This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Forget a Recession, The Empire is Crumbling
I look
around me and I see an Empire in Decline.
The US
economy is clearly in a depression… not a recession, not a recovery, but a
DEPRESSION. More than 40 million Americans (12%) are on Food stamps. Nearly one
in five of us are unemployed of underemployed. Folks go to Wal-Mart at 11PM
waiting for their government checks to clear at midnight so they can buy baby
formula, milk and other necessities.
Three out of
every five Americans are overweight. One in five are obese. Indeed, there are
only two areas (one state, Colorado, and Washington DC) where obesity rates are
under 20%.
Nearly three
in four of us don’t get enough sleep.
Almost one third of us report having trouble falling asleep EVERY night.
And almost half of us report that day-time sleepiness interferes with normal
activities including work.
Half of
marriages end in divorce. One out of ten married couples report sleeping alone.
The average American watches 28 hours of TV a week (enough to qualify for a
part-time job). Two thirds of us eat dinner while watching TV, preferring the
fake, sensationalized lives of others to engaging with our own families.
The TV and
media are filled with foul, ungodly images of sex, violence, and hate. The most
watched shows of the last decade all feature ordinary folks becoming superstars
in lottery-esque competitions (American Idol, Survivor, Who Wants to be a
Millionaire, etc) OR crime sagas detailing the most sordid and disgusting
elements of society (CSI, Law and Order, etc) OR amoral social dramas in which
notions of personal responsibility, fidelity, and common decency are unknown
(Desperate Housewives, the Bachelorette, etc).
Today, brain
dead, vapid human beings who have contributed nothing to society are idolized
and followed as though they invented the wheel. We’ve actually got two industries devoted to presenting the
illusion and reality of celebrity: Hollywood shows the photo-shopped,
CGI-enhanced, scripted version, while the paparazzi and weekly glossies reveal
the drug-addicted, affair-crazed, family breaking, soul-less emptiness.
Sex or
violence are plastered on virtually every flat surface available. Even the
check-out lines at the grocery store feature endless images of barely clothed
women along with headlines sensationalizing gruesome behavior, right out in the
open for children to see. And if the kid can actually read the headlines… God
only knows what ideas this stuff is putting into their heads.
Financially,
we’re all pretty much bust or going bust (except those on Wall Street).
New home
sales in July were a RECORD low. Not record as in for the year, but the lowest
since 1963. The talking heads are high fiving because sales improved in August,
but failed to note that they were still DOWN
19% from August 2009 levels.
Americans
two primary assets for retirement (stocks and their homes) have both been
absolute disasters. Home prices are down 30%, stocks haven’t produced gains in
over a decade. Every moron on TV talks about the Dow 10,000 like it’s a miracle.
But when you adjust the Dow for inflation, (using the BLS’ ridiculous CPI
measure) the Dow is SUB-500 in terms of purchasing power.
Our money
system is controlled by an elite banking oligarchy fronted by academics who
have never run a business, invented anything, or had any interaction with
commerce aside from vying for tenure. Our currency is now worth less than 1/20th
of what it was a century ago. And we are ALL in debt up to our eyeballs on a
personal, corporate, local, state, and federal level.
Heck, even USA TODAY (not exactly the cutting edge in financial research)
notes that in order to pay off our current liabilities, every US family would
have to pay $31,000 a year… for 75 YEARS!!!
And we’re talking about an economic
recovery?
According to
David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff:
·
Wages & salaries are still down 3.7% from
the prior peak;
·
Corporate profits are still down 20% from the
peak;
·
Real GDP is still down 1.3% from the peak;
·
Industrial production is still down 7.2% from
the peak;
·
Employment is still down 5.5% from the peak;
·
Retail sales are still down 4.5% from the peak;
·
Manufacturing orders are still down 22.1% from
the peak;
·
Manufacturing shipments are still down 12.5%
from the peak;
·
Exports are still down 9.2% from the peak;
·
Housing starts are still down 63.5% from the
peak;
·
New home sales are still down 68.9% from the
peak;
·
Existing home sales are still down 41.2% from
the peak;
·
Non-residential construction is still down 35.7%
from the peak.
The American
Psychological Association reports that 73% of Americans cite money as a source
of significant stress. Personal bankruptcies have fallen 8% month over month
from July to August. However, August 2010 bankruptcies are up 6% from August
2009… so much for the recovery.
