This article first appeared at the highly-recommended Alt-Market blog. It is re-posted with permission.
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As I predicted in my article ‘Trump Trade Wars A Perfect Smokescreen For A Market Crash’, published in March of 2018, as well as in my article ‘The Trade War Distraction: Huawei And Linchpin Theory’, published in December of 2018, the US/China trade dispute has escalated into an all out war with no end in sight. The claims of many analysts and skeptics a year ago that the trade war would be over quickly and that China would fold to US tariffs has been proven incorrect. The reason why these analysts got it so wrong centers primarily on their misunderstanding of the true purpose behind the events.
The goal of this war is NOT to balance the US trade deficit or pursue more fair circumstances for US exports and imports. The intention of the Trump Administration is NOT to fight back against Chinese “exploitation” of US markets, this kind of rhetoric is pure theater. Nor is it Trump’s intention to undermine globalist structures or agreements in order to bring back American manufacturing (a carrot that has been flaunted in front of American faces for a long time to lure them into supporting destructive policies such as dollar devaluation). On the contrary, the real purpose of Trump’s trade war is to provide a distraction massive enough to cover for the controlled demolition of the US economy and parts of the global economy by globalists and the central banks they control.
The tariff soap opera and most of Trump’s other foreign and domestic policies are eerily similar to those of Herbert Hoover just before the advent of the Great Depression. This is not a coincidence. The narrative for an economic collapse rivaling that of the Great Depression has been set, and the root circumstances are very similar.
Since the crash of 2008, the US has been suffering a slow grinding decline in fundamentals (the collapse of an empire often takes time). The response of central banks was to slow the crash using stimulus measures and near zero interest rates, but this strategy was not meant to reverse US economic decline. The purpose of QE was meant to inflate an even larger bubble than before, one that would encompass every aspect of the economy including the dollar; a bubble that when popped would devastate the US specifically and create panic around the world.
Now the stimulus phase of the globalist agenda is over. US M2 money supply growth has been decelerating and is hovering near 10 year lows, while stimulus measures have evaporated in most countries except China. Global dollar liquidity has been dwindling as the Federal Reserve continues to cut its balance sheet unabated.
This would explain why US equities are struggling to stay afloat despite the fact that corporate buybacks of stocks have increased to historic highs in 2019. Central banks, most importantly the Fed, are no longer propping up the system; the life support has been pulled and the parts of the economy that have been dependent are taking their last breaths.
The trade war situation as it is now is not enough of a distraction in my view, however. At least one more major event with global ramifications (or perceived global ramifications) is needed by the elites before they can implode the ‘Everything Bubble’ without taking the blame for the consequences.
Trade War Shock And Awe
There are several powderkegs that exist today that would serve the purpose of occupying the minds of the masses while the globalists finalize the crash. As noted, I continue to predict the trade war as it stands will accelerate unabated until the plunge in fundamentals and equities is complete. We haven’t seen anything yet as far as trade war chaos.
The US/China conflict has the potential to become an economic world war, with multiple countries beginning to take sides. Japan and the UK have opted to support US interests, which is not surprising since China and Japan have hated each other for generations and the US is the UK’s strongest economic partner in the wake of the Brexit. Already some people are declaring this to mean that the US will gain the majority of global support and crush China.
But keep in mind, as I outlined and evidenced in my recent article ‘America Will Lose The Trade War Because That Is What Globalists Want To Happen’, the trade war itself is a farce on both sides of the Pacific, as both China and the US are controlled by the same financial power centers (such as the Bank for International Settlements). The fact that some people are jumping on the patriot bandwagon to cheer for expanded confrontation with China as if a globalist engineered war is a war we can “win” is disturbing and sad to witness. My suspicion is that there is a concerted disinformation campaign in play on the internet to drum up the false impression of consensus support for the trade war while the activities of the real villains (the international banks) are ignored.
As this Kabuki theater moves forward, I think many analysts will find themselves shocked as more and more nations start taking China’s side in the conflict.
The most powerful option China has at its disposal is the dumping of US Treasuries and the dollar as the world reserve mechanism, but it is likely to use this tactic only when the US economy is at its most unstable. China is the number one exporter/importer in the world and the US consumer is ready to tap out as retail numbers stumble and household debt skyrockets. The US market is only 18% of Chinese exports, a sizable piece of the pie, but hardly a devastating blow to the Chinese economy should it be denied to them.
