Posted originally on Jan 9, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
California imposed an exit tax for those wishing to flee the state, but with insufficient funding and desperation to maintain tax revenue, the state is considering legislation that would steal a portion of one’s net worth and redistribute it to social programs.
The Billionaire Tax Act would impose a 5% tax on the total wealth of state residents with a net worth over $1 billion. There are around 250 billionaires currently living in California. The law will apply to anyone who resided in California as of January 1, 2026, which means it is too late to get out.
Net worth includes unrealized gains—stocks, businesses, real estate, collectibles, etc. California is treating paper valuations as if they were cash sitting in a vault, but net worth is merely an estimate when the valuation has not been realized or set. These items are subject to drastic fluctuations and now residents will be penalized for holding onto appreciating assets. Taxing a temporary illusion of worth assumes permanence when that is simply not the case.
Economies grow through investment, risk, and innovation. When you impose a levy on wealth, you force entrepreneurs to sell assets, slow investment, or exit entirely. The tech boom created 50 new billionaires in the state in 2025 alone. Why would aspiring entrepreneurs remain in a state that continually penalizes success? This class has the ability to mobilize at whim, but others do not, and it a guarantee that the state will soon come for those with less.
The wealthy generate wealth when they deploy capital into productive ventures. These are the people creating jobs and propping up local economies. You can never leave California without paying the exit tax, and now, you cannot amass wealth in the state without being subject to a large penalty. California has become extremely hostile to capital, hence the mass exodus of private wealth and businesses in recent years.
Legislators claim they can take in $100 billion in revenue from the tax that will allegedly go toward California’s imploding healthcare budget. California is a welfare state that operates outside of the federal capitalistic system. There are simply too many social programs to maintain and too many ignorant politicians who believe others should redistribute their wealth to float failing policies.
Posted originally on Jan 9, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organizations, including 35 non-United Nations (UN) organizations and 31 UN entities, “that operate contrary to U.S. national interests, security, economic prosperity, or sovereignty.” America’s sovereignty was at risk under the past administration that partook in the Build Back Better globalist agenda. Taxpayers will no longer be forced to pay to prop up globalist causes that do not benefit them in any form.
The international community has used America as its piggybank, top financier since the end of World War II. Billions are sent overseas every year to organizations claiming to promote world peace and health through global governance. We have nothing to show for the money funneled out of the nation. World peace is certainly not a reality. There is no cohesive “international community” as every nation unbound to a centralized government is operating in a way that serves its best interests. These globalist organizations assess what each nation must pay them, with the US always on the hook for the highest contributions.
The American people voted for nationalism and domestic prioritization. These globalist agencies override democracy and do not coincide with traditional American values or interests. We saw the extent of their reach during the pandemic with regulations shifted society. Unelected officials created rules for everyone to abide by, and member nations, their pawns who pay for the privilege of being overridden, are gaining control.
Part of Agenda 2030 clearly dictates that America can no longer be a superpower; in fact, no one nation can be a superpower, as all power will be held by the elite few. These non-government, unelected entities are openly attempting to remove all human rights. The United Nations openly discusses how it will take sovereignty from all member nations. They believe that nations should give up sovereignty for anything they deem an emergency to push out their goal for the New World Order.
According to our models, the United Nations, as we know it, will come to an end by 2031, following the old League of Nations. Agenda 2030 and the Great Reset will fail. Individual nations are struggling to remain united; centralized government powerhouses cannot last. Civilization works only when we all benefit.
With every day that passes, we are edging closer and closer to 2032, where our computer is forecasting the collapse of our present form of Republican government, and the light at the end of the tunnel is that we get to hold another Constitutional Convention. This time, we get to correct all the mistakes of our Founding Fathers.
Tim Walz openly called for an insurrection and threatened to use the state National Guard to contest federal agents. “We do not need any further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you’ve done enough. I’ve issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard,” Walz said in a press event. “We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary. I remind you, a warning order is a heads-up for folks,” Walz said. “Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight.”
Walz mistakenly believes those “soldiers in training” are there to protect his own self-interests. State authority cannot override federal authority. The Minnesota National Guard would not openly start a Civil War by listening to Tim Walz over the Commander-in-Chief.
