You are scaring the bejesus out of me. A hyperinflationary dollar collapse could literally end civilization in the US. I read a very prophetic book about this, fiction for now, that laid out just how fast and how bad things would get. In this book debit/credit card stop working around 7 a.m. on a busy weekday morning. By noon grocery sto…
You are scaring the bejesus out of me. A hyperinflationary dollar collapse could literally end civilization in the US. I read a very prophetic book about this, fiction for now, that laid out just how fast and how bad things would get. In this book debit/credit card stop working around 7 a.m. on a busy weekday morning. By noon grocery stores are looted, burning husks with bodies on the floor. Gas stations, banks, and gun stores are also quickly looted and destroyed, followed by Target stores, Wal Marts, and by about 2 pretty much everything in major cities is trashed and gone. Cops walk off the job, and civilization is over long before sundown. The book goes on to lay out how the US would literally revert to the stone age with no functioning government, no law enforcement, no electricity, no running water, no gasoline. . .you get the picture.
You see, when much smaller, land locked nations liker Weimar Germany or modern Venezuela suffer a currency collapse, people just walk across their border into more stable nations. Yes, this creates a refugee crisis, but that can be managed. Also, when small land-locked nations collapse, neighboring countries send in their military, and the Red Cross etc. and try to restore them. The Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia, and Vietnam invaded it in 1979, and occupied it for a few years and worked, with other nations and the UN, to restore stability. Now, the US is a gargantuan nation bounded by two oceans. Most US citizens would die of starvation/exposure long before they got within 100 miles of our southern or northern border, if they tried. And, to those who made it to the border, what would that accomplish? If the US collapses, one of the first things that will happen is that Canada will seal its border, refuse to accept refugees from the US, and seek to protect itself. Fleeing into Mexico will just be going from the frying pan into the fire. Seriously, I honestly believe that a Dollar Collapse would be much worse for the US than suffering a limited nuclear exchange. If the dollar collapses, civilization in this region of the world will go down with it, this portion of the continent of North America would swiftly revert to The Stone Age.
If the scenarios that you present are anywhere close to reality, then shouldn't the citizens unite and support Trump, no matter what path he chooses to take us down?
Perhaps. If there was a Dollar collapse in the middle of a cold winter here in the US, by the end of one week most of the population would be starving, suffering from dehydration, and suffering from hypothermia. Not everyone would be troubled by these problems, though, as many would not survive one full week after the country descended into total and complete anarchy, with no currency of value, no means of exchange, no power/running water/gas heat/internet/cell phone service etc. Most people would be far safer if the US was hit by a dozen nukes than if there was a currency collapse. It would make living through the Plague/Black Death, or the Spanish Flu, or the Great Depression, all look like great times, by comparison. The book I read laid out, with great precision, how hour by our stores would have their shelves stripped bare and be burned, how anyone who had anything of value would be at grave risk of being robbed at gunpoint or murdered for their possessions, by desperate starving people in the days following the collapse, and worse. I have always feared a Dollar Collapse, more than any other disaster that could hit the USA. To me, the really scary thing is that it could happen, in a blind panic, at any moment, and if the US keeps steadily going bankrupt, it probably will happen someday.
Be the gray man, stay away from crowds,and keep yer yap shut about what you have stashed. Easier said then done.Thing is most tough guys don't want to be the first one in their crew to die.
" To me, the really scary thing is that it could happen, in a blind panic, at any moment, and if the US keeps steadily going bankrupt, it probably will happen someday. " ~ Thomas Madden
"China and now even Canada, are issuing debt denominated in US dollars. The older issues have also lost on the foreign exchange. Carney in Canada has just demonstrated his true lack of understanding of financial markets. He dumped US Treasuries but then issued Canadian debt denominated in dollars. As the C$ declines, he will lose on the return of the foreign exchange as well. Even the OECD report found that the costs of borrowing through dollar-denominated bonds had risen from around 4% in 2020 to more than 6% in 2024, rising to more than 8% for riskier, junk-rated economies nations."
Soylent Green. A classic dystopian film starring Charlton Heston.
Soylent Green should be viewed as an allegory about how we're supposed to be more aware of the injustices the ultra-wealthy have inflicted on everyone else. The film's ending could almost be viewed as saying, "Hey, bad things are out there, and you need to search for the truth."
What happens after that? It probably won't be as pretty as a bunch of flowers in a field, we'll say that much.
No. Trump was useful in ending Biden/Harris regime. It is time to assess, and if Trump, in practice, is no better, or even worse, then it will be useful to end the Trump regime in 2026 or 2028.
Unfortunately, the trajectory is one of decline. I had presumed that with Trump this rate of decline would slow considerably, and he might, maybe, sow the seeds of a reversal. While "outing" USAID and other excesses are good points of light, they don't count for much if Trump bungles the "reindustrialization" with his mass-attack-on-ALL-fronts tariffs against everyone, or if "peace" President Trump wastes even more money on the military-industrial complex or fans the existing flames of hot wars into WW3 faster than Harris would have.