The bottom line is that China will ultimately dictate global trade terms as they possess the largest manufacturing base, they decide what currency they will accept, and whose debt they will prop up. China has also established very close economic ties with key nations over the past decade, including Russia, Germany, India, Australia, and even Saudi Arabia. Do not be surprised if most if not all of these nations eventually support China in the trade war, dropping the dollar as the reserve currency and following China’s lead.
Skeptics of this outcome are pretty much the same people that originally claimed the trade war would be over by now and that Trump would be victorious. They will cry foul today at the idea that the globalists have rigged the game and that the US is being set up to fail, but when they are shown to be wrong once again they will state proudly that they “saw it coming all along”.
China has yet to fully retaliate against the latest increase in US tariffs. When it does, the attack will be far larger than cutting off purchases of US agricultural goods. The next escalation could be the trigger than sends the crash into overdrive.
Iran War Looming
War with Iran at this time makes no sense whatsoever unless you look at it from a globalist perspective. The globalists are the only group that stands to gain from such catastrophe, as war with Iran would seal the fate of the US economy. The most immediate threat would be the potential shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, which would take nothing more than sinking a few large cargo vessels along the narrow and more shallow portions of the straight, placing mine fields, or staging anti-ship missiles within striking range. The subsequent explosion in oil prices would be devastating to the global economy and the US economy would struggle under high energy prices even with expanded domestic oil drilling.
In the longer term complete destabilization of the Middle East would result, well beyond what we have already seen, and the costs to taxpayers as well as the cost in American lives would be high. Beyond this, the distraction would be epic and very effective. This event coupled with the trade war would fulfill the globalist narrative that the Trump Administration and the conservatives that support him are a “menace” to global stability. Any financial crash at that point would undoubtedly be blamed on Trump as well as his supporters.
Currently, the mainstream media is very quiet on the Iran situation despite the sudden shift of US military resources to the region, which leads me to believe that a conflict is being planned in the near term.
Brexit Finalized
This event may not be concluded until the end of this year, but I still maintain as I always have that the Brexit and the growth of populism in Europe is a distraction that has actually been encouraged by globalists through the use of forced mass immigration measures to terrify the citizenry. I successfully predicted the outcome of the Brexit vote in 2016 based on this theory, and it still holds true so far today.
The “rise of the populists” in Europe and the US at the exact same time that central banks are withdrawing liquidity and at the exact same time that fundamentals are plummeting is yet another unlikely coincidence.
The only event that was needed to fulfill the populist takeover narrative was a major win by a nationalist party on the European mainland. Thanks to French president Macron being the worst leader in recent French history, that event has occurred. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally Party has overtaken Macron’s LREM party in the EU parliamentary elections. The populists have gained ground in Italy and Germany as well; not enough to retain any real influence, but enough to get blamed for the financial disaster that is about to happen.
The final plot twist the elites need in the EU, I believe, is a no-deal Brexit. I predict the Brexit will conclude and that the UK will indeed break with the EU. The latest announcement of Theresa May’s resignation seems to indicate that this will be the case, and that a no-deal scenario is the most probable scenario. The EU has publicly stated that there will be NO renegotiations of the Brexit deal after May leaves. Sovereignty activists will cheer the Brexit outcome, and then things will start to go horribly wrong. European markets will tank and certain major banks (Deutsche Bank and Italian majors?) will announce insolvency. The panic felt in 2008 will return and hit the EU and the UK hard, and the Brexit movement will get the blame while central banks escape any culpability.
Only one of these events is needed to initiate the next stage of economic collapse, but it is possible we will see all three occur in due course. While the current crash started at the end of 2018, the year of 2019 will probably be the one that is most remembered in history books as the beginning of Great Depression 2.0.
I am not college educated and indoctrinated but I don’t feel as if we would miss any Chinese exports if the global economy retracted. The United States has an “ace-in-the hole”. It is called food production. Our farmers have developed the know how and technology to feed the world and other countries know it. I don’t think they will stop buying food because we stopped buying a few Chinese parasols.
The United States will fare OK as long as the populace wises up and begins to elect the right people. (This means we have a 50-50 chance of survival).
