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Guest Post: When Does "Managed Perception" Become Reality?
Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds
When Does "Managed Perception" Become Reality?
The Federal Reserve and the Federal government are both desperately attempting to "manage perceptions" of the bogus "recovery" and of their own legitimacy. Can "managed perceptions" replace reality?
The Federal Reserve is quite open about the ultimate purpose of all its machinations: to "manage perceptions" so the citizenry believe the "recovery" is real. The Fed reckons that belief will cause people to start a new debt-consumption orgy that will fuel a self-reinforcing cycle of expansion.
Put another way: the Fed is trying to induce a reanimation of "animal spirits," i.e. a restored faith in future prosperity that inspires households to load up on more debt and buy, buy, buy.
The difference between blatant propaganda and "managing perceptions" is... well, there isn't any. The Fed and Federal machinery are both engaged in a massive propaganda campaign to obscure the gargantuan risks implicit in their various trillions-dollar campaigns to mask systemic failure and risk and construct a facade of normalcy and "recovery."
Meanwhile, even the staid MSM flagbearer The Economist is noting that America's "leadership" hasn't fixed anything, and has no intention of doing so: What's wrong with America's economy? (Thank you, John R.)
The U.S. economy is "recovering" like a drunk "recovers" by chugging half a bottle of rotgut: the terror of reality is replaced by the warm glow of a new high. The terrible reality is the U.S. economy has been hollowed out by financialization and the dishonesty, fraud and corruption that are the essential components of financialization--a process that invariably leads to a concentration of wealth and power.
This concentration of capital and power then creates more incentives for fraud and corruption, which then reinforces the forces of financialization and so on in a self-reinforcing feedback loop.
The Department of Truth, a.k.a. the Ministry of Propaganda, issues a stream of massaged/manipulated data to support the mind-bending "perception" that the economy is in "a real recovery." Does anyone outside the lapdog mainstream media take the bogus employment statistics seriously? It's so painfully obvious that the "headline unemployment number" is manipulated via removing millions of people from the workforce, and removing the unemployed from the statistical ledger once their benefits expire.
The nation's GDP is a similar concoction of smoke and mirrors. Let's see: the Federal government borrows $1.6 trillion a year and transfers much of it to individuals, where it is then counted as "income."
So if I borrow $50,000 and "pay it to myself," then my $50,000 a year income just doubles to $100,000! Who knew prosperity could be this easy? The MSM sycophants, toadies and aparatchiks on both sides of the political spectrum (basically two sides of the same Imperial piece of paper) wonder why "job growth" is so weak--could it have anything to do with the actual real economy being so weak that only $5 trillion in borrowed Federal money and another $2 trillion in Fed money has kept the economy from imploding?
What with the bogus "recovery," a couple of hot wars and an utterly dysfunctional and corrupt political system, the Ministry of Propaganda has been quite busy of late. Housing has bottomed--once again, for the third time since 2008. And we really really really are exiting Afghanistan and Iraq--soon--please ignore those permanent bases and proxy armies.
In other words, faith in the legitimacy of the institutions which report on the economy and in those institutions on which the economy depends. Unfortunately, all these institutions are in tatters: all are in various stages of delegitimization: the Federal oversight agencies, the Fed, Congress, the Executive Branch, the ratings agencies, the financial sector, and of course the lapdog mainstream media.
I once saw a yellowed newspaper from Thanksgiving, 1935. the headlines proclaimed "growth has returned and the worst is over." It was all lies, of course, mere propaganda issued in the abject fear that the populace might become restless if the nation's institutions confirmed what people could see with their own eyes.
When the current stock market bubble pops, the last shreds of the Fed's legitimacy will be blown away. Strip away all the distractions, and the Fed's entire campaign to "restore confidence" and "animal spirits" so that the "recovery" magically becomes "self-sustaining" is based on one thing, and only one thing: the current stock market rally.