"He's not Biden or Harris or Hillary" is not good enough for me, if his results are just as bad.
I agree with you here. Trump, like adm. 1 is hamstrung by the enormous power of the Deep State, they control just about everything in the federal government. If Trump believes in the Constitution, the actual power lies outside the executive branch. The national trajectory has been negative, under the control of the Deep State, for 70 years. I am very pro-Trump, as you know, as a counterforce to this trajectory, but I am afraid he may not be enough to reverse the wheels of government.
One thing is for sure, until the judiciary is put into its proper place re: the Constitution, Trump is pretty much locked up.
Three major issues that America is confronted with are (i) $36 trillion unsustainable national debt, (ii) the war in Ukraine, and (iii) the ME conflict.
Unless dealt with, it is my impression that the national debt issue by itself will lead US (and much of the world) to the point that Thomas Madden describes.
Armstrong contends that the business cycle is inevitable, and civilization needs to learn to live with it.
So, you want to switch horses at this point in time (basically, not support Trump, and start promoting another solution for 2026 or 2028).
I would suggest that the world does not have the luxury of that much time, and I would encourage you (and others) to consider solutions that might mitigate the Sovereign Debt Crisis, and then consider how Trump's actions might be addressing the problems, realizing that solutions, because of factors beyond his control, just amount to a grand experiment.
First, consider that he is trying to reduce the number of factors that are beyond his control. A big one would be if he had a united world population to support his grand experiment. In this regard, like JHK, he is trying to inform the population about the immoral activity of the obstructionists, and gaining the support of the moral segment of the population to back his endeavor to deal with the various entities/factions (both nationally, and internationally).
Viewing a variety of perspectives, my assessment is that it is the Globalists who will be responsible for WWIII should it come to that, and I view a variety of paths whereby Trump can be a key player in achieving world peace.
And, as far as Trump bungling the "reindustrialization" with his mass-attack-on-ALL-fronts tariffs against everyone, what happens if he ends up uniting a majority of the countries of the world, and with this group, counters the obstructionists? Many leaders throughout the world are still married to the 2030 Agenda, and we see with individuals like Larry Fink, they are not all complete idiots. Once they come to the realization that the 2030 Agenda has failed, then perhaps they will be open to entertaining other solutions (success for one will entail success for all).
Then, when unity is achieved, the needs of the general population will need to be attended to, and assuming that there will be die-hard globalists who intend to obstruct Trumps agenda in this regard, this is where I see a need for people like Miriam Adelson, Elon Musk, and other big money people to create business activity to mitigate the devaluation and avoid the nightmare scenario that default would bring. I also foresee a need for mega projects, as well as the need for a new format for life.
As far as the wars, do you not see "good points of light" in that trouble makers are being targeted? Is the individual that prompted the protest against Hamas a plant? Doesn't the support that he has generated imply that Hamas is not the only solution? Are the Nazis in Ukraine the good guys, or the troublemakers?
I view a perspective whereby Trump is addressing the issues in a logical manner, and am encouraged by his achievements to this point, realizing that only time will tell if his grand experiment will be a success. But, at this point in time, I also see no other good option.
Disagree. The major issue of the USA is how its people view themselves. They have been told by their government for 70 yeras that you are too stupid to run yourselves, just let us take care of you. The reaction has been very human. 50% of this country sign up to letting the government run their lives.
That is very expensive, $36 trillion to be exact. Another one to drop in is the $50 or so trillion individual debt that Joe Average faces today. The country has to face the idea that none of it is going to be re-paid and what does that mean?
In the meantime, how the heck do we get 50% of the country to take on the responsibility for their own lives? Until that happens, everything else is minor. Remember that that debt is largely there because of that 50%' s irresponsibility.
Read them again. Disagree may have been too strong a word.
My point is that the formation of national or global debt is still the desire of governments to “take care of the people”. Why? To gain political advantage.
Think about what causes the debt. Why are the government nebbishes always trying to tax and spend? To get our vote, to get the majority of the votes to maintain their power. Put those interest rates down, cut those taxes, encourage unwarranted spending and investment, for what? To create more money, more spending, etc.etc. What causes downturns? When the credit suppliers run out of real money and start to create new money with no backing. Add on that the government has probably added on higher interest rates and you get the public saying “No Mas”, I cannot afford this any more. The slide begins!
Keynes, at this point says, okay government, spend more, keep those people working, flood the money market, MAKE THINGS WORSE. It just extends the up curve even longer and makes the resultant collapse larger and longer. The Great Depression had the government increase spending per Keynes, and the really main lesson was lost as the spending made things worse, the height of unemployment was 1936. The end of the Depression happened because of two factors, we made “bullets”, disposables, war material, and second, we killed off a portion of the unemployed. Returning veterans had no fear, and consumer spent like crazy, keeping demand for investment high. I was a kid then and remember interest rates in low single digits. Cars were built to last about 50000 miles, and trading in after 2 years was common. New products as the result of investments came fast and furious. The Fifties, good times.