Sounds like several good reasons to stock up on gold and silver!
Yes, ye’ol cliche, ‘the trend is your friend’…but only if one understand trends. Clearly we are ‘in the season’ as Christains would define. But the only way to make sense of the trend, namely the collaspe of modern civilization, IHMO, is in terms of a battle between good and evil, a spiritual war, Lucifer verses God. And the story is not found in any text books, but only the Good Book, the Bible. We can argue the details, pound our points into table tops, pose new questions and debate endlessly about the time of our demise, only to miss the mark and exhaust ourselves.
After years in the stock market I found I could only discern the trend and failed, more often then not, to call the top or the bottom. The wiser and wealthier often left the last gasp of a tread earily. Can we call the turning point in a market, or any complex system, especially that not built and control by our own hand?
Just to be clear, Trump is doing the best anyone could. The Globalists hate and fear him and who he represents, and work relentessly to destroy him. They wanted and needed Hilary. Let us hope and pray that Trump is not just speed bump for the globalists. But can anyone defuse the global debt time bomb? Bill Holter and Rob Kirby say no way.
Tunnel Rabbit is digging in.
Not sure what to think here.
I agree that there are global forces at work to take down the USA.
Another Great Depression would cause thousands of deaths and a complete reset of the financial system.
This would be shockingly difficult. Full time consumers, Wall Street bankers, and fashion conscious millennials will either shift into low gear or die.
US citizens are generally much softer today than they were in the 1920s. The Great Depression birthed the greatest generation. Tough, work hardened American men and women who refused to be pushed around. That DNA is still present, pray it is awakened.
Bottom line,God has the plan.
Everything mentioned in the article is conjecture, just opinions. There are some layers of truth but the fact is we don’t know anything about the global stage and what “They” are planning. Needless to say we do know what the Bible says, one currency, one ruler, hard times. No empire ever stands forever. Except that of Jesus. Just live biblically and don’t be cowards.
‘Perspicacious’? Yes, that describes Brandon Smith. (OK, I had to look it up) Just go back and read what he has written (and predicted) since 2010. His record is arguably the best of any political/economic analyst today.
His ‘blueprint for action’ hits the mark too. You need self-reliance; not a lone wolf but having a trusted tribe, with its own Comms, and one that trains together and barters. And you need this NOW.
This is scary
Much of this is Doom Porn. I don’t have time to analyze all of the claims, but let me point out a few things:
The supposed bogeyman bank of international settlements is a relatively small group, that mostly works by persuasion. Google their statements on indebtedness: you’ll find they are very much opposed to people / corporations being way too far in debt! Sounds just like a good preppers view point doesn’t it? How could one conclude from this that they are trying to push a financial collapse?
The decline in the rate of increase of United States M2: Another possible cause of this is simply that people are deleveraging. That’s a good thing, right? Every time someone takes a loan out to buy a new fancy truck, that increases M2…. and when people get wise and stop doing such foolishness, M2 doesn’t grow as fast.
Remember that the financial crash is not exactly the same thing as the economy crashing. Where do you think I made most of my money? From financial crashes! If it had not been for the financial crashes of 2002 and 2008…. I would certainly not have been able to retire, nor purchase all the firearms that line all my safes, nor the new tractor…. and on and on.
Eschew financial doom porn. Be sober minded, like the Men Of Issachar who understand the times. Financial crashes are Financial crashes are times of great blessing to those who are wise
Exactly, PrepperDoc..We love to wring our hands and throw dust on our heads. Not necessary..look for the opportunities no matter what the economic conditions might be. Some people just aren’t happy unless they live with anger, angst and doubt about the future.
Prepperdoc, you are pointing out the scare mongering that has been going on for decades, and your term Doom Porn is a very good one. If the “financial elites” pulled the plug and the entire world economy collapsed, those financial elites would lose an enormous part of their wealth and control. Chances are that will not happen.
The Great Depression on 1929 was not good, although the way many make it out sounds if Attila and the Huns had rampaged through the country, leaving nothing but death and destruction. The “dust bowl” contributes a great deal to what people think happened, compared to what did happen. Yes, the “dust bowl” was very bad for Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, and for Kansas, which relocated a lot of people elsewhere. What most fail to realize is that life went on, and yes, you had to do more with less. People realized that they could grow a certain amount of their own food, and can and preserve a lot of it to get through the winters. They also learned something that has been forgotten by too many. Constantly consuming, meaning constantly buying “things” is not good as you are not buying what you really need, you are just buying. Buying what you need, when you need it is far better than buying and then discarding what you have bought when you realize you didn’t need it in the first place.
