does retaliate, and it becomes a full-fledged conflict, that’s a different story. “And maybe Iran’s oil platforms, refineries are taken out,” he said. “That would send oil prices up.”

I think that is what is going to happen.

At this moment, it is being reported that Israel is preparing to retaliate.

When that occurs, the price of oil will go nuts, and people all over the U.S. will blame Israel for the high price of gasoline.

But instead, they should blame Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

If they would have just left Israel alone, things could have turned out much differently.

Iran could have lived in peace. The Iranians are one of the largest producers of oil in the world, and during the Biden administration they have been able to dramatically increase oil exports…

Iran has steeply raised oil exports, its main source of revenue, during the Biden administration after they were severely reduced due to measures taken by the Trump administration.

The White House has argued it isn’t encouraging Iran to raise exports and is enforcing sanctions. Lower Iranian exports would lead to a further rise in oil prices and the cost of gasoline in the U.S., which would be a politically sensitive issue ahead of this fall’s presidential elections.

Instead of using their oil money to fund terror organizations, the Iranians could have lived in luxury.

To be honest, Iran could have been one of the most prosperous countries on the entire planet.

But instead they have foolishly chosen a much different path.

If an all-out war between Israel and Iran erupts, it is probably inevitable that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed, and that will be catastrophic for the entire global economy…

Potential impacts on the shipping transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about one-fifth of the world’s total oil consumption, will also factor into markets’ pricing.

The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s navy said on Tuesday that Iran could close the strait if deemed necessary, and earlier on Saturday Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said an IRGC helicopter boarded a vessel, the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, and took it into Iranian waters.

Just think about that.

One-fifth of all the oil the world uses goes through the Strait of Hormuz.

We are in uncharted territory, and we could soon see a level of panic in the financial marketplace that we haven’t seen in a very long time.

Meanwhile, economic conditions in the U.S. just continue to deteriorate.

Earlier today, I was saddened to learn that even Tesla has decided that mass layoffs have become necessary…

Tesla has announced layoffs of “more than 10%” of its global workforce in an internal company-wide email. We exclusively reported yesterday that Tesla was prepping a massive layoff.

For the last few months, it has looked like Tesla might be preparing for a round of layoffs. Tesla told managers to identify critical team members, and paused some stock rewards while canceling some employees’ annual reviews. It also reduced production at Gigafactory Shanghai.

Things are definitely not good now, but they will get a whole lot worse if a major regional war does erupt in the Middle East.

It takes energy to make products, transport products and sell products.

The price of oil has an enormous impact on literally every sector of our entire economy.

If an apocalyptic war in the Middle East were to cause the price of oil to double, it would send us into a horrific economic tailspin.

So let’s hope for the best, but let’s also prepare for the worst.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

What Will Israel Do Now?

April 14, 2024April 14, 2024 by Michael

I have been sitting here trying to figure out what to write about what we just witnessed. Just like October 7th, the shocking attack on Israel that just took place altered the course of history. This was the first time that Iran ever attacked Israel directly, and I was flooded with emails by readers that were concerned about World War III. So now that the Iranian attack is over, what will Israel do now? That is the big question. If Israel directly attacks Iran, the Iranians will inevitably respond and the conflict could spiral out of control. But if the Israelis do not strike back, they will look weak and the Iranians could feel like they will be able to get away with similar things in the future.

Overall, the Iranians sent more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israeli territory…

Two Israeli officials told the New York Times that Iran launched 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles and 110 surface-to-surface missiles as part of the unprecedented attack on Israel. According to the sources, “most of the launches were carried out from Iranian territory, while a small portion of them came from Iraq and Yemen.” Besides the U.S, Britain and Jordan also helped Israel intercept the launches.

The good news is that the U.S. military and the IDF were able to shoot down 99 percent of them…

At 7:15 am IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said that 99% of the aerial threats were shot down, which he said was a strategic achievement.

