Category Economic Collapse

Jul 14 2022

June Inflation Jumps 1.3 Percent, Annual Inflation Rate Increases to 9.1 Percent


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 13, 2022 | Sundance

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) [DATA HERE] showing yet another “surprising” increase in overall inflation.  For the month of June overall inflation increased 1.3% bringing the annual rate of inflation to 9.1% as calculated.

Economists and financial pundits are “shocked”, “surprised” and the proverbial “unexpected” is running amok again amid the typeset.  The reality of Joe Biden energy policy being the origin of our current inflation crisis is being avoided at all costs by the pretenders.  The federal reserve raising interest rates can only impact the demand side, but it’s the supply side (total energy policy) creating the problem.  Table-A shows the overview.

(CNBC) – […] The consumer price index, a broad measure of everyday goods and services related to the cost of living, soared 9.1% from a year ago, above the 8.8% Dow Jones estimate. That marked the fastest pace for inflation going back to November 1981.

[…] “U.S. inflation is above 9%, but it is the breadth of the price pressures that is really concerning for the Federal Reserve.” said James Knightley, ING’s chief international economist. “With supply conditions showing little sign of improvement the onus is the on the Fed to hit the brakes via higher rates to allow demand to better match supply conditions. The recession threat is rising.” (read more)

If you dig into the details, the inflation picture shows just how deep the energy policy is hitting.  Everything is impacted by Joe Biden’s radical energy policy.  Table-1 breaks down the data a bit more specifically.  However, even this data is skewed by the BLS putting a weighting factor on the importance.

♦ The rate of annualized inflation for natural gas is now running at almost 100%.  Meaning if things continue, the current price will double again by this time next year.

♦ The rate of annualized inflation for gasoline is running at 134%.

♦ The annualized rate of energy inflation overall is running at 90%.

These are the results of the people behind Joe Biden implementing the Green New Deal program by executive fiat.

Also, keep in mind the current increases in farming costs at the field have yet to reach wholesale and retail.  The fertilizer, oil, diesel, packaging, transportation and energy costs at the field will not arrive to the fork until later this fall.  That is when food inflation will surpass energy inflation.

Current cattlemen and ranchers are finding it more cost-effective, due to drought and high feed costs, to take their cattle to slaughter.  There is a temporary drop in beef prices for the next several weeks before the supply roller coaster sets up a scenario for massive increases in beef costs this winter.  Consider buying and freezing now for use later this year and into the winter. Try to buy directly from cattle ranchers.

Later this year the next wave (#3) of food inflation will surpass the last two waves.  Things will get ugly because there are also predictably shortages of food coming.  Higher farm costs and global food supply shortages equals much, much higher U.S. prices.   Prepare.

Jul 13 2022

World Bank: The Poor Will Suffer From Carbon Taxes


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Jul 13, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The World Economic Forum is praising Denmark for implementing the world’s strictest carbon tax laws. Companies will soon be forced to pay $159 for every tonne of CO2 emitted, marking an additional $53 per tonne. The government claims this will cut CO2 levels by 3.7 million tonnes in just one year.

“This incentivizes companies to clean up for themselves,” the WEF reported. In the midst of an extreme energy crisis, punishing energy suppliers will undoubtedly backfire. These costs will be passed along to the already struggling consumer. Even the World Bank admitted that the poor will suffer from the carbon tax.

The World Bank stated on its blog:

“There are good reasons why governments may not want to use carbon taxes, and one of them relates to their welfare impacts. For example, a carbon tax on fossil fuels is often regressive in its impact- hurting poorer people relatively more than richer ones. Even when it might be progressive, poorer people still suffer a welfare loss when prices rise, making their consumption basket more expensive.”

Furthermore, they admitted that the carbon tax “aims to restructure economies by raising the cost of a critical resource – the juice that makes it run.” Precisely. We NEED fossil fuels right now, there is no other viable alternative available to provide energy to the world. Since nations have succumbed to the climate change agenda, they have lost their energy-independent status. Europe shot itself in the foot by eliminating any diplomatic relations with their number one supplier of gas for a country that they did not acknowledge prior to February 2022.

Other nations with the ability will drill and sell oil to those under WEF leadership at a premium. India is already buying Russian oil at a discount, refining it, and selling it to the US for a premium. This is more than just bad business as it is a clear attempt to cut off a “critical resource” to “restructure economies” as seen fit by the WEF.