Anyhow, back to the subject at hand. The business cycle is a product of the reaction of people to spending and interest rates, period. If people see a market or even a potential market they invest and spend, That is Supply Side economics. If the markets succeed they keep spending and investing, to the point of speculation. There is the rub, speculation, spending at high risk. Then the Fed raises interest rates, budgets collapse and the spending slows rapidly. Then the long term debts start coming due and the collapse start. The CDOs that banks invented to increase speculation in 2008, collapsed the banks as the people had no way to pay the increased ARM mortgages that comprised the CDOs. Michael Burrey predicted this collapse (see The Big Short), and even predicted the day it would happen. I was on vacation as I watched the Market collapse. Get it? Predictable by someone who used common sense.
Well, as I said, what is the common denominator? People, all the people. The articles say that the business cycle is behind all the shenanigans and it is not understood very well. Well , no kidding. Human behavior is just plain crazy. A joke I heard long ago, “Line up a hundred economists on a straight line. They will all be pointing in a different direction.” For every human with an opinion, there will be another with the opposite opinion. Humans are fickle, period. No amplify that trait by creating governments, power centers that are fickle times a 1000%. Now try to use “common sense” to run he people’s economy. Uh huh? Now try to get that government to be inspired by one of those divergent economists and what do you have, chaos, conflicting ideas, constantly changing conditions and interest rates, IOW, the business cycle.
So what to do? Lock in interest rates at a reasonable level and stop changing them. Low enough to inspire controlled investment but high enough to stop to stop speculation. Do not allow the government to spend for the sake of spending, especially to get the vote. John McCain was right when he tried to stop the escalating spending for elections. Vote for controlled spending, vote for controlled immigration, vote against welfare. Stop Keynesian spending, it just makes things worse. The people need to spend, invest, save not the damned government. Kill the Deep State, quit voting in people that promise you “A chicken in every pot” or today, “A flat screen in every house”. Use the vote to destroy Wokeism, the doctrine that says you deserve all the goodies, regardless of your willingness to earn them. In succinct terms, quit supporting the “gimme”, I am owed attitude that has allowed the Leftist 50% of this country to get away with economic murder.
There it is again, 50%. The people, the people run a civilization. Governments come and go, the people are responsible. This country has to stop the “Easy Street” mentality and get back to work. Or it will join the heritage of so many “empires” before it.
We are at odds in that Capitalism is a game where the goal is, essentially, disparity.
I would suggest that when migration is taken into account, that disparity is at an extreme. The product is a "dog eat dog" world, where a huge segment of the population is either not "wired", or not fortunate (lucky) enough to compete.
Will the private sector solve this problem? Can the government solve this problem? Do you see the steps that Trump is taking to address this problem?
Yes, capitalism is disparity, the human condition on earth is the same as any other species, based on competition for food and resources. The world is Dog-eat-dog and for humans that means the strongest, smartest, most gifted individuals have the advantage and will survive. Look to the world before the liberal response to the Great Depression. Poor people in the USA and around the world starved if they could not compete.
Private Sector - Let em starve. Wee will give charity for some.
Government - ha, the greatest con job in history. We will feed you as long as you side with us. humans just suck up to that. Until the people are ambitious enough, ‘the poor will always be with us”.
Trump - also easy, he says it straight out. We will take care of the people of America first. Period. The rest of the world is going to hate us for a while because we have so screwed ourselves up, We do not have much left over for them.
If the dollar collapses, civilization in this region of the world will go down with it, this portion of the continent of North America would swiftly revert to The Stone Age. Yes.
As a general concept, I agree with Trump's GENERAL vision of bringing manufacturing back to America. That is the desired goal. How does one get there? I don't think "tariffing" anything and everything that moves is the way to get there. Declaring "economic war" on everyone else is probably a good way to get everyone else to overlook what they don't like about each other, and focus on the USA.
I can't get inside Trump, or his Administration's head, but it seems to me they want it BOTH ways:
They want the dollar to continue to be the 'world currency', which retains the dollar privilege, and allows the US to create money in a manner no one else can, AND
They want to devalue the dollar (that would help US manufacturing, making items imported into the US cost more, and items exported from the US cost less).
Which takes me to your superb final sentence in your thoughtful comment. How would nation X feel about being forced to use dollars that are worth less? Is that the art of the deal? Or coercion.
Remember, US policy, whether with Trump, or his deep-state predecessors is the three "B"s: bribe, bully, and bomb. Especially since the USSR imploded. Unfortunately, that party trick is not going to work as well going forward.
While America can bomb weaker countries, when America's only ace is mutually assured destruction, something most of the elite (not to mention 99% of the public) does not want, and the other cards are weaker by the day, it's not very encouraging.