The equities rally is the only metric of "success" the Fed can point to that isn't risible. Once the rally implodes, so too does whatever remains of the legitimacy of the Fed and the Federal agencies which have aided and abetted the Fed's unprecedented propaganda campaign to replace economic reality with happy-happy "managed perceptions."
The "news" is always good, because who knows what the people might do if the flimsy official facades sway in the breeze of truth and then collapse in a heap? They might demand new leadership and systemic changes that would disrupt the cozy Status Quo partnership of cartel-crony Capitalism, Wall Street and the Central State fiefdoms.
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We've always been at war with Eastasia
First thought I had.
Doubleplusgood Comrade.
Goebbels Bitchezzzz!
We just think the masses are dumbed down "this time". They will be slaughtered literally or financially as usual.
Thank God! for the Fluoride in the Drinking Water.. it helped!
A page from the playbook:
"It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion."
Josph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister
No it is not Goebbels's playbook. It is "Das Prinzip Hoffnung" (Principle of Hope) by German Marxist Ernst Bloch. Ben Bernanke didn't read the book, wouldn't understand much of it anyway... it was somebody desperate, or more powerful, or more AUDACIOUS who read the text on how HOPE-process works, and who decided after the first volume "I can DO THAT, I can actually put this to work!!!"
The propaganda detailed above is precisely that which Goebbels attempted to counter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9tzNtIRFm4
not sure on the relavance, but edward bernays was an american : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Engineering_of_Consent
Didn't help the Soviets any.
but it works well in the USA....it has been mastered here..they even have people convinced that they are free...and that they are thinking for themselves....
Right after they bury Admiral O.B. Laden at sea off the H.M.S. Boxcutter.
The gas price wakes people up. Obama will try to blame speculators or the Saudis, but eventually, the sheeple will realize that there is no money left for either food or gas. Then what does Obama do? Start another war?
Easy. Discover Hitler is still alive and living in Venezuela. Hugo is his adopted son.
Crank up the circus!
3D porn 24/7, fights to the death on pay per view, louder, viler rap, higher decibels all around, naked soap operas, iPad-brain interfaces, controlled in Cupertino, lost prophecies of Nostradamus prove that our parallel world ends next year and that Planet X is on its way here!
Etc., etc., etc.
Great article. Totally appropriate for today, vis a vis precious metals and Obama's shuck and jive.
Sure it's a great article, but how many times does the truth need to be repeated before people finally heed the warning(s) and begin preparing accordingly?
Case in point: why does ZH consistently achieve higher traffic volumes even as the true state of not just the financial economy, but the overall global energy picture, becomes increasingly obvious?
That is, why are people still dicking around this interweb space when they should be actively getting serious about preparing for what's coming down the pike? Some say get rid of your TV; perhaps it should be updated to get rid of your net connection.
And that goes double for you too, Charles. Stop writing and begin thinking how you & your own are going to pull off getting out of this alive.
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
EOM
Damn! Clicked on another interesting headline, only to find another CHS Small Mind clap trap article.
What's the next one gonna be Chuck? "Buy Low, Sell High"?
Too many stupid assholes.
"When the current stock market bubble pops, the last shreds of the Fed's legitimacy will be blown away."
So the nominal value of the stock market will not be lowered.
The answer is after a Comex default, when the last link between tangible and intangible is severed. That is the moment we pass through the space/time continuum and have gone full matrix.
(Pity they can't severe the link with other commodities.)
In the memorable words of Cartman to his mom, at the Apple store "At least go across the street to buy condoms if you're going to f*ck me in the ass"
Some physicists are hypothesizing that linear time is in fact speeding up due to changes occurring within our Sun.
http://www.projectworldawareness.com/2010/10/terrifying-scientific-disco...
Does that mean that my birthday next year is 1 day earlier?
Silver Bugs getting Corncobbed today. LMFAO!!!!!!!!! Recommendation: Go Long Corncobs.
$45.35. Not much worse than last week. Just like last week, we will be back to the highs by the end of the week at the latest. Probably by midweek.