And yet,
despite all of this, assumedly intelligent people write op-ed articles and
appear on TV claiming that things are swell in the US, that we’re actually OK
and that the recession is over. Some of these people even have advanced degrees
or have won international prizes for economics.
Let’s be
honest. Forget recessions, forget even Depressions, the US is an empire in decline.
You can
literally see it crumbling right in front of you. Just start looking at how
people live, eat, and act on a day to day basis. Look at how our Government
runs itself, how it manages our affairs, how it spends our tax Dollars. Look at
how our justice system works, who it protects and who it punishes.
It’s all out
there, right in the open for you to see. You don’t need an expert degree or some
kind of advanced education. It’s OBVIOUS to anyone who bothers looking around.
The fact we
don’t admit it doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Best
Regards,
Graham
Summers
PS. If
you’re worried about the future of the stock market and have yet to take steps
to prepare for the Second Round of the Financial Crisis… I highly suggest you
download my FREE Special Report specifying exactly how to prepare for what’s to
come.
I call it The Financial Crisis “Round Two” Survival
Kit. And its 17 pages contain a wealth of information about portfolio
protection, which investments to own and how to take out Catastrophe Insurance
on the stock market (this “insurance” paid out triple digit gains in the Autumn
of 2008).
Again, this
is all 100% FREE. To pick up your copy today, got to http://www.gainspainscapital.com and
click on FREE REPORTS.
- advertisements -
Rocky, I'm honored to be junked(?) by you. You're someone whom I generally make sure to read comments from. I consider myself to be one who makes an honest effort at being as objective as possible. Though I am, of course, not altogether successful.
There are plenty of things in this article which are worth the read in their original form as they are snippets, summaries, or references of articles found right here on ZH. 11PM Walmart, American's two primary assets, new home sales numbers, etc, etc. The reason I object, vociferously, is that Mr. Summers 'glues them together' in a sophomoric way.
One more example. Mr. Summers writes "Our money system is controlled by an elite banking oligarchy fronted by academics who have never run a business, invented anything, or had any interaction with commerce aside from vying for tenure." (italics mine) Really? This is a strong statement without any attempt at supporting it. Mr Summers clearly has his audience's full attention when he can make such a claim without so much as a reference link, no questions asked.
As to your comments regarding belief and the lack thereof. Perhaps I should be more succinct. I do <i>not</i> believe this article contributes in a positive way to ZeroHedge or its readers. This article stands out in stark contrast to the general high quality writings found here. I do believe it's an excellent marketing piece targeted at those ZH readers who know exactly what they believe... come hell or high water.
Now that is a reply! Thanks -- and I didn't junk you. I'm not that juvenile
There is enough information in the article to support the title, the Empire is indeed crumbling. That is all that is needed to make it worthwhile.
If we could find a few folks in this (or any) Administration who understood business we would be better off. It is not necessary to provide corroborative data to back up the statement made. It's too damn obvious. The scales are tilted well into the area that makes his statement true.
You are correct that the article is an amalgam of other articles, but most ZH readers can't read every article on this prolific site. It's okay to aggregate them and provide a much needed overview. I'd give you credit for asking that links to those articles be provided.
I'll not break out every element of your reply since it's not my purpose to refute every point. The main take-away is that an article of this sort is useful for an overview, and an over use of links would divert the reader from the theme of the article.
There have been many more articulate denizens of ZH than I who are no longer here. I miss them all.
Then again... the Mises Institute (mises.org) is doing pretty good work.
I am reminded of this 200 year cycle: Liberty-Complacency-Dependence-Tyranny-Revolution-(Liberty, repeat)
The US may be down, but not out. We're in our "Dependence" phase again.
maybe tyranny has already begun?
LOL yeah so now we get to look forward to Tyranny - SUPER
Seriously. Anyone with half a brain knows all this. My own brother told me to stop calling him and his wife in 2007 before the crash, becasue I was scaring them (and of course crazy). My father's broker at Wachovia (now fired and gone) with the WF takeover, told me I was nuts. I tried to educate people, I pounded on doors for RP, I organized END THE FED rallies (actually believing thousands might attend), I started moving assets, I refuse to participate in the economy to the best of my ability, etc... Screw it -- what did I get for my efforts? Sarah Fucking Palin and a take over of the Tea Party by other neocons and the bankers.