If the dollar collapses, civilization in this region of the world will go down with it, this portion of the continent of North America would swiftly revert to The Stone Age. Yes. You (and Dmitry Orlov among others) see the possible future--even if the current big wars of interest to the US (as it is funding and enabling BOTH) don't metastasize into something much worse, which remains a real possibilty.
I think you are close here to what may happen. I believe Trump is looking 20 years out. He sees the forthcoming economic disasters as the world tries to destroy the USA. IMHO, that is why he is trying to set up a unified North American Union to counter the global efforts. Could it be he sees the NAU becoming an economically independent entity that will tell the rest of the world to fuck off? Does he see this as a defense against the BRICS+ crowd?
Uh-oh, first he has to figure out what Canada and Mexico want to do with BRICS+. Europe too.
Old news. “While the global financial crisis permanently reduced the speed of globalization, the world economy went into the COVID-19 crisis already with largely stagnant global trade volumes. The pattern of regionalization which now appears in the latest trade statistics enriches the debate and offers researchers new metrics to quantify the scope of regionalization.”
Economic disparity is an issue that needs to be addressed, and regionalization can amount to efficiency, with the potential to be beneficial in this regard.
Would you agree that the existing format for life is no longer efficient, and that technology should be utilized to husband the world's resources?
My read is that Trump is focused on dealing with the major issues, with the ultimate goal of peace and prosperity for all.
So, what is the problem? Is my read incorrect, or is the problem as Ray Dalio described, that various factions are vying for power with the goal of getting to impose their version of a new format for life on the citizens of the world?
****
To some extent, "stagnant global trade volumes" merely reflected market saturation.
Regionalization and efficiency are a fit with "You will own nothing and be happy", are they not?
I can own my region [ measured in square feet ] and practice efficiency [ in providing for my own needs ] without false authorities trying to “hep me”.
"I can't get inside Trump, or his Administration's head ..." ~ SocratesDetroit
To do this, you need to view a variety of perspectives with an open mind.
The following is another perspective that goes against the grain of the majority of Judge Nap's guests, and it paints a picture of complexities. So, doesn't this allow Trump some free rein?
Steve Witkoff’s visit to Petersburg today: what do we know?
"As a general concept, I agree with Trump's GENERAL vision of bringing manufacturing back to America. That is the desired goal. How does one get there? I don't think "tariffing" anything and everything that moves is the way to get there. Declaring "economic war" on everyone else is probably a good way to get everyone else to overlook what they don't like about each other, and focus on the USA." ~ SocratesDetroit
Who do you view as the "Globalists" that Trump often referrers to?
If you view the G7 - 1 as being counted among the Globalists that are obstructing Trump's agenda, then do you recognize that Trump's tariffs are in the process of busting them up?
Rothchilds, and their soldiers, Soros as one. British monarchy, the EU, BRICS+, Davos (WEF), The "British" conglomerate, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, Rockefeller and Clinton Foundations. The global criminal Mob.
Compared to the wealth controlled by the Globalists, the tariffs are a BB in a boxcar. But something needs to be done, right?
This is the reason there have been zero arrests for all the stuff the DOGE team has found. If there were arrests, it would only serve to further shatter the shaky confidence in the USD system/economy. The people running the treasury and social security all should have been subjected to criminal prosecution for their misdeeds. Everyone running USAID, same thing, criminals and leftist activists stuffed into cushy gov jobs by the Obama people running "Biden".
It is widely assumed, in the government / corporate colossus, that the US economy is too big to fail. In this view some Bigfoot will always step in to rescue it just short of its hitting the wall. So far this seems to have been true. So far. But ultimately the artificial respiration runs on trust in the "full faith and credit" of financial institutions. If that goes, the consequences don't bear thinking on.
You are scaring the bejesus out of me. A hyperinflationary dollar collapse could literally end civilization in the US. I read a very prophetic book about this, fiction for now, that laid out just how fast and how bad things would get. In this book debit/credit card stop working around 7 a.m. on a busy weekday morning. By noon grocery stores are looted, burning husks with bodies on the floor. Gas stations, banks, and gun stores are also quickly looted and destroyed, followed by Target stores, Wal Marts, and by about 2 pretty much everything in major cities is trashed and gone. Cops walk off the job, and civilization is over long before sundown. The book goes on to lay out how the US would literally revert to the stone age with no functioning government, no law enforcement, no electricity, no running water, no gasoline. . .you get the picture.