The governor announced he would not seek re-election amid the $9 billion and counting Somali-led scheme to defraud taxpayers under the guise of social programs. The recent ICE shooting in Minneapolis occurred less than a mile from where George Floyd overdosed during an arrest, and had there not been video evidence, the city would have burnt down once more. Guard units are currently on standby, while the Minnesota State Patrol has already mobilized members of its Mobile Response Team in anticipation of civil unrest. Walz asked residents to display “peaceful resistance” before threatening an actual civil war.
Tim Walz seemingly wants to go full scorched Earth before he exits politics. “Game’s over for [Republicans], now. It was all me, I was the bad guy or whatever, well, put up or shut up now and tell us what you’re going to do to make this state better,” Walz told reporters.
Walz is merely one example of a governor boldly defying federal law, inciting civil unrest, and displaying precisely why the United States cannot remain united. Other state leaders have barked back at Washington. The Democrats are losing favor with voters and becoming unhinged. These cracks will ultimately result in a full division of the United States as we move toward 2032.
Posted originally on Jan 8, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
China became Venezuela’s largest oil purchaser through oil-for-debt deals. Socialism failed, and the nation was desperate for funds, especially after being ostracized from Western trade. Beijing supplied Venezuela with credit in exchange for heavily discounted crude. China’s access to cheap oil from Venezuela came to a sudden halt after the US takeover.
China was purchasing around 778,000 barrels a day before Maduro’s capture. Venezuela had borrowed up to $100 billion from China in loans since 2007, using PDVSA crude sales to ChinaOil as collateral. Venezuela agreed to ship fixed volumes of crude to Chinese buyers through small “teapot” refineries. While the average output was 778,000 bpd DAILY, exports reached 952,000 bpd at the end of 2025. These flows accounted for 4% of China’s total oil imports.
China is now looking to Iran and Russia for crude, furthering the disconnect between the East and West. Cargoes secured in Asian waters can cover two and a half months of China’s demand, easing any immediate shocks. Yet, Venezuela still owes China around $19 billion in outstanding debt that was largely secured by long-term crude imports.
China is enraged. Foreign Ministry spokespeople Mao Ning and Lin Jian demanded Venezuela retain “full and permanent sovereignty” over its natural resources and accused the US of “seriously breaching” international law. China’s “legitimate rights and interests in Venezuela must be protected,” according to state media. China’s United Nations representative reiterated this statement, demanding that the US “cease its bullying and coercive practices.”
🚨🇺🇸🇻🇪🇷🇺 U.S. TRIES TO SEIZE VENEZUELAN OIL TANKER, SO RUSSIA RESPONDS WITH A SUBMARINE
You thought this was just about oil? It’s now a full-on naval showdown.
The U.S. is actively trying to seize the Marinera, a Russian-flagged tanker (formerly Bella 1) carrying sanctioned… pic.twitter.com/5BNUO9qtmx
Russia stepped in to protect China’s short-term investments using a military submarine to protect an oil carrier from US forces. However, US forces successfully boarded and seized the cargo ship. There was no direct conflict between Russia and the US, but “direct” is key as Russia is showing its willingness to oppose Western influence.
PURE INSANITY
Mark Carney claims Venezuelan Oil is Welcome ZERO risk to Canada 🇨🇦
WHY?
Canada offers DECARBONIZED oil. That makes our Product 10X more competitive.
Canada’s Carney chimed in to offer clean Canadian oil as an alternative. No one cares if the oil is clean; everyone wants the best deal.
Rest assured China will ensure it is repaid. Yet, the Trump Administration may not permit repayment in crude. The situation is unfolding and tensions are rapidly rising. The international community is split on America’s actions, with even America’s European allies condemning the move. Europe is now painting Trump with the same brush as Putin by insisting he will continue nation-building and expanding the great American Empire. The models pointed to geopolitical upheaval during the first week of January as we move toward the pinnacle of the panic cycle set to explode in 2026.
Posted originally on Jan 8, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
The dawn of AI began years ago with data collection. Commercialism has become pinpointed. Inputting phone numbers during every commercial transaction, “free” search engines, social media platforms sending user information to companies—everything we buy is documented, everything we do is tracked and noted by governments and companies alike.
The announcement that AI platforms will now collect personal medical records under the banner of “helping people manage their health” is being sold as progress. But history shows us that every time information is centralized, it is eventually weaponized — either politically, financially, or legally.
