The Economic Collapse

Do you believe the politicians in Washington or do you believe your own eyes?  The politicians keep telling us that “inflation is low”, but everyone can see that everything sure does cost a lot more than it once did.  Our standard of living just keeps going down, and even JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is admitting that “inflation is hurting people”.  But how can inflation be “hurting people” if it is under control?  Of course the truth is that it isn’t under control.  If the official rate of inflation was still measured using the formula that was in place in 1980, it would be well into double digit territory right now.  Prices have been rising much faster than paychecks have, and that is putting an extraordinary amount of financial stress on the more than 60 percent of U.S. adults that currently live paycheck to paycheck. (Read More...)

If you do things the right way, in the long run you will get positive results.  But if you do things the wrong way, in the long run you will get negative results.  Our banks are the beating heart of our entire economy, and unfortunately they have been doing things the wrong way for a long time.  As a result, the entire system is being greatly shaken.  Loans are starting to go delinquent at a frightening pace, we have seen endless “banking glitches” in recent months, tens of thousands of banking employees have already been laid off, and U.S. banks are sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars of unrealized losses.  Sadly, a lot more chaos is on the way.  As small and mid-size banks fail, they will get gobbled up by the big boys.  Of course the big boys are scrambling to survive too.  In fact, it is being reported that JPMorgan Chase will close a total of 159 local branches by the end of this calendar year… (Read More...)

America’s National Christmas Tree fell down this week.  That tree is the most important national symbol of our most important national holiday.  The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony has been performed every year since 1923, and so the falling of the tree has happened as we approach the centennial anniversary of this tradition.  Do you think that this was just a coincidence?  I certainly don’t.  I believe that the downing of the most important national symbol of our most important national holiday is significant.  On Tuesday, a very powerful gust of wind knocked the 40 foot tree completely to the ground… (Read More...)

For decades we were warned that someday our politicians would push things too far.  We were warned that someday our national debt would spiral out of control, servicing that debt would become extremely oppressive due to soaring interest rates, existing bonds would crash thanks to the shift in interest rates, and foreign sources would start stepping back from buying any new debt that we would be issuing.  Unfortunately, that time has arrived.  The government debt crisis that we have been warned about is here, and it is going to be incredibly painful. (Read More...)

Why are big banks suddenly rushing to shut down so many local branches all over the nation?  As I have discussed in previous articles, U.S. banks are currently sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars in unrealized losses.  When financial institutions get into trouble, they start getting really tight with their money and they start cutting costs.  In addition to laying off workers, our banks have been cutting costs by permanently closing local branches.  For example, between November 12th and November 18th, the sixth largest bank in the United States initiated filings to close 19 more local branches… (Read More...)

If you are wondering why so many Americans are stressed about their finances these days, just look at the numbers.  The Social Security Administration just released national wage statistics for 2022, and the figures that they have given us do not paint a pretty picture at all.  In particular, we should all be deeply alarmed that the median wage earner brought home just $40,847.18 last year.  That breaks down to about $3,400 a month, and that is before taxes.  Needless to say, you cannot live a middle class lifestyle in America today on just $3,400 a month before taxes.  So in most households more than one person must work, and in many cases more than one person is working multiple jobs. (Read More...)

There is a reason why I am watching the banks so carefully.  The banks are the beating heart of our economic system, and so if they get into big trouble we will all feel the pain.  That is precisely what happened in 2008, and that is precisely what is happening again right now.  In recent months there have been endless banking “glitches”, banks have been shutting down hundreds of branches and laying off thousands of workers, and lenders are getting really tight with their money because they are sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars of unrealized losses.  And just in time for Thanksgiving, three of our “too big to fail” banks have had their ratings downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service… (Read More...)

19 months in a row!  The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has now fallen for 19 months in a row.  When something happens for 19 consecutive months, that is definitely a trend.  The economy is clearly in big trouble, and conditions are getting worse with each passing day.  But the mainstream media continues to insist that the economy is doing just great.  They tell us that inflation is low, but if it was still measured the way that it was back in 1980, the official rate of inflation would be well into double digit territory.  And they tell us that the unemployment rate is low, but if honest numbers were being used the official rate of unemployment would be about 25 percent right now.  There are highly qualified people that can’t even get an interview even though they are sending out hundreds and hundreds of resumes.  What are they doing wrong? (Read More...)