You see, when much smaller, land locked nations liker Weimar Germany or modern Venezuela suffer a currency collapse, people just walk across their border into more stable nations. Yes, this creates a refugee crisis, but that can be managed. Also, when small land-locked nations collapse, neighboring countries send in their military, and the Red Cross etc. and try to restore them. The Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia, and Vietnam invaded it in 1979, and occupied it for a few years and worked, with other nations and the UN, to restore stability. Now, the US is a gargantuan nation bounded by two oceans. Most US citizens would die of starvation/exposure long before they got within 100 miles of our southern or northern border, if they tried. And, to those who made it to the border, what would that accomplish? If the US collapses, one of the first things that will happen is that Canada will seal its border, refuse to accept refugees from the US, and seek to protect itself. Fleeing into Mexico will just be going from the frying pan into the fire. Seriously, I honestly believe that a Dollar Collapse would be much worse for the US than suffering a limited nuclear exchange. If the dollar collapses, civilization in this region of the world will go down with it, this portion of the continent of North America would swiftly revert to The Stone Age.
If the scenarios that you present are anywhere close to reality, then shouldn't the citizens unite and support Trump, no matter what path he chooses to take us down?
Perhaps. If there was a Dollar collapse in the middle of a cold winter here in the US, by the end of one week most of the population would be starving, suffering from dehydration, and suffering from hypothermia. Not everyone would be troubled by these problems, though, as many would not survive one full week after the country descended into total and complete anarchy, with no currency of value, no means of exchange, no power/running water/gas heat/internet/cell phone service etc. Most people would be far safer if the US was hit by a dozen nukes than if there was a currency collapse. It would make living through the Plague/Black Death, or the Spanish Flu, or the Great Depression, all look like great times, by comparison. The book I read laid out, with great precision, how hour by our stores would have their shelves stripped bare and be burned, how anyone who had anything of value would be at grave risk of being robbed at gunpoint or murdered for their possessions, by desperate starving people in the days following the collapse, and worse. I have always feared a Dollar Collapse, more than any other disaster that could hit the USA. To me, the really scary thing is that it could happen, in a blind panic, at any moment, and if the US keeps steadily going bankrupt, it probably will happen someday.
Be the gray man, stay away from crowds,and keep yer yap shut about what you have stashed. Easier said then done.Thing is most tough guys don't want to be the first one in their crew to die.
" To me, the really scary thing is that it could happen, in a blind panic, at any moment, and if the US keeps steadily going bankrupt, it probably will happen someday. " ~ Thomas Madden
"China and now even Canada, are issuing debt denominated in US dollars. The older issues have also lost on the foreign exchange. Carney in Canada has just demonstrated his true lack of understanding of financial markets. He dumped US Treasuries but then issued Canadian debt denominated in dollars. As the C$ declines, he will lose on the return of the foreign exchange as well. Even the OECD report found that the costs of borrowing through dollar-denominated bonds had risen from around 4% in 2020 to more than 6% in 2024, rising to more than 8% for riskier, junk-rated economies nations."
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/uncategorized/sovereign-debt-crisis-unfolding/
Which country do you think will fold first, Canada, or the US?
Is a bank run the cause of a currency collapse? If so, can some form of a CBDC be a solution? If so, would you be in favor of it?
Soylent Green. A classic dystopian film starring Charlton Heston.
Soylent Green should be viewed as an allegory about how we're supposed to be more aware of the injustices the ultra-wealthy have inflicted on everyone else. The film's ending could almost be viewed as saying, "Hey, bad things are out there, and you need to search for the truth."
What happens after that? It probably won't be as pretty as a bunch of flowers in a field, we'll say that much.
Read More: https://www.looper.com/383129/the-ending-of-soylent-green-explained/
No. Trump was useful in ending Biden/Harris regime. It is time to assess, and if Trump, in practice, is no better, or even worse, then it will be useful to end the Trump regime in 2026 or 2028.
Unfortunately, the trajectory is one of decline. I had presumed that with Trump this rate of decline would slow considerably, and he might, maybe, sow the seeds of a reversal. While "outing" USAID and other excesses are good points of light, they don't count for much if Trump bungles the "reindustrialization" with his mass-attack-on-ALL-fronts tariffs against everyone, or if "peace" President Trump wastes even more money on the military-industrial complex or fans the existing flames of hot wars into WW3 faster than Harris would have.
"He's not Biden or Harris or Hillary" is not good enough for me, if his results are just as bad.
SD
I agree with you here. Trump, like adm. 1 is hamstrung by the enormous power of the Deep State, they control just about everything in the federal government. If Trump believes in the Constitution, the actual power lies outside the executive branch. The national trajectory has been negative, under the control of the Deep State, for 70 years. I am very pro-Trump, as you know, as a counterforce to this trajectory, but I am afraid he may not be enough to reverse the wheels of government.
One thing is for sure, until the judiciary is put into its proper place re: the Constitution, Trump is pretty much locked up.
Three major issues that America is confronted with are (i) $36 trillion unsustainable national debt, (ii) the war in Ukraine, and (iii) the ME conflict.
Scared of the National Debt? You Should Be.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/economics/scared-of-the-national-debt-you-should-be/
The Business Cycle & National Debt
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/sovereign-debt-crisis/the-business-cycle-national-debt/
Sovereign Debt Crisis Unfolding
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/uncategorized/sovereign-debt-crisis-unfolding/
Unless dealt with, it is my impression that the national debt issue by itself will lead US (and much of the world) to the point that Thomas Madden describes.