Now I say:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XeUO5aUneg
There is no political savior to the problems at hand! Every email from RP now is just begging for more money - welcome to the club!
Prepare for the fallout...
Ezekiel 4:6 ...I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Daniel 12:11-12 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
If you know the end point you can work backwards. FYI - Daily sacrifice was done away with by Justinian in 530 AD.
So working back you have....
Revelations 20:2-7 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season..... And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
....a little season and a thousand years. The thousand years is obviously easy. The little season a bit more difficult.
Well that was just a big bowl of sunshine, wasn't it?
Sausagemaker
I currently live in Texas, there are lots of fat asses out there.
Looking at the rate of inflation in food prices, I predict an end to the obesity crisis very soon. Also, running from bandits is good cardio.
Sadly, the cheapest food is also the worst nutritionally. Think McDonalds dollar menu, bags of chips and candy bars, soda. Good, healthy, organic food is some of the most expensive. Thus we'll probably see people just getting fatter as "real" (non mass-produced) food gets more expensive.
....or just dying!
or running from zombies...
I've heard everything's bigger in Texas
Well said.
This is all spot-on, but it's not exactly news to anyone who has been paying attention.
What is there to do about it? "Democracy" such as it was is now entirely rigged and seems about hopeless. Many recommend expatriation but I expect some large fraction of those will simply be hunted down by the US government or its remnants in the not too distant future, for various reasons ranging from marginal to idiotic. What is one to do other than live for the present?
i actually see a future where the u.s. is humbled financially and won't be able to even hunt itself down. but we'll see. it could also go martial law and police state, but maybe a broke one. like east germany or something...
The best thing you can do it to lever up to the tilt buy all the gold and silver till your credit cards max out than default(with all that gold in a secure location) and waatch it Burn !
Nooo Problem Mon.
Prop 19 is coming for ja. Don't worry be happy.
Looks like the US was a bubble of it's own.
I sure hope China isn't going to be the next global cop... because I don't speak chinese...
There is no god and your fear of "ungodly sex" is both hilarious and sad.
Why God never got a PhD - Damn funny
-----------------------
1. He had only one major publication.
2. It was written in Aramaic, not in English.
3. It has no references.
4. It wasn't even published in a refereed journal.
5. There are serious doubts he wrote it himself.
6. It may be true that he created the world, but what has he done since
then?
7. His cooperative efforts have been quite limited.
8. The Scientific community has had a hard time replicating his results.
9. He unlawfully performed not only Animal, but *Human* testing.
10. When one experiment went awry, he tried to cover it by drowning his
subjects.
11. When subjects didn't behave as predicted, he deleted them from
the sample.
12. He rarely came to class, just told his students to read the book.
13. Some say he had his son to teach the class.
14. He expelled his first two students for learning.
15. Although there were only 10 requirements, most of his students
failed his tests.
16. His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountain top.
Friendly amendment:
No problem with the PhD, but he would never get tenure (points 3&4, plus a complete lack of statistical or computer modeling in his work. Methodology is everything. (A complete lack of teaching ability, or English communication skills is never relevant in tenure decisions.)
As to point number 8, it is not just science, but 2000 years of devoted followers who have failed to move mountains or raise the dead. Hell's Bells, if they could just turn water into a decent cabernet, I'd be impressed. Have a nice eternity;)
I prefer godly sex, only because I'm a panthiest
I'm a pantyist too! My Brotha.
It's people like you who popularize un-Godly sex. You and Frank:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2vE5b_FgEA
Yes there is aa God:
This god, this one word: I. [Ayn Rand, Anthem]
Things like World Wars and revolutions have a way of correcting some of these problems, at least in the short term.
The elites prefer war. The rabble prefers revolution.
It will be interesting to see if technology has evolved to such a point that the rabble can no longer overthrow the elites. I don't know the answer, but with the new technologies of surveillance, predictive behavior modeling, data mining, threat analysis, social conditioning, the pain of disruptions to the the system for the rabble, the deliberate dumbing down of society, I'm not sure past successes are a good indicator of future success. The equation has evolved, and it has evolved in the elites favor.
The only hope for pushing back against the elites who control things as I see it is through the peaceful political change to move the country once again towards a limited Constitutional Republic by using new technologies to bypass traditional elite media controls. There is a window of opportunity here that will only be open a short while, and even with this short window forcing changes will be an extreme uphill battle. Me, I'm pushing already, but I know the chances are remote, but any chance of success through peaceful political processes is worth it, even if it is only a 1% chance of success. Plus, what I'm really hoping for is to push the elite to show their fangs. This will wake a lot of people up even if peaceful political movements and the freedom required to move forward disappears as a result. Then there will be no doubt about what everyone is facing.