That was very good news, and in the end very little damage was done…

He said virtually all of the weapons were intercepted before entering Israeli territory and he reported only minor damage to one military base from the few ballistic missiles that did land in the country. Hagari confirmed that a 10-year-old girl had been “severely injured by shrapnel,” but said “as far as we know, there are no additional casualties.”

The Iranians are trying to frame this strike as a victory, but the truth is that it was a huge defeat.

So that gives Israel options.

If a tremendous amount of damage had been done inside Israel, the Israeli government would have felt a need to respond very forcefully.

But since the Iranian attack was such a failure, that gives Israel the option of simply walking away.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, that is what Joe Biden was encouraging Israel to do…

President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US will not support any counterattack against Iran, sources have revealed.

Biden spoke with Netanyahu in a late-night phone call after Iran bombarded Israel with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday in response to a drone strike in Syria that killed 12 Iranians, including two top generals.

A senior White House official told Axios that Biden made it clear to Netanyahu that US forces would not participate in any further operations. Netanyahu said he understood.

Biden reportedly told the Israeli Prime Minister: ‘You got a win. Take the win’, amid fears amongst White House officials that an Iran attack will lead to a greater war in the region.

Of course if someone sent more than 300 drones and missiles at U.S. cities, Biden would be singing a much different tune.

In that case, the U.S. military would already be pounding whoever dared to launch such an attack.

And it appears that Israel was ready to hit Iran really hard right away, but the conversation with Biden apparently persuaded Netanyahu to call off an attack for now…

US President Joe Biden dissuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from greenlighting an immediate retaliatory strike against Iran after it launched around 300 attack drones and missiles at Israel last night, the New York Times reports.

According to the report, several members of Israel’s war cabinet had been in favor of launching a response attack, but the lack of serious damage caused by Iran, in addition to Netanyahu’s conversation with Biden, led to it being called off.

This doesn’t mean that there will be no Israeli response.

The Israeli war cabinet was scheduled to meet on Sunday, and I am sure that they were discussing their options.

The UN Security Council also met on Sunday, although it wasn’t expected to do much of anything…

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Sunday over Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel, the body’s president said.

A spokesperson for Malta, which holds the rotating presidency this month, told the press Saturday evening that the Security Council was aiming for the meeting to be held at 4:00 p.m. (11 p.m. Israel time) Sunday after Israel requested the council condemn Iran’s attack and designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

The wealthy western countries do not approve of what Iran has done, but they are desperate to keep a major war from erupting in the region.

In particular, Joe Biden knows that a major war in the Middle East would be very bad for his chances in November.

So a tremendous amount of pressure will be put on Israel to stand down.

And Iran has already warned that it will hit Israel again with even greater force if Israel strikes Iranian territory…

Tehran has warned it will strike again with greater force if Israel or the US retaliate for the Iranian strike on Israel that used more than 300 drones and missiles on Saturday night.

The air raids, the country’s first ever direct attack on the Israeli state, brought a years-long shadow war into the open and threatened to draw the region into a broader conflagration as Israel said it was considering its response.

If missiles start flying back and forth, events could quickly spiral out of control.

But Israel has always believed in responding with force when it is attacked.

And I believe that there will eventually be a response.

Some are calling for Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear program.

If there was ever a golden opportunity to do that, it would be now.

We shall just have to wait and see what happens.

Even though it is uncertain whether or not Israel will directly strike Iran, on Sunday the IDF was conducting “retaliatory strikes” in southern Lebanon…

In a series of retaliatory strikes, Israel has intensified its attacks on southern Lebanon, targeting several areas overnight and in the early morning hours.

The escalating violence has raised concerns of a broader conflict in the region.

In one case, a building that was a “significant weapons manufacturing site” was completely destroyed…

A source within Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said Israel struck one of its buildings close to the Syrian border today, as tensions soared after Iran directly attacked Israel.