Armstrong contends that the business cycle is inevitable, and civilization needs to learn to live with it.
So, you want to switch horses at this point in time (basically, not support Trump, and start promoting another solution for 2026 or 2028).
I would suggest that the world does not have the luxury of that much time, and I would encourage you (and others) to consider solutions that might mitigate the Sovereign Debt Crisis, and then consider how Trump's actions might be addressing the problems, realizing that solutions, because of factors beyond his control, just amount to a grand experiment.
First, consider that he is trying to reduce the number of factors that are beyond his control. A big one would be if he had a united world population to support his grand experiment. In this regard, like JHK, he is trying to inform the population about the immoral activity of the obstructionists, and gaining the support of the moral segment of the population to back his endeavor to deal with the various entities/factions (both nationally, and internationally).
Viewing a variety of perspectives, my assessment is that it is the Globalists who will be responsible for WWIII should it come to that, and I view a variety of paths whereby Trump can be a key player in achieving world peace.
And, as far as Trump bungling the "reindustrialization" with his mass-attack-on-ALL-fronts tariffs against everyone, what happens if he ends up uniting a majority of the countries of the world, and with this group, counters the obstructionists? Many leaders throughout the world are still married to the 2030 Agenda, and we see with individuals like Larry Fink, they are not all complete idiots. Once they come to the realization that the 2030 Agenda has failed, then perhaps they will be open to entertaining other solutions (success for one will entail success for all).
Then, when unity is achieved, the needs of the general population will need to be attended to, and assuming that there will be die-hard globalists who intend to obstruct Trumps agenda in this regard, this is where I see a need for people like Miriam Adelson, Elon Musk, and other big money people to create business activity to mitigate the devaluation and avoid the nightmare scenario that default would bring. I also foresee a need for mega projects, as well as the need for a new format for life.
As far as the wars, do you not see "good points of light" in that trouble makers are being targeted? Is the individual that prompted the protest against Hamas a plant? Doesn't the support that he has generated imply that Hamas is not the only solution? Are the Nazis in Ukraine the good guys, or the troublemakers?
I view a perspective whereby Trump is addressing the issues in a logical manner, and am encouraged by his achievements to this point, realizing that only time will tell if his grand experiment will be a success. But, at this point in time, I also see no other good option.
IAN
Disagree. The major issue of the USA is how its people view themselves. They have been told by their government for 70 yeras that you are too stupid to run yourselves, just let us take care of you. The reaction has been very human. 50% of this country sign up to letting the government run their lives.
That is very expensive, $36 trillion to be exact. Another one to drop in is the $50 or so trillion individual debt that Joe Average faces today. The country has to face the idea that none of it is going to be re-paid and what does that mean?
In the meantime, how the heck do we get 50% of the country to take on the responsibility for their own lives? Until that happens, everything else is minor. Remember that that debt is largely there because of that 50%' s irresponsibility.
John, it is quite obvious that you didn't read any of the reference material.
Read them again. Disagree may have been too strong a word.
My point is that the formation of national or global debt is still the desire of governments to “take care of the people”. Why? To gain political advantage.
Think about what causes the debt. Why are the government nebbishes always trying to tax and spend? To get our vote, to get the majority of the votes to maintain their power. Put those interest rates down, cut those taxes, encourage unwarranted spending and investment, for what? To create more money, more spending, etc.etc. What causes downturns? When the credit suppliers run out of real money and start to create new money with no backing. Add on that the government has probably added on higher interest rates and you get the public saying “No Mas”, I cannot afford this any more. The slide begins!
Keynes, at this point says, okay government, spend more, keep those people working, flood the money market, MAKE THINGS WORSE. It just extends the up curve even longer and makes the resultant collapse larger and longer. The Great Depression had the government increase spending per Keynes, and the really main lesson was lost as the spending made things worse, the height of unemployment was 1936. The end of the Depression happened because of two factors, we made “bullets”, disposables, war material, and second, we killed off a portion of the unemployed. Returning veterans had no fear, and consumer spent like crazy, keeping demand for investment high. I was a kid then and remember interest rates in low single digits. Cars were built to last about 50000 miles, and trading in after 2 years was common. New products as the result of investments came fast and furious. The Fifties, good times.
Anyhow, back to the subject at hand. The business cycle is a product of the reaction of people to spending and interest rates, period. If people see a market or even a potential market they invest and spend, That is Supply Side economics. If the markets succeed they keep spending and investing, to the point of speculation. There is the rub, speculation, spending at high risk. Then the Fed raises interest rates, budgets collapse and the spending slows rapidly. Then the long term debts start coming due and the collapse start. The CDOs that banks invented to increase speculation in 2008, collapsed the banks as the people had no way to pay the increased ARM mortgages that comprised the CDOs. Michael Burrey predicted this collapse (see The Big Short), and even predicted the day it would happen. I was on vacation as I watched the Market collapse. Get it? Predictable by someone who used common sense.