Wars let the steam out, so that revolutions dont happen so often
sometimes it's the other way around....the bolshevik revolution succeeded on the coattails of the first world war.
I can agree with everything you said, just leave the god CRAP out
F'n right! Each to their own, but when "God" becomes a "tool" (a la the Bush years) for TPTB to push their agenda, fuck that!
The real problem is nothing to do with "God" or the myriad versions of said "God".....it is a problem of consciousness, or lack thereof. People in this country (and many other Western countries) are so distracted, so unconscious, they are not aware of the relationship between their actions and "cause and effect". What you do, what you say, what you think, effects others, and thus the world, thus your childrens' world and so on.....
......taking responsibility for one's self, not just our financial and physical self, but emotional, thinking, and acting self.....that's a start.
No matter how deep you think the economical crisis is, in the West, there is an even deeper crisis: the political ideology crisis.
Many nice stories were told to ascend to power but now that domination is achieved, delivering on the stories is part of the past.
For the US, the situation is very special: they have no other history than the one resting on the current political ideology. In Europe, they can close a 300 years period by calling forth their past.
The US has not such option and it can end very nastily as the US citizens are rejecting more and more the political values that are supposed to lie at their fundations.
"Empire in Decline"
If you are implying some sort of passive, introspective decline, You must be referring to the UK.
The is God's country. We will fight like a mentally retared pit bull in a corner. The rest of the residents of this small small world will cite the US as their #1 security threat.
This won't end well.
an economic collapse could mean a collapse of the military as well, since sources for funding the "empire" might dry up. with all the problems we have, do we really need to have troops stationed all across the world like we are in star trek fighting the klingons?
the other issue however is that the defense industry is one of our biggest, so we have an economy built around bombs and gunships. not to forget prisons.
in the end though i think pumping all this money into defense besides being immoral is also a losing investment and goes against what a "free" country should do.
US is absolutely in a decline, but I'm tired of this "our whole economy is built around building bombs" meme that keeps getting pushed, it is false.
Do some reseach. GDP spending while fighting two McWars and numerous GWOT operations world wide is actually historically somewhat low. Research our past force posture and you can see an absolute decline in the number of air wings, naval combat vessels, missile wings, army divisions, reserve units, etc... Right now the actual % of the population serving under arms is THE LOWEST it has been since WWII.
For all the world that puts the U.S. as the #1 threat you are idiots. True we are an aging tiger on the verge of collapse, and us having so many nukes will be destabilizing, but do some historical analysis...what happens in the world when there is no hegemon? Or no group of hegemons? You think the world sucks now with the US as the global police, you ain't seen nothing yet...It will be just like your neighborhood when the police pool out, lot of turf wars between new gangs to see who is the new hancho. Nukes, chemical and biologicals, any tool in the toolbox will be fair game. India vs China. China vs Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines. Mexico collapses along with the US, Europe reorgs, goes to its militant past. Israel nukes Syria and Iran. Fun world.
Every criticism of America and its citizens I've read has been right on, but don't take pleasure in our demise, as you will suffer along with us. I do hope you enjoy the world without us, but I have a feeling you will not find it quiet to your liking...
And I like the American capitalism here too. "America is f*cked.[Problem]. Here is how you can save YOUR assets[Pitch]. Download this free report[Risk,Hook], which will do another pitch to get you to spend money. Why not throw a Gold or Silver hook pitch in there as well?
You think your assets are going to mean sh*t if the empire dies? I know you don't, but why not make a buck or two before then off suckers right?
More on military spending
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/07/cost-of-war/
Many already do count the US as the #1 threat.
The Roman Empire did not have Nuclear weapons when it collapsed US do, so this can get mighty ugly
<duplicate deleted>
Truth hurts. A lot.
At least we have our health . . .
And you better keep it too--given the health care rationing that is coming down the pike.
I wish to shake your hand sir.
Respectfully,
P
"....the US is an empire in decline."
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't - certainly DoD new toys aren't - but what is sure, we need to build new global system. Things can't stay the way they are now!
Global system?!? /sigh
Start with a new local system. F*ck the global shit.