Keep up the comments like this as it helps everyone who reads them to stay focused and not to get distracted.
Prepperdoc your term “doom porn” is perfect for these salesmen of fear.
When one reads these so called facts you would think this man has been invited to all of the globalist meetings.
I like what Scripture tells us about prophets. They are always 100% without error.
So do not this believe this “man” . He is not a prophet and his doom and gloom is just a way to sell fear.
Honestly, this old coot is not buying the comments here as representative of the survival-minded community. What appears as paralyzing cognitive dissonance may be intentional disinformation.
I too know God. And I will pray for those women and children who are depending upon these commenters for protection.
Which comments? There seem to be two basic opinions here amongst the comments. Basically one camp in agreement with Mr. Smith and one camp disagreeing. Which are not representative of the survival community?
JBH, you say (below) you have been watching since the 70’s. Surely you have noticed during that time your government has turned the republic into a Welfare State, Warfare State, Torture State, Police State, Prison State, Security State and Surveillance State, and Abortion (now infanticide) State. That’s 8 Evil States. Which one did you vote for? Yea right, so much for 50 years of voting.
Surely you have noticed that our borders are being overrun by invaders hell-bent on completing the plunder of former America’s wealth and destruction of its culture. And that America’s manufacturing has been systematically (by-design I would argue) moved overseas. You do know that former America is terminally bankrupt. Right?
For folks who see no global connection, I ask, ‘OK, so why is this is happening globally?’
As to the mindset of a ‘survival community’, I am surrounded by one. The vast majority are in Smith’s ‘camp’. They are moved to action by exactly what Smith is describing. Mention ‘voting’, ‘everything is going to be OK’, or smugly dismiss all of Brandon’s assertions as ‘doom porn’ and they would get a good laugh.
Lastly, as to those still clinging to Trump, I have found their minds shut to reality and critical thinking. Now that phenomenon might be biblical. Just try asking them to articulate the status of his campaign promises. You will be looking at a ‘deer in the headlights’, an angry deer in fact. Just for fun, let me ask the TRUMP SUPPORTERS RIGHT HERE to answer that question. Sadly they are likely on a collision course for a Forest Gump moment. Like the line in the movie, “And then one day it was over, just like that.”
I am reminded of the words of George Orwell, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
I have noticed all those things certainly.
What I have also noticed is that much of it is not new.
Top marginal tax rates from 1940 to 1963 approached and exceeded 90%.
J. Edgar Hoover maintained secret files and surveiled numerous opponents.
IMO WW1 and WW2 were unnecessary. Too long a case to make he but I am heavily influenced by Pat Buchanan’s work “Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War.” And I give it 50/50 that FDR allowed Pearl Harbor.
I believe we have more political murders in our history than we admit. Four assassinated Presidents and none (officially) taken out by significant political opponents? Must be some kind of record in world history.
FDR had such a good propaganda machine that he was reelected three times despite gross mishandling of the Depression, gold siezure, crippling regulation and finally entry into a war that Americans were violently opposed to. Another rich elitist who convinced the common man that he was going to soak the rich. And in the process nearly destroyed the common man.
I could continue and walk back further and further in history.
I agree that we have issues. Big issues that warrant prepping. And plenty of conspiracies that are in fact real. What I question is the Big Conspiracy organized by “them”.
In short I don’t think the shadow world is any more predictable or organized than the rest of the world.
In a way I think that should motivate people to prep more than the Big Conspiracy. IMO the Big Conspiracy theory could be viewed as safety blanket to comfort people and give them an illusion that some human is in control of the steaming mess that much of this world is.
JBH, you definitely are aware of those who use scare mongering to keep people in a constant “crisis mode”, which is not good for anyone. Whether you read the Bible or not, it is always good to be prepared for anything you think might happen. The idea of keeping at the very least an extra month of food supplies (canned goods and dry goods) is always a good idea, especially if the part of the country you live in is prone to severe weather, and/or natural disasters.
