The Wake Up Call

Expectations have been driven sky-high and they are about to be dashed. There comes a point where people’s disappointments arrive at saturation levels. They don’t trust or believe you anymore. That’s when the unstoppable general collapse will take place. It’s very close now. Bernanke is the proverbial deer in the headlights. He is frozen into inaction. He has no answers. (There are none at this late stage). The imbalances are too great. Some more dire statistics. None of this discourages the busybodies, though, full of plans to ‘save the world’. Obama’s manipulation of the auto market will lead to renewed bankruptcies in the sector

The ‘free society’ taken for granted in America is but a pale shadow of its former self. The devastation wrought by ‘economists’: nothing new here. Their influence is way disproportionate to their abilities. And yet they continue to secure the ear of those in power. Why so many countries are experiencing economic depression right now. Similarities in reaction to the crash by the Federal Reserve in 1929 to their reaction after the crash of 2008… and similar market reactions as well. More on why money printing doesn’t work. Why so many Fed enforcement actions are resolved without admission of guilt. A sickening story

The fate of financial criminals throughout the ages. Death was frequently not considered too heinous a punishment. Greenspan on the gallows? Hmmm… I just loved the one about “forecasters whose heads were wrenched around backwards to symbolize their inability to see what is in front of them”.  The varying fortunes of the different generations in history. Reasons for the decline in entrepreneurial spirit in America. (Concentration of power). The bulls’ versus the bears’ arguments. Why policymakers have been promoting a “blinkered” view of the world. A smaller percentage of Americans are working than when the last recession ended. More tortured unemployment statistics

The crisis is just beneath the surface. It will burst out unannounced. There is no white knight. All layers of public economic activity are bankrupt and funding has almost entirely dried up and will be more-and-more so as time moves on. More and more government restrictions will be in evidence. A short discussion of the Fed with Ben Swann of Reality Check. More on the housing market. There is simply not the ready buying power available to support an ongoing rally in house prices. The new FATCA act in all its absurdity. An account of the economy as viewed from a bullish perspective. A quick comment on whether (or why) we need a central bank. (We don’t). LIBOR is a giant red herring. A flying school owned by an illegal alien and sporting 25 students – all illegal aliens themselves. Thanks for nothing, TSA

Neil Barofsky’s new book is recommended. Barofsky’s experience and in-depth knowledge is unparalleled. He is the whistle-blower extraordinaire. Listen to an interview where he talks about his book. I read an extract as well. Pure corruption from beginning to end. Another reminder of how grave the world economic situation has become. A list of economic indicators in general decline, ensuring the continuation of a recession which has never really ended and, indeed, has become a depression

It’s an open secret nowadays that the media are firmly in bed with the government and the politicians. The media are just another powerful prop in the hands of the fascists who control the United States today (and I mean fascists in the true, serious sense of the word). Joseph Farah and Dan Rather have blown the whistle hard on the media’s relationship to society. A word of warning about the ‘comfortable media critics’ who trivialize the news and ‘make you laugh’. They’re often just quacks who display a surreptitious support for the status quo beneath their routines. The degraded relationship of the police to society is shocking and deeply disturbing but is yet another sign that the meltdown is well-and-truly underway in the U.S

Avenues of escape are being cut off one-by-one for Greece and Spain. The moment-of-truth could arise at any time. The concept of luck. Is it real or just an excuse? Jack’s report on yesterday’s Meet-Up in New Brunswick. Two new books: one recommended, one NOT recommended! More on the individual states’ finances. The money simply isn’t there. More on interest rates and why they’ve fallen. Medical costs: how they’ve changed and how they’ve become more unmanageable than ever

We are almost at the end of the Debt Supercycle, in progress since midday on August 15th, 1971 when Nixon signed the dollar off the gold standard. Massive borrowing has continued since that day and it is almost payback time. The consequences of unwinding $53 trillion of debt are too horrible to contemplate. There is no escape. You have been abandoned by your government. You must make your own way from now on. The Wake-Up Call will do its best to assist but it is up to you individually to make the necessary decisions. Two interviews with those who are convinced we are already into the depression. More on Teaching English As A Foreign Language. This weekend’s Meet-Up Group will feature more information from someone who does this for a living in Korea