Well, as I said, what is the common denominator? People, all the people. The articles say that the business cycle is behind all the shenanigans and it is not understood very well. Well , no kidding. Human behavior is just plain crazy. A joke I heard long ago, “Line up a hundred economists on a straight line. They will all be pointing in a different direction.” For every human with an opinion, there will be another with the opposite opinion. Humans are fickle, period. No amplify that trait by creating governments, power centers that are fickle times a 1000%. Now try to use “common sense” to run he people’s economy. Uh huh? Now try to get that government to be inspired by one of those divergent economists and what do you have, chaos, conflicting ideas, constantly changing conditions and interest rates, IOW, the business cycle.
So what to do? Lock in interest rates at a reasonable level and stop changing them. Low enough to inspire controlled investment but high enough to stop to stop speculation. Do not allow the government to spend for the sake of spending, especially to get the vote. John McCain was right when he tried to stop the escalating spending for elections. Vote for controlled spending, vote for controlled immigration, vote against welfare. Stop Keynesian spending, it just makes things worse. The people need to spend, invest, save not the damned government. Kill the Deep State, quit voting in people that promise you “A chicken in every pot” or today, “A flat screen in every house”. Use the vote to destroy Wokeism, the doctrine that says you deserve all the goodies, regardless of your willingness to earn them. In succinct terms, quit supporting the “gimme”, I am owed attitude that has allowed the Leftist 50% of this country to get away with economic murder.
There it is again, 50%. The people, the people run a civilization. Governments come and go, the people are responsible. This country has to stop the “Easy Street” mentality and get back to work. Or it will join the heritage of so many “empires” before it.
We are at odds in that Capitalism is a game where the goal is, essentially, disparity.
I would suggest that when migration is taken into account, that disparity is at an extreme. The product is a "dog eat dog" world, where a huge segment of the population is either not "wired", or not fortunate (lucky) enough to compete.
Will the private sector solve this problem? Can the government solve this problem? Do you see the steps that Trump is taking to address this problem?
Oho. Easy answers.
Yes, capitalism is disparity, the human condition on earth is the same as any other species, based on competition for food and resources. The world is Dog-eat-dog and for humans that means the strongest, smartest, most gifted individuals have the advantage and will survive. Look to the world before the liberal response to the Great Depression. Poor people in the USA and around the world starved if they could not compete.
Private Sector - Let em starve. Wee will give charity for some.
Government - ha, the greatest con job in history. We will feed you as long as you side with us. humans just suck up to that. Until the people are ambitious enough, ‘the poor will always be with us”.
Trump - also easy, he says it straight out. We will take care of the people of America first. Period. The rest of the world is going to hate us for a while because we have so screwed ourselves up, We do not have much left over for them.
Sorry about the tome. Your challenge inspired me.
Gilbert Doctorow's perspectives on all the major issues:
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Transcript of ‘Judging Freedom’ edition of 3 April
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Transcript of ‘Judging Freedom,’ 9 April edition
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Trump and tariffs
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2025
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/page/2/
Curious reasoning.
If the dollar collapses, civilization in this region of the world will go down with it, this portion of the continent of North America would swiftly revert to The Stone Age. Yes.
As a general concept, I agree with Trump's GENERAL vision of bringing manufacturing back to America. That is the desired goal. How does one get there? I don't think "tariffing" anything and everything that moves is the way to get there. Declaring "economic war" on everyone else is probably a good way to get everyone else to overlook what they don't like about each other, and focus on the USA.
I can't get inside Trump, or his Administration's head, but it seems to me they want it BOTH ways:
They want the dollar to continue to be the 'world currency', which retains the dollar privilege, and allows the US to create money in a manner no one else can, AND
They want to devalue the dollar (that would help US manufacturing, making items imported into the US cost more, and items exported from the US cost less).
Which takes me to your superb final sentence in your thoughtful comment. How would nation X feel about being forced to use dollars that are worth less? Is that the art of the deal? Or coercion.
Remember, US policy, whether with Trump, or his deep-state predecessors is the three "B"s: bribe, bully, and bomb. Especially since the USSR imploded. Unfortunately, that party trick is not going to work as well going forward.
While America can bomb weaker countries, when America's only ace is mutually assured destruction, something most of the elite (not to mention 99% of the public) does not want, and the other cards are weaker by the day, it's not very encouraging.
If the dollar collapses, civilization in this region of the world will go down with it, this portion of the continent of North America would swiftly revert to The Stone Age. Yes. You (and Dmitry Orlov among others) see the possible future--even if the current big wars of interest to the US (as it is funding and enabling BOTH) don't metastasize into something much worse, which remains a real possibilty.
Just a comment. SD.