The source told news agency AFP: ‘The Israeli strike targeted an area… near Baalbek and targeted a two-storey building belonging to Hezbollah,’ adding that there were no casualties reported.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency also reported that ‘an enemy air strike targeted a building’ in the village of Nabi Sheet and ‘destroyed it’.

The IDF later confirmed the strike on the ‘significant weapons manufacturing site’ in the Nabi Sheet area.

So Israel is already hitting back.

But striking Iran directly would be an extremely bold move.

An all-out war with Iran could easily take an apocalyptic turn, and both sides realize this.

We really are in uncharted territory, and it won’t take much to push events over the edge.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s extremely controversial new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. You can connect with Michael on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and sharing his articles on your own social media accounts is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

Will Much Of The Middle East Soon Be Turned Into “A Pile Of Smoking, Radioactive Rubble”?

April 11, 2024 by Michael

Most people have absolutely no idea how close we are to a nightmare scenario in the Middle East. Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that Bloomberg was reporting that an Iranian attack on Israel was “imminent”. At that time we were waiting for the other shoe to drop in the Middle East, and we are still waiting. Ynet News is claiming that Iran was “ready to launch its attack on Israel” but had a change of heart before it pulled the trigger…

Iran was ready to launch its attack on Israel but decided to change or postpone it by a few days, likely after warnings from the Biden administration.

Overnight, the official Iranian news agency Mehr posted on X that that Iran temporarily grounded all air activity over Tehran’s airspace starting from midnight due to “military maneuvers.” Mehr also shared a video showing missiles with the caption “Maybe tonight… Stay tuned.” The agency quickly deleted both items.

I think that the Iranians realize that if they strike Israeli territory there will be an overwhelming response from the IDF.

And Joe Biden is promising “ironclad” support for Israel if the Iranians attack…

US president Joe Biden on Wednesday vowed that American support for Israel is ‘ironclad’, amid fears the Middle Eastern nation will soon be attacked by Iran.

‘As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad. Let me say it again: ironclad. We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel security,’ Biden said at a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Biden’s top diplomat, Anthony Blinken, affirmed his words and told Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant on a phone call that the US would stand behind Israel if Iran decides to attack.

Does this mean that we will be at war with Iran the moment that Iranian missiles start hitting targets inside Israel?

Because that is what it sounds like.

I can understand how the possibility of war with the United States would make the Iranians think twice.

But even though they may have hesitated, they are clearly not backing down yet.

On Thursday, Iranian leaders did confirm that they fully intend to “punish” Israel in the days ahead…

Tehran must retaliate for the deadly attack on its consular compound in Damascus last week because the U.N. Security Council failed to condemn the strike or take any action against Israel, Iran’s U.N. mission said in a statement posted Thursday on the X platform.

“Had the U.N. Security Council condemned the Zionist regime’s reprehensible act of aggression on our diplomatic premises in Damascus and subsequently brought to justice its perpetrators, the imperative for Iran to punish this rogue regime might have been obviated,” the statement said.

So some sort of an attack is definitely coming.

If Iran hits targets that are outside the land of Israel, that may not spark an all-out war in the region.

But if Iran hits targets inside the land of Israel, that will literally push us to the brink of the unthinkable.

Earlier today, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio posted the following message on social media…

Iran wants to launch a large scale attack from their own territory against #Israel

Israel will respond instantly with an even more severe counterattack inside of Iran

What happens next is the most dangerous Middle East moment since 1973

I agree with his assessment except for one thing.

I believe that what we are facing is far more dangerous than anything that we witnessed in 1973.

One British news source is reporting that a war simulation that was “crafted by military and security experts” indicates that all-out war is likely if Iran starts hitting targets inside Israeli territory…

Iran and it’s terror proxies including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis all have powerful long-range, high-precision rockets which they use to hit key Israeli targets.

Israel hits back and is fighting off Iranian proxies on a frontline in Syria and Lebanon near its border while striking Iran by air.