Jul 13 2022

Tucker Carlson Outlines How Joe Biden is Implementing the Green New Deal Energy Program and Killing the U.S. Economy, and Standard of Living, in The Process


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 13, 2022 | Sundance

During an extensive opening monologue on Tuesday evening, Fox News host Tucker Carlson walked through the origin of the modern American push for a transformation in the U.S. energy system; as outlined in the Green New Deal advocacy of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and how Joe Biden is implementing the agenda by executive fiat.

The Green New Deal is domestically to the U.S. as the Build Back Better agenda is to the rest of the western nations who follow the instructions from the World Economic Forum. Collectively the economies of western government are starting to collapse as the underlying energy policies (climate change) are being implemented.

Carlson walks through several examples of countries who have tried and failed to switch from oil, gas and coal to the “green renewable” energy programs. Everything from farming to home heating is now under attack by the governmental energy policies of western nations.  Civil society is starting to collapse in according to the schedule of the nations who have tried to transition.  Perhaps the worst part about it, is that western politicians -like Joe Biden- do not care how much damage is done, they are doing it anyway. WATCH:

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Something has to change, and soon.  As a nation we are going to self-destruct if we do not stop this mad effort to use windmills and solar energy as alternative power sources to oil, coal and natural gas.  Already there are signs that states like Texas are bordering on an energy crisis because there is not enough wind to power their windmills.

From the complete restructuring of farming under the guise of climate change (the intentional shift to eating bugs and lab-grown meat), to the complete collapse of stable energy as a result of chasing climate change goals, we are fast approaching the point of no easy return.

We are not going to like the civil unrest and national instability that comes along with public desperation.

Jul 13 2022

Eva Vlaardingerbroek Summarizes all the Merging Food, Energy and Farming Issues with Stark Advice to Americans


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2022 | Sundance 

Eva Vlaardingerbroek is a GB News correspondent and conservative voice from Holland.  In this interview segment with NTDNews Ms. Vlaardingerbroek outlines what is happening in the Netherlands with the Dutch farm protests and how it connects to the larger Agenda 2030 goals.

In the last 20 seconds of the segment, Vlaardingerbroek has some solid advice for Americans.  WATCH (2 mins):

To really get a strong reference point for how the global ruling elites at the World Economic Forum think about farming and climate change, which includes the brain trust at the World Health Organization, I would urge you to read THIS ARTICLE from the Irish Farmers Journal.

When I first read this article about Irish farming -mostly referencing government policy- what stood out to me more than anything was the open hubris and arrogance in the mindset of the people cited.

They openly say the goal of the fundamental change in the global food system is to control what people eat, allocate specific amounts of calories according to the goals of the climate change officials, and completely take over the way farming is done.

The article is written from a sympathetic standpoint of how government needs to help farmers transition away from their agricultural world as they lose their farm operations. The openly communist outlook is really quite remarkable.

“Significant food system change is needed to address food security and climate challenges, but it risks decimating farm incomes. Policy analyst Anne Finnegan examines a new OECD FAO report.” ~ READ HERE

Jul 13 2022

U.S. Homebuyer Contract Cancellations Surge to 15 Percent in June, Highest Ever Recorded Sans Pandemic


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2022 | Sundance

A slowdown in the housing market is being identified as the primary cause of a significant increase in cancelled homebuyer contracts in the month of June.  Bloomberg Report Here and Redfin Report Here.  It would appear the inflated housing bubble has popped.

According to the data 60,000 home sales were cancelled while under contract in June, that represents 14.9% of all contracts cancelled by the buyer before the transaction closed.  If you take out the forced cancellations due to the pandemic, a 15% cancellation rate equals the highest monthly cancellation rate ever recorded.

The economy is contracting, economic activity and consumer purchases have stopped, and the contraction is now fast and sudden.

(Redfin) – Nationwide, roughly 60,000 home-purchase agreements fell through in June, equal to 14.9% of homes that went under contract that month. That’s the highest percentage on record with the exception of March and April 2020, when the housing market all but ground to a halt due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. It compares with 12.7% a month earlier and 11.2% a year earlier.

This is according to a Redfin analysis of MLS data going back through 2017. Please note that homes that fell out of contract during a given month didn’t necessarily go under contract the same month. For example, a home that fell out of contract in June could have gone under contract in May.

“The slowdown in housing-market competition is giving homebuyers room to negotiate, which is one reason more of them are backing out of deals,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. “Buyers are increasingly keeping rather than waiving inspection and appraisal contingencies. That gives them the flexibility to call the deal off if issues arise during the homebuying process.”