You provide very good information on all the of the same things that have happened in the past, that people are concerned about today.
My parents lived through the Great Depression, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and everything else that happened through the early 2000s. What I learned from them, relatives and family friends that also lived through those times is that if you prepare you can live through most anything that happens.
Your assertion that President Trump is part of a globalist conspiracy to destroy the economy of the United States is total c**p. You will have to do better than that to convince any sane people of your theories. I ain’t buying it…
Amen. There’s so much talk of impeachment and so many investigations into Trump’s public and private affairs. Because Trump ain’t buying into the globalist appetite. If he was in bed with the globalists none of THIS would be going on.
I have to agree. Our current President has done more to help this country than any other in the last 2 centuries. I have come to regard Mr. Smith as a purveyor of “doom porn”, IDK, maybe it helps sell more of his books. Even experts who are well-educated in economics have a hard time accurately predicting future trends, but they are all excellent at saying “See? I told you so!” when one of their myriad predictions actually happens.
Want advice? Minimize debt, strive for maximum possible self-reliance, accept that not much is really in your control, get your spiritual house in order and let the so-called puppetmasters pull each others’ strings instead of yours.
I’m not worried about a reduced supply of cheap ChiCom knockoffs, they don’t have many original thoughts that I have seen since their glorious revolution.
They can’t repossess any property they have bought here, but they are welcome to come try.
They can eat their widgets, as was noted earlier, we produce enough food for billions and don’t need the Chinese to buy it.
And we don’t need Middle Eastern oil either. We are now a net exporter of petroleum, thanks to Trump’s policies to dismantle 8 years of demonrat treason. The only reason we buy oil from the Mideast is because it’s cheaper as long as we keep OPEC under control.
Understand, please, that I’m not at all pooh-poohing the need to prepare. From a person who didn’t own a single firearm prior to Mr. Obama….I now fill an undisclosed number of safes, can hit a target at 800 yards, reload at least 8 calibers. Solar power, water at least 2 ways, food storage, and gradually succeeding at real crops. Still quite the newbie, but not as green as back then; communications is a specialty of mine, as well as medical. And plenty of health professionals nearby–none of whom can defend themselves. Cattle available….
What I’m trying to point out is the need to recognize the CORRECT bogeymen…. And not to believe every bit of doom-and-gloom. From my investment strategies I’m *hoping* for a market crash. The Fed is a significant risk to all of us, corporate buy-backs out of debt-funding will blow up just as local, state, and federal entitlement programs/pensions. Better be ready! But if you can’t keep a fairly advanced society stitched together, you can forget it when you blow out a diverticulum, or need cancer treatment, or have a small bowel obstruction — things that happen to many! Gangrenous gallbladder? Breech presentation of a term baby? Fournier’s gangrene? Look at Venezuela for how it might proceed and plan accordingly. Murder and death rates there are outta-sight. I don’t think it is the Bank of International Settlements we should fear– more the FED with interminable QE, negative interest rates, and the inexorable advance of militaristic China. And the societal breakdown that looms in the next economic (as opposed to financial) decline. Be ready!! But for the correct opponents. We all survived Obama and many (as me) awakened then.
Been reading this stuff since the 70s.
I am torn. I watch the events of this world and figure there must be a way to make sense of them. Mr. Smith’s theories are an explanation. Biblical End Times are an explanation.
Another explanation is simply fallen men all over scheming and doing what fallen men do. Oppressing each other. Cheating. Stealing. Murdering. All that sin stuff.
Layered over this I see incompetence. And I see randomness to a large extent.
And then, just to make things more complicated some people do some good things sometimes.
I do believe there are things going on in the dark. Almost every conspiracy thought of has already occurred in the past to some extent. But I have my doubts of an overarching coordinated conspiracy primarily because it requires tremendous long term teamwork which I do not believe humans are capable of maintaining for long periods of time.
But I could be wrong. We will see.
People do what is in their best interest. Rich people want to become richer and will abandon their honor to become richer. Almost every politician enters office with a middle class savings and assets and comes out of office a millionaire. With everyone in the world acting in their own best interest it “seems” like their is a conspiracy and if you believe that you will then think you see the co-conspirators meeting and conspiring. Then you are just one step removed from staying up late and listening to George Noory on the radio. After that no one can save you…
What’s wrong with George Noory late at night?!?! That’s good stuff man! And it’s all truuuueeee!
