Blog reader Paul C. sent: Mickelson plans ‘drastic changes’ in response to tax hikes. (Effectively a 63% tax rate, for high income earners, in California.) Pacific Group to Convert 1/3 of Hedge-Fund Assets to Gold Obama’s New ‘Pay as You Earn’ Plan a Windfall for MBAs. Items from The Economatrix: A Look Inside The Fed On Verge Of Crisis America Should Declare Bankruptcy
G.G. flagged this item: First Term: Americans Collecting Disability Increased 1,385,418—Now 1 for Each 13 Full-Time Workers US Mint Out Of Silver Coins – Suspends Sales (A hat tip to Rory for spotting that article.) Bill O’Reilly: Obama’s Economic Collapse. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Expect Stunning $233 Silver As It Begins To Soar Another “Market Meltdown,” “Huge Recession” Is Guaranteed Do You Want To Scare A Baby Boomer?
Michael Pollaro: U.S. Government Debt Monetization Bond Bubble Will Be Bigger Catastrophe than Real Estate Bust: Casey Items from The Economatrix: Here’s The Real Unemployment Rate US Industrial Production Rises 0.3% On Equipment Demand Gary North: A FED Dove Calls For All Inflation, All the Time
Bernanke Playing with Fire-Laurence Kotlikoff Peter Schiff: Congress Can’t Fix The Post Office, How Will They The Fix Deficit? Reader H.L. sent: Hotel Mama: Bad Economy Has Young Europeans at Home Items from The Economatrix: Gold & Silver Set Up For Explosive 2013 Silver Will Soar 100s Of Dollars Higher Long-Term Unemployment Highest Since WWII
Economics and Investing: Peter Schiff Reveals CPI Propaganda By Calculating Real Price Inflation Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me: US taps pension fund to avoid passing debt limit Why The Entire Bond Universe Looks Toxic In 2013 Items from The Economatrix: Moody’s Threatens To Downgrade US AAA Rating 20 Facts About The Collapse Of Europe Everyone Should Know Economic Collapse! A Leading Indicator Of Better Times To Come
G.G. suggested this New York Times article: Life in the Red Items from The Economatrix: 128 Million Americans Are Now On Government Programs-Can America Survive As The World’s Superpower? Brussels Fears “Poverty Trap” For Half Of Europe As North-South Gap Widens This Is About To Rock The Financial World
A transcription of my recent Silver Vigilante interview is now available. Federal Reserve Bank President Says, “We Must Inflate 24 x 7.” A surprising map of the best and worst countries to be born into today Items from The Economatrix: Why Job Numbers Mean Lower Rates For Years Borrowing From MasterCard To Pay For Visa The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever
H.L. sent a video from Belarus that was apparently shot just after a currency revaluation. It illustrates what life can be like during a mass inflation: The Most Tolerant Cashier John Rubino: We Created The Conditions For Catastrophic Failure It Begins: Bundesbank To Commence Repatriating Gold From New York Fed California’s “Prevailing Wage” – Floor Vacuuming At $45.93/Hour Items from The Economatrix: If The Fed Stops Printing, The Collapse Would Be So Incredible That People Would Eat Each Other In The Street Box Demand As Economic Gauge Shows US Output Gains Stimulus From Jobless Aid Fades As US Hiring Grows
Washington state bank closes; first failure of 2013 H.G. flagged this: New data show 1 in 4 children on food stamps in FY 2011 Greeks Raid Forests in Search of Wood to Heat Homes. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Powerful “Indicators” Suggest A Stock Market Sell-Off And Inflation Could Be Just Around The Corner Beware The Bond Bubble In 2013 US May Default On Its Debt A Half-Month Earlier Than Expected, New Analysis Shows
An excellent piece by Dr. Gary North that gets to the heart of the preparedness mindset, even when disasters are personal rather than national: Budgeting for a Lifestyle Contraction Anthony Wile of The Daily Bell: The Trillion Dollar Coin Is a Great Idea! Items from The Economatrix: The Economic Implosion Of Europe Is Accelerating Economic Forecaster: US Has Gone Over The “Demographic Cliff.” Market Crash Will Start In Summer “Dr. Doom” Faber Sees A Possible 10% Gold Correction
A major theorem of cryptography is that anything that be done with a trusted authority can be done without1 a trusted authority. This theorem can be applied to currencies, too. Anything that can be done by a central bank can be done without a central bank . The central bank for the United States of America, as you probably already know, is the US Federal Reserve. The stated dual mandate of the US Federal Reserve System is: “The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee shall maintain long run growth of the …
Real estate horror continues with ‘zombie foreclosures’ Peter Schiff: ‘The Dollar Is Not The King Of Anything, Except Maybe Depreciation Zero Hedge reports of the bigger, deeper crater that once was Greece: Greek Unemployment Soars To New Record, 56.6% Of 15-24 Year Olds Without Job Items from The Economatrix: Highest Ever One-Day Sales For American Silver Eagles? BofA Freezes Gun Manufacturer’s Account Cracking The 2013 Tax Code
After the Fall: What Do You Do When You Conclude America Is (Temporarily or Permanently) Kaput?(Thanks to Linda U. for the link.) Carney on coin gambit: ‘There is no backup plan’. [JWR’s Comment: This is beyond bizarre. It is now obvious that we are entering the fiscal Twilight Zone.] Items from The Economatrix: Inflation By Any Other Name-Central Banks Around The World Increase Balance Sheets From $2 Trillion In 2008 To $6 Trillion In 2013 This Will Cause Oceans Of Paper Money To Panic Into Gold Consumer Credit Rose In November On US Auto, Student Loans
Peter Schiff: Even if you raise taxes to 100%, we couldn’t pay it off. We’re going to default. Dr. Gary North details the latest legislative travesty in Illinois, the Land of Lincoln Obama: A Bill to Register Buyers of Gold and Silver Coins. Just as with guns, they have it down to a science: they register, they tax, and then they confiscate. Federal Reserve May Pause Quantitative Easing. JWR’s Comment: Yes, and your local crack head may try to kick his habit by going cold turkey. They’ll both have about the same chance of success. Hedge funds face suspicious activity …
H.L. sent: Silver Prices in the Event of a Comex Default Jim W. suggested this article about the underground economy: My Name is Cash A Graphic View of How Shale Gas Could Change the Future Obamacare Guarantees Higher Health Insurance Premiums — $3,000+ Higher Items from The Economatrix: It’s Not Too Early To Worry About The End Of Fed Easing Economy Adds 155,000 Jobs In December: “It’s A Slow And Steady Recovery” Social Security: It’s Worse Than You Think