Marr continued: “Rising mortgage rates are also forcing some buyers to cancel home purchases. If rates were at 5% when you made an offer, but reached 5.8% by the time the deal was set to close, you may no longer be able to afford that home or you may no longer qualify for a loan.” (read more)

Now, keep in mind that contract cancellations can also be attributed to a hot housing market, where purchasing hysteria and bidding wars end up being factors in the contracts.  Some anxious buyers make out-of-town offers without even seeing the house, then use contract exits -contingencies- to cancel the purchase if the home is ultimately not up to their standard.

In my opinion the spike in cancellations is a blend of the two aspects which indicate the apex of home purchasing is behind us.  The bubble popped.

Home values are now declining as more available inventory starts to fill up the real estate market.  Again, everything is local and regional depending on a myriad of issues; however, if we are looking at it from a macro level, the booming housing market is now over.

City and county tax rates will now benefit from the overinflated real estate sales data.  Real estate tax bills (a backward-looking metric) will go up as the curve on home valuation actually starts to drop and drop quickly.

If you did not purchase a home this year, you have not lost money.  If you did purchase a home this year, the dropping market will erase tangible wealth.

Redfin also has the top metro-markets for cancellations:

(Source, with Expanded List)

CBS says the best way to survive the Biden economy is not to buy stuff, and young adults should stay living with mom and dad. WATCH:

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Jul 13 2022

Neil Oliver Analyzes the Global Uprisings that are Rejecting the Build Back Better Agenda


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2022 | Sundance

Appearing on GBNews with Dan Wootton, UK commentator Neil Oliver discusses and connects the Sri Lanka protests, the uprising in the Netherlands, and the aligned protests in Poland, Italy, Germany and much of the European continent.

As Oliver notes the pretorian guards for western politicians, aka the ‘western media’, are doing everything they can to ignore the global scale of the popular uprisings that are directly connected to the globalist agenda of the World Economic Forum and their Build Back Better orders to the western politicians.  The media ignore the issue until it reaches a point like Sri Lanka where it can no longer be ignored.  WATCH:

The Canadian trucker protests were targeted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in an effort to quickly stop the spread of any opposition to the globalist agenda. However, in the Netherlands the Dutch farmers have several distinct advantages in their ability to impact the life of ordinary Dutch people, as they refuse to become victims to the new global feudalism.

Like Sri Lanka, the Netherlands is a case study in raw people power, where the government is represented by a select few people.  The only thing keeping the Dutch from storming the politicians’ palaces and government buildings is a preference for polite society.  If that preference changes, and it might as people get more desperate, well, katy-bar the door.

Sri Lanka (top)

The Netherlands (bottom)

Both uprisings are connected to the exact same dynamic.

Jul 13 2022

Rivian Electric Vehicle Manufacturer Planning Layoffs


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2022 

Two things about this report showing Rivian is planning layoffs for its workforce.

First, the larger ‘layoff‘ issue is going to be more prevalent as the economy contracts and consumer demand declines.  There is almost no expanded investment going into any Main Street business that sells non-essential goods.

The economic contraction, the drop in consumer demand that indicates a recession, is very real and now very easy to spot.

Second, Rivian is backed by the financing of Ford and Amazon and operates in California, Michigan and Illinois (three deep blue states).  Rivian is also the supplier for Amazon electric delivery vehicles having previously announced (in 2019) a deal to purchase 100,000 vehicles from Rivian.  Additionally, Rivian has lost 69% of its market value this year.

LA TIMES – Rivian Automotive Inc. is planning hundreds of layoffs to trim its workforce in areas where the electric-vehicle maker has grown too quickly, according to people familiar with the matter. […] The Irvine company, which has more than 14,000 employees, could target an overall reduction of around 5%, the people said. The layoffs are still in the planning stage, and nothing has been decided.

[…] The manufacturer is poised to join companies across corporate America pruning their operations amid growing worries about an economic downturn. Tesla is cutting 10% of its salaried workforce, while protecting manufacturing jobs, after Chief Executive Elon Musk said he sees a recession as inevitable. (read more)

Jul 12 2022

Sri Lanka’s Economy Completely Collapsed


Armstrong Economics Blog/Tyranny Re-Posted Jul 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Protestors swarmed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s palace in Sri Lanka, forcing him to flee and step down. The entire government in Sri Lanka will be restructured. When the people are hungry, no amount of rules and restrictions will prevent them from protesting. Sri Lanka ran out of food and ran out of fuel to cook whatever happened to be available.

The country’s foreign reserves were depleted. The government began to cut the power grids daily for increasingly longer periods. There was not enough fuel to power generators. Inflation soared to 45.3% in May, with food costs rising 58%. The United Nations estimated that 22% of the entire population had become food insecure and 86% of families  “are resorting to at least one coping mechanism, including eating less, eating less nutritious food and even skipping meals altogether.”