It was nothing but a dip, and it is being bought quite strongly. Inventory at APMEX is being depleted rapidly, even with many people having slept through the events. If spot doesn't get back up soon, they will be OUT of their popular products.
Silver holders screwed at $45.35, a couple bucks from all time high? I see you went long crack rocks.
Fuck off
Go on, get outa here
Great, another idiot.
And they are always going on about inflation expectations being low or stable... yeah sure....
The money (the puppet masters) runs the government and they both lie to us. We are like a herd of sheep. It has been that way through history and aknowleding this we can prempt their moves. However the sheep in the end get killed. I say attack and buy todays dip in the Comex. Notice the USD has not moved up much (strange).
http://lonerangersilver.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/imf-bombshell-age-of-am...
"We're all happy, hope your happy, too"...
Here is a link to someone asserting that the dead body photo of OBL is photoshopped.
http://obviouslybenhughes.com/post/5126867878/proof-pic-of-osama-bin-ladens-supposed-dead
I also find it interesting that all the cadets at West Point had flags and glow sticks in their dorm rooms for just such an occasion. My wife went to USMA and said it is staged Bull Sh*t. This is finals week and it is pure hell, plain and simple.
DaddyO
The funny part is theyve so dumbed down most americans to half hour attention span, 'Dead Laden' is already forgotten. In our 'already priced in' state, everything is already priced in not just any bad news. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Daily telegraph got there too:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/willheaven/100085835/why-that-photo-of-a-dead-osama-bin-laden-is-almost-certainly-a-photoshopped-fake/
Original photo: http://i51.tinypic.com/kd7fv6.jpg
Managed perception has become reality. Three clients emailed me this morning, and said they want to increase their exposure to the stock market.
Tell em go ahead and drop their pants, bend over, expose themselves to the stock market.
Just frustrating, dude. You try to protect these people and do the right thing...and they just don't care.
I do not think it is about caring - the fact is, as you are well aware, that since August 2010 the equity market returns have been overstated & consistent - and it appears to take 8-10 months for the general public to forget the real issues - I was on a flight Friday afternoon listening to two gentlemen behind me discussing how much better things are and that the worst was truly over - As foolish as this might sound I review the M2 chart a couple of times a week to reinforce that this recovery is manufactured - buying Canadian Dollars, selling USD for the moment, however, I understand your concerns, however, for those who do not learn from history will be forced to re-live it - remember you can only advise/consult JL - though I admire your integrity & concern
Thanks, I appreciate it.
show them the chart tyler posted the other day with the dollar adjusted return of the market since January... A whopping .9%.
People are boxed in do they leave their hard earned money in USD subject to corruption and devaluation and watch the daily decline or stocks subject to the same corruption but getting the dilluted wealth transfer of USD . I gamble with my money but someone elses I would go Blue Chips or nothing.
Exactly what Ive been writing for a year here. Its all too obvious there is no end to this horrible opera except total disaster.You cant print forever, you cant manipulate and pull daily scams forever and pretend a broken bankrupt country is OK...pretty soon the fat lady will sign and get a sword driven thru her back, then drawn and quartered.
Where is his body?
Buried at sea, how convenient.
Silver dumps 20% the same weekend before the announcement.
That is the tip off that someone besides congress and the teleprompter is controlling the puppet strings.
You would think that the most famous enemy of America would be brought back so people would not have any doubt as to who they killed in pakistan.
Muslim protocol: no embalming; buried within 24 hours. Buried at sea only if no other option. Apparently no country would accept the body, so buried at sea it was.
That is the key - the stock bubble will not be allowed to "pop" - it is the "economy"
The stock market will suddenly no longer matter at all, whenever the next events happen. No one will care about their 401K when they see people getting mowed down by storm troopers on their streets.
You're probably right about that. However, if only 10 percent of the population (American Revolutionary War) decide to pick up a weapon and shoot back, then the economy will be the last thing people begin to worry about.
I had the strong feeling last week that the Fed was at it again. I know that everyone feels now that everything is rosy with the economy, but the S&P had the feel of being "goosed". I guess they will tone it down in May, and if the market craters, they won't take the blame because the market often craters in May/June timetable.