“ChatGPT Health is another step toward turning ChatGPT into a personal super-assistant that can support you with information and tools to achieve your goals across any part of your life,” Fidji Simo, CEO of applications at OpenAI, wrote in a post on Substack. Smartwatches will now connect to larger centralized databases. Your every step is calculated and tracked.
The creators claim the data will not be used for training. They claim enhanced privacy and safeguards. Governments and institutions always make these claims at the beginning of every cycle, not the end. The real issue is not what they intend today, but what the system will demand tomorrow.
Health data is not merely personal information it is a source of leverage and power. Once digitized and centralized, it becomes subject to subpoenas, regulatory capture, political agendas, and social engineering. People forget that HIPAA does not protect you from the government. Every database has been hacked at some point in time. Health records are sensitive information that people would not willingly share. Accessing that information could wield tremendous power. The company stated that “hundreds of millions” of ChatGPT users ask health-related questions every week. What if those questions were publicized? The government demands backdoor access to every platform and will undoubtedly demand access to these records.
The danger here is not artificial intelligence. The danger is centralization without accountability. AI itself is neutral and has acted as more of a search engine, but one must wonder how they provide such a service for “free.” The problem is who controls the switch when political pressure inevitably arrives. No system remains voluntary once it becomes essential.
Posted originally on Jan 8, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
Unemployment will be a pivotal piece of economic information in the new year. The first ADP report of 2026 shows a modest increase of 41,000 jobs, beneath forecasts of 47,000. Yet, the report comes on the heels of an extremely weak November report with a revised loss of 32,000 jobs as hiring lagged in Q4.
Do not take these figures at face value or as proof of a recovering job market. A 41,000 uptick is far below the strong payroll growth seen earlier in the decade. We are witnessing a structural slowdown. Businesses are fragile and adjusting to higher costs in both rates and goods. Workers have become more expensive for businesses to retain in the once deemed “entry level” roles that have been adjusted to meet arbitrary price standards instead of productivity. Manufacturing remains weak despite every administration focusing on bringing production back to America. The most recent report showed a decline of 5,000 positions in manufacturing and another 3,000 gone in the goods-producing industries overall.
Large businesses are not hiring. They’re at capacity based on the economic reality of an economy in stagflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the closely monitored nonfarm payrolls report this Friday for the first time since the government shutdown. The Fed may look to determine rates, but lower borrowing costs will not suffice as employers simply do not have confidence in the economic landscape of tomorrow.
Posted originally on Jan 7, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
QUESTION: Marty, Socrates has been targeting the first week of January and the month of January as a panic cycle in war. How did you ever create a computer that can predict such events well in advance?
MK
ANSWER: Look. I have stated many times, this was never my intent. Some of humanity’s most important breakthroughs happened completely by accident—the kind of discoveries where someone spills something, leaves a mess, or makes a mistake and ends up changing the world.
Probably the most famous was the discovery of Penicillin. Alexander Fleming went on vacation in 1928 and left a dirty petri dish in the lab sink. When he returned, bacteria had grown everywhere except where mold had formed. That observation revolutionized medicine and has saved countless millions of lives.
Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in 1896 when he opened a drawer. He’d left uranium on top of a photographic plate with wooden crosses between them during overcast weather, and when he developed the plates, the crosses appeared—the uranium was exposing them without sunlight. This accidental finding earned him half a Nobel Prize and led to Marie Curie’s groundbreaking work.
Some accidents were downright messy. Spencer Silver at 3M was trying to create a super-strong adhesive in 1968 but accidentally made a weak one that could be easily removed—it seemed like a failure until someone realized it was perfect for Post-it Notes
The list goes on an on. But while this maybe a discovery of great importance, it has also been my curse. They have done everything to me from trying to kill me to throwing me in civil contempt without any explanation completely against everything in the Constitution denied a trial under the pretense it was “civil” and not “criminal.”
Socrates was my inspiration. I paid my respects to the jail cell in Athens where they imprisoned Socrates for also standing by his convictions. His fearlessness in the face of death is one of the most powerful themes in the Apology. His reasoning is remarkable.
Socrates argued that when performing an action, the only relevant question is whether one is acting justly or not—considerations of life and death are selfish and unimportant next to considerations of justice. He compared his philosophical calling to a soldier’s duty: just as a good soldier shouldn’t abandon his post in battle even at the risk of death, he couldn’t abandon his post as a truth-seeker.