I think you are close here to what may happen. I believe Trump is looking 20 years out. He sees the forthcoming economic disasters as the world tries to destroy the USA. IMHO, that is why he is trying to set up a unified North American Union to counter the global efforts. Could it be he sees the NAU becoming an economically independent entity that will tell the rest of the world to fuck off? Does he see this as a defense against the BRICS+ crowd?
Uh-oh, first he has to figure out what Canada and Mexico want to do with BRICS+. Europe too.
We are being moved from globalism to regionalism, now that the tech is spread around.
Lugh or Phil, I do not remember which, talks about the Ten Kingdoms of the world developing. I think that is what is happening.
Old news. “While the global financial crisis permanently reduced the speed of globalization, the world economy went into the COVID-19 crisis already with largely stagnant global trade volumes. The pattern of regionalization which now appears in the latest trade statistics enriches the debate and offers researchers new metrics to quantify the scope of regionalization.”
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/07/regionalization-globalization-future-direction-trade/
Economic disparity is an issue that needs to be addressed, and regionalization can amount to efficiency, with the potential to be beneficial in this regard.
Would you agree that the existing format for life is no longer efficient, and that technology should be utilized to husband the world's resources?
My read is that Trump is focused on dealing with the major issues, with the ultimate goal of peace and prosperity for all.
So, what is the problem? Is my read incorrect, or is the problem as Ray Dalio described, that various factions are vying for power with the goal of getting to impose their version of a new format for life on the citizens of the world?
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To some extent, "stagnant global trade volumes" merely reflected market saturation.
Regionalization and efficiency are a fit with "You will own nothing and be happy", are they not?
I can own my region [ measured in square feet ] and practice efficiency [ in providing for my own needs ] without false authorities trying to “hep me”.
"I can't get inside Trump, or his Administration's head ..." ~ SocratesDetroit
To do this, you need to view a variety of perspectives with an open mind.
The following is another perspective that goes against the grain of the majority of Judge Nap's guests, and it paints a picture of complexities. So, doesn't this allow Trump some free rein?
Steve Witkoff’s visit to Petersburg today: what do we know?
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2025/04/11/steve-witkoffs-visit-to-petersburg-today-what-do-we-know/
... also: Transcript of interview with Professor Glenn Diesen, 10 April
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The take-away is that all of the different perspectives can't be correct.
"As a general concept, I agree with Trump's GENERAL vision of bringing manufacturing back to America. That is the desired goal. How does one get there? I don't think "tariffing" anything and everything that moves is the way to get there. Declaring "economic war" on everyone else is probably a good way to get everyone else to overlook what they don't like about each other, and focus on the USA." ~ SocratesDetroit
Who do you view as the "Globalists" that Trump often referrers to?
A variety of opinions are posted here:
https://www.kunstler.com/p/convergence-calling/comment/104919687
If you view the G7 - 1 as being counted among the Globalists that are obstructing Trump's agenda, then do you recognize that Trump's tariffs are in the process of busting them up?
Globalists?
Rothchilds, and their soldiers, Soros as one. British monarchy, the EU, BRICS+, Davos (WEF), The "British" conglomerate, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, Rockefeller and Clinton Foundations. The global criminal Mob.
Compared to the wealth controlled by the Globalists, the tariffs are a BB in a boxcar. But something needs to be done, right?
Oops. forgot the Deep State of the USA, represented by the Biden Mob over the last few years.
This is the reason there have been zero arrests for all the stuff the DOGE team has found. If there were arrests, it would only serve to further shatter the shaky confidence in the USD system/economy. The people running the treasury and social security all should have been subjected to criminal prosecution for their misdeeds. Everyone running USAID, same thing, criminals and leftist activists stuffed into cushy gov jobs by the Obama people running "Biden".
It is widely assumed, in the government / corporate colossus, that the US economy is too big to fail. In this view some Bigfoot will always step in to rescue it just short of its hitting the wall. So far this seems to have been true. So far. But ultimately the artificial respiration runs on trust in the "full faith and credit" of financial institutions. If that goes, the consequences don't bear thinking on.
Government is there to support the dollar system, not the other way around. This is how your slavery is accomplished.
@thomas. Book title?
Shut Down Kindle Edition
by https://www.amazon.com/W-R-Flynn/e/B0055FFWPS/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1 (Author), https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_2?ie=UTF8&field-author=Jerry+Kalapus&text=Jerry+Kalapus&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=digital-text (Editor), https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_3?ie=UTF8&field-author=Patricia+Flynn&text=Patricia+Flynn&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=digital-text (Editor), https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_4?ie=UTF8&field-author=Alison+Flynn&text=Alison+Flynn&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=digital-text (Editor), https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_5?ie=UTF8&field-author=Deborah+Flynn&text=Deborah+Flynn&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=digital-text (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
Yeah. look around, it is happening now. The last administration allowed all the bangers out of jail to set it all up.
Have you read World Made by Hand?