Wait, did we not kill this guy 3 other times???
....NAZI party, aka America, propaganda is in full swing...busy morning for them....same sad shit.
Been dead for a long time, besides everyone know Bin Laden was a CIA asset. So the only question is why now? I have a feeling we'll see why real soon.
Why= Oblamers poll numbers lower than Jimmy Carter.
Everything is under total control by TPTB.
SLW and SSRI down $2 pre-market, while NFLX is up $6.
Looks like bank stocks are going to take off big today.
Everything is totaly controlled so you may as well stop your rear view mirror stock posts.
No SSRI's for me, thank you very much.
so then you're in the camp today that since the tptb control everything then they're running silver and gold up to use as backing for the currencies.
Bush sinned by bailing out those too big to fail, placing the bankers' bad bets on the shoulders of Americans. Obama sinned by silently ratifying the Fed's plan to save the banks at the expense of the people. Two administrations in a row have sold out the American people. Make sure the next President is not a friend of Wall Street.
You must be referring to the donald?
Mark Haines chortling about how the Russell 2000 is now at all time highs.
And those beleaguered silver stocks are now off over 30% from their highs, despite the 2nd biggest run in silver prices in history.
Just shows you how horrid the PM stock performance is.
It pays to only invest in Fed-supported, TPTB-sponsored sectors like retail and consumer discretionary stocks. XRT will probably reach another new high today.
another way to look at it is: Last nights dip provided an opportunity for persons (such as myself which I can prove through my post history)who were paying attention to BTFD and now be WAY the fuck up with a single silver futures contract....Because from 42.20 to 46 on a long futures contract...is a nice chunk of coin.
Due to Bin Laden's death, you can
tune into any financial channel today and
see who the abject liars are. They are
anybody saying this is "good" for markets. Bin
Laden hasn't been relevent to the markets
since the day and months following 9/11.
I'm not sure about the overall market, but I would recommend buying GMCR before they report earnings tomorrow. The word is they will beat earnings handily and guidance will be solid. A short squeeze is likely to ensue as 20% of the 100 million shares outstanding are short.
Just saying!
You must be pretty desperate, eh?
Nope, just smart. Check the earnings, check the raised guidance and we will see you over $100
Can "managed perceptions" replace reality?
Did people buy the "Hope and Change" Crap?
+1
Kind of preaching to the converted here. But well appreciated.
Bin Laden was worth 300 million (one dollar per american - roughly) - when his Pa told him to F ... off, that was a decade or so before 9/11. With that kind of dosh I suspect he had a few advisors (banksters) and pre-9/11 he made positions that any fool can see would have returned him 10x10 fold (and more). He did not even have to worry about tax - he could hide from everyone! Bin Laden is alive, well and retired on a seafront (probably European). America is on life support! And we wonder who the manipulators are!? USA=0, BinLaden=100 (and counting)!
why did we invade iraq, again? that was bullish, right?
Listen to the TV financial guys...it's all
bullish...good, bad, indifferent...it's
all Glen Garry Glen Ross and all in a
day's work to them.
--Irving Fisher, October 17, 1929
--Gordon Brown, March 21, 2007
See FOFOA - "Credibility Inflation". Fascinating and articulate explanation of not just the "what" of the lies, but the "why". Once you understand the why, the outrage dissipates because you see that the PTB have no choice but to sell/spin like Barnum (Ponzi) until the printing presses catch fire. Of course, it's still wrnog, but the PTB are just as trapped as we are, in some ways. Difference is that they'll sail through to the other side with stored value intact, while the middle class will pay for the excess of the last 40 (50?) years with its savings.
Russian Advertisement for Anti-Missile / Anti-Aircraft Missile System, Iran should be placing orders as I type this! http://en.rian.ru/video/20110421/163634847.html Russian’s are willing to be paid in Gold!
This looks like National Pride, a training run that worked out great.. when it is a commerical for sales of the system.