Tel Aviv appeals to the US several times for intervention but with no luck becomes isolated in its fight against Iran.

According to the simulation, nuclear weapons are likely to be used as the conflict progresses…

Eventually it resorts to a non-lethal nuclear detonation in an attempt to make Iran surrender, which it does not.

A desperate Israel eventually launches 50 nuclear weapons towards Iran, who unleashes its own nuke ambush against an air base with US troops.

The war game simulation ends here with a conflict that would involve Syria, Lebanon, even Yemen and could reduce large parts of the Middle East to a pile of smoking, radioactive rubble.

In the entire recorded history of the world, we have never seen a war like this.

Can you imagine the chaos that would erupt all over the globe if major cities in the Middle East were reduced to piles of “smoking, radioactive rubble”?

Let us hope that the war simulation described above is not accurate.

But without a doubt, we have entered a danger zone.

Once Iran and Israel start lobbing missiles at one another, there will be no turning back.

For a long time, I have been warning my readers that an apocalyptic war in the Middle East would be coming.

Now we are almost there.

My hope is that the Iranians will back down and that their response to Israel will turn out to be very weak.

If that turns out to be the case, that could buy us a little bit more time.

But one way or another, I believe that this is the year when the Middle East descends into chaos.

So buckle up and hold on tight, because it appears that things are about to get really crazy.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s extremely controversial new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. You can connect with Michael on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and sharing his articles on your own social media accounts is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

“I Cannot Afford To Live”: Americans Get Emotional As The U.S. Economy Goes Off The Rails

April 10, 2024 by Michael

As we approach what is likely to be the most chaotic presidential election in U.S. history, trouble signs are starting to erupt for the U.S. economy. In fact, CNN is actually admitting that “the long-predicted storm clouds in the economy may actually be forming”. I can’t remember the last time that I saw a CNN article with a headline like that. But at this point, it is becoming extremely difficult for the mainstream media to avoid the truth. Inflation is getting worse at the same time that many key sectors of our economy are slowing down. If you thought that the last couple of years were rough for the economy, just wait until you see what is coming next. Tremendous turmoil is on the horizon, and the American people are becoming increasingly emotional about our rapidly growing economic problems.

On Wednesday, we learned that prices jumped even more than expected during the month of March…

Inflation jumped in March as prices for consumer staples such as gasoline edged higher and those for housing remained stubbornly high, suggesting inflation may be a bit stickier than it seemed just a few months ago, economists said.

The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3.5% in March from a year ago, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday. That’s up from 3.2% in February.

Lots of pundits on television are telling us that this is really bad news for Joe Biden.

But if prices were only rising at a 3.5 percent annual rate, that would be outstanding news.

In fact, if prices were only rising at a 3.5 percent annual rate I would not be concerned about inflation at all.

Of course by now everyone realizes that the way inflation is calculated has been changed repeatedly over the years and so the numbers that the government gives us are essentially meaningless at this point.

In order to get a realistic idea of how much prices are rising, we need to look at specific categories.

For example, Fox Business is reporting that the cost of energy “is up 36.9% from where it was in Jan. 2021″…

Tuesday’s inflation numbers punctuate what has been a dreadful three years for energy consumers. The overall cost of energy in March is up 36.9% from where it was in Jan. 2021, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Of course energy prices are going to go a lot higher than they are right now.

Just wait until Iran and Israel start lobbing missiles at one another.

Housing has become insanely expensive as well.

In fact, the average monthly mortgage payment on a newly purchased home has approximately doubled since Joe Biden entered the White House.

So how in the world can they possibly tell us with a straight face that inflation is in the low single digits if that is the case?

Home insurance rates are going into the stratosphere as well.

One 71-year-old retiree in South Dakota says that his home insurance payment went up by 110 percent in just one year…

Ken Brown is worried he is going to be forced out of his house if his home insurance premium continues to go up.