His central argument was that fear of death is just another kind of false wisdom, of claiming to know the unknowable. Since no one actually knows what death is, fearing it presumes knowledge we don’t have. Socrates then offered what’s essentially a win-win scenario. Death is either a state of nothingness—like a peaceful, restful sleep. How many of us have such a wonderful night not to be awakened by a dream. Or it’s a migration of the soul where he could meet all his great friends and figures from the past to engage in a conversation about wisdom. Either way, he saw no reason to fear it.
When the jury offered to let him go if he’d just stop philosophizing, Socrates refused, saying he would rather die than give up participating in philosophical inquiry, claiming that the unexamined life is not worth living.
This was my inspiration. Once you lose the fear of death, there is nothing left for them threaten you with. When they threatened my family, I wrote to Dorthy Heyl of the SEC and threatened to commit suicide to save my family, but I promised I would not go as quietly as they forced Stephen Schiffer in a previous SEC case taking his lawyers away and their threats led him to comit suicide.
My philosophy was forged by their ruthless corruption. Federal prosecutors used threats against Michael Milken’s family members to pressure him into pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit. They inverted insider trading from a director selling stock ahead of declaring bankruptcy to the fraud being the public did not have the same information to profit from. As I wrote, there is no such crime defined by Congress. This is a bureaucratic rule when laws are supposed to be created by the PEOPLE, not rules by bureaucrats.
We live in tyranny. There is no rule of law. Judges do as ordered by the government which is why the conviction rate in federal cases is virtually 99% whereas Adolf Hitler’s conviction rate in the People’s Court (Volksgerichtshof), a political tribunal, had devastating statistics between 1937 and 1945. The court heard over 14,000 cases and condemned over 5,000 people to death. That’s roughly a 36% death sentence rate overall, though the numbers grew far worse as the war progressed. However, The most notorious court in history had been that of Hitler which had a 90% conviction rate to something overall. The American justice system has outdone Hitler.
They demanded the source code even in writing. That had nothing to do with anything but political prosecution. If I turned that over, then what? Even my lawyers told me it did not matter what I turned over, they would NEVER release me. When they want something, you have no rights. The only reason they were forced to release me was when the Supreme Court ordered them to respond. If it was not for the Supreme Court, I would have died in civil contempt long ago not much different from Socrates. They wanted this war model that they saw as national security.
Posted originally on Jan 7, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
The Neocons have won. Taking Venezuela followed the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis agenda to prevent Russia from installing nukes as a countermeasure for Ukraine. There are now even discussions about using military force to seize Greenland, but the most audacious direct slap in the face to Russia is the seizing of a tanker with a Russian flag, and Putin assumed would be enough to warn the US to keep its hands off it.
Russia had staked its reputation and geopolitical credibility on conferring official protection on the shadow-fleet oil tanker the Neocons pushing for WWIII have pursued with total disregard for the consequences. As the more than two-week pursuit of Bella 1 unfolded, Russia re-flagged the vessel with its own colors, renamed it the Marinera, and added it to an official Russian ship database. The Neocons do not give a shit. What they hell, they send other people’s children to die – never themselves. The re-flagging to a Russian ship was assumed it would say hands off or war. The Neocons want war. This is about the total destruction of Russia which they have been dreaming about since childhood. People like John Bolton joined the National Guard so he did not have to go to Vietnam.
The danger here is that when Khrushchev backed down in 1962, there was a coup and he was replaced with Brezhnev. When a proposal for Russia to join NATO, a second coup took place this time against Gorbachev. Slapping Putin across the face may make the press cheer, but this puts internal pressure on Putin. If does not respond definitively, he too will be overthrown by their Neocons.
Nuclear war could be just one step away!
No that the Neocons have deliberately put Americans in the direct confrontation with Russia, Putin made a fatal mistake. He assumed that nuclear weapons are still a deterent. He has limited him to rhetoric about ‘red lines’, and the Neocons are showing the world that they think that Russia is just a very large Venezuela, that can be pushed around without any real consequences. The Neocons are drooling over the idea of sending American forces into the Black Sea with Tomahawk missile carriers. They perceive Putin as weak who is afraid to push the button.
Britain and France have signed a historic agreement committing to boots on the ground in Ukraine as soon as any ceasefire with Russia comes into place. They are determined to have WWIII with Russia that they think will make Europe relavant again geopolitically.