Kidding aside, I do believe people conspire. History proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Various business schemes unearthed all the time. (The ENRON tapes are a great example if you have never heard them.) Assassinations. Political overthrows. The rise of communism and Nazi(ism?). Wars. Organized crime. (The Mueller investigation.) You name it.
One great example is Kim Philby if you study his case. Rock solid history that makes a pretty good spy novel.
Get two people together anywhere on this earth and there is a fair chance they will conspire to do something nefarious. That is human nature.
But with the nature of people to as you say “Look after their own best interest”, holding together a conspiracy is kind of like holding together an Empire. (Think Rome.) There is a limit in size, scope and length of time before things unravel.
I think there can be some pretty fair size conspiracies but I think Mr. Smith’s may exceed the practical limit.
But who knows? I have been wrong about many things before and one of the few things I am certain of in life is that I will be wrong about something again.
And I still like Noory once in a while.
Make sure your own economy doesn’t crash when THE economy crashes. Two is one and one is none. Prepare.
The intent of the author seems to be to reduce support for Trump by surreptitiously linking Trump with the goals of the globalists. My belief is that Trump is the nemesis of the globalist and therefore must be stopped. What better way to stop him than linking him to the bad guys by an author who only wants to help us all understand the truth as he sees it? MAGA
Do you ever feel like the deck is stacked against you? Life goes on you get some breaks and you lose out on some breaks but there is always someone doing better and you’re not sure why. Sure sometimes it’s just due to hard work. A friend perhaps who owns their own business and works long hours or someone you know that went to college and then grad school and is doing well. But you are just doing OK. You can probably retire at 65 and you won’t be rich and take great vacations but you won’t starve either or be kicked out of your home. But you’re left with the nagging feeling that things should be better…
Is the deck stacked against you? Think about computer solitaire. Most of us have played it and generally it’s just a mindless time waster not given to deep thinking. Sometimes, if you’re competitive, you are really into beating the game. Maybe you have a method you follow to gain an advantage. It’s not complicated but there are a couple of options with every move and which option you take can determine the game. Perhaps you don’t even have a play plan and you just play the cards as they pop up. But think about it. Someone programmed this game and they put some tricks and traps into it. Don’t believe it? Random deal you think?
Think about this. When computer solitaire first came out it had one version. Then it got an option to set the skill level. How did they do that? Skill level? Take a deck of 52 cards and shuffle them and think now what can I do to make a different skill level? Well, the only way you can do it is to stack the deck. That’s right your computer solitaire has been stacking the deck even before it ever offered different skill levels. Don’t believe it? Think about the times the deal would show all red cards but maybe one and the turnover would show mostly red cards but the black ones just wouldn’t play. Sure that can happen by random but think about how often this or a similar dead end game would be dealt. Now suppose you had a play technique to give you an edge. You turned over the cards without playing any as they came up just to see what would come up and what might come up if you were careful on which playable cards you selected. Kinda counting cards. It works, try it. A king buried in the middle of the three turned over cards can be exposed by playing one card before you reach it and going around the second time. But what if there are three cards that will play? Well than, you miss playing the king. Maybe it is a crucial card.
I don’t want to over complicate this with trying to explain every possible way that the deck can be stacked to either make sure you do not win or allow you to only win a little if you pick the right strategy but just accept that it is true and you need to deal with it. Now back to real life. Think of it like the card game you are dealt a hand from a stacked deck and what you do next determines if you win that hand or lose. And winning means you have more assets/money to play the next hand and what you do next determines if you win or lose. And so on until your time on earth is done.
So the first question is do you have a strategy? And if you have a strategy is it enough? Does it give you an advantage or is the deck stacked to give you tiny paybacks from your strategy? Then perhaps the next logical question is what is a good strategy?. Well, someone is stacking the deck and they are giving the rubes (those who just turn over the cards of life and play what seems obvious) a lot of losing hands. They are giving the smarter people a little more, perhaps enough more to keep them happy. But how do you play this game to win more?