Learning why this banking technique which “creates” money out of nowhere is doomed to fail. Mathematically, it cannot work in the long run. It is the ultimate Ponzi scheme. It is legal when carried out by accredited banks, illegal if you and I try to do the very same thing. Guess who benefits… A quick study of some of the worst-hit cities in the United States. The patterns are identical: breakdown of social services, loss of employment, inner city decay, gang violence, civic overspending, death of manufacturing, soaring crime and murder. It is a trend which is spreading throughout the nation. It will become much worse. There is no solution

No healthy lending can take place without collateral. The world has run through most available collateral so now they have to find new ways of pushing money into the system. They will all fail. Phantom-asset leverage is a game everyone can play and at which everyone will lose. The only question is as to how long it will take for this ridiculous charade to play itself out. China is imploding fast now, said to be headed for a hard landing of epic proportions. It seems 71% of homeowners in Las Vegas are underwater and the unemployment rate is a 12.4%. This is not a good mixture. Vegas is an excellent example of where kicking the can down the road will lead to much worse results than if they had left well alone.

Barclays plays fast-and-loose with interest rates. Zero Hedge tells us this is the greatest threat to life as we know it. I’m not convinced. This is a red herring. Putting the real economic problems into perspective by focusing on the debt-to-GDP ratio. We have long since passed the point-of-no-return. How the minor panic of 1929 became the Great Depression and the eerie similarities this time around. Why there are no solutions to the European problem. U.S. business leaders’ confidence has collapsed. 160 prominent German economists have dug their heels in: no concessions to profligate southern European countries! Duke Energy CEO pockets $44.4 million after 24 hours on the job. Jeremy Grantham’s past predictions (accurate) and what he is saying now

More from Nigel Farage. How money is created. The absurdity of creating central banks. Why ‘the national debt’ is totally unnecessary. Fractional reserve banking, another means given to banks to steal your money. The continued horror story of GM which never ends: the ghost of the bankrupt entity has returned to haunt us yet more. Why adding debt to debt in order to pay down that debt is a mathematical impossibility and can only lead to greater ruin

It is a pitiful sight to witness these European politicians thrashing around at 4 a.m. looking for and announcing solutions to their crises where there are none. Just more of the same. Karl Denninger talks to Lauren Lyster about the problem. Americans are woefully ill-prepared for a financial catastrophe with only a quarter saying they have six months’-worth of funds set aside for emergencies. Sarita, a long-time listener, recounts the story and background of her departure from the U.S. to live in Ecuador. James Delingpole’s ten observations about the United States

The motive? To suck you into investments which will enable those in control to unload their holdings onto you, the unsuspecting public. Lennar’s CEO tried to convince the public that the housing market was in recovery by using accounting gimmickry that would be impossible to understand by all but the most sophisticated accounting analysts and/or experts. The liabilities of the federal government and future federal revenues – a staggering sum for future generations to have to pay. TARP, zero interest rates, money-printing (QE), distractions, power-at-the-top… all have been invoked to achieve this. A very ugly picture. The consequences of America’s cyberwar – a foolish decision. Joseph Stiglitz’s pithy comments about inequality in America

Expansion contracting, output unchanged, new orders not rising, Philly Fed survey of manufacturing just collapsed, Europe is a disaster, unemployment growing again, etc., etc., etc. The “fiscal cliff” will result in the largest tax increase ever in American history. Tax takings are falling. Average adjusted gross income is falling. International trade imbalances are growing. Mortgage debt is increasing sharply. Matt Taibbi’s new report for Rolling Stone is a must-read, discussing the relationship of Wall Street to organized crime. Housing is not “in recovery” as is being touted in many circles. A crushing load of invisible inventory has yet to hit the market