We will do a special update on the Private Block with the computer’s latest forecasts on timing.
Posted originally on Jan 7, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
Arabella Advisors, the world’s most influential fund for left-wing politics, has rebranded but not dissipated. Arabella Advisors infamously created the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a dark money nonprofit that funneled hundreds of millions to persuade voters to support “progressive” causes, with the backing of George Soros, Bill Gates, Pierre Omidyar, and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss.
Arabella rebranded itself into Sunflower Services, a public corporation controlled by a collective group of nonprofits that were previously under its management. The group has separated its 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) arms as only the latter has the ability to send money to political missions in lieu of offering tax deductions for those donations. All donations are strictly anonymous. Not only is the group permitted to operate anonymously, but those paid to promote their messages also operate in secrecy. WIRED magazine alerted the public that the Sixteen Thirty Fund was paying over 90 online social media influencersup to $8,000 a month to support Democratic causes. These content creators operate under the “Chorus Creator Incubator Program,” and they are provided with specific propaganda tools such as “advocacy training,” message briefings, newsroom events, and are often asked to partner with politicians and other left-leaning organizations.
Traditional political advertisements are disclosed as advertisements. “Paid for by…” However, the new form of media control is through “unique” social media messaging. Moreover, the majority of these social media platforms are already controlled by the leftist billionaire elite. Aside from Elon Musk’s X, all major channels can remove content at whim, and we saw their broad reach during the COVID-19 pandemic when every platform was scrubbing the internet of content that went against the left mainstream media narrative.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund will distance itself from Sunflower Services, but all of these non-profits operate as the left’s personal ATM to use for political warfare. Clinton administration alumnus Eric Kessler began Arabella Advisors in 2005, before it quickly gained popularity among those with the money and power to reshape politics. Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss was the first major financier, using his wealth to reshape US politics. 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations may receive funds from foreign donors, and the likes of Soros and Wyss were quick to insert their ideals into US politics through Arabella.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund, for example, spent nearly $80 million on 33 different state referendums from 2017 to 2023. Conservatives argued against permitting foreign investors from infiltrating US politics, leading Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Wyoming to enact laws banning foreign funds from being spent on ballot referendums. The anonymous donors bypassed the law through numerous smaller NGOs masked as grassroots organizations including “Families Over Billionaires,” “Arizonans United for Health Care,” “Log Off Movement,” “Keep Iowa Healthy,” “Floridians for a Fair Shake,” “Design it for Us,” and “Michigan Families for Economic Prosperity.”
Propaganda is far more subtle in today’s day and age. The people controlling the narrative do not care about these causes. The people paid to push these messages do not understand that they are working for the very people they claim to detest.
Posted originally on Jan 7, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
Syria has agreed to create an intelligence network with the United States and Israel. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Sunni jihadist and known terrorist, became a CIA asset after he was captured while fighting for Al Qaeda in Iraq. I explained on numerous occasions that he was compromised and installed into his position by the CIA; Syria’s new alignment with Israel should not come as a shock.
Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Tom Barrack represented the US envoy for Syria during the Israel-Syria meeting in Paris this week. Washington reported that the meeting went as intended, with Israel and Syria agreeing to a “fusion mechanism” by which they will share intelligence, diplomatic engagement, military de-escalation, and commercial issues.
For decades, Syria and Israel have technically been at war. That hostility has been useful politically for both sides. It justified military budgets, internal repression, and foreign alliances. This development reiterates what the computer has warned: the Middle East is fragmenting into blocs, and the old Cold War alignments are collapsing.
Reports have emerged that Iranian officials are seeking to assassinate al-Sharaa. Al-Assad’s former military intelligence chief, Major General Kamal Hassan, is building a militia among Syria’s Alawite minority community, according to a December 2025 Reuters report. The ousted dictator’s billionaire cousin, Rami Makhlouf, has been financing Hassan’s efforts. Feared special forces commander Suhail al-Hassan, known as “The Tiger,” has been recruiting thousands of men to oppose al-Assad and retake control.
Syria is no longer beholden to Iran as its new financiers are from the West. Russia is no longer policing the region and the US has a stronghold over Syria. This alignment is temporary and a precursor to a larger regional conflict on the horizon.
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This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
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