Ok here is where it becomes difficult to accept. They game is stacked by hundreds of thousands perhaps tens or even hundreds of million other players. There is no one way it is stacked and even those ways are changed constantly. Most of the time your best strategy is to play close attention, kinda like counting cards where you are really in the game and aware that the deck is stacked and you are constantly on the lookout for an advantage. That’s simple enough but now the klinker in the game. There will be times, cyclical events where the game is turned upside down. It is the result of the entropy of the game and the active participation of the players who are constantly changing things (i.e. stacking the deck) and it creates an anti-stacked deck or a deck stacked against everyone or every playing methodology. In economics these are called recessions or depressions or economic crashes or bubbles bursting, etc.
There is kind of a ying and yang to this. The game (life, the economy, etc.) goes on like the solitaire game day after day month after month and even year after year and during this time the deck is stacked but careful playing is giving you some wins and then the bottom falls out. When this happens the deck is stacked (and this means something different this time) but no play strategy seems to be a winner in fact every conventional strategy will assure greater losses. And that right there is the key. It is a different game, different rules, different deck, everything is different. What you need now (well actually just before now would be best) is a different strategy.
What strategy. With the regular play the deck was stacked but careful attention and effort gave you some advantage so what is the strategy now with a different deck and different stacking and different rules. Well what is going to happen is a progression of things all of which will seem foreign unless you have played this game before and were paying attention. You can’t win in the short run. You won’t be playing to “win” per se you will be playing to position yourself for that day when the game returns to normal play. You will also have had to play long before (or maybe just before) the game changer (the crash) to be in a position to both wait it out and play for advantage. So what is the strategy? More specifically I’m asking what would you have done in the Summer of 1929, remember the crash occurred in Oct of 1929 and up until then the game was hot and everyone (it seemed like everyone) was winning. So what do you do before the crash and after to “win”.
Ok, again this is the part that is difficult to accept. Because (after the crash) everyone will be playing a game of survival everything has changed. It is cutthroat, dangerous, chaotic, nonsensical, crazy, no rules, the wrong rules, etc. Because of this the deck is stacked… crazy. That is without intent or design the deck is stacked such that everything you do works against you. Well everything you do that is conventional wisdom. Understand and accept that and you are miles ahead of the average person. Not necessarily because the banks are out to screw everyone which is a popular belief. Not necessarily because the rich are taking everything, which is another popular belief (and these things will be reinforced by the media so you must be strong in your conviction to not be lead astray). It will simply be the result of the melee of everyone trying to do what they think will work to win the game. Everything is topsy turvy so no matter what you do, you lose and if you do nothing you lose. So what is the strategy?
The strategy: Assume the deck is stacked against you. Assume that it is stacked to seduce you to do all the wrong things. This part of the game plays out over many months to years and you will have lots of moves/opportunities to make mistakes. Assume that the game at this point is stacked such that no matter what you do it is a mistake. Every bit of good news is a head fake and it will be mostly bad news which may or may not be entirely correct either. Whatever you think is a good idea in the first few days, weeks, months will prove to have been a bad move as time goes by. You don’t know when the game, the roller coaster ride, ends and thus making decisions/plays with short term planning will inevitably result in a loss. Remember the right move is to plan for this to last for years and at the end of it (and there will be an end) when things return to the normal rules and strategy your goal is to be better positioned to play the game.
In the weeks and months leading up to the crash you want to reduce/eliminate debt, get out of most equity investments convert to a mostly cash position. You also want to make sure that your physical cash is safe. That is you don’t necessarily want it in the bank when it crashes because the bank will shut their doors and will be required to pay off debtors and depositors under an emergency condition and you may get nothing back. This can also be done over your entire investment lifetime. That is you can play the game by investing in things that are easy to get out of and this way you can bail just as the crash becomes obvious. This is because you may not and probably won’t “know” when or if there is about to be a crash. But the point is before things go belly up you need to as much as possible put your money/assets into cash and/or precious metals. Without this you probably won’t be successful in the second phase of this game.
In that second phase everyone will be trying to save themselves. The markets will be hectic. This could all go South in a matter of a few days or it could be regulated/controlled and take weeks/months or more to finally reach bottom. Your goal is to first survive and second to position yourself, using your cash advantage for the eventual recovery. (If at this time you are saying; what if it doesn’t ever recover? All I can tell you is that what difference then will it make what you do/did? All you can do then is continue to make sure you survive and having cash/PMs will be a huge advantage.)