The 71-year-old retiree who lives near Rapid City, South Dakota, has seen his annual cover with American Family skyrocket almost 110 percent in the last year – from $1,665 to $3,490.

Ken is on a fixed retirement income, while his wife Valeria, 68, is still working to help cover the insurance bill – and a whole host of other rising costs.

Let’s be honest with ourselves.

The truth is that we are in the midst of the worst inflation crisis that any of us have ever seen.

Don’t let them gaslight you.

The price of food is also going nuts. At one location in California, a 40 piece order of Chicken McNuggets and two orders of large fries will now set you back more than 25 dollars…

A viral social media video about a $25 McDonald’s “deal” recently sparked an online debate about California’s minimum-wage increase.

A TikTok user who posts videos under the username @shannon_montipaya shared the video on March 27. She was in the drive-thru of a Southern California McDonald’s location when she saw a sign for a 40-piece Chicken McNugget meal deal, which also included two large orders of fries.

The price of the meal bundle was $25.39 — including sales tax, it would come to roughly $27. In the video, the social media user lamented that the meal didn’t even include a drink.

“OK, so it’s $25.39 for 40-piece nuggets and two large fries,” she said. “You couldn’t even throw in the Sprite?

With everything that is going on, I can certainly understand why Americans are getting so emotional about inflation.

Recently, one TikTok user racked up 5 million views when he posted a rant in which he boldly declared that “I cannot afford to live”…

Last week, a TikTok user posted an angry rant about the cost of living that’s since been viewed 5 million times on the platform, with tens of thousands of comments and shares.

“I make over three times the federal minimum wage and I cannot afford to live,” he shouts into the camera. “It is embarrassing to come out and say that it is a struggle to survive right now but I know so many people are struggling.”

Later, he concludes: “The American Dream is dead.”

Many of you can identify with that.

I have heard from so many readers that are deeply struggling in this economy.

Unfortunately, there are signs that things are about to get even worse.

For example, small business optimism in the United States has dropped to the lowest level in 11 years…

The failure of Bidenomics has crushed confidence among US small businesses to the lowest level in more than a decade, as the future path of inflation remains a significant concern. Readers must remember small businesses are vital to the economy, contributing 44% of the country’s economic activity and creating two-thirds of net new jobs.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported Tuesday that its small-business optimism index declined .9 points to 88.5, the lowest level since the second half of 2012 – or about when the US economy climbed out of the worst financial crisis ever.

And I was deeply saddened to learn that 99 Cents Only is moving toward liquidating all of their stores…

99 Cents Only shops will begin shuttering its hundreds of locations on Friday as the company moves toward total liquidation.

“99 Cents Only Stores, together with its financial and legal advisors, engaged in an extensive analysis of all available and credible alternatives to identify a solution that would allow the business to continue,” the company said in a press release.

“Following months of actively pursuing these alternatives, the company ultimately determined that an orderly wind-down was necessary and the best way to maximize the value of 99 Cents Only Stores’ assets.”

Prior to the announcement, 99 Cents Only was operating 371 stores in the United States.

Of course we also recently learned that Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will be closing about 1000 stores.

All over America, stores that were once thriving will soon be boarded up.

This is what the future of our economy looks like, and many Americans are preparing for rougher times by purchasing large quantities of gold…

Gold has turned into money for Costco, where yellow metal sales begun last year have turned into a cash cow for the big-box retailer.

In fact, sales are so brisk that analysts at Wells Fargo expect revenue “may now be running at” $100 million to $200 million a month, a rapid acceleration since bullion hit the warehouse club late in the summer of 2023.

Just like me, so many of you can feel what is coming.

A tipping point has arrived, and the outlook for the months ahead is very bleak.

The U.S. economy is going off the rails, and the worse things get the more frustrated the American people are going to become.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s extremely controversial new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. You can connect with Michael on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and sharing his articles on your own social media accounts is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

+ More