“Gota Go Gama” (Gama meaning village) or GGG protests arose throughout the nation. Labor migration rose 286% this year, according to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment. The government owes $51 billion in debt and cannot make any payments on loans. Their currency collapsed 80% and was basically worthless. Tourism halted after the pandemic, adding to the crisis. The people had hit rock bottom and knew exactly who to blame. President Rajapaksa and his brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, are extremely corrupt. They allowed the problem to become a crisis; living lavishly as their people starved.

The revolutionary wave has only just begun. I warned that it would first come for emerging countries. However, do not think this incident will be isolated to one nation. Unrest is rising as living standards decline.

Jul 12 2022

Political Corruption in The Netherlands and How the Dutch Farmer Protest Connects to the Burning of The Picnic Grocery Distribution Center


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2022 | Sundance

You might have heard about an online grocery distribution center called Picnic in the Netherlands burning to the ground {LINK}.  The backstory of how the Picnic operation connects to the Dutch government is fascinating, and with context it looks like Picnic was targeted as part of the Dutch farmer protest.

In the Netherlands the government official who organized the regulations to take farmland from farmers and reduce their livestock is a politician named Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink {wiki link}.  Mrs van der Wal-Zeggelink is the current Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy in the Dutch cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Minister Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink and Prime Minister Mark Rutte are climate activists, so it makes sense that the “Minister of Nitrogen Policy” would be the person who would attempt to reduce nitrogen by targeting the farmers.  It is Mrs. van der Wal-Zeggelink who created the regulations that the farmers are protesting.

Now, stay with me… Christianne van der Wall-Zeggelink is married to Piet van der Wal, an heir to the wealth of the family who owns a supermarket chain called Boni. {citation} So, when Dutch farmers sell product to Boni they are directly funding the wealth of the government minister who seeks to destroy their livelihoods.

Additionally, when Dutch shoppers spend their money at the Boni supermarket they are funding the family of the government minister who is seeking to destroy the farmers who provide the food to the supermarkets.  Do the Dutch farmer blockades of the supermarkets and distribution centers make more sense now?

Here is where it gets interesting….  The supermarket chain Boni is one of a small group of four big investors in the online supermarket chain Picnic. {citation}  The van der Wal family was part of a group of investors in 2015 and 2019 who generated €450 million for the Picnic grocery operation.

Additionally, as part of the financial relationship, the Picnic distribution center buys their groceries at wholesale prices from Boni: “Picnic directly buys from an existing supermarket chain (Boni), which saves them the operational costs on that side” {2015, citation}.

Buying from Boni Supermarket or ordering online from Picnic home grocery delivery is essentially the same thing.  Boni is a retail supermarket chain, and Picnic is a free home delivery service that sources their grocery distribution center inventory from Boni.

Additionally, Bill and Melinda Gates are big investors into Picnic {citation}: “As reported by the respected Dutch financial magazine Quote in September last year, [Picnic] raised €600 million (approximately $604 million) in an investment round, with the lion’s share coming from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust.” {link}

Summary so far: Nitrogen Policy Minister Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink is married to the ultra-wealthy family who own the Supermarket chain Boni.  Together with other ‘climate change’ investors including Bill and Melinda Gates, Boni funds online supermarket Picnic.  Sales from Picnic or Boni directly increase the wealth of the Dutch Nitrogen Policy Minister.  Picnic also sells the engineered food that Bill Gates promotes.

The current owner and CEO of Picnic is a man named Michiel Muller.  Mr. Muller is a Dutch entrepreneur, climate change activist and self-described visionary, who intends to “change the entire food system, eliminate waste” and be in line with sustainable energy goals and the climate change agenda [Video citation @14:21].

Additionally, a great deal of the money from the investment rounds is going toward building a robotic warehouse and automated Picnic distribution center which aligns with the free online grocery ordering system. {another citation}

With all of these associations, business interests and financial aspects in mind, Dutch Nitrogen Minister Christianne van der Wall-Zeggelink has a direct financial conflict-of-interest in the advancement of sustainable supermarket and online grocery operations.  Specifically, those operators who are the beneficiaries of not only her nitrogen elimination regulation, but also the direct investment from her family.

It is also not surprising that Dutch farmers would seek to block the retail supermarkets and distribution centers of the companies that are directly connected to the business interests of Dutch politicians.

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Jul 12 2022

I Feel Like I’m On A Debt Treadmill And It’s Never Ending!


The Ramsey Show – Highlights  Published originally on Rumble on  July 8, 2022

I Feel Like I’m On A Debt Treadmill And It’s Never Ending!
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