To survive you carefully (you don’t want to flash a lot of money when no one else has any) use your cash advantage to provide food and necessities and to keep a roof over your head. You may have to do this for months/years so don’t get ahead of your cash/PMs. Again, don’t do this so well that you appear a little to prosperous but rather make an effort to appear as needy as everyone else is. Survive and pay attention. There will be opportunities and false opportunities and even fraud/scams. Stay alive, stay healthy and be ready for the next phase.
Next you want to use the leverage of cash/PMs to buy things. What to buy? Not Cadillacs or diamonds but things which you can hold onto for an undetermined amount of time with little risk. Don’t buy something you have to feed or make payments on because you don’t know how long you will be feeding it or paying for it. Consider that even simply holding onto your cash/PMs until normalcy returns is a good decision. Use your head and buy what you know and understand. If you know real estate then look for good bargains. Buy severely underpriced but very desirable real estate… carefully. Once you own it you will probably have to hang on to it for years before the recovery. Think long term. If you know jewelry then buy jewelry, again knowing that it won’t appreciate until after the recovery. Some stocks will be good and solid but severely underpriced. If you know the market and can pick out those companies that will weather the depression and the price is a bargain then buy some. Collectibles are a good investment as long as you know what you are doing. Do not deplete your cash/PMs to the extent that you would then find yourself in the position of having to sell stuff at a loss just to survive. Be careful, be conservative and err on the side of caution. This is the big game now.
Be a contrarian investor. If bonds are hot don’t buy bonds. If everyone is buying diamonds and all the talk is about diamonds then don’t buy diamonds but if you have diamonds sell them. Use your knowledge and your common sense. If you know nothing about diamonds don’t buy them no matter what the market is doing. If you know nothing about stocks then don’t buy stocks. Become a contrarian investor in the things you know something about. And being a contrarian investor means a little more than simply buying up what everyone else is dumping. You don’t want to be a major holder of swamp land in Florida or desert in Arizona. During the great depression you could buy a gold pocket watch for enough money to feed a family for a couple of days. People would pay their bills with a gold pocket watch and the guy getting the watch didn’t want It either he wanted cash. After the depression the value of that watch was probably 10 to 100 times greater. But you had to know what it was worth to know it was a good deal. You had to have some cash to buy it and you had to be in a position to hold it for 10 years to get your money back plus your profit. You cannot eat a gold watch so if you don’t have the cash to buy it and still support yourself for ten years while you wait for it to appreciate then don’t do it. The goal is to convert cash/money or PM’s (or anything of value) into something that would be much more valuable when the economy got better. The secret there is “much more valuable”. While you could maybe buy something that would double in value in ten years wouldn’t you much rather that it increased in value by ten fold?
I fully agree, great article. I will add that Trump is a liar, tyrant, and a fool. He is a willing puppet for the Globalist, he has always been buddy buddy with them, including longtime friends to the known globalists the Clintons. I never believe the liar ever since he got on the stage during the elections. He is a lying New York Leftist, always has been, not a Christian, a bad business man with connections (making his money from government programs like Musk does), and has openly supported every leftist view there is up until he started running for president as a “Republican”.
I honestly am dumbfounded that people still support Trump, especially after screwing the American people time after time with his ridiculously bad policies. Banning gun accessories, loves Red Flag laws, hasn’t done anything he claimed he would during the election, started wars he said he wouldn’t get into and made fun of that hag Clinton for wanting to get into, is talking about illegally banning suppressors like he illegally did with bump stocks, and is going to illegally and unilaterally give more money to the tyrannical Saudi Arabia (queers, pedophiles, satan worshipers, and child murderers – Yemen). Not to mention creating tariffs, which is anti-free trade, and ultimately is just another tax (there goes that tax cut he made – which will cause inflation via national debt). Trump, the Mango Mussolini as the wonderful Bill Buppert calls him.
The two party system is yet another distraction from the globalists, neither side care about you or Liberty. There are a few jewels in the rough, but they really don’t have any power (Rand Paul, Justin Amash, and Massie). I am very far right wing, a Libertarian, not some leftist scumbag.
P.S. Any war with a Iran will be based entirely on a false flag attack, it’s extremely obvious and predictable too, they aren’t even trying to do a good job anymore, they sure didn’t for 9/11.